Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and can't get money for this, but I can make him into a Mafia Prince.
Warning: Some chapters (the ones including pranks) might not be appropriate to read at work. Laughter may ensue leading your co-workers to see you as even more insane than they previously thought.
Chapter 27: An Ending
Severus Snape swept from the hospital wing after making sure Harry and Blaise would be fine and headed directly to the Owlry. He needed to owl Trevor Zabini and inform the man on what had happened, especially after Dumbledore had been talking about placing Harry with a light oriented wizarding family for his safety. It was the old man's way of keeping the boy under his eye where he could be more easily manipulated and Severus was not going to allow it though he could not openly contest Dumbledore at this time. With satisfaction he watched his dark winged owl fly into the night, he expected Trevor and Harry's father would arrive sometime early the next afternoon.
… … … … …
Harry came back to consciousness feeling the warmth of sunlight bathe over him, yet he did not give away the fact that he was awake. Keeping his body relaxed and his breathing even Harry listened to the sounds around him, some sixth sense telling him that he wasn't alone and that he was being watched. He knew he was in the hospital wing, remembered taking a dreamless sleep potion along with Blaise. The tiniest rustle of cloth told Harry that someone was indeed poised next to his bed. Harry began to feign waking up; he wanted to know who was sitting there next to him and what their intentions were. His vivid green eyes revealed themselves to the light and he blinked against the brightness before focusing on a twinkling pair of blue eyes watching him, the Headmaster.
"I trust you slept well Mr. Potter," Dumbledore leaned back slightly to give Harry his space, "lemon drop?"
Harry shook his head negatively, ordering his thoughts as he did so, "How's Blaise?"
"Still sleeping peacefully," the Headmaster motioned to a bed on the other side of Harry.
Relieved to see that Blaise seemed uninjured Harry turned back to Dumbledore, "what happened with Voldemort and the Sorcerer's stone?"
"Ah," Dumbledore's voice took on a serious air, "the stone has been destroyed as even Hogwarts and Gringotts have not proven safe enough guardians. Such a thing of power that can aid evil does not belong in our turbulent times. As for Voldemort, he has been weakened considerably by being forced to leave his host, it is to be hoped that it will be some time before he gains another human body to serve him. Now I must ask you what happened in the chamber with Professor Quirrell."
Slightly hesitant Harry began to speak, his mind fervently working on how to omit the use and presence of his muggle weaponry in the fight, as well as the fact that they had been the first to the stone. If he played things right perhaps Dumbledore would think they merely got suspicious of Quirrell and followed after him, or were perhaps dragged unwillingly along.
"Blaise and I realized what the purpose of the mirror was from reading the inscription in reverse and I saw a blood red stone in the mirror, yet I felt no desire for it and wondered what was wrong with the mirror. The stone disappeared after I had that thought and I felt it settle in my pocket. Voldemort knew it too, said he could sense it. We fought, the mirror ended up shattered, and I was thrown across the room by Quirrell."
A stirring interrupted Harry's tale and he turned to see Blaise smiling at him, the look in her eyes let him know that she had feigned sleep to listen in on the conversation.
"Ms. Zabini," Dumbledore nodded in greeting as if not surprised to see her awake, "Harry here was just telling me what happened with Professor Quirrell and Voldemort; please speak up if you feel you have anything to add as he tells me the rest."
Blaise nodded and Harry continued speaking, "when I looked back up at Quirrell he had Blaise with his wand pointed at her head, thankfully Blaise was able to drive her elbow back into his stomach and twisted away before he had time to send off a spell. I sent an attack at Quirrell and Voldemort started screaming at Quirrell to kill me. The professor grabbed onto me before pulling back screaming that it burned, so I did the only thing I could think of since I had lost my wand by then, I grabbed onto him and held on. The next thing I knew Quirrell wasn't struggling anymore and Voldemort was fleeing his servant's body, causing the skin to bubble and burn even further."
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully before turning to Blaise, "anything to add Ms. Zabini?"
Blaise shook her head no and Dumbledore continued, "your recollection has explained many things Mr. Potter. When we removed Professor Quirrell from the chamber after seeing you here to the hospital wing we noticed that his body was so scorched as to be nearly unrecognizable and we guessed the burns to have been the cause of death as no other wounds could be discovered due to the severe nature of the burn trauma. I believe that when your mother died to save you Mr. Potter she imparted a protection so pure onto you that it makes it impossible for Voldemort, or anyone he is possessing, to touch you and thus results the burns. It appears that Professor Quirrell's body was so damaged after playing host to the parasite Voldemort that when Voldemort fled the shock of it killed Professor Quirrell. Is there anything more either of you would like to know?"
