Disclaimer: I do not own any of the 'Harry Potter' universe, nor any of the lyric bits that I use.
A/N: This was an incredibly tough chapter for me to write. There's no Kotone in this chappie, but you'll get a glimpse of what Ginny's doing and what kind of trouble Harry has got himself into. All of the glaring mistakes are mine, but considering that English isn't my first language, I'm sure you'll forgive me. ^_^;
Please, R & R & most of all, Enjoy!
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Chapter 18: Welcome Mr. Buck
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Here I go into new days,
I'm pain, I'm hope, I'm suffer.
Yeah, hey, hey, hey, yeah
Here I go into new days.
Do you bury me when I'm gone?
Do you teach me while I'm here?
Just as soon as I belong,
then it's time I disappear.
Excerpt from the song 'I Disappear' by the band Metallica.
-----~-----
With a flash of green fire, Ron stepped into the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, having used the floo from Grimmauld Place. He brushed the soot from his clothes as he looked around the unusually busy Atrium in vain for Harry, Hermione and Kotone.
He approached the Welcome Witch and got his visitor's badge, then asked if Harry Potter had arrived yet. Receiving a response in the negative, he sat on the wall surrounding the now-repaired great golden Fountain of Magical Brethren in the center of the Atrium and quietly waited as various witches and wizards bustled to and from the floo fires. He didn't fail to notice two wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Division standing to either side of the visitor's entrance, and several others standing around near the entrance to the lifts.
As soon as he sat down, a wizard walked by wearing fancy blue business robes, Neat yellow dress slacks and a pair of black boots with shiny silver stitching, giving him an odd, sideways glance as he passed. Being dressed in what wizards considered 'normal' attire, Ron didn't give him a second thought.
When a half hour passed, he began to get worried. He knew it wouldn't take this long to get from The Leaky Cauldron to the Ministry building. After another half-hour passed, he found himself pacing the length of the Atrium, all the while stealing nervous glances at the visitor's entrance every thirty seconds or so.
He happened to notice one particular wizard dressed in plain black work robes who was strolling past. He noticed him because he happened to see the same pair of silver-stitched boots sticking out from the legs of his charcoal-gray denim pants. Now that he was paying closer attention to his surroundings, he began to notice other people who seemed to be just milling about aimlessly, or repeatedly coming and going through the guard station to the lifts, now obvious that they had changed their appearances each time. He also noticed with increasing uneasiness that most of the people were sneaking glances at both the visitors' entrance and at him, as well.
'Right, then,' he thought to himself as he approached Eric Munch, the security wizard at the entrance to the lifts, and held out his wand to be registered.
Eric seemed unusually nervous as he silently took Ron's wand and placed it on the scale-like device before he handed it back and nodded.
As he passed through the golden gates leading to the lifts, he caught a glimpse of a squat woman with a wide, toad-like face and short, rust brown hair tied with a large pink bow as she disappeared into a doorway followed by a group of four wizards. Even from the brief glimpse, he instantly recognized her as Dolores Umbridge, and recognized the dark purple roes that the four wizards wore. They were members of the Ministry's Hit-Wizard squad.
He quickly made his way to the lifts, taking one down to the second level, which housed the auror's offices. As soon as he entered the department, Benjamin Bones rushed up to him and practically dragged him into a nearby empty cubicle.
"Is Potter with you?" he urgently whispered to Ron.
"No, he was walking here from The Leaky Cauldron with that 'girlfriend' of his… he was supposed to be here by now."
"So Granger is with him?" asked Ben.
"No, I mean yes, but that's not the 'girlfriend' I meant. Hermione was following them to make sure they kept out of trouble."
Ben gave him a questioning look, "Do you mean to tell me that Granger really isn't Harry's girlfriend? I thought for sure that by now…"
Ron interrupted him with an irritated sigh and said, "I can see why everyone would think that. It's pretty obvious to everyone but Harry that they belong together," the thought of what Ginny had done floated to the front of his mind as he added morosely, "even to my sister. The 'girlfriend' I mentioned is that, umm, 'girl' from the orphanage you saw us with. Since we took her out of there this morning, she's been hanging onto Harry as if her life depended on him."
