Chapter 11

When Emma saw a bedraggled and exhausted Amelia Bones standing at her door first thing the next morning, she had the witch sitting with them at the breakfast table before any questions were asked. Amelia attempted to protest about not going to too much trouble on her account but Dobby had fresh coffee and a full English breakfast in front of her before she could really hit her stride. They all wanted to know if the plans for today were changed though no one asked as Amelia demolished the plate of food in front of her. It was blatently obvious she had been up all night and Tonks was already trying to figure out just what the hell had gone on at the ministry

The breakfast had given Amelia a boost so, as she sipped her second cup of excellent coffee, she got down to the reason why she was here. "We are going to have to hold our meeting over until tomorrow, the last twenty four hours have caused more eruptions inside the ministry than at any time since a certain Halloween over a decade ago when Harry got that scar. It would appear all the same players from that terrible night were involved again yesterday."

Another sip of coffee helped Amelia put her thoughts in order for how she wanted to play this. "The wizard everyone thought was Alistor Moody turned out to be Barty Crouch Jr on pollyjuice potion, the real Moody was locked in his own multi-compartmental trunk. Barty was the one who put Harry's name in the goblet, he was also the person who lost his magic when Harry refused to compete in the second task. Our legal experts all agree that the goblet may have been confounded to spit out Harry's name but still recognised the magic of the person who put that name into the goblet in the first place. When Harry didn't compete, it considered that part of the magical contract to be with Barty. I know it sounds weird but so is confounding an ancient magical artefact. To our knowledge it had never been done before."

She was getting nods from everyone at the breakfast table, they'd all surmised it would be something along those lines beforehand and weren't too concerned about the legalities of the situation. Harry still had his magic and that was all that mattered. This next bit though was sure to throw them. "The fake Moody was working for his master, Voldemort, with the sole intention of serving Harry up on a plate. Voldemort planned to use Harry's blood and his dead father's bones in a dark ritual which would have given him a new body. Unfortunately for us, there was a wizarding wireless in the house they were hiding in. By the time we pumped the information out of Barty Jr, they had run for the hills."

Harry's disapointment at this news was there for everyone to see, Amelia though had some good news for him. "They may have escaped but they had to leave everything behind, including Barty Crouch Sr and pages of notes on the ritual painstakingly copied in Pettigrew's own handwriting. These notes, combined with both Barty's confirming they'd seen Pettigrew serving Voldemort is more than enough evidence to grant Sirius Black a trial. Should you be able to contact him, please bring him into the ministry with you tomorrow at ten a.m. You have my personal guarantee he will be unharmed and given a fair hearing."

Harry's mood had done a swift one eighty and he now appeared ready to hug this wonderful woman. "Madam Bones, you have my personal guarantee he will be there."

"We will deal with the Sirius issue first, then your godfather will be able to be at your side for the rest of it. Mr and Mrs Granger, I would like to extend the same invitation to you both." If things went as bad as Amelia expected tomorrow, Harry would need all the support he could get.

Emma was picking up on some of this, Amelia being too tired to maintain her stoic demeanour that usually gave nothing away. "What aren't you telling us Madam Bones?"

Amelia held her hands up in defeat and decided honesty was the best policy. "I am not deliberately withholding information, we won't have that information until Harry comes to the ministry to discover what this prophecy says. My gut instincts are telling me that none of us will like what we hear. This prophecy was actually made to Dumbledore so he obviously knows what it contains. This would appear to be his justification for the way Harry has been treated. The old fool kept every bit of information to himself, believing no one else could possibly understand it. It is my intention to, where I possibly can, do the complete opposite."

Dan was having trouble understanding what all the fuss was about. "Just what is a prophecy, and what will it mean for these two?"

Surprisingly, it was Harry who answered. "I've actually heard one first hand. It's like a prediction of what will happen, though it didn't make any sense at the time."

Harry then rhymed off the prophecy Trelawney had made to him.

"It will happen tonight... The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight ... the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight ... before midnight ... the servant ... will set out ... to rejoin ... his master..."

