Harry Potter-McGonagall

witowsmp

Rating: PG13
Genres: Humor, Action & Adventure
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 16/03/2010
Last Updated: 18/05/2011
Status: completed

Sequel to Harry McGonagall. Voldemort's back and Harry's true identity is known.

Chapters

1. A Summer of Change

2. Harry Potter Has Come to Hogwarts

3. Lessons

4. Aperio Animus Navis

5. Melted Fudge

6. The Minister of Magic

7. Voldemort is on the Move

8. Confrontation

9. Epilogue

1. A Summer of Change

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Harry Potter-McGonagall - Chapter 1 - A Summer of Change

A/N: This is the sequel to my story, Harry McGonagall. If you haven't read it, this probably won't make any sense to you.

“Throw down your wand, Potter, or she dies!” Voldemort was holding Hermione Granger hostage, pointing his wand at her throat. “NOW!”

Harry McGonagall's eyes opened and he nearly jumped out of bed. He was soaked in sweat from the nightmare he'd awoken from. He'd been reliving what had happened just a few days earlier, when Voldemort had returned. He wiped the sweat off his brow, pausing to feel the lightning-shaped scar that had re-emerged when Tom Riddle had touched his forehead. Realizing he had an urgent need, he got out of bed and ran to the bathroom.

He was currently staying at McGonagall Manor. After the final task of the Triwizard Tournament and its repercussions, his aunt had decided that it was time for the Hogwarts group to leave France. Classes were over anyway, although the seventh-year Hogwarts students who'd spent most of the year at Beauxbatons had to take their N.E.W.T.s at Hogwarts anyway. However, Aunt Minnie had allowed the sixth-years like Cedric to go home. Harry (as well as fellow champion Cedric Diggory) hadn't had to take final exams, so they didn't even have to worry about their results. Hermione and Brianna had returned to Hogwarts for their final, completely useless week of doing nothing but waiting for test results, so that Minerva wouldn't appear to give too much favoritism. The Headmistress also returned to Hogwarts, but Harry's mother had come to stay with him. After what had happened she'd insisted on seeing her son as soon as possible.

She'd nearly suffocated him with a hug as she cried about how worried she'd been about him. She asked him several times if he truly was alright, which he'd vehemently claimed. Aside from the nightmares, he was, and there was no way he'd talk about them. He'd even started silencing his door, just in case he woke up screaming. She'd commented on his new hair color, but didn't actually say anything about his scar, and he'd caught her trying to not look at it, but it was hard not to notice. She'd started crying when he relayed the thank you that the `shadows' of his birth parents had asked him to pass on, telling him that taking him in hadn't been a burden, that she'd never regretted that. She considered it one of the best decisions she'd ever made.

While Harry was washing his hands, he stared at the mirror, still not used to his new appearance. His new hair color, as well as his scar, did make him look different, but he'd decided to keep both. As he gazed at the lightning bolt on his forehead, he remembered what he was going to do today. Aunt Minnie would be leaving Hogwarts for the morning to take him to the Ministry of Magic so he could finally hear the prophecy he'd learned about four years earlier. He hadn't visited the Department of Mysteries earlier, because he'd have had to reveal his identity. Now that the cat was out of the bag, he had no reason not to listen to the bit of bad poetry that had cost his birth-parents their lives. With that in mind, he walked into the dining room.

“Good morning, Harry,” said Cindy McGonagall, who was already sitting at the table with a plate of pancakes.

“Morning, Mom,” he replied as he sat across from her. Within a few seconds, a plate loaded with pancakes, sausage and eggs appeared in front of him. “I see Blinky is awake,” he commented before picking up his fork.

“She is quite efficient. What time is Aunt Minnie coming?”

“In about a half hour. She figured that the students won't even notice she's gone if she eats breakfast with them.”

“I just hope the newspapers won't find out about the prophecy,” his mother commented, sounding a bit concerned.

“Me, too, but we've got it all worked out,” he answered honestly. “There will be a record of our arrival, of course, but we don't want people knowing we went to the Department of Mysteries. We're only officially admitting my birth name so that the Ministry will recognize my claim to any Potter inheritances. Gringotts already does, but they don't control the Ministry. That's all that most people will know. Our detour to the DoM will be off the record. Unspeakables like it that way, according to Aunt Minnie, so it should work. No one else should find out about the prophecy today.”

With that said, Harry returned to his breakfast. Just as he was finishing up, the floo lit up with green flames, and Minerva McGonagall stepped out of the fireplace. “Good morning, Harry, Cindy,” she said when she caught sight of her grand-nephew. “Are you ready?”

“Good morning, Aunt Minnie,” he replied while putting down his fork. “Yes, I am.”

--HPM--

While waiting in line with his aunt, Harry looked around the atrium of the Ministry, amazed at the size and sheer amount of magic being used around him, yet appalled at a statue that depicted several sentient magical beings, even a Centaur, gazing up at a wizard in respect and awe. He thought to himself that he'd love to see a Ministry employee try to arrest a Centaur and see what the prideful half-horses really thought of most wizards. He found it amusing that a wizard-created and wizard-run government actually believed that other magical beings would acknowledge its sovereignty over them. The Ministry of Magic employees actually were surprised when other races rebelled.

Another thing that appalled him was that the Daily Prophets available for sale proclaimed that he was probably working with You-Know-Who. After all, he'd helped bring the dark wizard to life by giving his blood. He'd brought him back to the tournament, endangering over a thousand lives. Although Hermione claimed she wasn't being bothered at Hogwarts, Padma told him that she was being harassed by half the school for being his girlfriend. He wondered what Draco Malfoy thought of all this, hoping he'd give Hermione an excuse to humiliate him yet again.

When they got close to the front of the line where you checked in, Harry moved a few fingers on his right hand, causing his British wand to come into his hand. Over the last few days, it occurred to him that if he were silenced, he wouldn't be able to summon his wands out of their holsters, so he did some enchanting. Now, in addition to the passwords, if he moved his fingers like Spider-Man did to produce webs, his wands would come into his hands.

“Next,” said the rather bored-looking man at the desk.

“Harry McGonagall,” he replied, since it was his turn.

The man's eyes widened for a moment before flicking up toward his scar. “Yes, Mr. Potter. May I inquire the purpose of your visit?”

“To officially claim my status as the Potter heir. Also, I would prefer to be referred to as Potter-McGonagall, as that family has raised me since I was a baby. The McGonagalls are the only family I've ever known.”

“Of course, sir. May I inspect your wand?”

“Yes.” Harry handed the man his wand, which was confirmed to be holly and phoenix feather, in use for four years. It was then handed back and Harry replaced it in its holster while waiting for his aunt, whose stated purpose was to accompany him, was finished. They then boarded the elevator and rode it to level two, and walked past several Ministry personnel until they came to the Office of Records, a division of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

“Good day,” said the woman behind the desk. She was middle-aged and dressed in purple robes. According to the sign on the desk, her name was Martha Noweetalle.

“Good day to you, Martha,” said Minerva, who was obviously acquainted with her.

“What can I do for you, Headmistress McGonagall?”

“This is my adopted grand-nephew, Harry McGonagall, whose birth name was…”

“Harry James Potter,” Martha concluded.

“Yes.”

“I'd like to register the fact that I am a Potter by birth so that the Ministry won't call me a thief if they catch me with Potter property,” said Harry with a grin.

“Yes, that would be rather a nuisance, wouldn't it?” the woman agreed. “I'll just need to have you fill out this form and sign it with a blood quill.”

“What's that?” asked Harry.

“A blood quill is a device used for signing magically binding forms. Its use is heavily monitored by the Ministry because it is considered a dark but necessary object. It is only allowed to be used to sign official forms that require blood to bind the magic. Using one for any other reason is punishable by no less than five years in Azkaban.”

“Why?” asked Harry.

“It's quite painful as it causes small cuts to appear on your hand when you write with it. They heal quickly, but repeated use, which is considered a particularly sadistic form of torture, can cause scarring. That's why it's illegal to own one or to carry one out of the Ministry building.”

“How painful is it?” he asked. A few minutes later, he found out as he signed in blood, proving that he was in fact Harry Potter. It hurt even worse than when the goblins took a blood sample from him four years before.

Martha looked at him sympathetically as she said, “I'm sorry. I know it hurts, but it was necessary. This should help you feel better.” She opened a drawer and took out a container of essence of murtlap.

A few minutes later, after treating his hand, he and his aunt walked out of that office. Just before they left, Martha assured them that she didn't believe he was a dark wizard. Then they made their way to the much-speculated-about Department of Mysteries.

--HPM--

“Good morning,” said a sallow-skinned wizard with a mournful countenance. He was wearing a black robe with a hood half-obscuring his face and spoke with a monotone voice. “You may call me Bode.” After arriving at the main entrance to the Department of Mysteries, Minerva had knocked on the door. She and Harry had been waiting quietly for ten minutes. Just when the Boy-Who-Lived was about to suggest his aunt knock again, the door opened, revealing this pleasant fellow.

“Hello. I am Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and this is Harry Potter-McGonagall.”

“Ah, yes. The much-speculated-about-Boy-Who-Lived,” Bode replied in the same monotonous voice. “We have long wished to examine you to see how you survived the Killing Curse when you were a baby. We have also learned that you recently survived it again…”

Swallowing a bit in apprehension at the thought of becoming a guinea pig, Harry replied, “That's not why we're here.”

“Pity.”

Minerva said, “We're here because it has come to our attention that Harry is one of the subjects of a prophecy.”

“Oh, yes. Row ninety-seven in the Hall of Prophecy if I'm not mistaken. S.P.T. to A.W.P.B.D. Dark Lord and Harry Potter. Follow me.”

Without another word, he turned and walked back into the door he had emerged from, moving quickly so that Minerva had a hard time keeping up. Harry, who had been exercising regularly for nearly a year, had no problem, but would still admit that Bode was walking very fast. He suspected it was so that they wouldn't get more than a glimpse of the other things in that department. If that were true, he thought it might've been smarter for them to just blindfold people and lead them to their destination, but logic wasn't the way of wizards.

They soon found themselves in the Hall of Prophecies, which was a room with seemingly endless shelves of crystal balls, that he knew were actually thought spheres. Each was labeled with initials of the seer who gave the prophecy and the one it was given to, in addition to the name of the subject or subjects of the prophecy. He briefly wondered if the prophecy Trelawney had given him about Voldemort returning was somewhere in here - whether prophecies were automatically registered or if people had to bring them in. He decided to ask Bode.

“People have to bring them in, of course,” he replied in a monotone voice as they continued making their way toward row ninety-seven. “I wish that the Ministry had wards or spells that went off whenever a prophecy was given and then placed a copy here without human intervention, but that's simply impossible. Someone who hears a prophecy must come to the Ministry and submit the memory of it. We thank them and let them leave. We don't evaluate it in their presence because, for the most part, the hearer of a prophecy is far too biased to interpret it properly. Then, an Unspeakable will watch the memory and decide if it appears to be fraudulent or real. We have several criteria to make such an evaluation. If it seems genuine, then it will be placed into a thought sphere and sorted here.” He stopped walking. “I believe we've arrived at the prophecy about you, Mr. Potter-McGonagall.”

Harry looked where the Unspeakable was indicating and read the label. S.P.T. to A.W.P.B.D. Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter. After taking a deep breath, he picked it up and held it in front of him. Bode instructed him how to play the message and walked out of hearing range.

“The prophecy isn't about me, is it? So, it's really none of my business,” he explained.

“I'll leave also, if you'd like,” volunteered Minerva.

“I'd like you to stay, Aunt Minnie.”

“Thank you, Harry.”

The subject of that prophecy activated the orb. The image of Trelawney formed above it and said in an other-worldly voice:

“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches....Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for the Dark Lord can't live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.”

The two McGonagalls stood there in silence for about five minutes before Harry finally exclaimed, “That's it? That's all? Talk about vague! How is that supposed to help me?!”

“I must admit I was hoping for more, myself,” agreed Minerva, sounding disappointed. “Vanquish could mean what happened in 1981 or it could mean completely killing him off at some future date. That is assuming that the Dark Lord really is You-Know-Who. How do we know it isn't an Australian Dark Wizard that will arise in a hundred years?” She took a deep breath. “This does nothing to dissuade my opinion on Divination being a wooly discipline.”

“Here's a question. Will having this prophecy help Voldemort at all?” asked Harry.

After flinching slightly at the Dark Lord's name, she replied, “I can't honestly answer that, Harry. If it is true and has been interpreted correctly, then it could mean that You-Know-Who can't be killed by anyone except you. That could make him bolder.”

“Which could get him beaten much more quickly if the prophecy isn't true,” supplied Harry. “But if it is true, he must never learn it. Otherwise, he'll hurt and kill even more people.” He then motioned for Bode to join them.

“You have heard the prophecy?” he asked.

“Yes,” Minerva replied.

“Then you may put it back.”

“I'd rather not,” said Harry. “If Voldemort were to listen to this, we believe he would become bolder and kill even more innocent people.”

“I take it the prophecy doesn't contain good news, then?”

“Not really,” answered Minerva.

“If that much is at stake,” Bode replied, still in his monotone voice, “we could switch it with a different prophecy. That way, if You-Know-Who somehow comes to retrieve it; he'll lose his power of speech and think he's a teapot for awhile.” The other two laughed. “Unfortunately, that curse isn't permanent, but it will be a good shock to him.”

“Excellent,” replied Harry as he imagined Death Eaters dragging their lord back to their lair while he was standing with his arms in the positions for, “I'm a little teapot, short and stout…”

“Then let's do it.” He pointed his wand at the shelf and a different orb moved into the correct position. Harry placed his prophecy into the newly vacated spot. “The subjects of this prophecy are already dead, but since it was never fulfilled, it's still active.”

“By the way,” said Harry, “I heard a prophecy that I believe was fulfilled just a few days ago.”

“Really?” Bode asked, actually sounding mildly interested. “May I have a copy of your memory of it?” Harry then supplied his memory of Trelawney telling him and Hermione how the Dark Lord would return with his servant's help on the day he took his third year final exams. After that, Bode bid them a good day before they left to return to McGonagall Manor.

--HPM--

“That's it?” said Cindy McGonagall after she was told the prophecy. `Power the Dark Lord knows not?' That could mean anything. A type of gun he's not familiar with. A spell he doesn't know. Anything!”

“Dumbledore has frequently spoken of the power of love. I wonder if that's what he believes it is,” added Minerva.

“So I should walk up to Voldemort and snog him? Is that Dumbledore's plan? I think I'll stick with snogging Hermione; thank you very much.”

“He already encountered a power he didn't know in Godric's Hollow,” said Cindy. “…which leads more credence to the theory that it's already fulfilled.”

“Whether or not the prophecy's fulfilled or is actually real doesn't even matter,” said Harry. “Voldemort will keep coming after me until one of us kills the other, so I need to be ready.”

“Which means even more training,” concluded his mother sadly.

--HPM--

A few days later, Harry found himself standing with his mom waiting at Kings Cross Station, in Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He'd told Hermione the prophecy over their mirrors, and her reaction was remarkably similar to his mother's. The prophecy was completely worthless because it was too vague to be of any use. It contained no advice, no hints, nothing of value.

Cindy and Harry were there to pick up Brianna and Hermione. The latter had gotten her parents to allow her to spend the evening with the McGonagalls, who would then return her to the Granger residence. They would be visiting a house that belonged to Sirius Black. Although he was still in America, he had allowed the Order of the Phoenix to use the residence. It was then put under the Fidelius Charm, with Aunt Minnie as the secret-keeper. She had been reluctant to let Severus Snape know the secret, but Albus insisted that it was vital. After she'd discussed it with Sirius, they decided to let him know the address, mainly because Padfoot didn't care if Snape destroyed the house. After that, Dumbledore himself went through the house checking for cursed objects and to make sure it was safe.

“There you are!” exclaimed Brianna from a distance away. Harry looked to see his sister walking side-by-side with his girlfriend.

“Hey, Brianna,” he said when she got there first and gave him a hug. “Hello, Hermione,” he said when he let go of his sister.

“Hi, Harry,” she replied before pulling him into a kiss.

“Get a room,” suggested Brianna.

“I'd prefer if they didn't,” said Cindy. “It's good to see you again, Brianna.” She then hugged her daughter tightly.

--HPM--

“WHO DARES DISTURB THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS?! MUGGLES, MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD-TRAITORS, ALL…”

“Who is that?” asked Harry while covering his ears. He, Brianna, Hermione, Cindy and Minerva had just entered Number Twelve Grimmauld place. His aunt had told him the secret about a minute before when she met them outside the house.

“Just a despicable painting,” answered Aunt Minnie, who pointed at a portrait with curtains hung about it. His eyes widened when he saw that the black curtains were being closed over the painting by none other than Severus Snape. Their eyes met as the portrait quieted. Harry would've bet that the look in his former professor's eyes would've killed a basilisk.

“I should've known it was the son of James Potter who would disgrace me as you did - daring to lie about my ability to teach potions and costing me my job.”

“You're the one who disgraced yourself, but I'll be glad to take the credit for it,” Harry replied with a smirk. Something about that greasy man dressed in all black got under his skin. No matter which side of the war he was on, Harry still hated Snape. His companions were trying to get him to remain silent, but he ignored them.

“I see you've colored your hair like your father, and are now proudly displaying your scar for the world to see. You're just like James Potter, arrogantly strutting around…”

“Then I take it he was your role model as well,” interrupted Harry. “Because I've never seen anyone strut around as arrogantly as you. You're nothing but a Death Eater who weaseled his way out of Azkaban by betraying his friends, yet you act like…”

“That's quite enough. Both of you.” They both turned to see none other than Albus Dumbledore, wearing light purple robes, watching them. His hand still hadn't healed, and he did not seem to have a twinkle in his eyes. “May I remind you all that we are on the same side here, and that the past is the past.”