"That very well may be the case," said Ben gravely, "So, Potter's on his way here?"
"Yeah," replied Ron, "to give our statements. I had better give you mine now so I can go looking for them."
"I've already got your statement from your father," whispered Ben hurriedly while holding out a sheet of parchment for Ron to sign, "He woke you, you got to Haversham's after the attack was over, and you helped Potter and Granger out with that Oota girl. You were seen in the Cauldron for a few hours after that. Now sign this."
As he signed the statement, Ron let out an irritated growl at the thought of them being so carefully monitored, and was about to voice his objections when an aide appeared at the cubicle and whispered something to Ben. He abruptly stood and said, "Stay here, I'll be right back."
A minute later, Ben returned and took Ron firmly by the arm while saying, "Come on, Weasley. We're taking the floo to Hogwarts."
"Now hold on a second," exclaimed Ron, "What the bloody hell is going on here? I floo into the Atrium, and there are a score of wizards in the Atrium looking like they're about to hex me into oblivion, I get here and you're about to have a baby over Harry… What's going on?"
Ben turned and growled in a deep whisper, "Harry's got himself into a fix this time. The Minister is tired of playing nice and wants him to publicly support the Ministry. Since Harry won't cooperate, Scrimgeour is 'raising the ante,' so to speak. They have him on underage use of magic, apparating without a license, as well as kidnapping a ward of the Ministry along with some… other things. The Minister is also behind the current smear campaign in The Prophet, which will continue unless Potter actively lends his support to the minister."
"Underage magic? Kidnapping? He was assisting you at the orphanage! He was responsible for capturing those Death Eaters! Once the public hears that, Scrimgeour couldn't possibly charge Harry without an outcry!"
"That's just it. The public won't hear about it. I can guarantee that whatever is printed in The Prophet about Haversham's, it won't be kind to Potter."
Ron was nearly apoplectic as he hissed, "Then we'll go to The Quibbler, They'll print Harry's side of the story."
"Don't count on it. The Minister isn't playing games this time. Do you have any idea what effect the St. Mungo's attack had on public opinion? That a little girl and not his aurors captured the only prisoner from that raid? Do you think he's going to allow himself to be publicly humiliated again if the story gets out that, once again, civilians captured the Death Eaters at the orphanage and not his aurors?"
Ron just shook his head as he followed Ben to the floo inside of the auror department, thinking that he would soon have to have another chat with his odd, but undeniably sexy Ravenclaw.
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It was nearly noon as Molly Weasley stood in her kitchen, staring out through the window while watching the figure of her only daughter as she hovered above the makeshift Quidditch pitch behind the Burrow. Ginny had said that she was practicing for the upcoming school year when she walked out of the door with Ron's Cleansweep 11, but Molly had been watching her for the past hour, and she's done nothing but hover over the pitch, sometimes leaning close to the handle, as if about to race off, but never moving from the spot.
Molly glanced over at her twin boys, Fred and George, who happened to stop by for lunch, and to relate to her the tragedy of the attack on Haversham's Home for Unwanted and Wayward Wizarding Waifs that happened early that morning. Certainly, she was appalled by what happened to those children, but she found that she really couldn't pay attention, being too worried about her own family.
Ron and Arthur left the Burrow early that morning to respond to the attack. Of course, hearing from both of them that they were fine did little to quell her anxiety over their safety.
Then there was Ginny.
For the past few days, she's done nothing but ride that silly broomstick from the time she awoke 'till the time she went to bed, only coming inside for meals and a shower before locking herself in her room for the night.. Molly wouldn't be terribly concerned if Ginny were actually flying it, rather than just hovering over the field.
Then there was the additional concern of Ginny's health. She'd been constantly flushed and sweaty, with a glassy look to her eyes most of the time. Molly had heard strange moans and gasps coming from her room in the middle of the night. When asked, Ginny simply explained that she was still having occasional nightmares about Riddle and the chamber. She had asked Ginny repeatedly if there was anything wrong, but would always receive the same response… 'I'm fine.'
With a sigh, Molly stepped out of the door and made her way to the Quidditch pitch to fetch her daughter for lunch.
"Ginerva! Come down here, it's time for your lunch."
