Chapter 17 - Orphans
Augusta had found it difficult to wait for her planned visit to where her grandson was holidaying, especially after reading the multiple articles in the Quibbler. The couple of letters that she had received from Neville actually made that waiting harder, not easier. To Augusta, it was as if these letters had been written by a different boy. She had a tight grip on her travelling bag as the timed portkey activated, taking her to Italy.
While impressed by her surroundings, Augusta was not pleased that her grandson wasn't there to greet her. She found herself being welcomed by her old friend, Minerva.
"Welcome to Italy, Augusta. Your Neville is down on the beach, training with his friends. They tend to forget the time as their sessions seem to get longer every day. They should be finishing soon though. Come over and watch with us, the elves will take your bag and traveling cloak, while we can sit back and enjoy a cup of tea."
She sat beside Pomona and Filius, while Minerva returned to greet their next guest. Looking down, she could easily pick out her grandson amongst the black and red haired boys. What she found hard to believe was the way that same grandson was throwing powerful magic about - knocking over training dummies.
"Is this part of the Institute's courses?"
Pomona was quick to steer Augusta right. This formidable witch was on the Hogwarts school board and they wanted to impress her with the Institute. Augusta Longbottom was certainly someone whose opinion counted back in magical Britain.
"While Remus will be our defence professor, this extra training was requested by Harry and Hermione. All their friends wanted to join in too, and they now do this every morning."
Augusta was simply in awe of what she was seeing. "Neville has never had command of his magic like he does down there, and so powerful too…"
This time it was Filius who provided the answer. "Students attending the Institute will have all their school supplies bought for them, so every child starts with the same equipment, books and robes as everyone else. This includes wands, and we wanted to try out the wand maker in Naples. Your Neville, three of the Weasleys and Hannah Abbot all got wands that suit them better than the ones they had been using. You can see the difference with all five of them, though Neville's improvement is the most pronounced."
At that, Minerva returned with Xeno Lovegood. She'd heard Filius' comments and agreed with them wholeheartedly. "I think Neville has grown and matured more in his two weeks here than the last three years at Hogwarts. He's much closer to Harry than before, and Luna hasn't left his side all holiday. Those three treating one another as family has benefited all of them."
Amelia was next to arrive, though didn't need Minerva to welcome her. Greeting everyone, her attention was immediately on the people on the beach. "Susan had written to say how much she was enjoying herself - and how much she was learning even while on holiday. Just looking down there I can already tell that Remus Lupin is a superb defence teacher. The way he's got them organised, and that all are clearly enjoying themselves, tells me all I need to know. If the rest of your institute lives up to this standard, I would be delighted to send Susan here."
Being no fool, Xeno quickly put the clues together. "This is not your first visit here, is it?"
"Every time I visit, I become more impressed with what Lord Potter is trying to do here. Their ambition in Italy is to build a school where the students can thrive. I'm watching what they're doing - while on holiday - and once more my already high expectations have just been raised again."
As Minerva arrived back with Hanna and Millie's parents, all sat down to refreshments and watched their children. Augusta was even more amazed as she witnessed Neville climb on a broom and shoot out over the sea with his friends.
"After their training, they've started doing a bit of flying over the water. Harry has already decided this is how the new first years will be taught to fly a broom. It's a lot easier to cast a drying charm on someone who falls off, rather than taking them to the infirmary to have bones mended." Minerva knew this would appeal to Augusta, as Neville broke his wrist during his first flying lesson at Hogwarts. The fliers then flew lazy spirals to bring them up to the level of the terrace, before the squeals of delight began.
Susan, Luna and Neville had all known they would be receiving visitors at some point today - it was a complete surprise for Hannah and Millie though. There were hugs all around while the elves gathered up their brooms, before everyone who'd been training excused themselves for a quick shower.
-oOoOo-
Harry emerged from his room only to find himself being tackled and restrained by a pair of powerful arms. He wasn't in any danger though, Hermione's laughter rang inside his head while Ron was laughing so hard that he had to hold onto a wall to keep himself upright.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you…" That each of Millie's thanks was accompanied by a kiss to his face was the cause of Harry's discomfort, and increased Ron and Hermione's laughter.
"Mate, you should see your expression…"
At that, Hermione appeared and asked Millie for her betrothed back. Her wink at the teenage witch, along with her wide smile, let Millie know she was joking with her.
"Oh I'm just so happy my parents are here, I can't thank you enough for asking them."
"You're giving it a good try though, and you're very welcome." Harry kissed Millie on the cheek as she released him, before taking Hermione's hand and leading the four of them down to breakfast. Food should get Ron's mind off what just happened, or at least stop him chuckling while he ate.
The Abbots and Bones were sitting together, joined by Minerva, Bathsheda and Septima. Pomona was sitting with the Longbottoms and Lovegoods, being joined by Poppy, Ginny, Fred and George. Remus also decided to sit with Pomona, hoping to help giving their Institute the hard sell to Augusta.
Noticing the Bulstrodes chatting at a table with Flilius, that's where Harry led the four of them. Harry thought he was in for a repeat performance as Glenda Bulstrode gushed her thanks to Harry for inviting them, and looking after Millie. With Dan, Emma and Sirius joining them too, the conversation flowed around the table.
"We thought today should be a day spent around here, giving people a chance to relax and catch up. We will have a barbecue on the beach this evening, and we're thinking of spending tomorrow looking around Naples."
Harry decided to let Hermione say the rest, as Millie looked so excited - and about ready to 'thank' him again.
"We want you to enjoy your stay here, but we're also still working. We're looking at the possibility of inviting prospective parents and students to the Institute for a visit, some of the things we do with you may end up being repeated during that visit. We're looking to see what works, what impresses you, and what doesn't. It goes without saying Millie already has a place reserved at the Institute, if her parents agree to her attending."
There was no hesitation from Graham Bulstrode. "Anything we can do to help, you only have to ask. One glance at Millie and we can both see this is something she really wants, so of course she has our permission to attend."
It was Graham's turn to be hugged and kissed by his daughter, as Glenda shed a few happy tears. "I don't think I've ever seen our Millie happier. How could we say no to that?"
When Filius then explained about the harder exams, and all the extras - compared to Hogwarts - that the Institute provided, the only thing stopping Graham and Glenda signing the acceptance form was said forms were still to be printed.
As the late breakfast continued, They received an unexpected but welcome visitor. Bill arrived with Barchoke.
Harry and Hermione immediately rose to greet the goblin, and offered him a seat at their table. Dobby appeared with a mug seemingly filled with a beefy gravy, this had Barchoke thanking the elf before getting down to business.
"While your endeavours against certain people have had the desired results, we always knew there would be a few innocent casualties. I met with one last week and, after assuring the head of establishment they were in no danger of closing, I took the time to prepare a full report for you."
After the shock of discovering they could have been responsible for closing an orphanage, Harry passed the file to Hermione while he asked some questions. "How fast do we need to act on this?"
"I personally guaranteed them funds to keep their operation running."
Smiling at the goblin, Harry wanted to go further. "I don't just want to keep the place running, I want to help these kids. Could we bring them here for a holiday?"
Having skimmed through the report, Hermione had a different question for their financial advisor. "Why do so few of these kids get adopted? Eight out of ten of them remain in the orphanage until they're of age. What are their prospects when they leave, do they get proper schooling?"
The concern these two were showing was everything Barchoke had come to expect of this couple. "Most of the orphans are abandoned on the orphanage doorstep as babes. With no knowledge of who their parents were, it's impossible to tell their blood status. In a society where this fact determines your worth, orphans in these particular circumstances are treated almost as badly as if they were squibs."
As Hermione glanced at Harry, he answered her question out loud. "While an orphan, the entire country knows who my parents were - and my blood status. Amelia, could we have a moment of your time, please?"