“That boy…”

“Was quite correct to complain about your teaching methods,” interrupted Albus amicably. “Let's face it, Severus. You never enjoyed teaching and made sure your pupils didn't enjoy learning. I should've realized it myself. You must admit that you much prefer your current circumstances.” Harry then remembered that Snape was now brewing potions to be sold at an apothecary.”

Glaring at Harry, he replied, “I do prefer brewing potions to teaching dunderheads, and make far more galleons, so I did win after all.”

“And for the first time in over ten years, Potions is actually taught at Hogwarts,” Harry couldn't resist adding with a smile.

“Enough of this bickering,” said Dumbledore. “This fighting amongst ourselves is exactly what Voldemort wants. Severus, Minerva, we have a meeting to attend. The rest of you may make yourselves comfortable. Dinner will be ready shortly after the meeting adjourns. One of our Order members, Mrs. Molly Weasley, is an excellent cook. Good day.”

As they were leaving for the meeting, Minerva commented, “I believe there is a library on the second floor, Hermione. Perhaps you would like to wait there.”

Harry couldn't help but grin at the excited look in his girlfriend's eyes as she immediately headed for the stairs. At a much slower pace, he followed her while noticing his sister and mother walking off in another direction.

As he took his first step onto the staircase, he noticed a rather old and ugly house elf walking around, muttering, “Now even muggles are infesting the house of Black. The long-bearded half-blood thief stealing from Master Regulus wasn't enough. Mudbloods wasn't enough. Now even muggles is walking free in the House of Black. They is belonging in the dungeons where they is being punished by my Mistress and her husband. Oh, how mad they'd be if they was knowing…”

Harry briefly wondered what the elf was on about, until he nearly fell over as none other than Fred and George Weasley appeared in front of him with two loud pops.

“Hello, Harry,” said Fred.

“Thought we heard you down here,” said George.

“Telling off the greasy git,” they said together.

“What are you doing here?” asked Harry once his heart started beating at a normal pace.

“Our parents are in the Order,” said Fred.

“So the family is staying here until better wards are put up at the Burrow,” said George.

“Our house,” they finished together.

“Ginny and Ron are here, too,” said Fred.

“So, which would you prefer, following your girlfriend to the library,” said George.

“Or listening in on the Order meeting with us?”

Harry blinked a few times as he processed what they'd said. He still wasn't used to twin-speech. “Listening in?”

“Yes, young one. We have invented devices we like to call Extendable Ears,” explained George.

And so, a few minutes later, Harry found himself standing atop a staircase with the four youngest Weasleys, listening in on a top secret meeting.

“Of course the writer of those articles is Rita Skeeter,” said Dumbledore. “With how badly she disgraced her reputation a few years ago in the Lockhart matter, she cannot use her real name because no one believes her. Therefore her editor lets her use a quill name.

“Instead of making sure she never writes again,” added Molly Weasley.

“Truthful or not,” said Arthur Weasley, “Her articles sell a lot of newspapers.”

“Who cares whether that brat's reputation is ruined or not,” sneered Severus Snape. “It serves him right for publicly ruining my reputation.”

“You ruined your own reputation, Severus!” shouted Minerva McGonagall. “Never in all my years have I seen a more unprofessional teacher than you!”

“That boy, with your help, cost us a huge advantage in this war,” countered Snape. “Instead of spying at Hogwarts hearing useful information, I am reduced to brewing potions for the Dark Lord. I would've been much closer to his inner circle if you'd not interfered.”

“It was your own childish attitude that interfered,” countered Minerva.

“Enough,” Dumbledore loudly exclaimed. “Let us move onto the next order of business - guarding the prophecy.”

“Harry has already seen it,” said Minerva, “and a trap has been set for You-Know-Who if he dares to take it. He's the only one beside Harry who could retrieve it. An Unspeakable told us that only the subjects of prophecies can remove them from the shelf.”

“No doubt his ego has grown even more after hearing it,” sneered Snape.

“Enough, Severus,” interrupted Dumbledore. “Minerva, it is good news that a trap has been set. Therefore, I see no reason to waste our precious few resources guarding it. The next item on our agenda is…”

“What are you doing?” asked Hermione, who was glaring at her boyfriend and four Weasleys while holding a book in her hands. “You're spying on that meeting, aren't you?”

“Hi, Hermione,” said Ron, who appeared a bit nervous around her. She, however, was completely ignoring everyone but her boyfriend.

“How else will I learn anything?” asked Harry innocently.

“There's a prophecy about you, Harry?” asked Ginny, who seemed to be looking at him in a way she never had before. She seemed to especially like his scar because she kept glancing at it.

“It's nothing, really,” said Harry. “A load of rubbish Trelawney made up when Dumbledore was interviewing her for her job. You know how she is.”

“Yeah, she is full of rubbish,” Ron agreed.

“They talked about the prophecy?” asked Hermione.

“Yeah. Not what it said, but about guarding it,” said one of the Twins.

“That's ridiculous,” said Hermione.

“I know. Aunt Minnie talked him out of it,” said the Boy-Who-Lived.

“What does it say, Harry?” asked Ginny in a manner that was unmistakably flirtatious. He noticed Hermione frown.

“Nothing important, just that I'd have the power to kick Voldemort's…”

“Harry, language!” interrupted Hermione.

“Butt. I was gonna say butt.”

“Wow,” replied Ginny in almost reverence.

“It was probably already fulfilled the night my birth-parents died, anyway. In any case, I'd rather not talk about it.” Wanting to change the subject, he noticed the large tome his girlfriend was carrying. “What's that book you're holding?”

“You shouldn't have been spying,” she said blandly, however her facial expression changed quickly to excited, “but I did want to talk to you about this. I found the book C.A.R.E. has been looking for.”

“What?” asked Harry, hardly daring to believe it.

“That book that contains the House Elf Contract.”

--HPM--

Shortly after that, the Order Meeting ended, and dinner was served. Molly Weasley's cooking was good, but somehow he preferred his own mother's. Ron Weasley displayed his usual table manners, practically eating his plate as he shoved mouthful after mouthful of mashed potatoes and roast beef into the black hole he called his mouth. His mother tried correcting him many times, but nothing could dissuade him from convincing everyone at the table that he was part swine.

When the meal was finished, the McGonagalls and Hermione left for Aunt Minnie's mansion, where Hermione was able to happily read through the book she'd found. After she'd studied it for a few hours, reading a full account of the war that wizards had forced on the peaceful elves until they were thoroughly defeated and forced into their servant contract, she was anxious to discuss it.

“It would seem at first glance that the contract the elves were forced to sign is air-tight, without any loopholes. However, I there is one possible way to free them all. Tell me if you agree. Here's the way it's worded.

`We, the English elves, in order to end the hostilities between us and the English wizards, hereby pledge the complete servitude of ourselves and all our descendants forever to the following families until they free us by giving us clothes directly from their hand:…'

“What's left is a list of names designating which elves belong to which families. Do any of you see the loophole?”

“I don't,” replied Aunt Minnie.

“Neither do I,” agreed Cindy.

“It says hostilities instead of war,” pointed out Brianna. “Is that what you're talking about?”

“Exactly,” replied Hermione.

“Hostilities could mean a lot more than just war,” said Harry excitedly. “Hermione, you're a genius!”

“Every time any wizard has so much as spit at an elf could be counted as hostility,” said Minerva in awe.

“It could even be interpreted to mean yelling at elves,” said Hermione. “And that part of the contract doesn't even specify that it has to be a particular wizard being hostile to a particular elf. If any English wizard has ever been hostile toward an English elf since this contract was signed, which we know has happened more times than we could count, then the contract is null and void, so the magical consequences of elves breaking the contract no longer exist. They can all leave their masters today!”

“If only we could convince them of that,” added Harry.

“Hmm,” said Hermione as she bit her bottom lip. “That could be a problem.”

“Yeah,” agreed Brianna. “The elves that get confiscated by the Ministry because of abuse simply end up with different, non-abusive owners.”

Aunt Minnie added, “They accept that because they're still serving a family, as they believe is right and proper.”

“What would probably be best for them is to somehow convince them to accept wages for their services so that they continue acting as butlers and maids if they wish, but can leave anytime they want.”

“Begging your pardon,” said Blinky, the McGonagall family elf. She looked nervous to be interrupting, but Harry took it as a good sign that she'd interrupted at all.

“Yes, Blinky?” said Minerva.

“But even if the contract is being void, house elves is still being happy as slaves. At least when we is not being abused. We isn't wanting money or freedom.”

“We know, Blinky,” said Harry sympathetically as he got down on one knee so he could look her in the eyes, “even when we try to help. We don't want you to suffer. What could we do to change the minds of elves like you to happily accept proper payment for the wonderful, valuable services you provide?”

“Blinky isn't knowing,” the elf replied, almost seeming on the verge of tears because she couldn't provide an answer.

“That leaves us back at square one,” commented Hermione miserably.

“Not quite,” said Harry. “At least now we know that elves won't suffer any consequences if they do come around.” He sighed. “We should include all of this in the next C.A.R.E. newsletter.”

“Naturally, and we can ask for ideas on how to convince elves to want freedom.”

--HPM--

Shortly after that, everyone went to bed, Hermione sleeping in Brianna's room. The next morning after breakfast Hermione went home (after thoroughly kissing her boyfriend goodbye) and the McGonagalls went to the International airport to floo to America, where they were met by Mark McGonagall, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Of course, the latter two, being wanted fugitives, were disguised as the same people they'd been the previous summer - redheaded brothers named Seth and Ralph Wilder, cousins of the McGonagall family.

By this time, they both had a house of their own, along with their own muggle woodworking business. They would take orders to make literally anything out of wood, but would never let the customers watch them work. What they'd actually do is transfigure wood into whatever shape was needed in a matter of seconds, although they'd pretend it took them a week to do it, so as not to arouse suspicion. That was also the reason that they did have a functioning muggle workshop filled with the proper equipment, kept in a condition that indicated that it was used (not too clean to be believed). They could also fix anything brought to them as well with a simple Reparo. They were quickly earning reputations as master craftsmen. However, they absolutely refused to teach anyone else their techniques and they didn't open other shops, despite the fact that many customers wanted them to do both. They both loved the fact that they could finish all their work for a week in less than an hour with magic and just pretend to be busy the rest of the time. That way, Remus always had plenty of time to deal with his furry little problem each month without calling off sick, as had lost him several muggle jobs in his past. He had finally learned to brew his own wolfsbane under Cindy's firm tutelage, so she no longer had to brew the potion for him.

“Dad, Cousin Seth, Cousin Ralph!” exclaimed Harry as he hugged them each in turn. “I'm glad to see you.”

--HPM--

About an hour later, after stopping off for a quick bite to eat, Harry found himself entering his childhood home for the first time in several months. They'd already worked out what they'd tell their muggle friends about Harry's new look. He'd simply dyed his hair black and was in a car crash that caused his scar. No doubt his magical friends already knew his true identity, as the Triwizard Tournament was an International event, covered by virtually all wizarding newspapers. Harry briefly wondered how that would affect his friendships in America, but realized that those friendships weren't very close anymore since he'd started Hogwarts. Now, he only saw those people a few times a year.

While he was levitating his trunk up the stairs, the doorbell rang. He hurried up to get out of sight in case it was a muggle while his mom declared, “I've got it.”

After he'd carefully placed his trunk on the floor in his room, Harry made his way down the stairs to see the visitor that he found had the attention of every occupant of the house, including Sirius and Remus (who were still in disguise). He gave the visitor his full attention.

It was a woman who appeared in her mid-twenties. She was wearing blue jeans and a colorful t-shirt. What stood out the most about her was probably the fact that her hair was hot pink. Noticing him, she spoke.

“Wotcher, Harry. I'm Tonks, a member of the Order of the Phoenix. I'm also an auror on holiday.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah. I'm here to provide some extra security. Once my holiday's over, others will be taking turns guarding this house, but my job is to make it as secure as possible. It's unlikely that Voldemort will come all the way over here, but it's better to be safe than sorry.” She went on to explain that she would be adding more warding the house than the goblins had done the previous year, including the floo, with everything short of a Fidelius Charm. She also gave them each emergency portkey necklaces to a house nearby that she had put under the Fidelius. Harry's was a silver chain with a tiny golden snitch (non-animated) on it.

The Boy-Who-Lived was quite fascinated by the different wards Tonks put up and watched her do it, taking copious notes so that he'd be able to properly explain them to his girlfriend on their nightly call.

--HPM--

A few days later, Harry got an owl that let him know that the same carnival they'd attended workshops at the previous year was back that summer. However, they had the very same workshops of the year before so Harry didn't plan to attend them again, although he would be using his lifetime pass to enjoy the rides there. He did, however, tell Padma Patil about the offered classes. Her family had been planning to visit the McGonagalls during the summer anyway, so they allowed her to spend the required month there rather than just the planned two weeks.

“Of course I don't have a problem with it,” said Hermione over the mirror when Harry explained that Padma and Parvati would be staying at his house (in the guest room) for two weeks before their parents arrived. He had been worried she might be uncomfortable with him spending more time with the Patil sisters. “I trust both you and Padma, and know Padma will keep her sister in line. I know you won't be doing anything behind my back.” She smiled at him. “Besides, if you do cheat on me, that means you were never really mine to begin with.”

“You know I love you and would never do that, don't you?” he replied.

“Yes, I do. Besides, you'll be calling me every night like usual, right?”

“Of course, Hermione. I could never sleep without talking to you first,” Harry replied, trying to sound romantic.

“I put you sleep, do I,” she replied with a smirk.

“No, um, er, you know what I meant. I…”

“I know. Good night, Harry.”

“Good night, love.”

--HPM--

“Hi, Padma!” said Harry enthusiastically at the airport when she and her sister emerged from the secret area. “It's great to see you!” Their parents would arrive in two weeks, at which time they'd all be staying at a nearby hotel.

“It's good to see you, too, Harry,” his friend replied. “It's hard to believe it's been about eight months since we've seen each other in person. With that scar and hair, it's like you're a different boy. You didn't seem as different talking on a small mirror but now, it's like you've changed a lot. I think you're a bit taller, too.”

“I agree,” said Harry's mother, the only McGonagall to accompany him to the airport. “I noticed that when I saw him in England.”

“He's also gained a bit more muscle, if I'm not mistaken,” said Parvati while eying him up and down. “To think I knew Harry Potter all this time but never knew it.”

“Well, I still am the same person, even if I look a bit different,” he replied uncomfortably.

“I still can't believe Padma didn't tell me,” complained the Patil in Gryffindor.

Harry replied, “She, like my girlfriend Hermione, was sworn to secrecy.” He hoped that reminder might discourage Parvati from making any advances toward him. He'd had enough of that in France.

“But you could trust me with your secrets, too,” replied Parvati flirtatiously.

Wanting to end this conversation quickly, he said, “We'd better get going.”

--HPM--

During the course of the next two weeks, the Patil girls attended the workshops during the day and spent the evenings with the McGonagalls. Parvati did a bit of flirting every few days, but seemed to not really be trying at full force. That might have had something to do with both Brianna and Padma making sure Harry was never alone with her. The night before Hermione arrived, however, the Gryffindor Patil did manage to corner Harry in the kitchen.

“Hello, Harry,” she said as she opened to kitchen door to find Harry looking in the refrigerator for a midnight snack.

He stuck his head out to see that the girl was dressed in a rather short pink sleeveless nightgown that showed most of her legs. He swallowed before replying, “Hi, Parv,” and sticking his head back into the fridge while trying to regain his composure. He heard her step closer to him.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, gently prodding him to the side, before saying, “Mind if I take a look, too?”

“Help yourself,” he replied, pulling his head out and turning toward the door. “I'm not really that hungry.”

“Why are you avoiding me?” she asked before he left.

Sighing, he turned around to face her. “Because you keep flirting with me. I have a girlfriend that I'm very happy with and don't like it when people try to get me to betray her. I do like you as a friend, but if you're going to always try to flirt with me, I can't be in the same room with you. That's how I stayed faithful to Hermione in France, and it's what I'll do here if I have to.”

“But I…”

“Don't deny it, Parv. Please don't insult my intelligence.”

Her expression seemed genuinely repentant. “I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't realize how serious you are about Gr…Hermione.”

“I love her, but that's not the point. The point is that any guy who would cheat on his girlfriend to be with you will cheat on you with the next girl he fancies the moment you're not around. Why on earth would you want that kind of guy?”

“I never thought of it that way before,” she admitted.

“Then you have something new to think about,” he quipped rather harshly. When he saw how hurt she appeared, he said, “I'm sorry I was so harsh. I just want to be very clear with you. I am in love with Hermione Granger; therefore, I am not interested in anyone else.” He took a deep breath. “I won't tell Hermione about your attempts to…gain my attention, but you've got to stop. I'm not going to betray her trust. Besides, if she sees you flirting with me, she'll hex you until your whole body is covered with zits.” He smirked as he said that. “Goodnight, Parvati.”

--HPM--

“Aguamenti!” said Brianna in the magical section of O'Hare. It had been about five minutes since the Grangers had arrived by international floo and Harry had been kissing Hermione since then. The jet of cold water hit both their faces, causing them to separate immediately, both glaring at the culprit.

“Brianna, I'm gonna…” said Harry.

“Gonna what?” she replied with a smirk. “I'll bet Mr. and Mrs. Granger wished they'd done it themselves.” The couple in question did seem pleased with the results of Brianna's spell.

