Chapter 3
Harry had the strangest feeling he was being watched so he slowly opened his eyes to see another pair the size of tennis balls staring back at him from a distance of about six inches. "Harry Potter sir should not be sleeping on top of the bed with all his clothes on!"
Harry dived off the bed in fright, "Dobby, what the hell are you doing here?"
Dobby appeared confused, "Dobby is here to wake Harry Potter sir, it is morning."
Harry had regained his composure, he didn't want to upset the little guy. "I understand that bit Dobby, but why are you here and not in Hogwarts?"
"Oh Dobby spoke with master Barchoke to see if he needed an elf to look after Harry Potter's new home, Dobby now works here!"
The delight in Dobby's expression stopped Harry saying any more, the little elf had his clothes all laid out for the day and there was a bathroom/shower en suite so the still sleepy wizard headed in that direction.
Twenty minutes later saw a showered and freshly dressed Harry heading out his room to explore their new accommodation, he heard voices coming from downstairs and set off in that direction to find Luna and Hermione sitting chatting.
"Morning you two, did everyone sleep well?" Harry wasn't sure what the protocol was for greeting your girlfriend in the morning but leaned down to kiss her cheek, Hermione turned her head to give him a quick peck on the lips and both of them were happy with that.
"Luna's already started working on the article for the Quibbler, I was telling her the paper came highly recommended by Barchoke."
"Yes, apparently it appeals to their sense of humour. 'A lot of funny nonsense surrounding nuggets of truth' was how Barchoke put it. He advised us to contact you as the Prophet is just a ministry mouthpiece."
Luna was blushing, "Dad will be upset his cover is blown but printing this was going to raise our profile anyway, our worry has always been that publications openly criticising the ministry have a habit of changing ownership. Hiding the truth amongst articles that we had a lot of fun making up gave the ministry deniability as we were treated as a joke publication. We have accumulated quite a large circulation of loyal, discerning readers who can filter the truth from the manure."
Harry put his hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Speaking of filtering out the manure, anytime you want to talk about your stay in Ravenclaw we would be more than willing to listen. Both Hermione and I have first-hand experience of being bullied and your outburst when you thought we were cruelly teasing told us this was something you were used to. I would have helped you Luna whether you had newspaper connections or not and hope we can find some time for the three of us just to sit and chat. I've always room for more friends."
Luna felt as if her heart would burst. "Thanks Harry, Dobby is going to bring me breakfast here as I want to get this to dad today. Would you both like to join me?"
"We would love to but I think it's important for us to appear in the great hall for breakfast, we need to find out the reaction to what happened last night. I also want to see what happened to Ron, I'm mad at him but hope he's alright, he's a jealous git with a bad temper but I wouldn't like to see him maimed for life. How about you ask Dobby to prepare us lunch and we'll all have here?"
A beaming Luna nodded in agreement as Harry and Hermione headed towards the castle.
-oOoOo-
A furious Severus Snape had been trying to gain access to the castle since first light with no luck, but now had an idea as he headed back to Hogsmead where he'd spent the night. Faced with the prospects of Hagrid's hut or the three broomsticks, Madam Rosmerta's charms had easily won against the half-giant's snores and that slobbering dog of his.
Zooming back to Hogwarts on a borrowed broom he headed for the astronomy tower, they would have to rise very early in the morning to get the better of him. Severus opened the door and found himself blasted right over the parapet; the only thing that saved his broken body from being found at the bottom of the tower was the broom in his hand.
It was a shaken Severus who had managed to mount the broom as he was falling and gain control of the situation in the nick of time. This had ceased to be a game anymore so he was admitting defeat and heading back to Hogsmead with the intention of sending an owl to Albus. He was now certain this prank was beyond those blasted Weasley twins and he couldn't think of any other candidates capable of pulling this off. He was so caught up in his deliberations he never noticed Harry and Hermione as they headed into the castle.
-oOoOo-
Harry and Hermione entered the great hall and were certain they had made the right decision. It was as if the whole school were waiting to see what would happen next, they didn't have long to wait.
A few people were making straight for them but all were headed off by the headmaster, Albus wanted to get to them first. "Miss Granger, your presence is required in Professor McGonagall's office immediately." Both teens turned to leave but Albus didn't want that, "Mr Potter your presence is neither required nor allowed, this is a private matter."
Harry confronted Dumbledore face to face, "Since Miss Granger is my betrothed the only way to bar my presence is if the lady in question requested it."
Hermione quickly replied, "I don't know what the matter is but I want Harry there."
They turned to leave when Albus made a grab for Harry's arm, "I won't allow that!"
Harry looked down at Dumbledore's wrinkled hand on his arm before placing his other hand on top of the old wizard's, intending to remove it. The sizzle could be clearly heard before the headmaster's yell of pain preceded him hastily withdrawing his now blackened hand from Harry but the young man's words hurt a lot more than the burn.
"It would appear professor that my mother's protection is still keeping me safe from evil." He glanced at Hermione, "Love is really such a powerful force, you wouldn't happen to know how my name ended up in that cup would you headmaster?"
A totally stunned Dumbledore stood staring at his blackened hand as the boy's words drilled through his brain, had he become evil? He was aware that if he didn't satisfy Harry with an answer then he would lose the lad forever, not to mention most of the school was watching. Albus pulled out his wand. "I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore swear on my life and magic that I did not knowingly play any part in Harry Potter's name being entered into the goblet of fire."
The resulting flash again illuminated the hall before a phoenix patronus made an appearance, Harry bowed in acknowledgement of the old wizards actions. "Thank you for that sir. There is a long list of people wishing to do me harm and it pleases me more than I can say that your name is no longer on it."
Poppy led the old wizard in the direction of the infirmary as Albus was reliving years of decisions he'd made concerning Harry while trying to discern why the boy could ever think he was evil. The end result though was whatever force protected the boy obviously classed him as such which meant Harry must consider him so, it was imperative that he fix this problem. Albus didn't think he was being overly dramatic when he thought that the fate of the world could rest on this and then he remembered what was waiting for them in Minerva's office. "Oh Merlin! What have I done?"
-oOoOo-
Harry was trying to reassure his girlfriend. "Sal said it's superficial and Pomfrey will have his hand as good as new in a day or so, it was only being compared to the Voldemort possessed Quirrell that got him to make that oath." They had reached McGonagall's door and her call of enter had Harry opening the door for Hermione, only to stumble into the back of her as she abruptly stopped with a loud gasp.
Minerva was livid with Albus, he'd taken his manipulations a step too far here. If she lost one of the best students Gryffindor ever had through it, she would tear strips off him. He'd wound the Grangers up and then just dumped them in her office, promising to send Hermione to them and leaving her to deal with the shit while he keeps his hands clean. She had just about calmed the father down when Hermione entered and gasped, unfortunately she put her hand over her mouth and her beautiful new ring was there for all to see.