The fact that a goblin was sitting next to Harry at the table, drinking something his elf provided, had caught everyone's attention. Harry didn't have to raise his voice when calling for Amelia, all other conversation had already stopped. As Harry explained the situation, Dobby appeared with a chair for her to sit. This was the cue for everyone else to move their chairs over and discover just what was going on. As Harry claimed he wanted to do more for these children, rather than just throw money at them to maintain the status quo, Amelia's expression told him immediately that he wasn't going to like what she had to say.
"Harry, you've stumbled across the dark underbelly of our society. Any changes to the status of these children would see the person proposing those changes hauled up before the Wizengamot."
Hermione couldn't hold back. "What the hell for? I don't see that same Wizengamot rushing to help these children, whose only crime would seem to be being born."
"Miss Granger, as a member of that body, you have no idea how close that last statement you made is to the truth." Augusta then attempted to explain what was going on here.
"There will certainly be members sitting in the Wizengamot who will have offspring of their family in that orphanage - illegitimate offspring to be sure but of their family blood. They never want those blood ties acknowledged and try to sweep the entire situation under the carpet - which is why the Ministry will never officially take over the orphanage. Gringotts carrying out an inheritance ritual on some of these children could prove embarrassing for a few of our sitting members. Those rituals, and any claims that result from them, must be completed before the child reaches seventeen. That law has stood for almost a century, as has the one that states these rituals cannot be carried out on anyone underage without parental consent."
Realising at once what was going on here, Hermione couldn't contain her anger as she spoke. "It's a catch twenty-two situation. They can't discover their parentage without this ritual, but need parental consent to undergo the ritual in the first place. After seventeen, it doesn't matter what the ritual tells them, they have no legal right to pursue anything through the courts. These kids are deliberately kept barefoot and ignorant, on the very edge of society, to hide possible indiscretions from sons and daughters of powerful families. Harry, you know we have to help them?"
While proud of her daughter's sentiments, Emma had a question that she knew the people here would be able to answer. "While I'm in no way advocating this as an option, why do these mothers not opt for a termination when they realise the trouble they are in? I can't believe leaving the baby you just gave birth to on an orphanage doorstep would be any less traumatic than taking action to stop things reaching that stage."
With the silence that question produced, Emma understood she'd said something wrong. Her answer eventually came from Poppy. "While I understand where Emma's coming from with this, she doesn't know things are different for a witch. Should a witch try to terminate a magical baby, that baby will fight back and could seriously damage its mother's magic - if not outright killing her. We have morning after potions but that's really about the extent of it. When a witch is pregnant, it's far safer for mother and child to see things through to their natural conclusion."
While this was news to Harry, he felt they had veered off from the original topic. "Is the opinion here that we can't help these kids? If it is, then what's the point of all we're setting up here? These are the very kids we should be targeting, the very reason the Potter Institute was conceived and is now being built - to help magical kids who won't get a break in Britain."
"I'm sorry, Harry, but sometimes you just have to admit you can't save them all…" You could have heard a pin drop at Sirius' statement.
Harry was getting ready to verbally challenge his godfather's opinion when he spotted the glint in Sirius' eyes. He'd been reading through the report that Hermione had sat on the table and smiled at Harry in a way that didn't even attempt to hide he was up to something. Sirius didn't keep them waiting for long.
"Barchoke, while the building the orphanage is renting could in no way be considered expensive, it still eats more of their budget than their food bills do. My family has a house in London that I'm more than willing to donate to the Phineas Nigellus Black Orphanage Trust. The trust will have a board that will consist of myself, Miss Hermione Granger, Mr Daniel Granger, Mrs Emma Granger, Barchoke and Mr Neville Longbottom. All of-age children of the orphanage will attend the Potter Institute, paid for by the trust. Harry, this is something you can't put your name anywhere near - officially. That doesn't mean your family can't be heavily involved - and you of course may accompany them anytime you want."
Remus was chuckling along as Hermione then asked Sirius what he was up to.
"It's simple Hermione, my mother will be turning in her grave at the mere thought of her house being used as an orphanage - with a Goblin, a pair of muggles and their magical daughter on the board of trustees too. Phineas Nigellus Black hated children, and was considered the worst headmaster of Hogwarts ever - this will be a fitting memorial to him and the system that's failing these children. In simple terms, we're playing the pureblood bigots back at their own game. They can't object to Lord Black opening an orphanage, named in an ancestor's honour. I'll even use the compensation the Ministry are awarding me for wrongful imprisonment to get the trust started. 'After spending all those years wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban, I just want to help people'. Can you see the Ministry or Wizengamot speaking out against me helping orphans?"
As more chuckling, and downright laughter, broke out amongst the group Sirius had a serious message to pass onto his godson. "You can't save everyone, Harry, fact of life. It doesn't mean your family can't help save those you have to pass on."
Harry had a smile on his face as he asked the question he was sure he was going to like the answer too. "I'm still gonna be involved though, aren't I?"
-oOoOo-
Dolores entered the Minister's office with the latest issue of the Quibbler clutched in her hand, only to discover Dumbledore had beaten her to the punch. A copy was already spread over Cornelius' desk.
She didn't mess about and got straight to the point. "The young fool will be bankrupt in no time. Supplying all the students' with robes and all other supplies, while claiming their tuition will be cheaper than Hogwarts too, is financially unsustainable. I don't care how rich Potter is, this will be the end of him." Dolores was rather surprised to see her opinion wasn't shared by the other two in the office.
It was Dumbledore who explained what the real problem was here. "It doesn't really mater if this folly eventually bankrupt's Potter, it's what these claims will do to us before he runs out of gold - that's where the real danger lies. According to that article, this Institute will only have around eighty students come September. That's eighty students who won't be doing their shopping in Diagon Alley, eighty students who won't be paying fees to Hogwarts. These same students won't ever be going to Hogsmeade on visits - and that number will increase to one hundred and forty in the next few years -that's almost a third of Hogwarts current role. I've had half the merchants from Diagon Alley on the floo to me already, and expect the other half to catch up with me later today. Since these are the very students who pay full price for everything, some businesses have already indicated to me they won't be able to afford the discount prices those of pure-blood currently enjoy."
This had Dolores incensed. She had of course read that all the Institute's supplies would be purchased in Italy, Dolores simply hadn't considered the consequences of that on magical Britain. "If they dare stop the pure-blood discounts, then they could quite conceivably put themselves out of business."
Albus quickly pointed out that all of Diagon Alley were already well aware of that fact, but the reduced volume of customers could force a few of them out of business anyway. "Madam Malkin has the exclusive contract to supply students with their Hogwarts robes, she pays Hogwarts a retainer for that privilege. With that volume of students going to be missing from her expected tally, I had to renegotiate that retainer to even keep her services. While we all understand she has to make a profit too, where else were Hogwarts students going to get school robes? I expect that scenario to be repeated the entire length of the alley, and there's not a thing we can do about it. With reduced income at Hogwarts too, I'm already having to lower my sights concerning replacement professors."
Cornelius could see only one solution to this problem. "We need to get a hold of Potter, explain to him the knock-on effects of what he's doing here…"
"I have an assurance from his House Steward that Harry will be on the Hogwarts express on the first of September."
Dumbledore's claim astonished the other two in the office, their silence forcing him to continue. "I have to assume he won't be attending Hogwarts but also have plans in place to ensure he will have to be there…"
Dolores caught on at once. "…And should anything happen to him, this entire problem would disappear. I think we should start thinking about taking steps to see that happens."
"We still need the boy, Madam Umbridge…"
Dolores was not for listening to any of Albus' arguments. "I find it easier to deal with the problem we're currently faced with, rather than worry about what could potentially happen years from now. Things change all the time, and right now Potter is the biggest problem we face. Your task will be to ensure Potter's part of the tournament, my task will be to make sure he doesn't leave it - not alive anyway."
Cornelius sat back and sipped his coffee. Letting Dolores and Albus decide these things amongst themselves meant that he could deny all responsibility if things went pear shaped - and have two ready-made scapegoats to dump any shit onto too. This was a win-win for the Minister of Magic, now that was a nice way to start his day.
