Inviting Francesca to go shopping with them turned out to be a masterstroke, her local knowledge proved to be immense and invaluable. She knew all the best places to shop, so all they had to do was say what they were looking for and she could lead them right to it. When the group split along gender lines to shop for clothes, Sirius appeared as if he was about to rebel, until Francesca offered him a very acceptable solution.

"If you really want to, we can return here to shop - when it's just the two of us?"

That was an offer Sirius couldn't wait to accept. When he claimed that was a date, Francesca's smile had him as happy as a dog with two tails.

As a clearly pleased Francesca led the ladies to the clothes shops she recommended, Hermione was keeping a very close eye on everyone else in their group. This was a massive culture shock for her five female friends and they all appeared to be coping with it well. Susan and Hannah were reminding Hermione of her Gryffindor roommates, Lavender and Parvatti - they were almost drooling at the multitude of fashions on display. Ginny was practically clinging to Luna for support, though the youngest Weasley seemed far more excited than scared. Luna was having the best time of her life, mainly because she was experiencing all these new adventures surrounded by friends.

Milly was the one who drew Hermione's focus, leading to her taking the girl's arm. "Are you alright?"

"To be honest - no. I think I'm in shock here. Things like this don't happen to Millicent Bulstrode - at least they never have before. I've never been further than Diagon Alley, yet you could easily fit all of those buildings about ten times over into this place - it's so light and spacious too. Are you sure we can pick some of these clothes? I've no idea what those price tickets say but everything looks so expensive."

Doing some quick sums in her head, Hermione pointed to a lovely sun dress modelled by a mannequin. "What if I told you buying that would see you get change from three galleons?"

That got Millie's attention. "Are you kidding? Harry gave us all much more than that as spending money."

"I know, but that money is not for spending here. Anything you like is on me, you can spend some of your galleons when we hit the magical shopping centre."

The other girls had been listening and Susan quickly cut in. "Hermione, I thought we were spending the entire day here? I've never seen anything like this before. Beautiful clothes in wonderful colours, all laid out so you can browse before you buy."

"Today is merely a fact-finding mission, and to pick up some much needed summer clothing. We will be returning here again while you're on holiday. Remember, PI students will be able to spend weekends visiting here during the school year too."

Looking all around her, Hannah neatly summed it up for all of them. "This has Hogsmeade beat hands down."

Francesca steered them into a shop specialising in teenage girl fashions and no more needed to be said. While her mother latched onto Ginny and Luna, Francesca stuck with Hannah and Susan. Hermione and Millie hit the racks too.

"You just look for something you like, see if they have it in your size, try it on and then buy if you're happy with it."

"What if I like the whole shop?"

"Then you should have brought a bigger trunk to Italy with you."

-oOoOo-

With Sirius appearing to have entered a world of his own, though Dan felt certain he wouldn't be alone - there would be a certain female Italian Architect in that daydream too - it was left to the dentist to deal with the four boys who'd never set foot in a muggle shop before. They'd entered a sporting goods emporium, thinking that would be best for what they needed.

Ron made an instant lunge for a Holland football top, proclaiming to Harry he just had to have the bright orange shirt with the lions on it. Dan recognised it as the top worn by the team at last year's World Cup - held in the USA. That's why it was on the sale rack, and a reasonable price too, but he couldn't understand the other's reactions to Ron's pick. His twin brothers were looking at it in awe, as if Ron had found the perfect garment for himself, while Harry was having a good laugh. Neville liked the shirt, but asked if it came in a different colour, showing he had no concept whatsoever of a football top.

Seeing the amount of merchandise the boys were looking at soon attracted the shop's sales assistants over. That the boys were obviously British tourists saw their eccentricities being put down to simply that. As long as they were spending money, their strange behaviour was being totally ignored. Harry too had an armful of clothes but asked Dan if he could look for some games that could be played on the beach, since he had actually never been on one before coming to Italy. Anything that helped to get them a bit fitter as well would be a bonus.