"What the hell do you think you're playing at young lady? That ring is coming off this very second and then I'll deal with the bloody boyfriend!" Dan grabbed his daughter's hand with the intention of removing her ring, this was a mistake and he instantly found himself flying across the room with the screams of his daughter and wife ringing in his ears.
McGonagall now had her wand out, no one was attacking her students. Harry meanwhile had both his arms comfortingly around Hermione and whispering in her ear, "It's ok, there was a cushioning charm on the wall. Hogwarts knows he's your father but only we are allowed to remove that ring."
Emma was trying to help Dan up when he saw the boy with his arms around his little girl. It was like a red rag to a bull, he sprang at them only to find himself frozen by Minerva's wand. "We are going to sit and discuss this like civilised adults, she may be your daughter but in this castle I'm charged with her safety. If you can do that I will release the body bind."
Emma had both hands on Dan's arm, "I promise you professor, he'll behave."
Minerva released him and Emma brooked no argument as she plonked Dan down in a chair and practically sat on him.
Hermione was seated beside Harry, she'd never seen her dad this angry and couldn't understand what was happening here. McGonagall could offer no help, "Miss Granger, I have no idea what's going on here, the headmaster brought your parents here and told me he would send you to my office. Your father is clearly upset but won't tell me why so I'm in the dark as much as you."
"Daddy what's happened? What's the matter?"
"You sit there, wearing the ring of the boy you're now living with and ask me what the matter is? I thought we raised you better than that?" Dan was now yelling but a very angry Harry was on his feet.
"Mr Granger, this is our first meeting and I can already tell Hermione takes her intelligence after her mother. The emphasis you put on the phrase 'living together' is very upsetting to your daughter, upsetting and downright hurtful that you would believe such a thing of her."
"The headmaster said you'd turned Hermione's head by giving her a fortune and that ring must be worth one as well. My daughter's never had a boyfriend then along comes this rich lord, lavishing her with gifts and attention to bowl my little girl right off her feet."
Harry turned to face Hermione, "It's beginning to make sense now, no wonder he tried to stop me from coming up here. You do know I would have come after you, right?"
Hermione attempted a weak smile and nodded.
Minerva felt powerful wards going up around her office and she looked to Harry for an explanation. "Professor, I need to know how much we can trust you. Dumbledore has betrayed ours yet again, if you scan Mr Granger you will find a mild compulsion charm. I would suggest it was to get his daughter as far away from me as possible. If you could lift that charm and promise to keep our secrets, then we can talk. If not, we four will leave to our new accommodation and Hermione and I will be leaving Hogwarts today."
She found the charm exactly as Harry had said and was now ready to blow her top. "Mr Potter, as long as these secrets doesn't endanger anyone then I will keep them."
It was as if a switch had been thrown on the Grangers but for very different reasons, Dan felt a lot of the aggression leave him while Emma reacted to the name Minerva had just used. "Potter, as in Harry Potter?" she received a nod, "But the headmaster told us it was some lord who was here for a competition, he implied that this foreigner had just met Hermione and she was now living with him. We've been hearing about Harry Potter since Hermione first set foot in this place."
"The headmaster didn't actually lie to you Mrs Granger, he just gives out a few facts and leads you in a specific direction toward the conclusions he wants you to draw. I have been illegally entered in a competition that only adults are supposed to participate in, my goblin friends used this as an argument to have me made an adult, hence Lord Potter. We were told the competition had been abandoned in years past because it got too dangerous, our research brought up that one of the tasks usually has someone close to the competitor taken as a hostage to be rescued. The last competition saw two of the three hostages severely injured and one of the competitors killed." Harry was right about the intelligence because Emma caught on a lot quicker than Dan.
"I will never give my permission for my daughter to be used as a hostage!"
It was Harry though who had to break the bad news to them. "Unfortunately Mrs Granger, you wouldn't even be asked and your objections ignored anyway. Hermione has been my best friend for three years and my girlfriend for only a day but she wears my ring because, as the betrothed of Lord Potter they can't touch her. Hermione's safety was my only concern here, neither of us will be rushing into anything and all this ring signifies is that we're serious about each other. Our friendship is so important to us we would never have risked dating if we weren't serious about each other. Professor, this is the bit I need you to keep secret, I am a founder's heir which means the castle itself will protect me and mine. While Hermione wears that ring as my betrothed the castle itself will keep her safe."
McGonagall was rapidly joining the dots to get a complete picture, "That's what happened to Mr Weasley's hand!"
"Yes, when he fired a curse at us the castle exploded his wand. The headmaster tried to physically stop me coming up here and received a burned hand for his troubles. That's also why Mr Granger couldn't remove her ring, Hogwarts will protect Hermione."
Dan was feeling rather sheepish, he'd come to Hogwarts to withdraw Hermione and hopefully beat the shit out this foreign lord who'd corrupted his princess. Instead he finds the boy's her best friend who has done more than the professors to keep his little girl safe, he still had questions though. "What about the fortune the headmaster mentioned, I'd like to know the reason behind that?"
"I claimed the carcass of the basilisk I had killed and shared the proceeds equally amongst its victims, including one girl who has since graduated."
"How much is a fortune?" Emma asked.
Hermione was sitting looking at her shoes, "About a quarter of a million pounds. Harry I don't feel too good, can we go back to our quarters now."
Dan had cooled down enough that Emma felt she could go to Hermione, but her daughter pulled away. "How could you even think that about me, far less say it? Harry's the nicest boy you could ever meet yet you had him practically administering love potions and raping me! I don't know if I can forgive you for that."
Harry's arms once again going around his daughter didn't bother Dan, the hurt his daughter's words caused left him feeling hollow inside but the space gradually filled with anger as the young man spoke.
"Hermione love, you need to think about this, your parents have just been played by a master. Our beloved headmaster would portray it as if the famous Victor Krum had swept you off your feet and you were now sharing his ship with him. Given those circumstances, your parents' actions are not only predictable but perfectly understandable. You inhabit a world they know very little about, then Albus Dumbledore comes to their house and tells them their daughter is in grave danger! They clearly love you very much so what else were they supposed to do?"
Emma's emotions had been all over the place since this morning, her instinct was that the headmaster had another agenda but no parent can ignore a warning their child is in danger. Harry was right, they'd been manipulated by an expert. "Harry, do you have any idea why the headmaster would do this?"
"Oh that's easy Mrs Granger, control of me! Hermione's stuck by me through thick and thin and our betrothal, along with me expressing my independence must have scared him. The headmaster doesn't want to lose control of his bait."
