Harry left Dumbledore's office, wondering what he should do before lunchtime when the announcements would be made. Ahhh, there was one set of plans that he could work on. And Bill had mentioned wanting to speak to him. He took out his wand. Point me Bill Weasley.
Harry found Bill outside watching Hagrid talking to some students who were probably working on preparing for their exams.
"Hello, Bill. You mentioned you wanted to see me."
Bill Weasley pointed toward the lake and said, "Yes, let's go for a short walk." As they walked toward the lake, Harry saw Bill glancing around to make sure they were alone. Harry pulled out his wand and cast a Muffliato. "As I can see that you want this to remain private, the spell I used will cause anyone and anything else to hear a buzzing noise. We are completely private."
"Handy spell that. You'll have to teach me that one. I have been asked, as an employee of Gringott's, to find out any information about what happened last night. I was also asked to inform you that this information will not be used in any way against you, and that it will be kept completely confidential."
Harry looked at Bill, realizing the enormous potential of this. In the last timeline, he had run afoul of the Goblins' customs, leading to a lot of trouble and having to break into Gringott's Bank. He'd like to avoid that if he could. With that in mind, Harry spent the next half an hour telling Bill about everything.
Bill looked at Harry with a bit of awe. No matter how many stories Ron told of their adventures, hearing one first hand was an eye-opener. At the end Bill could only shake his head. This definitely fell under the letter that he had received.
He took on an official expression. "As an employee of Gringott's Bank, I have been directed to invite you to meet with Director Ragnok of Gringott's Bank at your earliest convenience." Bill's face took on a more normal look and he followed this up with, "I suggest you do this as soon as possible. When the Director of Gringott's says your earliest convenience, what he really means is that the longer you wait, the less happy he will be. So that means, at your EARLIEST convenience, if you understand what I mean. Now, as he has made the request, it isn't an insult if you don't show right up. But you want to visit as soon after the end of term as possible. Also, you can bring anybody you trust, but don't tell anyone outside of those people. Even Dumbledore or McGonagall."
Harry thought for a moment. "I plan to bring Sirius Black as my godfather and wizarding guardian. I also plan on bringing Hermione Granger as my advisor. She is also, although she doesn't know it yet, my intended." Bill's eyebrows rose. Ginny and his mother were going to be disappointed, but because of the oath he had taken, he couldn't even hint to them the information that he had just received. "The Hogwarts Express leaves on the 30th. I will attempt to visit Gringott's Bank on the 1st of July at 14:00. If there are any problems with that, please have Gringott's contact me. If I have any problems with that, I will inform you as soon as possible. Sometime this week, Sirius will visit Gringott's on my behalf the arrange wards for Hermione's parents' house as it is likely that I will be visiting her for at least the first few weeks of summer. Who should I have him contact?"
Bill thought about it. Even though it wasn't Harry directly, Ragnok would most likely prefer to see him directly if it involved Harry as the goblins seemed very interested in meeting with him. "Have him go to a teller and say: 'On behalf, of Harry James Potter, I request a meeting with Gringott's representative.' By tomorrow morning, I will have informed Ragnok and arrangements will be made. Does that work?"
Harry nodded. He would have to plan on getting Sirius on board with some things, but if he finessed it right, he could get someone else to take care of the horcruxes. He shook Bill's hand and left to go meet up with Hermione in the library. At least the chance of catching the attention of the red-heads was very small.
After spending an enjoyable hour with Hermione in the library, they packed up and went to lunch. Apparently, with the anticipation of the announcements to be made, the whole student body had arrived on time for lunch - a very unusual occurrence for a Sunday. As food arrived, the students assumed the announcements would happen at the end of lunch and started to dig in.
After half an hour, a ting could be heard. Everyone looked to the head table as Professor McGonagall was tapping her glass to get everyone's attention. Headmaster Dumbledore stood up and nodded to her. The students noticed there were several people in addition to the normal professors at the table.
"Hello and thank you Professor McGonagall.