Ginny abruptly sat up straight on the broomstick, her face, as was usual recently, was red and dripping with sweat, as if she had just run a mile. She glided down to the ground and climbed off the broomstick with as much composure as she could muster.
"Are you feeling okay?" asked Molly concernedly.
Clearly out of breath, she panted, "Yes… yes I'm fine, I just had a bit of a workout, and training hard… those Slytherins don't stand a chance this year…"
Molly's eyes narrowed, knowing full well that the one thing Ginny wasn't doing was 'training hard.' She grabbed Ron's broomstick out of her hands and used it to swat her bum, saying, "Move along, your lunch is on the table and it's getting cold." She watched Ginny as she walked hurriedly, but slightly unsteadily towards the kitchen of the Burrow. She sighed sadly, wondering what was wrong with her daughter.
Molly looked down at the broomstick in her hands. It had been years since she's been on a broomstick, and never one of this quality. She remembered how much she loved flying when she was younger, how free and relaxed she felt while soaring through the air. Only slightly embarrassed, she glanced around to make sure nobody was looking. With a small grin, she mounted the broom and kicked off from the ground, intending to take a quick spin around the pitch before storing it in the broom shed.
A look of shock splayed across her face as she jumped from the broom, which was already almost ten feet in the air, and landed in the soft sand that covered the pitch floor. She stood and brushed the sand from her hair and clothes as the broomstick floated down towards her. She grabbed it of the air and ran her hand down the length of the stick.
With a clearly puzzled look on her face, she thought, "What in Merlin's name happened to the Cushioning Charm?"
Puzzlement turned to anger as she spun on her heels and raced towards the Burrow as she screeched, "GINERVA WEASLEY! YOU HAD BETTER HAVE AN EXPLAINATION FOR THIS!"
Molly burst through the door and stormed into the kitchen, only to find Fred and George rising from the hearth of the fireplace and Ginny nowhere in sight. She was about to make for the staircase to her daughter's bedroom, when George grabbed her arm as she tried to pass.
"Mum, we have to floo to Hogwarts. The connection will be open for five minutes."
Only slightly distracted, she gave the twins a questioning glare.
The twins knew something of what was going on with Harry, but keeping their promise to him about not revealing his situation, decided to just relate only what they'd heard from their father, "They've found Harry. He's at Hogwarts right now, and the whole Order's been summoned. Something big is happening."
Now, completely forgetting her shock at Ginny's behavior, she joined the twins at the fireplace and they vanished, one after the other, into the green flames on their way to Hogwarts.
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Harry stood and looked confusedly around the crowded room. The fireplace erupted again as Molly Weasley stepped into the room, followed immediately by George, then Fred.
As Molly rushed towards Harry, he braced himself for one of her rib-cracking bear hugs which she didn't fail to administer whole-heartedly. After releasing Harry, Hermione was treated with a bear hug of her own as Ron stepped into the room from the hearth, followed by Benjamin Bones.
McGonagall surveyed the room, "That's all of us, isn't it, Arthur?"
Harry saw Arthur nod as he looked around at the near entirety of the Order of the Phoenix. They all wore concerned expressions, except for Lupin, who looked relieved at the sight of him. There were many faces that he only knew in passing, and quite a few new members. He wasn't surprised seeing Benjamin Bones, the grim-faced auror that helped him when he first returned to London at the end of the previous term. He was probably recruited by Tonks, and that thought caused him to briefly glance around for her before remembering that she was probably still in St. Mungo's. The other missing members were Charlie Weasley, who was still in Romania, and of course, Snape and Fletcher.
The thought of Snape caused his eyes to snap instantly to the portrait of the previous Headmaster of Hogwarts. Dumbledore looked as though he was sleeping, but Harry could see the blue twinkle from his nearly closed eyes. He didn't fail to catch the barely perceptible wink that Dumbledore sent him, either.
Harry approached McGonagall's desk with Hermione limping along beside him as Ron made his way to stand on his other side. On top of her desk were piles of envelopes, presumably holding the expected Hogwarts letters.
"What's all this, then?" asked Harry suspiciously.