As the purchases began to pile up, the concerned manager also approached Dan - only to be pointed in Harry's direction. All those concerns were wiped away the instant Harry presented his black credit card Gringotts had provided him with. The manager actually arranged refreshments and snacks for these shoppers who appeared to be ringing up over a week's worth of sales in one visit. Loaded down with bags, and Ron proudly wearing what he considered his Gryffindor/Cannons shirt from the shop, they headed off to the food court where they were to reunite with the other half of their party.

It was no surprise that they arrived first, or that Ron loaded up with food again. They sat at tables, leaving seats for when their girlfriends/partners arrived. This was why Harry found himself sitting beside Dan, and offering an apology.

"I'm sorry about this. After last night, you and Emma deserved some peace and quiet to discover and discuss what those bracelets did for you."

With a genuine wide smile, Dan instantly rubbished that idea. "I'm sitting here, drinking a great cup of coffee, and yet I know Emma is close by - and also very happy. You gave us both that ability, so no apology necessary. I'm also watching as the two women in my life become closer than they've ever been, something you also played a large part in - and certainly have my undying gratitude for. I feel like you're saving our lives all over again so there is absolutely nothing to apologise for. I think it might actually help that we will have some experience of what these bracelets do for us before we get around to sitting down and talking about it."

"I see what you mean. Hermione and me kinda dived in at the deep end and had to rely on each other to sink or swim."

"I understand what Emma and I experience is only a fraction of what you share but this is more than enough for us. We all have little things or thoughts that should never see the light of day."

Harry was actually blushing as he answered Dan truthfully. "Hermione and I don't. I'm sitting chatting to her father so of course she's listening in, it's almost like she's sitting here with us. We have no secrets and are having to learn to deal with each other's stray thoughts - it's probably the hardest thing for us to master."

Dan didn't understand so Harry tried to explain. "We all have thoughts or opinions that we would never say out loud. Me just having those thoughts though means Hermione sees them. Throw in both of us are teenagers and you can guess where those thoughts sometimes lead."

A now blushing Harry had even more news for Dan. "Hermione can't believe I just told you that but I want there to be no secrets between us either. I love your daughter very much and intend to be with her for the rest of our lives. Achieving that means more to me than anything else we're doing, and you know how serious we are about the Institute and our other project."

Like any father, Dan had always wondered how he would react when he met his daughter's partner. Not her first crush, or her first boyfriend, but the person she would spend the rest of her life with. Dan was as certain as he could be that person was now sitting across from him - so did the only thing he could think of. He offered Harry his hand and said, "Welcome to the family, son."

Harry gladly took his hand before noticing the concerned look on Dan's face.

"Emma's worried about something..."

Harry was able to offer instant reassurance. "She's worried because Hermione just burst into tears. She's currently reassuring Emma that they are happy tears, and both of us can expect to get hugged to within an inch of our lives when she gets here."

Dan was left shaking his head as he felt Emma's mood change back to the happy one she'd been radiating all morning. Even after such a short time experiencing these bangles, Dan was already certain he never wanted to give this up and go back to the way things had been before. Considering the level of his daughter and Harry's connection, there was no way these two would be parted now. The more he got to know the young wizard sitting across from him, Dan found himself happier at reaching that conclusion. Something was bothering Dan though, and he decided just to ask the question.

"You and Hermione have been thrust into a bond, in itself a massive event, but you both also seem to be lurching from one crises to the next. When do you two get a break? You're both supposed to be on holiday."

Deciding again that honesty was the best policy with someone who would be family one day, Harry let Dan know what his 'normal' summer holiday usually consisted of. "Last summer, after facing a sixty foot basilisk and Voldemort at Hogwarts, I was imprisoned in Privet Drive. My relatives worked me like a slave and I was fed barely enough to keep me alive - and that wasn't even my worse summer. The year before, letters from Hermione and Ron were being blocked - putting doubt into my mind that I had really made friends at Hogwarts. After an incident where magic was used, I was locked in my room as bars were installed on my window. Food, if you could call it that, was passed through a cat flap that had been cut into my bedroom door. My family were determined I wasn't returning to Hogwarts and only having Hedwig locked in there with me got us through that time. Ron and the twins eventually turned up in their father's flying Ford Anglia and pulled those bars off the window."

