Chapter 12: C12 Dumbledore's Bad Day
# # #
Harry crashed out when he returned to the palace after giving Hermione her next cube. He even allowed himself a bit of a lie-in when he awoke.
Climbing out of bed he took a long shower before finally dressing. He wanted to go and see his godfather but knew he needed to wait until he received a call from Madam Longbottom to meet her and Neville.
He also wanted to head to Diagon Alley to pick up that morning's copy of the Daily Prophet, just to see how much trouble he'd stirred up.
Before he left the suite, though, he waylaid Michael to ask him to pass on a note to Her Majesty. Harry had written a short message to the Queen informing her his godfather had been released from prison and found not guilty of all charges the night before and was currently under twenty-four-hour protective guard at the wizarding world's hospital recuperating from the ravages of his long stay in the prison.
# # #
In Diagon Alley, Harry quickly sought a copy of the Prophet and returned with it to the Leaky Cauldron. He specifically didn't have his morning cup of tea at the palace, preferring to enjoy having one while reading the wizarding world's newspaper.
The main headline, of course, related to his godfather's release. BLACK FREE, the banner headline proclaimed. It went on to detail how his godfather was proven not to have betrayed the Potters or killed the muggles, after all. And even included a quote from the Minister where he said, "A great injustice was rectified [last night]. An innocent man, wrongly imprisoned, was finally given the justice he deserved."
The Minister made it sound like he was almost solely responsible for giving Sirius his freedom. It was his leadership of the Ministry that saw 'his' hardworking Auror department make good what was wrong.
Snorting, Harry thought the man would make a gas explosion accident sound like a beautification project if no one was hurt.
The next story, 'over the fold' as the newsies put it, was DUMBLEDORE STEALS HARRY'S MAIL. It covered how he'd been intercepting mail directed to Harry. And how Amelia, as Head of the DMLE, was expecting people to make formal complaints through her office about any mail they had sent him, Harry, not being sent through. The article went on to say how the journalist who wrote it thought Amelia had made valid points about how Dumbledore 'obviously' had too many responsibilities and they should be cut back.
Harry hadn't planned on the mail interception thing becoming public yet, he had planned that for the following week. But Amelia played the card with perfection and, as it was now wrapped up in Dumbles's role in Sirius's incarceration, the old man was going to have to dance a major political jig to hold on to any part of his reputation.
There was even a small article that implied Dumbledore may have Harry chained up in a dungeon at Hogwarts. And that Hogwarts should be searched immediately in case he was there.
That one really had Harry chuckling to himself.
Another article covered how Bagnold and Crouch were now facing charges for their part in imprisoning Sirius without a trial. And what part Dumbledore played in that by not coming forward with the true identity of the Secret Keeper.
Harry anticipated it would take him at least two weeks to get beyond it. And that's when he'd start the next 'Dumbledore Scandal'.
He wondered whether he should go next. The unsealing of the Will, hiding Harry, the start of investigations into the missing funds. What?
In the meantime, he'd have Sirius playing the angry godfather searching for his godson and harassing old Dumbles for the information. If Sirius pushed hard enough, especially if he took his seat on the Wizengamot, he might be able to get the Will, supposedly, unsealed; and that would give Dumbles more headaches. But it would also mean Harry had to switch back with Dobby so he would be the one at Privet Drive when he was removed from there and taken to the reading. That could be risky.
Maybe he should begin by starting to write his book, Harry Potter: The Facts in His Own Words. He didn't have to publish it yet. But it was something he wanted to complete so he could use it later as yet another black mark against Dumbledore's, for now only slightly marred, sterling reputation. However, that was going to take quite some time. He wasn't going to have it ready, and couldn't use it anyway, in two weeks. That was for something for later once he was acknowledged by Hogwarts as the Head of House Slytherin.
Reading through further he didn't expect letters to the paper from readers covering the results of the trial itself as yet. People wouldn't have had an opportunity to process it themselves and still get their letters printed. That would have to wait until tomorrow.
For right now, though; he had to get to Gringotts. With all the running around over Sirius's trial yesterday, he did not return to the bank, as promised, to collect his details concerning his mundane bank account.
# # #
After a restless night in which he had to self-administer a minor calming potion to get a much-needed night's sleep, Dumbledore headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. While the school was empty of students, the staff who remained at Hogwarts still engaged in the ritual of breakfast together.
Dumbledore sat in his high-backed chair but, before he could begin his breakfast, a veritable deluge of owls entered the Great Hall through the openings at the top of the ceiling. Within moments he was buried under a pile of letters from people from all over wizarding Britain. Letters had spilled off the tabletop onto the floor, they flowed off his body onto the floor, they overflowed his chair onto the floor.
Staff either side of him quickly moved away from him as the pile built. Multiple howlers were mixed in with the pile and were smoldering in the way of such things.
Professor McGonagall managed to snag a copy of that morning's Daily Prophet from the tabletop, delivered to her by owl before it, too, was buried. Reading the front page, she began to frown.
"Albus," she said in her most stern voice, pointing to the main article. "What is the meaning of this?"
Sending all the mail into a pile on the floor before the table Dumbledore replied in his most kindly grandfatherly voice, "It is all a misunderstanding, Minerva. I will have it all cleared up before too long, I assure you."