“Well,” said Adam, “You two were getting pretty…er…affectionate.”

“We simply missed each other, Dad,” defended Hermione.

“Fine, just…”

“I just think you're father is forgetting that his daughter is nearly sixteen - not six,” interrupted Marissa. She'd had a long mother-daughter talk with Hermione over the summer about Harry, whom they both expected would become the man Hermione would one day marry. The girl in question had been both embarrassed and informed about many subjects that her mother believed would soon come up between the couple. She never mentioned that conversation with her boyfriend. “By the way, I think your new hair color suits you very well.” She didn't comment on the light scar that was on his forehead. Her daughter had explained the whole situation to her parents, both of whom were pleased he hadn't kept that secret from her, even if he had from just about the rest of the world.

“Thanks,” he replied uneasily, rubbing his hand through his hair. “It's still hard to get used to seeing black hair in a mirror though.”

The Patil parents were also there being hugged by their daughters, who couldn't stop talking about how wonderful the magical workshop they'd been attending was. Padma especially enjoyed the enchanting class while Parvati loved the dueling class. Their parents then introduced themselves to everyone and they decided to stop off at a restaurant together.

The party of twelve (5 McGonagalls, 4 Patils and 3 Grangers) ended up waiting about fifteen minutes while tables were set up together with the kids (although they didn't like being called that) at one end and the adults on the other at the restaurant, where they enjoyed the meal and conversation. It was obvious to everyone that Harry and Hermione had moved their chairs to be next to each other and probably would've preferred to share the same one. Luckily, no one, not even Brianna, commented on that. The Patils and Grangers had both rented cars, and Harry persuaded the Grangers to let him ride with them.

“It's hard getting used to driving on the wrong side of the street,” commented Adam as the `caravan' moved forward.

“I'm sure you'll manage,” replied his wife. “It's not like this is the first time we've been to America.”

“I know,” he replied. “I just wish that one feature was the same everywhere. It would simplify things incredibly.”

In the back of the car, Harry and Hermione were snuggling together more than talking. They'd kept up with each other every day with their mirror-phones, but missed each other's actual presence and were hardly paying attention to anything else. When Mr. Granger noticed this in the rear view mirror, he wasn't sure whether to be pleased or upset. He genuinely liked Harry, although it was hard to get used to his new - apparently genuine - appearance. The only trouble was that he knew he was no longer the most important man in his daughter's life.

--HPM--

The whole group arrived safely at the McGonagall house. Even though the Patils would be staying at a nearby hotel, they had a few hours before they had to check in. Padma almost immediately grabbed Harry and Hermione, saying she had something she wanted to talk with them about, claiming it was `Ravenclaw stuff' when her sister wanted to join.

Once they were alone, the girl said, “I waited until I could show both of you; that's why I didn't tell you, Harry.” She then stood still, concentrated and her body morphed into that of a raven and began flying around her best friends.

Harry chuckled, “I guess that is Ravenclaw business.” After a moment, he added, “That's what we should call you - Ravenclaw.”

“Assigning Marauder names, now?” asked Hermione while Padma changed back into a human.

“Why not?” he asked with a grin. “It's what Cousins Seth and Ralph want. They told me.” Of course, all three of them knew the true identities of those individuals - fugitives Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

“Then we'll call Harry, `Furball,' quipped Padma, causing Hermione to start laughing hysterically at the look on her boyfriend's face.

“Actually,” he said, sounding frustrated, “I was thinking more along the lines of `Claws.'

“Whatever you say, Furball,” replied Padma.

“You do realize that eating birds is in the nature of cats, don't you,” he replied, looking rather put out.

“I'm sorry, Furball. I didn't mean…”

Seeing that this joke was going on a bit too long, and despite the fact she thought it was cute, Hermione interrupted. “What about me?”

“How about, `Gorgeous?'” asked Harry, glad to change the subject and make his girlfriend blush at the same time.

“I'm serious, Harry.”

“Oh? Did you Polyjuice into Hermione, then, Cousin Seth?”

“Harry!”

“Sorry, dear,” he replied, not looking the least bit contrite for his little joke. “How about, `Whiskers?'”

“I suppose that'll do,” said Hermione. “It's harder to come up with these names than you'd think.”

“We could always change them later,” said Padma, “unless we permanently write them on a map or something.”

Shortly after that, the trio left the room, satisfied that now all of them could change form. They soon showed Minerva as well, who expressed great pride in all of them. “You've all achieved a form just in time for me to begin teaching Brianna.” Although Harry had some fears about the kind of pranks his sister would perform as an animal, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

--HPM--

The next major event of the summer was Harry's birthday party, which was now on July 31st instead of the fake date they'd used before. Harry received much Quidditch-related merchandise, some Game Boy games, as well as a few prank items in disguise from the Marauders. They instructed him privately to use them well. It was basically an entire box full of Zonko samples, including dung bombs, joke candy, etc.

Right after the party, Minerva asked to talk to Harry alone. Once they were in the room she was staying at, she said, “I suppose I'll just get to the point. Mr. Dumbledore wants to begin meeting with you in my office approximately once per month for some sort of training.”

His curiosity peaked, he asked, “What kind of training? Powerful spells? Ancient rituals?”

“I'm afraid he was quite tight-lipped about it. I told him I'd relay the message and abide by your wishes.”

He took a deep breath. “I do have some problems with certain decisions he's made, but there's no question that he's quite knowledgeable and powerful.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I suppose I'll try it out, but it had better be worth my time or I'll stop.”

The next month seemed to fly by. Minerva was pleased to personally deliver a prefect badge to Harry, Hermione and Parvati, commenting that Neville Longbottom would be the male Gryffindor prefect. Aunt Minnie did warn the Ravenclaws that if she even suspected they were misusing their position to find extra snogging time, she'd give Hermione's badge to Padma, who was Flitwick's second choice from that house.

She also warned him that Minister Fudge was forcing her to hire one of his lackeys in the Defense Against the Dark Arts position since she couldn't find someone to replace Moody, who'd gone back into retirement, claiming he was too old to be teaching and would be of more use to the Order without a job taking up his time. She told Harry that she believed he would be that person - Delores Umbridge's - main target and she'd try to start trouble with him.

Fudge had decided that the best way to welcome their savior back to Wizarding Britain was with distrust and libel. He'd been misusing his influence with the press in an attempt to turn everyone in the country against him. Harry said he was confident his real friends would stick with him and didn't care what others thought.

The Grangers and Patils left for England in the middle of August, leaving poor Harry with no one to kiss for a few weeks, a fact his little sister teased him about relentlessly until their mom put a stop to it. Harry was very happy when the month ended and he returned to England, at least until he reached Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

--HPM--

Please review. Thank you to those who have.

Yes, I slightly changed the prophecy on purpose. I changed `Neither can live…' to `The Dark Lord can't live…' because Harry McGonagall has lived and will continue living happy and with a family that loves him. Whereas Dumbledore in canon made certain that Harry Potter didn't live; rather he existed miserably with a family that hated him. Even coming to Hogwarts was a mixed blessing and curse because of all the dangers he faced at the `safest place in Britain.'

Also, I don't think Umbridge would've been able to send Dementors across the ocean after Harry, so that incident didn't occur.

-->

2. Harry Potter Has Come to Hogwarts

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Harry Potter-McGonagall - Chapter 2 - Harry Potter Has Come to Hogwarts

Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters was abuzz with activity on the first of September at 10:30 a.m. Many of the students had already arrived and were renewing acquaintances outside the train. It was hard to clearly understand any individual conversation if one were walking through the area because of all the chatter, but all that changed when a certain black-haired, green-eyed teenager with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead entered the platform, followed by his little sister. Everyone stopped talking and began staring at him.

Harry immediately felt uncomfortable. He'd never minded when people watched him playing Quidditch or participating in the tournament, but this was different. “Er, hi, everyone,” he said, not sure if that was the right thing to do or not. “What's wrong?” he asked, although he was fairly certain what the problem was. That seemed to be enough to start everyone talking again.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” “Why did you lie to us all?” “Can I see your scar?” “Can I have your autograph?” These were the few questions Harry was able to understand through all the noise. He even noticed a few camera flashes as he got more and more annoyed. He'd hoped that the entire summer would've been long enough for them to calm down about his true identity. When he heard the question, “Are you really a dark lord?” asked by a seventh-year, he did lose his cool.

He shouted, “What's the matter with you all? Don't any of you do your own thinking, or do you all let the Daily Prophet do it for you? Since when does the public trust their government? The two main reasons I kept my identity secret were security - who knows how many nut-jobs want to kill the Boy-Who-Lived - and because I don't really like being stared at like I am right now. I am still the same person I was before! I'm not giving out autographs or becoming a dark lord!” Without waiting for a response, he marched through the crowd onto the train, pulling his trunk behind him.

Of course, the Hogwarts Express wasn't much better. As he walked past the compartments, making his way to them, many students halted their conversations, choosing to stare at the Boy-Who-Lived instead. “I should've snuck here under my cloak,” he muttered to Brianna, who was right behind him.

“And make me face them again?” she replied. “You weren't there, but Hermione and I were hounded with questions about you for that last week of school.”

They finally found a compartment that had only one occupant - Luna Lovegood. For some reason, she was holding her copy of the Quibbler upside-down and staring at it. “Hello, Luna,” said Harry as he put his trunk up. “It's good to see you.”

“I told you that you wouldn't be you at our next encounter, Harry,” she said calmly without looking away from the magazine.

Harry wasn't sure what to make of that. He'd remembered her saying that and now realized that it could easily apply to his current situation. He had a different name and hair color, in addition to his famous scar having reemerged. “Are you a seer?” he asked.

Before Luna could answer that, the door opened, revealing the person he'd most looked forward to seeing again. “Hermione!” he said as he got up and embraced his girlfriend, before she kissed him soundly.

“It's good to see you, too, love,” she said after they broke apart. “Now, would you be a dear and help me put my trunk up and then we can go to the prefect meeting?”

Before too long, he found himself being dragged by the hand down the train to the meeting by the most excited new prefect since Hogwarts was founded. His girlfriend was chattering about all her new ideas she planned on introducing this year. He sagely advised her, “Don't talk about all your wonderful ideas this meeting. It might overwhelm them. I'd suggest limiting yourself to one suggestion per meeting.” He knew that if she didn't follow that advice, the meeting would last until they reached Hogwarts, and most of the prefects wouldn't like Hermione.

“I'm not sure I should. You know that there are so many things they should change, like…”

“I'm positive,” he interrupted softly. “You know I absolutely adore you, but sometimes if you make too many suggestions at once, it can be a bit…irritating to people who don't know you. Some of them may think you believe you're better than them. I know they'd be wrong, but you want to make a good first impression, don't you?” He did his best to be charming while advising his girlfriend, but wasn't sure if he'd succeeded. He truly didn't want her to feel disliked by her fellow prefects, especially since she'd looked forward to this for years.

She looked mildly embarrassed, with a bit of pink showing on her cheeks. “I'd sound like a bossy know-it-all, wouldn't I?”

“Er…” He wasn't sure if he should agree or disagree.

“You can go ahead and say it,” she reassured him. “I used to be called that all the time.”

“But not by me,” he affirmed.

With a slight grin, she agreed, “No, not by you.” She sighed. “Very well, I'll keep my bossy know-it-all-ness to a minimum.”

“I didn't say…”

“You were protecting me from myself, being a good boyfriend,” she said while they stopped at the door. “For that, I thank you.” She then kissed him briefly. “Let's go in, then, shall we?” she suggested while opening the door to the Prefect's compartment.

They entered to find only a few people had arrived. The Head Boy and Girl, Jason Kelleher and Denise Pogner, were sitting at a large round table, along with a few prefects. “Come in,” the Head Girl said. “You can call me Denise. “If I'm not mistaken, you're Harry Potter-McGonagall and Hermione Granger, the new Ravenclaw prefects.”

“That's right,” the Boy-Who-Lived confirmed. “I'm glad you're using my full last name.”

“That's what it said on my list,” she replied. “Far be it from me to offend the Headmistress' adopted grand-nephew on my first day as Head Girl.”

“I'm Jason,” said the Head Boy, who'd gotten up to shake their hands. While they were greeting the present prefects, the door opened, admitting another fifth-year named Parvati Patil.

“Hi, Parvati,” greeted Harry when he spotted the Gryffindor girl. “How are you and Padma?”

“Alright. The last month hasn't been as exciting as the first, but it was good.”

She was then introduced to everyone in the room, and anyone that entered, including fifth-year Slytherin prefects Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass, not to mention Neville Longbottom from Gryffindor. Once everyone had arrived and settled down at the table, the meeting began.

“Hello, everyone. For those of you that don't know, I'm Jason Kelleher - the Head Boy, and this is Denise Pogner - the Head Girl. Has everyone here read the Prefect Manual?” After everyone nodded, he asked, “Does anyone have a question about anything in it?”

Hermione's hand shot up immediately while Harry stifled his chuckle. Sometimes his girlfriend could be so predictable.

“Yes, Hermione?” asked Denise.

“The rules state that we should escort first-years from the Great Hall to their dorms, but why is it that no one is required to show them the way to their classes? Hogwarts is a very big castle and it's rather easy to get lost during the first week or two. I've made several copies of the maps in Hogwarts, a History and thought it would be a good idea if we passed them out to the first-years.”

“That actually sounds like a good idea,” replied Denise.

Harry's girlfriend then proceeded to pull out a large stack of maps. “I've made sixty copies - fifteen for each house. I thought that should be sufficient.” She divided them up and made sure a fifth-year prefect, some of which commented how useful they'd have been her or his first year, from each house had a stack.

“Any other questions or comments?” asked Jason.

Hermione managed to keep her suggestions to herself for the rest of the meeting, happy that she'd made a good first impression and that her suggestion was accepted. Harry was telling his girlfriend how proud he was of her while they did the first prefect round on the train, mainly to get it over with. They were half-way through the Slytherin section of the train when they heard an all-too-familiar voice. Draco Malfoy was sneering at them with Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle in one of the compartments.

“Nice, ugly scar, Potter.” The other three Slytherins laughed as though that were the funniest joke ever told in the history of the world.

“Nobody asked you, Malfoy, and it's Potter-McGonagall.”

“Whatever. I'll bet you think that scar and black hair make you all special, now, but they don't. Neither does your ridiculous prefect badge. The Dark Lord will make sure you meet the same sticky end as your parents.”

“He hasn't done it, yet, though I do wonder if he knows you're now his official spokesman,” Harry replied.

“Imagine how upset Voldemort would be if he knew little Draco Malfoy was speaking for him,” added Hermione before turning to Harry while the others flinched at the name. “Do make sure to tell Voldemort about that the next time you see him.”

“I will, love. Let's go. See you around, Malfoy. I do hope you give me cause to issue you a detention.”

After they were finished checking the train for troublemakers, the couple made their way back to Luna's compartment on the train, to find that Ginny, Padma and Parvati had joined her.

“I guess it's my turn to patrol, now,” commented the Gryffindor prefect as she got up. “I'll find Neville and see you guys in a little while.”

Harry observed that the only place he and Hermione could sit together was next to Ginny. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but the way the young redhead was looking at him made him very uncomfortable. He took Hermione's hand and sat at the end of the booth, allowing his girlfriend to sit between him and the youngest Weasley. He did notice her frown out of the corner of his eye and sighed. He knew at some point he'd have to address his rival Seeker's crush on Harry Potter, which he was positive she didn't have for Harry McGonagall.

Harry decided to put that problem out of his mind by asking, “What did you all do this summer?” This topic kept them occupied for several hours, especially when Padma (later joined by Parvati) told the others of her time in America at the workshop. Although Harry and Hermione had described it the year before, she had different observations to keep the story interesting to the others. Before he knew it, the train had arrived at Hogsmeade Station.

--HPM--

After a ride on the carriages, where Harry commented on his friends about the difference between knowing thestrals were pulling them and actually seeing the creatures, Harry and his group found themselves sitting in the Great Hall. After the sorting, during which the hat sang a very lengthy song about all the houses uniting (before dividing the students up) and feast, Aunt Minnie got up to make some announcements.

“Everybody, welcome to Hogwarts. As a few reminders to those of you returning, as well as the new students, the forest on the grounds are forbidden to all students. I truly wonder why so many of you seem determined to get yourself killed by the many dangerous creatures residing there. Please believe me; it is dangerous.” She took a deep breath. “As we've had trouble getting professors to fill the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, the Ministry has assigned Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to Cornelius Fudge, to fill the role. Since she never acquired a Defense N.E.W.T, perhaps she could explain her qualifications to us all.”

If glares could kill, the woman who looked more like a toad than a human would've just murdered the Headmistress. Delores Umbridge was squat, with short, curly, mouse-brown hair in which she had placed a horrible pink Alice band that matched the fluffy pink cardigan she wore over her robes, and had the most insincere smile Harry had ever seen. “Hem, hem. While I admire the headmistress' concern that her teachers are qualified, I can assure you that the Ministry would not have sent someone unqualified to perform my very important job here. Unfortunately, my training is top secret, but I assure you, I will complete my assignment.

“Well, it's lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!” Harry glanced around to see none of the faces he could see looked happy. “I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!

“The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction…” The speech seemed to go on for hours before she got to the point where she stated, “Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation…”

By this time, Harry had realized that the basic message the toad-woman was conveying, couched in extremely boring words, was that the Ministry wanted to interfere at Hogwarts. When she was finished, Minerva said, “Thank you, Professor Umbridge. That certainly was illuminating. Now, my last announcement is that Quidditch tryouts will be held next week…”

“It certainly was enlightening to anyone who could stay awake,” agreed Harry.

“Yes, indeed,” said Hermione.