Harry needed a moment to continue, the emotions were still a bit raw after having experiencing that episode again when Hermione and he shared memories the night they bonded. "Just knowing I'll never be alone again puts me light years ahead of where I was this time last year - hell, any year. Having your daughter in my life is wonderful, sharing this bond with her is easily the best thing that's ever happened to me. Yes we've been busy but this is still by a wide margin the best summer of my life."

Dan was struggling to understand how people could treat a child in that manner, but especially Harry, when a pair of welcome arms wrapped around him from behind. The kiss on his cheek from Emma was also a very welcome surprise as he watched Hermione slip into the seat beside Harry and kiss whatever troubles he had away.

"You were right, dear, they really are good for one another." Emma whispered in his ear, then moved around to sit beside Dan. "We were making our way here when Hermione practically broke into a run. What were you both talking about?"

"Oh, I was concerned about the amount of work and responsibilities these two were taking on when Harry told me what happened in his previous summers - purely to emphasise how much better things are now. We waited on you both coming before ordering anything. What do you want?"

By this time Hermione and Harry had separated, allowing her to answer. "Just a juice, and something to keep us going for the next bout of shopping. The elves spoil us at home, so need to go overboard buying things they will certainly make better than what's on sale here."

Emma quickly agreed, claiming the cappuccino the elves served was the best she'd ever tasted. Dan and Harry joined the food queue to get their ladies what they wanted.

-oOoOo-

The group had then hit the Naples magical shopping centre with even more enthusiasm, again in awe of how light and spacious everything was. With everyone having gold in their pockets too, it was an excited bunch of teens who took the shops by storm. This time Hermione and Harry stuck with her parents, Dan and Emma being the 'visitors' here.

Hermione had her mum help to choose a few robes, looking at material, style and colours, with the intention of using these to help design PI's uniform robes. Harry and Dan were working for the institute too, buying a range of brooms that would then be assessed for teaching beginners, casual flying and quidditch use.

It was therefor a very happy group who arrived back at the house, only to find a reception committee waiting on them. Dan and Emma tagged along to see what was so important that no one else could make the decisions.

Remus went first, having both good and bad news. "The building work starts tomorrow, the company doing the foundations dropped other work to get right on this. There's going to be a fair bit of prestige associated with working on this building, and everyone wants to be involved." Getting the good news out of the way, Remus then gave them the shock he'd received at the Italian Ministry this morning.

"It would seem that European OWL and NEWT courses are rather more advanced than the ones taught at Hogwarts. I was asked this morning which version we would be teaching our students?"

Harry and Hermione thought the answer was obvious, looking at Remus, Minerva and Pomona - he could see they were troubled by this. "Remus used the word 'prestige', one I'm very happy to have associated with what we're trying to do here. How much of that prestige would disappear if we weren't teaching and sitting the advanced courses? Is there a problem having those courses available for September?"

Pomona knew Harry was correct, but admitted it put a lot more pressure on them as all their course work and lesson plans would have to change. With the work needed to get the school up and running and now the extra burden of new courses to learn and produce as well was leaving the senior staff worried about the imposed deadline of September the first.

Knowing what to look for, Dan could clearly see Harry and Hermione were discussing this problem over heir bond. This was exactly what Dan had meant earlier, the adults were standing back and looking to these two teens for answers. It was time to offer them some help.

"It's now crystal clear to Emma and me that neither of us can return to our old lives anytime soon, if at all. Both of us have a range of skills that can help here, and neither of us is the type to sit about and do nothing for long. If we can take over a lot of the administration details, that would free the staff up to work on these new courses. Sirius should be available for advice on anything magical that we need help with."

A smiling Emma took Dan's arm, displaying her obvious support of her husband's idea. Harry pounced on their offered help like a starving man at a feast.

"That would be brilliant. Minerva will soon be contacting the new first years we hope to entice to come here. If you can check the muggle-born addresses and find a central city, then we can book a hotel with conference facilities to have a meeting. If that were to be in place before her visit, they could personally be invited along. For all muggle-born students, we can supply them with rail tickets and at least one night stay in the hotel."