"It appears that we have a problem," said McGonagall as she handed Harry a copy of The Daily Prophet, "This arrived by owl less than a half-hour ago."
Harry took the paper with a strained grimace. As he unfolded it, he said with only a bit of annoyance in his voice, "What have they got to say about me today? You know that whatever it is, it's a load of…"
He abruptly went silent as he read the headline.
'HARRY POTTER - 'THE BOY WHO LOVED…' TOO MUCH?'
By Rita Skeeter
One day after the devastating attack on St. Mungo's, Death Eaters struck again, attacking Haversham's Home for Unwanted and Wayward Wizarding Waifs. Ministry aurors positioned in Diagon Alley were alerted to the attack as it was happening and responded immediately, but their efforts were complicated when Mr. Potter appeared at the scene and rushed in to find what many are calling his girlfriend.
The responding aurors were forced to both fight the Death Eaters and protect Mr. Potter as he recklessly stormed through the building. Once the Ministry captured the Death Eaters, Mr. Potter was seen leaving the building embracing his girlfriend, who just happens to be the child responsible for capturing Rodolphus Lestrange during the St. Mungo's attack, the young Kotone Oota. Minutes later, Harry potter fled the scene with Miss Oota before he could be questioned by Ministry officials.
The three Death Eaters captured by the Ministry have been identified as Dender Donovan, along with two escapees from Azkaban, Antonin Dolohov and Bellatrix Lestrange. As reported yesterday, the Death Eater captured at St. Mungo's was Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix Lestrange's husband.
The death toll at the orphanage stands at fifty-one, all, of course, half-bloods and muggle-borns, with only five survivors. Many at the ministry believe that the high death count is a direct result of Mr. Potter's careless interference. The Ministry's Department of Magical Law Enforcement has informed The Prophet that a warrant for Harry Potter's arrest has been issued. The pending charges include Underage Use of Magic, Apparating Without a License, Obstruction of DMLE Personnel, Lewd and Lascivious Conduct Towards a Minor, and the kidnapping of Miss Oota, who remains a ward of the Ministry.
It has come to The Prophet's attention that the young Miss Oota is not your average eight-year-old witch. She is reported to be a half-breed, although nobody has been able to explain exactly what her breeding is, given the fact that she is an orphan born outside of Britain.
After the attack, Mr. Potter was spotted in The Leaky Cauldron romantically embracing the Oota girl, and was later seen strolling Diagon Alley with his appallingly young girlfriend in his arms. This reporter must question the integrity of 'The Boy Who Lived,' and doubts the general opinion of him being 'The Chosen One' at all if he can so easily flaunt Wizarding law, obstruct the duties of our Ministry protectors, and take up romantically with half-breed children.
For the list of underage witches Harry Potter has been romantically linked to, see section 2. For the article on Harry Potter's penchant for Asian witches, see pages three to five. For the reprint of Potter/Krum/Granger love triangle story, see section 3A. For the editorial on Harry Potter's apparent lust for small children, see section 3B.
Harry's eyes burned with rage as he read the front-page article. Hermione and Ron were reading along with him silently. He turned to Ben and asked coldly, "Is this true… about the warrant? They're going to arrest me?"
When Ben nodded, Ron spoke up, "When I was waiting for you at the Ministry, there were a load of DMLE people milling about the Atrium, and I saw Dolores Umbridge with a squad of hit-wizards hiding near the lifts. It looked like they were waiting for you."
"And what's with then taking the angle of me being 'romantically involved' with a ten-year-old girl?" Harry muttered angrily, "They didn't even get her age right, and I'm not romantically involved with anyone!"
The eyes of nearly everyone in the room flicked towards Hermione, including Ron's. Hermione's eyes hardened as her gaze dropped to the stacks of letters on the Headmistress's desk, although Ron did catch the slight flush of pink that graced her cheeks.
Hermione's breath hitched as the saw two envelopes in the center of the desk, one had her name upon it, and the other had Ron's. A flicker of concern crossed her face when she discovered, after a quick scan with her keenly observant eyes, that Harry's letter was either buried in the stacks, or not there at all.
Not noticing that the attention drifted to his best friend, Harry continued to rant, "And what's this about there being only half-bloods and muggle-borns there? Surely there must have been at least one pureblood orphan in that place?"