"Mr Potter, I think that's quite enough!"
McGonagall's reprimand was quite enough for Hermione. "No I don't think that's anywhere near enough! You all agreed that the only reason Harry's name was entered is because someone is again trying to kill him but you just forced him to compete anyway. How many people in that room knew the competition could be cancelled and the names redrawn later? Not one person spoke up to defend my Harry, no one ever speaks up or steps forward to defend my Harry and frankly I think THAT is quite enough. He has to stay here to compete in this travesty and if that isn't dangerous enough someone is trying to kill him AGAIN! I think this will be my last year at Hogwarts and I will do everything in my power to see Harry leaves with me."
Harry still had his arms around Hermione, "Where you go, I go Hermione."
Emma had never seen her quiet, studious daughter like this, Professor McGonagall was practically her role model yet Hermione had just tore into the woman. She was aware her daughter liked Harry but apparently her feelings went well beyond like, thankfully it was blatantly obvious that the young man in question returned those feelings with the same measure. Emma tried to lighten the tension, "Harry, you're supposed to play hard to get."
"Not with Hermione ma'am, she's too special to risk loosing over stupid games."
Dan thought he had his facts right but after his recent debacle he was going to make sure. "Are you saying the old man got us out of bed, filled our heads with this bullshit, cast some sort of spell on me and then left us here just so he could break up a couple of school kids who'd just started dating? I'm finding this very hard to believe right now."
Minerva was still reeling from Hermione's outburst, and declaration of leaving Hogwarts but she knew both teens were far too modest to answer her father's question. "The piece of information you are missing Mr Granger is that Harry is just about the most famous wizard in our world. His betrothal to your daughter will be front page news and spill onto quite a few pages inside as well I would imagine. Lord Potter here is apparently also very wealthy, I have no idea how much he's worth but this young man gave over a million of your pounds away last night and didn't bat an eyelid."
"Professor I didn't feel that money was mine, rather it should go to the people who'd suffered months in the infirmary. I'm also famous because my parents died and I didn't, not something I want to boast about. The Headmaster likes to keep me on a tight leash, even dictating where I go during the summer holidays but that's all at an end now. Mr and Mrs Granger, would you like to see where Hermione is now living? To tell the truth we haven't really had time for a good look around ourselves yet, we were so tired after our adventures yesterday I fell asleep fully clothed on top of my bed." Harry was now holding Hermione's hand and trying to convey that this was something they needed to do, he didn't want his girlfriend fighting with her parents, especially over him.
Emma could see what Harry was trying to do and desperately wanted to help heal the rift in her family, "We would love to, Hermione's life at Hogwarts is a complete mystery to us and anything we can learn would be very welcome."
Harry took a book out his bag and turned it into a portkey, much to McGonagall's astonishment. "The mystery of how you got out of the chamber is solved, wouldn't it be better just to walk?"
Harry smiled, "Same reason we used them to get out the chamber last night, there are certain people we'd rather avoid. Please touch the book."
Minerva was about to ask if she could accompany them when they disappeared. It suddenly dawned on her that she'd never even asked which founder he was heir to, she'd just assumed it was Gryffindor.
-oOoOo-
Three Gryffindors with red hair were currently haranguing a forth, the littlest Weasley was not pulling any punches with her older brother. "How can anyone plan six moves ahead in chess yet be so bloody stupid not to see what's right under their nose? Do you honestly think Harry wants more fame or a thousand galleons enough to be branded a liar and cheat by his so-called best friend? What the hell were you thinking firing a curse at him and Hermione, have you got so many friends you can afford to throw the best two you'll ever have away? Mum's going to go mental when McGonagall tells her what happened!"
Ron had been sitting in bed, trying to ignore all the points his sister was making, 'Harry's got everything' running through his mind. The mention of his mother crashed through his feeble defences like a cannon ball, "Why would McGonagall contact mum?"
Ginny couldn't answer, her brother's stupidity had rendered her speechless so George was left to do the honours. "Correct me if I'm wrong little brother but didn't you fire a curse at two unarmed students during dinner in the middle of the great hall?"
"It didn't hit anybody, I'm the injured one here!"
"Well George, I think we can safely say it's official. Mum gave all the good stuff to the five older brothers so by the time Ron came along there was nothing left. Thank Merlin Ginny's a girl, can you imagine how much of a twat a seventh son would be?"
"True my twin, but I don't think we should feel responsible, just because we got a double dose."
"Knock it off you two, this moron is in so much trouble yet so bloody thick and full of Harry Potter envy that he can't get his head far enough out his arse to see it!"
"Oh there speaks the girl with her own bank vault, what the hell did I get?"
Ginny could at least say they had tried. "Ron I think you are going to get everything you deserve."
With that they left their brother to ferment in his self-induced pity party.
-oOoOo-
The party of four arrived in the large reception hall. "This will give you some idea of how tired we were last night, those crates are full of extremely rare books that no one has read for a thousand year and yet we all headed straight to bed."
Harry could see the look of longing in Emma at the mention of rare books and guessed that's where Hermione inherited her passion.
"Harry, Hermione, you need to come and see these!"
They followed the sound of Luna's voice and found her sitting at a table adorned with photographs from the chamber. "Colin dropped by with the pictures and they're unbelievable, good job you took others down with you because I was there and still don't believe it. Colin seemed quite disappointed you weren't here Harry, he wanted to show you these himself…Oh Hello!" Luna had finally looked up from the pictures and noticed the two adults.
"Luna, this is my mum and dad. We're going to have a tour of this place, would you like to join us?"
Luna didn't ask why Hermione's parents were there, or why her new friend looked so strained, she figured they would tell her later if they wanted her to know. "Oh yes please, I've almost got this article finished but am having a hard time deciding what picture to use."
Dan couldn't take his eyes off the pictures, with the kids standing in front of the monster you got some idea towards the scale of the beast. "What the hell is that?"
"That's what put me in the infirmary for over three weeks, Harry killed it with a sword."
Dan couldn't believe what his daughter was saying but, to the best of their knowledge, she'd never lied to them. The fact that neither Harry nor the girl called Luna disagreed with Hermione chilled their blood, the idea that this thing had nearly cost Hermione her life having more effect than the thought of a twelve year old Harry killing the beast. Dan was forced to reassess his plan of kicking the boyfriend's arse, if he faced this thing when he was twelve then the lad was hardly likely to find Dan the dentist scary!
They started the tour upstairs as Hermione made a point of showing her bedroom to her parents, she then commented that Harry's room was smaller than hers and Luna's.