Pomona and Minerva's initial reactions were rather muted to Dan's offer, feeling the Grangers were encroaching on their turf, that was before hearing Harry's plans though. Neither witch would have a clue how to arrange what the Grangers were already nodding in agreement with. Asking about phone lines and internet access also left both of the witches floundering too.

Hermione of course picked up on this and offered reassurance all around. "When that story breaks in the Quibbler tomorrow, there will be more than enough work to go around. Headmistress, how would you feel about having a couple of muggles teaching Muggle Studies?"

She barely had time to watch Pomona's face light up with a wide smile before her view was blocked by a delighted Harry kissing her. Feeling her parents arms wrap around both of them too gave Hermione a feeling of happiness that was worthy of generating a patronus.

Emma summed it up for all three Grangers. "I've got my daughter back, my husband at my side and we're going to work for our future son-in-law - that sounds like a plan to me. Keeping our family close is going to be the new Granger mantra."

Thinking of taking their intake discussion a stage further, Harry asked Dobby if he could get the twins to pop in. A bewildered Fred and George were then hit with a totally unexpected question from Harry.

"Guys, how do you think you did in your OWL's?"

Being nervous was a new look for the twins, one that didn't suit them. That nervousness didn't interrupt their ping-pong style of communication however, with each still flawlessly finishing the other's sentences.

"Well you see..."

"It's a bit complicated..."

"Mum is determined we're going to work in the Ministry..."

"Fred and I have other plans..."

"You can't work in the ministry without good grades..."

"Mum will be upset at us but we're well used to that...."

"It will put an end to her Ministry obsession though..."

"Totally worth it..."

It was left to an astonished Hermione to state in plain language what the twins had apparently done. "You deliberately tanked your OWL exams - how could you?"

"It was rather easy actually..."

"Yes, if I say so myself - we seem to have a talent for it."

Harry was left shaking his head but this might just play into their hands. "If these two sit the more difficult OWL's next year, it would give each of their professors a bit of practice with the new coursework. With only two students sitting them, and promising to do their best, it shouldn't overly tax the Institute's resources. All the other students attending would still have time to catch up on anything we should already have been taught. Having students who failed their OWL's in Hogwarts pass the harder versions at the Institute would also be a good advert for us, and might be the carrot needed to get both your parents on board to let you attend here."

The professors could instantly see the advantage of having a couple of students to work with as they wrote their OWL course, Fred and George looked nervous though.

"Eh, about that, Harry."

"Bill met with our father..."

"Dad wants to come and see us..."

"And Ginny..."

"Before he mentions anything to Mum."

"He hoped to see us before the news broke..."

It only took a glance between the teens and their minds were made up. They knew Bill intended to meet with his father, asking if Arthur could come to the Institute gave them a good idea how that meeting had gone. "Invite your dad for dinner tonight. Tell Bill I'll alter his portkey to include your father. You are welcome to have a family dinner served somewhere else, that will let you talk things out between you."

The twins each grabbed one of Harry's hands to shake, before both then quickly hugged Hermione and shot off to speak with Bill.

Dan was left shaking his head. "And I suppose you two class this as a quiet day?"

Slipping her arm around Harry's waist, Hermione couldn't help but smile as she answered. "Trust us, dad, this is a quiet day for us."

-oOoOo-

It was a nervous Arthur who portkeyed to Italy with his eldest son. The portkey entry point was still the terrace, so Arthur was faced with everyone else staying there getting ready to sit down to dinner. He was so wrapped up in the reason for his visit that the stunning setting hardly registered with Arthur.

Millie was sitting down to dinner with Susan and Hannah, having told Ron he needed time to deal with this family matter. Arthur approached Harry to apologise for all the trouble this had caused him, he didn't get far.

"Lord Potter..."

"It's just Harry to my friends, and everyone invited to my home is automatically considered at least that. Mr Weasley, go talk with your family. hopefully we can catch up later. Oh, Poppy will be there too. Ginny and her are becoming very close, Ginny probably couldn't handle this meeting without Poppy beside her."