The group was still talking a while later, Blaise had moved to sit next to Harry on his bed and had her head resting on his shoulder for comfort, when the doors to the hospital wing flew open with a bang that even the cushioning charms could not prevent. Manuel strode in like an avenging angel, his black trench coat flaring out behind him as he walked--much like Snape's robes tended to do. Manuel made no attempts to hide the gun slung low on his hips and anger blazed in his eyes. Trevor was at his side, and while he was no calmer than Manuel, he didn't look as if he was going to kill first and ask questions later. Professor Snape stood in the shadows near the door, it seemed obvious to Harry and Blaise that he was the one to inform their fathers and lead them here as they had been as of yet unable to.
Dumbledore was already on his feet at this threatening intrusion, wand trained at Manuel and Trevor demanding, "who are you and what are you doing here?"
Manuel ignored the wand pointed at him, trusting Trevor to be ready for any attacks, and brushed past the old man in ridiculous robes; he also knew he could have his gun out and fired before the wizard could get off any useful spells, dodging was always an option as well. The only thing that really mattered right this moment was his son whom he had just scooped up in his arms and was hugging tight. The letter Harry's professor had sent had been vague but had mentioned the great danger Harry and Blaise had been through the night before, it had worried him and Trevor into immediately taking a portkey to the edge of Hogwarts; he never wanted to travel by one of those things again.
"Dad!" Harry cried out, "can't breathe!"
Reluctantly Manuel pulled back and began checking Harry over for injuries, asking his son a list of rapid fire questions on how he was feeling yet always aware that there were other people in the room and tailoring his questions to keep suspicions from being aroused. Trevor had scooped Blaise up into a hug as well before dumping her on the next bed over and was giving his daughter the same routine, one which she was protesting just as vehemently as Harry was.
"I'm fine dad," twin protests could be heard coming from Harry and Blaise at almost the same time, "stop worrying, everything's okay now."
Slightly reassured after hearing the bare detail of what had went on, he would get a full account later, Manuel turned to the eccentric man, who from Harry's description could only be the headmaster, and demanded, "just what the bloody hell kind of school is being run here? My son and goddaughter could have been killed!"
Dumbledore held up a placating hand, eyes serious yet somehow still managing to twinkle, "I assure you that no harm was meant to come to any student and we did not know of Professor Quirrell's dark affiliations."
Manuel barely kept a reign on his temper, "every staff member and personnel of a school should be thoroughly screened before being allowed the right to be involved in a task that brings them near children or that allows them to teach children. The safety of the children in this school was jeopardized by a laxity and such actions cannot be condoned. The Board of Directors shall be hearing from me and it is debatable whether Harry will return to this school when his safety cannot be assured."
Manuel turned to Harry, his eyes softening, "come on Harry; let's go somewhere we can talk privately."
Trevor and Blaise stood as well to follow Manuel and Harry, they knew they were to be included in the talk, but Trevor paused before exiting the hospital wing and turned to Dumbledore, "I have no doubt that Harry will convince his father to let him continue to study at Hogwarts if that is what Harry wishes to do, but be warned, if anything more happens to either of the children Manuel won't need to involve the School Governor's for I will gather together my old crowd. That's a promise. We may not be able to rival you in power, but we can make things difficult for you and keep you from influencing our children."
Dumbledore turned to Severus with a concealed sigh once the quartet had left to have their talk, "Thank you for Owling Mr. Potter and Ms. Zabini's fathers Severus, it completely slipped my mind in the excitement of last night and they had a right to know."
Severus smirked as the Headmaster left to go back to his office; it was quite clear after that statement that Dumbledore had not wanted to inform either of his student's fathers, yet the Headmaster also knew that they should have been informed. At least Albus could not fault him for following the guidelines set for him as Head of Slytherin House, and therefore any displeasure the Headmaster might wish to aim at him would be uncalled for. He would have to remember to talk to Trevor a bit later about their Slytherin crowd; with a bodiless Voldemort out there it wouldn't be a bad idea to resurrect a few old friends.
