Hermione's parents think of Harry as their son since they don't want to think of Harry as their 12 year old daughter's boyfriend and future husband.
Chapter 27 End of the First School Year
The investigation into the battle for the fake Philosopher's Stone was a farce. Dumbledore was able to prove that he acted in self-defence when he accidentally killed Professor Quirrell. He did not say anything about Voldemort possessing the Professor's body since he knew his reputation could not survive such a hit. The obstacles to the stone were swept under the carpet as the Hogwarts's board of trustees did not want the traps to be investigated nor publicised. They had allowed them to remain at the school even after some Professors had requested their removal. The only good thing to come out of the investigation was that Dumbledore was too busy, or too scared, to do anything to Harry or Hermione.
On Thursday, Hermione got an owl from her parents with an urgent message for Harry to go to the old Granger house that evening. Soon a scared and worried pair of Hogwarts students arrived at the old Granger home right after Hermione's nightly study session. They were greeted with total darkness. Harry and Hermione then went on to search for Emily, Ashley and Alice without any success. Cautiously they approached the house with their alternate wands ready; Harry opened the door to the hallway while Hermione covered him. It was dark and silent. Hermione found the torchlight stored near the door and shone it down the hall. It was completely empty; they did not want to turn on the lights in case there were enemies trying to ambush them. As they silently crept down the hall; their hearts were pumping with fear. Just as they opened the door to the lounge room, the lights came on and everyone screamed "Surprise". There was a big banner that read, "Welcome to the Family, HARRY!" Harry and Hermione were ready to kill who ever organised this since it had nearly given them a heart attack.
Dan and Emma came over to greet the pair. "Harry, your non-magical adoption has been completed. We received a letter informing us that the adoption has been finalised. Welcome to the family, Harry."
"You gave as quite a fright."
"It was Sirius' idea. Since you never got any Birthday or Christmas parties growing up, he thought this was something nice we could do for you."
"He could have made this less scary for us. I will have to get him back for this." Harry said just as Sirius came over.
"I would be disappointed if you did not, after all you are the son of a Marauder, for Merlin's sake."
"Does this mean that we can start planning our revenge on the Dursleys?" Hermione asked.
"Yes. But I don't know if that is necessary. Dudley and his gang have already been arrested and are facing trial soon. It seems that without Dumbledore's man protecting the Dursleys, Dudley is finally facing justice." Sirius says as he buffs his nails.
Harry quickly asked "Do you have more details?"
"I had a guy tailing the Dursleys in case Dumbledore tried to intervene so I have all the details. It seems that Amelia had sent someone to reverse the illegal actions of Kyle, the Obliviator. As soon as they had corrected the police officers memories, evidence that had been previously ignored including video footage, was correctly processed. This resulted in the arrest of Dudley from Smeltings followed rapidly by the rest of his gang. The Dursleys were trying to claim you were to blame but this was less than successful since the footage clearly showed Dudley caught in the act of bullying several different victims. They are now friendless as even Vernon's old school buddies have deserted him."
"Does Dumbledore know about my adoption?" Harry asked.
"My agent does not think so. Mrs Figg has not informed him yet, and Kyle used to operate completely independent of Dumbledore. His acted this way so that Dumbledore can truthfully say he has no knowledge of certain events. Even when he does find out about the adoption, it will be too late for him to do anything about it."
"When are we going to formally inform the school of the change?" Harry replied.
"It can wait until the summer holidays, unless you want another confrontation before school is out. If so, it could easily be arranged..." Sirius said mischievously. Harry shuddered at the thought.
"No thank you." Harry said quickly. "How is your application for our magical guardianship going?"
"It is still progressing, but the going is slow. Dumbledore is trying every trick in the book; he even got Arthur and Molly Weasley to apply for magical guardianship. That scheme failed due to the actions of the pureblood supremacist faction. In fact, Lucius Malfoy and I are near an agreement whereby I name Draco as my heir. He would inherit the title of Head of the Ancient and Noble house of Black when I pass away. In return, we all get political protection from the pureblood supremacists."
"What is to stop them from killing you as soon as you sign the agreement?"
"That is what bodyguards are for and I plan to stay in Europe once I sign the agreement." Sirius stated matter of factly.
"That is too much risk. I cannot afford to lose you..." Harry was about to say again when Hermione pulled him into a hug.
"I have to do this. By taking this risk, I can protect my godson and his best friend. I will not let you down again. Remember I am the adult here. If it makes you feel any better, I will even let Hermione help create the contract for us." Sirius says as he winked at Hermione. Hermione in turn whispers to Harry. "Don't worry, Harry. I will make sure that Sirius is well protected."
"Anyway, nothing can be done until I get magical guardianship over the two of you."
"I recommend that you get a house elf to ensure your food or things are not poisoned or cursed." Hermione suggested as an extra level of protection. Her mind was already starting to work out how to phrase the document so that Sirius is protected once the Malfoys are dead.
"That's a great idea. The purebloods I have been dealing with are sure to know how to get some."
"Remember we're trying to promote equal rights for all, including house elves. So wages and no physical punishment for any house elves you find…"
"Anything else?" Sirius asked sarcastically. Sensing the tension between Sirius and Hermione, Emma suggested "Harry, why don't you open your presents?"
"Love to, coming Hermione, Sirius?"
"Coming Harry." Hermione replied as she turned back to Sirius and asked. "Could you find out as much as you can about trading of house elves amongst the purebloods? I will also send you a list of the responsibilities that each house elf owner needs to follow. " Hermione then followed Harry towards the presents.
"I will see what I can do. I will also send you the outline of the preliminary agreement I am trying to establish with the purebloods within the next few days." Sirius stated as he followed the pair towards the presents. There were not many presents but the highlight for Harry had to be the Nimbus 2000 broomstick that Sirius had picked out for him.
"How did you know I wanted a broomstick?" Harry asked Sirius.
"Don't all boys want their own broomstick? Anyway I have to make up for the 10 years' worth of birthday and Christmas presents that I could not give you."
"Thank you, Sirius."
"No problem. Actually, the real reason I got you the broomstick was that I heard Hermione say you missed flying. When did you get a chance to fly?" Sirius asked. Harry and Hermione were slightly taken aback by the unexpected question but quickly recovered.
"One of the older students used to allow me to fly on their broom before Professor Snape put a stop to it. His reasoning was that first years are not allowed brooms." Harry lied.
"Well next year, you won't have borrow broomsticks. You will have your own. Are you going to try out for the Quidditch team next year?"
"I don't think so. I don't like the attention or the divisiveness that house Quidditch games encourage. Flying is what I enjoy."
"But your father would be severely disappointed if you did not try out for the house team." Sirius replied.
"How about this, if Slytherin wins the Quidditch cup next year; I will try out the year after?" Harry said fully knowing, in all likelihood, they would have changed schools by then. The answer seemed to satisfy Sirius, who stopped pushing.
Harry and Hermione then split up to talk to everyone who attended the surprise party. Harry got a surprise when he met Alice's parents. Alice's father had found three time turners, all in need of some slight repairs. They could be easily fixed and used very soon.
Harry called Hermione over before asking Jake, Alice's father. "How did you find them?"