Arthur gladly shook Harry's offered hand, any words he had died in his throat at the mere mention of his daughter's name. Bill led him away to meet with the rest of his children, the elves had transfigured the room being used as an infirmary to hold the Weasley dinner meeting.

Entering the room, Arthur's attention was instantly on his four youngest children. He noticed at once all were fit and healthy, as well as impeccably yet casually dressed. Pulling Ron into a hug, Arthur tried to break the ice from his somewhat frosty reception by keeping things light.

"That's a fabulous shirt, where did you get it?"

"Harry took us all shopping, to muggle shops. you would have loved it, dad."

Nodding in agreement, Arthur then moved on to the twins. "I hope you are both behaving yourselves?"

Pulling them in for a hug, George was first to answer - though Fred was soon backing his twin up.

"Of course we are."

"You've seen this place, it's fantastic!"

"Wait to you see the school Harry's building..."

"Yeah, we wouldn't like to be barred from PI for pulling pranks - before it even opens."

"We had also to promise to do our best..."

"Shows how much we want to come here..."

Shaking his head was Arthur's usual response to dealing with his twins, it felt like a little normality had returned to his life. Arthur then moved his attention to his beloved daughter. Seeing Ginny practically hiding behind Poppy, and the clear apprehension on her face his presence was causing, was breaking her father's heart.

"Ginny, I'm not here to take you back to the Burrow. You have four brothers and Poppy here who wouldn't let me - and don't forget Harry would certainly put a swift stop to that idea too. The Headmaster at this new school of his might actually look after its students..."

Ginny whispered her first word. "We've got a Headmistress... I want to go here..."

"You have my promise there will be no Weasleys attending Hogwarts while Dumbledore is headmaster. I will never trust that wizard again."

A lot of the tension left the room after Arthur said that, Ginny still practically hiding behind Poppy was killing him though. "I think I'll go home now. I just had to see you were all well.." Tears were running down his cheeks as Ginny then tentatively approached her now crying father.

"Stay, have dinner with us..."

Arthur didn't move, rather waited until Ginny began to wrap her arms around his waist before pulling his daughter into a needy hug. There wasn't a dry Weasley eye in the room so Poppy got them all to sit at the table. Ginny ended sitting between her father and Poppy, with Bill sitting across from her, as the Weasley family began to repair bonds that should never have been placed under that amount of stress in the first place. This was merely the first step however, but then that's how all journeys begin.

-oOoOo-

The promised training with Moony saw Harry and Hermione rising at six thirty, only to find all their friends - along with Dan, Emma and Sirius - were up too. Breakfast was going to be after training so, like the Pied Piper, Moony led them all down to the beach. The marauder had figured a few laps up and down the beach would soon show him who was serious about this training. To his great surprise, everyone stuck it out. The three adults were dead on their feet but refused to quit. Sirius then led both Grangers over to a safe area for a seat to watch as Moony had the teenagers start on wand work.

"I'm so glad Remus told us we would practice shooting this afternoon. I barely have the strength left to lift a gun, far less hold it steady enough to hit anything I aimed at."

Sirius offered a crumb of comfort to the struggling Emma. "The cruciatus curse really screws with your body, especially your muscles and nervous system. I thought you did fantastic this morning." Dobby popping beside the trio with a tray of fruit drinks brought relief to all of them who were struggling after expending more physical effort jogging on the sand than they had in years. They sat and stared as Remus had the teens shooting spells at stationary dummies to practice their accuracy, before he then animated a few of those dummies - increasing the degree of difficulty by a fair margin.

It was a proud father who watched on as Hermione began knocking her dummy over, before almost choking on his fruit juice as Harry blew the arm clean off one. Emma's jaw was hanging open too before Sirius commented on what they had just witnessed.

"Hermione is a really powerful witch, second only to Harry in that group. Harry's power though is awesome, I don't have another word for it. They have the power and knowledge but not the training, that's where Remus comes in. He'll have them practicing until what they do becomes instinct. With their bond, that will make them a formidable couple."

It was a tearful Emma that asked the million galleon question. "Will it be enough to achieve what they seem to be heading into?"