"Of course not," came the immediate reply from Dedalus Diggle, who was standing between Ben and Remus, "When a pureblood child's parents die, they're automatically placed into another pureblood family. It's been like that for…"
Diggle was silenced by a sharp elbow jab from Remus while Hermione buried her face in her hands, knowing that was probably not the best thing to say to Harry.
Predictably, Harry's face tinged red as his anger grew. He looked around at the witches and wizards in the room and asked savagely, "Have any of you ever been inside of that orphanage?"
The people all glanced nervously at each other as Diggle mumbled something about the children being well taken care of. Ben knew exactly what was coming next. Truthfully, that morning was the first time that he, himself, had ever been in the place.
"That 'orphanage' is a ruddy dump!" yelled Harry, "The kids sleep on cots that appear to be held together with spell-o-tape, most of the furniture became unserviceable a hundred years ago, about the time that that building should have been condemned, and they all wear filthy clothes that make my cousin's hand-me-downs look like the Minister's dress robes."
Harry looked back to Ben, "Where are the other survivors now? I know they can't be placed back in that outhouse they call an orphanage, seeing how the director's dead…"
Ben looked as if he were going to be ill as he answered, "They're at the Ministry."
The furnace that was Harry's anger burned hotter when he noticed Ben's reluctance to answer, so he prodded through gritted teeth, "Exactly where in the Ministry are they?"
"Well, they're in the holding cells, for now…" he answered quietly before hastily adding, "only until a new director can be hired."
Hermione and Ron covered their ears, knowing exactly what was coming.
"They're in jail?" seethed Harry incredulously, not disappointing Ron and Hermione at all, "Those bastards took those kids and put them in jail?"
"Well, where are they supposed to keep them?" defended Ben, "It's not like they can be put up unsupervised in a muggle hotel."
"How about 'automatically' placing them in someone's home?" he turned to Molly Weasley and without losing any of the ire in his tone, yelled, "Weren't you the one that told me that there were dozens of Wizarding families that offered to take me in? That you offered to take me in? Me, the orphaned half-blood? Was it just because I'm the oh-so-famous 'Boy Who Lived?' Was that the only reason the other families were willing to take me, too?"
Molly had her eyes closed while Arthur softly rubbed her back as she tearfully answered, "Of course not! We knew James and Lily and…"
Harry wasn't listening as he continued his protest, "Is that what's going to happen to Kotone? Would she be shoved in a cell until the Ministry decides to throw her back into squalor? I'm telling you now, that's not going to happen. I promised her that I'd protect her, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."
When Harry finished, he was breathing hard as he glared at the people in the room. When Hermione placed a comforting hand softly on his arm, he turned his angry glare on her, which only lasted a heartbeat before it diminished into a simple frown.
McGonagall took that opportunity to change the subject, although she knew it would only be temporary, "We're here to discuss the future of Hogwarts. Due to current circumstances, the decision has been made by the Board of Directors for the school's re-opening, only under certain conditions, which have obviously been dictated by the Ministry."
McGonagall took the two letters that Hermione had noticed from the top of the desk, "Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger…" she said as she handed them each their respective envelopes.
Ron took his and opened it immediately, while Hermione held hers in both hands, just looking at her name spelled out in the customary emerald-green ink.
Ron let out a gasp and the room heard his muttered, "Bloody Hell," as he held up a badge that was emblazoned, in red and gold, with the capital letter 'H' over the Hogwarts seal, along with a second crimson and gold badge with the capital letter 'C'. Molly let out a sob as she whispered, "Another Head Boy in the family… and Quidditch captain!"
With trembling hands, Hermione tried to open hers', but was having a rather difficult time, assuming what was contained within.
Barely concealing the scowl that still threatened to mask his face, Harry impatiently snatched the envelope from her quivering hands and opened it. He slid out the Head Girl badge and unceremoniously pinned it to her sweatshirt and said with only a hint of jealously, "Congratulations, you two, well done."