"Ally here was getting me to sort through things from something called the Room of Lost Things when I found these. I gave them to her and she spent a bit of time trying to identify them." Jake explained.
Alice then jumped in and said "Actually dad, you found them in the junk pile. It could have been from the Room of lost things or from the Riddle Stashes."
"Why was it in the trash pile? Doug should have spotted these things."
"Actually he would not have. He was only looking for dark curses, and since time turners are not dark, Doug would not have detected them." Hermione explained. "Jake, how did you manage to find them?"
"Oh, I used a form of magical radar that detects high concentrations of magical energy. I use the technique to find traps when I am hunting or against opponents when I am fighting."
"That is a really useful spell. Do you mind teaching it to me?" Hermione said with excitement at the prospect of learning something new. Jake knew there was no stopping her now so reluctantly gave in and nodded.
Harry turned to Alice and said "They are doing great already. There was nothing to fear, in fact I thing this deserves a bonus. I will talk to Hermione and Dan about it."
Hermione spent the rest of the evening learning the various spells that Jake had picked up throughout his life.
On the morning of last day of term, Harry was called to the Headmaster's office. Hermione ensured that Harry has every protection possible (including the mind protection glasses) and everything was in top condition. Harry nervously headed to the office fearing that Dumbledore had discovered his adoption by the Grangers. As soon as he entered the room, Harry felt a touch on his mental shields and he recognised it as Dumbledore's attempt to use passive Legilimency. Harry was disappointed that Dumbledore had not tried it for longer or he could have put him under a hypnotic trance.
"Harry, why don't you have a seat?" Dumbledore asked in a grandfatherly manner.
"I prefer to stand, Sir. What is this about?" Harry asked impatiently.
"I am wondering what your summer plans are?"
"Why is it any of your business, sir?"
"I know you just found your godfather, but I must warn you to avoid contacting him."
"Why should I avoid contacting him, he is my godfather after all?"
"I believe he has turned dark from his time in prison. You do know that he is now working with former Death Eaters such as Lucius Malfoy."
"Death eaters whom you decided not to punish. I have read those newspaper reports about you." Harry replied angrily.
"I did no such thing! Anything you may have recently read in the newspaper about me is all lies!" Dumbledore said indignantly.
"If they are all lies, then why hasn't the newspaper printed a retraction?"
"It is just a matter of time before they do so." Dumbledore lied knowing full well he did not have a leg to stand on.
"Anyway what right do you have to forbid me from meeting with my godfather?"
"I am your magical guardian."
"Not for long. Sirius is well on his way towards getting my magical guardianship."
"But I am your magical guardian right now, and I forbid you from seeing him."
"Having magical guardianship does not entitle you to that. This type of matter falls under the jurisdiction of my non-magical guardianship, which you do not have." Harry said as he stormed out of the office while Dumbledore yelled, "Come back here. I am not finished with you!"
Harry felt several spells hit him and bounce off his Basilisk armour. He knew that Dumbledore was going to wonder why his spells had no effect on Harry, but he did not care. He was just too angry.
Hermione saw how angry Harry was and asked "What happened?"
"Dumbledore tried to play his usual games." Hermione then pulled Harry into a hug. She knew how much restraint it took not to kill him. They needed his reputation ruined soon or he would become a martyr for the misguided followers of his cause.
"Does he know about your adoption?" Hermione inquired.
"I don't think so but I was not their long enough to find out."
"At least there is that."
"I am going to move my stuff to your place before sneaking on the train. In all likelihood Dumbledore will try to detain me if I am seen. So I will see you on the train."
,
"It is our place; you are now part of my family. I will see you on the train." Hermione said as she released Harry from her hug so that he can go.
Professor McGonagall and Snape were on the platform looking for Harry. When they spotted Hermione, who had deliberately arrived late, they made a beeline straight for her.
"Have you seen Mr Potter anywhere, Miss Granger?"
"Sorry, Professors I have not."
The professors knew that they could not detain Hermione without her missing the train. So they let her go.
As soon as the train started moving, Harry removed the invisibility cloak he used and looked for Hermione. As soon as he started searching for Hermione, Harry ran into the Weasley twins. They dragged him into an empty cabin.
"Hello partner." Twin one said.
Twin two then said "Hello buddy."
"What seems to be the problem, guys?"
"We don't know what to do." Twin one says.
"We have all this money we made..."
"From our joint venture. Our family..."
"Is not well off and our agreement forbids us"
"From telling anyone about..."
"Our venture. But we wish..."
"To help our family. So we were wondering..."
"If you would allow us..."
"To tell our family?"
"Sorry you guys but that is a definite no-no. They would tell Dumb-n-Dork immediately. The venture would be terminated and you guys will be cursed. You signed the agreement."
"So what can we do?" One of the twins said in frustration.
"How have you been keeping your brothers Percy and Ron quiet about our venture?"
"We got Hermione to make those magical contracts where they got some money in return for their silence. Ron spent it all on sweets while Percy has saved his. So Percy could potentially get out of the contract but not Ron."
"How about you tell your parents that you started your own owl order joke shop business? I heard that you want to start one in the future why not say you already started."
"That's brilliant. She might be unhappy that we don't study but with the amount of money we are making, she can't really complain about us wasting our futures. Mum might even allow us to perform our experiments at home. This is going to be great."
"You know that if you do, you cannot show them the order list you have."
"Why not?"
"Because they will ask where that list came from which is going to lead to an investigation back to you."
"You're right."
"As an added bonus, by doing what I suggested, if any of our customers try to floo or owl you, they would think it's just the joke store."
"We better talk to our brothers to get them to agree."
"Don't you have a sister coming to Hogwarts next year?"
"We forgot. We got to talk to our brothers and then see Hermione about another magical contract." one of the twins said as they left.
Harry found Hermione with Susan and some of their other friends. The rest of the train ride was uneventful and Weasley twins got Hermione to make a magical contract for their sister. Surprisingly, Dumbledore had not sent anyone to intercept Harry once he reached Kings Cross Station. Harry knew that he was going to get it once he returned to school next term should Sirius fail to gain his magical guardianship.
Harry and Hermione were met by Dan and Emma Granger along with Sirius. Sirius was getting lots of suspicious looks from the other parents that were waiting for their children. People were still not used to Sirius being innocent of the Potter betrayal and the Muggle killings. This did not phase Sirius one bit; in fact he enjoyed the attention his notoriety was getting him. Occasionally, he would scare the younger siblings of the returning students.
Chapter 28 Beginning of Summer Holidays
The first full day of the summer holidays for Harry and Hermione began early with Emma waking them.
"It is the first day of summer holidays. Couldn't you let us sleep in for once?" A sleepy Harry complained after greeting everyone.
"We are going clothes shopping. You don't have any summer clothes." Emma explained. Hermione, like most girls the world over perked up at thought of shopping. Harry hung his head like he had just been given a death sentence. The thought of shopping with two females was going to be tedious.
"That still does not explain why we had got up so early for it." Harry said. Dan could only offer him a sympathetic look.
"We are getting suits and dresses made for the charity events that you made us attend. If I am going those things then you two are going as well." Emma said forcefully. She gave them no room to debate. Dan took that as his cue and tried to sneak away before he got roped in as well.