“I think that your aunt telling all of us that Umbridge isn't qualified to teach was brilliant, though,” said Padma. “It will make her task of interfering much more difficult.”

Harry chuckled, “Yes, it will.” While they were talking, Headmistress McGonagall finished her speech and dismissed them. Harry sighed and stood up. “First years, if you'll come here, Hermione Granger and I will lead you to the Ravenclaw dormitory.”

--HPM--

After leading the new students to Ravenclaw Tower with his girlfriend, Harry whispered in her ear, “Hermione, what do you say we slip out and…”

“It's about time you got here,” interrupted Roger Davies.

“Hi, Roger,” said Harry, trying to hide his annoyance with his Quidditch captain. “Was there something you wanted?”

“Yes. You see, as you know, I'm a seventh-year.”

“That explains why you didn't follow us with the Firsties.” Harry may have been trying to hide his annoyance, but he wasn't trying very hard. He wanted some alone-time with Hermione.

“Very funny. Anyway, I'll be graduating at the end of the year, so I thought you, the most likely captain next year, might want to assist me this year to learn what a captain has to do. But if you're more interested in time with your girlfriend…”

“What do you mean? Sean Bradley has been on the team longer. He's…”

“currently a sixth-year, which means he has N.E.W.T.'s next year. Now, while Gryffindor puts seventh-years like Angelina Johnson as captain for the first and last time in their seventh year, in Ravenclaw, we don't. Learning how to properly captain a team takes time, and in seventh-year, you need all the time you can get to study. Besides, it's a waste to spend an entire year learning to be a decent captain only to graduate. We like captains to last at least two years. Therefore, you're the best choice, and I'll tell Flitwick that.”

“So basically, you want more time to study for your tests, so you want me to do half your work?”

“Basically,” he agreed with a grin.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “If I am going to get stuck as captain next year, I might as well learn what I can about it.”

“Good man. Tomorrow, be ready to see Madam Hooch with me at 6:45 so we can reserve the pitch for tryouts.”

Harry groaned at the thought of getting up that early, but nodded. He turned to his girlfriend, “Well, love, I guess we'll have to say goodnight now.”

“Poor Assistant Quidditch Captain,” she giggled. “Good night.” She then gave him a very thorough kiss before breaking it off. “See you in the morning, love.”

--HPM--

Harry did manage to get up on time, so he and Roger managed to book the pitch for that Saturday morning eight a.m. until noon.

“How'd it go?” asked Hermione when he sat next to her at breakfast.

“Alright. We were the first team to reserve the pitch, so we got Saturday morning.”

“Good.”

“I suppose. I got the `honor' of making the flier advertising it to put on the bulletin board of Ravenclaw Tower. I guess I'll do that tonight after dinner.”

“Don't let him take advantage of you,” warned Hermione.

“I'll try not to. You're the only one who can take advantage of me.”

Hermione blushed, but before she could respond, Professor Flitwick interrupted them. “Harry Potter-McGonagall and Hermione Granger, here are your schedules.”

“Thank you,” the couple said together before the petite man walked away. They looked down at their new sheets of parchment to see bad news.

“Oh, no,” said Harry. “First subject today is Defense.”

“Then we'll get it over with first,” replied Hermione.

The rest of breakfast went by swiftly, and before they knew it, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had gathered into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

“Hello, children,” said the hideously toad-like teacher.

When only a few students replied, she made the whole class say, “Good morning, Professor Umbridge,” as though they were in kindergarten. Then she took attendance. “Class, when I call your name, I'd like you to say, `present.' Do not pretend you have a different name. Always respond to your own name and not another. I realize that some students hear might enjoy pretending to be someone they are not, but in this classroom, honesty is always practiced.” During that whole speech, she was staring directly at the Boy-Who-Lived.

Harry managed to keep himself from replying, “Then why don't you honestly tell us your qualifications for this post, and honestly tell us why you're really here?”

The toad then wrote a few things, including her course aims, on the chalkboard before having everyone put away their wands and pull out their books - Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard. The lesson consisted of doing nothing but reading the first chapter, which, Harry mused, proved conclusively to everyone that Umbridge knew nothing about Defense Against the Dark Arts. He found her to be irritating, but by now he could control his temper more than previously.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his girlfriend raise her arm and barely stopped himself from groaning. He, like her, had read several chapters of the ridiculous book before school, but he was trying to keep his head down and not give the Ministry employee an excuse to punish him. It took several minutes for Umbridge to finally give in and asked in her sickeningly sweet voice, “Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?”

“Not about the chapter, no,” said Hermione.

“Well, we're reading just now,” said Umbridge. “If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class.” Harry believed that meant Umbridge didn't want to be stumped with a Defense question in front of the whole class.

“I've got a query about your course aims,” said Hermione.

The `professor' raised her eyebrows. “And your name is - ?”

“Hermione Granger.”

A smile formed on the toad-woman's face. “The same Hermione Granger who has known the whereabouts of Harry Potter for four years but told none of the concerned citizens, nor the Ministry? The muggle-born who enjoyed keeping that secret so she could feel important?”

Harry was now getting upset. Insulting him was one thing. Insulting Hermione was a different matter entirely.

“No, I'm the Hermione Granger who kept her best friend and later boyfriend's confidence, agreeing with him that his secrets were nobody's business.”

“How dare you! Detention tonight at eight o'clock!”

“For what?” she asked. “I merely clarified my identity.”

“For being an insufferable know-it-all who dares to think she has the right to keep secrets from her government!” Umbridge yelled, clearly losing her temper. Harry was getting more upset while Hermione glared back defiantly at Delores. “As far as I'm concerned, you should be sent to Azkaban for treason, you uppity-mudblood whore!”

The whole class was shocked at that outburst. It was easy to see that Umbridge hadn't planned on losing her temper like that, but equally obvious she meant what she said. Harry lost his temper and stood up, while his face was getting redder. “HOW DARE YOU! MY ONLY QUESTION IS IF YOU'VE GOTTEN YOUR DARK MARK YET YOU UGLY, BIGGOTTED B…”

“DETENTION TONIGHT, POTTER! For insubordination! You and your little girlfriend can enjoy the experience together!”

“You're not the first teacher I've run out of Hogwarts,” Harry mumbled to himself as he sat down, planning on contacting his lawyers after his detention.

--HPM--

The rest of the day went normally, giving Harry and Hermione a chance to cool down. “I suppose it was foolish of me to try to ask that foul woman anything,” Hermione commented at dinner, “but you shouldn't have let her get under your skin.”

“I'm not afraid of her,” said Harry. “And I plan to humiliate her in court even worse than we did to Snape.”

“Just don't warn her,” replied Hermione, smiling as she imagined the woman's reputation torn to shreds.

“Of course not. It'll be swift and painful.”

When they finished with their dinner, the couple proceeded to Umbridge's office, where she was already waiting, looking quite cheerful. “Come in, children, and take your punishments.” She indicated two desks that were about as far apart as possible in that office, and on each of them was a scroll of parchment. “You will each write lines. Miss Granger, you will write, `I will remember my place,' in hopes that you'll stop putting yourself above your betters, and Mr. Potter, you will…”

“Potter-McGonagall!” he interrupted.

“I suppose your pretend relationship with the headmistress gives you comfort and makes you forget that you have no family,” Umbridge replied sweetly. “You will write, `I will not tell lies,' in hopes that you will stop claiming to be a McGonagall. Your name is Harry James Potter, no matter what you wish to claim.”

Both students began to reach into their bags to retrieve quills and ink. “You won't need quills. You will use mine.”

Harry's eyes went wide for a moment when he recognized the type of quills the Ministry employee was handing them. `She can't really be that stupid? Does she think we won't tell?'

“You've given us no ink,” said Hermione, who'd never seen a blood quill before.

“You won't need any, dear,” replied the professor.

This confirmed it to Harry, but he had to be positive. He put a dot on his parchment and felt the small cut appear on his hand. In a swift movement, he dropped the quill and released his wand from its holster. “Stupefy!” he shouted, surprising the teacher so she couldn't protect herself.

“Harry!” shouted Hermione. “Why did you…”

“These quills are illegal! I'm getting Aunt Minnie to call the aurors! Watch that piece of Ministry trash! Don't let her wake up!”

“Do you mean they're the blood quills you told me about?”

“Exactly!”

“That foul, loathsome, evil…”

“I'll be right back, love. Keep your wand on her.”

Harry exited the room and had to fight the urge to skip. He was ecstatic. That imbecile actually committed a crime right in front of two witnesses. Did she really believe that some of the students would've been so stubborn and stupid they'd endure that torture and not report it?

He walked up to the gargoyle at the entrance to his aunt's office and said the password, causing the staircase to be revealed. He took the stairs two at a time and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” called the Headmistress' voice from the other side.

He opened the door and skipped over any preamble. “I have great news, Aunt Minnie! We can get rid of the toad!”

“Are you certain?” she asked, hope in her eyes.

“Absolutely. If you don't call the aurors, it would be my civic duty to perform a citizen's arrest. You see, she actually brought blood quills into the school.”

“What?! How dare she?”

“Not only that, but she gave one to both me and Hermione and told us to write lines with them!”

The Scottish woman got up from her chair and reached for her wand. “Where is she?”

“I stunned her and left Hermione there.”

Minerva walked over to the fireplace, tossed a handful of floo powder into it, and called out, “Amelia Bones - Department of Magical Law Enforcement!”

It wasn't ten minutes later that the head of the DMLE stepped through the floo with two aurors. “Hello, Mr. Potter-McGonagall,” she greeted the Boy-Who-Lived.

“Just call me Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you, Madam Bones.”

“These are aurors Dawlish and Tonks.”

Since Harry wasn't sure if he should admit to knowing the Metamorphmagus, he simply said, “Hello.”

“Your aunt told me that Madam Umbridge gave you a blood quill to write lines with?”

“Both me and my girlfriend. She, along with the quills, is with her in the DADA office.”

“Then let's go there,” said Amelia.

--HPM--

It didn't take the group consisting of Harry, Minerva, Amelia, Tonks and Dawlish long to arrive in the correct room where Hermione was still pointing her wand at Umbridge. After everyone was introduced to each other, Amelia confirmed that the quills were indeed what Harry claimed, and searched the office. Tonks stunned Umbridge and claimed, “She twitched,” causing everyone to laugh. They ended up finding enough blood quills to use on an entire class.

“I believe we have enough evidence to put Umbridge away for at least ten years,” said Amelia happily. It was obvious that she didn't like Umbridge any more than Harry did.

“Won't Fudge protect her?” asked Hermione.

“And publicly condone child abuse?” She shook her head. “The only chance Fudge has is to deny any knowledge that she was going to torture students and prove it by putting her in Azkaban for a long time.”

“But then he'll just assign someone else to the position that's probably just as bad,” commented Minerva.

Amelia looked pensive for a few moments before announcing, “I have a thought on that.”

After she explained her idea, which everyone in the room approved of, Bones woke Delores up.

She opened her eyes and took a moment to get her bearings. “Oh, Amelia! Thank God you're here! That boy attacked me and should be arrested!” She pointed at Harry.

“That's funny. He said you should be arrested,” Madam Bones replied evenly.

“That shows how delusional he is.”

“Are these a delusion?” asked Amelia, pointing at the pile of blood quills.

“Cornelius suggested that…” she said quickly, looking panicked.

“Then let's take them to Minister Fudge and see if he wants to join you in Azkaban or not, shall we?” Then, turning to the aurors, she said, “Cuff her.”

--HPM--

A/N If you recognize some of Umbridge's dialog, that's because I copied it from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I don't think I could've come up with better words for those situations.

-->

3. Lessons

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Harry Potter-McGonagall - Chapter 3 - Lessons

Senior Undersecretary Umbridge Found Guilty of Child Abuse

By Anna Jesse

When Headmistress McGonagall of Hogwarts was unable to find a candidate for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Minister Fudge decided to help her by providing an instructor from his staff. Little did he know that his Senior Undersecretary Delores Umbridge, who volunteered as soon as Fudge announced the opening, had evil intentions for our children. She had smuggled out thirty blood-quills, a highly restricted item which cuts your hand as you write, allowing you to sign in your own blood. They are intended solely for the purpose of signing magically binding documents. Although they're not allowed outside of the Ministry building, she brought them to Hogwarts. Her reason was so that she could torture students in detention by making them write lines utilizing those blood quills. Fortunately, her first victims, a pair of fifth-year Ravenclaws, recognized the restricted items and had the aurors brought in.

“I simply could not believe her abominable behavior!” stated Fudge after this disturbing news was brought to his attention. “How could anyone be so cruel to children?” It was easy to tell from the expression on his face that he was both horrified and angry. He moved for a trial as soon as possible, so yesterday, the day after Umbridge was arrested, she had her trial in front of the full Wizengamot. She was sentenced to ten years in Azkaban following Fudge's plea to make her an example to all who wish our children harm.

Following the trial, and upon recommendation by Amelia Bones, he assigned Auror Tonks, one of the arresting officers, to fill the vacant teaching position.

“Do you see that picture of Umbridge in prison clothes?” asked Harry while chuckling at the article he and his girlfriend were reading.

“And I thought she was already ugly,” she agreed. “It looks like Fudge chose to save his own hide rather than help his pet toad.”

“I never doubted he would. All the parents would've shown up at the Ministry with torches and pitchforks ready to lynch him if he hadn't,” said Padma, who was sitting across from them with her own copy of the Daily Prophet.

“You've got that right,” agreed Hermione. “If there's one thing that can cause otherwise docile people to revolt, it's hurting their kids.”

“I just can't believe Umbridge actually believed that we'd be too stupid and stubborn to report her,” commented Harry. Changing the topic, he said, “I can't wait for Tonks' lesson. It should be the best Defense class we've had.”

“No doubt,” agreed Padma, sounding distracted. She was looking down at the table.

“What's wrong?” Hermione asked.

“It's Terry,” she replied, indicating Terry Boot, who was sitting nearby.

“What about him?” asked Harry, wondering what his dorm mate had done. “If he's been bothering you…”

“He hasn't done anything to me. He's just been…the last few days he's been staring at me a lot, and it's got me a bit unnerved.”

“Maybe I should talk to him about it,” said Harry, although he had a pretty good idea what it was about. “After all, I do bunk with him.”

“No, that's alright. I…”

“It's no trouble. If I don't, then I'll be wondering about it, whether or not I should kick his…”

“Harry, language!” interrupted his girlfriend.

“Sorry, dear,” he replied, faking penitence. “I'm just not as creative as you are; able to express myself without resorting to vile profanity. I should be given a huge dunce cap to wear all over Hogwarts that says I'm incapable of communicating without…”

“That's enough, Harry,” replied his girlfriend, giggling. “I don't mean to be a nag, but I really don't want you to develop that habit. I have a feeling that I'm going to have to put up with you for a very long time.” Her expression had changed to a sultry look that demanded a romantic response.

“I hope so,” he replied, leaning toward Hermione to kiss her.

Padma buried her head in her hands, muttering, “Can't they at least wait until after breakfast?”

--HPM--

“…and that concludes the meeting,” announced Hermione. They'd finished informing the C.A.R.E. members about the latest news, which included a new law passed in France banning House Elf abuse, as well as listing the newest families convicted of that crime in England. The number of violators was lessening every year. “If you'll excuse me, I have to go to the library.” She kissed Harry goodbye and left headquarters, formerly known as Hagrid's hut. The other members filed out of the room as Harry watched.

Just as the last person walked out the door, the boom box started playing a soft melody that he knew he'd danced to with Hermione but couldn't name. He turned around to see he wasn't alone after all. Ginny was with him. He noticed that her Hogwarts robe was hanging over a chair and she was wearing a sleeveless, short black dress that accentuated her curves very well so that he could see that she certainly wasn't the little first-year he'd met long ago.

“I thought the meeting would never end,” Ginny commented, licking her lips. “And I've wanted to talk to you alone for awhile.” She stepped forward, swaying her hips, definitely keeping Harry's attention. Resisting her was going to be more difficult than the girls at Beauxbatons. He knew he had to retreat, but he also knew he had to talk to her because he didn't want to lose her friendship.

“Ginny,”

“Yes, Harry,” she replied, still approaching him sexily.

“You look beautiful, but…”

“Thank you,” she interrupted him, smiling as she reached out her hands toward him. Harry took a deep breath, repeating the word Hermione in his head over and over again.

“I love Hermione,” he said forcefully.

“And I love you!” she declared.

“Ginny, you aren't in love with me. You're in love with the Boy-Who-Lived.”

“That is you,” she stated before pulling him into a hug. Harry stepped out of her embrace, walking backwards toward the door.

“No, that's not who I am! I'm the normal, average person who happens to compete against you in Quidditch. I'm the brother of the girl you took under your wing. I'm…”

“You're the man who saved my life in the Chamber of Secrets. The hero who…”

“I'm sorry if it hurts your feelings, but I am NOT going to dump Hermione for you!” he yelled, getting frustrated. “I don't think we should be alone together until you accept that!” He then fled the room, knowing that he couldn't trust himself much longer with the lovely Gryffindor fourth year. Especially if she decided to do something drastic.

He absently walked into Hogwarts and up several flights of stairs until he found himself at the entrance to the library. “I guess my subconscious mind wants to see Hermione,” he muttered to himself while he walked inside, quickly spotting his girlfriend in the midst of a table covered in books. “Is this seat taken?” he asked, indicating the chair next to her.

“Hi, Harry,” she replied, nodding that he could join her. “I didn't expect you to…is something wrong?”

Sometimes Harry wished his girlfriend wasn't so perceptive. “I have a small problem. You see, Ginny, well, she seems to…fancy me. But I know it's just the Boy-Who-Lived rubbish. She, um, made a play for me just now.”