-oOoOo-
Jillian couldn't remember ever being this nervous in her life before. She was waiting to meet these mysterious people who held her, and the entire orphanage's, future in their hands. Life had taught her to be wary of people helping the orphanage, they almost always wanted something in return. When Barchoke led the group into her office, Jillian found she was suddenly even more nervous.
She of coursed recognised Sirius Black at once, his face had been plastered all over magical Britain in the last few years - mostly on wanted posters. Hermione Granger was certainly a face and name that had recently become well known to those living here too. As the girl's parents were introduced, and then the final member of the group, Gillian had half-expected the other teenager to be Harry Potter - but the Longbottom name was also one known and long respected in their society.
She tried to be strong but Jillian's tears started falling as Barchoke laid out this group's plans for the orphanage. No press and no publicity for today's meeting, they even specifically asked her not to mention they were actually in the country. They then proceeded to make every one of Jillian's dreams for the orphanage come true - and that was before the group insisted she and the rest of her volunteers receive a salary too. She was quietly waiting on the hammer to fall when Anita burst into the room.
"So sorry to disturb your meeting, Jillian, but did you know Harry Potter is walking around the building?"
It was left to Hermione to provide an explanation. "Harry so wanted to be involved with this, being an orphan himself, but it was felt better to keep his name officially away from the orphanage. Officially, he's just accompanying his betrothed today - and that's the story we will all be sticking to. Involving Harry would undoubtably raise the orphanage's profile, but there's certainly good and bad sides to that. Harry doesn't want anything he does elsewhere to reflect negatively on the orphanage, that doesn't mean anything I say will not be from the both of us - or that he's not going to be actively helping behind the scenes."
Neville also felt obliged to say something here. He was well aware of the honour being bestowed on him by his inclusion on this board, his Gran had even said she was proud of him, but Neville didn't want to just sit here and make up the numbers. "Harry is along with Luna, who is also my girlfriend."
This had the three Grangers and Sirius grinning, as Neville had asked Luna to be his girlfriend yesterday. Neville was grinning too at the first time he was able to introduce Luna as such. "Her father owns and publishes the Quibbler, which means any publicity the orphanage requires can also be carefully controlled. None of us here are interested in getting our pictures or names in the press but, if the orphanage moving doesn't receive any publicity, people won't know how to contact you at your new address."
Anita was still standing at the door and they began to hear a ruckus building behind her.
After emitting a gasp of fond exasperation, Hermione interrupted - while trying to hide that she knew exactly what her betrothed had just done. "Sorry Neville, but Harry must have mentioned about the children coming to Italy for a holiday. Word will spread like wildfire and I think he's just about to start a riot out there.."
Jillian was embarrassed and started to apologise, letting slip she'd specifically told the children to be on their best behaviour today.
Hermione and Neville actually started chuckling at that. "Don't worry, Harry and Luna will be totally responsible for this. My Harry tends to lead with his heart, leaving the rest of us to play catch-up working out the details of how to make this happen. Did I forget to mention he want's to take the entire orphanage for a holiday? This will give everyone time to get your new building ready for occupying." Smiling, Hermione let a stunned Jillian and Anita into more of their plans.
"We intend to have wizarding tents on the beach for those children old enough to enjoy camping, with the younger ones staying in our house. There will be enough adults there to ensure you get a bit of a break too, and time to meet with the architect Sirius has got working on this project - making sure you get the best use out of the building he's donating."
Hearing the noise coming from outside getting louder, a smiling Sirius stood. "I think we better go and curtail my godson before entire the orphanage gets invited to Italy for lunch today. We'll need time to get everything ready for your visit, and it will be the weekend at the earliest before we can cope with that. We can discuss anything else we need to while walking around."
It wasn't hard to find the cause of the disturbance and, as expected, Harry and Luna were in the very centre of it. Both were siting on the floor, surrounded by excited children of all ages. When one of them brought forward a battered Harry Potter poster and asked if it could be signed, there was no way Harry was going to say no. This really opened the floodgates though with most of the children running to their rooms to find something for Harry to sign.
Hermione spotted one little girl with long black hair sitting by herself on a bench at the very edge of the excitement with a picture book in her hand. She clearly wanted to go over and ask Harry to sign her book but was too shy to do so. Hermione headed straight for the girl and sat down beside her.
"Hello there, my name's Hermione. Don't you want to get your book signed by Harry?"
The young girl physically appeared about three, though sounded nearer six, as she sat there nervously swinging her legs under the bench while answering Hermione's questions. "My name is Joan, and it's not my book. This is from our small library and it wouldn't be right to get Harry Potter to sign it. I will also have to put it back when I'm finished with it so there's no point in getting it signed. I was sitting thinking if I had anything in my locker he could sign but I don't. Are you Harry's girlfriend?"
Smiling, Hermione shuffled closer. "Yes, we're betrothed. That means we'll get married when we're older."
Staring into her book, Joan's next sentence came straight from her heart. "It must be great knowing what you're going to do when you're older."
Hermione's arm snaked around the little girl's shoulders and gently pulled her closer. "Well, I know a little of your future." With that, she had Joan's full attention.
"You'll be coming to Italy for a holiday at our house while a building is made ready for the entire orphanage to move into." After hearing that, Joan's blue eyes were now sparkling like the Mediterranean Sea her Harry now loved so much. You could also see this girl's intelligence radiating from those sparkling blue orbs too, so Hermione then tried for a smile.
"While you're staying there, we'll get our picture taken with Harry, and then get him to sign it for you. Would you like that?"
"Would you sign it too?"
Hermione kissed the little girl's forehead by way of an answer and then got the smile she was looking for. Hermione was getting the impression that Joan usually didn't have much to smile about, she silently swore to change that. It wasn't as silent as she thought though as Harry picked up on it through their bond. He totally agreed and promised to join her and Joan as soon as he could.
Neville had sat beside Luna while Dan and Emma walked amongst the children, both were now promising to thank Sirius for getting them involved in this venture. Sirius watched the kids having fun so of course wanted to join in. Padfoot made an appearance and was soon surrounded by laughing children.
Barchoke was the only member of the group left standing beside Jillian and couldn't miss the tears running down her cheeks. He totally misread the reason behind those tears however. "I'm sorry that our meeting seems to have fallen apart…"
Jillian interrupted before the goblin could say anymore. "Oh please don't apologise. Watching this tells me more about the type of people these are than I could learn from a dozen meetings. Usually the rich pure-blood would have us round up a couple of the children so they could be in a picture for the press. The children were then used as nothing more than props to show those pure-bloods in a good light - barely spoken to and never interacted with. We always do our best for the children but there usually isn't a lot to laugh about around here. This is music to my ears, and certainly eases my worries over our future."
With Padfoot now drawing all the attention, Harry was able to make his way over to Hermione. He sat down beside Joan. "Hey, I see you've met Hermione. Isn't she wonderful?"
This drew a short giggle from Joan, and immediately broke the ice between them. Hermione then handled the introductions. "This is Joan. I was telling her about coming to Italy and staying there for a holiday."
"Do you like to fly?" Joan just looked at Harry in bemusement.
"We just bought new brooms for the school we're building. We're trying them all out so would you like to fly with Hermione and me?"
With her arm still draped around Joan, Hermione couldn't miss the shudder of excitement that ran through the little girl at the mere thought of Harry's suggestion. Joan was nodding like mad as Hermione whispered to her.
"Now wouldn't that make a good picture to be signed?"
Sitting between both of them, Joan's smile now lit the entire room.
Dan could feel his wife's mood change through their bracelets and asked what the matter was. "I was just watching our not so little girl instinctively know what that other little girl needed, it just hit me how much I had missed of her growing up."
Kissing Emma's cheek, Dan had the perfect cure for his wife's melancholy. "Look around you, Emma. We've just been given the opportunity to help a lot of these kids. We can look on it as practice for when our grandchildren finally make an appearance."