That's when the second deluge of owl mail hit him.
Waiting for the Headmaster to deal with the second pile of mail, McGonagall read more of the article.
"Burning the boy's mail, Albus?" she asked. "And giving his gifts away to orphanages. How could you?"
"Now, Minerva," he said. "It's all for the boy's safety. The boy needs and deserves a normal childhood, free of the reminders of the death of his parents. As his magical guardian I did what was in the boy's best interests."
"We shall speak more on this, Albus," McGonagall said. "You went too far."
"If you wish, Minerva," he replied with a sigh of great patience. "But it is for the greater good."
McGonagall just scowled at him and said, "And yet it appears a great many people disagree with you," indicating the growing piles of mail before the table.
Dumbledore did not have the time to deal with his Deputy. He knew he needed to get in to see Black at Saint Mungo's as soon as possible and convince the man he, Albus Dumbledore, needed to remain the Potter boy's magical guardian.
He'd try to convince Black his ten years within Azkaban had left him weak and currently unable to provide care for the boy. Black would see reason.
# # #
Again, shown to a private room within Gringotts, Harry waited only a few moments for Blockrig to enter with his ledgers and a small file. The goblin looked well pleased.
*Good morning, friend goblin, * said Harry in gobbledegook. *May our business today bring great profits to us both. *
*Good morning, My Lord, * said Blockrig. *May our business today bring much despair to our enemies. *
"I take it you are aware of, and pleased with, the events that transpired yester-evening?"
With one of those shark-like grins Blockrig said, "Indeed, on both counts, My Lord."
And, more seriously, said, "I hope you will allow me the opportunity to make amends if you ever believe I have wronged you so much, My Lord."
"Friend goblin," said Harry seriously. "I cannot perceive, and refuse to believe, you could ever do such a thing. Banish the thought from your mind."
Nodding, Blockrig said, "I thank you, My Lord, for your trust."
Changing the subject, Harry said, "Now, the reason I have returned is to receive news of your efforts towards the creation of an account in a mundane bank."
"Of course, My Lord," said Blockrig. "I have the details here."
Opening the small file before him, Blockrig withdrew two small plastic cards. Offering the first to Harry he said, "This is the credit card you requested."
Then offering the second card he said, "And this is the... ATM... card linked to the credit card. Both are in a false name, and both are also linked back to your main Potter vault through a couple of... what we believe the human term to be... cut-outs."
Looking at both cards, Harry could see the name 'Frederick Smith' embossed in black under the same sort of embossing for the account details.
"Will you require instruction on how to use both, My Lord?" asked Blockrig.
"No, that is quite alright, Blockrig," replied Harry. "I'm familiar with the use of both."
"As you wish, My Lord," the goblin said, with a slight bow.
"Are the statements associated with the account sent back here, to you?" asked Harry.
"Yes, My Lord," replied Blockrig. "And I will be able to monitor the account to see it is continually stocked with... mundane money."
"Excellent," stated Harry. "Please add an extra ten percent to your service charge as a bonus for your dedication."
"My Lord is most generous," said Blockrig with a small bow.
"The next item," said Harry, moving on, "is I want to have Mister Doge placed on retainer. I trust his final payment for his role in freeing Lord Black from incarceration will soon find its way to him?"
"Yes, My Lord," said Blockrig. "We have already alerted him he is to send the bill to us, but we are yet to receive it. We will inform him of your wish to place him on retainer."
Nodding, Harry said, "Good. Please also add a bonus for him of a further five percent above his charge for his... alacrity... in securing Lord Black's freedom. Tell him I am well pleased with him and require he pursue, on behalf of Lord Black, the seeking of damages against Millicent Bagnold, Bartemius Crouch Senior and Albus Dumbledore for their roles in his unlawful incarceration."
The old goblin was taking judicious notes but glanced up when Harry mentioned Dumbledore's name.
Harry continued, "Further, he will receive much other work from me in the not-too-distant future."
When he finished taking notes, the old goblin looked up and said, "It will be done, My Lord."
"Another point," said Harry. "Though, I know it goes against the high standards of service provided by Gringotts to its many and varied customers, I beg that I am not addressed in a manner which acknowledges my Lordship while I am in the public areas."
The old goblin hesitated before answering, "We, at Gringotts, have already deduced this would be your desire when you asked for the magic of the rings to be suppressed, My Lord. Director Ragnock has already given that order to the staff."
Harry was a little surprised but said, "Please thank Director Ragnock for his... anticipation and thoughtfulness. It will save me from embarrassment when I attend the bank with staff or supporters of Dumbledore in the near future."
"One final point," said Harry. "It's more of a point to be aware of. I have advised Countess Ravenclaw, Hermione Jean Granger, to attend the bank to see to her responsibilities with her accounts.
"I have also asked her to investigate what is required to create a new Magical House, complete with the rings involved. Please advise the Account Holder for the Ravenclaw account I expect her to attend the bank regarding this matter soon."
"It will be done, My Lord," said the goblin taking yet more notes. "And I thank you, on behalf of the Account Holder for the Ravenclaw account, for the warning. It will give him the opportunity to present a good showing to Lady Ravenclaw."