"After saying goodnight I just collapsed onto the nearest available bed, when Dobby woke me up all my stuff was in the room." The bedroom two doors down was obviously the master bedroom and gave Harry an idea. "Mr and Mrs Granger, the first task takes place on the twenty fourth of this month, would you like to attend as my guests? You could even stay here for a few days and get a flavour of the magical world."
Again Emma cottoned on very quickly to what Harry was attempting and once more she was very willing to help him out. He clearly wanted them to see there was nothing untoward going on here and let them spend time with Hermione, how could she say no to that. "Harry we would be delighted to accept but we couldn't take your bedroom from you."
"Mrs Granger, the room I'm currently in is larger and more luxurious than anywhere I've ever stayed, trust me when I say I'm very happy there."
They continued their tour, finding a training room that allowed Hermione to display her magic to Dan and Emma for the first time. Both parents were amazed as she had objects flying through the air, changing from one thing to another with eventually about a dozen bunny rabbits hopping around the room, one last wave of her wand and everything returned to normal. A hug from a proud mother went a long way to repairing the damage done this morning.
A compact gym, small potions lab and kitchen were followed by an area that had a sauna and large whirlpool tub, producing blushes from the teens and worrying glances from the adults.
It was the last room they visited though that was the jewel in the crown, a library that had all three females drooling. There was a fireplace with two incredibly comfortable looking sofas either side of it as well as a few work tables set around the room. With bookcases holding at least ten thousand volumes, when the books from the crates were added this would rival, if not surpass Hogwarts.
"Ok Dan, how quickly can we sell the practice and move in here?" Emma wasn't entirely joking.
"Mrs Granger, if we can get Hermione to make you a portkey home then I can go with you to make reusable ones that will take you between your house and here whenever you want."
"Harry we are going to be spending so much time here I insist you call me Emma, otherwise I'll need to start calling you Lord Potter."
They only escaped the library when Dobby announced that lunch was ready, having the food appear on the table as soon as they sat down was a shock to the Grangers until Hermione explained about house elves.
"Can non magical people employ one, that would be fabulous to sit down after fixing teeth all day to a home cooked meal with no clearing up to do either."
Dobby popped right at Emma's elbow. "Would Missis Granger like a house elf? Dobby's friend Winky is looking for a new family and would be honoured to serve friends of Harry Potter."
"Would Winky take wages Dobby?" Hermione asked, only to be interrupted by the house elf in question making a personal appearance.
To say that Winky wasn't adjusting to being set free as well as Dobby would have been a gross understatement. The little elf looked ill, dirty and drunk, not a good combination, which was made appear worse as her speech, was slurred also. "Winky may be bad elf but not wanting wages, Winky wants to be part of family again."
They all felt sorry for the distraught elf but it was Luna who acted. "Winky, if you really want to be part of a family then perhaps you would consider mine? My dad is at work most days so you could be here with Dobby, just make sure daddy occasionally eats something and has clean underwear."
The change in her demeanour was instantaneous and remarkable, even the thought of someone wanting the little elf had her standing straighter and looking better. "Miss would want Winky in her family?"
"Only if it makes you happy and get's you looking after yourself again. I have an article to finish then you can take it to daddy and tell him what I said, Dobby could you look after her until then?"
Dobby was bouncing with excitement before popping away with Winky, Hermione wanted to be angry at the thought of the little elf's impending enslavement but she couldn't deny the evidence of her own eyes. Winky's condition almost had her in tears until her soft spoken new friend offered the desperate elf a home, the wonder and joy being broadcast by Winky would have left any objection of Hermione's looking pretty selfish. In this case Winky's happiness was clearly more important than her morals.
She'd closely observed as Harry learned the portkey charm and now had an opportunity to try it herself. Hermione imagined their enclosed back garden and applied it to Harry's scarf, the four then said cheerio to Luna as they left to walk outside. The Grangers had been portkeyed directly into the castle and this was a chance for a quick glance around.
When they left Dan was amazed at the solid looking cube with the large metal door, guarded by what Hermione claimed were security goblins, it really was magic how it looked so different on the inside. He and Emma had started the day worried sick about Hermione but were happier with her situation now than at anytime since she'd started attended this bloody place. Having visited her new accommodation, met the boyfriend and witnessed first hand what it was like to have a magical castle protecting their daughter, Dan would sleep soundly tonight. He'd wondered for years how he would feel when faced with the dreaded boyfriend only to discover that it was nothing like he'd imagined, that he was sure could be accredited entirely to said boyfriend being Harry Potter.
Dan couldn't think of any other young lad who had such an air of chivalry about them. Hermione certainly didn't do things by half's, not only was her boyfriend a gentleman but a Lord to boot!
-oOoOo-
Albus was at an absolute loss with no idea what to do next. Severus couldn't gain access to the castle, Fawkes had disappeared when asked to fetch the potion's master and hadn't been seen since. On top of that, no one had yet left Minerva's office and he couldn't get in.
The headmaster didn't feel any change in the castle wards yet Minerva's office was blocked to him. When the portraits reported that she'd left for her afternoon class he hurried to intercept her, Albus needed to know what had transpired with the Grangers. Unfortunately for the headmaster, Minerva's anger had not abated one iota but now she had a target to release it on, which she promptly did.
"Albus Dumbledore, what possessed you to place that charm on Miss Granger's father? You should be ashamed of yourself for doing that to a muggle, no you should be arrested for interfering with the betrothal of Lord Potter. What gives you the right to do such a thing?"
"I thought it was necessary and for the best, does Harry know?"
"For the best, for who's best? Yes Harry knows, it was he who detected that horrible spell. I was about to assure him you would never do such a thing when I discovered he was correct. I never thought you could stoop so low Albus."
The headmaster felt as if he'd been physically assaulted, "What was Harry's reaction?"
"Both he and Miss Granger have indicated they will be leaving Hogwarts when the competition ends."
"No, he can't!"
Minerva unloaded both barrels on the wilting Dumbledore. "Yes he bloody well can and I for one don't blame either of them, the person I blame is standing right in front of me! I have a class of second year students awaiting, they are far more deserving of my time than you, good-day headmaster."
Albus was left standing in the corridor surrounded by his shattered schemes but McGonagall hadn't exactly been quiet in her remonstrations, they had been heard by more than one pair of ears. By the time none of the new trio turned up for dinner the entire school was aware of Dumbledore's manipulations and tomorrows Quibbler would only add to his pain.
-oOoOo-
Luna had been brought up to speed on what had transpired with Hermione's parents that morning and none of them had felt like facing the rest of Hogwarts so they had chatted and built upon their first tenuous bonds of friendship. "I didn't like lying to McGonagall but I want to keep Sal a secret for now and don't want anyone to know just how much the goblins are helping. It would feel like cheating if I had any intention of winning. I plan on staying out the way and let the other three fight it out for eternal glory, I'll just be eternally grateful if I make it out in one piece."