Looking at the way Hermione and Harry were interacting with the little black haired girl, Emma's answer somewhat surprised Dan - as did the sense of determination her words held. "Those two are going to make fabulous parents. Just look at the way they are dealing with these kids. We're going to need all the practice we can get, I'm bloody determined not to fail as a grandparent too."
-oOoOo-
In his search for new professors, Albus found himself approaching the Burrow. With four of her children still at Hogwarts next year, he was hoping to convince Molly to teach Transfiguration. He still had all his teaching notes and lesson plans from when he taught the subject many decades ago, and a little extra gold would certainly be welcome by the Weasleys. Albus was intending that amount of gold would be as little as he could get away with.
As expected the door of the Burrow was opened before he reached it, Albus always received a warm welcome from Molly. He had no idea that today that welcome would be red hot.
"Ah Molly, how nice to see…"
His words were cut off by Molly drawing back and slapping Dumbledore across the face. His hat went flying while his half-moon glasses were now entangled in his long hair and beard. After opening with a physical assault, Molly then began a verbal one that would be every bit as painful for Albus - and not just because of the volume it was delivered at.
"How dare you show your face here again after what you did to my family. You repressed Ginny's memories - not to help my baby but to cover your own wrinkly old arse. The Italian Ministry won't let my Ginny come home, and are working with our Ministry to bring charges against you. All your secrets are now known, Dumbledore, and no one will ever trust you again. When I tell Arthur about this, he'll let Amelia know it's time to get the ball rolling…"
Albus had his wand out and obliviated Molly in mid-sentence. He then quickly pushed past her to see who else would require that spell cast upon them. Percy coming charging down the stairs like a typical Gryffindor was easy prey for the headmaster's wand. A quick glance at Molly's wonderful clock showed the hands for her four youngest all pointing at holiday, with Arthur, Bill and Charlie all at work.
Now with a moment to catch his breath, Albus began to plot his way out of this mess. A compulsion charm was added to Percy's obliviate. The most recent Hogwarts Head Boy would be making his way back to the castle looking for a job. Albus sweetened the deal by promising connected rooms for him and his girlfriend if he could coax Miss Clearwater to come with him to Hogwarts. Two professors that Albus intended to pay salaries that combined would hardly match one of the professors who abandoned Hogwarts this summer.
Neither Weasley would remember that Albus had visited the Burrow today, buying him some time to deal with Amelia's investigation before she went near Fudge or the Wizengamot with her findings.
Even with what he had been faced with here, Albus' next stop would still have to be St. Mungo's. Without a qualified nurse or healer in the castle, it didn't matter how many professors he had lined up for Hogwarts - the school wouldn't be able to open come September. With the tournament coming up, Fudge suggested Hogwarts have two healers this term - and had promised the Ministry would fund one of them.
If what Dolores was suggesting with the tasks came to pass, Albus was going to try for at least one highly trained and experienced healer to be based at Hogwarts from September. That wouldn't come cheap, but now he wasn't going to be paying for it. He would fund a trainee nurse to offer support for the healer.
-oOoOo-
Dolores also had a busy and somewhat productive morning, after she had discovered the circumstances surrounding astonishing changes at the magical orphanage. Muggles, mudbloods and a beast in charge of young witches and wizards - she simply wouldn't stand for that. Rather than cause a scene herself, Dolores had whispered those facts into a few ears that had more than a passing interest in what happened to the orphaned magical children. Suggesting this could be the first step to allowing inheritance rituals to be carried out on these orphans - why else would a goblin be on the committee? - was enough to ignite a bonfire under quite a few pure-blood arses.
The Wizengamot would soon be demanding these people be dragged before them - and Potter would be sure to come too. What happened then would be anyone's guess, but Dolores still had time to arrange a few surprises for the group - and of course Potter.
-oOoOo-
He was sitting in the corner of his study, reading by an old electric lamp, when he heard her approach. Not lifting his dark eyes, he let the lady bring up what was troubling her. As he suspected, Severus didn't have too long to wait.
"I'm worried about Draco, he's hardly spoken in weeks. Seeing the man he idolised as an all-powerful wizard first ruined and then slain so easily has really shattered all his beliefs. He won't say anything, but I'm sure this blood-feud with Potter that's hanging over us is the cause of his almost complete withdrawal from life."
"I'm as certain as I can be that Potter won't be back at Hogwarts…"
Narcissa wasn't buying that, and she wasn't shy in letting their host know her opinion either. "And I'm sure Dumbledore won't want to lose his golden boy. He'll be doing everything within his power to get Potter back to Hogwarts - Draco knows that too."
Severus careful placed a bookmark on the page he was currently reading before closing the book. It was looking like there would be no more quiet reading for him tonight. "Cissi, you clearly have a plan but I'm not in the mood to sit here all night playing guessing games. Just tell me what you've come up with and we can take things from there."
Taking a steadying breath, Cissi told her first person what had recently been going through her head - to the point of becoming an obsession."I have a sure-fire way to end this blood feud on us…"
Severus interrupted at once. "While I can't stand the sight of that little shit Potter, we all have to admit the boy is rather hard to kill. Trolls, basilisk, dementors, the Dark Lord - all have tried and failed."
Shaking her head at the interruption, Cissi stated clearly that was certainly not a road she wanted to travel down. "I'm not suggesting killing him - though I wouldn't lose any sleep over his death - I'm simply suggesting neither Draco nor I being Malfoys in the near future."
Severus' snort of disgust clearly indicated his opinion at the chances of that happening. "I hardly think the new Lord Black would welcome you and Draco into his family."
Stopping herself from becoming angry, that was the last thing that would work for her here, Cissi laid her cards on the table - face up so there could be no more misunderstandings. "I wasn't intending to marry Sirius. I was actually hoping you might like the idea, and the position of my husband?"
Severus was rarely surprised, but this had knocked him for six. Before letting his feelings on this matter show, there was a question he needed the answer to. "Cissi, take a good look around you - we're currently living in a tiny muggle house. What can I possibly offer the current Lady Malfoy, and the heir to the Malfoy family?"
"The Lady Malfoy thinks you bring rather a lot to the table, Severus, and you're already Draco's godfather. It was me who insisted you be given that position, I wanted my son to have at least one male figure in his life that he could depend on. Draco would give up being a Malfoy in an instant to get out from under this blood feud, and whatever's left of the Malfoy family fortune is in my bag upstairs. Draco and I are not exactly penniless, but I'm certainly going to take Dumbledore up on his offer of free tuition for my son."
Realising that her pitch sounded more like a business deal, Cissi softened her approach. "With both of us working at Hogwarts, we can save towards having a life together after Draco graduates. We might possibly have children of our own by that time too. I'm not expecting an answer right this minute, all I want is for you to think about this."
Severus was certainly thinking seriously about the best opportunity he'd had since leaving Hogwarts as a student, but Cissi wasn't quite finished yet. There were a couple of conditions tied to her proposal.
"I've already lost one husband, and a family fortune, to this madness - I will not lose another - or my son. If you can't let Dumbledore, Potter and the Dark Lord fight this out amongst themselves, then I need to search for someone else to possibly make this offer too. I don't intend to let any of the men in my life be involved in this senseless war that's certainly coming our way."
Once more Cissi softened her approach. There was only one wizard she wanted to make this offer to, and he was currently sitting right in front of her. "We could even leave Britain, starting a new life elsewhere. Please think carefully about this, Severus."
Cissi didn't know that condition just sweetened the deal for Severus. As well as admiring Narcissa from afar - one did not make a move on Lucius' wife - he was also sick of Albus' manipulations, and had no wish to see his former master returning. If the price of having Cissi permanently at his side meant ignoring Black and Potter too, Severus was sure he could handle that as well. He didn't give an answer right away, that was just who he was, but both parties were sure what Severus' answer would be when he judged the time right to make his decision known.