Hermione now had her arm supportively around her betrothed as he continued. "That was the night we discovered Pettigrew, and I stopped Remus and Sirius killing the rat. He escaped that night because Remus had forgotten to take his potion and the rest is self-explanitory. If only I hadn't stopped them..."

"Harry, we can't go there, it will drive you crazy. If only I had gone with you back in first year when you faced Quirrell alone, if only I had taken you to the library with me when I remembered about a creature called a basilisk. We do the best we can with what we have and learn from our mistakes."

The determination and conviction in Harry's entire demeanour was frightening to see in one so young. "Well I certainly learned something, Pettigrew won't be able to run anywhere ever again if I get my wand on him."

Emma was slightly shocked at seeing this side of the young man she was rapidly coming to think of as family. "Could you really do something like that Harry?"

"Pettigrew was directly responsible for both my parents' deaths and my godfather going to Azkaban. He may have been living as a rat since that night but I can assure you he had a better life than I did at the Dursleys. Can I ask what you would do if you could get your hands on McGonagall?"

Emma was the one who now looked frightening. "I would rip that bit of tartan she seems so fond of wearing right off her robe and strangle the bitch with it. Please tell me she is going to get hers?"

The question was directed at Amelia and she was pleased to be able to answer in the affirmative. "I think it's safe to say Minerva McGonagall will get what's coming to her, and you don't know the half of it."

The head of the DMLE thought she must be getting too old to pull all nighters after letting that slip. With five pairs of eyes now focused on her, Amelia knew she couldn't leave it there. There was also the fact that she had promised this family she would tell them whatever she could. "This needs to be kept amongst the family at the moment, it will all come out at the trials. Apparently Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall were alarmed with Mr Potter's new attitude, their investigation led to discovering the loophole he planned to use to escape their clutches. Instead of talking to Mr Potter about this, they concocted one stupid and highly illegal plan after another."

Dan was shaking his head from disbelief. "This is supposed to be a school full of children, not some poor quality horror movie set. We trusted these people with our children."

They couldn't miss the shudder of revulsion that passed through the tough witch. "One of their plans depended on Harry being in the castle, without Hermione, over the holidays. When your daughter returned to Hogwarts, Harry would have a girlfriend and a reason to retain his magic. He wouldn't have been able to resist as they planned on poisoning him, and this intended girlfriend they would choose for him, with love potions. They turned their focus onto pure blood witches, one of whom was my Susan." An evil smile now played across her lips. "It took three members of my department to pull me off McGonagall when I heard that. I had to exclude myself from conducting anymore of their interviews."

Harry and Hermione were now clinging to each other in shock at how close they came to not being a couple.

"Your betrothal put an end to that plan. Using those potions is bad enough, against a betrothed couple the charges dramatically magnify."

Harry eventually found his voice. "Madam Bones, we both like Susan and consider her a friend but..."

Amelia understood perfectly what Harry was having trouble trying to put into words. "You are a fine young wizard Harry and I hope that one day Susan will meet someone like you. To use potions on what are still considered children with the intention of forcing a relationship is something I will never stand for. You know how Susan dreads someone taking control of her mind, and I can't thank you enough for that necklace you gave her. I don't intend to mention these plans to her if I can avoid it."

Hermione's temper let go At this point, she had struggled playing the part of a demure betrothed and was glad she no longer had to. She blasted at a specific target who was at the centre of all this, the mere thought of Harry in another witch's arms fuelling her rage. "That whiskered old wanker, who the fuck does he think he is? Snape doesn't surprise me in the slightest but McGonagall went along with this? I think it's time both Harry and I got our arses out of Hogwarts, surely the ministry wouldn't block us after this?"

The rest of the room was stunned into silence by Hermione's language so it allowed Amelia a moment to answer the young witch. "Miss Granger, I believe that you, and especially Mr Potter leaving Hogwarts at this time would be a blow that could bring down the ministry."