"Honey, you are coming too." Emma said. Dan gave up, knowing that he was caught.
"Why do I have to go? I have a perfectly good Tux for those events."
"You will not embarrass us by wearing the same tux to all those events."
"How many events are we going to?" Harry asked.
"We have eight confirmed, and quite a few others in the process of being organised." Emma said after consulting her diary. Dan and Harry's face fell at the thought of all those boring functions…
"Is Sirius going to be attending any of them?"
"I don't think Sirius would fit in. The attendees of these events are all non-magical and I don't believe Sirius could successfully hide the fact that he was magical. Otherwise, I would make him attend as well." Emma explained.
Both Harry and Dan said under their breaths. "Lucky bastard."
"I think that it is for the best. Just image, Sirius hitting on some of the old family matriarchs, getting thrown from the venue, and then banned for life..." Hermione explained. Emma cringed at the mental image while Harry and Dan quickly started formulating ways of getting kicked out. Seeing the looks on their faces, Emma quickly said in a threatening manner.
"If either of you gets kicked out, there will be trouble when you get home." Dan and Harry both shelved the plans they were developing.
Before long, Harry and Dan were being measured by tailors or trying different things on to show the girls. Appointments were being made for future fittings and for the collection of completed clothing without consulting with either Dan or Harry. After lunch, all the boys did was waiting around or carrying the shopping bags. Harry desperately wanted to give the bags to one of the house elves to take home but he was too scared of Hermione to do so. By the end of the day both Harry and Dan were loaded with shopping and finally they went home. Dan and Harry developed a friendship during the shopping trip. The mutual torture they endured helped bring them closer together.
A few days later, Sirius came over. It happened to be the day after Hermione and her parents had finished moving with the help of the recovered house elves.
"We haven't seen you for a few days. I thought you wanted to spend some time with Harry or were you too scared that we would get you to help us move because you did not have to worry?." Emma said after Sirius greeted everyone.
"I am disappointed in you. Do you have such a low opinion of me that you think I would not be willing to help out?" Sirius said while making an exaggerated disappointed face.
"We know you." Everyone said at the same time which caused everyone to laugh. When Hermione recovered, she said "We know what lengths you would go to avoid actual work."
"You are so cruel. Maybe I won't give you the big news I have."
"What big news?" Harry said with interest.
"I got your magical guardianship, Hermione." Sirius said matter-of-factly, like it was common knowledge already. Hermione leaped into Sirius's arms to hug him in celebration.
"Are you serious?"
"That is my name; don't wear it out."
"Stop it with that joke already and give me a straight answer."
"Yes. I got your magical guardianship this morning."
"What about mine?" Harry asked.
"Sorry but Dumbledore is fighting it tooth and nail. His latest ploy was try to pass a law that made it illegal for an ex-prisoner from obtaining magical guardianship over a minor. Luckily Lucius spotted the law before it could be passed or else Dumbledore would have won since it would have disqualified me from getting magical guardianship of anyone. After that law failed, he stopped fighting for Hermione's guardianship."
"Good work. It was lucky that we had that agreement with Lucius. He is really a political genius." Hermione said with a little admiration of Lucius' skill.
Harry whispered to Hermione "Another reason to get rid of him. Once he is gone the purebloods will miss his abilities."
"That is why I have been busy the last few days. I have dealt with issues that Dumbledore kept bringing up such as questioning my mental and medical fitness. I don't know how many medical examinations I had to endure because of the two of you." Sirius says with a shudder as he remembered some of the recent experiences had with the medical profession.
Harry and Hermione hugged him and said "Thank you, Sirius."
"All this fighting should slow soon since Dumbledore has to attend some ICW meetings. He should be too busy to make trouble for us."
"Speaking of ICW, how much progress have you made in destroying his reputation on the international political arena?"
"Quite a bit actually, I put quite bit of money into the little newspaper I brought. As a result, the percentage share of the newspaper is steadily growing. We have started to distribute it in other French speaking countries, and it has made an immediate impact. In some areas of France and Belgium, they are pushing for Dumbledore to compensate them for the destruction that his friend Gellert caused during WWII. These same people used to admire him. Some of the statues of him have been destroyed and one statue which used to show him standing over a defeated Gellert has been changed to show him in bed with Gellert."
"I would like to see Dumbledore's reaction when he sees those statues." Hermione says.
"You and me both..." Sirius adds.
"So you have not been able to buy more media outlets?" Harry asked.
"Not yet. I am on the lookout but nothing at the moment. I have heard that the Outcast Organisation has had some success in America and in Asia. Europe is a totally different beast, the media owners are very entrenched and so any changes in media ownership only come around once in a blue moon."
"So no change in Europe and we will find out about America and Asia when we visit the Granger Institute. I still find it funny to have a school named after us. Does anyone else feel the same?" Dan commented. Everyone agreed that it does feel weird.
Sirius then said "At least it was not named after you Harry. Can you image the Boy Who Lived School of Magic or BWL School of Magic?" Hermione then adds.
"Where the school is run by two Dark Lords trying to kill off the students…" Harry's stomach happened to growl at that moment.
"I think Harry's tummy did not like our joke" said Sirius, which caused everyone to burst out laughing.
"Are you going to stay for lunch, Sirius?" Emma asks as she calls for Dobby.
"I would love to, Emma. Having lunch with you two lovely ladies will be preferable to eating in the shark pool that is the Ministry Cafeteria."
Lunch was an enjoyable affair for everyone. Sirius talked about the pranks the Marauders used to pull during his Hogwarts days. Dan and Emma talked about the accidents their patients would get into which resulted in them needing their services. They did not disclose any names but did talk about the accidents in general. For example, Dan told a story about a patient that came in with all his teeth shattered. When Dan looked at the admittance form, he had to bite his lip so as not to laugh at the guy's predicament. It turned out that the guy was using a jack hammer when his work mate slapped him on his back. This caused him to fall forward shattering his teeth on the jack hammer in the process. It took Dan quite a while to compose himself before he could help his poor patient.
Just as Sirius was about to leave he said. "By the way, Dumbledore is looking for you, Harry."
"How do you know that he is looking for me?" Harry asked.
"I have sort of hired Remus to move some of the merchandise I have brought or sold. He asked me if I knew where you were."
"Are you crazy? Do you want Dumbledore to know everything we are trying to accomplish? Hiring Remus is practically the same as telling Dumbledore everything that we are doing. You know what happened to us when we trusted him."
"I know that is why I only communicate with him via owl and never through direct contact or floo. I felt sorry for him since he is unable find normal work due to his condition. That is why I hired him. Aren't you trying to promote tolerance?"
"We are all about giving people opportunities but Remus has used up all his chances with us. Besides, he still has not paid us back yet."
"Why don't you give him one more chance for me? I will even pay back the money he owes on his behalf." Sirius pleaded as he missed his friend. However, he could understand why they didn't want him around.
"Okay, for you, we will give him one more chance but it will be after you get Harry's magical guardianship. You have to have a talk with him and explain what he did wrong." Hermione finally said after conferring with the others.
"That is great. You will not regret it." Sirius said excitedly.
"We better not." Hermione said threateningly.
