The Day The Dursleys Came To Hogwarts Chapter 34
By Ordinaryguy2
4:28 PM
Monday, January 16, 1995
LEAKY CAULDRON, LONDON
Ron stormed out of the floo, nearly tripping over Harry who had gone before him.
"I can't believe that they'd do this? After all you've done! It's such…"
"It's flagrant injustice!" Hermione proclaimed as she reached down to help Harry to his feet.
Harry said nothing as he took the hand of his girlfriend as well as that of his godfather, Sirius Black as they helped him to his feet.
"Have you ever known the Wizengamot to get anything right?" Sirius' grin was forced, but he was there for his godson.
They cleared the entrance of the floo in time for Harry's aunt, Petunia and Dudley to come through. Dudley had tumbled through first, landing almost the exact same way as Harry had, but the boy had got to his feet in time to help his mother step out of the floo, not that she was going to fall.
"Is that your entire party?" Tom the barkeeper stood next to the floo with a sad but friendly smile.
"Yes," stated Remus. The werewolf was using his wand to clear the soot off the new arrivals.
"Very well." Tom used his wand and cast a quick spell on the floo entrance and another at the door leading to muggle-London. "That should slow down any reporters following you for the time being."
Harry gave the bartender a curious glance. "How did…?"
"The whole thing was being broadcast on the Wizarding Wireless Network," he responded, nodding to the radio next to the bar. There were several patrons in the building, but Tom must have said something to them before they arrived as none of them stood to greet them. And perhaps they were also ashamed at the moment for being wizards. "Can I… offer you anything?"
"Thank you, kind sir," Petunia said, diplomatically. "We have urgent matters to take care of, so we must be off."
Tom nodded. He was curious. But he knew these people had just suffered some of the most blatant treachery he had ever heard right over the radio. No, he would keep his questions to himself. And any reporters that came asking about them would find themselves banned from his facilities. Already he heard several thuds from people trying to enter through his floo system.
Petunia led the way to the brick wall entrance to Diagon Alley, her stride quick, but not enough to leave anyone behind. Sirius, Dudley and Harry were still limping some from the wounds they had obtained during the Yule Ball fiasco after all.
"Can someone please tell me where we are going in such a damn hurry?" groused Sirius.
"No time for that," Petunia proclaimed, though she did exchange a conspirator wink with Hermione. "All will be explained, unless you lag behind."
"But-"
"Sirius," Hermione interrupted. "Do you want to be a part of the biggest prank to have ever been played in all of the United Kingdom, or not?"
"A prank?" asked Dudley. "After what just happened at that Ministry building?"
"Dud," Harry began. "One of the things I learned over the years, is that if Hermione plans something, there's a damn good reason for it." For that, Hermione rewarded him with a quick kiss on his cheek.
Sirius was now more eager than ever. If there was one thing he understood, it was that a good prank can lead to great revenge. And be highly amusing as well. His approval of Hermione being in a relationship with his godson rose even higher. Still if frustrated him that neither Petunia nor Hermione would tell him what this prank was as they walked toward Gringotts.
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The day at the Wizengamot had started early as the subject of the day was to deal with the matters that had occurred at Hogwarts during the Triwizard Yule Ball. They had been fortunate that as they were witnesses for much of the material being covered that they had seats reserved for them.
Samuel Kingson, Terence Prewett, Phineas Diggle and several other squibs that were higher in the chain of command were all brought out together for trial. All were dingy and unkempt in their appearance, sporting various bruises on their skin. The prosecution recounted the events leading to the squibs overtaking the students and teachers and various other representatives at the Yule Ball. The defense was led by a team of muggle-born lawyers of Tippet, Fine, Goldstein & Spenser, that Petunia Dursley had hired herself. They were sympathetic to the squibs, even if they did not approve of their actions. Still, Petunia was determined that the squibs should have a fair and thorough defense, which the muggle-borns totally agreed with, having seen the underside of pure-blood bigotry all their lives.
Hans Goldstein had opened the defense by having several students brought forward and having them describe the actions of the squibs. He also asked it any of the squibs went out of their way to harm or kill anyone. It was verified that there had actually been no fatalities in the Great Hall (minus the Weird Sisters), until the Death Eaters had attacked. And any serious injuries had been quickly treated. What surprised most people was that Severus Snape had actually spoke up for Samuel Kingson, and also to the amount of loyalty potions that had been found in the blood of Vernon Dursley. In fact, it was determined that Vernon's sister, Marge, had somehow managed to double dose her brother with loyalty potions keyed to her. With the amount of loyalty potion that she knew that Samuel had given him, Vernon would have died from overdose if he hadn't been so obese. When Harry quietly asked Hermione why she thought Snape had spoken up for the man, she stated that blood was thicker than water. That both men had been rejected by the Prince family, and that Snape probably felt some kinship to the man despite having been on opposite sides of the gambit.
The prosecution actually called Petunia forward to testify under veritaserum. She held her head up high as she came forward and sat in a normal chair as the potion was administered. She quickly told that she had had no idea that Vernon could or would be able to legally gain control of Hogwarts by declaring before the assembled people that he was the husband of Lady Ravenclaw, and the guardian of the minor Lord Slytherin, and he accepted all the responsibilities that went with it. Once it was clear that she had no clue about the plot of the squibs or the actions of her husband and sister-in-law, the prosecution reluctantly let her return to her seat. The defense only stopped them long enough to have Petunia say whether or not she approved of the actions of the squibs or her sister-in-law, which she clearly did not though she thought it wrong for the Wizarding world to let such prejudices prevail.
The defense had then called Rita Skeeter to the stand. The news reporter was brought forward and sworn in while murmuring filled the courtroom as an auror wheeled in her wheelchair since she was now missing her left leg. News of Rita's animagus spying technique as a water beetle was known to all by now. Having been transformed into a gargantuan beetle and transfigure with spikes before sending her on a killing spree through the line of squibs and students will do that. As it was, she still kept a veil over her face due partially due to her injuries from when Viktor Krum had stomped her eye in, as well as for the two still permanent pointed horns that jetted out from her cheek bones.
There was little love for Rita in the room, as her body count under the Dark Lord's Imperius curse had racked up among the highest that fateful night. The defense team, led by Ian Tippet, first had her give a magical vow that everything she said for the next hour would be the truth as far as she knew it, and then preceded to have Rita give a full account of everything she had spied upon that evening, and made it known to everyone that this testimony could also be used in regards to matters discussed later that day.
Rita explained that she went to yule ball to hopefully dig up a juicy scoop for The Daily Prophet. She had been as shocked as anyone when Vernon had made his announcement that made himself regent of the castle. It was even more surprising when the squibs marched into the Great Hall to take the castle in his name. She witnessed firsthand the effects of the magic absorbing substance that the squibs used to quell the witches and wizards while almost being splashed herself a few times.
After the teachers and students had been placed under control, she covered the uproar caused when Nearly Headless Ned came in to tell of the abomination that had escaped it's ghostly captives, and could consume ghosts.
She then told of Ned leading Potter, his girlfriend and the younger Malfoy to a hidden corridor where the Weird Sisters had been tragically and horrifically struck down. And was surprised to learn that the students thought it might have been done by Mad-Eye Moody. It was later learned that the killing had been done by Barty Crouch Jr. who had been impersonating Mad-Eye for the year by using polyjuice potion.
She then went on to explain her accidental encounter with Vernon in the castle halls and had attempted to gain some more information from the man by talking with him.
Suspecting loyalty potions, she had convinced Vernon to summon their house-elf and have it confirm what she suspected. When the house-elf did confirm that he was under loyalty potions, she told Vernon that it meant that whoever gave him the potions could make him turn against his loved ones. Vernon was appalled that he could become a threat to his sister Marge (though he didn't know at that time that Marge was the one who had given him the potions). She had then convinced Vernon to have his house-elf get a purging potion to take.
After recovering from the potion, Vernon blamed his sister Marge for what had happened to him and placing his family in danger. And then went to attack the reporter in a blind fury as if she was responsible for his sister's deceit. She had actually had to take on her animagus shape to escape with her life, leaving her wand behind.
Her fleeing had led her right to the people from the Malfoy party who had just arrived at the Hogwarts gates where she told an edited version of what she had learned.