"First I would like to announce the winners of the TriWizard Cup: Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter." Dumbledore indicated them with his hands and the applause around the room grew as both stood up and bowed, and then retook their seats. "Having saved each other in the final task, the two competitors decided to take the Cup together.
"Unfortunately, there was a kidnapping plot that was exposed and the two competitors were whisked away to an undisclosed location. Due to the quick thinking of one of the competitors, the ploy was defeated and two perpetrators were exposed and apprehended by the DMLE.
"Under questioning with Veritaserum, one of the kidnappers was revealed to be Peter Pettigrew. Shortly thereafter, Sirius Black turned himself in to be questioned under Veritaserum as well. Through these means, Sirius Black was exonerated and Peter Pettigrew now resides under the auspices of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Mr. Black," Dumbledore pointed to one of the new people at the table. Gasps could be heard throughout the hall. Dumbledore waited for the hubbub to settle down and continued. "Mr. Black, having been proven guiltless of the crimes of which he was accused and never having received a trial," gasps were heard again, "received a Statement of Exoneration and Declaration of Innocence."
"At that time, Professor Moody was discovered to have been attacked and one of the perpetrators took his place. This person also admitted under Veritaserum that he had entered Mr. Potter's name without any other student or professor being aware of it. Professor Moody was freed and is now recovering. Because of this, further DADA exams, other than OWL and NEWT examinations, as well as classes for Defense Against the Dark Arts have been cancelled for the rest of the term.
"Tonight, after a Feast, the presentation for the TriWizard Tournament will be held. We will expect all students to attend. Thank you."
As soon as he finished, owls by the dozens entered the Great Hall as though they had been being held back beforehand.
Many copies of the Daily Prophet were delivered as well as personal mail. All around the room, students were gathered around to read the headlines:
"SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT! PETER PETTIGREW ALIVE AND IN CUSTODY!"
"DEATH EATER FOUND AT HOGWARTS! HOW MUCH DID DUMBLEDORE KNOW?"
"BONES GETS THE TRUTH, FUDGE COVERS UP!"
"TWO TIE FOR TRIWIZARD! WIN FOR HOGWARTS!"
Harry thought that Rita had done a credible job. He was sure that the news would be the talk of the school for the next few days. No announcement about Voldemort, but did it really matter?
Harry made his way up to Sirius. "Well, after lunch, can I talk to you about some things?"
"Sure, pup. So where are these two pranksters that you talked about?"
Harry turned toward the Gryffindor table. "Oi! Fred and George!" Fred and George looked up from a copy of the Daily Prophet and moved over to him. "I would like to introduce you to my Godfather, Sirius Black, better known to his friends as 'Padfoot'."
George and Fred looked gobsmacked and bowed down on both knees saying "We are not worthy! We are not worthy!"
Professor McGonagall looked on, torn between amusement and downright terror at what the devious duo might learn from a Marauder.
Amelia Bones, another guest at the head table, moved down the table to speak to Harry. "Mr. Potter, the headlines of the Daily Prophet are quite interesting. Did you inform anybody of what happened last night?"
Harry replied straight away, "The only people who knew the details were present last night when it all was happening. I didn't speak about it to anyone else, except one person who is under an Oath of Secrecy." Amelia looked curious as to the identity of the other person, but if they were under a secrecy oath, they could not be responsible.
"Very well. If at all possible, I would like additional information on some of the revelations that occurred. Can we arrange something for after the holiday starts?"
Harry thought about it. "My holiday plans are up in the air, but I could make time the first Monday after the term ends, July 3rd. Does that work?"
Amelia thought about it. She hoped that the blowups would hold till then. With so many revelations being made so quickly, she might not have as much time as she thought. But a week should be sufficient and not overly long. "I will owl you the details soon." Amelia moved off to talk to the others that had been present, trying to find out who had talked and what had been said.
As Harry moved back toward the Gryffindor table, he was accosted by the ferret with his bodyguards of Tweedledee and Tweedledum. "Hey, Potter! Couldn't even get the win without help from a Hufflepuff!" Draco Malfoy smirked at him, and Crabbe and Goyle laughed.