"You and he are most welcome," replied Harry. "Before I take my leave, is there any matter you wish to raise with me at this time?"
"No, My Lord; not at this time," replied the old goblin.
"In that case," said Harry, rising and switching to gobbledegook. *May you see much profit in your coming days. *
*And may your enemies flee before the sight of you, * the old goblin finished, also rising.
Harry then left the bank with his new, mundane, bank and credit cards safely in his satchel.
# # #
Amelia Bones was not having a good day. Nor were her aurors who had been called in for duty early.
Before her office was even due to open there were already bags of mail piled on the DMLE office floor. And, outside, people were already clamoring for entry. Her aurors were having the devil of a time getting through and shutting the door behind them.
She had already sent a message to the Auror training facility demanding the current crop of trainee aurors be sent to her office prepared to check and open mail, and to take statements of complaints.
She had them set up tables and chairs within the currently empty Wizengamot chamber, and there they would go through the mail, out of the way and out of sight.
Before opening the doors, she had her people create a long bench across the room between the door and her aurors' desks, about ten feet in from the door. Upon the bench she had placed every auto-quill in the auror 'armory' both within the office and from down in the interrogation cells. It was there, the aurors - trainee and active, alike - would take the statements.
At 9.00am sharp, she had Kingsley Shacklebolt open the door. On opening it a crack he immediately jumped the bench to escape the crush of people who came flooding in.
She glared down at him, while he climbed back to his feet and brushed himself off.
"Those are angry mothers over there, Ma'am," he said. "I don't get paid enough to be on the other side of that bench."
Standing back from the bench a bit so she could be seen by all who were complainants, she said in a loud voice, "Okay, folks! Please form lines in front of the auto-quills. If there's no auto-quill at the head of your line, then you are not in a line.
"Our aurors have been instructed to evict anyone who is rowdy or otherwise breaking the peace. Those who resist will be arrested on the spot and find themselves in our holding cells, until we can get to them. That probably won't be until we have finished taking statements. You have been warned!
"Try to remember, this is not about you. This is about a ten-year-old orphan boy who has been denied his mail!"
Their day of unrelenting quill-hand cramp had begun.
"Damn that Dumbledore," she swore. "Damn the man to Hell!"
'At least I've been able to wring further funding out of Fudge to pay for it all', she thought. 'Even if the man will turn it to his advantage in the press.'
# # #
As soon as he had breakfasted Dumbledore headed directly to Saint Mungo's. He needed to be the first person to speak with Black, other than the medical staff or the aurors guarding him.
Once at Saint Mungo's he was given directions and quickly climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, the Janus Thickey Ward. Black was being kept in a private room just apart from Ward 49, in room 49a.
He entered the main ward and saw an auror standing outside a door to a room off to the side.
Approaching the door, he said, "Ah! Auror. Glad to see you here protecting Lord Black. Now if you'll excuse me..."
The auror stepped in front of the door and stopped Dumbledore with a hand to the chest.
"You may not pass, Mister Dumbledore," he said
"What?" spluttered Dumbledore. "I'm Albus Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot! You will stand aside!"
"No, Mister Dumbledore," flatly stated the auror. "You will leave!"
"I insist you stand aside, this instant!" blustered Dumbledore. "As a member of the Wizengamot, I am here on official business! I will not be hindered!
"Madam Bones is also on the Wizengamot," replied the auror. "And it is by her order that you may not pass!"
"I protest!" blustered Dumbledore even more. "You will summon her at once, so we may get to the bottom of this... absurdity!"
"Madam Bones is currently in her office busy working, Mister Dumbledore," the auror replied. "She will likely not be free for quite some time. You are, of course, welcome to visit her directly and make your complaint to her. I believe she is receiving a great many, this morning."
"Fine!" huffed Dumbledore. "I will have your name for my complaint to Amelia."
"Robards, Sir," said the auror, "Gawain Robards."
Thoroughly embarrassed and rebuffed, Dumbledore spun about and stormed from the hospital in an even fouler mood. He couldn't afford to stay in one place for too long. He was still ducking owls.
He would head directly to the Ministry and demand, as the boy's magical guardian, access to the boy's godfather. He would claim he needed to speak with the man about the boy's welfare. They would not dare deny him.
# # #
Shortly after a lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry received the expected mirror call from Augusta asking him to join her and Neville at Longbottom Manor for their visit to Saint Mungo's. He quickly checked he had the little pewter statuette of an Irish Wolfhound he made into a portkey to Potter Manor and made his way to the public floo fireplace to floo to Longbottom Manor.
Stepping through he saw both Augusta and Neville were dressed in their best for their visit. Harry transfigured his clothing to match.
Turning to Augusta he said, "If anyone asks who I am, Ma'am; could you please just say I'm Neville's god brother, Henry, who's been living in France?"
Augusta sighed and said, "I will not, but I will say nothing if you say you are to the aurors. I will be glad when you finally drop this 'staying hidden' nonsense."
"As will I, Ma'am" replied Harry quietly.
# # #
Not being able to contact Madam Bones directly through the floo, Dumbledore stepped into the Ministry atrium through one of the public fireplaces.