But then, regaining some of her confidence, she had been unable to resist returning to her water beetle form to regain her wand and get more of the story that had been unfolding. But even as a water beetle, she had gotten too close and caught the eye of the abomination that partially possessed Barty Crouch Jr. Worse, the abomination claimed to be He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
She told how Lucius had addressed the thing growing out of Crouch Jr.'s shoulder as his lord, and that while Lucius had pointed out that several of the Dark Lord's servants' children were in the Great Hall, the monstrosity had said he shouldn't be concerned since his own child was there with him. And then she had been enlarged and transfigured to be even deadlier in form before being sent out to fight.
She lost count of all the squibs she had killed and maimed. Some she was sure were students just trying to protect the wounded and give the others a chance to escape. In her own part she had lost an eye and an ear. Also part of her arm as well as her left leg. The healers were still uncertain as to what they can do for her face. Several of the spikes that had been transfigured onto her body seem permanent. But even worse, she felt as if her soul would never be clean again.
The Wizengamot as well as the audience were not totally unfeeling as there were a few places where weeping could be heard.
Before she was wheeled away, Tippet explained that Rita would be having her own trial in a month's time after recovering more from her ordeal with himself defending her. She chose of her own recognizance to come and tell her story so that everyone would know the truth of what happened. That she believed that, no matter what else was decided, the squibs and Vernon Dursley should have what they tried to stop the students from being injured counted in their favor.
Cornelius Fudge had quickly moved to dismiss any charges related to suspected Death Eaters attacking squibs, teachers and students at the Yule Ball. That led to a near complete vote of No-Confidence against Fudge, much to his surprise. When he'd been asked about why he had done such a stupid thing, Fudge faltered before suddenly proclaiming that his late acquaintance, Lucius Malfoy, had had him under the Imperius Curse.
Amelia Bones, who had been then sworn in as a temporary Minister of Magic, was then handed the reigns of the meeting. She placed Fudge under temporary arrest until they could have him investigated and also allow him legal counsel.
Delores Umbridge had caused a disturbance stating that this usurpation of authority was highly illegal, and heads would roll if Fudge was not immediately reinstated. For her grievance, she was given a stiff fine as well as a verbal warning to not impede justice as she was likely to be investigated due to her ties to the former minister. The toad woman had sat gloomily in her seat stewing after that, obviously plotting all sorts of revenge.
The next surprise had been when the prosecution had gone after Phineas Diggle, the squib healer, for conducting what they called inhumane medical practices, both on himself and Percy Weasley. Phineas fully admitted he conducted experiments to try find ways for squibs to have magic, and that his success was very limited. Having house-elves pour their magic into himself several times had shrunk him some, as well as given him bulging eyes and long, pointed ears. He also pointed out he would never have tried his treatment on Percy if it hadn't been for Percy's magical core collapsing.
The prosecutors had requested Percy to the come forward, but his father went instead, and read a letter from Percy who was still recovering from the near-death experience. In the letter, he stated that he did not blame Phineas for what he did, as it did save his life. As for whether or not he was now a squib, he didn't know since the physicians treating him wanted him to wait a few more weeks before trying to do any magic, though they do say it is there. As for any physical deviations in his body, so far only that his eyes seem a bit larger.
Delores Umbridge interrupted the process by proclaiming that Phineas Diggle must be in league with muggles plotting to steal magic from pure-bloods so that muggles could have magic. To everyone's surprise, Phineas laughed at the notion, but said if there were any muggles that could do such a thing, he would love to see their research because they would clearly be leaps and bounds ahead of his own.
Delores had begun to rant, despite being warned by the new temporary Minister of Magic, that people like Phineas Diggle were a threat to all pure-bloods. This had made Phineas laugh so hard he had nearly fallen over. He had then asked that even if that turned out to be somehow true, how would that matter to her since her own father was a muggle-born? The curses, threats, and outright denials were loud and vehement enough that she was given a steep fine by Madam Bones, as well as a verbal warning that the next disruption she caused would have her expelled from the courtroom.
The trial went on for quite a while, bringing up various witnesses as other matters that tied into the debate. Finally, though, Samuel Kingson was allowed to speak. He had gone on to say that despite their show of force, he and his people had no dire intentions. He wanted to force the Wizarding world to deal with the matter of squibs, and how they were treated. He even produced lists of squibs from notable families. The first list covered the names of squibs that had been thrown out by their families. The second list held the names of squibs who had been killed by their own families. Several people in the Wizengamot had protested when their names had been brought up. One went so far as to have a house-elf pop in a mentioned squib from his family that Kingson had declared had been murdered. The terrified, scrawny, battered female squib dressed like a subjugated house-elf did little to enlighten his claims that his family was innocent of wrongdoings.
Kingson had called out for someone in the audience, anyone with decency, to please provide the mistreated squib with sanctuary. An offer quickly accepted by Amelia Bones herself, despite the objections from the abused squibs family.
Once he was able to speak again, Kingson talked of how he, and others like him, had studied genealogy. The discussion on inbreeding being the cause of the rising number of squib births went over as well as a dementor on a blind date. But when he went on to show that usually a few generations later, that squib's descendants almost always became magical again. That brought skeptical murmuring from his listeners. But when he pointed out that some of these revitalized descendants were from lines of wizards and witches that were believed to be dead, and that they could be part of restoring what many believed lost forever to the Wizarding world, excitement began to fill the rows of seats. It had been long rumored and speculated just what wonders were being kept in the sealed vaults of those dead houses. Forgotten tomes, rare artifacts, and treasures untold, all potentially able to be a part of their world again. And then there were the Wizengamot family seats that it would bring back as well.
Kingson also reiterated that he wanted to push for squibs being able to partake in an education at Hogwarts. True, they would not be able to do some of the classes, but they could easily take History of Magic, Potions, Arithmancy, Runes, & Care of Magical Creatures. Plus, the castle was large enough that the squibs could easily take mundane classes like Science, Geography, Literature, and various others in place of the magical classes they couldn't perform in. He was passionate and personable in his oration, showing his own skill at public speaking to be far above that of the prosecutors who looked like they were sucking on lemons.
"Do what you will with me," he finally said. "But I beg you to do right by your castoff descendants."
In the end, he was sentenced to twenty years at Azkaban. The squibs under him were each given ten years, while Phineas Diggle was given life for illegal experimentation.
Harry and several others protested loudly until he was reprimanded by Madam Bones. Reluctantly, he settled into his seat, Hermione trying her best to calm him down.
Marge Dursley had her trial next. Her lawyer was a nervous half-blood named Larry Pincushion, who had been assigned her case by the ministry. Needless to say, she had no real excuses for her actions. Once the veritaserum had been provided to her, she confessed to everything, as well as her reason for doing so: greed.
When the prosecutors asked her if there was anything else, she asked where her Ripper was. Harry answered that stating that once the ton-tongue toffee had worn off the dog, Ripper had fled the castle straight into the Forbidden Forest when it was later learned the old dog had been consumed by Acromantulas.
The next trial surprised most people there as it was for Peter Pettigrew, who most people remembered to be a long dead hero.
The next couple hours covered the revealing of what truly happened roughly thirteen years prior, with accounts of who actually had been the Potters' secret keeper, and how Sirius Black had been framed for it all and never given a trial.
The real scare for people had been when they had been told that Pettigrew had been working with the wraith of Voldemort to try bring him back to life again.
Harry had been called up to the stand to tell of his encounters with the Dark Lord, as well as the encounter with the two abominations that were somehow a part of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Harry explained that his basilisk-phoenix patronus had destroyed the wraith-thing that had been semi-possessing Marcus Flint, and that it had been able to detect other connections to it.
A little over a week after he had recovered from magical exhaustion, he, Dumbledore, and several others had used Harry's unique patronus to sniff out more of these abominations so that they could destroy them. Hufflepuff's cup in Gringotts had almost started an incident, but it had been smoothed over by Hermione returning the Goblin-made artifacts that she discovered in the Room of Lost Things. The last trail of the abomination had been to an old family manor that had belonged to the Riddle family where they had found a terrified Pettigrew and a terrible infant thing that was the last remaining aspect of Tom Riddle.
The voting on the matter had been quick and Pettigrew was sentenced to be thrust through the Veil at dusk. The thing that had been all that remained of Tom Riddle had been chucked through on the night they had captured him since they didn't want to take any chances with someone trying to aid him.
Sirius Black also had a quick trial under veritaserum, confirming for everyone that he had been truly innocent for the crimes he'd been accused of. Now a free man, he happily went to go sit with his godson to watch the rest of the show.