Both Granger parents were about to protest that may not be such a bad idea but Amelia held her hand up hoping to be allowed to continue. "Hogwarts is currently in turmoil, losing its headmaster, two heads of house plus another professor. There are going to have to be major changes made and all I would ask is to adopt a wait and see policy. Without drastic changes, my Susan will be leaving the castle too."

Emma wanted some clarification on Amelia's previous remark. "How could these two leaving school bring down a government?"

She attempted to explain. "Only one person emerged from that entire fiasco yesterday with any integrity, hundreds watched while tens of thousands listened to a young wizard who was ready to give up his magic rather than remain under the control of Dumbledore. Harry Potter was already a hero in our society, and that was before people spent hours queuing to catch a glimpse of the basilisk he slew. While other images crashed and burned yesterday, Harry's heroism, dignity and sheer honesty shone brightly." Amelia could only smile as the modest young wizard's face shone red at her words.

"When the truth comes out that Voldemort is not dead, and what Dumbledore intended to do, rightly or wrongly, the wizarding public will look once more to its saviour. In that context, Harry leaving Hogwarts to go elsewhere would see that very same public lash out at a government who allowed such a thing to happen."

It was Dan's turn to ask a question, he made no attempt to disguise the anger in his voice. "Surely they don't expect Harry to deal with this problem?"

"Mr Granger, dealing with this is my problem. Currently half my department is searching for Voldemort while the other half are trying to track down Dumbledore. The old wizard's actions though would seem to place Harry at the centre of this, we'll know more once we hear this prophecy tomorrow." Again Amelia continued before anyone could interrupt.

"It is my intention to provide Harry with all the support the ministry can muster, seeing his godfather become once more a free man is only the first step in this process. Auror Tonks, would you be willing to continue your protection duties until further notice?"

Tonks immediately confirmed that she would before Amelia turned her attention to Harry. "You haven't said much, what are your thoughts on what's been spoken about here today?"

Harry had been listening carefully to everything that had been said here this morning and came to a startling conclusion. The ministry was desperate to appease him, which placed a fair amount of power in his hands. It was time to see if his conclusion was right and make a stab at using some of that power. "Madam Bones, in all our time at Hogwarts we've only ever had one competent defence teacher. This person was also a Gryffindor prefect when he attended Hogwarts, and someone we trust. Remus Lupin could solve your head of Gryffindor and defence professor problems in one go."

The others at breakfast couldn't quite believe what they were hearing but Hermione squeezing his hand below the table was enough to tell Harry she agreed with this. He pushed for more. "It would also be a condition if we were to return to Hogwarts that Hermione have a room in the same accommodation as Tonks and I. Yesterday proved she's in as much danger as me and the three of us will be safer together."

Amelia couldn't hide the wry smile at how quickly Harry had picked up on what the real situation was. He could have asked for practically anything yet his requests (demands?) were well thought out and certainly not excessive. "I agree with you totally on the Miss Granger issue and will pursue the matter of Professor Lupin returning to Hogwarts with the minister. I remember Susan's opinion on his teaching skills matched yours, publicly citing that he is a friend of yours should end any issues over his illness."

She was very impressed that Harry had quickly worked out the positition he found himself in allowed him the power to make requests like this. What really impressed Amelia though was that, even with all that was going on around him, the young wizard still had time to think of others. She now had an overdue date with her bed while both Granger parents headed off to work, leaving Harry, Hermione and Tonks with the responsibility to contact Sirius Black.

The three had no sooner left than Tonks apparated to Sirius. Since he had never visited the Grangers house before, she would need to guide him home.

-oOoOo-

The creature that was once Tom Riddle was struggling to hold its temper but it knew it must. At the moment nothing would please it more than cursing his stupid servant Wormtail until the rat couldn't scream again. His present circumstances prevented this action, which just increased his anger and frustration. His plan going so badly wrong, so very quickly left them no other option but to flee for their lives. This was responsible for most of its anger but not all.