All three had decided on an early night when Dobby appeared. "Harry Potter, the goblins have reported that Professor Lupin and his dog are at the door. Do you wish to allow them in?"
"Yes please Dobby. Luna you're about to learn another of our secrets and the Quibbler's next front page story, just don't be alarmed and trust us."
Luna smiled at him, "I trust you Harry…"
The little blond never got to say anymore as a massive black dog bounded into the room and flattened the boy she'd been speaking to. It proceeded to slobber all over him as Hermione buckled in laughter at his predicament, Luna thought staying here was so much fun.
Chapter 4
Dan Granger was again rudely awakened, but this time by an owl delivering the latest edition of the Quibbler. Luna had added their name to the newspaper's subscription list. He unrolled the issue to find that Professor McGonagall was indeed correct, Hermione's betrothal to Harry was front-page news.
Lord Who Lived Betrothed to Best Friend
In a move that caught the magical world by surprise, Lord Harry James Potter became betrothed to long time best friend Hermione Jane Granger. There was no hint of surprise in his choice of young lady who'd clearly captured his heart but rather in Harry taking on the mantle of Lord Potter at age fourteen. When asked why he had taken this unusual step Lord Potter's reply was, to say the least, thought provoking.
"The 'responsible' adults controlling my life have failed me for the last time, recently my name was entered into a dangerous competition reserved for adults by some unknown person who wishes me harm. Ministry officials and Headmaster Dumbledore proclaimed I must compete, even though the rules allowed a time for the outcome to be declared void and the names redrawn. The side effect of this is that both ministry and school have recognised Harry James Potter as an adult by forcing me to compete, therefore I claimed my inheritance and will stand on my own two feet from now on. Miss Granger has been my constant companion through my troubled times in the magical world Hermione, along with myself, has been attacked by a troll, giant three-headed dog, an enormous basilisk and Dementors while attending Hogwarts. In not one of these instances were either myself or my betrothed saved by a member of the Hogwarts staff. This tournament will at least give my betrothed and myself a chance to see first hand what other magical schools have to offer while we consider our future."
This reporter can confirm the pictures that appear here are totally genuine as she was included in a large party of students, staff and goblins Lord Potter lead down into Salazar Slytherin's fabled chamber of secrets. He had claimed the carcass by right of conquest and sold it to the goblins, Lord Potter then divided the gold he received equally amongst those who had been attacked by the beast.
Lord Potter has moved out of Hogwarts, as the school cannot have two champions, into accommodation provided by his sponsors, Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
Gringotts will also be involved with serving a number of writs today as Lord Potter exercises his legal rights.
"Too many unscrupulous people are making gold of my name and image by selling products un-associated and unendorsed by me. They are cheating and lying to the public and it stops now, from this day onward the only place you will see my name or image printed will be in the Quibbler. I have signed a contract giving them exclusive rights and anyone breaking this will face the wrath of goblin financial law."
We at the quibbler are understandably delighted with this arrangement and believe the financial cost incurred was gold well spent.
Luna had eventually sent all the pictures and let her father decided which ones to use. He'd chosen a close-up with Harry, Hermione and the basilisk's head as background and another group picture of all the students who were allowed down there. This gave a better indication of just how big the beast was.
Dan was reading the inside of the paper which gave a review of Harry's history and some of the things he'd been involved in since attending Hogwarts, they would certainly be having a talk with Hermione when they visited their new accommodation module this weekend. At no time when she was describing her rescue from the girl's bathroom was a twelve foot mountain troll mentioned, Dan was sure he would have remembered and continued reading to see what else had been left unsaid. He was also hoping for a definition of what a dementor was though even the name sounded scary.
-oOoOo-
Molly Weasley received the Quibbler almost at the same time as a letter from Ginny. The paper's headline led the fearful witch to tear open her daughter's note, expecting to have to console her 'Harry Potter obsessed' daughter. To her astonishment she found Ginny's letter to be incredibly upbeat, though Molly had to sit down when she discovered her daughter had returned to the chamber, the fifty thousand galleons left her feeling dizzy as well.
When she read the part about Ron being incredibly jealous and throwing a temper tantrum Molly expected to be hearing from Minerva soon, the Hogwarts owl arrived less than ten minutes later. It carried a request for Arthur and her to visit the school concerning their youngest son's behaviour. This was bad, even the twins never had them summoned to Hogwarts.
-oOoOo-
Luna lay in her lovely new room trying to figure out how her life got so complicated so quickly, and also so good! She'd almost passed out with fright when the big dog Harry was play-wrestling with on the floor transformed into Sirius Black, only the sight of Hermione still laughing and Professor Lupin standing there with a massive grin on his face kept her from screaming in panic. Harry also appeared delighted to see the most hunted wizard in Britain who supposedly was responsible for seeing his parents murdered, Harry said this was the Quibblers next story and she couldn't wait to hear it.
With all thoughts of an early night now forgotten Luna got to hear it, and proceeded to curse profusely at the shocking hand fate had dealt her friend. Shocking could also describe her friend's attitude to her outburst.
"Luna if you reacted like that to some of those bullying Ravenclaws I'm willing to bet they would soon leave you alone, you can be one scary girl when you want to be."
Harry's arm around her shoulder and beaming smile completely removed any vestige of hurt or reprimand, all she felt was friendship and even respect. These were completely new experiences for Luna but ones that she was certain could become terribly addictive with a little more exposure.
Luna was aware that the Quibbler printing Sirius Black's story would place them squarely in direct opposition to the ministry, this was something they had went to great lengths to avoid in the past but perhaps it was time to take a stand.
She would have to speak to Harry about allowing her father to visit here, he had always encouraged her to write however Luna recognised this story was far too big for her to handle. This story would redefine the Quibbler in people's minds forever, there would be no turning back to concocting articles on crumple horned snorkack's after documenting the injustices heaped upon Sirius. Revealing ministry incompetence would be bad enough for the paper yet the way certain things had to happen in a specific order for an innocent man to be vilified and locked away without even being questioned reeked of conspiracy. Exposing that could be very bad and extremely dangerous.
They had talked last night and decided to wait until lunchtime before entering the castle, this would give her Quibbler article time to be absorbed without their presence adding to the commotion it would undoubtedly cause. All three weren't worried about missing some classes, with the facilities they had here and now a live-in professor, catching up with anything they missed would be a breeze.