Thanks for Reading
Chapter 18 - Changes are Coming
When Ginny awoke to the sunshine streaming through her bedroom window, the first thought of the morning was exactly the same as her last had been before falling asleep - her mother was visiting today.
Harry had rather cleverly offered a visit to his Italian home for the Weasley parents, knowing Ron and the twins would have to still be staying in Italy for Arthur and Molly's visit. Everyone else who was currently staying at Harry's had no trouble at all receiving parental permission to extend their holiday beyond the initial two weeks originally planed.
With both Ginny's parents visiting, Poppy had arranged for her Mind Healer to be present for that meeting too. Depending on how the visit panned out, there was also the possibility of her mum and dad having a talk with representatives from the Italian Ministry. With assurances from Bill, Poppy and Harry ringing in her ears that she wouldn't be returning to Britain any time soon, Ginny finally thought she was ready to face her mother.
Meeting up with the gang and heading down to the beach for their training was Ginny's favourite part of the day, so she was more than willing to face her mother to give Ron, Fred and George the opportunity of spending longer in Italy. Her Mind Healer was convinced training with her friends was helping Ginny more than just physically, an opinion both she and Poppy fully agreed with.
Watching as the entire gang took turns at verbally picking on Sirius, a Sirius who sported a ridiculously wide grin on his face after his first 'date' with Francesca last night, had Ginny almost forgetting what was scheduled for her later on this morning. They had finished the physical portion of their training and were just moving onto their wand work when the strangest sight any of them had ever seen banished all thoughts of training - and anything else - from their minds.
Harry's goblin friend was racing across the sand, waving his arms in the air and shouting like someone who was more than a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Seeing this very smart goblin - who always appeared so in control of his emotions - behave in this manner warned them something very bad had just happened, or something very, very good. Ginny didn't have enough dealings with goblins for her to tell whether Barchoke was currently smiling or snarling at them.
Barchoke raced straight for Harry and Sirius, shouting at the top of his voice about 'finding it!'. Both of them could easily see his excitement as everyone else soon crowded around. Knowing that anyone training here would have already been informed of what they were hunting by Harry, the little goblin took a deep breath and then passed on the monuments news.
"Lord Black employed a team of goblin curse breakers to cover every inch of Grimmauld Place before he would let Francesca or the orphans anywhere near the building. While a great many dark objects are being discovered and dealt with, the team found one object that had their dark magic scans registering off the scale. A certain locket, once owned by Salazar Slytherin, was immediately dispatched to Gringotts, with the cursed soul being removed and immediately destroyed. That's the last piece, he's now mortal."
Harry managed to mumble a question to his goblin friend. "How could it possibly have gotten there?"
Emma reacted in a totally different manner. The emotional mother pounced on Harry and Hermione with tears of relief and joy rolling down her cheeks. "I don't care how it got there, you won't have to go into that cursed cave to try and get it out now."
That started a celebration which saw all of them ending up running into the sea and acting more like a bunch of toddlers than teens - and adults. The sight of Barchoke, bedecked in his normal immaculate three-piece pinstriped suit joyously cavorting about in the waves as if he didn't have a care in the world was something that would stay with them all for a long time.
Ginny was glad that all the splashing about in the sea hid her own tears of relief, until she realised that every single one of them was doing the exact same. Luna didn't even try to hide them, rather just clung onto Neville as if her life depended on it. Harry and Hermione were also clinging to each other, though energetically bouncing about in the waves at the same time - like a strange form of demented pogo dancing. Emma was doing the rounds, hugging everyone she could get her hands on - Barchoke must have suffered that particular fate at least three times.
With thoughts of any further training that day forgotten about, they eventually sat on the beach to discuss where this left them. Barchoke was quick to bring them up to date on the steps he'd taken, before heading for Italy.
"Once we had confirmed beyond any doubts the piece of Riddle's soul had been destroyed, Bill left to inform Amelia of the wonderful news - I would expect to see them both here today at some point. That only leaves the original piece of Riddle's soul that Harry banished from Quirrell inside Hogwarts two years ago. There's a team at Gringotts trying to put some sort of timescale on how long this remaining piece of soul could exist without any other soul-jars anchoring it. The trouble is they're relying on estimates and guess work - since no one else has ever been stupid enough to create multiple soul-jars before."
Ginny had found herself bracketed by her twin brothers the instant she'd sat down. She was grateful for their support as Barchoke spoke about those disgusting things. There was a question she just had to ask though. "Does that mean Harry can just stay here and Voldemort will eventually simply fade away?"
Seeing the same thought was on everyone else's lips too, Harry did his best to answer. "I wish I could, Ginny. We know Pettigrew is off trying to help his master return, and all of us think Riddle will attempt a dark ritual to try and regain a body. Steps have been taken to try and disrupt the ritual we think will be his first choice but we also had to be very careful. If he suspects a trap, Riddle will disappear and probably choose one of the more obscure rituals available to him. If he does that, we won't know about it until a reborn Lord Voldemort starts killing people. We couldn't even chance alarm wards or anything magical around the site we think he'll use."
"So it isn't over just yet?" Fred had Ginny in a reassuring hug before she'd even finished asking her question.
It was actually Sirius who answered for everyone as he felt their previous euphoria evaporating. "What's been achieved in the last few months is nothing short of astonishing. The last war was so terrible because Voldemort appeared to hold all the cards. He's now been stripped of his finances, his most influential followers and - even more importantly - his anchors that kept him in this world. I'm not trying to belittle the task that still remains but he's mortal now. Whose to say that if Dan put a bullet into Voldemort, if he gets a body, that bullet wouldn't put him down for good."
As Sirius' words slowly sank in, Luna lifted the entire mood with one comment.
"Can it be Emma who shoots him? She's by far a better shot and we really want him gone - not clutching at his arm in shock."
Knowing the friendly rivalry that existed between the Grangers when they were shooting at targets, and that Emma had taken to shooting like a duck to water - kicking Dan's arse since day one and impressing the hell out of Remus with her natural talent - tickled a few people's funny bones.
This started off with some sniggering that soon turned to full blown laughter after Hermione's quip - reigniting the good mood that had existed mere moments ago.
"It's not as if my dad takes his shooting seriously - it's just a bit of a laugh for him. He's also well used to losing to the Granger ladies."
While all her friends had only ever seen her dad being a bit of a joker, Hermione had grown up seeing that deep level of concentration and strictly serious side of him when he worked on a patient - so wasn't surprised when her dad transferred that focus to his shooting. While he wasn't a bad shot as such, Emma could practically pick what eye she would put the bullet through - almost since completing her first session of training. Her mother's hugs though still caught Hermione out almost every time. While she absolutely relished those hugs, this radical change in her mum's behaviour - especially since she and her dad got those bracelets - was going to take some getting used to.
It was a happy group who headed back to the house on their brooms, ready for a shower and then breakfast before facing the day to come. Remus was heading back to Britain, and the orphanage. Jillian was going to be spending the day with them, helping to get everything ready for the entire orphanage arriving on their doorstep tomorrow.
-oOoOo-
Molly couldn't remember ever being as nervous as she was today. Then again, nothing in the world was more important to Molly Weasley than her children. Bill had floocalled to say he wouldn't be portkeying with them, but that he and Amelia would be dropping in on Harry later on today.
On arrival, her eyes locked in on her children immediately. The were having so much fun sitting at breakfast with their friends that none of them had noticed Arthur or her yet. Poppy had though and moved over to greet them.
She didn't miss Molly's mouth hanging open at seeing her children so happy and Poppy couldn't help but smile at her reaction. "They've actually been up for a couple of hours, training down on the beach before doing a bit of flying. Ginny's Mind Healer is adamant those sessions training with her family and friends are really helping with her recovery."
"I've never seen them looking better, or Harry looking so healthy and happy. This is easing a lot of my worries, hopefully taking with them will erase the rest. A blind person could see they're all having a great time."