"I will see you all later. 'Till next time, au revoir ladies" Sirius said with a formal bow before apparating away.
"What are we going to do about Dumbledore's latest move?" Hermione asked as soon as Sirius had left.
"We need to put our old home under the Fidelius charm as quickly as possible. Everyone knew where it was and it could reveal our entire operation to Dumbledore." Emma said.
"Agreed, Harry can cast the charm with the Elder Wand. Who are going to get as the secret keeper?" Hermione asks.
"Alice, Ashley and Emily are out because they will be living there. We don't trust Doug or the Outcast leader enough to make them our secret keeper. Sirius does not know enough about our operation to be suitable. Mr and Mrs Granger, you both cannot be the secret keeper as you need magic. That leaves you, Hermione" Harry said out loud, as he tried to work out who would be the best secret keeper for the Grangers old home.
"Actually there is another option, one of the house elves could act as our secret keeper. I was thinking Dobby since he has proven his worth many times over."
"That is a great idea. Dobby can pop over to whoever we need to tell the location to even when we at school. Do you agree to have Dobby as your secret keeper, Mr and Mrs Granger?" Harry asked excitedly.
"I agree that is a fantastic idea. We love Dobby, he has been a great help. Harry dear, you should call us, Dan and Emma or Mum and Dad." Emma said.
"I will try to remember to call you Dan and Emma but since I never had parents. Saying Mum and Dad seems too weird to me."
"That is alright." Emma said as she hugged Harry. She knew how unpleasant his upbringing was.
Hermione called out for Dobby.
"Yes, Miss Granger." Dobby said after popping in.
"We are putting our old home under a Fidelius charm and we wondering if you are willing to be our secret keeper. It will be dangerous being the secret keeper and you can say no."
"Miss Granger, trust me. A house elf to be your secret keeper, I would be honoured." Dobby said as he was overcome with emotion at the faith that they were putting on his shoulders.
"We need to talk about a few things before we go to our old home to cast the charm. We will call you when we are ready if that is okay with you."
"That is fine, Miss Granger." Dobby said while still overcome with emotion. Then he popped away.
Harry and Hermione discussed how to actually cast the spell before getting Alice and her mother to side apparate them to the old Granger house. After they were done with the charm, Harry, Hermione, Dan and Emma had a family meeting about what additional steps they need to take to counteract Dumbledore's latest move.
"Should we put wards around the house?" Dan asked.
"No, it would interfere with anything electrical in the house. You need your computer and I could not make you miss your weekly dose of football." Hermione said. Dan quickly agreed as the thought of missing the match of the day made him shudder.
"How many security guards do we have on staff now?" Hermione asked.
"Twenty one but we are training them up with both magical training and normal military training." Emma replied.
"Are we hiring more? We need a lot more once the gold mining operation gets going."
"We are trying to hire more but it takes time for find the right people."
"It should not be too hard to find good people to work as security guards when you can search the entire world." Hermione complained.
"Stop being so rude and demanding Hermione Jane Granger. We are trying to help you. It takes time to interview these people. The management team is only sending the best applicants as they know we do not have the time to interview them all. Besides, we can only select people who can communicate in English, which is not the entire world."
"Alright, maybe we should start to poach people from the various law enforcement agencies around the world. We need a strong army when the purebloods finally do retaliate or we take it to them."
"Okay. I suggest we start poaching from other businesses or government agencies. We have been avoiding doing so at the moment since we don't want a confrontation."
"Start off slowly. As we build up power they will be less likely to try to do anything to us."
"That is what we have been trying to do." Emma said in frustration.
"No you have not been doing that. Instead you have tried to avoid confrontation all together which is impossible when you run a business. This getting us nowhere arguing about something that has already happened..." Hermione said as everyone tried to calm down. She then continued by saying.
"Let's try to approach the problem differently. If we train some of our other employees like the miners and hunters as part-time security forces then we can have a bigger team to repel any hostile moves the opposition could try to do. Another added advantage is that it will allow for job rotation making it more interesting for our employees."
"I will offer training to all our employees tomorrow." Emma said as she did not like arguing with her daughter.
"Getting back to security for Harry, I think we should have a team of 4 security guards protecting us at all times with the pack of hunters on alert in case Harry gets kidnapped." Hermione suggested.
"That sounds reasonable. Harry maybe you should stay home as much as possible. It would make you a harder target for them to find and kidnap." Emma advised. Harry nodded his head indicating his acceptance of the request.
"How about the charity events?" Dan asked as he is jealous at the thought that Harry was going to be able to escape those tedious events.
"I doubt Dumbledore's people are going to be willing to do anything around all those non-magical people." Emma replies.
"Speaking of Dumbledore's people, we should find out what they are doing and finally deal with Mundungus." Harry suggested.
"I will get Alice's Father Jake to ask around for us. When we locate the little thief, why don't we use it as a training exercise for our new security team to detain him?" Dan suggested.
"Make sure they bring him here as I want to interrogate him personally." Harry said.
The next day, they had Mundungus chained in the cellar with no wand. It was very easy to locate him and he was drunk at time they had picked him up. Harry woke him up by chucking a bucket of ice water at Mundungus.
"What the hell? Where the hell am I?"
"I am asking the questions here." Harry stated while he poured truth serum down Mundungus' throat. Mundungus struggled and tried to resist drinking the serum but was soon overpowered by Harry. Once the truth serum took hold, Harry asked. "Why are you not in jail even though everyone knows you steal?"
"I am protected by the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Professor Dumbledore." Mundungus said proudly.
"Why would Dumbledore protect you?"
"I get him things that are hard to find, illegal or he does not want his name associated with. Plus I also help him sell things on the sly for him."
"Can you list what you done for him?"
"No. Since I drink so much, I cannot remember any details. I think that is one of the reasons why he keeps me around."
"Have you been to his home outside of Hogwarts?"
"Yes. I go there often to drop stuff I brought off."
"Can you tell me where it is?"
"No, it is under a Fidelius charm." Mundungus replied. Harry then decided that since Dumbledore stole from him he was going to steal from Dumbledore in return. As an added bonus they can see if their portkey targeting charm can work through the Fidelius charm.
Harry then interrogated Mundungus further trying to find out everything he knows from where to get illegal potion ingredients, locations of rich clients and etc. After he was done, Harry removed all the recent memories from Mundungus before putting the portkey targeting charm on him using the death stick he had stolen from Dumbledore. He then used Voldemort's wand to imperio Mundungus to go to Dumbledore's home for half an hour before returning here.
Harry then got one of the biggest empty trunks he could find plus all the tools he would need to take down any wards he would encounter. Once Harry thought he had given Mundungus enough time to get to Dumbledore's hidden home, he portkeys to Mundungus' location.
The room he arrived in was plain with nothing valuable anywhere in sight. It appeared to be a sitting room of some kind with a two couches. Harry stunned Mundungus on arrival before doing a scan of the area for wards. It turned out that this room was warded from the rest of the house. Harry made quick work dismantling the ward structure so that he had free access to the rest of the house. After he removed all the wards, he called Dobby.
"Dobby, can you and the other house elves remove everything in this house to the sorting tent at the old Granger home."