-oOoOo-
Draco Malfoy was not a happy puppy, he'd been delighted when the whole school had turned against Potter and there weren't words to describe how good he felt when the weasel's hand exploded into mush. While the highs were wonderful, the downturn had been traumatic for the blond Slytherin.
Potter's stance against Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape had won him plaudits for sheer guts, while pronouncing Diggory as Hogwarts champion and taking the magical oath were moves worthy of a Slytherin. Davis and Greengrass became instant celebrities at being the only two members of their house ever to set foot in their founder's secret chamber.
Their revelations that Potter held no ill will for their house, in fact would have been a Slytherin if not for his demand that the sorting hat not place him with Draco signalled the end of any good mood he had. This revelation effectively caused a split in the house with quite a few Slytherins openly expressing the view that Gryffindor got the better of the barter. With no sign of Snape to put an abrupt halt to these anarchistic views, Draco was in danger of finding himself marginalised in a house he'd hoped to rule.
Sitting at breakfast he couldn't fail to notice the stir beginning to grip the hall, nor that its source exuded from students reading that rag the Quibbler. Some very worried looking Ravenclaws soon approached Draco. "We managed to produce six badges so far but we've changed our minds. You can keep your money, we don't want paid."
Draco was left with half a dozen badges and his plan for flooding the school with them in tatters. He had to somehow turn this flow of people taking Potter's side around otherwise it would become a tidal wave that swept everything before its path, including his own house. Now it would have to be a small protest and Draco hoped that Potter turned up in the castle soon, if he waited much longer there may not be five other students in the castle willing to wear them.
-oOoOo-
Harry came down to breakfast to find his godfather and girlfriend waiting on him. He gave Hermione a good morning kiss and any blush on his cheeks was purely down to remembering the way she had kissed him last night before going to bed. This had been her way of expressing how pleased she was with the manner he handled her parents. If this was her reward scheme, then Harry intended to ensure that Hermione was pleased with him as often as possible.
"Ok you two, my breakfast cereal doesn't need anymore sweetness so let's just stop it there." Sirius joked, actually he was delighted these two had become a couple as they fitted together perfectly. He was slightly shocked at the betrothal aspect though, when the reason behind it became clear, Sirius earned a smile from Harry by saying his father would have done exactly the same.
Sirius wanted to know what Harry's plan was for winning the competition but couldn't understand his answer. "Don't you see though, winning the tournament would be the biggest prank of all! Imagine their faces when Harry Potter gets his hands on the trophy, can you think of anything better than that?"
Harry just glanced towards Hermione and the expression on his face displayed quite clearly that the young wizard definitely could think of things better than some piece of tin.
Remus arrived, closely followed by Luna as the conversations switched from subject to subject until Luna asked the question she needed to. "Harry, could my dad come here and interview Sirius? We may not be able to force the ministry to grant him a trial however, at least it will have people asking questions and throw some light onto his imprisonment."
It was Remus who answered, "Luna if your father printed that he'd met with Sirius then the ministry would arrest him, he would be questioned under truth serum as they're desperate to see the end to this problem."
Hermione attempted to offer a solution. "What if it was written as an interview with Harry and I? We reported what happened that night but no one wanted to listen, anything else can be put down to research we've done since."
"I think that is a great idea Hermione, would your dad go along with it Luna?"
"Well we can only ask him Harry, but I'm sure he will." Winky was called and a meeting set up for later this morning.
-oOoOo-
Albus had spent the morning with Severus trying to discover why the castle wouldn't allow him access, every scan he ran on his potions professor came back normal yet even the portkey he made to his office wouldn't activate when the Slytherin touched it.
"It must be the castle wards Albus, the same thing that happened to deny us access to the chamber. Potter is somehow responsible, I just know it!"
"Severus you really need to make your mind up. One moment you portray Harry as an attention seeking, mediocre at best wizard, then you want to blame him for a feat that neither of us can discover how it's being carried out. You've allowed your hatred of his father to colour your behaviour towards the boy since he set foot in Hogwarts. If this is Harry's doing, can you really blame him?" Albus managed to stop the tirade that Severus was about to unleash to his stupid question, knowing full well the Slytherin irrationally blamed Harry for everything. "If it was Harry then I fear we will soon know as I might need to move in with Abe!"
After exhausting every idea they had Albus was forced in part to agree with Severus, the castle wards were the only reasonable explanation they had left. The thought of someone else controlling the castle terrified the Hogwarts headmaster. When a serving headmaster lost control of the wards it signified he was judged no longer fit for purpose, he actually might end up staying with his brother. Albus had expected to spend his final years here in the castle and had even chosen his final resting place on the school grounds, he couldn't let that be taken away from him because of a few misunderstandings with a student.
Albus noticed the student in question leave the large vault / cube with two girls and head towards the castle. Here was the opportunity to begin some repair work, he hurried his pace to catch them up while making sure his injured hand was clearly visible. Albus was not above using a bit of guilt-trip to get his way, Albus Dumbledore was not above using any means at his disposal.
"Ah! Harry my boy, so pleased to see you heading into the castle. All three of you have missed classes but I suppose I can overlook it this time, I'm afraid I can't overlook Miss Lovegood leaving the Ravenclaw dorms to live in your accommodation though. You may be able to claim responsibility for your betrothed and even appoint Miss Lovegood to assist you but I can't allow her to leave the castle. She is my responsibility after all."
"Not according to the letter I have in my pocket from Mr Lovegood, he is very happy for Luna to be living with us and is withdrawing her from Ravenclaw house."
Hermione could hardly contain her anger at the old man. "Did you also overlook the fact that it is illegal to cast spells on muggles and that interfering in the betrothal of Lord Potter carries a sentence of time in Azkaban, where was your sense of responsibility there?"
Luna was also angry for his attempt at putting her back in the Ravenclaw dorm that had caused her so much hurt. "Apparently you also overlooked the illegality of placing Harry in this competition. Wasn't that your responsibility as headmaster of Hogwarts and head of the Wizengamot to ensure things like that don't occur."
Harry drove their point's home. "It would seem to me that you pick and choose which responsibilities you wish to honour. Let me be perfectly clear here, you no longer have responsibilities for any of us three."
Dumbledore was unprepared for the venom in both girl's remarks but it was the coldness towards him in Harry's that worried the old wizard a lot more. "But Harry surely you can see the benefit of having advisers to assist …" Albus was abruptly cut off, not something he was used to.
"I have a full team of advisors looking out for my interests, and to be perfectly frank they're currently advising me to contact the DMLE concerning your attempt to use Hermione's parents to break our betrothal. I am still trying to work out your motive for that though, combined with the burnt hand, the evidence against you is pretty compelling."