Bartemius Crouch Sr. was the next trial where everyone learned how his wife had convinced him to save their son from Azkaban by her exchanging places with him. And then there was the whole matter on keeping his son under the Imperius curse for over a decade until he escaped. Healers revealed that Crouch Sr. had undergone several bouts of torture from his son when their roles had been reversed, to the point that Crouch Sr. was no longer sane, and thus he was quickly regulated to the Long-Term Spell Ward at St. Mungo's, until he was to have his sanity restored, in which case he would be tried for his crimes then.
Next came the trials for Geoffrey Avery and Vincent Crabbe Sr. who had fought on the sides of the abominations. True, they originally came to save their children, but they had joined their old master right away. The only reason that they had survived had been because Avery had fled, and Crabbe had fell to magical exhaustion. Both men proclaimed the Imperius, but under veritaserum they admitted they had followed Lucius Malfoy's example to submit to the two abominations. Augusta Longbottom used that moment to call into question their prior claims thirteen years ago of having been under the Imperius curse. There had been much squawking about the legality of covering that in their current trial, but it had been put to the vote, and it had passed by almost two-thirds. Reapplying the veritaserum, the two men were asked the question again, this time they admitted to have served their Dark Lord willingly, and that they and the other Death Eaters that had gotten off by huge bribery payoffs.
This started a cascade of outrage from the audience, while also loud denials from the families of many Death Eaters. A few people who were accused were placed under temporary arrest until they could consult with their lawyers, and possibly have their own trial at a later date. Umbridge had been unable to contain her outrage at what she declared false accusations and demanded that Amelia Bones step down so that someone who knew what they were doing could handle this debacle. To the amusement of Harry and several others, Umbridge found herself in contempt as she had been warned about speaking out before. She was silenced and quickly removed from the meeting by two aurors, one of whom was a highly amused Nymphadora Tonks.
It was after a late lunch that the day took a turn for the worst for Harry and his friends. When Albus Dumbledore came before the Wizengamot and the people in the audience, he looked pitiful with his head held low. "My friends," he began. "Today has been a very emotional and thought-provoking day. A great many things have been brought to light. And we have acted accordingly, for which I am grateful, and a great deal of justice has been done. And even new light on areas we had not thought to look."
He sighed as he looked out at the crowd. "It is with a great deal of reservation that I now confide to you a secret that the headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts have been keeping for a few hundred years now. It will seem unkind and perhaps even unfair, especially in light of recent events, but please hear me out."
A look of reluctance had crossed his face, as if warring internally over something. Then, after another heavy sigh and clearing his throat, he continued. The tale he told had to do with the two Heirs of the Founders in the late 1700's, Corvinus Gaunt of Slytherin and Grover Rimmer of Hufflepuff, both Heirs of their House. The conniving Corvinus had learned that their ancestors, the Four Founders, had put in place a ruling at Hogwarts, that if two of more of the four House Heirs came together and agreed about something, that they create and enforce decrees at Hogwarts, their authority superseding that of the Headmasters and Headmistresses, the Ministry of Magic, the Wizengamot and other group of authority. Because of Gaunt and Rimmer, muggle-borns were banished from the school. Soon after, the half-bloods bolted for their own safety. Light bases pure-blood families also left. Attempts for mediation were turned back by the two young lords who were enjoying their reign. Finally, Dumbledore told of how the two Heirs had been summoned before the Wizengamot in which they were promised there would be no attempts of imprisonment or corporal punishments. And once they arrived, Gaunt and Rimmer were magically barred from ever going on Hogwarts grounds again, as well as anyone else who bore their name.
The murmurs of the people grew, so Dumbledore spoke louder and with more force. He stressed that the way Vernon Dursley had taken control over Hogwarts (albeit, he was loaded with loyalty potions), the same could be done again, whether with bad or good intentions. He pointed out that in just the short time Petunia Dursley had been at Hogwarts, she was already trying to make several educational changes, as well as some social ones. And thus, for the greater good, those with the name Potter and Dursley must be banned from ever returning to Hogwarts again. He tried to look as if arriving at this decision was hard for him, but Harry could see the twinkle in his eye.
Amos Diggory and several others tried to defend Harry and the Dursleys but most people had at least one close family member at the Yule Ball Battle. As much as they saw young Harry Potter as one of the main heroes, they also blamed him for being one of the Heirs by which his uncle had claimed his authority.
In the end, a vote was called. Dumbledore's gambit was won by a fraction. Many of those that had voted against Harry and the Dursleys looked ashamed, while a few seemed glad to have received some form of revenge for their Death Eater kin.
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8:18 PM
THE GATES OF HOGWARTS
Albus Dumbledore looked on in dismay. He couldn't believe his eyes as he watched Harry walk up to the gate from the castle with his aunt and cousin. Others accompanied them, but it was on these three that his eyes remained. In the background came Minerva, Hagrid, Sirius, Ron and Luna. Luna, of course, was writing down notes on a small muggle pad with a muggle pen.
"Greetings, Albus," Harry said, coldly.
"How?" the aged man managed to say. Behind him were several aurors and a few allies of his who he had called together when he found himself barred from the castle grounds.
"What? You don't even want to guess?" Harry shook his head as if he were ashamed of the old man. "I guess the bats in your belfry have chased out your brains in your old age. Too bad, so sad."
Hermione nudged him gently. "Behave yourself, Harry."
For his part, Harry did seem a bit sheepish in his response. True, his hurt was fresh, but that didn't mean he could retaliate in such a petty manner. It was one of her primary duties as his girlfriend to make sure he did not learn such bad behavior.
Fortunately, his aunt stepped into play. "Dumbledore, you are no longer wanted or needed here. You have been dismissed as headmaster and are forbidden from coming on the school grounds, including Hogsmeade. Do not challenge us on this matter. As it will inconvenience your brother's place of business, we have the Goblins moving him to another location at our expense."
The old, wizened wizard looked incredulous at the people on the other side of the gate. "You-you can't do that!"
"But we did, old man," Harry said. His face held no humor. In fact, with the way he was holding onto Hermione's hand, the former headmaster would have to guess that the teen was working hard to not express his emotions at the moment.
"But you were banned!" the old man declared as if it would somehow fix things. Behind him, Kingsley Shacklebolt put a hand on Dumbledore's shoulder to calm him.
"Allow me to explain," Hermione said, not wanting to draw this out. "After what you pulled at the ministry, an act worthy of a Ravenclaw dark lord, I might add, we made haste to Gringotts where Harry changed his surname to Slytherin, and Petunia and Dudley changed their surname to-"
"-Ravenclaw," Albus whispered faintly.
"It didn't take long for the Goblins to move everything from the Potter vaults into the Slytherin vaults," Harry added.
"And even less to move the Dursley accounts into that of Ravenclaw," Petunia concluded.
Sirius Black shook his head at the man on the other side of the bars. "Don't try the same thing yourself, Albus. We've made more than enough precautions to keep you out of Hogwarts forever. Not even Fawkes can get you in now. Your need to try control everything was your undoing. You are not infallible. Hell, you were just a man like the rest of us. Only your mistakes are a lot more disastrous."
Amelia Bones strode past Dumbledore until she was right in front of the gate. "I have to ask: what are your intentions? Will you close the school?"
"We said that Dumbledore couldn't come back," Dudley blurted out. "The students can do whatever they want."
Petunia raised a calming hand. "My son means that if the parents want their children to attend Hogwarts, or if they want to pull them out, it is up to them. But Dumbledore will never be allowed on these grounds again."
Dudley flushed at having his words picked apart but said nothing.
"There will be certain conditions regarding the school, of course," she added.
Amelia braced herself for the worst. "And they are…?"
Hermione easily pulled out a roll of parchment from her pocket, and unrolled it. "First, we need to come up with a magical oath that can be used to the relatives of all known Death Eaters. They need to swear to not harm or hinder anyone in retaliation for stopping the Death Eaters, both from the last war as well as concerning the events at the Yule Ball."
Amelia glanced back at those that had accompanied her there. True, most wizarding families were against making magical oaths, but if the wording can be worked out so the intent that Petunia wanted was viable, then that shouldn't be too much of a problem. One of the Unspeakables that had come with the Dumbledore party nodded his agreement that it could work.
"Anything else?" Amelia asked, knowing there would be more.
"The teachers will be required to take magical oaths to be fair and polite with all students. And that the safety of the students must come first."