"Can do Mr Potter, Sir." Dobby replied. A little later, Dobby popped in looking nervous.
"What is wrong, Dobby?" Harry asked.
"The sorting tent is full, Mr Potter, Sir."
"Has Emily, Alice and the library been moved into the main house yet?"
"They have, Sir."
"Ask them if it is alright if we use their old tent for additional storage." Harry suggested. Dobby popped away to ask and came back.
"They said it is alright."
"Move the stuff you cannot fit in the sorting tent to their old tent and inform Jake, Alice's father, that we have a lot extra unsorted stuff."
"Will do, sir." Dobby said. Just before Dobby pops away Harry asked "What is taking up so much room?"
"The house has an enormous library, sir." Dobby replied. Harry immediate thought he had better inform Hermione and Alice or else they would kill him.
"Can you tell Alice that we received a massive load of books?" Harry said. Dobby popped away to carry out his orders but returned a little later after he had completed everything.
"We are done." Dobby announced.
"Thank you, Dobby. That will be all for now." Harry said. Once Dobby popped away, Harry removed Mundungus' recent memory, lifted the imperio, and put in a suggestion to rob the Apothecary. He released him in an empty room at the Leaky Cauldron. He then went back to the now fully revealed home of Dumbledore and proceeded to burn the place down with Voldemort's wand. To ensure that everything was burnt to the ground, Harry used Fiendfyre after putting a notice me not ward around the place. The notice me not ward was created using the Elder Wand. It would fall after all traces of magic from Voldemort's wand had dissipated.
Harry then went back to the new Granger home and used one of the time turners to go back to when the interrogation of Mundungus began. This ensured he had an alibi for the time when Dumbledore's home was destroyed. Harry, Hermione, Dan and Emma all went to the local primary school to give them 50 thousand pounds to improve their facilities. They all had lunch with the students and the teachers with reporters capturing the entire event on camera.
Chapter 29 Kidnapping
A few nights after the Dumbledore house blaze, Harry was woken by someone's attempt to stun him. The spell failed since Harry had taken to wearing his basilisk armour everywhere including to bed.
Using the element of surprise at the failure of their stunning spell, Harry quickly rolled out of bed and away from his attackers who were trying to grab him. One of the attackers pocketed the phoenix wand that Harry had deliberately left on the side table to fool attackers into thinking he was unarmed. Seeing that the stunning spell did not work, the two attackers decide to physically overpower Harry rather than use magic.
As soon as the attackers were within arm's length, Harry revealed the two wands he had on his person and shot stunners at both of the attackers. One went down but the other was able to avoid the attack. Harry then used the Elder wand to re-stun the downed attacker as a precaution. Using the elder wand meant that the other attacker could not wake him.
After that it became a pitched battle between Harry and the remaining attacker. The attacker was desperately trying to get to his fallen colleague in hopes of retreat, but Harry was having none of it. He was trading spells with the attacker while calling for help.
The attacker finally reached his fallen comrade. When he tried to activate his portkey, nothing happened. At that moment, the attacker knew he was screwed. So left his colleague and fled to the door. As he opened the door, the attacker was stunned by Hermione.
Hermione pulled off the attacker's mask to reveal Ex Auror Moody which was no surprise since his wooden leg was a dead giveaway. Harry removed the mask of the other attacker to find Active Auror Shacklebolt. They both hated Kingsley Shacklebolt since as a minister of magic he allowed the purebloods to further strengthen their stranglehold over the magical government while saying he was promoting muggleborn rights. He was the biggest hypocrite and operated the same way as Dumbledore. In affect he was the successor of Dumbledore. The fact Dumbledore sent his two best people indicated just how desperate Dumbledore had become.
Hermione took the glass eye off Moody and cast a few spells to detect what charms were placed on the eye. Hermione took a piece of parchment and starting writing down the spells placed on the eye so that they could replicate them later on a pair of normal glasses. Once Hermione was done she passed the eye to Harry and said. "Harry do you mind using the Elder Wand to remove all the spells on the eye? I want to make it so that Moody's eye cannot see through your invisibility cloak."
"I wish we did the same to Dumbledore's glasses when we had the chance." Harry replied.
"I know but you were not thinking right and I was concerned about you losing your temper at the time." Hermione replied. Harry started removing every charm that had been placed on the eye. Hermione then turned to the guards that just arrived.
"Why did it take you so long to respond?" Hermione demanded.
"We were stunned and just recovered." One of the guards said, hoping to justify their late response.
"Weren't you wearing your armour?" Hermione asked.
"It gets hot in the armour."
"Then place a cooling spell on the lining. As punishment for your slow response, you will have to strip these two attackers manually. Remember to remove this guy's fake leg, as it is a wand. Once you are done leave them naked in the cellar where we held Mundungus." Hermione suggested.
"Yes, Madam." The guards responded.
"If they escape because you did not thoroughly search them for magical items then I am going to very pissed off." Hermione said threateningly. The guards quickly started stripping the two attackers.
"Do you want to lead the interrogation or should I?" Harry asked.
"Why don't you take Moody and I will take Kingsley?" Hermione suggested.
"I don't think that is a good idea, Moody is a very tricky character. To keep him off balance we should tackle him together."
"Maybe we should use that new truth serum Ashley developed. It makes them tell you the truth but also relaxes their will. So they would volunteer extra information that they believe you want."
"Why didn't you tell me about it before I interrogated Mundungus?"
"It is experimental and has not tested on humans before."
"Are you sure it is safe now?"
"Yes. We used the room of requirement to do further testing and the results are very promising. Besides, if they have an adverse reaction and they die; we could easily claim we were just defending ourselves." Hermione said. She really wanted to test the new truth serum. They went down to the cellars to check on their prisoners. Kingsley was alright but Moody had a swollen mouth. Hermione said to one of the guards. "What happened to Moody?"
"He had an emergency portkey in one of his teeth. We had to pull out the tooth so that he couldn't escape."
"Okay. Could someone give him a healing potion for his swollen mouth? We need to question him and we can't do that if his mouth is swollen. Use this time turner if you need to."
"We will do it right away." The guard said as he left. Hermione turned to Harry and said.
"I guess we are starting with Kingsley then."
They feed Kingsley Shacklebolt the modified truth serum.
"Please state your name." Hermione said.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt. I am a Senior Auror with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"Why did you attack Harry?"
"Dumbledore was getting mad. Things that he had carefully hidden have been exposed to the general public. He is scared that if he does not get Harry under his control, he could very well end up in prison. So he ordered us to take Harry into his custody so that he could question him. We would then return him to his abusive relatives to make him more humble."
"Why does Dumbledore want to question Harry?"
"He suspects that Harry is responsible for his recent troubles with the media and the destruction of his home. If it turns out to be true, then Dumbledore plans to blackmail Harry into using his reputation for to benefit Dumbledore."
"Why are you helping Dumbledore?"
"We share similar beliefs and he helped me to my current position in the Auror forces."
"Why did you risk your position by trying to kidnap Harry from his legal guardians?"
"Dumbledore said he would take care of everything once Harry was safely back at the Dursleys. I believed him and with Moody as my partner I thought there was no way we could fail. Now that the plan failed miserably, Dumbledore would not stick out his neck for us. So we will be on our own to face kidnapping charges."