He stormed off and made his way through security to the lifts, riding one to the second floor.
As soon as he exited the lift, he was greeted by a long cue ahead of him, all waiting to get in the door of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
He, of course, was the great Albus Dumbledore. He waited for no one. So, he strode through the back of the line heading for the door.
He made it about six people in before he heard, "Hey, isn't that the mail thief, Dumbledore?"
"Dumbledore! My daughter is very unhappy and wants..."
"Hey, mail thief! I've spent over twenty galleons on gifts..."
"You burned my letters, you mongrel! I paid priority owl on those..."
Plus, a great deal more, as more and more people suddenly realized the great Albus 'Mail Thief' Dumbledore was in their midst. It was only a few seconds before he was being shouted questions and abuse and had people hitting and hexing him.
Standing just outside the door, with the door open, was one of Amelia's newest aurors.
Amelia, hearing the commotion outside looked at new auror at the door and called, "What's that bloody racket?"
The new auror said, "It appears that... ALBUS DUMBLEDORE... has attempted to head this way to come into the office. It further appears that a few of our complainants, awaiting giving their own statements, OUT HERE IN THE CORRIDOR, have recognized him."
"Have they, Auror Savage?" asked Amelia with a twitch to her lips.
"Yes, Ma'am," the auror said in a slow drawl. "And they appear to wish to... remonstrate... with the man."
"Now, why ever would they want to do that?" asked Amelia, trying hard to hold back a smile.
"Perhaps they seek an explanation? They haven't asked yet if HE'S HERE TO PAY RESTITUTION."
"That very well may be the case, Auror Savage. Perhaps you should escort him here?"
"Ummm... I'm afraid it appears he has left, Madam Bones. Perhaps, HE'LL VERY SHORTLY BE IN THE ATRIUM and I can go there and bring him back."
"Of course, he'll be in the atrium, IT'S THE ONLY WAY OUT OF THE BUILDING for the public. But, if he wishes to leave, we won't hold him for now."
"Yes, Ma'am!" said Auror Savage.
"Do let me know immediately if he returns?"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
# # #
Stepping through to Saint Mungo's Augusta led Neville and Harry up the stairs to the fourth floor and to ward 49. Harry followed as Augusta led him to the door guarded by the auror.
"Good afternoon, Auror. I'm Madam Augusta Longbottom. I believe you have been expecting me," said Augusta with great dignity.
Auror Robards replied, "Yes, Madam Longbottom, please go straight in."
"Not me, auror," replied Augusta. "Just this young man here," she said, indicating Harry.
"Yes, Ma'am," said Robards, then looking to Harry and holding the door for him.
Harry said, "Thank you, Ma'am; and thank you, Auror," as he walked in through the door.
Harry walked in and saw Sirius strapped to the bed. Another auror was standing in the corner with his wand drawn. He'd clearly just risen from a chair he was sitting in.
"Who the bloody hell are you?" snarled Sirius glaring at him.
After the door closed behind him, Harry calmly looked back at his godfather and said, "Shut up, Padfoot!"
Staring back in shock Sirius said, "Huh?"
Turning to the auror, Harry said, "I need to discuss House business with Lord Black. You may remain in the room, but please set up a silencing shield upon yourself."
Sirius bellowed, "I will not be Lord Black!" While the auror said, "I'll remain, but I'll create the shield."
Harry watched the auror create the shield and waited for it to go into effect. Then he walked to the side of the bed where his back would be to the auror. He raised his right hand in front of his chest where Sirius could see it, palm inwards and with his ring finger showing. Then he made the Head of House Potter ring show.
"Do you recognize it, Sirius?" he asked.
Looking at the ring in shock, Sirius then looked up at Harry's face and asked, "Harry?"
Nodding, Harry then let the glamour slip from his face before putting it back up again. "Who else could wear the bloody ring. Yeah, it's me. Now I want you to call me Henry, okay?"
"Why?"
"Because I don't want people, especially Dumbledork, to know I'm not where he shoved me and expects me to still be," said Harry walking around to the other side of the bed and, grabbing a chair, sitting down.
"I have a lot to explain to you about what's going on," began Harry. "You're not going to like it and you're going to get really angry hearing it. But this is definitely not the place to tell it. However, I need you to do three things for me. Okay?"
Sirius just stared back and nodded.
"First, I need you to pretend to believe I'm still in hiding, and that Dumbledore's the one that put me there. You need to harass the living hell out of the old man to get him to give me to you as my godfather. I want him constantly on the back foot, reacting instead of acting. He will fight you all the way, but he needs to keep on thinking he's winning the battle against you to keep me," said Harry.
Sirius again nodded and said, "Up until this moment I thought that to still be the truth."
"As far as he knows, it still is," replied Harry. "There's someone acting as me, using Polyjuice Potion to look like me, where he thinks he has me safely stashed. And, until the 1st of September, I need him to think that's where I still am. That's when I board the train to Hogwarts."
"Okay, I can see that. You have a plan going on to destroy that mongrel, pup?" asked Sirius.