Of course the great Lord Voldemort had another plan. If something were to go wrong, he intended to use the horecrux in the nearby Gaunt shack to once more have a body. The hapless Pettigrew would be providing the life energy needed to allow this process to take place, which was another reason the rat couldn't be cursed into a drooling heap. Peter of course was completly unaware of what fate the dark lord had in store for him, this frail body still needed care until they could get their hands on one of his precious objects.

The catastrophic failure of his plans though also totally derailed his intended plan B. With the capture of his most faithful servant, there would now be ministry aurors all over Little Hangleton. This led to his current dilema, he would need to choose another of his precious treasures to complete the ritual. It would clearly be too dangerous to attempt grabbing the ring now and, with the ministry aware of his presence, time was definitly of the essence. Hogwarts was also beyond his reach, as was the cup Bella had stored safely in her Gringotts vault. His rage almost got away from him as his thoughts turned to his diary, Malfoy would pay heavily for his failure.

By this process of elimination, the thing had reached the conclusion that the locket in the cave was by far his best option. With any luck, even a wizard as poor as Pettigrew should be able to get them there by tomorrow. Only these thoughts allowed him to refrain from repeatedly cursing Peter. Tomorrow there would be one less rat in the world and Lord Voldemort would rise again. He was not renowned for his patience but, on this occasion, he would embrace that seldom used trait. He would make up for his restraint tomorrow with a certain Malfoy being top of his long list.

-oOoOo-

Lucius Malfoy was currently locked away in his study, even the glass of exquisite port in his hand couldn't prevent the shiver of fear that ran down his spine. He was between the proverbial rock and a hard place, with the slippery Slitherin trying to plot a route out of his dilemma.

His gaze swept round his favourite room in the mansion as Lucius contemplated how the years had been good to him. His wealth and power were about to come crashing down around his head though, due to the events in Hogwarts yesterday.

When their master was vanquished all those years ago, Lucius had become the defacto leader of those left behind. He'd used his position and gold to spare not only himself from Azkaban, but those who could be of use to him. His crazy sister-in-law was beyond saving and he was actually glad to see the back of her. Bella would never have approved of him running things, or not scouring the world for their master. Lucius was a different wizard now, older, wiser and certainly a lot wealthier. That was a lot to give up so he could don a mask and torture some muggleborns again. He'd enjoyed their brief sorrie at the world cup but it wouldn't in any way compensate for losing all he held dear. If the dark lord returned there could be no doubt that Lucius would lose it all, that's assuming he was allowed to live?

His contacts inside the ministry were keeping him apprised of the situation so he knew all about their master's plan to return. This also provided the other side to his dilemma. The ministry currently had Severus Snape and Barty Crouch Jr in their custody. At the moment they were being fed truth serum and asked questions concerning Dumbledore and the dark lord. It surely wouldn't be long before the ministry saught information on death eaters, at that point his goose was cooked. Only the fact there was a maximum safe amount of truth serum that could be administered in a twenty four hour period had him sitting there drinking port and contemplating his future. Otherwise, Lucius Malfoy would be living up to a family trait and fleeing the country.

His contacts were well placed and their information guaranteed accurate, Lucius only paid for the best. The intelligence from those sources was telling him he had at most until tomorrow to come up with a scheme to save his arse from the ministry. When he factored into the equation that his master was not only still alive, but actively working to return to his former glory, there was really no other course left open to Lucius. A dignified withdrawal from Britain to Brazil should be an auspicious start. That would be quickly followed by a much more covert move to a country on the African continent, Lybia certainly had possibilities. Finally a move in total secrecy to his final destination in Asia, a man of his wealth and tastes could live well in Bangkok.

He had briefly considered taking his wife with him but soon realised that would never work. With Draco still in Hogwarts, Lucius intended to be safely ensconced in his new life before school ended at summer. Narcissa was devoted to the boy and would never stand to see him abandoned. That Draco had hippogriff shit for brains along with all the subtlety of a male dragon chasing a female in heat meant that Lucius was always going to leave his disappointment of a son behind. He really did feel bad about leaving Narcissa to face the rapidly approaching storm without a knut to her name but Lucius had needs that required gold for them to be met. If half what he heard about Bangkok was true, he was certain to have every one of those needs met there.