Hermione only just started to breathe again as she wrapped Harry in a fierce hug, causing most of the people in the room to surreptitiously smile to themselves as they recalled the 'not romantically involved with anyone' statement that was made by Harry minutes before. She let out a small 'squeak' as she realized what she was doing and released Harry immediately, then touched the badge that he had pinned on her with the tips of her fingers, hardly believing that she was actually appointed Head Girl, especially while knowing that they actually were returning to Hogwarts for their final year. The quivering smile that was on her lips disappeared as she realized that Harry wasn't handed a letter at all, nor did she see it on the Headmistress's desk.
Hermione's gaze snapped to McGonagall's face and she asked, "Professor, what about Harry?"
McGonagall looked into Harry's face, which was still lined in poorly concealed anger, and she sighed deeply. She glanced at Dumbledore's portrait, which, by this time, was awake and focused on the proceedings along with all the other portraits hung around the room. Dumbledore gave her a smile and a slight nod.
"I'm afraid that one of the Governors' 'conditions' for reopening Hogwarts was that 'Harry Potter' would not be taken back as a student this year."
Hermione just blinked a few times as Ron's mouth dropped wordlessly open. In one fluid motion, Hermione roughly pulled the badge from her sweatshirt, ripping the material in the process, and without a second thought, carelessly tossed it on top of McGonagall's desk.
Ron looked sadly down at the pair of badges in his own hands, and despite the gasp of protest from his mother, he gently laid them down next to Hermione's Head Girl badge and rested his hand on top of them, for only a moment, before he withdrew his hand and firmly said, "If Harry's not here, neither are we."
Harry's heart lodged in his throat as he watched them return the badges. He knew what his friends were giving up, and that hurt him worse than anything the Ministry could dish out to him personally.
"Right, then…we'll be off," stated Harry coldly as the trio turned and began walking towards the door.
They hadn't gone two steps when McGonagall's voice rang out, "Potter… Harry… We're not done here."
The use of his first name surprised him enough to halt him in his tracks. He turned around to face the Headmistress, but said nothing.
"As I had said, 'Harry Potter' would not be taken back as a student. I didn't say that you wouldn't be coming back, that is, if you agree to the proposal that Albus and I have come up with."
Harry stared back confusedly for a moment before coolly saying, "Alright, let's hear it."
"The only position I haven't been able to fill this year is the professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts. If this position isn't filled before August first, the Board of Governors will allow Dolores Umbridge back into that position. In light of the recent events, Albus and I have come up with a possible solution. Since the Ministry seems bent on taking you out of the picture, we believe that 'Harry Potter' will have to disappear."
McGonagall opened a drawer, pulled out a sheet of parchment, and held it out to Harry. He stepped to the desk and took it from her hand. It was an offer of employment for a Mister Harold Buck to the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Harry set the parchment down on the desk and shrugged while saying, "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I don't know him."
"I believe that you do, Mr. Buck."
Harry glanced behind him, looking for this 'Mr. Buck' she was referring to. All he saw there was Ron, looking confused, and Hermione, whose eyes were wide and she had her hand placed over her open mouth. It was then he realized that she was addressing him as this Mr. Buck.
He turned back to McGonagall and said, "That will never work. Everyone knows me."
"We can change your appearance," she simply answered.
Remembering the taste of the wretched potion from his second year, he grimaced while saying, "There's no way I'm drinking Polyjuice every hour of every day for an entire school year."
"Polyjuice is used for impersonating another, all we need to do is change what you look like, and not have you copy someone else's appearance."
McGonagall stood from her desk and drew her wand. She pointed it at Harry and muttered a long string of Latin. Everyone in the room watched as Harry transformed before their eyes. He grew from his former five-foot-ten frame to an even six feet, making his shirt and trousers comically small. His shoulders broadened and his facial features shifted. His mouth widened, his nose became more angled and his cheekbones became more defined. Even his scar had become almost invisible, only able to be detected upon a very close inspection of his forehead.
When McGonagall finished and studied her transfiguration handiwork, a surprised expression crossed her face, "That's odd, his hair and eyes were supposed to change."
Sure enough, his hair remained just as black and shaggy as ever, and his eyes were still the vivid, dark green, but even with that, nobody would mistake the person standing there for Harry Potter.