Amelia blinked. "I'm not about to argue about that," she said. "I've had my own opinions on that matter blocked for a long time."
"We will also be updating the classes," Hermione said, firmly, letting her tone state that her word was final on that matter. "We can do a full disclosure as to what that all will be later since it will mostly affect students next year."
Amelia nodded for her to continue.
"The Board of Governors, such as they are, are dissolved. A new body shall be formed. One that will have members from all the Houses and blood groups. But they are to provide ideas, not to have control over things. Hogwarts needs to progress to flourish, and good ideas on how to bring those about will be most welcome."
"These seem like all very good ideas that we can work with," Amelia said, hoping that this was going to be just that easy.
"I'm glad you think so." Petunia gave Dumbledore a stern glare. "After what was pulled in the Wizengamot today, we have no problems adding a few more demands."
Amelia winced. "I was not for that, or aware it was going to take place."
"Which is why we are willing to talk with you," Petunia clarified. "If you were that Fudge idiot…" She waved a dismissive hand. "Basically, we have seen some of the intense prejudices of the elite pure-bloods, and we are concerned for the squibs that they have in prison."
Amelia hesitated. "I'm not sure-"
"We want their sentences reduced by half," Hermione blurted out. The unfairness of the history of squibs had borne down on her with extreme rancor over the waiting weeks before the trial. "It's non-negotiable. Also have Mr. Diggle's conviction brought down to five years instead of life. And since they are squibs, they should be held in a muggle minimum security prison. And absolutely no dementors."
"That may be a problem. They attacked the school. They took hostages."
"While that is true," Luna spoke up, but her writing continued. "The squibs went to great lengths to make sure that no students were seriously injured or killed. They wanted their plight known. If they tried to have a protest march in Diagon Alley, they just would have been arrested and abused horribly before being tossed away again. Some might have even been killed to make an example to the others. While the method used by the squibs do warrant punishment because what they did was detestable, we just do not agree that it should be to the degree that the Wizengamot want. Squibs are not Death Eaters, IRA radicals, Nazi fundamentalists or Islamic extremists. They are people worried about other squibs. If you want to take an initiative to help, you will conduct checks on Wizarding homes to look for hidden squibs that might be abused or have been murdered." She paused in her writing and looked the new Minister of Magic directly in the eyes. "It is not a shame to have a squib in the family; but it is a shame if you treat them neglectfully or horribly."
Amelia found herself nodding. With the squib group being sentenced today, she could only imagine the abuse squibs kept in Wizarding homes would be subjected to by certain families. No, she would have to form an elite squad of aurors to take this matter head on. She already had a list of squibs still being kept in their family homes thanks to the intel that Samuel Kingson had put together. That information could be used to help her get a jump on helping those particular squibs before too much escalating abuse or complaining could be done. And by that time she would have enough evidence to put away some of the viler members of society that were not outright supporters of Voldemort.
A thought crossed Amelia's mind. "And what of Vernon's sister?"
Petunia and Harry shared a look. "Azkaban," they said at the same time.
Dumbledore's brain started to engage again. He turned to Amelia. "You aren't planning to just do as they stay?"
Amelia looked from him, and then back to Dumbledore. "It seems like a hell of a deal."
"But you can't let them stay at Hogwarts! I explained the danger! The Wizengamot voted! They have to be removed! I have to be able to get back to Hogwarts! I am the headmaster!"
"I'm afraid not," said another form that stood behind Petunia. "I'm the new headmistress."
"Minerva?" Dumbledore stared at her in incomprehension. "How could you betray me like this?"
"Me betray you?" she asked incredulous. "I believe that it is the other way around, Albus." Her eyes were livid and hard as she stared at him as if she were a basilisk trying to kill with her eyes alone. "You placed those damn repressing rods in me, making me more obedient and loyal to you! You turned me into your personal stooge!"
Dumbledore faltered and had to grab a hold of the bars of the gate to keep from falling. One of the aurors moved to help him, but Amelia motioned for him to stay where he was.
"You had so many rods in Harry that he might as well have been a pincushion! You regulated his moods, his memory, his loyalty, and his magic! As it was, his magical core began leaking all over the place after they'd been removed! You could have killed him or made him a squib!"
"I-I… It was for the grea-"
"Stop spouting that tripe! Your repeating that over and over again certainly won't make it true!" Tears now freely flowed down her cheeks, as she looked at the man and mentor who she had considered her friend. "You're just a manipulative, old fool who thinks far too highly of himself."
"Minerva?" Amelia stepped closer to the gate, two of her guards following her step for step. "These rods you are speaking about, are these items from the war with Grindelwald?" She was hoping she was wrong about what they were talking about. Otherwise, this would be a whole new scandal that could be nearly as big as the one they were already trying to undo.
"Yes!" Minerva blurted out before Dumbledore could deny anything. "My husband worked with several Unspeakables on trying to understand and undo the damages caused by them. Shortly after he passed away, all his work he had accumulated disappeared! I had assumed the Unspeakables had collected it to keep it out of anyone's hands. Evidently, I was wrong as to who had stolen it."
Amelia turned to the Unspeakable who had accompanied her to Hogwarts. "Can you confirm any of this?"
There was a brief pause before the Unspeakable spoke. "There was a collaboration of effort made with various people who were knowledgeable enough to help. One was indeed the husband of Headmistress McGonagall. As to his work, I do not have an answer at this time as to what became of it. I could check the archives of the Unspeakables, but I will not be able to answer until I consult with my superiors."
"And they may confirm or deny; either of which could be an outright lie." She groaned at the promises of a political life. "This is why I just liked being in charge of aurors and enforcing the law instead of all this political nonsense." She looked over Kingsley Shacklebolt who gapping like a fish.
"Kingsley, I think we have to take Dumbledore into custody until we can clear some of this."
Kingsley's eyes darted between Dumbledore and Bones for a few seconds. "I… I don't know if I can do that, Madam Bones."
Amelia's head snapped towards him. "What do you mean you can't…"
People shifted nervously as a few let out startled gasps. Amelia stared at the auror who seemed to be having an internal struggle. With reflex she worked hard to keep razor sharp, she stunned Kingsley and caught him with another spell before he could hit the ground, keeping him levitated.
Amelia turned back to Petunia. "I do apologize. But it appears that… quite possibly… that some of my aurors may have compromised by Dumbledore. And since they are routinely checked against loyalty potions and the like, the possibility of these repression rods could be a factor." She swallowed in anger and well as embarrassment. "You evidently have a way to detect and remove these things. Could I trouble you to examine Auror Shacklebolt for me?"
The remaining aurors had Dumbledore surrounded, but the man seemed almost oblivious of them as he clung to the gates as a means to stay on his feet.
Petunia, of course, offered to examine the stricken man, and had a mournful Hagrid open the gates to have him brought in. One pure-blood auror proved to be idiotic enough that he tried to use the moment to charge in and regain the castle on his own initiative only to have the wards thrust him back fifty yards into a pine tree. He'd been lucky enough to be knocked out since that way we didn't feel his cracked ribs or the branch sticking through his arm. One of his colleagues quickly cut him down and portkeyed with him to St. Mungo's.
No one else was stupid enough to make such a stupid mistake. As it was Hagrid stood to block anyone else entry to the school grounds.
Petunia proved gracious enough to still examine Kingsley. Minerva quickly used her wand to transfigure a rock into a stool for the auror to sit on. With a heavy sigh, Petunia stepped up behind the man and waved her hand to knock away a few wrackspurts that hovered about his head. She found only one thin rod in his head, which she placed in a specially made case that Minerva provided for her. There were no rods around his spine, not that she expected to find any since that would have meant his magical core was being dampened. But Kingsley had several rods around his heart which explained the man's unwavering loyalty to Dumbledore and the reason why he'd been unable to move against the wizened wizard.
Minerva closed the lid on the case when Petunia had finished. Though she and the others could not see the rods, she gave the case a shake which rattled proving there was something inside. She handed the case through the bars of the gate to the Unspeakable who nodded his thanks in silence to her.
"Since the rods are of a metaphysical nature, I've coated the inside of the box with a resin that my husband created. It will contain the rods inside the box for seventy-three days. After that, the rods will simply slip through the box and just be pulled down to the Earth's core unless they are moved to a new box with fresh resin inside it. I will owl you the formula to make the resin later today."