Her eyes narrowed, Hermione asked, “What did she do?”

Harry explained precisely what had happened to his girlfriend and then extracted a promise from her that she wouldn't curse Ginny into oblivion. He genuinely believed that it was just a phase and she'd grow out of it, and didn't want to lose the girl's friendship over this.

“Do you ever wish that I looked, er, more like her?” his girlfriend asked, indicating her curves, which weren't as pronounced as Ginny's. It didn't take a genius to know where that line of inquiry was heading. He decided to nip that in the bud.

“You are the girl I asked to be my girlfriend. You are the girl I love. You are the girl I've been faithful to. You are the girl I want to one day…never mind. You are beautiful and I'm very happy with your appearance. I…”

“Want to one day…what?” interrupted Hermione, looking genuinely curious.

His ears turning pink, he replied, “Nothing. Not important. The point is that…”

“Answer me,” she demanded, while still speaking quietly enough for the library. “And don't lie.”

He cleared his throat. “Well, I, that is if things keep going as they are, um, er, one day Iwannamarryyou.”

“What?” asked Hermione, genuinely confused.

Taking a deep breath, he recited, “One day, I want to marry you.”

Hermione was smiling brightly, but at the same time her eyes were filling with tears. “Do you mean that?”

“Of course I do,” said Harry.

“Let's go,” said Hermione, getting up and grabbing his hand.

“Where?” he asked.

“To a broom cupboard, of course,” she replied as though it were obvious. Her eyes were darker than he'd ever seen them. They looked completely full of lust. “We'd get kicked out of the library permanently if I did what I want to do here.”

--HPM--

A few hours later, Harry and Hermione, looking very happy, yet disheveled, entered Ravenclaw Tower and, after a passionate goodnight kiss, separated to their respective dorms. Harry made a mental note to get his girlfriend a promise ring for her upcoming birthday. His head still in the clouds, he descended the staircase to his room, where Michael Corner and Terry Boot were talking.

“You look happy,” commented Michael. “Had a bit of alone-time with Hermione?” His blush gave it away before he could reply. “How far have you two gone, anyway?”

“Now that is none of your business,” he replied good-naturedly, knowing that Hermione would skin him alive if she ever found out he'd discussed any aspect of their physical relationship. Besides, it was none of their business. His attention turned on his other roommate as he changed the subject. “Terry, Padma has noticed that you've been staring at her lately. If you fancy her, ask her out. If not, stop scaring her.”

Now Terry's ears turned pink. “She saw?” He sighed. “You're right. I do fancy her. I know she's your friend…”

“And you know what I'll do if you hurt her.” Boot nodded. “I don't blame you for liking her. She is hot. And smart, too. If Hermione didn't exist…” he trailed off, allowing himself a few seconds of indulgence. “But just remember, I don't want to hear any details of what happens if you do date her.”

“Alright, alright, Harry,” he replied. “I'll ask her out this week.”

“Good. Maybe Padma could use a boyfriend, but she doesn't need a stalker.” Turning to his other friend, he asked, “Any girls you're interested in asking out?”

“Yes,” he replied, nodding, “and it's another friend of yours.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the only problem is that she seems to be obsessing over you.”

“Ginny?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe that would distract her from me,” said Harry. “I have noticed her sudden interest after my birth name was revealed, and I have no intention of dropping Hermione.” As an afterthought, Harry added, “But don't take advantage of her or hurt her. Not only will you have to avoid her bat-bogey hexes as well as my own curses, you'd have to escape Fred and George Weasley.”

His eyes went wide at that prospect. “Point taken.”

--HPM--

The next day, Harry had Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Hufflepuffs. He and Hermione entered the classroom holding hands and quickly found their seats. Professor Tonks was nowhere to be seen. Her desk was empty. The other students quickly filled up the classroom, but the professor still didn't make an appearance.

One of the students, a boy with black hair, stood up and walked toward the desk. Harry didn't immediately recognize the boy, but was only seeing him from behind. As he approached the desk, Harry noticed that his robes, though similar, were not standard Hogwarts robes. The boy turned around to face the class, revealing himself to be the one and only Harry Potter-McGonagall, complete with his lightning bolt scar. He immediately realized who was impersonating him.

Suddenly, the class was making a lot of noise while Harry and Hermione laughed. Most of the others were looking between Harry and his double as though trying to find a difference. The boy at the front of the class closed his eyes in concentration and began to morph. The room was absolutely silent as the Boy-Who-Lived changed into a shorter woman with pink hair.

“Wotcher, class. I'm Professor Tonks, but you can just call me Tonks. As some of you may know, I'm a Metamorphmagus. When a few hands shot up, she said, “I won't perform on request, though. This particular ability allows me to blend into any crowd easily. While I can't teach you to become what I am, I am going to teach you ways of going undetected. Can anyone tell me the advantages of not being noticed?”

The class went on from there with many students participating. Tonks talked about Polyjuice potion and invisibility cloaks. She began teaching them notice-me-not charms, silencing charms and disillusionment charms. She told them that the best defense was not to be seen by the bad guys until it was too late for them. Her plans were to also teach them dodging spells and shield charms before starting on offensive spells. Everyone was looking forward to her next lesson when class was over.

--HPM--

The next few weeks went by quickly, with Terry Boot successfully asking Padma to spend the first Hogsmeade visit with him.

Harry found his chance after Herbology to tell Draco about his ancestor's portrait at Beauxbatons, which he proudly acknowledged until Harry informed him that the portrait was displeased with his family.

“That's either a lie, or the portrait's been tampered with!” Malfoy declared while his face turned red.

“Feel free to visit the school to see for yourself,” challenged Hermione. “I've seen it, too.”

--HPM--

When Hermione's birthday came, Harry threw her a party at C.A.R.E. Headquarters as usual. Harry had thought long and hard about whether to give Hermione her promise ring privately or publicly, and decided, based off the fact that Ginny had continued trying to flirt with him at the few opportunities she found despite his avoiding her, that he should give his girlfriend the ring publicly. She was quite surprised when she opened her present from Harry last.

“Harry?” she questioned, looking at him while others stared interested.

“I know we're too young to actually get engaged, but I wanted to publicly tell everyone that you're the girl I intend to marry. I know it sounds corny, but, er, I couldn't come up with a better speech.” He then took the ring from the package and placed it on her finger despite the fact that his entire face was Gryffindor red.

There was clapping and catcalls as Hermione kissed him passionately until Ginny ran out of the hut crying. Brianna followed her friend and mentor.

“Ginny! Stop right now before I put you in the body-bind!” the third-year shouted.

“I knew you'd take their side!” she replied, turning around and stopping.

“Of course I would! I've known they'd get married since the day they met!” She took a deep breath. “And I also know that, despite being friends with my brother, you are NOT in love with him! This crush only started while you were reading the Daily Prophet last June and you know it! Harry and Hermione were meant for each other. I saw you turn down Michael Corner when he asked you out, and I think the only reason you did is because you think you'll get Harry to dump his soul mate. You've got to accept that you're not getting Harry.” With a smirk, she added, “And you're lucky you're not. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to live with that git? He just won't…” As she talked about her brother, Ginny began the long process of losing her crush and accepting the truth.

“I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell Michael that I changed my mind,” said Ginny eventually before the two of them returned to the party. She did apologize to Harry and Hermione for what she'd tried to do after everyone had left and promised not to try anything else.

--HPM--

The next week went by quickly, with Harry's aunt telling him that Tonks had suggested that she sack Professor Binns, which she was considering. Almost everyone slept through the ghost's lessons, so what was the point of him teaching?

Harry soon found himself in his Aunt's office with Albus Dumbledore. He'd made an appointment with him through Minerva the day before. While the former Headmaster had wanted it to be just him and Harry, Minerva insisted on being present at the meetings as well. He'd reluctantly agreed, figuring that Harry would tell his aunt all about the lessons anyway. After Harry gave the password to the gargoyle, he walked up the stairs to find the door already open.

“Hello, Harry,” said Aunt Minnie, who was sitting behind her desk with Dumbledore across from her. Harry noticed that Dumbledore's hand was still blackened.

“Good evening, Mr. Potter-McGonagall,” said the former headmaster.

“Hi,” replied Harry as he noticed his aunt's Pensieve was on her desk. “Will we be looking at memories?”

“Yes, indeed,” replied Albus cheerfully. “Memories relating to Tom Marvolo Riddle. We shall begin with the event that directly led to his birth.” The aged wizard pulled a corked vial out of his purple cloak, unsealed it and poured it into the Pensieve. “Are you ready?” he asked his two companions. When they nodded, he commanded, “On three, two, one.”

At the right moment, all three of them entered the memory, finding themselves in Little Hangleton of the past, watching a memory of the Gaunt family receiving a visitor from the Ministry of Magic, which led to the arrest of the two males, leaving Merope Gaunt free to give a love potion to Tom Riddle.

“Mr. Dumbledore,” said Harry when the memory was over, “I will agree that it is very fascinating to learn about Voldemort's past, but I need to know how to destroy him. The half-hour we spent in there could've been summarized by a five-minute explanation.”

“But there is much more to be learned by experiencing the memory,” Albus gently chided.

“No doubt,” agreed Minerva, “however, I do not believe that Voldemort is spending his time walking down memory lane when he needs information. He is rebuilding his forces and preparing for a war.”

“More people are dying every day,” added Harry. “If you'd like to leave memories for me to watch at me leisure, I will, but I'm here to learn how to beat him. If you know how he's still alive, I need to know that. If you know how to kill him, please tell me. If you want to train me in special spells for fighting him, I'd love to do that.”

Albus sighed. There was a time when he would've argued until he was blue in the face and refused to do things any way but his, but since then, he'd been humbled. He also realized that the prophecy said Harry could beat Voldemort, but said nothing about Dumbledore, which meant that Harry should be the one choosing the direction of his training. He, Albus, was here to help Harry win - not the other way around. If anyone was to be a pawn, it would be Dumbledore. Harry was the chosen one.

“Very well,” Albus finally said. “I had looked forward to enjoyable trips through pertinent memories, but you are correct that people are dying every day. The next memories would've shown you how Tom wound up growing up in an orphanage, and that I personally delivered his Hogwarts letter. I found then that he had terrorized and stolen from the other children, and kept trophies of those deeds - small souvenirs. I instructed him to return his stolen property and made the foolish decision of not warning the staff at Hogwarts of what kind of boy he was.

Consequently, he duped most of the staff into believing he was an upstanding person who excelled at his classes and became a prefect. As you know, he discovered the Chamber of Secrets and framed Hagrid for killing a girl with Slytherin's monster. He even made Head Boy and passed his N.E.W.T.'s with flying colors.

While he was here, he asked his head of house about an object called Horcruxes. Those are despicably evil objects that encase a piece of an individual's soul, after it has been cracked by committing murder. While one exists, the owner's spirit cannot pass into the next great adventure.”

“That sounds like Sauron's ring in the Lord of the Rings books,” replied Harry, remembering the books Hermione had given him for Christmas during first year. She'd even told him they were factual. “Have you read them?”

With a twinkle in his eye, Dumbledore replied, “Yes, I have, and I do believe you're right. If so, that's the earliest reference to a Horcrux in our history.”

“And you think that's how Riddle survived that night. He has one of those Horcruxes?” asked Harry.

“Alas, were that the case, you would've already solved the problem during your second year when you destroyed his diary. However, through much persuasion, I was able to convince that former colleague of mine to reveal that Tom had asked him about the possibility of creating seven Horcruxes.”

“Seven?” asked Harry.

“He asked Slughorn that?” asked Minerva, stunned.

“But all is not lost,” said Dumbledore evenly. “As I stated, you destroyed one. I have destroyed two. Do you recall the locket that was around Merope's neck and the ring that was on Morvolo's finger?”

“Yes,” replied both McGonagalls.

“Tom made both of them into Horcruxes which I have destroyed. The ring was located in the Gaunt shack, while the locket was in the last place I'd ever expect to find it.”

“Where's that?” asked Minerva.

Remembering something Sirius' elf had said about a “long-bearded half-blood thief stealing from Master Regulus,” Harry guessed, “Order headquarters?”

With a twinkle in his eye, Albus responded, “Precisely. Imagine my surprise when going through that house looking for curses to find one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Sirius' elf, Kreacher, explained that Voldemort had hidden it in a cave, but Sirius' brother Regulus had stolen it at the cost of his own life, charging the elf to destroy it. There is more to the tale than that, but suffice it to say, the locket was destroyed.”

“So, three have been eliminated?” clarified McGonagall.

“Actually, four of his seven have been eliminated. You see, Harry, when you were hit by that killing curse in France, it killed a Horcrux, severing your connection with him, which allowed you to survive. So three are still out there, and I suspect one is here at Hogwarts.”

“Why is that?” asked Harry.

“Because shortly after I became Headmaster, Tom Riddle applied for a job teaching here. He knew I'd never hire him, so he had to have had a reason to come here. I believe that it was to…”

“Hide a Horcrux?” completed Minerva. “Where did he go while he was here?”

“I know that he didn't deviate from the most direct route to and from this office, but alas, I didn't have him followed closely. He could've stopped anywhere in between here and the Entrance Hall. I would like to charge Harry with locating it while I search for the others.”

“Certainly, sir, although I'd like help from Hermione.”

“Naturally. She has proven herself worthy of trust, so you may tell her everything I've told you. I know that both of you are well-practiced Occlumens.”

“So, do you have any idea what the other Horcruxes are?” asked Minerva.

“I believe that one is a cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. If we had time, I would show you a memory of him visiting the owner's house and seeing the cup, along with Slytherin's locket, just a short time before she was murdered and those items were stolen.”

“A diary, my scar, an ancient ring, Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup. Do you think he found any other Founder relics?”

“It's entirely possible, although I do not know what they would be. Ravenclaw had a tiara that has been…”

“…lost for a thousand years,” completed the only Ravenclaw in the room. “I've seen what it looks like many times.”

“I would imagine so,” agreed Dumbledore. “In any case, Tom traveled the world. Who knows what he discovered besides more ways to kill people? I guess the best thing to do for the rest of the evening is to warn you to be extremely careful. The two Horcruxes I discovered had been guarded with terrible traps even I didn't get past unscathed.” He then indicated his black hand. “I will spend our next lessons teaching you how to get past that type of magic, but for tonight, I'd like to teach you a spell to detect if an object is a Horcrux.”

“That sounds good,” replied Harry.

--HPM--

A/N For more details on the memories of Tom Riddle, see the Book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

-->

4. Aperio Animus Navis

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Harry Potter-McGonagall - Chapter 4 - Aperio Animus Navis

“Aperio Animus Navis,” said Hermione as she pointed her wand at her Transfiguration textbook with a flick and twist. A black light left her wand and hit its target, which glowed pure white for a second before returning to normal.

“So,” declared Harry with a grin, “Now we've established that your textbook isn't a Horcrux.” They were sitting in a corner of Ravenclaw Tower shortly after he returned from his meeting with Mr. Dumbledore.

“I had to make sure I had the spell right,” countered his girlfriend. “We can't very well try testing everything between your aunt's office and the Entrance Hall before I've mastered the spell, can we?”

“Of course not, dear,” he replied. “And I suppose I shouldn't joke about a book being one of those foul creations.”

“I still can't believe that Dumbledore wanted to waste an entire year slowly getting around to teaching you about them. I'm glad you put a stop to that.”

“So, we're going to be checking things out during our rounds?” questioned Harry.

“Yes. I think that's the best time. Otherwise, too many people will see us and ask what we're doing.”

“I suppose you're right,” he agreed. “How much longer `til we leave?”

“About twenty minutes.”

--HPM--

And so, the Horcrux Hunt began. The young couple carefully and slowly walked all over the seventh floor testing everything. Broom cupboards, from which they ejected snogging couples after removing house points, were checked. Every empty classroom was checked - the desks, chalkboards, windows, doorknobs, everything - on that floor before Harry and Hermione did their normal rounds.

“Well, at least we've established that the Horcrux isn't on the seventh floor,” commented Harry while they were walking down the stairs.

“I guess so,” conceded Hermione, who seemed disappointed. “I suppose that it was a bit foolish to believe we'd find it on the first night.”

“I hoped we'd find it, too.”

“Anyway, we've used up enough time searching that floor, so we'll have to hurry up to finish our rounds.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Harry agreed as he sped up. They continued their rounds holding hands as they searched for rule-breakers.

They had reached the fourth floor when they noticed that one of the broom cupboards was slightly moving. “It looks like we've found another happy couple,” commented Harry with a smirk. “Shall I do the honors?” he asked. Hermione nodded. He pointed his wand and incanted, “Alohomora,” and nothing happened.

“Great,” commented Hermione as she got her wand out of its holster. “A creative couple.” She performed a more complex spell, quickly overpowering the charm that had been placed there.

As the door was opening, Harry said, “You've got to admit that this couple was…” As he recognized the girl that had her lips locked with a boy he didn't know, the Boy-Who-Lived's face turned red with anger. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the couple that was now separating before him. “BRIANNA!!!!!!” he shouted loudly enough to wake the castle. His sister actually looked frightened and embarrassed. Now Harry's focus turned to the villain who had just been snogging his little sister. “What's the name of this b…”

“Harry, language!” scolded Hermione as she placed her left hand on his right, which was currently holding a wand from which sparks were flying. “Calm down.”

“Calm down?” This piece of…”

“Language!”

“This person has been taking advantage of…”

“He has NOT been taking advantage of me!” shouted Brianna, who apparently had re-found her courage. However, the boy she was with appeared too terrified to speak. His eyes were focused on Harry's wand, which was still emitting sparks, though at a slightly slower pace than before.