Albus didn't want to get onto the subject of Harry considering him evil so attempted to change the conversation slightly. "Harry there is so much going on at the moment, professor Snape has even found himself barred from accessing the castle. I feel we could benefit from sitting down and having a clear the air talk."
"I have nothing to say and have no wish to listen to you talk for an hour without actually saying anything. As to your potions teacher. I think that may be contagious as Hogwarts appears to have had enough of people using her for their own ends." They had reached the castle doors now, "If you don't mind we will wait here and let you enter, it wouldn't do for us to be seen together and have people assuming we're on friendly terms. I find your name has re-appeared very near the top of my people who wish me harm list. You may not have personally entered me in the competition but it was your responsibility to make sure nobody else did, you failed to protect me again sir!"
The sarcasm on the 'sir' just rounded off Dumbledore's morning, he would be mending no fences today and had better be ready to call in quite a few favours to keep his arse out of Azkaban if Harry carried out his threat. It was still being denied Hogwarts though that really scared him, he actually hesitated as he crossed the threshold into the castle and gave out a sigh of relief as Hogwarts let him enter. He needed something big to get Harry to once more at the very least respect him, that final 'sir' was the only form of courtesy shown towards him the entire time.
-oOoOo-
Draco watched the trio enter and instantly decided it was now or never, he hadn't even been able to find enough people to wear the five extra badges and badly needed a victory to reclaim some respect. He led his posse over to the Gryffindor table knowing all eyes were now on him, the natural order had been restored.
"Hey Potter, like the badges?"
Harry got up and turned to face Malfoy and his goons, the badge displayed 'Support Cedric Diggory' but then changed to reveal 'Potter Stinks!' He could see the blond Slytherin almost trembling with excitement in anticipation of his reaction.
Harry contemplated his response before answering. "Let me guess Malfoy, you paid a couple of Ravenclaws to make them because the charm work is way beyond your ability but you dictated the messages? Potter stinks is just about your level. Come to think of it, with the combined efforts of Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson that's actually pretty good! Any seven-year-old would be proud of that slogan." Laughter began to break out in pockets around the hall as Malfoy's expression changed to that of a boy with his nuts trapped in a vice, Harry tightened the handle further. "Miss Bulstrode, the other three I expected but what have I done that deserves this from you?"
Millicent had been so glad for some people actually paying her attention she'd agreed with Draco. She'd thought being part of his group was better than no group at all, the lonely Slytherin was quickly realising how wrong she was. Millicent removed her badge. "You have done nothing to warrant this disrespect Lord Potter and I sincerely apologise, I made an error of judgement that I'm now ashamed off."
Harry was taken aback at this girl's bravery while Draco was left seething, "Apology accepted Miss Bulstrode, though my friends call me Harry. Thank you for your honesty, it's something that is in short supply in this place."
Millicent almost smiled, "Thank you Lord Potter but I don't think I've earned the right to call you Harry – yet!" With that she tossed the offending badge at Malfoy's feet before walking back to the Slytherin table with her head held high.
Harry wasn't sure if Malfoy was going to grab for his wand or burst into tears, with a final twist of the knife he sat down between Hermione and Luna with his back facing Draco. Harry didn't know which way Malfoy would go but it was tremendously reassuring to know the castle would protect them if he was stupid enough to pull his wand.
The outcome would never be known as McGonagall chose that moment to enter, she'd just had a meeting with the Weasley's and was in no mood to stand any nonsense. "Mr Malfoy, kindly explain why your group is at the Gryffindor table?"
Draco was tongue-tied but Pansy saved the day, though the words nearly choked her. "We were admiring Miss Granger's new ring, congratulations again you two."
Minerva knew there was more chance of Severus becoming a Gryffindor girls pin-up than Miss Parkinson congratulating Hermione, then she noticed the badges. "Support Cedric Diggory, well done Mr Malfoy. Five points to Slytherin for that display of house unity."
Harry was drinking pumpkin juice at the time this remark was made, trying to drink and laugh at the same time is not recommended as Hermione pounded on his back, attracting McGonagall's attention.
"Oh he's alright professor, it's just that new cologne of his. It's rather powerful and catches your throat." This started sniggers off around the hall until Luna delivered the coup de grace.
In her most child-like voice she proclaimed, "Yeah Potter, you stink!"
The laughter erupted around the hall with even a few at the staff table having a good chuckle, with the headmaster sitting there and neither head of the houses involved present, the rest of the staff had been powerless to intervene.
Albus had let the situation develop in an attempt to see if Harry had changed, the headmaster was sure that even last week the boy would have risen to the bait. Instead he had masterfully deflated the posturing peacock that was Malfoy. Watching the two boys only the colour of their robes indicated who was the Slytherin, without that you would have placed your gold on it being Harry. The only difference Albus could detect was an infusion of confidence, he wasn't strutting about the place but emitted an aura proclaiming he wasn't going to take crap from anyone. Whatever team the boy had around him was working wonders, Albus was going to have to restrain his manipulations and hope an opening presented itself.
Minerva meanwhile wasn't in on the joke and getting pretty peeved. "Miss Lovegood, I would like an explanation as to why you're sitting at the Gryffindor table?"
Harry had recovered enough to approach her, delivering the letter in his possession. "Miss Lovegood is no longer a member of Ravenclaw house, her father has placed her under my protection and she is here as our guest. We were still hoping to attend some lessons in the castle while our tutor's are organised, I'll understand if that's a problem and make other arrangements."
"I don't foresee any problems with that and would like to offer my services as a tutor."
"Thank you professor and I'd be a fool to turn that offer down so I most willingly accept."
Albus saw an opening and went for it. "Mr Potter, I would also like to offer my services as a tutor to you and your party." He became aware this was a mistake immediately as Harry's whole posture changed, it was so evident the whole hall couldn't fail to notice it.
"Yesterday you attempted to have my betrothed removed from Hogwarts, today you tried to place Luna back into an environment where she was mercilessly bullied by claiming you were responsible for her wellbeing. Why the hell would we want you anywhere near us?"
Harry's words and McGonagall's record-breaking scowl in the headmaster's direction confirmed the stories beyond a doubt
"Oh and headmaster, just to avoid any confusion, that's a no." Harry's attention was drawn to professor Flitwick who must have been standing on his chair.
"Lord Potter, I have begun an investigation into the matter and rest assured appropriate punishments have already begun being administered to the guilty."
Harry glanced towards the Ravenclaw table to see a group of girls sitting with there heads bowed. He couldn't help but notice that one of them was Cho and that her prized prefects badge was no longer on her robes, he was almost beginning to think whoever put his name in that goblet had done him a favour.