The Unspeakable nodded. "Please address it to Unspeakable Query."
Behind McGonagall, Kingsley still sat on the stool, patting his chest while his mind tried to work things out. He felt ashamed, confused as well as betrayed.
"Thank you, Lady Ravenclaw," began Amelia. "I hope you don't mind, but if it is all right by you, I may have a few more people for you to examine in the next couple of days." She was relieved when Petunia nodded to being agreeable with that.
Turning her attention, Amelia stared daggers at Dumbledore. "Albus, it may be hard to prove what you've done to Kingsley, but I will do my best to see you punished for this to the full extent of the law."
Harry blinked in surprise and raised his hand. "That reminds me of another thing I want brought up, Madam Bones."
It took her a moment, but Amelia did manage to turn her attention to the teenager.
"Uh, well, I think that Dumbledore might have had quite a bit to do with my godfather never having a trial all those years ago. And having him locked away in Azkaban when he should have been taking care of me instead of my aunt, who Dumbledore wanted."
Sirius nodded solemnly. "I think that was so he could make himself Harry's magical guardian. He used that to keep control of Harry. And while at Gringotts we learned Dumbledore had been pilfering money over the years. Mostly to boost his political agenda or to block Malfoy and other Death Eaters. He'd also spent an obscene amount on flashy robes for himself to keep his image up."
Amelia shook her head, her mind reeling at the implications. She herself had thought Dumbledore to be the magical guardian of the Potter scion, and had agreed to a marriage contract between Harry and her niece almost three years ago for political advantage. But now that contract wasn't worth the parchment it was written on. She was somewhat glad of that since Susan had been very upset to learn what her aunt had done. True, Harry may have been a great catch, but ever girl wanted to have a say about the boy that they planned on spending the rest of their life with.
"Also," Petunia spoke up while going to stand next to her nephew. "He dropped off Harry in a basket in the middle of the night on our front step with a note attached. It was the beginning of November! And he had an unbandaged wound on his head! A wound that seemed impossible to treat! It probably needed magical attention which we could not give him! Not to mention all the repressing rods I found on myself and Dudley that forced us to dislike and mistreat Harry over the years!"
"And he bound our magical cores so we couldn't go to Hogwarts!" Dudley blurted out, his face red with anger. His mother brought him into a sideways hug to calm him down.
"How can this be happening?" Dumbledore said, his voice finally loud enough for everyone to hear. "I'm the headmaster. Only I can guide in the new generation of wizards and witches. No one else can-"
"And people with megalomania should not be a headmaster at a school," came a cold voice of newcomers walking down the road from the castle.
"Severus?" Albus looked up hopefully.
The potions master coming down the path followed by Neville who was pushing a wheelchair with Alice Longbottom sitting in it and the Sorting Hat on her head. Neville's grandmother stood proud as she walked beside her grandson. Just behind them came several house-elves that were using their magic to levitate a large portrait.
"Your schemes have been undone," stated Snape. "Your crimes exposed. It's time for you to acknowledge that facts. You are finished, Albus. Have the good grace to admit defeat."
Petunia spoke to Amelia. "Professor Snape also turned out to be influenced by various repressing rods."
"As if my life had not been hell enough," muttered Snape.
"The children of Death Eaters needed someone they felt safe to confide in," Dumbledore said as if that was reason enough to muck around with the attitudes and mindset of another person.
"And such a person needed their supreme allegiance to you? Balderdash!" shouted the portrait.
The wizard's weary eyes turned to the portrait, not even comprehending why anyone would have a portrait brought outside. Almost instantly, Albus' head jerked up upon recognizing the features of the wizard in the portrait from pictures in some of the oldest books he's come across. "Salazar Slytherin!" he gasped, his breath rattling in his throat. Behind him, those that could hear his exclamation made similar gasps.
"Ha! Ha! He did recognize Salazar!" chuckled the Sorting Hat. "That's five galleons you owe me, Black!"
"Damn Dumbledore is even making me lose bets," Sirius grumbled.
An epiphany hit Dumbledore hard. "He's the reason for this! He's behind all of this!"
The bald wizard in the portrait gave a slight shake of his head. "You give me too much credit. I have only been a minor player involved in this matter. In fact, I would still be in my hidden quarters down in my Chamber of Secrets if it had not been for two of your professors, Snape and Flitwick, who managed to discover me. And before you ask why no one told you of my discovery, that blame would land at the feet of your imposter teacher of the Dark Arts: Barty Crouch Jr. if you must blame anyone. He had snuck in, stunned and then obliviated both of the men of my existence. He took me to be a prize for his master. It was most amusing to play games with his mind. I easily made him quite paranoid about his master's intentions."
"Salazar Slytherin is a dark wizard!" Dumbledore shouted. "He will run the muggle-borns out of the school!"
"Nonsense! I'm muggle-born myself!" snapped the portrait. "I just had the good fortune of being adopted into a wizarding family shortly after becoming an orphan. It's why I have always held strong opinions about muggle-borns needing to be raised by wizards and witches. It was for their greater good to be in an environment that would not automatically feel threatened by them. The muggles have always been leery of what they do not understand. Any one of them could easily expose the existence of wizards and witches leading to killings of both muggle and magical."
"You can't trust him!" Dumbledore pointed with a shaky hand. "He is known as the most conniving wizard to have ever lived."
"Ha! Godric used to say that when we played cards! Such a poor loser! His game was chess. He and Rowena would lose themselves for days playing some times. But I think this is more of the matter of the pot calling the kettle black. Wouldn't you say so?"
"That is a very apt point," the Sorting Hat said from atop Alice Longbottom's head. Alice sat in her chair, cheerfully folding some papers into various origami shapes, some of which Augusta had magically animated for her daughter-in-law. "In fact, as I have been trying to piece together Alice's memories, I have found that it was Dumbledore who suggested that the Longbottoms use Barty Crouch Jr. as their secret keeper of the Fidelius charm on the house they were staying in. That leads me to wonder whether or not Dumbledore knew that Barty was already a Death Eater at the time."
Severus stared at the man he had served so faithfully for so long. "I do not know myself. I didn't learn about Crouch Jr. being a Death Eater until Karkaroff's trial a decade and a half ago." He paused thoughtfully. "I suppose I might have discovered that bit of information only for Dumbledore to obliviate it from my memory."
Amelia could see that things were only going to keep going south for the former headmaster. "I'll be sure to ask him when we question him back to the DMLE."
They were all surprised when the old man suddenly seemed to slip down the bars of the gate and hit the ground. The aurors rushed forward, some staying back to see if this was a trick.
"Madam Bones, he seems to be having some kind of fit. It may be a stroke."
The others moved closer, but not close enough to interfere.
Albus could only stare up at the people surrounding him. He knew his health wasn't the best. He'd relied on the Elder Wand to keep him from any serious health problems for so long, he wasn't sure how he'd do without it. The Elder Wand itself was only a stick now since it had landed in a puddle of magic absorbing gel at the Yule Ball fiasco. He wasn't sure anything else could save him at this point. For a moment, he'd wished he'd made his own horcrux. He was instantly ashamed at such a thought, and made him wonder if he had gone too far in some of his plans. The world around him seemed to be farther and farther away until blackness finally claimed him.
Outside his awareness, aurors were scrambling. Amelia ordered them to portkey Albus to St. Mungo's, and to keep him under surveillance.
Everyone agreed to come back to the gates in three days' time to discuss how matters were moving.
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December 25, 1995
HOGWARTS
Harry put down his copy of The Quibbler at the table. He had been reading Luna's column in which she revealed that the Unspeakables have agreed that Delores Umbridge was indeed reverting or evolving (depending on who you asked) into a hag. She had been allowed to be interviewed by three Unspeakable researchers who explained that it was still unknown how witches succumbed to be hags. The vast majority of hags were pure-blood witches, but Umbridge proved to be the first half-blood hag in nearly a hundred and fifty years. There were speculations as to heredity traits combining with specific potion ingredients or having been exposed to various dark rituals or cursed items, but so far nothing was proving to be conclusive. There were also theories that Bellatrix Lestrange may have also started the process to become a hag. She had been moved to a lower cell at Azkaban away from Dementor exposure so that she could be studied more thoroughly.
Taking a final look in the mirror, his mirror image gave him a thumbs up in regards to his appearance.
"C'mon, Harry!" called Ron. "They're waiting for us downstairs."
The two hurried down to the Common Room where Hermione, Dudley, Luna, and several other students had gathered.