He would have the goblins start transferring every galleon he could lay his hands on to their Rio branch today. Lucius would then transfer the gold from there to the Gnomes of Switzerland before heading for Africa. By the time he arrived in Asia, anyone looking for him would be searching on the other side of the world.

Lucius finished his port before taking a farewell glance around his study, it was time to put his plan into action.

-oOoOo-

Dan and Emma had managed to get cover for their practice tomorrow. They had also booked the same people for the start of next week too. If things went anywhere near as bad tomorrow as Amelia was hinting at, they wanted to be there for Hermione and Harry. They pulled into the drive and entered a house full of laughter, it would seem Harry had wasted no time in contacting his godfather. Then Hermione came rushing to introduce them.

Tonks had cut a now showered and shaved Sirius' hair before she and Hermione had done a little clothes shopping for the ex-convict. This had the dual effect of giving godfather and godson some time alone to chat, while ensuring the Grangers would have a better first impression of Sirius.

"Mum, dad, this is Sirius Black, Harry's godfather."

Sirius heartily shook Dan's hand before kissing Emma's. "I can't thank you enough for the care you've shown Harry here, it's also clear to me where Hermione takes her beauty from. His father was the same, went for the prettiest and smartest witch in Hogwarts."

A blushing but clearly excited Hermione put a stop to Sirius saying any more. "Ok Sirius, that's quite enough. Mum, dad, can we go now and see Harry's new house?"

Dan could only chuckle as the reason for Hermione's excitement was explained. "I thought Harry wanted to wait until Sirius could be there too? He won't be free to walk down the street until after tomorrow."

Hermione rolled her eyes at that. "Dad, we'll simply be taking the dog for a walk."

An astonished Dan and Emma struggled to believe their eyes as Sirius transformed into a large black dog. When Tonks slipped into her Granger cousin disguise, it was clearly time to go.

Emma thought it would be exceedingly difficult to discern who was the most excited between the two teens and the big black dog. The mutt kept bounding ahead before doubling back and trying to get a laughing Harry and Hermione to hurry up.

Her own enthusiasm was gradually being replaced with a sense of dread as Emma began to realise where they were heading. All the information they had was a street name and door number, she was becoming more certain with every footstep what they would find there.

Benjamin Taylor was the owner of a few cotton mills back in the early eighteen hundreds. Like all mill owners of the time, he made a fortune from exploiting the poor unfortunate men, woman and mostly children that worked in horrendous conditions for a pittance. The bold Benjamin took the fortune gained from his workers' sweat and ploughed it into a fine mansion for him and his family, many miles away from any mills or anyone who worked in them. There were even high walls and large iron gates to keep the 'wrong sort' from ever looking upon his home.

As has happened the world over from time immemorial, his gross exploitation was severely curtailed by social changes that belatedly swept through the country. When children aged between nine and eleven were restricted to an eight hour working day, with those under nine no longer being permitted to work, it sounded the first death knell for the British textile magnates. The smart ones started modernising their factories so they would need less workers, Benjamin Taylor wasn't one of them. He eventually lost everything except his house, which his descendants weren't likely to thank him for.

The final blow for the Taylor family came long after Benjamin had popped his clogs and headed for that great mill in the sky. As well as the house, they apparently also inherited Benjamin's shortsightedness. While other mansion owners around them were selling off their too large homes, the Grangers' own house being merely one of many built on the grounds of these former mansions, the Taylor's dithered until it was too late. Appart from the crippling costs of running and maintaining a building of that age/size, English Heritage then declared the building as grade two listed. This meant that they coudn't knock it down and sell the four acres of prime land it sat on, and also that very few people would take it on with the severe conditions and restrictions that came attached with that listing.