"When did Dumbledore find out that Harry was not staying with the Dursleys?"
"A couple of days after the holidays began his spy Mrs Figg informed him that Harry never arrived. Dumbledore went off to investigate and found out that Dudley was in juvenile detention. He did not expect that to happen so he started to dig deeper. When he found out that his deep undercover ministry official turned up missing, he was ready to blow his top off. The portraits in the Headmasters office were terrified of Dumbledore when we reported that no one could find a trace of the guy. That is when he switched his focus to Harry. Everyone was glad when that happened because we hoped that he would take out his frustration out on Harry rather than us."
"How did you find us?"
"Remus found out from one of the magical builders you hired to renovate this place. He was trolling through all the bars when he came across them discussing your renovation."
"Did you know what happened when Dumbledore found out that he lost his home?"
"According to Professor McGonagall, he found out just after a training session with Neville. By the time he finally made it to his house, it was totally destroyed with no magical signatures left anywhere for him to use to trace the culprits. He was more pissed at the lost all those books than he was at losing his house. He never stops whining about the books."
Harry and Hermione continued the interrogation for a couple of hours focusing on Dumbledore's reactions and any plans that Kingsley knew about. Then they proceeded to question Mad Eye Moody. He confirmed everything the Kingsley told them. It was morning when they finally finished their interrogations. After having their memories of the interrogations removed, Harry stunned them and called Doug.
"These two prisoners tried to attack us last night. I want you to drop the two prisoners off in a muggle area. We want to embarrass them so I think maybe leave them at a gay bar."
"Do you want me to dress them first?" Doug asked with a twinkle in his eye.
"That's up to you and I leave those details to you." Harry replied tired from the long night of interrogation. As soon as Doug left with the two prisoners, Harry went to bed to take a nap.
A few days later an excited Sirius pop over for dinner.
"What got you so excited?" Harry asked.
"I just got your magical guardianship." Sirius announced. Harry hugged Sirius and then Hermione. Dan and Emma got some Champagne for them to celebrate with.
"I thought you said it was going to take longer than this to get my magical guardianship?" Harry asked in curiosity.
"It was supposed to take longer but everything changed after an embarrassing incident involving two aurors and super glue in a very public place. The bureaucratic road blocks magically disappeared after that incident."
"What was the incident?" Harry asked feigning ignorance.
"Have you not paid any attention to either the magical or muggle news? The incident was discussed everywhere?"
"Mum and Dad have been going to work while Harry and I have been working on a project. Just tell us what happened." Hermione said threateningly.
"Don't get your knickers in knot. I was going to tell. The non-magical version of the incident was that two men were found naked outside a gay bar. One man had his hands super glued to the groin of the other. The man whose hands were glued had his groin area glued to a telephone poll. It took the rescue squad that responded hours to free the men. The popular opinion in the muggle news was the men got pranked at a bachelor party they attended. Neither men were willing to give a statement to the non-magical newspaper."
"What was the magical version of events?"
"The two men were doing something for Dumbledore when the next thing they know. They were glued to each other, nude and completely helpless. When help arrived, it came in the form of muggle rescue squad. They tried to refuse their assistance hoping that the magical equivalent would arrive. But by the time the magical authorities arrived, it was too late since muggle media were already there. The presence of the non-magical media meant that the magical authorities could only look on as the men were freed using non-magical means. The muggle methods were used were very time-consuming, embarrassing and painful for the two men.
"When they were released by the healers and questioned by the other high level members of the DMLE, all they were willing to say was that they were helping Dumbledore with something without getting too specific. They were both fined and Kingsley has an official reprimand in his file. That meant a demotion and no chance of promotion for many years to come.
"Dumbledore was not willing to step in and help them even though they were doing something for him. This lack of assistance is what I think, prompted the bureaucratic road blocks to magically disappear."
"That is excellent news. I guess that Dumbledore supporters will now thick twice before acting on his behalf." Hermione suggested.
"That was not the only bad news Dumbledore received this week. He finally lost his Chief Warlock position." Sirius said.
"Who did he lose the position to?"
"He lost it to Titus Ogden, a moderate pureblood supremacist."
"What the heck is a moderate pureblood supremacist?"
"That is the fraction that believes that muggles and muggleborns should be given some protection while the purebloods should be considered like nobility. A lot of Dumbledore's old political allies are now part of this fraction. "
"Isn't that the extreme pureblood fraction?"
"No, the extreme pureblood fraction believes in the total annihilation of the muggles and muggleborn."
"And that is the faction we are doing the deal with?" Harry asked incredibly.
"Yes. They follow the old code so any agreements with them are practically ironclad; especially with another pureblood. That is why they are so strong because people are willing to deal with them." Sirius explained.
"There is a faction that believes in equality for all?" Hermione asked with concern.
"Yes but they are the minority with no leader unlike the other factions. Dumbledore's betrayal has really hurt them. I would not be surprised if they left Britain, since I believe that is what you plan to do now that I wrested your magical guardianship away from Dumbledore." Sirius said.
"That is what we are planning." Hermione replied. She was not surprised that Sirius figured out what they were planning.
"I think I worked out something that would help. In order to try to fight all of the negative press he is getting, Dumbledore has put his full backing behind something called the Muggle Protection Act. I believe that if I could get a sentence or two changed, the act could be interpreted as one that encourages muggleborns and half-bloods to leave the country."
"Are you sure the pureblood supremacist would pass the act? Especially since the act is supposed to protect muggles." Hermione asked.
"Have you actually read the act?" Sirius asked.
"No I can't say I have." Hermione admitted.
"The act basically forbids magicals from copying things done by muggles by claiming that if muggles discovered the magical equivalent then the threat to magical society is huge. It is basically an act to encourage the separation of muggle and magical societies." Sirius explained.
"I heard about this act. If that is the case then why is Lucius Malfoy so against it?" Harry added.
"A number of reasons, the first reason is that the name of the act suggests that it protects muggles from magicals. Second reason is that he hates Dumbledore and would oppose everything he states for on principle. The third and final reason is that it gives the ministry extra powers to examine people's homes which he absolutes hates since he has so many dark objects in his home."
"Will the act pass if Lucius Malfoy is so against it?"
"Yes, since Dumbledore is selling the idea to supporters of equality by saying that it stops magicals from harming muggles by changing everyday muggle items into dangerous things. He also got quite a bit of support from the pure-bloods by telling them the truth."
"Would you be able make your suggested changes?" Hermione asked.
"I believe that I can supporters of equality to go to for it by showing them how it could help them escape Britain while the pure-bloods would go for it if I show them that it would reduce opposition."
"That sounds great." Hermione said finally after thinking it through.
"Once I reach an agreement with the Malfoys and the pure-bloods. I am never going to play this political game ever again. It makes my skin crawl dealing with those people." Sirius stated.
"Are you sure you want to do this? The agreement is a big risk and we can work without it." Harry asked.
"I am sure. In fact, I want to start working on it immediately since I want it in place before school starts. It is too late to leave Hogwarts this year and from what you have done, you want to be at Hogwarts this year for some reason anyway."