“I think I should handle the punishment, Harry,” said Hermione, fearing what her boyfriend would do. “What is your name and house?”

Swallowing, the brown-haired boy replied, “James Sauder, Hufflepuff.”

“Come on, Hermione. You know if you punish me that Aunt Minnie will find out,” implored Brianna.

“You should've thought of that before!” scolded Harry, still glaring.

“You know we have to treat every incident the same. Do you really want preferential treatment?”

Brianna replied, “No,” with her eyes downcast.

“Well then,” replied Hermione, “Ten points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Go directly to your respective dorms.” After a few seconds, she added, “It was nice to meet you, James. If you're dating Brianna, I'm sure we'll see a lot of each other.”

“You can count on that,” sneered Harry, earning a slap upside the head from his girlfriend while the younger couple scampered away in separate directions. “Hey!”

“You knew this would happen sooner or later, Harry. Brianna's growing up. Deal with it.”

“If he even thinks about…”

“Yes, I know you'll make Voldemort look like a saint with your treatment of James,” she replied with a smirk.

“I will,” he vowed.

“Come on. Let's continue our rounds,” commanded Hermione.

--HPM--

The next day had Brianna speaking first with Aunt Minnie in her office and then with her mother on her mirror. Needless to say, she was upset with Harry and Hermione.

“I thought you understood,” said Hermione, who wanted peace in the family she planned to join after Hogwarts. “We had to report you, just like everyone else.”

“After all I've done to help you and Harry,” Brianna grumbled.

“I'll make a deal with you. If you'll forgive us, then I'll stop Harry from murdering James.” Even from the Gryffindor table where they were talking, it was easy to see Brianna's big brother at the Ravenclaw table was glaring daggers at James the Hufflepuff, who looked like he wanted to flee in terror.

“If that git runs James off, I'll kill him!” promised Brianna.

“I'd say that if he's too afraid of your big brother…”

“That's not just any big brother. He's the Boy-Who-Lived, who was seen dueling Voldemort himself. Everyone agrees that he was winning that fight so Riddle ran away. He's also the top student in Defense. If I didn't know him, I'd be afraid to cross him. James is not a coward!”

“I'm sorry. I didn't really think of it like that. Poor James is facing a man that doesn't back down to anyone. Come to think of it, bad things do tend to happen to people Harry doesn't like.”

“You keep him under control, and then I'll talk to him again.”

“Deal.”

--HPM--

“Well, mom, I really don't know much about him except that he's a Hufflepuff and a git. Oh, and a coward. You should see how terrified he looks when I just glare at him.”

“How do you know he's a git?” asked Harry's mother from the mirror she was speaking out of. “I thought you only saw him the one time.”

“Just the way he was acting before he realized Hermione and I were there. He wanted to…”

“…To do the same things you and Hermione were doing in your third year,” completed his mother. “Don't do anything to him. Be civil and friendly. Yes, make sure he knows he'll answer to you if he hurts Brianna, but don't attack him for fancying your sister.”

Taking a deep breath, Harry replied, “Alright, mother.”

“I mean it. Bye. I love you.”

“Loveyoutoo,” he quickly muttered before turning off the mirror.

Between that and the talk he got from his girlfriend, wherein she said that if he's truly against boyfriends and girlfriends snogging, that she'd stop forcing him to snog her, he decided to try to get to know this ba…boy who was dating his sister. To that end, they had a picnic outside, just Harry, Brianna, Hermione, and James.

“Beautiful day,” said Hermione, breaking the silence that had been prevailing.

“Yes, it is a beautiful day,” agreed Brianna while the males sat there quietly. “I still don't understand why you'd give up Quidditch just so you can study more.”

“I do miss you being on the team, Hermione,” agreed Harry. “You're a great Chaser and I like having you around.”

“But now you'd have to yell at me in your role as assistant captain,” she replied coyly.

“The other captains don't yell at you much,” countered her boyfriend. “Although it might've gotten difficult if I did make captain next year.”

“You will,” said James. “Everyone knows you're the best player at the school, even Cedric Diggory. He's just hoping that the rest of your team will stink when we play Ravenclaw.”

Chuckling, Harry replied, “Not a chance. Ravenclaw's gonna kick everybody's…”

“Harry, language!” interrupted Hermione. James started laughing when Harry complied.

“Butts in Quidditch just like every year I've been on the team.”

Try as he might, Harry couldn't actually come up with a good reason to hate James Sauder. He'd try harder in the future. In the meantime, Harry resolved to keep an eye on his sister's boyfriend, waiting for him to put one toe out of line.

--HPM--

It was just after midnight at Azkaban prison, and Allan Freely, the night warden, was leaning back in his chair with his feet on the desk. As much as he hated it here, he did enjoy the perks of the night shift. He never told his wife how easy the job actually was, always complaining about the hardships in order to get sympathy from her. He glanced at the picture on his desk of the woman in her thirties waving at him with a little boy imitating his mother.

There were only a total of half-a-dozen human guards at this place of punishment at any given time. The Dementors made sure no one had the nerve or will to riot. All in all, it was actually an easy job, as long as you stayed in the heavily-warded office. No Dementor (nor bad weather) could enter. He'd had this job for two years, ever since his predecessor had been sacked for letting Sirius Black escape, and never once had a problem. That was about to change.

A loud ringing sound had him out of his chair within two seconds. He pulled out his wand and walked to the door. He opened it and stepped outside, noticing some members of his crew were running toward the entrance to the prison, a few Dementors floating beside them. As unpleasant as the beasts were, he was relieved to have them on his side.

He joined the short run to the main doors and looked out to see ten people in black cloaks with skull masks stepping off a few boats. In the midst of them stood a hooded man/monster whose main feature was the fact that he had no nose. It took all his courage just to avoid wetting himself as he realized that Voldemort and his Death Eaters were coming to call.

He felt the familiar hopeless sensation as several more Dementors came from behind him. “Get them!” he ordered the dark creatures under his command. “Kiss them all!”

He opened the door for the Dementors, but they didn't float through the doorway. Instead, the closest one grabbed him by the throat, another grabbing his right hand and breaking it so he'd drop his wand. “What are you doing?” he choked out before the Dementor lowered its hood and slowly sucked out his soul. He didn't see that the Dementors had disarmed all his men, who were forced to watch this horrid event as Voldemort approached, stopping for a moment to cast the Dark Mark in the sky.

“Excellent,” the Dark Lord commented when he was close enough to be heard by the remaining guards. “You've seen a fine demonstration of what happens if you defy Lord Voldemort. Do you chose to end up like your former boss, or do you wish to join me?”

To his credit, one of the guards did choose to face a Dementor's Kiss rather than serve the evil madman, but the remaining four guards had Dark Marks tattooed on their left arms within fifteen minutes. Voldemort, surrounded by his Death Eaters, walked through the prison, freeing all who would serve him, killing those who wouldn't. Among his new recruits was one Delores Umbridge.

--HPM--

“Harry, language!” scolded Hermione the next morning after her boyfriend let out a string of expletives that could put a sailor to shame. He was reading the front page of the Daily Prophet.

“I wouldn't criticize him for that reaction,” interrupted Padma. “Have you read the news?”

“Not yet, I thought…” she trailed off as she read the headline.

Azkaban Captured

By Anna Jesse

During the night, Azkaban prison was visited by none other than the Dark Lord himself. Two guards received the Dementor's Kiss while eighteen prisoners fell victim to the Killing Curse. We know that because the bodies were sent to the shore on the boat that met the morning shift of guards. Along with the bodies was a note from You-Know-Who claiming Azkaban Island as his own. We can only assume that everybody else in that prison joined him.

Minister Fudge called this a “minor setback” and said that we shouldn't panic. Among the notable prisoners were Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband Rodolphus, his brother Rabastan…

The article went on to call the Ministry to action. Fudge seemed to have been blamed for this catastrophe, as he had always been a big advocate of having Dementors serve as guards while others like Albus Dumbledore claimed they couldn't be trusted.

“He has to be stopped,” whispered Harry. “We've got to work harder!”

Over the past few weeks, whenever Harry and Hermione had rounds, they'd searched one of the floors of the castle as thoroughly as possible. They'd already checked the direct path from the Headmistress's office to the Entrance Hall, and then everywhere else. They'd paid special attention to Tom Riddle's Special Award for Services to the School, but still hadn't found a Horcrux.

“Why don't we check the Chamber of Secrets?” suggested Hermione. Harry and Padma agreed, and so they decided to spend a Sunday morning exploring Salazar Slytherin's famous addition to Hogwarts.

--HPM--

“Hello, Myrtle,” said Hermione when they'd opened the door to her restroom and found her there.

“We're just passing through,” added Harry while Padma nodded.

“Of course you're just passing through. No one wants to speak to miserable, moping, moaning Myrtle! Let's all use her loo as a passageway; she won't care!” She then picked a U-bend and dove into it, somehow making it flush.

Harry walked up to the sinks and said, “Open.” Nothing happened.

“In Parselmouth, Harry,” corrected Hermione. “Not English.”

“Open,” he tried again, staring into the eyes of the snake carving.

“Still English.”

“I…I can't,” he groaned in frustration.

Padma gasped. “You must have lost that ability when you lost your connection to Voldemort.”

“So, how do I get down there now?” he asked, obviously annoyed.

“With a thought sphere,” his girlfriend replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Less than an hour later, after putting a memory of himself opening the chamber a few years before (as well as saying Exit in Parseltongue) into a small globe, Harry, Hermione and Padma were staring at the opened entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

Hermione commented, “I know we slid down here when I helped harvest the basilisk, but I somehow have trouble imagining Salazar Slytherin jumping down a hole and shouting `Weeeee' as he slides down.” Padma laughed.

“Good point,” Harry agreed. “And Tommy doesn't seem the type to leap before he looks. Too bad I never said `stairs' in Parseltongue.”

“Yeah.” Taking a deep breath, Hermione said, “I guess we should jump down,” before doing so.

After Padma and Harry joined his girlfriend, they slid down, collecting the remaining grime on their old clothes they'd worn specifically for this task. The chamber looked as it had over two years before, when they, along with Aunt Minnie and Professor LaVelle, had come down to harvest the basilisk. In other words, they were walking on a pile of old bones. Padma was looking around in fascination, since she hadn't been down there before, but kept quiet.

“Y'know, I remember that when we harvested that snake Dumbledore had requested some basilisk venom,” commented Harry.

“Yes. I guess he was already hunting Horcruxes,” replied Hermione as they walked around. “I have a question. Why was this called the Chamber of Secrets if it doesn't contain any secrets - just a basilisk?”

“I don't know,” replied Harry, now trying to reason that out. “Because it has secrets?” he guessed.

“Precisely,” answered Hermione with a grin. “We just have to find them.”

Harry stopped and closed his eyes. “If I were Salazar Slytherin, building my Chamber of Secrets, what would I do?” he asked out loud.

“I'd have all kinds of secret passages,” suggested Padma.

“Yes,” the Boy-Who-Lived agreed while concentrating. “But where?” At that moment, they reached the entrance to the main chamber, so he activated the thought sphere to open the door. He watched as the door separated, taking in the full appearance of the chamber. “Each of them would be a doorway,” said Harry as he noticed the large snake mouths lining the walls on the left and right. He walked up to the first one and activated the sphere yet again. The inside of the huge snake mouth changed from a solid stone wall to an opening. “Shall we?” he asked his two companions.

“Let's,” they replied together.

They bent over just a little to fit into the snake mouth and walked. “Lumos,” said Harry to light his wand. His cohorts did the same. There was nothing on the stone walls around them, so they kept following the passage, soon finding a large, winding staircase.

“This must lead to a tower,” declared Hermione as they kept walking and walking, grateful that there was a railing. “I suggest we bring our brooms here next time,” she said, half-way up.

“Agreed,” Harry chuckled, thankful they were in very good shape from their exercises. He didn't think his aunt could've survived the climb. When they finally reached the top, they saw a doorway, easily opened with the stored Parseltongue memory. The door opened toward them and they saw the back of a chair with a woman sitting on it, writing on some parchment. “Aunt Minnie?” he asked as he recognized that they were in the Headmistress' office. She didn't reply.

“I know it sounds terrible, but this looks like the perfect place to assassinate the school head from,” said Hermione. “She can't hear us or probably see us if she turned around.”

“Sounds exactly like something Slytherin would've wanted,” agreed Harry. “Do you think we should talk to her?”

“And give her a heart attack?” protested Padma.

“I suppose not,” said Harry, “but I really don't want to climb down all those stairs. We're now on the same floor as Ravenclaw Tower. We do have to tell her about this, though.”

“Of course we do. It's a potential danger for her. Just, we don't have to tell her like this. Let's go,” said Hermione. She walked back down the stairs, and after taking a few extra moments to memorize the angle so he could find this entrance from the other side, he turned and followed his girlfriend, and Padma followed them.

When they got back to the Chamber of Secrets, they checked out all the other doorways, finding similar passages to all four common rooms, as well as an extremely dusty office, but no Horcruxes. They marked each passage so they'd remember them. “I'm embarrassed to admit I was hoping to find a thousand year old library that rivals the main Hogwarts one,” commented Hermione.

“It would be great, especially with just the spell to defeat Voldemort in one of the large tomes,” agreed Padma.

“Along with ancient rituals and spells long since forgotten,” said Hermione.

“Secrets revealing the power to become the master of the universe,” added Harry before bursting into laughter. “Seriously, I think it's time to go back. My feet are starting to hurt and I'm hungry.”

“Me, too,” Both girls replied.

Padma commented, “I need to soak my feet.”

--HPM--

“I still don't understand where it could be!” proclaimed Harry before taking a bite of his turkey sandwich. The trio had missed lunch and dinner while exploring the Chamber of Secrets and was famished, so they decided to stop by the kitchens before going to their dorms. “He'd only been on the seventh floor and then down the stairs to the Entrance Hall.”

“But we've searched there and the rest of the castle!” argued Hermione before spooning up some chicken soup.

“Pardon Blinky,” interrupted one of the many elves that were working in that area, “but is you being looking for a room between the Headmistress' office and the stairs down?”

“Yes, Blinky,” answered Harry. “That's right.”

“The elves is knowing a room that only appears when it is being needed. We is calling it the Come and Go room, but wizards is calling it the Room of Requirement. It is being used by goggly-face who says all her students is being dying. She is being hiding her cooking sherry there. It is being on the seventh floor across from the portrait of Barnabus the Barmy. You is needing to be walking in front of the wall three times thinking of what you is needing.”

“A hidden room,” commented Padma after swallowing some of her chocolate cake, smiling at the elf.

“Thank you, Blinky.”

--HPM--

Despite being tired already, Padma, Harry and Hermione were too excited to go to bed without checking their new lead out. “This must be the picture,” said Hermione as she examined the painting of a wizard attempting to teach ballet to trolls.

`I need a place to hide my Horcrux. I need a place to hide my Horcrux. I need a place to hide my Horcrux.' Harry paced in front of the wall three times thinking about what he needed. Suddenly, a door appeared in front of him. “Let's go!” he said.

He pushed open the door to find himself in a room the size of a large cathedral, whose high windows were sending shafts of light down upon what looked like a city with towering walls, built of objects hidden by generations of Howarts inhabitants. He saw bottles of cooking sherry, a bloody axe, ruined cauldrons, and many other things.

“Hogwarts' junk drawer,” commented Padma as she looked around her. “Why don't you try the spell?”

“Aperio Animus Navis!” incanted Harry while pointing toward the endless rows of junk. Instead of glowing red or white, the spell caused a light yellow beam to point toward the center.

“Maybe it's not close enough for a full readout, but the spell is sensing it here,” said Padma with a grin.

“Let's go to different locations and try the spell to narrow things down,” suggested Hermione.

It wasn't long before they'd found an old, dusty diadem hidden between a large cupboard that seemed to have acid thrown at its blistered surface and a chipped bust of an ugly old warlock. All three Ravenclaws recognized it at once as the famous long-lost Ravenclaw Tiara. “We've found it!” they proclaimed joyously together.

--HPM--

At the same time the trio was celebrating its achievement, the one who'd hidden the diadem decades before was skulking around for an object of similar size. He was in the Ministry of Magic with four of his followers. They were specifically in the room full of prophecies in the Department of Mysteries.

“There it is,” called Rookwood, pointing at a thought sphere labeled S.P.T. to A.W.P.B.D. Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter in row ninety-seven.

“At last,” declared the Dark Lord, “I will know the full contents of the prophecy, and understand why Harry Potter has managed to defy me!” he reached out and grabbed the foggy globe. As soon as he touched it, his red eyes took on a dazed expression and he released the sphere.

“What is it?” asked Bellatrix, who was also with them.

Putting his hands in the proper positions, Lord Voldemort began to sing, “I'm a little teapot; short and stout. Here is my handle; here is my spout…”

“What's happened to the Dark Lord?” asked Rodolphus as his master continued to sing enthusiastically.

“He's touched a prophecy not about him,” answered Rookwood. “Potter's put in a fake as a trap. It's the only explanation! He's the only one that could've done it!”

“Let's get him out of here!” commanded Dolohov while Tom Marvolo Riddle sang, “Tip me over and pour me out!” while doing the motions.

--HPM--

Sadly, they got out of the Ministry undetected, so it didn't make the newspaper. However, Snape did report it to the Order, and Minerva was happy to pass the news to Harry, who was understandably amused. Two weeks later, Voldemort was finally cured of thinking he was a teapot. In his first meeting after that, he declared, “We've got to strike hard again so that everyone will fear us! We're going to attack Fudge's house!”