Thanks to their bracelets, Dan now knew instinctively what to do. He had his arm reassuringly around his wife and kissed Emma on the cheek. "They have a family that will be with them every step of the way. Between all of us, we'll make sure they come out the other end in one piece."

Now that was something Sirius could put his name down for. He left the Grangers and went over to offer Moony a hand. Even if he only took over training the others, that would allow Moony to concentrate on Harry and Hermione. Sirius intended to do everything in his power not to make a liar out of Dan. Those two simply had to survive what was coming their way, no other option was acceptable to the marauder.

-oOoOo-

The Quibbler was renowned for the eccentricities of its owner, reactions to the papers headlines were usually somewhere between laughter and being completely ignored - not today.

That the paper was suggesting Voldemort wasn't really gone was one hell of a bombshell to drop on someone while they were sitting down to their morning bowl of cereal. That was only the beginning though, the paper contained more shocks than the packet of cereal had free gifts. That Harry Potter was prophesied to confront the Dark Lord offered a smidgen of comfort until even that smidgen was brutally ripped from their grasp with the news that their saviour had left the country.

The Potter family instigating a Blood Feud against the Malfoy and Parkinson families also caused an impact of seismic proportions. These were two wealthy and powerful families that just lost their heads of house, supposedly murdered by muggles.

There were also meticulously detailed accounts of how the Ministry and Dumbledore had wronged the last of the Potters, actually forcing him to leave the country.

Before the meat of these articles could be consumed, readers were distracted by what amounted to nothing more than an advert for a new magical school. While the drawings of this wonderful building were certainly - to say the very least - eye-catching, what really drew the reader's attention was the name. In what was an understandable miscalculation, the owners and staff of the Institute had overlooked one vital piece of the psyche of the British witches and wizards.

With Voldemort trying to come back, and Harry Potter prophesied to banish him, parents the length and breadth of Britain instantly reached the decision that they wanted their children to attend the Potter Institute. When it came right down to it, they trusted Harry Potter with their children's safety - rather than the Ministry of Magic or Albus Dumbledore's Hogwarts. A quick glance at the list of professors teaching at the Potter Institute offered all the encouragement they needed to make their decision.

Most wouldn't even wait on the time it would take to send an owl to Gringotts to declare their family's interest in the Institute, witches and wizards floored or apparated to the bank in their droves.

-oOoOo-

Albus wanted to rant and rage at what he was reading here but the overwhelming reaction he experienced was fear - fear of being the headmaster of Hogwarts who saw that grand institution close its doors forever.

At least the tournament wouldn't be affected, as the Institute was currently only accepting students up to fourth year. That would be scant consolation though, as Albus imagined his embarrassment as headmaster if the other schools turned up to a half-empty Hogwarts.

Unlike those in Italy, Albus immediately recognised what the parents' reactions to reading this would be. It was now imperative that Harry Potter attended Hogwarts, by hook, crook or magical goblet.

-oOoOo-

At the Burrow, Molly's reaction to the Quibbler was as explosive as any of the fireworks Fred and George had ever cobbled together - she certainly reached a volume of noise the twins could only dream of emulating.

"This is a scandal, how dare they say these things about Albus. Harry can't leave Britain, that poor boy is receiving bad advice. We need to send him a letter - no, we need to meet in person..."

Arthur let Molly rant for a few more minutes but, with no let up in sight, he eventually had to take action. He lifted his now empty breakfast plate before slamming it back down on the table with enough force to break the crockery. More importantly however, it shut Molly up.

Before she could start again, Arthur got right to the heart of the matter. "Molly, as head of the Weasley family, you will answer me honestly and wholly. Did you cast a spell on Ginny when we met her in the station. If so, I demand to know what it was. The very future of our family rests on those answers, lie to me and the family magic will cast you out."

With those words, and the intensity of Arthur's glare, Molly forgot all about everything else happening in the world and concentrated on answering her husband truthfully. One slip could see her cast from the family, and she would demand to discover why shortly, but she could make no mistakes here.