"It still feels so empty here," Harry commented as he glanced about the room. The beginning of his Fifth year at Hogwarts had started out with the unusual precedent of having the largest number of new students in over two centuries. Most of those students had been eleven-year-old muggle-borns, but there had been quite a few older students as well. Harry and his aunt had forced or 'encouraged' the Ministry to stop its policy of binding the magical cores of the excess number of muggle-borns. It was a despicable policy they had discovered that pure-bloods had long ago established so that the number of muggle-borns at Hogwarts would not exceed that of the pure-bloods. Amelia had gone a step further and had it so that older muggle-borns that had had their magical cores bound could have their magic released and attend Hogwarts if they chose to do so. There had been eighty-three eleven-year-old muggle-born students that September. There had been fifty-nine twelve-year-old first time muggle-borns. For the thirteen-year-olds, there had been fifty-one. And there had been forty-six fourteen-year-olds. Thirty-two fifteen-year-olds. Thirty sixteen-year-olds. Twenty-three seventeen-year-olds. There were even some evening classes for adult muggle-borns who were interested in learning how to use their magic. And while having their magical cores bound for so many years had crippled it to a degree, it was still magic, and the general consensus was that magic was awesome. The school was also conducting a trial run of having ten squibs students for classes that didn't require magic being performed. The rest of the time they would have squib teachers teaching normal muggle classes for them.
It had been a struggle to get enough teachers to cover everything, but with large hiring bonuses and some advertising overseas, they soon had a decent pool of applicants to choose among. And it helped that they hired three teachers for each subject. Remus Lupin was one of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers as was Severus Snape and a French witch that came recommended by Fleur Delacour. Magical History had to be completely redone since Binns had been consumed by one of the abominations. The teachers brought in included a muggle-born, a half-Dwarf, and the portrait of Salazar Slytherin. Wizarding history was taught side by side with the history of muggles so that correlations could be made where the two worlds intersected and the results that followed. The histories of other races were now also being covered as well. Salazar handled the history of his time period and the formation of Hogwarts. Divination was remade into a class for students that could prove they had a talent in that field. Sybill was no longer a teacher, but she did become the apprentice of a Romanian gypsy witch who did have the talent and was willing to teach Trelawney and the other five students at the school who had the gift. Hagrid had returned to his job as the gamekeeper which he loved now that it included the dragons that had stayed over from the Triwizard Tournament. Plus, as an added bonus, one of the new Magical Creatures teachers had brought along a young injured griffin that they were raising. Hagrid did lead a few tours into the Forbidden Forest with a few centaurs as guides/guards. Muggle Studies was now taught by five squibs and also with Petunia as an assistant teacher. The greenhouses had been expanded, and a teachers brought in from Brazil, Australia and Laos, each bringing with them magical plants they thought every wizard should be familiar with.
Needless to say, Hermione was loving the changes and new challenges to the school.
Neville was currently sitting in a loveseat with Luna as they quietly discussed things among themselves. Dudley was at the portrait entrance greeting Lavender who had just returned from her home so that she could be at the festivities. Ginny was in a corner snogging shamelessly with Dean; Ron was doing his best to ignore them, but his face was just turning redder and redder.
"Harry! Harry!" Colin Creevey hurried across the room with his brother, Dennis, only a few feet behind him. He stopped in front of Harry slightly out of breath. He held up a book that Harry was all too familiar with even though it had only recently come out in bookstores. The Fight For Hogwarts had been a project that Hermione had worked on with nearly every spare minute she had. She had been fortunate that Bathilda Bagshot had offered her advice and proofread for her. They had politely argued over a few facts and point of views, but nothing that hindered their working together. Hermione had even contacted Rita Skeeter and had her submit three chapters on her insights that terrible evening. The portrait of Salazar Slytherin had written the opening for the book, and had even done a chapter on his interactions with Barty Crouch Jr. and his disappointment in the bigoted mindset of the students in his House.
"Hermione mentions me in her book!" Colin exclaimed. "I mean, I was only using my camera to temporarily blind people attacking us, but she put it in here!" He held up the book. "Can you believe it? I'm in a book!"
Harry nodded and kept a smile on his face. He'd actually had several people come up to him also surprised that they were mentioned in the most recent best-selling book in the Wizarding world. "You stood your ground and used what you had available to defend yourself with. Actually, it was braver because you were disorienting the enemy so other people could take a shot at taking them down. You had little to no defense, but you still sought to help others."
Colin gulped. He'd opened the book randomly only to see a picture of Rita Skeeter as a monsterized water beetle charging across the Great Hall with a squib impaled on one of her horns. Colin had given Hermione first choice of what pictures she'd wanted for her book even though The Daily Prophet had offered an obscene amount for them. But he wasn't going to let that newspaper rag censor and twist what he'd risked his life for. They might have even tried to make it look like the Death Eaters weren't trying to kill them all.
"You okay, Colin?"
"Um, yeah. Sorry. I still have panic attacks every now and then. But I'm good. Really."
Behind him, his brother, Dennis, gave him a look of concern.
"Oh!" Colin perked up. "Say, I was going to see if I could get everyone who was there to sign my book. Would you mind? Dennis', too?"
"Uh." An uneasiness came over Harry as he looked at the hopeful eyes of the two fanboys. "Actually… that might be considered tactless to do on the anniversary of the Yule Ball battle."
Both boys' eyes widened in alarm. "We didn't mean…! I wouldn't…! Oh no!"
"Look," Harry said, holding up a hand to stop them. "Come see me tomorrow and I'll be happy to sign it for you. Hermione, too. Just don't ask anyone else tonight. We may be celebrating our winning, but for some people, their feelings will be running high after having lost friends and family members. But tomorrow, well, I doubt that you will be the only one seeking autographs."
Colin and Dennis looked relieved. "Thanks, Harry. We'd have really put our foot in it if you hadn't told us that. I can't believe we were about to make that mistake. Dennis and I were just looking at the list of those who had died, too." He gave a shudder, glad that most of the students in his year had not been able to attend the ball since they didn't have dates who were of age. "We'd better put our books back in our rooms. We'll see you in the Great Hall later." The brothers ran off to the stairs and Harry breathed a breath of relief.
When Hermione came down from her dorm a minute later, Harry felt his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her.
"Are you trying to catch flies?" she asked, her tone full of mischief.
"What?"
"You need to close your mouth."
Flustered, Harry blushed. "Sorry. Shall we go down to the Great Hall?"
The main group of students made their way down the staircases, the staircases lining up perfectly to where they wanted to go. When the Sorting Hat had informed Harry and Petunia about the many layers of spells from previous headmasters and headmistresses to try control the various of the functions of the castle, and how it had resulted in the castle being unable to perform its various functions to the extent it was supposed to, the two Heirs had the spells removed. Now the castle seemed brighter and more compliant to the needs of the students, not to mention the safeguards and protections it could now implement when needed.
The Great Hall was once again decorated as it was for the Yule Ball the previous year. However, this year was different as this a joint Deathday Party. On the far end of the room was a table filled with spoiled and rotten foods with several ghosts already moving among them. On the opposite side of the room was a similar table, but one with food much more pleasant and palatable to those living. All over the walls were several large portraits with dancehalls that that even the castle's portrait inhabitants could attend the ball this time.
Nearby, Percy was monitoring the food table since he knew the twins were sure to try something to it before the end of the night. It had not been an easy transition for the secretarial Weasley. He'd had to let go of his dreams of rising in the ministry. After Phineas Diggle had saved his life by having a house-elf put some of their magic into him to keep his magical core from imploding, most wizards and witches considered him to be part creature. True, the changes in his features were not that remarkable, and he could even pass for a muggle, albeit one with bulging eyes and somewhat pointed ears. Remus had managed to get some of Diggle's notes, and was conducting some tests to see if Percy had gained any magic similar to what the house-elves have. So for it was proving to be inconclusive, though they had set up a time to meet with Ollivander to see if he had any ideas on the matter.
"This looks like a much bigger Deathday Party than the one Sir Nicholas had," Harry remarked.
"But it's not a Deathday Party for just one ghost." Hermione was already scanning the growing crowd. Pretty much everyone who had been at the Yule Ball a year ago had been invited, and most responded favorably to the R.S.V.P.s that had been sent out.