"They were shopping in Naples again yesterday. We have over forty orphans arriving tomorrow for a holiday and every one of them chipped in with ideas and suggestions for making sure these children enjoy themselves. Because it's for the orphans, Sirius insisting on paying for everything, and all of them had a great day out in Naples too."
It was Harry who noticed the Weasleys first and waved the group over. As Molly approached, Fred and George stood immediately and were quickly engulfed in their mother's arms. Ron was next, though Molly gently pulled Millie into the hug too.
"I've never seen Ron happier and, although this place is beautiful, I'm sure it's more because of the company he's currently keeping."
Millie's face almost split in two with the size of grin that comment brought on. Watching that also made Harry's mind up, and Hermione instantly agreed. He stood and held his arms out in invitation, and a tearful Molly soon had both of them entwined in her arms.
"I can't thank you enough for looking after my children."
Harry wasn't having that. "Three of your sons sitting there came to my relatives house a few summers ago and ripped bars from my bedroom window to rescue me. You then took me in and allowed me to stay for the rest of that summer. For us, no thanks are needed. We were having a great holiday, and then did what was necessary to protect Ginny, that's all."
Molly was nodding but had a confession to make. "Percy left the Burrow after a big argument, he wouldn't hear a word said against Dumbledore. He's now living in Hogwarts castle and will be teaching Transfiguration next term."
Hermione let out a groan. "Did you check him for a compulsion charm?"
The look of horror on Molly's face answered that question before Arthur tried to calm his wife's fears. "It may be Dumbledore's just being very clever here. He appointed Percy's girlfriend, Penelope, as Arithmancy professor too. Both of them are already staying in the castle. Good jobs and lodgings for both of them, that would be very hard for any young couple to turn down."
Seeing how well things were going had encouraged Ginny to make her way around the table, approaching her mother with tears already in her eyes. Molly too was unashamedly crying as she wrapped their only daughter in her arms. "You look absolutely stunning, Ginny. Those clothes really suit you."
"We've been shopping in the muggle section of Naples. It's fantastic with so much to choose from. The magical section is much bigger than Diagon Alley too. Wait until you see the Institute being built behind Harry's house, it's going to be amazing."
All her fiends were beaming at Ginny after hearing that comment, they wanted the rest of the Weasleys to be attending the Institute with them. Her parents were also well aware what Ginny was up to - it wasn't exactly a subtle comment - and one glance between Molly and Arthur saw the Weasley children get an answer they were hoping for. "If Dumbledore could do that to one of my children, he could do the same - or worse - to the rest of them. None of you will be returning to Hogwarts, so we'll just need to see if we can get you places at the Potter Institute. I've heard it's quite exclusive..."
A smiling Harry immediately interrupted Molly. "Having the last name Weasley instantly grants you access, though pulling pranks could still get you kicked out..."
There was now a mass of Weasleys excitedly hugging on the terrace, though Ron and Millie appeared to be copying their best friends' moves from earlier - bouncing up and down while clinging on to each other and laughing.
Molly and Arthur were invited to sit with them and felt right at home at a table full of happy teens. That four of those teens were Weasleys almost had Molly in tears again. A few did escape when Harry offered them the opportunity to stay for a couple of days. Even his hope that they would chip in and help with the visiting orphans was an offer they couldn't refuse - both immediately volunteering to help in any way they could.
-oOoOo-
They were all back on the beach, erecting the magical tents and generally getting prepared for the arrival of their little visitors when Amelia and Bill appeared. Their demeanours demonstrated that they obviously needed to have a discussion in private. Deciding to use one of the tents, Harry, Hermione, Sirius and the Grangers sat in what was amazingly a comfortable living room under canvas.
Amelia realised this was her show and found she had no qualms about warning the people here about what she suspected might be coming their way. "Fantastic news about the last horcrux, the firewhisky came out in my office again as Bill and I shared a toast. What's got me worried though is some things I've been hearing regarding Dolores Umbridge. Sirius, she's stirring up the muck within the Wizengamot. I expect you'll soon receive a summons to appear before them regarding your plans for the orphanage."
It was a thoughtful Hermione who had a suggestion. "What if we set up a preemptive strike? Harry, do you remember we promised Skeeter an exclusive interview with your godfather? That appearing in the Prophet just before the Wizengamot demand answers should pull the rug out from under them."
This saw her receiving a quick kiss from her betrothed. "A fantastic idea, and we can still give Luna a couple more exclusives for her father. I don't ever want Rita anywhere near the Institute."
With that potential problem being so easily solved, it was clear something else must be bothering Amelia - she didn't disappoint.
"It's an open secret within the Ministry that Hogwarts is holding the revived Tri-Wizard tournament this year, with two other schools from abroad travelling to Hogwarts to compete alongside the still to be chosen Hogwarts champion."
Looking at Hermione, the information started popping into Harry's mind. "They haven't held this tournament for centuries, because a number of the contestants continually kept ending up dead. The last two champions received their awards posthumously - why the hell would they want to revive something like this?"
Nodding in agreement of Hermione's sentiments, Amelia then expressed what had initially triggered her alarm bells. "The competition is being restricted to witches and wizards who are of age..."
Hermione immediately began to share Amelia's worries. "Harry's considered of age, but has obviously left Hogwarts. How are these contestants chosen?"
Amelia had heard from Susan just how smart this which was, and was shocked at how quickly Hermione had gotten right to the heart of the problem. "Any potential champions need to place their name into a magical artefact - the Goblet of Fire. It chooses the champion for each of the schools, creating a binding magical contract as it does so."
"Oh shit! Why do I feel as if someone just walked over my grave?"
None of them thought Harry's comment was funny, nor his apprehension unwarranted. All could clearly see here's what had prompted Amelia to speak with them. Sirius found himself a lot more worried about this development than any summons for himself to face the Wizengamot.
"Bill, could Gringotts look into this supposed binding magical contract the cup creates? We could try and obtain a set of the rules for the competition but we also know that rules can be rewritten - or downright ignored - if it suits Dumbledore or Fudge's agendas."
Amelia agreed with that, but had more information to share with them. "What really set my alarm bells ringing is that Umbridge suddenly started upgrading all the tasks to lethal levels. Amos Diggory was telling everyone at the Ministry who stood still long enough that his son, Cedric, would be one of the favourites to represent Hogwarts as her champion. That was until Umbridge contacted his department about bringing Dragons to Scotland for this tournament - and that's only the first task. I think his son will currently be getting ordered not to go nowhere near that goblet."
While both were discussing the situation over their bond, it was Harry who spoke about what they had decided. "This is something we should certainly keep an eye on, just how 'binding' this contract might be will decide on how closely the situation needs monitored. It's at least a few months away though, and there's such a lot to be done before that. It goes without saying that Dumbledore would do practically anything to drag me back to Britain - if not Hogwarts castle itself. I have people looking out for me now though, so that puts us miles ahead of where we would normally be in these situations. It's now placed on our to-do list, and will move higher up the list as the date approaches - or we find out more worrying information. Do we all agree?"
That question was greeted by nods of agreement, though Dan and Emma's were rather forced. The subject was closed for the moment however when the tent flap opened and Remus led Jillian into the tent - with a stowaway.
"After hearing where I was going, this little madam parked herself outside my office door and begged to be brought along. I hope you don't mind?" The last part was said in jest as Harry and Hermione were clearly very happy to see Joan again. Their wide smiles were soon joined by Joan, now wearing a matching expression.
"I couldn't wait to see Hermione, and Harry, again."
Hermione only managed one step before Joan rocketed right into her arms. "Oh I think we could overlook this little stowaway..."
She was holding Joan while having another conversation with Harry. Emma was soon being introduced to the little witch too.
Remembering her own conversation with Dan, Emma was determined to help here. "Do you like the tent? You and your friends are going to be staying in them."
"Oh I think they are beautiful, just like everything here."
Putting Joan down onto her own feet, Hermione took the little witch by the hand. "What if we go a walk with my mum and dad while Jillian has her meeting?"