Emma could well understand blocking a prospective owner from covering beautiful, natural stone with something as crass as pebble dash, or replacing the georgous Georgian windows with white PVC double glazing, but leaving the grand old house derelict until it was beyond saving was a crime she could never support. The old Taylor place had been unoccupied her entire life, slowly decaying toward the point where it could be declared condemned. Finally allowing it to be legally demolished and the land becoming available to sell for development.

Unfortunately for old Benjamin's descendants, the one thing he did properly in his entire life was ensuring his home was built to a high specification. This was also the main reason English Heritage listed the building as it was such a fine example of the period. It could be another fifty years though before it reached the stage where the same English Heritage would consider it beyond salvage.

The practical side of the dentist would never get her head around the fact that many such buildings up and down the country were in the same catch twenty two situation. They wouldn't survive without someone lavishing lots of cash and TLC on them but the local planners were required by law to apply the restrictions handed down from English Heritage. The very laws designed supposedly to save these listed buildings of architectural importance were the main reason hundreds of them were in this position.

What was really making her blood boil though was that some unscrupulous person had sold this to a man who was on the run and living in a cave. Sirius and Harry already had so many disappointments in their lives, they certainly didn't need any more. The blow would be even more severe considering how excited they were. Emma didn't think she was stretching the truth any to say that living with his godfather, in a house only a ten minute walk from Hermione's, would be a dream come true for the young man. If Emma ever got the person responsible for bringing those dreams crashing down to earth in her chair, they would soon discover why it was a very bad idea to piss off a dentist.

Emma was so caught up in her visions of revenge, they arrived at their destination before she realised it. Part of her was dismayed to discover that it was indeed the old Taylor place but what was in front of her was offering a glimmer of hope.

Since she was a little girl, the wrought iron gates had been held firmly closed by a massive iron chain and padlock, the gates themselves covered in 'keep out' warnings. These gates looked as if they left the blacksmith's yesterday, and the square stone pillars that supported them either side appeared pristine. It was the figures atop these pillars Emma had no previous memory of. Each had a sitting male lion with a front paw regaly raised onto a circular shield that displayed a family crest. She recognised the Potter one immediately, both Harry and Hermione had it emblazed on their school robes, and assumed the other one was for the Black family.

Both teens easily swung the well oiled gates open and raced up the curving drive with Padfoot, leaving Emma standing there with her jaw almost on the street. The grounds could hardly be called 'manicured' but, considering they easily passed for a jungle before, they were now in amazing condition. That was nothing though compared to her first sight of the house, it was simply beautiful. She wanted time to study the exterior in more detail but Dan and Tonks were getting caught up in the enthusiasm pouring off the other three and were desperate to see inside the house. She did have a question though that simply couldn't wait. "How is this possible?"

Tonks reply of 'magic' saw Emma come straight back at her. "I can work that out for myself, and so will anyone else who sees this. I thought magic was supposed to be kept a secret?"

"There are mild muggle repelling charms all around the property, no one else will notice anything."

Emma had another question though. "If there are those charms around to keep muggles out, how are Dan and I able to walk in here?"

Tonks was smiling back at the woman she was quickly becoming to regard as a friend. "I saw you looking at the crests at the gate pillars, the Black and Potter families will always be welcome here. That ring on Hermione's finger makes you part of the Potter family."

Hermione's impatient pleading got them moving again. "Mum, would you hurry up. Harry's refusing to open the door until we're all here."

They moved up the steps, through the carved stone columns that supported the grand porch in time to see Harry's hand shaking with excitement as he tried to fit the key into the lock. The door swung open to reveal a grand entrance hall that boasted a pair of curving staircases, it was the pair of little creatures there to greet them that drew all the attention though.

"Dobby and Winky would like to welcome their families to their new home." Both elves appeared so smart, proudly wearing their little robes with the appropriate family crest on them.

Hermione was also aware this house was formerly derelict and was so impressed at the work they had done. "Did you two do all this yourselves?"