Viktor Krum was getting punch for himself and his fiancée, Penelope Clearwater. The seeker had retired after the injury to his foot, but now helped train the Hogwarts quidditch teams. Penelope was now in her apprenticeship in Charms, and working on several projects that looked promising.
Petunia was thanking Professor Flitwick for a flowery corsage with pedals animated to move about. Nearly everyone in the castle except for Petunia had already come to the conclusion that Filius Flitwick was smitten with the widow. The professor did not press the matter as she was still getting over her husband's death, and technically she was still one of his students. No one gave them any ill thought. In fact, most were amused over the matter.
Nearby, Frank and Alice Longbottom were talking to Professor Vector. Alice Longbottom had made a full recover thanks to the hard work of the Sorting Hat in putting her mind together. She proved to be easily skittish, but that was a matter for her therapist and her to work out. The Sorting Hat had said he was finished with what he could do for her in the middle of that summer. And since then, the Sorting Hat had found a new home on the head of Frank Longbottom, only being removed to conduct the new sorting of students. Alice had been dismayed at all the years they had lost, but was proud at how Neville had faced off against the squibs and the Death Eaters. Frank was only up to saying one or two words, oft times not relevant to anything. The weak man sitting in the hovering chair seemed to be trying to leave a dream world and yet unable to pierce the gossamer veil holding him captive. The Sorting Hat said he wouldn't be surprised if it didn't take another couple of months before Frank knew they were there.
Neville and Luna broke away from their friends to go see his folks. Harry said he'd come and see them in a bit, to which Neville nodded. The Longbottom scion and Lord Slytherin had become closer friends over the last year. Harry, Neville and Ron had become dueling companions over the summer break. Harry and Petunia had no problem with students coming to Hogwarts during the summer to keep up their wand skills, in fact they had encouraged it and set up several wand related activities like having a shooting competition for accuracy, transfigured art projects, and the dueling clubs. There were also quidditch and football activities that brought several groups of students and their parents. Basically, Hogwarts was now busy almost all year-round.
Fleur Delacour was there with her family and currently talking with Minister Amelia Bones and Narcissa Malfoy. Narcissa had been one of the few members of a Death Eater family that was happier now than she had been before last year. She still missed her son and husband, though mostly her son. Her husband had pulled too many stupid stunts for her to forgive him anymore, the last of which was being a participant in the events that led to the death of their only son. That spring she had actually been approached by Minerva and Petunia and asked to teach a class on Wizarding customs, but they required her to also take the updated Muggles Studies class so that she would have a better idea where and why the two cultures clashed. Over all, it had been an enlightening experience for her. A few weeks into the school year, she was also wrangled into helping students with their studies. It came as a surprise to her that she felt a sense of purpose again in her life. But she also had another reason to be at Hogwarts.
"Mother!"
Narcissa turned at once as her son Draco and his girlfriend Myrtle floated up from the floor. "And where have you two been?"
Myrtle grinned. "I've been keeping him busy. We've been exploring some of the deeper pipes that go down farther than even the Chamber of Secrets."
"I wanted to explore," Draco explained. "But we couldn't see much of anything in the darkness. Plus, we didn't want to be late to the party."
Narcissa nodded even as she teared up. She knew this was going to be hard. "H-happy Deathday, Draco."
Draco shifted uncomfortably. It hadn't been easy coming to terms with the fact that he was now and forever more a ghost. He'd wakened from his death in mid-April. He didn't want to accept it at first. He'd fled from Myrtle and any other ghost that tried to approach him. They'd given him a day or so to acclimate before sending the restored Bloody Baron to tell him the facts of death. It was a much more subdued Draco that floated through the halls and walls after that. It had taken him a week before he was willing to talk to Myrtle. Myrtle had proven to be a fount of information, especially regarding the events that had occurred right after his death, as well as the trial a few weeks later.
It was almost a month before he tried to talk to anyone living. He'd never heard Pansy scream so loud in his life. His other friends from Slytherin all tried to avoid him making him even more frustrated with his situation. Some even blamed him, and tried to throw curse at him until the Bloody Baron stepped in and scared them senseless. At which point, the baron had given them over to Peeves for a few hours.
Somehow, word of his rising had reached his mother. He was unsure of just what he should say or do once he saw her. Fortunately, she had part of a solution for him, literally and figuratively. His godfather, Severus, had saved some of the unusual mixtures that had occurred when Harry and the dragon had smashed into Hogwarts causing many of his potions and ingredients spill to out all over the floor. It turns old the potions master was quickly becoming well off by selling the ghost suit making brew to rich people who wanted to give some of their family ghosts a more 'living' presence. With some coaxing, she had Draco fly up through a puddle of the strange concoction that seemed to cling to him, making a 'Draco' suit similar to the 'Myrtle' suit that Myrtle had accidently made months prior. As it was, he only used the 'Draco' suit when he was alone, mostly due to fear that someone might try and destroy it.
"Hey, everybody!" Cedric Diggory stepped out onto the stage. Since he had won the Triwizard Tournament, it was decided that he should be the one it introduce the band. "The band is just about ready to start. I hope everyone has their dancing shoes on because things are about to get wild! We've waited a year for this performance, so let's live it up tonight!"
"I'm ready!" called out the Bloody Baron. The Slytherin ghost was once again inhabiting the 'Myrtle' suit that Myrtle had borrowed to him since Draco wasn't ready to wear his suit in public yet. The Bloody Baron was all dolled up from fancy shoes to makeup. He was living the transvestite dream tonight.
Off to the east wall, Hagrid was clumsily asking Olympe Maxime to accompany him onto the dance floor. Several other couples were seeking each other out when the curtain was opened.
"Ok, here they are! Opening for their first public concert since rising as ghosts, I give you… The Weird Sisters!"
Gideon Crumb's bagpipes filled the air quickly accompanied by Heathcote Barbary's guitar. Myron Wagtail sang out loud and clear, with only the difficulty being that he had to keep his head from falling off.
The floor was filled with students and a few teachers as they danced to 'Do The Hippogriff', 'Magic Works' and 'This Is The Night'.
After an hour of dancing, Harry and Hermione moved over to the door leading out into the gardens with were covered by a light coating of snow.
Lee Jordon maned a small table with various items. "Hey, you two. Interest you in some roasted chestnuts?" He pointed to a large glass display of chestnuts with the miniature Hungarian Horntail using it's fiery breath to roast the chestnuts. "We also have other items, such as the Couples Cloak that wraps around two people together. And charmed necklaces that let you clearly hear each other even during the loudest songs."
Harry's eyes scanned over the table. "No prank items?" he asked in surprise.
Lee shook his head. "That would be in bad taste considering the event going on tonight, don't you think?"
Hermione was surprised as she examined the small cache of beauty supplies for any witch who thought they needed to repair their makeup. "I'm glad to see that you have branched out from just pranking items."
"Oh, the twins and I have been selling other things for quite a while now."
"I didn't know that," Hermione said with surprise while Harry bought a reddish Couples Cloak from Lee.
"Yeah, turns out Madam Bones was really impressed with some of the twins' prank item that were used against the Death Eaters and Bugzilla. In fact, in a few days they are giving a private weapons expo for Minister Bones and the Head of the DMLE Shacklebolt, and probably a few Unspeakables."
Harry and Hermione blinked in surprise. "Have they really come up with revolutionary material?" she asked. "Why didn't they ask me for help? I would have loved to have lent a hand. For that purpose at least, not for the joke products."
"Um," began Harry. "I kind of asked them to leave you alone. You were already burning the candle at both ends trying to get your book finished before Christmas. I didn't think it wise for you to get involved with another project." He kept his eyes downcast as he waited for her reaction.
She was rather miffed that she hadn't even been given a choice in the matter, and yet it was nice that Harry was considering her well-being. "Harry, you need to tell me these things. I will listen to your advice on the matter, but I need to make the decision concerning myself."
"So I'm not in trouble?" he asked hopefully, looking up.
"Not as much as you will be if you do it again."
"Right." He grinned in a way that made her heart flutter.
They walked away for Jordan's table with their new Couples Cloak as two new couples came to see the wares Lee was peddling. Stepping outside, Harry carefully put the cloak around them.
"Hmm, they did good work with this one," Hermione said, leaning into Harry.
"I put them in contact with Sirius, who was more than happy to join them in making new items and even reusing a few from his Marauding days." He paused as his hand sought out hers. "Snape has also secretly provided a few items on consignment for them to sell."