“Master,” said Umbridge, “May I join that raid. I have a score to settle with that traitor who just threw me into Azkaban. I want to be the one who kills him.”

--HPM--

In case you're curious, Animus Navis literally means `reveal soul vessel.'

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5. Melted Fudge

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Harry Potter-McGonagall - Chapter 5 -Melted Fudge

With eyes that reflected every bit of light in the dark corridors, the predator stalked the stone hallway. As its claws made a slight tapping sound on the floor, one of its companions, a dark brown cat, followed closely behind him. He could sense that a meal was nearby. Another companion, a tabby cat, was following the first very closely. He did his best to ignore the deliciously-smelling raven that was flying above them as he followed his senses to find the storehouse of food.

Turning the corner, the ginger part-kneazle hit the jackpot. At least ten mice were together in the corner. Crookshanks clawed for the closest, but it managed to avoid being caught, but this cat wasn't about to give up. It struck again, this time securing its supper in its claws.

After it took a bite, he looked at its companions, expecting that they'd caught a mouse as well. He knew that two of them had somehow achieved the great honor of becoming felines, so when he noticed them following him, he decided to show them what it was to be a cat, and there was nothing more natural than this.

The black one, Harry, had a mouse caught in his claws, but wasn't eating it, while his closest companion, Hermione, merely had a mouse cornered. Crookshanks took another bite of his prey and hoped they'd get the hint. However, it was not meant to be. His human reverted back to her original form, probably because she hadn't eaten enough. He pitied her losing such a magnificent, attractive form, instead settling for only two legs, not nearly enough fur, without even whiskers to help her sense what was around her. A few seconds later, Harry lost his form as well.

“I can't do it,” said Hermione. “I can't kill and eat a mouse.”

“Then I guess you couldn't survive as a cat,” replied Harry with a smirk.

“I hope that doesn't mean you'll try to hunt ravens instead,” added Padma, who'd transformed back as well.

“Ha ha,” replied Hermione. “Why don't you try eating worms and see how you like it?” At about that time, they heard another mouse squeal in agony as Crookshanks got another one.

“Anyway,” Harry cut in, “Regardless of the results, I do think we learned a bit more about what it means to be a cat.”

“I wonder if I should start following the post owls,” said Padma, “to learn more about being a bird.”

“Might not be a bad idea,” Hermione commented after a few seconds.

“What we really should be doing is spying on the Slytherins,” stated Harry. “I'll bet that at least one of them knows what Voldemort is planning next. We've got a secret passage that leads to their common room, Animagus forms, and an invisibility cloak.”

“It does make sense,” agreed Padma.

Harry smirked as he said, “I'll use my cloak to spy on the Slytherin girls' showers to see if any of them have Dark Marks,” before being smacked upside the head by his girlfriend. “…or not,” he added quickly.

--HPM--

“You have my word that I'll do my best to make sure you get more time to spend with your son, Mrs. Welsh,” he said with his winning smile. The witch he was speaking to was a secretary at the Ministry of Magic who had recently returned from maternity leave, but she was being forced to work too many hours - sixty per week. She thought that by appealing to the Minister of Magic himself, she could get results. Consequently, she caught him while he was leaving the Ministry building.

“Thank you, Minister Fudge.”

“It's no problem at all. Good evening.” He then pulled a small parchment notebook and ever-wet quill from his pocket and wrote, “Have Mrs. Welsh sacked,” before returning it to its rightful place. He briskly walked to the floo exit and clearly requested, “Fudge Manor.” Neither he nor anyone else noticed the small rat with a silver paw that jumped into the floo with him.

The Minister's home may not have been as grand as Malfoy Manor, but it was impressive. It had three floors, all of which were uncommonly tall, marble floors and wooden walls. Expensive artwork could be found hanging on the walls throughout the mansion. Outside were several acres of a finely manicured lawn. All of this was maintained by one very hard-working house elf. Cornelius stepped out of his tall fireplace skillfully and walked in the direction of his dining room as he brushed the soot off his suit and bowler hat.

“Dinky!” he shouted as he noticed something wrong.

With a loud POP, a male elf wearing a tea cozy that had an ornate `F' on it appeared, bowing low. “Yes, master?”

“Why is there dust on the floor behind me?”

“Because Master is leaving that behind as he…”

“Clean it up, now, and be quick about it! I want my supper in five minutes! Is that clear?” Fudge yearned for the good old days when he could hit his elf for oversights like that. However, he couldn't imagine the embarrassment of being caught breaking one of the stupid elf-abuse laws, so he didn't think the elf was worth kicking.

Dinky managed to clean the floor and still serve the meal on time, mainly because the meal had been ready before the master of the house had arrived, kept hot by a warming charm. Fudge sat down at the huge oak table and ate alone. His wife had left him years before, so he was used to this arrangement. After he'd finished his caviar, he retired to his family library, which was a large room with decorative wooden shelving that held hundreds of tomes, none of which had been read by the esteemed Minister of Magic. He merely liked to be able to claim that he spent an hour in his family library every night before bed.

When he'd finished his relaxation in a room formerly dedicated to learning, he walked to the master bedroom and changed from his suit into a long sky blue nightshirt. Just after he lay down, he heard a small click.

--HPM--

Peter Pettigrew, aka Wormtail, had managed to jump into the floo with Fudge, and immediately found himself hiding from an overworked house-elf. He'd barely survived helping resurrect Voldemort, who'd thought it was more important to call the other Death Eaters than to heal his follower who'd literally given his hand for his master. He'd passed out from blood-loss before Harry Potter had escaped with his master and thought he'd die, but one of the Death Eaters (and none would admit whom) took pity on him and stopped the bleeding. Eventually, the Dark Lord gave him a magical hand.

Had he ever spoken to someone about the ritual (or thought about it himself), he'd have realized that his hand contained flesh, blood and bone, while the ritual only called for his flesh. He shouldn't have had to cut off a limb like his master had ordered him: he should've only cut off a piece of skin. However, he never discussed it with anyone, nor did he think too much about it. He was now recovered, and working a much more dangerous mission than he preferred. Imagine if he got caught sneaking around the Minister's house!

Luckily, Fudge kept his elf too busy to notice a rat hiding. Once he knew Cornelius had gone to bed, he floo-called the house where other Death Eaters were waiting to come through. Although anyone flooing the Minister would need a password, the Minister could floo anyone he wanted. In other words, the security went only one way, and now had been breeched.

Bellatrix Lestrange was the first one to walk through the floo, followed by her husband Rodolphus, along with Crabbe Sr. and Delores Umbridge.

“I've always wondered how the Minister of Magic lived,” commented Crabbe as he looked around the beautifully decorated manor.

“He won't live for very long,” replied Umbridge in her annoying voice.

“Longer than he'd like,” added Bellatrix. “I know the Dark Lord has allowed you the killing blow, but itty bitty Fudgy needs to learn that his blunders won't be allowed. All his scheming against Harry Potty resulted in his getting better training in defense, and we all know that's you're itty bitty faulty.”

Normally, Umbridge would've protested the accusation that it was her fault that Potter got her arrested, but even she knew not to cross the most feared witch in Britain. She knew that Fudge was also blamed for allowing the brat into the Ministry building so that he could switch prophecies, which resulted in a very embarrassing illness for the master. She didn't dare mention that Fudge didn't have the authority to stop him from entering the Ministry building, since he wasn't a fugitive.

However, what she couldn't forgive was the way that Cornelius had completely turned his back on her when she was arrested. He pretended that he had no idea she planned to torture the students when he'd specifically suggested she do so. After all the years she'd faithfully served him, he didn't even try to keep her out of Azkaban. That was pure betrayal. He chose to save his own skin and let her rot. Tonight, she would have her revenge.

They opened the door to Fudge's bedroom, and didn't waste any time. Bellatrix had Fudge flying up into the ceiling while all his furniture was moved around. “Hello, Fudgy-Wudgy,” she said sweetly before letting him fall onto the floor. “Our master told us to say a few words to you. One of them is Crucio!” As Cornelius screamed in agony, his bladder emptied itself onto the front of his sky blue nightshirt.

At that moment, a panicking house elf Apparated to the Ministry of Magic to ask for help.

After a full minute, the mad woman let the spell go. The victim was gasping for air and trembling all over.

“Our Lord was disappointed in your performance - letting Potter grow in popularity!” stated Rodolphus before conjuring a fire-whip and beating Fudge with it as he screamed and cried in pain.”

“Stop! W-what do you want? I'll do anything!” he begged.

“How `bout if ya melt?” suggested Crabbe before sending Fiendfyre at his feet.

The suffering man's eyes rested on the non-disguised Umbridge. “P-please, Delores?”

“No one let's me take the fall for them! Avada Kedavra!” she hissed before turning back toward the door, leaving Fudge's burning corpse behind.

“Let's go!” commanded Bellatrix. “Wormtail, go outside and send up the Mark!”

“Y-yes.”

While the other Death Eaters were flooing away, Peter changed to his rat form and scurried out. He quickly transformed again to send up a Dark Mark. “Morsmordre!” he shouted before being shot in the back with a stunner.

--HPM--

When the terrified elf told Head Auror Scrimgeour that the Minister was being attacked, he mobilized his people as fast as he could, which was less than five minutes. Knowing that the house was warded to stop anyone from entering, they had to Apparate nearby, giving the Minister's attackers even more time to kill him. By the time they arrived, they saw a lone Death Eater with a silver hand firing a Dark Mark into the sky above the manor that was just beginning to burn with what appeared to be Fiendfyre. He instinctively knew they were too late to save Minister Fudge, but he wanted answers. Quick as lightning, he pulled his wand and stunned the one criminal they had. He couldn't wait to pour Veritaserum down that scum's throat.

--HPM--

Minister Fudge Murdered! Fudge Manor Burned Down!

By Anna Jesse

In a shocking turn of events, Death Eaters somehow managed to breach the security of the Minister of Magic's home last evening. The Aurors were alerted soon after, but when they arrived, they found the manor burning with fiendfyre and the Dark Mark being shot into the sky above. They captured the Death Eater who sent up the dreaded symbol and brought him to a holding cell where he was identified and interrogated.

“As hard as it is to believe, the man that was captured was none other than Peter Pettigrew, the man Sirius Black was arrested for murdering fourteen years ago. We found that he has the Dark Mark. When I looked up the record for Black's trial, I found that there wasn't one. This creates many more questions that will be asked of Pettigrew under veritaserum in front of the Wizengamot tomorrow,” said Amelia Bones, head of the DMLE and acting Minister of Magic.

“I can't believe it,” said Harry, in shock as he read the Daily Prophet.

“Maybe Sirius and Remus will be cleared,” whispered Hermione.

“I'm sure they'll like being able to use their real names and appearances again,” commented Padma, “especially Sirius.”

The paper also included related articles regarding Sirius' initial arrest and escape, as well as how Remus Lupin had helped him and they'd disappeared. It obviously didn't talk about how they'd escaped to America and used assumed identities, since very few people, none of whom worked for the Daily Prophet, knew about that.

One person who did know about that was Amelia Bones, who Aunt Minnie had contacted shortly after Sirius and Remus had left Hogwarts on a huge flying carpet. At the time, she agreed that the lie about Sirius and Remus was necessary, but now they had the rat in custody. She'd been trying to get Black's case reopened for more than a year, and now she had the authority to do so.

Before they'd finished breakfast, six official-looking owls flew into the Great Hall and separated. One went to Harry; another to Hermione; another to Padma; another to Brianna; another to Minerva; and the last one to Professor Burbage. All of them had seen Remus and Sirius together, and Remus had stunned Professor Burbage that night. Harry unrolled the scroll and read:

Mr. Harry Potter-McGonagall,

Your presence is required at the Ministry of Magic - Courtroom Ten - at nine thirty a.m. tomorrow to testify regarding the incident involving Sirius Black and Remus Lupin that occurred at Hogwarts on 6 June, 1994, as it is believed that this relates to the trial of Peter Pettigrew.

Percival Weasley

Undersecretary to the Minister

“I guess that idiot's still working at the Ministry,” commented Harry.

“I notice that he's not Senior Undersecretary,” commented Hermione.

“So he's just trying to make himself seem important even though he's really just a secretary to a secretary to a secretary of the acting Minister,” Padma completed.

“It looks like our Muggle Studies professor is confused about why she's been summoned,” Harry remarked.

“She'll find out soon enough,” said Hermione. “We can't explain it to her or it'll interfere with her testimony.”

“That Remus attacked her,” completed Harry.

“Yes,” his girlfriend agreed. “That will be her testimony, and we'll explain why he stunned her. We are telling the truth about the incident, even that detail.”

“Just not how Sirius and Remus escaped from Hogwarts,” added Padma.

“Exactly,” said Harry and Hermione together.

--HPM--

Much to the relief of Harry and company, the hearing at the Ministry was more of a formality than anything else. Wormtail was forced under veritaserum to tell the story of how he betrayed the Potters and then set Sirius up to take the fall. That was enough to revoke his Order of Merlin. He then told the story of how he'd hidden as a rat and eventually was found by Sirius Black. He told the Wizarding World what had really happened in Hagrid's old cabin when he'd come face-to-face with Sirius and Remus. Then he told about his part in Voldemort's resurrection ritual. That caused an uproar in the courtroom - more people than Harry could count were calling for Wormtail's head.

It was sad to watch Peter's mother, who thought she'd been the mother of a dead hero, find out that she was the mother of a traitorous Death Eater. Her face had paled and her countenance hardened. The old woman wouldn't even speak to her son.

The group from Hogwarts testified what they'd seen the night Pettigrew escaped Hogwarts to find his master, mainly so that the trial wouldn't be based on the testimony of just one man.

In the end, Pettigrew was sentenced to a Dementor's Kiss; all charges against Sirius Black were dropped; a large amount of gold was placed in Black's vault as compensation for his illegal imprisonment; and the charges against Remus Lupin were reduced to the misdemeanor of using a minor hex on someone. All of this was printed in the Daily Prophet, and within a few days, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black returned to England as free men.

--HPM--

A/N I'm sorry that the trial was a summary, rather than told in detail, but I didn't see much point in it. I've already described the trial process in the previous story, and no new information was revealed at the trial. You can assume Wormtail was crying and trembling in fear the whole time. If you want to read about how Wormtail escaped Hogwarts, it's in Harry McGonagall chapter 30.

Merry Christmas!

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6. The Minister of Magic

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Harry Potter-McGonagall - Chapter 6 - The Minister of Magic

“It's still hard to believe that Brianna can go to Hogsmeade now,” commented Harry as he and his girlfriend walked out of the castle. Padma was nearby walking hand-in-hand with Terry Boot while Brianna was up ahead of them walking with her boyfriend, James Sauder of Hufflepuff. “Who knows what those two'll…”

“Nothing worse than we did in our third year,” interrupted Hermione. “Besides, we'll be meeting up with them at the Three Broomsticks.”

A grin formed on the face of the Boy-Who-Lived. “That should be good. It'll be nice seeing Sirius and Remus without their disguises.”

“Indeed it will.”

The young couple walked around Hogsmeade, first stopping by the bookstore (to get that over with) so that Hermione could try to fill up their bottomless backpacks. Since Harry hadn't been to the village in over a year, he wanted to go everywhere. They hit Zonko's and Honeydukes, along with several other places before finally walking into the Three Broomsticks. It wasn't hard to find Remus and Sirius, since they were both talking to Rosmerta, who was setting glasses of butterbeer on their table.

“Hello, Sirius,” said a smiling Harry as he approached his godfather. “It's good to see you as yourself.”

“You're one to talk,” replied Remus with a grin. “You didn't look like yourself for fourteen years.”

“It was quite a surprise to everyone when Harry McGonagall turned out to be Harry Potter,” commented the owner. “What would you like?”

“Two butterbeers, please,” were requested by Hermione as they sat down. Harry felt uncomfortable when Rosmerta, like everyone else seeing it for the first time, glanced at his famous scar. Before the beverages arrived, Brianna and her boyfriend had walked in, followed closely by Padma and Terry.

What followed was an introduction of the former fugitives to the boyfriends and an enjoyable lunch. At one point, Harry asked what had happened to their rather successful woodshop in muggle Indiana, where they'd transfigure wood into whatever shapes customers would ask for. Remus told them they'd let a few American wizards manage the shop for them, making sure they knew all the rules for protecting the statute of secrecy so that the muggle customers never suspected that they were doing business with wizards. On a more serious note, it was mentioned that since the Dementors had left Azkaban, Pettigrew had been sent through the Veil of Death instead of receiving the Kiss, which everyone agreed was more merciful anyway. After an hour or so, the students left to wander around Hogsmeade for the remaining time before they had to return to Hogwarts, promising to keep in touch.

--HPM--

Not long after the students left, Charity Burbage walked into the pub. When she saw Remus Lupin sitting at a table with Sirius Black, she turned around to leave. However, the former Defense professor had spotted that and hurried to stop her. “Charity,” he called. “Don't leave on my account.”

“No,” she replied, looking at the floor. “I just remembered something I…”

Remus sighed. “You don't have to lie. You have every right to be upset at me. We were colleagues and I stunned you. I…”

“It's not that you stunned me!” she interrupted. “It's that you didn't trust me with the truth! None of you did! I know we're not the closest of friends but I thought…”

“That you deserved to be told the truth,” agreed Moony sadly. “You're right. At the time, it seemed like a good idea not to tell you, but we were wrong.” He took a deep breath. “Let me try to make it up to you. Let me buy you a drink?”

Reluctantly, Professor Burbage sat with Mr. Lupin to share a few drinks. Neither noticed a smiling Sirius Black leaving the pub.