"Oh, yes," replied Harry. "But I first need to destroy his reputation before I can destroy him. What you saw last night from Amelia Bones of her attack against Dumbledore during your trial, was a part of that. What you don't know is a lot of that was theatrics, arranged in advance, between Madam Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour, and Tobias Doge. You were never in danger of leaving that chamber anything but a free man."
"Well, I'm not a free man now, am I?" he snarled. "I'm still chained. It's just the conditions of my imprisonment that've changed."
"And I'm sorry about that," replied Harry. "But Madam Bones wanted to put you on ice, and also ensure you were safe and receiving the best of medical care, until I could get in to see you."
"Huh!" said Sirius. "And you thought all this up?"
"Nope," replied Harry. "I just had Madam Bones check the records concerning your case and how you were thrown into Azkaban without a trial. She then sent me to Tobias Doge. Then she, Doge, Scrimgeour and Madam Augusta Longbottom organized the rest."
"So, you had Longbottom try and force me to take the Lordship?" he growled.
"Down, boy," grinned Harry. "And no, I didn't. That blind-sided me as much as it did you. And you will be respectful of Madam Longbottom because she's the one who got me in here to see you under the cover of being her 'long lost nephew'. She's on your side."
"Yet she's the one who's trying to force me to take the Lordship!" shot back Sirius.
"Yes, and for two very important reasons," said Harry before he was interrupted.
"Well, I don't bloody want it!" bellowed Sirius.
"Shut up and bloody listen to the reasons before yelling at me, Snuffles!" snarled back Harry.
"Uppity Pup!"
"Shoosh!"
Once Sirius had calmed down again, Harry said, "The first reason is because, if you pass on taking up the Lordship, it will pass to your cousin once removed, Draco Malfoy, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy's son. Do you really want that Death Eater-in-training, and bigoted get of Lucius Malfoy, to be the Head of your House?"
"Hell, no!" Sirius emphatically responded.
"You should also know, one of the reasons you're currently in here under guard, is because no one doubts for a moment Malfoy won't try to have you 'bumped off' so it automatically falls to Draco straight away.
"I know you want me to be your heir, but I can't be until you accept the Head of House position!" stated Harry.
"Okay, I can see that" said a much calmer Sirius. "But, what's the second reason."
"It's so I can get my hands on an artefact Voldemort's followers can use to resurrect him. I need you to claim the family heirloom contents of Bellatrix's vault and kick her butt out of the family. Kicking Narcissa's butt out of the family, too, will also give you another layer of protection from being assassinated by Malfoy."
"What?" asked Sirius quite shocked.
"There's a magical item in Bellatrix's vault that has a piece of Voldemort's soul locked within it. His followers can use it to resurrect him. You need to get to it first. And you can only do that if you're Head of the House of Black."
"Damn, Pup!" said Sirius sadly. "I never wanted the Lordship. I even begged my grandfather not to give it to me. It wasn't supposed to come to me."
"Well, I'm sorry," said Harry. "Life's a female wolfhound. But it's you or Draco Malfoy. And a known Death Eater and supporter of Voldemort, by the name of Lucius Malfoy, gets his hands on the soul container if you don't claim the title first. I think your grandfather knew it would otherwise pass on to Malfoy; so, you were never kicked out of the family, no matter how much your mother demanded it."
Sirius sighed.
"Now, if you be a good boy and accept your medicine, and be nice for the doctors and nurses, then they'll release you from these bindings," said Harry. "And, once they do that, you can immediately get out of here."
Harry reached into his satchel and carefully drew out the pewter statuette of the Irish wolfhound. "See the pretty statue? You like it. Smile for the auror and nod your head."
Sirius smiled and nodded.
"Now, it's a portkey that will immediately take you to, and within the wards at, Potter Manor," explained Harry. "All you need to do is take it in your hand and make a fist around it. It's already charged with enough magical energy to get you there quite comfortably." Harry put the statuette on Sirius's bedside table. "The Activation phrase is 'I'll see you later'."
"Pixie is still at the Manor and she is more than happy to take care of your needs and nurse you the rest of the way back to health," Harry went on. "At least there you will be in less danger of being attacked.
"So, remember: Be nice and accept you're the new Lord Black with all the doctors and nurses; pretend I'm still missing, and Dumbledore has me stashed somewhere; harass the living hell out of Dumbledore to get me back, but be unsuccessful; take up your Head of House ring; Kick Bellatrix out of the family and seize her vault contents; and kick Narcissa and Draco out of the family denying him the Lordship on your death."
"Okay, Pup," said a much-subdued Sirius. "I can do all that. Especially if the first one means I get to have these restraints removed."
"Well, if you're an extra good boy and can get those restraints removed by lunch time tomorrow - thereby allowing you to use that portkey - I'll tell you how I pranked the Queen!" said Harry with a smile.
Shocked, Sirius asked, "Damn, Pup! You pranked the Queen? The Queen of England?"
Not bothering to correct the error, Harry just said, "Big time! Plus, I managed to get myself a suite of rooms within the palace to stay in for as long as I want!"
"Oh, I've got to hear this story," said an eager Sirius.
"And you will, tomorrow afternoon, if you're good," replied Harry. "Now, remember, my name is Henry."
Harry stood and gestured to the auror, who then cast a Finite Charm to remove the Silencing Charm.