"That's Professor Snape, Harry. Now that's got me curious. I wonder which of those items he made."
Harry chuckled. "Yeah, well, get used to disappointment. The twins signed some kind of contract where they can't tell people what items were made by him. For all we know, he made this cloak."
"Wait, so he can't be blamed if any mishap occurs with his products?" she asked suddenly anxious.
Harry chuckled. "The twins had him sign a magical contract, and one of the main points was that it couldn't be used to harm someone. Well, unless it was being designed to be sold to the DMLE, of course."
"I still can't believe all the changes in Professor Snape."
Harry nodded slightly. "Yeah, he's still sullen and not the easiest to approach. But he's still tons better after Aunt Petunia took out those repressing rods in him. His hair being clean is a big improvement. It also helps now that he is teaching Defense Against The Dark Arts now like he always wanted."
"I think he's also glad that Professor Hinderman has taken his place as the Head of Slytherin. It has made it much easier for the Slytherin students to accept that things are going to be different from now on."
"Yep," he said. "It also helps that he isn't taking away House points all the time."
They walked in silence for a while as they waked the lighted path to where various ice sculptures had been created by various students and teachers using transfiguration. Dean Thomas had won second place with a statue of a family of unicorns. An older Slytherin student had won first place with an ice statue of a Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon facing off against a Nundu. Harry's contribution was of a Dwarf using a pickax to mine a snowdrift. It wasn't that imaginative, but Harry liked it. Hermione's creation was that of an elaborate flower bed out of ice with animated ice bees that went from exotic flower to exotic flower.
"So," Harry finally said, "what do you think we should do next?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just… in general. I'm mean, we have Hogwarts. And Hogsmeade. We've changed the political landscape, and have already initiated some reforms of biased laws and bills. What do we do next?"
She leaned in close to him as they looked out at a troubling scene of an ice sculpture consisting of three trolls trying to do ballet. It was definitely the work of Fred and George. They even knew the portrait where they got the idea from.
"Well, Bathilda Bagshot has been working on a biography about Albus Dumbledore-"
"Hermione, you promised!"
"Oh, I'm not being included in this project, Harry. I won't write another book for publication until I graduate. Besides, Rita is helping Bathilda with this project. She has lots of material on Dumbledore. Not nearly as much as Bathilda does, but they want to combine their efforts."
"Rita and Bathilda? That sounds like a scary combination."
"I know, right? Anyway, they want to interview me. Well, 'us' really, but I didn't want to commit you."
Harry thought for a moment. "I suppose it would put the final nail in Dumbledore's political aspirations." Harry let his head fall. "If it will stop him trying to undermine us, I guess I could put up with Rita for an afternoon or two." Dumbledore had managed to stay out of prison somehow and continued to try rally opposition against Harry and his aunt. Unfortunately, most of those that agreed with his view were pure-blood bigots. It had been a bitter pill for the old man to join forces with them. In the end it only made him loose more of his long-term supporters. Speculation was that Dumbledore knew too many secrets that people were afraid to oppose him directly. He'd definitely been involved in politics long enough to know where a lot of bodies were buried.
"Actually, it would be Bathilda interviewing us." She looked over and caught his eye. "It seems Rita never wants to see Hogwarts ever again if she can help it."
"I can agree to that," Harry grinned.
"Oh, and you should know that when the book is ready, they want us to proofread it."
He tried to hide it, but he flinched. He worked hard every day to not think of the former headmaster, which was difficult since Harry lived at Hogwarts. And if he had to read a book about the manipulative old man who had covered him in repressing rods and set it up so that he would be raised in an abusive home, he was sure to lose it.
"I don't think I can do it," he admitted. "When I think of all the reasons he came up with for why he did the things he did, my mind goes to all the possible safer, and kinder scenarios that he didn't even try."
"I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be that hard for you." She traced her hand down his cheek. "Do you want me to tell them 'no' for both of us?"
He gave a shake of his head. "I'll still meet with Bathilda. I think I'll pass on the proofreading. You should still do it though." He gave her a lopsided grin. "I know how much you are enjoying the literary experience."
She blushed slightly, but gave no denial. "Bathilda also wants to talk to the Sorting Hat and Salazar," Hermione added. "It's about possibly writing an accurate depiction of the lives of the Four Founders and the makings of that time period. There is so much that has been lost or misinterpreted one way or another. There are no other magical portraits as old as Salazar. And most of the ghost from the time period have either passed on or refuse to talk about it."
They stood in front of a small ice replica of Hogwarts that was made with such precision that Harry was sure that he saw miniature owls in the Owlery.
"You know, I could ask the Bloody Baron and the Gray Lady if they would give Bathilda an interview. Since I'm now Lord Slytherin, they might consider doing it."
Hermione bit her lower lip for a moment. "No, if you do that, they might take it as a command. I think I should do it myself. That way it will be their choice."
"Problems for another day," he said, as they moved to a scene where a large area had been cleared for a dozen animated snowmen of Headmistress McGonagall's creation were having a snowball fight with each other. A couple of days before, when the exhibit had first been introduced, some students stepped out onto the field to get a closer look. It was only then that they were surprised to learn that the snowmen now saw them as participants in their game. Other students tried it out sometime in groups, or just by themselves. The Weasley twins were quick to see an opportunity, and wagers against anyone crossing the snowy field without getting hit. Of course, magic was not allowed. The twins were taking all the money until Seamus Finnigan had a go. The way he dodged and ran surprised everyone. When asked what his secret was, he had admitted to have become a paint gun fanatic on top of his football obsession. He'd become near impossible to hit. Ever since then, the twins had been pestering Angelina to add paint guns in their quidditch training to help them to become more maneuverable.
"Should we go back inside?" Harry asked.
She quickly nodded. The Couples Cloak was great, but her poor feet were freezing.
The passed several couples on their way back inside, proving that a night viewing to the winter art projects was romantic, or just a way to get away to snog.
"We've made a lot of changes since your family came to Hogwarts."
"Yeah, it wasn't the easiest to transitions," he admitted. "But I think things are definitely improving now. Even Draco's nicer now that he's a ghost."
"That's not funny, Harry."
"I know, but it is true."
The continued on and Hermione leaned against him.
Hermione glanced forward to one of the torches near the entryway. There was mistletoe hung over the entryway, and she recognized the two adults kissing there. "Looks like Tonks had finally wore down Professor Lupin."
Harry faltered in his progress as he realized just who the two people in the entryway were. "Um, should we maybe go another way?" he asked, hoping that she would have an idea of what the protocol was when you accidently come upon one of your teacher's kissing someone.
"Just ignore them and let's get inside. My feet are freezing."
He gave her a look. "Why didn't you just try a warming spell?" He couldn't help feeling bad that he hadn't noticed her cold feet.
"Because I like cuddling with you in this Couples Cloak, silly boy. Now let's get in and get a seat in front of the fireplace so I can thaw my poor feet-cicles."
They snuck passed the two adults with little difficulty. Remus started to pull away when he finally noticed them, but Tonks wasn't about to let him escape, pulling him in for another series of kisses that he quickly gave in to.
"You know," Hermione began, "they aren't they only adults around here that have started to become amorous towards each other."
"Yeah, I've picked up on the growing closeness between my aunt and Professor Flitwick. I think Dudley knows to."
Hermione shook her head. "That's not who I meant. I'm referring to Professor Snape and Draco's mother, Narcissa."
Harry nearly tripped and fell, taking Hermione with him. "What?"
"They're taking it really slow," she said. "Nonetheless, they are spending more and more quality time together."
Anyone wanting to spend quality time with Snape was still proving too difficult for Harry to grasp. "Are you sure?"
"I saw him give her a flower," she simply stated.
"Yeah, but that could just be because…" He floundered for a possible situation that didn't involve Snape expressing romantic feeling toward anyone. It just didn't make sense to him.
"Oh, Harry. Just accept that times are changing. Even the things that you think could never change."
"Some changes can be good," he admitted, pulling her just a little closer. He kissed her cheek as they as they walked up to the fireplace and sat in a loveseat near to the fire. "And some changes can be very good."
The End
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AUTHOR's NoTeS:
This story had been a fun ride. I've really enjoyed the twists and turns in the plot. Hopefully my dear readers did, too.
I think I wrapped up all the loose ends and hopefully everyone will be happy with how it turned out.
Hopefully I will find my next writing project as interesting as this one way.
Wish you all well, and thanks for reading.