"I saw Ginny looking heartbroken at Harry standing with his arm around Hermione, I tried to help our daughter. I cast a spell on her to increase her self-confidence. Ginny was holidaying with the boy she's had a crush on since she was seven, I just tried to give her a little helping hand. Ginny was mortified that first summer when she couldn't even speak to Harry, and never mention her elbow ending up in the butter dish at the boy's first breakfast here. She was so in awe of Harry Potter, the boy never got to see the real Ginny Weasley. I tried to help her with that, what mother wouldn't do their best for their children. Now Arthur, I think it's time I had some answers from you..."

Instead of answers, Molly watched as her husband shed tears before breaking down in front of her. "That's what I thought, that's what I hoped for. Oh Molly, we won't lose our family after all."

Just mentioning losing their family had Molly reaching for her wand. "Who's trying to harm my babies?"

Rather than answer her, Arthur moved to the floo and contacted Amelia. Molly would be questioned under truth serum and Arthur thought it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world to have a few aurors in the Burrow when she discovered Ginny was staying in Italy. He might also need those aurors present when Arthur revealed he had dinner with Ginny and four of their sons last night.

-oOoOo-

Reading the Quibbler was also life-changing for Jillian Green, however it was entirely different reasons from most of magical Britain that saw the young witch heading to Gringotts. The lines for registering interest in the Potter Institute were massive, and suited Jillian. She was able to see a teller much quicker than expected, and also discovered the goblin who handled their account was available to meet with her too.

After waiting around twenty minutes, Jillian was shown into an office she was well used to. Her account manager was there, but so was another goblin who was clearly further up the food chain than Arteck had reached.

"Miss Green, I would like to say it's nice to see you but I fear I know why you are visiting today."

"Arteck, I would like to know how the Malfoy and Parkinson deaths - as well as the Blood Feud - will affect the orphanage. You know better than I how tight our finances are. Losing both their monthly contributions would put us in severe financial trouble."

"I'm afraid it's worse than you know, Miss Green. Not only have you lost both those small contributions, another six families who also publically supported the orphanage have fled the country. In fact, our sources at the Ministry tell us there might be another four children heading in your direction. Some of those families left young daughters behind. With no gold to arrange advantageous marriages in their futures, the families abandoned them to their fate."

Arteck had to send for refreshments as the witch sitting in front of him appeared ready to pass out. After taking a sip of whatever she had been offered, Jillian couldn't stop the tears flowing as she asked the all-important question. "What do we do now? The orphanage survives from month to month. We have no savings but bills will still need paid and the children must be fed."

It was then the other goblin spoke. "Miss Green, I'm afraid your orphanage has been caught in the middle of a power struggle. Through no fault of you or your establishment, the majority of your funds have suddenly dried up. I know the people involved here and they would never deliberately set out to harm your establishment. This has been an oversight, one your prompt action gives us time to try and avert this situation becoming a disaster."

Jillian perked up at hearing this. The orphanage was her life, she'd been there since being left on the doorstep as a baby. The twenty-seven years that had passed since that fateful night had seen a young Jillian volunteering to help as soon as she was old enough to be helpful. She now ran the orphanage, although there wasn't exactly a lot of competition for the job. While she worked extremely hard and gave her best for the orphanage, she knew better than anyone outside possibly the two goblins in this office with her, there was no room in their budget to pay wages to a manager. Not only was the orphanage home to all the children in her care, if it closed she had nowhere else to go either - nor any gold to take her there if she did.

This Goblin just offered Jillian the one thing she didn't have moments ago - hope.

Barchoke continued with his pitch. It wasn't something he would usually do but the goblin was confident his client would act immediately to help. Miss Green was also known to the goblins as one of the most honourable witches the bank did business with. Every knut that entered the orphanage was cherished and used to help the children under her care. For a goblin, what could be more honourable than that.

"As I said, I know the people involved. They will probably want to visit first..."

"Any time, sir. They will probably need to contact the press themselves if they want pictures and an article..." Jillian stopped as the goblin actually laughed at her.

"Miss Green, I can assure you that press coverage is the last thing they would want. They are a totally different proposition to those who offer a few galleons for the positive press they gain. I will contact them today but also know they are very busy. If they can't make it before the end of the month, I will personally guarantee your establishment funds for the following month."