… … … … …
The talk had went better than either Harry or Blaise had expected seeing as their fathers hadn't gotten too angry at them for giving into their curiosity after having been warned of the danger and for going into a situation without being better informed on the circumstances. Not that Manuel and Trevor could really fault their children, for they had acted similarly in their youth and knew how hard it was to keep up the composed act of Mafia children. The quartet had spent the time until after dinner together before Manuel and Trevor had left to go home; surprisingly Harry and Blaise weren't being taken with them and would be continuing their education at Hogwarts. What the two Slytherins didn't know was that their fathers hadn't left right away, but had taken some time to talk to Severus Snape and plot.
… … … … …
Harry and Blaise made their way down to the end-of-year feast ignoring the looks and whispers they were attracting. The story of what had happened with Quirrell and the obstacles guarding the Sorcerer's Stone had spread like wildfire throughout the school, though none seemed to know of Voldemort's role in the whole fiasco and most of the tales circling the school were twisted rumors that skewered everything that had really happened completely out of proportion. The only ones that knew the whole truth of what had happened the other week were Harry, Blaise, Manuel, and Trevor. Dumbledore knew a version that he believed to be the truth, or so they hoped, and while Snape knew more of the real events than Dumbledore it still was not the complete account.
But the end-of-year feast was not the place to mull over such things. It was time to celebrate and gloat for not only had Slytherin won the Quidditch cup, they would have to make sure Manuel saw a game sometime, but the House cup as well. The hall was stunningly decorated in green and silver, with hints of black to offset the colors of the Serpent house, and a large Slytherin banner hung behind the High Table where the teachers sat; McGonagall was scowling fiercely at Snape's smug smirk. It appeared that Gryffindor losing twice over to Slytherin was a sore spot with the Transfiguration professor. Dumbledore arrived and stepped between McGonagall and Snape, blocking their sight from each other.
"Another year gone," Dumbledore said cheerfully, "though I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink out teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were…you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts…"
"Sure," Harry whispered sarcastically to Blaise, "like Trevor will let us forget what we've learned."
"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place Hufflepuff with three hundred and twenty-six points; in third Ravenclaw with three hundred and thirty-two points; Gryffindor has four hundred and fifty-seven points; and Slytherin five hundred and fifty-seven."
They Slytherins lost any decorum they might possess and began stamping and cheering which made the Gryffindor's look even sourer. After the last Quidditch match both teams had been tied for house points, it was the points that Harry and Blaise had been awarded for their adventure that had pulled Slytherin house tantalizingly out of Gryffindor's reach much to McGonagall's disgust.
"Congratulations Slytherin," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he waved his hand slightly, "enjoy the feast."
Of course even good things must end and before the inhabitants of Hogwarts knew it they clutched in their hands their exam results and their trunks were packed and waiting to be loaded onto the train. Harry and Blaise had passed all their classes with excellent scores though they were surprised to have done so well in History of Magic seeing that they either never stayed awake in the class or skipped it. There were also the dreaded announcements handed out about not using magic over the holidays, Fred and George could be heard complaining loudly about it, not that it really mattered to Harry and Blaise since Trevor had already ensured that they could break that particular rule without any consequences befalling them. A second boat trip across the lake for the first years brought them once again to the Hogwarts Express where they boarded and began the long journey back to King's Cross Station, everyone enjoying sweets and exchanging summer plans. Nearing night fall Muggle towns began to appear and robes were exchanged for jackets and coats, causing Harry and Blaise to exchange looks at what some wizards believed to be Muggle attire.
Platform 9 ¾ was teeming with witches and wizards that had either arrived by magical means or helped with the luggage and oversaw the students leaving the platform in small groups so as not to attract undue attention, most muggle parents would be waiting in the main station for their children. Finally Harry and Blaise were hustled through the barrier and were hailed by their fathers not long after they stepped through, nearly being bowled over by the twins who came racing through after them.
"Harry, Blaise," Trevor called, "come on. We still have a ways to go before getting home and plan on stopping for dinner before leaving London."
Blaise and Harry turned long enough to smirk at the twins who grinned back.
"Owl us," all four chimed at the same time before separating and heading towards their respective families.
Harry smiled and gave his dad a brief hug before they all headed toward the car. It had been an interesting first year at Hogwarts, and while Harry wasn't going to count down the days until they went back he knew he would be ready to go when the time came. Until then he was going to enjoy his summer with his father, and enjoy the time away from being the boy-who-lived. Instead he would just be Harry Darkov, Mafia Prince.