"Thank you Professor and may I say our door will always be open to you." Having administered the final slap to Dumbledore, Harry sat back down. It was oh so tempting to banish him from the castle but Barchoke had advised against it, at the moment Dumbledore was in plain sight and they wanted him where they could see him.
Fleur and a few of her friends were sitting at the Ravenclaw table. The paper had said Potter was looking for a new school so their headmistress dispatched them to the castle, bringing the boy who lived to France would be quite the coup. After hearing of the chamber incident she'd tried to apologise for her 'little boy' comment but he'd been with the other girl and quickly intercepted by the headmaster. Those pictures in the paper had impressed her, here was a wizard who was powerful, wealthy and younger than her so should be easy to control.
She had been awaiting an opportunity to approach when she was beaten again, this time by the blond haired boy, only to be really impressed with the way Potter had dealt with it. His standing-up to the headmaster once more had the Veela running Lady Fleur Potter through her brain, only to discover they were sitting at the wrong table as he was apparently in dispute with this house over mistreatment of his friend.
Wealth, power, a title, integrity, loyalty and, with the correct handling, he could even be handsome. Yes he would make a fine husband for her so the other girl was just going to have to prepare for a disappointment. Fleur ran her eyes over Hermione critically and didn't believe this girl would be any competition, she would be doing the poor girl a favour as she'd better get used to being dumped.
-oOoOo-
Ron was sitting in his bedroom at the Burrow unable to believe that both his parents and McGonagall had sided with Potter, was the whole world against him? It never entered his mind that he could be wrong and everyone else right. Somewhere inside Ronald Bilius Weasley there might have been a decent young wizard trying to break out but his rage at the perceived injustices life had heaped upon him prevented that wizard from seeing a hint of daylight.
Case in point was his hand. It was his jealousy and temper combined that caused the injury, Poppy Pomfrey had worked wonders to give him a fully functioning hand but all Ron saw was the scars and blamed everyone but himself for them being their.
Now he had his mother on his case while his dad tried to scrape enough gold together to buy him another new wand and he'd been sent home for the night to 'reflect on his actions'. Ron knew within himself that he was ages away from being able to ask a girl to be his girlfriend. The problem was he had expected Hermione to be there, patiently waiting on him when he finally plucked up the courage to ask her. The fact that someone else might beat him to it never crossed his mind, she was Hermione for Merlin's sake! That Harry would do this to him was just too much to take. His sense of betrayal had no basis anywhere other than in his own mind but that didn't matter to Ron. Lord Potter, the Ti-Wizard Champion had stolen his girl and not even his own family seemed to give a damn.
It wasn't as if Ron thought Hermione was beautiful or the love of his life, it was purely down to the fact she was the only girl in the castle that he was sure wouldn't say no if he asked her out. The thought of being rejected by a girl was not a thought he wished to dwell on.
Ron heard his name being shouted up the rickety stairwell by his mother and sighed, it was time for another 'try talk sense into Ron' session and his anger peaked. He'd just been hoping that his dad could scrounge up enough gold to buy him a new wand when Ron remembered his little sister now had a fortune, Potter had done wonderful job of turning his whole family against him.
-oOoOo-
Peter felt a bit better delivering this news to his master, he couldn't see any down side to this so should hopefully escape punishment.
"Master, the latest news from your servant indicates that Potter's relationship with the old fool has reached such a state that he no longer trusts him and they now argue in public. There is also news that Snape is no longer in the castle, he hasn't been seen since Sunday night."
The dry chuckle eased some of Peter's fears, his master in a good mood was still very dangerous but much preferable to him being in a bad one.
"So Potter finally stands up to the meddling old fool, it should make for an interesting year and will actually aid our plans. Do not have our agent search for Snape, he really is of no consequence and our plan takes priority over everything."
Peter was just beginning to count his blessings when the curse hit, thankfully it was only for a few seconds. "That was just a small reminder in case you get the idea to try bringing me just the good news, remember I will find out and then you will suffer my wrath."
Peter could only mutter, "Thank you master," as he backed out the room, silently wondering if it really was a good idea for his master to get a new body and his strength back.
-oOoOo-
The Weasleys entered Diagon Alley to find it busier than usual, this was due to the lawyers serving writs up and down the alley. Flourish and Blott's could no longer sell books with Harry's name in them and whether it was cakes or t- shirts, they all had to go. The real fireworks though were reserved for The Daily Prophet and drew quite a crowd as it spilled onto the street. The editor was trying to incite public opinion for his cause. "This is trying to muzzle the press and control the media, the wizarding public won't stand for it."
Unfortunately for the editor, the goblins had hired the best, "And just what did you do with this freedom of the press? Spent it fabricating stories to sell more papers! Today's edition of he Quibbler is the first time Lord Potter has ever spoken to the press yet your paper reports stories with supposed quotes from him on an almost weekly basis. Hearsay, rumours and downright lies constantly appear as banner headlines, Lord Potter has taken this action to preserve his image but reserves the right to take further action on some of the stories your paper has already printed. Our client is sick of people writing about his life as if they've been there, this is then sold to the public as the truth when it's nothing more than a pack of lies and a licence to mint money. That licence has now been revoked!"
The editor was turning grey at the thought of having to stand behind some of the Potter stories they had printed in the past but tried not to let that show. "The Daily Prophet will not back down on this matter, check our paper tomorrow and read our response to this outrage."
"Rest assured that's exactly what Lord Potter pays us for, break that edict and you'll have no paper by the weekend."
Ron Weasley was raging, even a visit to Diagon Alley ended up about bloody Harry Potter.
-oOoOo-
Hermione was trying to talk through her tears but Sirius was relentless, having Harry and Remus here seemed to be bringing out the mischievous boy in him. She couldn't ever remember having laughed so much. "Sirius the whole point of this is to poke fun at people without being offensive."
"But what's the point of that? Anyway, it's only Snivellus, how can we not be offensive? That git is a walking offensive target that we must hit at every opportunity. Ok how 'bout this, 'greasy stain removed from castle!' Surely there can't be anything wrong with that?"
Harry and Luna were holding on to each other as their laughter threatened to have them on the floor, Hermione was pretending to be serious but she loved seeing Harry laugh. She also suspected this was exactly why Sirius was doing it. "We're trying to keep the fact that Harry's involved in the greasy git no longer being able to access the castle a secret, while I personally think that's your best one yet I'm afraid it's still a no." This would perhaps have been more effective if she didn't have a case of the giggles at Sirius's pretend pout.
"Ok but I'm determined to get one of my sayings onto these badges so even you won't be able to object to this one…"
The new Potter dwelling once again reverberate to the sound of laughter as the three teens were now holding on to each other, Hermione finally lost it and dissolved into laughter as well. Breakfast in the great hall tomorrow was not one to be missed.