McGonagall handed Harry a mirror. He studied his features for a moment, seeing that he looked, not only quite a bit older, but also quite average, not extraordinarily handsome, but certainly not homely, either.
He placed the mirror down on the desk and said, "Okay, so I'm disguised… now what…"
"Oh, that will never do," interrupted McGonagall, "We have to change your voice, too." With another wave of her wand, Harry felt a mild tingling in his throat.
"Better?" he asked, and surprising himself as he heard himself speak with a voice much deeper than his own.
"Right, now what makes you believe I can teach an entire year of classes that I haven't even finished taking myself?"
Everyone in the room laughed, except for McGonagall, who just wore an amused smirk. Hermione spoke up, saying, "Harry, you were the one who taught the entire D.A. the year before last." She briefly sent Lupin an apologetic glance as she continued, "We learned more from you about Defense in the D.A. than in any class we've ever had. You were the reason that none of the students were killed when the Death Eaters were here inside of Hogwarts. I've read through the seventh year textbook, and you already know most of the NEWT-level spells, and if you let me, I'd be happy to help you prepare for your classes."
Before he could protest further, McGonagall spoke, "Harry, Albus here has told me a little about what you plan to do. While I don't know everything, he has suggested that you be given as much leeway as possible during the year. You'll have the ability to adjust your class schedule to allow for any time off that you'll need, and allow the Heads to accompany you if you so desire. In addition, I'll ensure that the other professors make time available to give you private NEWT level tutoring in whatever subjects you feel you need. I'm afraid that this is the best we can do for you."
Harry picked up the mirror again and looked at himself, "Is this permanent?" he asked, referring to his appearance.
"The transfiguration should last about a month, at which time I'd have to do it again. So what do you say, Mr. Buck?"
Harry placed the mirror back on McGonagall's desk, and then picked up the three badges resting there. With a determined expression, he nodded to her, saying, "That's Professor Buck, Ma'am. He turned and handed Ron's badges to him. Hermione proudly beamed at him as he drew his wand, quickly repaired her torn sweatshirt and then pinned her badge back where it belonged.
When Harry turned back to face McGonagall, he was met with a brief flicker of one of her extremely rare smiles before her usual stern expression returned, "Now, about Miss Oota…"
"What about her? She's going to be staying with us until the term starts."
"Are you sure that's wise?" asked McGonagall.
"I promised her that I'd take care of her," said Harry crossly, "There's no possible way that I would allow her to go back into the Ministry's hands."
McGonagall sighed and said, "Then maybe it would be best if she stays here until September."
Harry didn't even have to think about it, "She's staying with us, and that's final. I can't tell you where we'll be, but I know we'll be safe until the term starts, and I'll be sure to return here beforehand to renew this disguise."
Many of the order members started muttering amongst themselves. Lupin looked as if he were about to say something, but just hung his head and remained silent.
"Harry, what do you know about taking care of children?" asked molly timidly, still feeling the embarrassment from Harry's stern words.
He let out a short, bitter laugh before stating, "I'll just think of what my uncle Vernon would do, and then do just the opposite. Besides, she's ten years old, it's not like she's a baby."
Harry then looked back to McGonagall, "Would it be alright if we spent the night here. I want to be around when Kotone wakes up, I'm sure she'll be scared finding herself in a strange place."
"Of course, I'll have an elf show you to your quarters, and Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley to the Heads' common room."
"One more thing," said Harry, "I'd like the opportunity to discuss something with Professor Dumbledore's portrait at some point tomorrow, if that's alright with you, that is."
McGonagall nodded and summoned a house-elf to escort them to their respective rooms. When the door had closed, the room burst into loud conversations as McGonagall turned and looked at Dumbledore's portrait.
"Everything will be fine, Minerva," said Dumbledore's image, "We knew the Minister was going to pull something like this, and we had to find a way to ensure Harry's return here."
McGonagall just nodded grimly to the portrait, then collected up the letters from her desk and handed them to a house-elf to bring to the owlry for delivery. She looked sadly at the single stack of five letters that remained on the desk.
The top letter was addressed: Mr. Barnabas Windon, Room 6, Haversham's Home for Unwanted and Wayward Wizarding Waifs.
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