"Well, considering I fought off an acromatula attacking Cedric and it was my idea to take it together, your comments have no meaning. I have no interest in your inbred and juvenile attitude."
Draco snarled at him. "Why you pathetic half-blood!" He went to grab his wand, but all of a sudden a disarming jinx came from an unexpected quarter.
Sirius walked over to Draco and his goons. "As Head of House Black, I will be contacting Head of House Malfoy for the unprovoked attack on my ward by the Scion of House Malfoy. I will expect a formal apology. Please inform your mother, Narcissa Black Malfoy, that her Head of House will expect to be contacted as regards this as well."
Draco, from his position on the floor, looked up at Sirius with wide eyes. This wasn't a professor who was intimidated by his name, but a pureblood Head of an Ancient and Most Noble House who could create many problems for his father and himself. Draco nodded his head and scurried away (just like a ferret, was Harry's thought) with his goons right behind him.
"Pup, I see that I will have to teach you some customary usages. After the paperwork moves through the Ministry, we will have to have some lessons on Pureblood politics."
Harry, not having seen the power of Ancient and Noble Houses in quite this way before, thought that this was a good idea. Potter was, apparently, a name just as old or older than any other and he hadn't taken this into account in his plans. Things might be better than expected.
"Thanks, Sirius. I look forward to the lessons. That toe-rag has made my life hell for 4 years, and I'm getting tired of it."
Sirius nodded his head. Now that he was back in the game, he had to make some plans and handle some family business.
"Sirius, can I talk to you privately for a moment?" Sirius agreed and indicated the door. "Hold on a minute." Harry walked over to where Hermione had been watching from the Gryffindor table. Ron was distracted with the twins and Ginny looking over the Daily Prophet and they didn't see this.
As they moved onto the grounds, Harry brought up the meetings that had been requested. "Sirius, Hermione; I was contacted by a Gringott's representative for a meeting the day after term ends. I was asked to keep this to myself except those that I trusted and wanted to advise me. The two names that I gave were you two. So, do you think if your parents approve my visiting, can we arrange the meeting in Diagon Alley at 2 in the afternoon on the day after term ends?"
Sirius, who knew customs very well, answered with, "Of course, pup. When I go to Gringott's this week I can set the stage."
"The representative of Gringott's mentioned that. When you arrive, go to a teller and say 'On behalf, of Harry James Potter, I request a meeting with Gringott's representative.' It's what I arranged to get things sorted out. Apparently, a very important-level goblin will meet with you. I have a promise that nothing that comes from the meeting will be used against me." Hermione's eyes widened at this; this visit was WAY more important than Harry seemed to be making it. Harry had never really concentrated in History of Magic but she had and she understood the importance of the goblins making the request.
"Harry, are you sure you want me there? Goblins have a lot of customs that you have to be careful of."
Harry nodded, "That's why I want you both there. Sirius knows Pureblood politics and you pay way more attention than me and can advise me much better than if I tried to do it myself. So will you two please come?" Harry hit her with his puppy-dog eyes.
"Only you, Harry Potter," Hermione said while shaking her head. She would never be able to say no when if looked at her like that. "Of course we'll come. When Hedwig gets back with my parents' permission -- they'll never say no to me about a friend visiting -- we'll send them a message so that they won't make other plans for that day for us."
Harry explained that no one other than the two of them were to even know where he was. "That means that Ron can't know I'm at your house, for security reasons. Can you imagine him keeping it to himself?"
Hermione laughed, "Ron couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it; he's almost as bad as Hagrid!" Hermione was enjoying this very much. Harry had shown her that he trusted her much more than their red-headed friend and she couldn't argue the logic. Besides, the way that Ron and Ginny were looking at them made her certain that the less they knew the better. She loved the Weasleys, but they surely complicated things.
Sirius looked to how the two teens interacted and was reminded how well Lily and James interacted (well, in seventh year after James had settled down and stopped being a pain when chasing her).
"Alright, Sirius. I'll talk to you later about these things. Just make sure you wait until at least tomorrow morning for Gringott's to work out the details. Now, Hermione, I decided to take some exams anyway, even though I don't have to. Do you want to help me revise for them?"