Jillian was in tears again, and missed Arteck's look of astonishment at Barchoke's unbelievable offer. Jillian eventually left that office a lot happier than she'd entered it. The door had hardly closed before Arteck just had to ask what had Barchoke making that astonishing offer.

"You know what happened with my wife and son, my family ends with me. There are a few obnoxious cousins floating about, ready to fight over anything I leave. Apart from being the right thing to do, can you imagine their faces if I spent every Galleon helping orphaned witches and wizards?"

The office then shook with the sound of goblin laughter.

-oOoOo-

There wasn't much laughter in the Minister of Magic's office. Not one known for her sunny disposition, Dolores was off on a rant about uppity half-bloods who didn't know their place - and what this new school could do to the country.

It was then Cornelius had his epiphany. "Dolores, This school is only going to be able to accommodate a percentage of the students Hogwarts holds. Remember, this is Potter we're dealing with here. Who is he likely to take?"

Like pulling the curtains open and discovering an unexpected sunny day, Dolores' expression changed to as near a smile as she got. "He'll take all the mudbloods and half-bloods, leaving Hogwarts for the pure-bloods..."

"Exactly! Can you see anyone from this Institute of theirs ever finding employment at the Ministry? They will be lucky to find anyone in Britain who will employ them..."

"Meaning all the mudbloods and half-bloods will need to stay abroad. No one who really counts will give this Institute the time of day, which will clear our country of all these undesirables in a generation - far more effectively too than any legislation we could try and push through the Wizengamot."

Both were now smiling at the implications this Institute would have on their society. Cornelius had one final suggestion on how to deal with this. "When all the furore over this matter has died down a bit, I'm sure we could sneak a bill through the Wizengamot that will stop any qualifications awarded to Institute students being recognised within Britain."

Dolores was enthusiastically nodding along to that idea. "After all, it's not as if any members will have relatives attending Potter's school. They will basically be voting to give their offspring a bigger advantage than they already have." Neither could see that bill fail, permanently ostracising within Britain anyone who attended the Potter Institute. An increase in funds for Amelia's department should publicly show them as 'doing something' amid claims that you-know-who was trying to return, while decrying as much as possible he could ever return.

-oOoOo-

After breakfast, everyone at the Institute grabbed one of the brooms that Harry had bought yesterday and took to the air to watch as work began on the foundations for the Potter Institute. Emma was once more clinging onto Harry as Remus took Dan up to see this momentous moment.

The brooms allowed them to see everything that was happening, without getting in the way of the workmen. As the ground was cleared and the shape of the Institute was marked out, everyone got to see for themselves the scale of the project being undertaken here. Since they had all been involved in the planning of the building, each person on a broom knew exactly what went where as the giant π took shape below them.

Pomona flew over to Harry and Emma. "This brings it all home, this is really happening. I don't think I've been this excited - or scared - since I was a teenager. Lord Potter, I can't thank you enough for giving me this opportunity."

"Headmistress, my betrothed and I are teenagers - so we know about being scared and excited. I just want to say that having you as Headmistress takes away a lot of our fear for this project. We want to thank you for taking on a task that, if you'll excuse the pun, gets larger every day."

Sirius then joined the conversation. "I have to say my godson doesn't do things by half - but this has totally blown me away. Harry, this is humongous - the biggest Pi in the world!"

Not able to resist, Harry just teased back. "I'm glad the scale of this managed to take your mind off the architect down their in the white hard hat. I'm surprised you even noticed anything else."

Not even trying to pretend he hadn't noticed her, Sirius almost pouted in reply. "Francesca's working, I can't interrupt her while she's busy."

Harry had to almost bite his lip to stop from laughing, though Hermione had no such compunction as she giggled loudly by his side. Harry eventually took pity on his clearly smitten godfather. "I'm glad you're not going to keep my architect from her important work, but she will still have to eat lunch..."

That was all the encouragement Sirius needed as his broom took off like a Francesca seeking missile on a mission to ask the lady to lunch with its rider, to the accompaniment of much laughter from those he so abruptly left behind.