Joan wore a massive smile as she slipped her tiny hand into Hermione's. Emma offered to take Joan's other hand and the three of them stepped out of the tent, with Dan following on.
Jillian deliberately waited until they had left before speaking again. "I'm really sorry for imposing Joan on you like this but I've never seen her this animated before. When not doing an organised activity, she normally just sits somewhere by herself and quietly reads. Since meeting the people who visited the orphanage, the change in her has been remarkable. Her smile as she left here holding Hermione's hand is easily the widest I've ever seen on her face."
Through Harry, Hermione was still getting all of that. Knowing the feeling for Joan was mutual, Harry totally agreed with his betrothed's mental suggestion. "We already love having her here, she's not exactly any trouble, and we were wondering if she could stay tonight? Everyone else will be arriving tomorrow anyway so it will only be extending her holiday by one day."
Jillian had absolutely no problem with that suggestion and Harry was almost overwhelmed by the feeling of joy that returned from Hermione over their bond at hearing the good news. Bill left to meet with his family and Amelia set off to have a visit with Susan. She had already offered to sit in any meting the Weasley family had with the Italian Ministry. She was more than happy to speak with them on how the investigation was proceeding, and why the British Minister of Magic was blocking her department at every turn in order to protect Dumbledore.
Harry, Sirius and Remus proceeded to give Jillian a tour of the facilities they'd put in place, and run some of the activities planed past her for approval. She adored the tents, knowing the children would love them too. Tents opening onto a beach was a wonderful idea, though she had some safety concerns. Remus was able to ensure her that there would be at least one adult staying in each of the tents with the children, and that there were alarm wards on the tent flaps in case one of the children tried to wander off at night.
Simply watching as Joan interacted with the rest of the teens currently on the beach reaffirmed to Jillian that this was the best thing to ever happen to the orphanage. Sitting on a beautiful beach at tables under thatched parasols and drinking delicious chilled fruit juice was a very rare treat for her. Seeing Joan and Hermione share a large ice cream sundae would be an experience Jillian was sure the little witch would never forget. That this was being made available to all of the children currently in her care had Jillian thinking she was dreaming, except her dreams had never been as good as this before.
-oOoOo-
Draco was also thinking he was dreaming. He stared once more at his mother to ensure what he was hearing was actually true. Severus had insisted Draco's opinion on any union be considered before they proceeded further, not knowing this simply further endeared him to Cissi. Lucius had never thought of anyone but himself, apart from the man he had called master.
"Yes, Draco. If Severus and I married, you would have the option of no longer being a Malfoy. Severus would be more than happy to adopt you into his family."
Switching that stare to his former head of house, Draco's expression once more begged for confirmation of that fact.
"He actually has another option open to him as well. My mother was of the house of Prince but married beneath herself. That proud family is now reduced to one great aunt who only clings onto life in the desperate hope an heir can be found before she passes. I will never be considered but she would happily accept you as the answer to all her prayers. With your parents being a Malfoy and a Black, Great Aunt Ophelia would probably kiss your feet if you would consider continuing the Prince bloodline. You would probably have to blood adopt with her, though would still be our son. It would also see any legacy your mother and I leave go to any children we might have later."
Draco couldn't see any downside to this. He would be at Hogwarts with both his parents - both there as professors. No longer being considered a Malfoy would remove a massive weight from his shoulders. Even the thought of his mother possibly having more children with Severus was not a deal breaker for Draco. Dreams of teaching a younger sibling how to fly a broom were very pleasant ones. In the end, there really wasn't a decision for Draco to make.
"If you and Severus wish to get married, I would offer you both my full support on the matter. As to the Price or Snape thing, I'll happily trust your judgement on whatever you both think is best for me."
His mother then laying down the law that none of the men in her life would be involved in the war between the Dark Lord, Dumbledore and Potter was just the cherry on top as far as Draco was concerned. He'd seen what death looked like at the hands of Potter, and had no interest in any repeat lessons. changing his name would get Draco out from under this blood-feud, and no one could say anything about how he achieved that feat. His mother remarrying was a perfectly legitimate reason to lose the Malfoy name, without any accusations of cowardice being attached to the manoeuvre - or Draco himself. As discussions moved onto the 'when' his mother would marry Severus, Draco could only think that the sooner the better.
-oOoOo-
Joan was failing fast, only her determination not to miss anything was keeping her eyes open. She'd probably spoken more today, and with more people, than she would in a month back at the orphanage. Hermione then unleashed her secret weapons.
"If you go for a nap, I'll be able to introduce you to Hedwig and Crookshanks. Hedwig is Harry's owl and Crookshanks is my cat. If you get a short nap now, you'll enjoy your dinner more. Oh, did I forget to mention, Miss Jillian said you could stay here with us when she goes back to Britain after dinner tonight."
After hearing that, Joan hugged Hermione hard before releasing her grip and melting into Harry's arms. With shouts of 'see you for dinner' ringing in her ears, the little witch was almost asleep by the time they reached Harry's bedroom. She stayed awake long enough to be introduced to Hedwig and then Crookshanks jumped up on the bed to keep Joan company as she napped.
Jillian stood at the door, smiling down at the young couple and her charge. "The excitement alone will be enough to have her tired out. You just gave that young witch the best day of her life - and are planning to do he same for the rest of my charges. You can't possibly know what this means to them."
Knowing Harry wouldn't want to talk about his pre-Hogwarts years, Hermione gave Jillian something of an insight on what this meant to them.
"My Harry is an orphan who was raise by relatives, those relatives hated even the mention of the word magic. Since my Harry is a very powerful wizard, they transferred all that hatred onto him. A friend, even a kind word, can make all the difference in the world to someone who feels life has abandoned them. We know exactly what this will mean to them, and hopefully it will only be the start. We hope to change all of their lives for the better. Ambitious - yes - but that's who my Harry is. His godfather is pretty special too, and failure is simply not an option in this case."
After quietly calling Dobby and asking him to keep an eye on Joan, Harry put his arm around Hermione and led them all from his room. "You'll meet Francesca later, which is one of the reasons why we wanted you to stay for dinner. She's the architect who will work on the orphanage, and has actually just started dating Sirius. She's currently project managing the Potter institute. We've gotten into the habit of all having a quick look at how the institute is progressing, and then Francesca joins us for dinner."
Jillian could certainly understand Joan's tiredness due to all the excitement. This was turning out to be the most exciting day of her life too.
-oOoOo-
Ron was sitting quietly on the terrace, with his arm around Millie as they let their sumptuous dinner digest. They were watching Harry and Hermione walk along the beach, with Joan happily sandwiched between them and holding both of their hands. The colourful lanterns that had been set up all over the beach for tomorrow's visitors allowed him to see the trio were all having fun.
Noticing the thoughtful mood her boyfriend was in, Millie asked the question she really didn't want to. "Would you rather be down there, with them?" Millie may have said 'them', but she really meant Hermione. While the girl had been nothing but supportive of her relationship with Ron, and was quickly becoming a good friend to Millie, this holiday had seen Hermione bloom into a beautiful young woman. Millie still had some major insecurities over her appearance however, and Ron had been one of Hermione's best friends for the last three years.
"No, they need some time to themselves - or with Joan. That little girl makes both of them smile and laugh so much - they're good for each other." Looking into Millie's eyes, Ron then sussed exactly what Millie was asking him. "They are both my best friends but I would much rather be sitting here with you."
Seeing her smile didn't quite reach Millie's eyes, Ron then confessed to what he'd actually been thinking about. "I was sitting here wondering if this was actually real, or will life kick us in the teeth again. Watching a beautiful Mediterranean sunset with my arm around my gorgeous girlfriend - those things don't happen to Ron Weasley. I've been piss-poor all my life and this just doesn't seem real…ouch!"
Hitting Ron on the back of his head, Millie then asked her boyfriend if that smack was real enough for him. "I'm here, and not going anywhere. Your family is also by no means piss-poor."