"You are right. We want to be at Hogwarts this year. Don't worry about why, it is better if you don't know. Why don't you make those changes to the Muggle Protection Act so that we can start on the Pureblood agreement?" Hermione suggested. Sirius said his farewell since he could sense that he really did not want to know what they had planned for this year.
When Harry and Hermione were alone Harry asked Hermione.
"Do you think that Moody or Kingsley would come after us for revenge?"
"I doubt it. Moody is paranoid so to being left defenceless and embarrassed after a failed attack. It will make him think twice before he tries something like that again. While Kingsley is now on thin ice at his job, if he steps out of line he could be fired. Besides the fact that they did not admit they were trying to kidnap you means they know they were in the wrong."
"I hope you are right." Said Harry, doubtfully.
"Anyway, I have put a proximity charm on them so that when they try to follow us an alarm will sound." Hermione said matter-of-factly while buffing a nail. Harry rushed over to hug Hermione.
"That was brilliant." Harry proclaimed.
Chapter 30
Sirius came over as soon as the Muggle Protection Act was passed into law. It contained the amendments that he wanted. He collapsed on the couch of one of the sitting rooms. Hermione was there reading something, Harry was going over the plans of the Gaunt hut. Dan was reading the sports section of the non-magical newspaper while Emma was comparing the main sections of the magical and non-magical newspapers.
"Tough day?" Harry asked.
"You would not believe it. Dumbledore was pushing the legislation full on in the Wizengamot. When he found out about the changes I made, he started to lobby for the act to be either rejected or the amendments I made removed. Once he started doing that, Lucius Malfoy started to lobby hard for the amendments to stay since it was the exact opposite of what Dumbledore wanted. It was like the clash of the titans with me in the middle."
"Did the act get passed?" Hermione asked as she looked up from her book.
"Yes. But it was a very close call. If Dumbledore found out about my changes any earlier, then the motion would have failed. In the end, Dumbledore was made to look like a fool after pushing for something then suddenly turning around. That combined with the fact that the law would heavily reduce Dumbledore's pool of potential supporters would mean that soon Dumbledore will only hold the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts. His ICW position is in doubt with the Wizengamot withdrawing their support for his representation of Britain. He already lost the Chief Warlock position and his Order of Merlin Award is under review."
"He is still a very dangerous man even without all those positions of authority." Hermione warned. "What are you getting at?"
"I was thinking that we have convinced about as many people who are willing to listen that Dumbledore is not the good person he tries to portray. Using Rita continue to bag on Dumbledore is like beating a dead horse. We cannot use her to attack other people in the media since the media owners are likely to object, I think that I should use her for spying purposes. Her Animagus form is excellent for that task. I have signed her to an exclusive contract for 200 thousand galleons a year. She can only work for me and if she does good work she can even get bonuses. If you wish to have her continue what she is doing that is fine with me as well."
"This way she is even more productive and I think this a good use of resources. Have you got her to sign any contracts such as confidentiality clause?"
"I was hoping you could write one of your legendary cursed contracts…" Sirius pleaded.
"Okay. Maybe I should teach you how to write your own." Hermione replied.
"If I wrote a cursed contract, I will probably end up cursing myself or turning myself into monkey."
"I can image you deliberately doing that because you would find it funny. I would bet that you wouldn't know how to undo it. Then I would have to try and undo it for you, on second thought I better not."
"If you taught him how to do those contracts he will probably start turning us into monkeys every time we write our names." Harry added. Sirius began thinking what he could do with cursed contracts.
"Maybe you should tell me how to do so that in an emergency. I can do it on my own."
"Okay. But only if you promise not to use it to prank me or Harry."
"Deal, but everyone else is free is free game."
"As long as it does not interrupt something important I don't care."
"You can teach me while we are working on the deal with the purebloods."
"Speaking of deals, do you know what happened to Mundungus Fletcher? Rumour has it that he was able to get a deal with Dumbledore in order to keep him out of prison."
"How do you know about, Dung?" Sirius asked in surprise.
"I have read a book called the "Art of War". One of the things they emphasize in the book is the importance of knowing your enemy. Since we consider Dumbledore as our enemy, we research his known associates and made sure we knew where they were. Recently Mundungus Fletcher disappeared off the streets. I doubted he was dead, so the most likely scenario is arrested. I was hoping you heard something about him while you were at the ministry." Harry explained.
"As a matter of fact, I did. He was arrested with trying to steal from the Apothecary. In fact, when the aurors arrived he put up quite a fight destroying most of the Apothecary in the process."
"So is he going to prison?" Harry asked.
"Yes he is now going to spend a few years in the company of my old neighbours. I wish him the best of luck. He would need it especially since he is an alcoholic who is going to go through withdrawal while spending time with those good mood destroyers. Insanity is his best hope right now since suicide is not an option." Sirius explained. Harry and Hermione were both relieved that Sirius was able to joke about Azkaban.
"I thought that Dumbledore would keep him out of prison." Harry stated.
"He attempted to do so, but his position is so weak these days that he was not able to help Dung at all. In fact they added two years to his sentence due to Dumbledore's revelation of one of Dung's prior misdeeds when he testified on his behalf. It was probably why he didn't try to help Moody and Kingsley. He already knew he could do nothing for them and could only cause trouble for himself."
"If he is so weak why isn't he in jail?" Harry said in frustration.
"It is very simple. What Dumbledore was trying to do with Dung was use his reputation and his authority to get ministry officials to do what he wanted. Now that his reputation is in tatters and his positions that provide that authority are under threat, he can't do that anymore. However, when Dumbledore is personally being threatened with jail, he will call in favours from members of the Wizengamot. He has over half-century to accumulate favours so he is unlikely to go to jail any time soon." Sirius explained.
"So, basically Dumbledore lost his power in the ministry but still has power in the Wizengamot and this still makes him dangerous." Hermione added.
"That is why this agreement with the pure-blood supremacist faction is so important."
"I can understand why you are doing it, but I still think it is too great of a risk." Harry said with passion.
"Don't worry. I will be working with Sirius on the agreement. Don't you trust me Harry?" Hermione asked.
"You know I would trust you with my life any day of the week."
"So let me take care of this and ensure that Sirius is protected." Hermione said as she hugged Harry. She knew how much Sirius' death in the previous timeline hurt him. Once Harry felt better and resumed his work, Hermione and Sirius began working on the pureblood agreement.
It was a busy week at the new Granger household. Hermione and Sirius continued to work on the pureblood agreement. Harry was looking over the Black Manor plans that Sirius had obtained for him. It was going to be a busy Saturday, apart from taking over Black Manor; Harry was going to use the time turner to attend a House Warning Party for the Grangers at the same time.
Harry decided to take over Black Manor at the same time as the house warming party due to Harry's need to use a wand to adjust the wards around the house. He did not want to be cited for underage magic usage. If they do catch this activity, Harry could show proof that he was somewhere else at the time.
On Saturday morning, Harry, Doug and Jake met Sirius and his bodyguards at Black Manor. The transfer of ownership and control of the Black Manor went off without a hitch. Sirius then called out.
"Kreacher." Sirius called. The house elf appeared.
"You blood traitor. What are you doing here corrupting the Noble House of Black?" Kreacher said.