Dobby shook his head. "When the other elves at Hogwarts discovered what Dobby and Winky were doing, they all wanted to help clean the great Harry Potter's house. Harry Potter cleaned the castle of the giant snake, they wanted to repay him."

Winky though had her head down. "The house is not finished yet..."

She never got to say anymore as both elves found themselves being hugged by delighted teens. Sirius had transformed back and was slowly looking around the place. "You guys have done magnificent work here, this is brilliant."

Winky was actually blushing as she asked the next question. "Will you want to stay here for dinner?"

Even the elves could tell Emma's answer came straight from the heart. "Winky, I might never want to leave here again. Can you show us around the house?"

Both elves took great delight in showing their family around what would soon be home to almost all of them. Emma was so wishing she had thought to bring her camera before remembering she could come back here anytime, it was only a ten minute walk between the houses.

-oOoOo-

The entire house, led by Ginny, kept the pressure on Ron to send Pig with a message for Harry and Hermione. All of Gryffindor were desperate to know how they were, and whether they planned to return now Dumbledore was gone. Continualy pointing out that he was their best friend, so the letter really had to come from him, was not helping their case.

Ron was hurt that his supposed best friends couldn't even hint at what they were planning, far less tell him. All Harry would say was that he had the egg well and truly beaten and a plan in place to deal with the task. His only consolation was that he obviously hadn't told any of his new friends, the other champions, either.

This consolation though was completly swamped by what happened at the end. The entire school watched, while the rest of the country listened, as Victor Krum shook Harry's hand and said that was the bravest thing he'd ever seen. Ron was aware he had a problem with jealousy but the green eyed monster had consumed him at that point. He would give his left nut for Victor Krum to shake his hand, far less make a public comment like that.

There was also the problem of what he was supposed to write. Ron didn't think 'Hey mate, Cannons lost again last night and thanks for getting rid of Snape. When are you coming back?' would cut it. He also wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to the question.

Ron was beginning to think he was better off when no one in the house was talking to him, at least he wasn't having to do all those detentions McGonagall had hit him with. Unfortunately, that meant having to spend more time in Gryffindor tower. Why could he never catch a break?

-oOoOo-

Padfoot stayed close to Harry, and Tonks wearing her official auror robes saw them quickly reach Amelia's office. It was only on arrival there that Sirius Black made an appearance. The head of the DMLE was so surprised, her monocle slipped off her face.

"Can I assume the mystery of how Sirius Black escaped Azkaban, and evaded capture, has just been solved?" She really didn't expect an answer though a few wide grins told her she'd hit the bullseye.

"We have a panel of five judges who have heard the testimony from both Crouchs, their actual trials have been set for Monday. What we want to do here today is administer some truth serum to discover exactly how you ended up at Azkaban."

Harry quietly growled two names, everyone in the large office still clearly heard "Crouch and Dumbledore." There wasn't one person there who dissagreed with that assesment.

-oOoOo-

The Prophet was once more full of Harry Potter, and Molly was once more in tears. The front page picture of Harry and Hermione wrapped in their blankets as they left Hogwarts under auror guard had a really haunting quality to it. The paper also asked the question, 'Will this be the last time we see Harry Potter?' which was what had set Molly off again. She'd been doing a lot of crying recently.

Molly had pubIcily made a fool of herself, and also hurt someone she was very fond of. She now realised that sending a howler to Hermione was a bad mistake, and the follow-up one to Harry just compounded the original error. Discovering they had become betrothed at Christmas highlighted this error in a manner that even she couldn't miss.

She and Arthur had also queued for two and a half hours to see the basilisk that had almost cost them their only daughter. One glance and she had to be led away sobbing at how much they actually owed the young wizard responsible for saving their precious little girl. What was really eating away at her was how she had then repaid this act of heroism, publicly declaring he was no longer welcome in her house ever again.

Now to discover what the young man was going through at the time just added to her remorse, why couldn't she learn not to go sticking her nose in where it wasn't wanted? Molly now found herself in a similar predicament to her youngest son. She desperatly wanted to begin mending her relationship with Harry but hadn't a clue where to start. She would have to talk to Arthur again tonight, hopefully he would have some ideas. Whatever way she looked at it, the only pie she would be eating in the near future was of the humble variety.