Seeing Ron about to dispute that statement, Millie didn't give him time but instead cut right across his objections. "Piss-poor is a muggle saying. Tanneries used to require urine to treat the hides, so people used to save their piss and sell it to them. For the poorer families, that might be all the income they had - hence piss-poor. If you literally didn't have a pot to piss in, you were even poorer than that. By no stretch of the imagination are the Weasleys anywhere near that poor."
She then changed tact on Ron. "Look down there. Now no one in the entire world knows those two better than you do - so tell me this. Is it his gold that's making Harry incredibly happy, or the people he's with?"
It was like the theatre curtain pulling back on opening night, Ron finally got to see his friends for who they really were. "Harry usually wears clothes that are in a worse state than mine - and don't even fit him. When Harry got access to his gold, the first thing he did was spend a chunk of it on his friends. Harry could easily have arranged for some of the best tutors in the world to provide lessons for him and Hermione, instead he's building a fabulous school for all of us. People are more important to Harry than any amount of gold, with Hermione being right at the very top of that list."
Pleased that her boyfriend was cottoning on, she prodded him to go further. "And Hermione?"
Ron smiling was not the answer Millie wanted, but she was fine after hearing his explanation. "The first time we met Sirius was terrifying - and not just because it was in the Shrieking Shack. He was supposed to be an escaped mass murderer who was desperate to kill Harry. Hermione deliberately stood right in front of Harry, ready to take any curse Sirius was going to cast at him. A hell of a lot of things changed that night, but not how those two felt about each other. She wouldn't care if Harry didn't have a knut to his name, Hermione would still be right by his side."
Nodding at his understanding, Millie then laid it out for Ron. "You have a wonderful family and fantastic friends, that makes Ronald Weasley a wealthy man."
He leaned over and gently kissed Milly. "Having you as my girlfriend makes me one of the richest men in the world. You have my permission to keep whacking the back of my head anytime I forget that."
Molly was sitting on the balcony connected to the room Harry had provided for her and Arthur's stay, sipping a wonderful glass of red wine and making no attempt to stem the flow of tears that were running down her cheeks. Understanding these were happy tears, Arthur sipped his own glass as they saw his youngest son give his girlfriend a kiss.
"They all look wonderful, Arthur, and are clearly very happy. That school Harry's building is something else too. It's hard to believe that our children even had some input into the design of the building but Minerva would never lie to us. Harry's also invited us back for Christmas, we'll get to spend the holidays with them."
Passing his hanky over to his wife, a smiling Arthur had even better news for Molly. "Since the Institute will only have four years worth of students, they decided to allow parents to visit and stay for a weekend each term. They'll arrange a rota of when those visits are, taking birthdays and other things into account. I didn't want to say anything until after our visit…"
Molly finished Arthur's sentence. "..just in case we couldn't come. Oh Arthur, I could strangle Albus bloody Dumbledore with his own beard for what he's done to these children. Do you think Percy will be in any danger at Hogwarts?"
Arthur had been giving that a lot of thought so gave Molly his best guess. "Dumbledore will try to extract as much work out of Percy and Penny as is humanly possible, while paying them as little as he can get away with. I don't think either of them will be in any danger, those Quibbler articles will see a lot of people keeping a close eye on Hogwarts and Dumbledore. He would need to be really crazy to pull anything now."
That didn't exactly reassure Molly, since the young Mind Healer who was handling Ginny's case used exactly those words to describe the Hogwarts Headmaster.
Harry and Hermione were tucking Joan into a bed that had been placed in Hermione's room, the little chatterbox became quiet as Harry kissed her goodnight on the forehead.
Noticing her silence, and her nose twitching almost as if Joan was biting her young lip over something, Hermione kissed the little girl on the forehead too before speaking. "You know you can ask us anything, don't you?"
Looking at both of them in turn, Joan then lowered her eyes and her voice was barely above a whisper. "Is this what having a family feels like? Everyone here has treated me so well. This has been the best day of my life..."
Harry sat on the bed beside the little girl, trying to avoid Joan bursting into tears. "I think so. You see, I didn't have a family before this summer either - and never thought I ever would. Any family would be really lucky to have you as part of it, and I promise your name is already down to attend the Potter Institute when that time comes."
Joan threw her arms around Harry and hugged him close, smiling instead of crying. "With a wand and uniform and books...". She now had a future to look forward too.
-oOoOo-
Peter understood his future would be decided in the next few seconds. He'd found the spirit that once had been his master and was now on his knees, head bowed, awaiting any punishment the Dark Lord saw fit to administer.
He tried not to let his thoughts drift to the witch kneeling beside him. After spending over a week in Bertha's company, a Bertha Jorkins controlled by the imperius curse Peter had cast on the lovely witch, he was finding it hard to ignore the witch he now knew in the biblical sense of the word.
His master immediately quashed all Peter's lustful thoughts about the witch who'd been keeping him company by possessing Berta's body. There was zero chance of Peter even kissing this witch again, his master's face growing out the back of Bertha's head put an instant end to that. Memories of the fun he'd had with Bertha, after she'd recognised him in that inn, were now actually turning his stomach. The Dark Lord's possession of Bertha might just kill Peter's libido off for all time, if his master didn't kill him first.
"Ah Wormtail, so nice of you to find me - eventually."
Hearing his master's voice for the first time in over a decade left Peter trembling with fear. He expected, at the very least, to be punished severely. His master was clearly very angry, and an angry Dark Lord always took that anger out on others. Since Peter was now the only other person here, his master was hardly likely to cast his favourite torture curse on the witch he'd just possessed, Peter expected to feel that anger wash over him and cause a torrent of pain. He was to be shocked that the expected pain didn't materialised - Lord Voldemort had other fish to fry.
Tom wasn't angry. Instead he was experiencing an emotion that he usually inspired in others - the Dark Lord Voldemort was terrified. For some reason he couldn't explain, Tom felt compelled to return to Britain as quickly as he possibly could. There was no time for finesse or complicated rituals, a brute force possession of a witch already under the control of one of his followers was the surest way of reaching Little Hangleton in the shortest possible time.
There, he would check to see if the treasure stored at his mother's home was still safe before deciding on his next move. Something was telling Tom his treasure wouldn't be there, which was the reason for his terror. Unless that ring was where he left it, Tom would be forced into taking drastic measures.
He'd felt abandoned and alone, with that feeling growing exponentially over the last few months. Wormtail was certainly not one of his inner circle Death Eaters, he was barely competent as a wizard, but he was here - and with a vessel fo him to possess. When Wormtail's shaking hand held out his beloved wand, Lord Voldemort decided to be merciful. He cast the cruciatus on Wormtail, but only for a few seconds. It was wonderful to hold his wand once more, even if these arms were on backward.
"Come Wormtail, we must return to Britain. As you have already discovered, travelling as a couple attracts very little attention. We will continue to do so until we reach home."
His wand soon had expansion charms on the inside of Bertha's bag, with featherlite and warming charms making it an ideal way to transport Niagi along with them. That same wand then transfigured a piece of wood into a hat for Bertha, charmed so the Dark Lord could see through it.
The couple began walking out of the forest they'd entered earlier. Unlike their journey in though, they certainly weren't holding hands as they left.
-oOoOo-
Donald was having relationship problems too. Those were actually not so unusual for guards posted to the luxury island resort of Azkaban, though Donald's certainly were. All these articles in the newspapers mentioning Death Eaters and You-Know-Who caused the security at the island prison to be reviewed and dramatically increased.
This left his proposed date with the deadly Bellatrix to be simply impossible for the time being. There was one thing about Donald Carrick however, he had no problem displaying patience to get what he wanted - and Donald wanted Bellatrix badly.
He would wait until all the hoo-haa died down, this level of security couldn't be maintained for too long, and then Donald would be able to make his much anticipated move. Thinking positive thoughts like that was the only thing that got him through the days - that and knowing his patience would be well rewarded. Bellartix Lestrange was certainly worth waiting for.