"Thank you, auror. That was much appreciated," said Harry.
"You're welcome, Sir," he replied.
Turning to Sirius, Harry said, "Thank you, My Lord. I appreciate you giving me your time."
"You're welcome... Henry," said Sirius calmly. "And thank you, for setting me straight."
Harry bowed a little bow towards Sirius and left the room. Augusta and Neville were waiting outside.
Walking away together, Augusta asked, "How did it go?"
"He'll take the Lordship ring and behave himself," replied Harry. "Once I told him it will help protect him from being assassinated on the orders of Lucius Malfoy, he began to understand."
Augusta stopped dead in her tracks and stared in horror at Harry.
"What?" she asked.
"Madam Longbottom, really," said Harry. "Draco Malfoy is next in line for Head of House Black. If Sirius dies before he formally accepts his Lordship, it will fall to Draco Malfoy. It's why old Arcturus didn't kick Sirius out of the family no matter how much old Lady Walburga wanted it. I thought you'd know that."
"Errr... No. I didn't," said Augusta. Lifting her head, she said, "Come along. We need to return to Longbottom Manor, straight away."
# # #
As soon as Augusta, Neville and Harry stepped through into the parlor of Longbottom Manor, Augusta immediately made a floo call to Amelia.
Not getting an answer, she pulled out the mirror Harry gave her and tried to mirror the woman. She answered.
""'Melia? Harr... Lord P... just informed me of something quite astonishing and I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it myself," said an agitated Augusta.
"'Gus? What's wrong?" echoed Amelia.
"Listen. If Sirius Black dies before he formally takes up his Lordship, it will pass to Draco Malfoy as the next in line," Augusta said in a bit of rush. "How long do you think it's going to take Lucius to figure that out for himself and... take steps?"
"Oh? Oh... Oh!" Harry heard Amelia understand. "Thank you for telling me this, 'Gus. I'll need to take steps immediately!"
Augusta sighed and slowly closed the mirror.
"My Lord Potter," she said in a strained voice turning to Harry. "In future, please do not assume we know something just because you do. I would appreciate you providing a little... warning in future."
"Certainly, Ma'am," said Harry. "I thought you knew, and that was why the aurors were placed inside and outside of Sirius's room."
"No, they were just there to keep Dumbledore and reporters away," she replied.
"Then I apologize, Madam Longbottom," said a somewhat contrite Harry. "I'll endeavor to do better next time."
# # #
Dumbledore returned to his own office, scratched, bruised, hair torn out in hunks, bleeding in a few places, missing one of his favorite hats, and wearing torn clothing.
He was furious! Someone was playing games with the great Albus Dumbledore, Leader of the Light, Holder of the Order of Merlin First Class, Long term Headmaster of Hogwarts. This could not be tolerated!
But the only person he now knew was actively working against him was Amelia Bones. Yet, there was no way she could have suspected the information against him, and yet she did. There had to be others, working behind the scenes.
He also suspected Augusta Longbottom to be assisting the Bones woman but, so far, he only suspected. Longbottom was well known for monitoring the Heirs and Heads of the other Houses, so it made sense she would know Black was the new Head of House for Black on the death of his grandfather. But why raise the matter there? And why was Black apparently so against taking the seat?
He needed answers but he didn't know to whom to turn for them.
Dumbledore took himself off to the hospital wing to see to his injuries. His physical ones, at least.
# # #
Upon leaving Longbottom Manor, Harry headed to the Ministry. Under his glamour he went up to Level 6 to visit the Floo Regulation Panel within the Department of Magical Transportation. He wanted to get Potter Manor connected to the Floo Network.
He knew this would be tricky, but he thought it needed to be done. It could be a way for the Grangers, if they ended up there, to be able to leave again for somewhere closer to their home.
The officious idiot wanted him to provide all sorts of proof as to his residence of the property, proof of age, whether someone could vouch for him and others. Harry, though he hated it, eventually used low level Legilimency against the man to get him to put through the papers without looking too closely at them. His home would have the address, 'The Pottery'.
The floo at Potter Manor would be connected by tomorrow afternoon. He was just thankful the Floo Regulation Panel and the Floo Network Authority rarely talked to one another, and that the persons installing the floo did not need to attend the property to connect it.
On leaving, he purchased a bag of floo powder and a nice little container to put it in. He might replace the container later, but the one he bought was good enough for now.
# # #
Floo'ing out of the Ministry, Harry headed to Diagon Alley, walked to the apparition point and apparated out to Potter Manor.
Walking in, Pixie greeted him at the door.
"Hello, Master Harry, Sir," she said.
"Hello, Pixie," replied Harry with a smile.
"Does Master Harry, need something?" she asked.
"No, I've just dropped by to leave a pot of floo powder above the fireplace," Harry said, showing Pixie the container of floo powder. "And to let you know you can expect, either tonight or tomorrow, Master Sirius to arrive via portkey."
"Ooooh, Pixie like Master Sirius," the little elf squeaked.
"I know you do," said Harry with a smile. "But he's not very well, even if he tries to tell you he is. So, I want you to take special care of him for me, Okay?"
"O-Kay, Master Harry, Sir," she agreed. "Pixie understand how to help sick people."