-oOoOo-

Their morning at the ministry had been going swimmingly. It had taken less than an hour to declare Sirius innocent of any crimes regarding the Potters' deaths or the muggle casualties. Harry was tempted to mention that this should have been done over a decade ago but settled for having Sirius free now. The news was being broadcast all over Britain with even the muggle media being handed the story of wrongful imprisonment.

Then they had headed down to the department of mysteries where Harry picked up the glass orb, the group also picked up their 'friend' who spoke to them down in Slytherin's chamber. It was back in Amelia's office that it all went pear-shaped as Harry broke the orb.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."

Hermione and Emma weren't the only two writing it down, both were also staring at what their notepads now held. It was the younger Granger though who spoke first.

"This doesn't make any sense Harry. If you are the one to end Voldemort, using this mysterious power, why the hell weren't you spending all your time working on this? I hardly think sleeping through history of magic is going to prepare you to face Voldemort unless... Oh shit! Oh shit! That utter bastard."

She felt Harry's hand slip into hers. "Perhaps you would care to explain to those of us who are not geniuses just what you figured out?"

Hermione hated to be the one to say this but it had to be done. It all fitted and she was sure she was right. "Either must die at the hand of the other... this means that only you can kill Voldemort."

There was silence as Harry had to coax the next bit from his betrothed. "Even I figured that bit out Hermione, what's got you so upset?"

"It also means that only Voldemort can kill you. That leads me to believe that all those times you ran into him at Hogwarts were anything but mere coincidences. First year, Dumbledore brings the stone to the castle and employs Quirrell. A mere coincidence Hagrid picked up the stone the day he took you to Gringotts? Second year, no one knows a giant basilisk is roaming the school? I wonder if Sirius escaping ruined his plans for third year and we all know what happened this year."

Harry could see both Amelia and the unspeakable got what Hermione was implying but he needed it spelt out to him. "Hermione, please?"

The tears were now streaming down her face as she did indeed spell it out for him. "If Voldemort was ever successful and actually managed to get the better of you, the prophecy would then be fulfilled. This would then open the way for someone else to finish off Voldemort."

Harry could see it all now as plain as day. "Someone else being a wizard with a ridiculously long beard and hideous robes? He appoints really bad defence professors to ensure I don't learn anything while creating oppertunities for Voldemot to get to me. No wonder he got rid of Remus, me casting a patronus must have been as big a shock to him as it was to those dementors."

The evidence already amassed against Dumbledore meant that no one in the room had any trouble believing the hypothesis that Hermione had arrived at. Even though Emma understood where her daughter was coming from, she still had a question. "Why did he try so hard for Harry to keep his magic? Surely this Voldemort would have an easier time if Harry couldn't magically fight back?"

"To fight me, he would have to know where I was. I planned to leave the Dursleys as quickly as possible and was definitely changing my school, hopefully then on to college. Madam Bones, could you have easily found me?"

"I have a few aurors like Tonks here who have a good understanding of the muggle world, I think we would have found you eventually. These are resources though that Voldermort doesn't have. A muggle background would be a death sentance for one of his followers..."

Amelia was interupted by a piercing scream of absolute agony from Harry, only Sirius standing so close to him allowed his godfather to help the now thrashing young wizard to the floor. There was no doubt just where this pain was emanating from, the blood leaking out that famous scar on his forehead was a dead giveaway.

Emma needed Dan's arms around her as they watched their daughter cradle Harry's head in her lap. Hermione was now sitting on the floor with Harry while Sirius and Tonks attempted to stop him hurting himself as he thrashed about. The mysterious man was casting charms at Harry's forehead and everyone appeared relieved when Amelia moved away from the fireplace so the healer could step through. Hopefully they would get to the bottom of this quickly, Harry was obviously in severe pain.