"I am your new master, so shut up!" Sirius yelled. Kreacher immediately stopped his rant even though he did not want to. Sirius immediately transferred the ownership of Kreacher to Harry.
"I am now owned by filth." Kreacher said with disgust once the transfer was completed. Originally, Harry was planning to get Kreacher to change his ways but after seeing Kreacher with Sirius so close, he knew he could not control his temper long enough to change Kreacher. He sent him off to Hermione instead with orders follow her every command.
As they opened the door and entered Black Manor, Sirius' mother started yelling.
"What the hell are you doing here? You filthy blood traitor, embarrassment to the Noble House of Black!"
"Hello mother." Sirius said.
"What are you doing hanging around with these disgusting creatures." Mrs Black said as soon as she spotted Harry and the others. Harry however had enough. So he called.
"Dobby!"
"Yes Master Harry, Sir." Dobby said as he appeared.
"Please destroy this painting and this troll umbrella stand as well." Harry said. Mrs Black had a shocked expression as her painting was instantly destroyed. The troll leg also disappeared.
"Thanks Harry." Sirius said in relief that his mother's painting was gone.
The others now started looking through the house for cursed objects, especially the Slytherin locket. If they came across any dark creatures they put them into a trunk which was going to join the creatures they collected from the New Granger house. These dark creatures were going to be used as either punishment for people who do wrong such as Lockhart and Dumbledore or as teaching tools for the New Granger Institute. After Sirius showed them around the house he left since he did not like being in his old home.
The discovery of a fully stocked and shielded potions lab in the cellar changed their plans. Originally, Harry was planning to change the Manor into one massive library but with the discovery they decided to keep the lab and use it as a base of operations. They would transform the old Granger Home into the gigantic library. Doug was going to renovate the Black Manor after he had finished training the miners.
It did not take long for them to find the locket and move the library contents to the old Granger Home. The locket was placed with the diadem. Hermione now had several items to experiment with in order to remove Horcruxes. She wanted a way to remove the Horcrux from Harry without using the killing curse. She is positive there is a way to do it; it was just a case of finding it. This was one of the reasons she wanted so many books, especially books about dark magic.
After the locket was put away, Harry went home to attend the house warming party. This party was mainly a non-magical affair. Even though it was called a house warming party, in fact it was a fund raising event for the Outreach program for disadvantaged children. The goal of the event was to boost the Granger's profile in the public/political arena. Since it was a fund raising event, dignitaries and celebrities were attending the occasion. The charity was willing to go along with it for a number of reasons. The Grangers had donated 50 thousand pounds to their cause with the possibility of more in the fund, the Grangers were providing free Elvin made food (waiters and attendants were mostly charity volunteers) and a beautiful venue. Emma, Dan and the people from the Outreach charity organised the event.
As soon as the guests starting arriving, one of the trustees of the charity was standing with Emma, Dan, Hermione and Harry greet the new arrivals. Dan and Emma were excited about meeting all these new important people while Hermione and Harry were loathing it. Harry hated the attention while Hermione hated the pompous people they were meeting. It reminded her of the attitude that she got from the pure-blood supremacists in magical society. Neither cared about the celebrities that attended but knew why they were needed to attract the media. Emma loved the compliments she was getting while Dan loved the attention. Dan also enjoyed giving speeches at these occasions talking about his passion for the cause.
Harry and Hermione were taking turns escaping the reception line to act as the go between the human wait staff and the house elf cooking crew. The house elves loved the work and had to be stopped many times from making the food magically appear at tables. Only the threat of being banned from cleaning up the mess after everyone left kept them in line. The only area that they could not keep the house elves under control over was the toilets as soon as the door closed a house elf would clean it. This brought a lot compliments about the cleanliness of the toilets but made it awkward for the Grangers to try to explain it. Another area the Grangers did not know the answer to were the recipe requests. These requests made the house elves extra happy. They got so happy that they accidentally added some magical ingredients a few times such as adding dragon meat to some entrees. Luckily, Dobby or Harry would spot it quiet quickly and prevented the guests from noticing.
On one occasion Dan was getting so bored by a guest that he discretely asked Dobby to swap, the guy's drink with either a whisky made for giants or werewolves. The result was hilarious; the boring man really enjoyed his new drink and became extremely intoxicated very quickly. The uptight politician started striping and saying how hot he felt. At this time, Dan took him to one of the bedrooms specially prepared for the drunks. This way the guest did not embarrass himself too much. Once in the room he started talking about his misspent youth. Dan was enjoying the stories that the guy was telling so he stayed until he fell asleep.
The night was a roaring success, and there were several requests made for the Grangers host future events. Everything about the night was a smashing hit. The food was first class; the venue was wonderful, the only area to improve on was the entertainment since which was low key. Security provided by the security guards in training was brilliant. They were responsible for subduing the violent drunks quickly or placing the well behaved drunks in prepared rooms to recover. The food was so good and plentiful that it kept the reporters busy and gave relief to the celebrities who had attended the event (a few celebrities asked about which catering service they used since they would hire them in a second).
They also raised a lot of money for the charity. The announcement of the 50 thousand pound donation plus a pledge of another 50 thousand pounds in the future by the Grangers was extremely well received. It was so successful a fund raising event that the charity could expand its existing operations with the funds raised. This included a 20 thousand pound donation from the drunken politician that Dan befriended. The success made the other charities ask about holding a similar event for them in the future. Dan and Emma quickly declined as they had to plan Harry's birthday party and then they were going overseas after that.
On the day of Harry's birthday, the Grangers plus their close employees had a small celebration lunch together. The actual birthday party was held the following day. Before the party began, Harry and Hermione went to the Gaunt Hut. It did not take long for Harry to undo the enchantments and wards around the hunt with Voldemort's wand. He then took the ring with the resurrection stone on it from its hiding place and carefully placed it with the other Horcruxes. Hermione put a replacement ring with similar spells on it in its place. This replacement ring has a proximity alert charm like the ones placed on Moody and Kingsley. Harry then recast the wards and spells that covered the hut. They went home to examine the ring they had retrieved. As soon as Harry cast the spell detection charm on the ring using the Elder wand, Harry found something that shocked him.
"What is the matter?" Hermione asked as she saw the shock expression on his face.
"I found all the spells and charms I expected on this ring but I also found a curse on the resurrection stone itself that I never seen before." Harry replied.
"Can you identify the caster of the curse?" Hermione asked.
"No, I cannot. I cannot even tell you when it was cast."
"Can you remove it?" Hermione said with concern.
"I don't know. I need to research the curse first before I can tell you."
"Do you what it does?"
"Something to do with Halloween, which is all that I can tell at this stage…"
"Check your invisible cloak and use Voldemort's wand to check for the curse on the Elder wand." Hermione suggested which Harry quickly complied with.
"They both have the same curse." Harry replied.
"That certainly explains why you have such rotten luck at Halloween." Hermione said, hoping to lighten to mood.
"I want the curse gone." Harry said as he went in search of books to help him achieve his goal.
"We need to attend your party. So get changed and use the time-turner." Hermione directed. Harry did not enjoy his party; he was more interested in removing the curse permanently.