"And when he comes, tell him I would be here as soon as I can, okay?"
"O-Kay, Master Harry, Sir," she replied again.
"Now, the floo is not connected yet, but I expect it to be connected by tomorrow afternoon. If Sirius arrives before then, tell him it will be connected before tomorrow afternoon, too."
"O-Kay, Master Harry, Sir," she replied again.
"I should be back by tomorrow afternoon myself, just to make sure Sirius has arrived safe."
"Yes, Master Harry, Sir," she replied again.
Harry just shook his head and apparated out back to the Alley.
# # #
Back at the Alley, Harry went in search of and purchased a mokeskin duffle bag.
Then he headed to Flourish and Blotts to purchase all the books about him, supposedly, that he could purchase. Plus, all the textbooks for all seven years at Hogwarts. Those all went into his new mokeskin duffle bag.
Now that everything was humming along, he had time to dedicate to writing his so-called biography. But he first needed to know what nonsense others had written about him. Hence, the need for the other books.
He headed out into mundane London with the idea of purchasing a laptop. But he still didn't know what to do about the battery flattening problem. It was while looking for something to counter that effect, he spotted an old manual typewriter. It was perfect. No electricity or batteries needed. Add a ream of typing paper and spare ribbons and he was set.
# # #
Harry returned with his booty to the palace and stacked the books into two piles; those that were books supposedly about his life, and the other of all the textbooks.
His idea was to give the textbooks to Susan and Hermione once they reached Hogwarts. For now, he had to read through all the books written about him.
He set the first pile before himself and started to speed read through them.
# # #
That night he did the rounds of the Longbottom, Bones and Granger residences early with the cube on mathematics and physics. Like him, the heirs were about to be experts in both subjects.
Speaking with Neville first, he asked the lad if he had any questions.
"No, but I've been talking with Susan and Hermione," he replied. "They told me you've got them working on a project about comparing the two sets of laws and what we're going to need to fix once we allow the rings to be recognized. Do you have something for me?"
Surprised, Harry replied, "Two things, actually. The first is, I want you to go through last night's cube and think of ways we can smack down the Wizengamot when they try and block us from doing things. Think about who we need to alliance within the Heads of Houses - and you can use your grandmother to help with that - and who will very probably alliance against us.
"In doing that, I want you to consider that some of the Heads that may normally align with the so-called 'light' families, will back Dumbledore. So, they're not really 'light'. If there's a block there that would alliance with Dumbledore because they've fallen for his 'Leader of the Light' rubbish, then we may need to speak to them, or have your grandmother speak to them, outside the Wizengamot. Your grandmother is no slouch when it comes to understanding what's going on there, so use her knowledge."
"Okay, I can do that," said Neville. "What's the other one?"
"I don't know if the girls have told you yet, but when you have time you should think about meditating to discover your Animagus form," suggested Harry. "You need to focus on meditating but, once you're in a meditative state, you need to let your mind float free to seek the form. If you need help, ask Merlin."
"I can do that?" asked Neville with wonder.
"Of course!" replied Harry. "You forgot I mentioned it at the palace?"
"Yeah, I guess I did," replied Neville.
"Well, now I've reminded you. So, it's something you can work at discovering when you've nothing else to do," said Harry. "But don't try to push it. It will come when it comes and it's nothing to do with how intelligent or how much of a free thinker you are. It took me ages to discover mine."
"Okay, thanks Harry," the boy said.
Susan gave him a rundown of what she and Hermione had discovered through their comparison of both laws.
"There's so much wrong, Harry," she said with exasperation. "How are we going to get it all done?"
"A wise man once said to me, and I'm paraphrasing here, 'No matter the height of the peak you need to assail, every climb begins one step at a time'," replied Harry. "That's why I'm asking you to just go through them all, and then put them into some semblance of order we can tackle, 'One step at a time'."
"Yeah... yeah," said Susan frowning in thought. "I can see that."
Harry smiled and said, "This is a job that's going to take decades, if not the rest of our lives, to complete. We don't need to get everything done in a matter of weeks. However, it's one of Her Majesty's priorities. She will have teams of lawyers going through everything to rewrite them, anyway; so, just be prepared to explain specific wizarding reasons for some of the laws."
Hermione also wanted to discuss the law. She was furious about some of the laws regarding how magical beings were treated, especially the house elves.
"Did you know," she snapped, "there was even an attempt to have non-magicals classed as 'beasts'?"
"Yes, 'Mione. Of course, I did," said Harry patiently.
"Well, that's just stupid!" she retorted.
"Think of it more as, they didn't know better. And that they're bigots," said Harry. "And then hold on to the knowledge we're going to smack them down when we take our seats.
"Trust me, Her Majesty is just as upset, if not more so, about this. So, I know equal rights and opportunity are going to have to be one of the first things we fix.
"Anyways, time for you to get to bed, and for me to get back to the palace. I've had too many late nights this past week, as it is."
A few minutes later, Harry was off to the palace.
# # #
Up in the morning and, as he didn't need to be anywhere, he began to write the real story about Harry Potter. That is, the real story including how Dobby had been treated. He hadn't been able to check on the brave little house elf. And wouldn't even get a chance to meet him until he switched with him in a few days to receive his Hogwarts letter. He had to make sure Dobby knew to go to Potter Manor until the afternoon of the 31st of July. Then they could switch back again until the morning of the 1st of September.