Hermione squealed and started dragging him off to the library.
The last week of school flew by. After a ceremony to award the TriWizard Cup and a feast, the business of exams took over the school.
Ron had objected when Harry had told him he was taking the exams anyway, not understanding why he wouldn't take the free pass. Ron didn't know what happened, but Harry seemed less interested in chess and exploding snap and more interested in studying. It was very odd. It was almost like he didn't want to hang out with him unless Hermione was there. It wasn't as much fun as it used to be and he started drifting off to hang out with Seamus and Dean, when he could avoid Hermione pestering him about studying. Neville was dragged along by Harry for the marathon study sessions, although he didn't seem to try that hard to get out of them. His loss, Ron figured. All that stress will get to a body.
Ginny had taken to watching Harry and Hermione to see what was different. Harry seemed more confident and the way that slag seemed to always be with him wasn't very encouraging. He knew they were best friends, but with Ron drifting off and no tournament to concentrate on, she didn't like the possible implications. She'd have to talk to her mother sooner rather than later about snagging the Boy-Who-Lived.
Snape had been surprised to discover that Potter insisted on taking the exams for his class, though he had been offered a chance to avoid them. This Potter that emerged from the maze seemed more arrogant than the one from before the maze, but he also seemed less bothered by things. However, his work was far better than expected and he had shown a number of instincts for potions that he hadn't noticed before. Maybe his near escape had taught him that he couldn't get by on just his fame. Severus Snape would take a wait-and-see attitude. If all else failed, there was always the red-headed idiot and the Longbottom menace to take points from.
Professor McGonagall had been surprised by Harry's new academic fervor. It was rare that an average student such as he had been would make the effort for academic achievement that he had now been making. She saw how he had gravitated toward Ms. Granger rather than Mr. Weasley, and she approved. Maybe he would make something more of himself this next year. That recommendation for prefect was making more and more sense to her.
Professor Dumbledore watched Harry Potter. He seemed less moody and more willing to work. Maybe getting rid of the horcrux in his scar had a greater effect than he had imagined. He would have to get him trained on occlumency and inform him of the prophecy as soon as possible; now that he didn't have to die training would be much more imperative. Ahhh, lemon drops. Always good for a good distraction.
Viktor had wanted to invite Hermione to Bulgaria and possibly work on making a relationship. But after they had talked and he had watched, he saw that she was drawn to Harry Potter. After the tournament, he realized that having the Boy-Who-Lived as a rival REALLY wasn't a good idea Viktor decided there were other fish in the sea. Besides, with Hermione as a friend and pen-pal, if she did end up with Harry Potter, it was a good connection that could help him in the future.
Fleur Delacour had left for home. She might have lost the tournament, but she had met a very interesting man in the form of Bill Weasley. She decided she would take that Gringott's internship.
Luna Lovegood had been shocked. Harry Potter had found her and subscribed to the Quibbler. He and his friend Hermione had then treated her with more friendship than she had experienced in her three years at Hogwarts. The two Gryffindors had sat with her at the Ravenclaw table and when someone had made a comment about her and called her Loony, Harry had stood up for her and called her his friend. Apparently the other Ravenclaws had believed him. Over the next days, the things that she had been missing had turned up unexpectedly, making it unnecessary to spend the final day of term looking for them. Hermione Granger had talked about theories of magic and, even if she didn't seem to believe about nargles and crumple-horned snorkacks, had listened to her and not made fun of her. They had made arrangements to owl each other over the summer. It was nice to have friends.
A/N: I don't write some characters as well as I would like. I'll have to practice so that they will be more realistic later. But I couldn't imagine Harry, who had known Luna and been friends with Neville, not going out of his way to befriend them and help them as soon as possible. Dumbledore is intelligent, but he IS a bit barmy. According to a request in a review, I decided to not do the Dumbledore bashing that I could do, but he will be shown to be more clueless than he thought he was. The Weasleys are starting to notice that something is different. Ron is clueless, Ginny is (currently) conniving and Mrs. Weasley will be SOOOO disappointed in the end.