Even then, he'd have to be careful during the switch so Dumbledore wouldn't suspect anything. It meant he'd be out of circulation for about ten days, but he could put up with the Dursleys again for that long. But, this time, he wouldn't be the meek little boy. While Dumbledore's little monitoring charms would tell he was there, it wouldn't be able to tell he had already been emancipated and, therefore, could already use magic.
The Dursleys weren't going to be able to treat him the same as they've been treating him. Well, as they thought they'd been treating him.
# # #
At lunch he enjoyed the meal brought to him by Michael and packed away his typewriter and papers before he left the palace and headed for Saint Mungo's to see how his godfather was faring.
Walking into Ward 49 he noticed two aurors bracketing the door to Sirius's room.
'Interesting', he thought. 'I wonder how many of the visitors and patient's in this ward are aurors in hiding. A couple, at least, appeared to be quite alert for folks with permanent troubles of the mind.'
At the door, the one on the left recognized him and, telling the other he was cleared, held the door open for him.
Inside he saw another two aurors, one of them the young man he recognized from his last visit. He could see Sirius's restraints had been removed and he was now sitting up.
Stopping inside the door, Harry said, "Hello, My Lord."
"Henry," said Sirius, with a feral grin. "I'll see you later."
Sirius suddenly disappeared.
"What the..." exclaimed Harry.
"Where'd he goes?" he heard from one of the aurors.
The other one said, "You! Down on the floor! Now!"
"Get in here," the first one shouted.
Harry suddenly found himself pushed to the floor with a wand tip to the back of his head.
'Sirius, you wanker!' he thought. Knowing exactly what happened.
About four other aurors ran into the room. Harry couldn't tell exactly how many as he was currently kissing the floor.
'When I get out of this, I'm coming for you, you are mongrel,' he thought.
"Madam Bones will be here shortly," he heard one of the aurors say to someone else.
"You!" someone yelled in his ear. "What did you do with Lord Black!"
"How would I know?" exclaimed Harry. "I just got here!"
Harry felt his satchel stripped from his shoulder and was roughly searched.
"No wand," he heard a gruff voice say.
"Nothing out of the ordinary in his bag, "he heard from another.
"How did you do it?" A voice in his ear demanded.
"Don't you people get it?" said Harry. "I'm being set up!"
Harry remained on the floor for some time. The aurors, and whoever else, had come and gone while he waited. Then he heard the voice he'd been expecting.
"Let him up," he heard Amelia's voice say with a sigh.
Hauled to his feet, he was roughly turned around. Amelia was standing before him with her arms crossed but wand drawn.
"I thought it was you," she said.
"Madam Bones," said Harry. "I had just walked in the room when Lord Black said 'Hello' and then said, 'See you later'. Next thing I know, he was gone. Then I had a wand to the back of my head on the floor!"
"He said 'See you later'?" she asked.
"Yes, Ma'am," replied Harry.
"Well, it sounds like he initiated... whatever it was," she said.
"Ma'am, we have a portkey signature," said another Auror.
"Any idea where it went?" she asked the Auror.
"No, Ma'am," he replied. "The trace has somehow been scrambled."
"Portkey, eh?" she asked. "And this young man did not approach the bed?"
"No, Ma'am," one of the aurors replied.
"Then, as he doesn't have a wand on him, he couldn't have been responsible," she said. "release him and return his property."
"If you know where he is, young man," Amelia said to him. "I'll need to talk to him to make sure he's alright."
"If I can find him, Ma'am" replied Harry. "I'll be sure to ensure he contacts you to let you know he's safe."
Amelia nodded to Harry and said to the collected aurors, "Well, he's gone. You lot are clearly no longer needed here so you can head back to the office and process complaints."
Someone groaned.
"Enough of that," she said. "The holiday's over. Back to the office."
After all the aurors bar Amelia had left, she turned to Harry and said, "Okay, where is he?"
Harry smiled and said, "Potter Manor."
Amelia snorted and said, "I should have known. Just tell him to contact me. Loan him your mirror if need be."
"I should have the floo connected to Potter Manor either by now or later this afternoon," said Harry. "I'm heading over there to check. If it is, I'll get him to contact you directly."
"Good," she said.
"Once it's connected, I'm locking it down to only receiving calls from Longbottom Manor, the Ossuary, your office, and the public floo in Diagon Alley, for now. But that last one is a temporary measure," said Harry. "I'm giving you and Madam Longbottom direct access."
"Is that safe?" asked Amelia.
"I trust you. I trust Augusta. That's enough for me," said Harry.
"Thank you... Harry," said Amelia sincerely.
Harry waved it off and said, "You're the Head of the DMLE. But, more than that, you're the only living relative of one of my fellow Heirs. If I can't trust you, I can't trust anyone. And I don't want to live my life like that."
Amelia stepped closer to Harry, leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Without saying a word, she then turned on her heel and walked out.
Harry was stunned. He didn't expect that at all. So, he was almost a minute before he left the ward, himself.
# # #
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