--HPM--

“It won't be long now,” bragged Draco Malfoy in the Slytherin common room. He was in a corner talking to Crabbe and Goyle. “We'll have Pius Thickness as Minister of Magic. He'll sort things out for the Dark Lord.”

“How do you know he'll get the job?” asked Goyle.

“The Dark Lord will arrange it. My father said so. Once Thickness is Minister, he'll put the mudbloods in camps to keep them away from us.” He sniffed and looked disgusted at what he smelled. “I can't wait until the air around here is cleaned from their filth.

Slowly, a black tabby cat stalked away from that corner of the room to another section until he could hear someone breathing, although he couldn't see this person. He easily found her ankle through the thin material of the cloak she was wearing and rubbed his face against it. Within a few seconds, he heard a hissing sound that caused a hidden doorway to open. Both the invisible girl and the feline walked through.

Harry changed back to human form and Hermione took off his invisibility cloak as soon as the door closed behind them. “It's a good thing that there's a notice-me-not charm on that corner of the room,” commented Harry. “Otherwise the secret passage would be useless.”

“That's why Slytherin put it there. He wanted to sneak around the castle undetected. Did you hear anything useful?”

With his face taking on a serious expression, he replied, “Yes, I did. We need to tell Aunt Minnie.”

--HPM--

“Are you absolutely certain of this?” asked the headmistress.

“Absolutely,” he responded. “You know how easy it is to eavesdrop as a cat.”

“Then I must tell the Order. We have to prevent it.”

“The only question is how,” said Hermione. “Obviously, this Pius Thickness has the necessary support in the Wizengamot…”

“You mean enough Death Eaters and sympathizers there,” clarified Harry.

“Or Voldemort wouldn't be pushing for him,” she continued as though her boyfriend hadn't interrupted.

“I think I know who could beat him,” replied Minerva, “If we can persuade her to run.”

--HPM--

“As Minister, you could make an arrangement with the Goblin Nation to have Death Eater vaults checked for cursed items, especially Horcruxes,” suggested Dumbledore, who'd, under Minerva's very strong suggestion, told Amelia Bones about the vile creations that kept Voldemort alive. He suspected that one was in a Gringotts vault and didn't fancy breaking into the bank.

“I prefer to run the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to waving at the crowds and saying everything is fine,” replied Amelia Bones. She was in her house entertaining two guests - Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore.

“But you won't have to do that,” replied the former headmaster of Hogwarts.

“And you could appoint whoever you like in your position,” said McGonagall.

“I have a few suggestions, of course,” added Dumbledore, his hand still blackened from a terrible curse.

“And you could give your department a realistic budget!” Minerva suggested. “You've always complained how that Fudge gave you barely enough funds for peacetime.”

Amelia sighed. It was obvious they were getting through to her. “That is a good point. I'll…” At that moment, there was a loud siren-like sound filling the air. “My wards are under attack,” she exclaimed, flicking her wand out of its holster into her hand with practiced ease. She then took a fighting stance. Her guests joined her in preparing for a fight.

Before they reached the door, they heard a loud explosion. “May I assume that your wards have been breached?” asked the aged man.

“Yes,” was the only reply given before the door to Bones manor was blasted off its hinges toward them. All three managed to dodge that as a dozen uniformed Death Eaters stormed into the house.

Instantly, Amelia Bones started firing silent Reducto's at the invaders. She believed that a fight for your life wasn't the time to show off your vast knowledge of magic. She'd stick with one or two spells that she was good at whenever she had to fight. As usual, she was effective and deadly. Two of her attackers literally lost their heads before they'd taken one step into the house.

At the same time, Minerva was transfiguring one of the Death Eater's masks into an airtight helmet of death. Within seconds, the suffocating killer was desperately trying to remove his mask, making him easily vulnerable to McGonagall's stunner to the chest. He'd die quickly from his lack of oxygen as he lay on the floor.

Dumbledore, in the meantime, had five Death Eaters wrapped up in a fire whip shooting from his wand. With a flick of his wrist, they were all bound tightly in a series of metal chains so tight they fell.

The battle was going well until a hooded figure calmly stepped up to the threshold. As he took off his hood, he was revealed to be none other than Voldemort himself. His wand was in his hand, but pointing at the ground as he politely said, “Amelia, I had no idea you had guests. Please forgive me. I had hoped to come calling when you were alone.”

“Get out of my house,” the owner replied, her wand pointed straight at the Dark Lord.

“How utterly rude,” he replied, and with a small gesture the head of the DMLE was hurled against the wall.

“This ends tonight, Tom,” proclaimed Dumbledore, before forming a magical circle around himself and Voldemort.

Amelia, with a few cracked ribs, got up and moved toward the barrier of magic Dumbledore had formed. She pointed her wand at it and made to fire.

“No, Amelia,” shouted Minerva, looking like she wanted to cry. For all the problems she'd had with her former employer, she still cared about him. “He's buying us time to escape…with his life.”

“But…”

“It's his choice. He wants you to be Minister. Come on!” she said before grabbing her long-time friend by the arm and Apparating them both away to safety, after sending Reducto's at the Death Eaters Dumbledore had captured.

--HPM--

Voldemort glanced around the wall of magic that surrounded him and Albus. “Very impressive,” he commented. “I can't tell you how long I've waited for the chance to fight you one on one.”

“Only one of us will survive this battle, Tom,” promised the aged wizard.

“You're willing to kill me, Dumbledore? I thought you believed in giving everyone a second chance,” the Dark Lord mocked.

“I'm willing to do what is necessary for your final defeat, Tom.”

“Then let us begin,” Riddle answered before taking his wand in both hands and shooting a large flame shaped like a basilisk straight toward his foe.

Dumbledore twirled his wand counterclockwise twice before a funnel of air began shooting out of it toward the flaming serpent, engulfing it in magic.

Not one to be outdone, Riddle conjured large wooden stakes and sent them toward the old man. The weapons flew straight through the funnel of air, which added spin to them as they raced toward their target. Albus quickly conjured a metal wall which blocked them before he animated Voldemort's cloak.

The Dark Lord found himself fighting his own cloak that was trying to suffocate him, so he cancelled the spell before hurling a bolt of lightning at his long-bearded opponent.

With a small chuckle, Albus transfigured his metal wall into a lightning rod which drew the bolt into it.

Getting furious, Tom shot a spell of thunder at his former teacher, which filled the air around him with the amplified sound.

While he couldn't hear over the noise, the defeater of Grindelwald could still cast a silencing spell that greatly lessened, if not completely ended, the sound of thunder. “You cannot win, Tom. It would be best to give up now and leave your darkness,” he calmly stated before sending a blinding light at his opponent.

Voldemort looked away from the bright light before conjuring a snake to sneak upon his enemy. He then quickly sent a killing curse toward Albus so he wouldn't notice the serpent.

Dumbledore easily dodged the green spell before sending a super-powered Aguamenti at his former pupil, drenching him. He quickly followed that with a freezing charm.

“Argh!” shouted Voldemort as he found himself frozen in his clothes. He started casting a heating spell with his wand to melt the ice without burning him, but knew it would take too long. His only chance was…

“Ow!” shouted Dumbledore as the conjured snake bit him in the left leg. He shot a vanishing spell at the slithering creature, but it gave Voldemort the chance to break free of the ice and shoot a disarming spell at his long-time enemy. It hit him squarely and sent the wand flying from its master's blackened hand, landing on the floor in front of the Dark Lord.

While suffering from the pain of his bite, with venom making its way through his veins, Albus was unable to dodge the next spell that his enemy fired. “Avada Kedavra!”

Voldemort was laughing with glee as the former headmaster fell. The magical field collapsed. He'd lost a dozen of his disposable servants, but it was an equitable trade as far as he was concerned. He picked up the wand he'd expelled from Dumbledore's hand moments ago and Apparated away.

--HPM--

Albus Dumbledore Dies in Fight with the Dark Lord

By Anna Jesse

One of the most notable figures of our time, Albus Dumbledore, passed away yesterday. He and Headmistress McGonagall of Hogwarts were having tea with Amelia Bones, head of the DMLE, when Death Eaters attacked. The trio held their own until the Dark Lord himself showed up. Dumbledore took on You-Know-Who himself, allowing the two others time to escape, and was killed in the battle. His body was found in the ruins of the Bones ancestral home. His wand is missing, presumably taken as a souvenir by the Dark Lord.

Why were McGonagall and Dumbledore visiting Bones, you may wonder. The answer is even more interesting. “Because we'd found out that *the Dark Lord* was planning to get Pius Thickness into the now open position of Minister of Magic, we'd decided to persuade Amelia to try for it. She's been doing a good job as acting Minister.”

While Headmistress McGonagall actually used the Dark Lord's vile name in her quote, we decided to omit it, but her point is a valid one. Amelia Bones has been doing a splendid job. In related news, Senior Auror Pius Thickness was investigated late last night and found to be under the Imperius Curse, which adds more credence to the proposition that he was planned to be the next Minister.

Dumbledore's funeral will be held at Hogwarts in three days…

“The next page has the Daily Prophet strongly supporting Amelia Bones for Minister,” commented Hermione when she perceived her boyfriend had finished reading the front page article. They'd naturally been told what had happened, so they weren't surprised. They glanced up toward the black banners hanging in the Great Hall as the school mourned its former headmaster.

--HPM--

The Daily Prophet article had done its job, and the next day Minister Bones was sworn into office. It seemed that none of the Wizengamot members, even the Death Eaters, wanted to appear to be dark enough to vote against her. They might be plotting assassination attempts or other similar things, but didn't want to be perceived by the public as evil.

The first thing she did was propose a law that said all convicted criminals should have their vaults searched for cursed items. It was easy enough to push through, since the dark wizards on the Wizengamot weren't stupid enough to keep cursed items in their vaults. After the new law had passed, Amelia stated, “Now the hard part will be my persuading the Goblins to agree to enforce it.”

--HPM--

“No. The policy of this bank has always been and will always be that everyone, regardless of their legal standing anywhere else, can always access their vault if they can get into this building and that no unauthorized people, including the human Minister of Magic, can access those vaults. That is the only reason we're trusted. It is not up for negotiation no matter what you offer.”

“But Chief Ragnok,” pleaded Amelia, “these people are using the goblins. They don't respect you or your traditions! They're just trying to protect themselves!”

“Be that as it may,” the goblin replied, now showing some irritation, “it is not up for discussion. We will never allow Ministry personnel access to those vaults no matter what your courts claim they did!”

“Those people are killers!”

“That's what your Ministry said about Sirius Black not two weeks ago!” he retorted. “But his vault was safe with us the whole time your government held him in Azkaban and while he was in hiding!”

“The Ministry broke its own rules in that case, and it won't happen again while I'm Minister. But regarding the vaults, we just want to check the items and destroy anything dark - not to confiscate them.”

“No!” he growled at the woman in front of him, showing his teeth. “Even if I agreed, the Goblin Nation wouldn't! They'd chop my head off for agreeing and then kill any aurors you send!”

Amelia sighed. She had to admit that Ragnok was beginning to frighten her, but she knew that she couldn't show any weakness to him. At the same time, if she drew her wand in Gringotts, she knew they'd kill her no matter what position she held in human society. She was just about to give up when she got an idea.

“What if the Goblins checked the vaults for cursed items that could be a threat to your people? There are some curses that could even possess some of your associates. Imagine if a dark curse caused a goblin that happened to be near the vault to attack his brothers.”

“You believe that such a thing could happen?” Ragnok asked, now more concerned than angry.

“That and much worse.” She leaned forward and looked intently at him. “I have reason to believe that at least one container of a bit of Voldemort's soul is in your vaults.”

“I believe that it would be in the interests of the Goblin Nation, for the safety of the goblins that work near the vaults, for the contents of known dark witches and wizards to be checked for severe curses that could harm goblins. Any item with such a curse will be destroyed by the goblins and left inside the vault. It wouldn't hurt if I discussed what's been done for goblin safety with the human Minister of Magic to advise her on safety precautions she should take within her own Ministry, in the interests of good relations with the human government.” He paused for a moment before adding, “I do not see any reason to inform the human public of this small change in policy regarding goblin safety when working near the vaults.”

“I can respect your decision not to help us,” said Amelia with a smirk. “It was foolish of me to try to change your policy of protecting vaults. I do look forward to our future discussion of safety measures.”

Three days after Dumbledore's grand funeral where he was entombed at Hogwarts, Amelia Bones had been informed that a Horcrux had been found and destroyed in the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange.

--HPM--

A/N As I don't feel like writing about a funeral, that scene won't be in that story. Much of it will be similar to the one in Half-Blood Prince.

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7. Voldemort is on the Move

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Harry Potter-McGonagall - Chapter 7 - Voldemort is on the Move

“Welcome to the Ravenclaw-Slytherin Quidditch match!” shouted Lee Jordan as the players began to fly toward the center of the pitch. The huge crowd cheered in response. In the five weeks since Dumbledore's funeral, life had gone on as usual.

Minerva had mentioned to her nephew and niece that Albus' portrait had awakened and they'd discussed how, in his last few years, he'd come to understand that he had been wrong about several things, and he'd never have realized that if she hadn't actually held him accountable for his actions. It had been so long since he'd had to answer to anyone for his decisions, and he'd been treated with such reverence, that he'd begun to believe himself infallible. She'd shown him that he wasn't, and for that he was genuinely thankful. It had allowed him to be much more useful toward the end of his life.

“This is the first time Harry Potter-McGonagall has played since his true heritage came out, and he's playing on a real Firebolt!” The excitement in the multitude gathered in the stands doubled. It took about thirty seconds for Jordan to continue. “You may recall that the last time these teams played each other, Draco Malfoy was riding a fake Firebolt…”

“Jordan!”

“Sorry, Professor McGonagall, but you've got to admit it was funny.” The crowd laughed as Malfoy, astride his Nimbus 2001, took his position as Slytherin Seeker. His face was turning pink. Harry took his position as Ravenclaw's Seeker as each team member was announced. Roger Davies shook hands with the Slytherin captain before the Snitch was released. Once it was out of sight, Madam Hooch announced, “Let the game begin!”

“It seems weird being here in the stands,” commented Hermione, who was sitting with Padma and Terry in the Ravenclaw section. She'd opted out of Quidditch this year because of her OWLs.

“I suppose it would,” agreed Padma, “but at least now you can watch Harry more closely.”

“True,” she agreed while admiring her boyfriend as he flew as naturally as a bird.

“Davies has the Quaffle!” announced Lee, bringing their attention back to the action. They watched as Roger Davies swooped up and down, left and right to avoid being robbed. “Crabbe hits a Bludger toward him! He's passed the Quaffle to Bradley just before being hit. Ouch! That's gotta hurt!”

Hermione agreed with the announcer. Roger had been hit in the face and it looked as if his nose was broken. She knew he was too stubborn to get it looked at before the game was over, so she didn't comment on it.

“There's no way I'd keep playing like that,” commented Padma.

“That's why you didn't try out for the team,” replied Hermione with a grin.

“Bradley approaches the right hoop. Will it go in? It's a fake-out! He gets the Quaffle through the left hoop! Take that, Slytherin!”

“Jordan!”

“Sorry, Headmistress.” Hermione noted that Harry's Aunt Minnie didn't really look upset about Lee's comment. The truth is that if she were offended at his particular brand of announcing, there'd have been no way he'd have lasted all these years as commentator.

The game went on and Slytherin managed to get goals in as well, much to Jordan's disgust, which he made known in his own humorous way, before apologizing to Professor McGonagall. The score was 180 to 150, in favor of Slytherin, before Lee shouted, “It looks like Harry Potter has seen the Snitch! Look at him go in that Firebolt! The acceleration is…”

“Jordan, you're not paid to advertise Firebolts.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Hermione looked at the situation. She saw her boyfriend staring at the ground in deep concentration as he accelerated. She was truly amazed at how fast that new broom could go. Although she knew Harry had the skill to steer it, she was a bit nervous at seeing him dive that fast. She squinted as she tried to find the Snitch her boyfriend was diving toward, but didn't see it. She looked above him to see Draco struggling to catch up in his Nimbus, and was surprised to note that the gap between the two Seekers was closing.

“That should be impossible,” she whispered to herself before she realized what was happening. She looked further up and noticed that about ten feet above where Malfoy had originally been hovering, the Snitch was visible. She started laughing, much to the confusion of her friends as she watched Harry pull up three feet from the ground while Draco crashed. Her boyfriend then zoomed up to where the Snitch was still hovering and grabbed it out of the air before raising his fist in triumph.

“Has he? Yes, I see it! Harry Potter-McGonagall has caught the Snitch! Ravenclaw wins 300 to 180!”

Hermione Granger joined in the loud cheering as Slytherin lost their second match this year. In their first match, Ginny had beaten Malfoy to the Snitch, granting Gryffindor a victory. She didn't have Harry's showmanship, but she was still very good, and the only Seeker Hermione felt was anywhere near her boyfriend's league. She was surprised to see him swoop down in front of her, still astride his broom, and lean in for a kiss, which she gladly granted, while taking her hands in his. The crowd ooo'd and awe'd at that, slightly embarrassing them before Harry flew off to the changing room. As she was watching him leave, Hermione noticed something was moving in her hand. She glanced down to see he'd given her his Snitch. She giggled as she stuffed it in her handbag.

“That was sooooo romantic,” commented Padma. “I wish Terry would do things like that for me.”

“I'm romantic!” the boy in question protested.

--HPM--

The celebration in Ravenclaw Tower went quite late, so consequently the `Claws' that actually made it to breakfast the next morning, including Harry, Hermione and Padma, were quite tired.

“I still…” YAWN “…don't see why…” YAWN “…we had to get up…” YAWN “…this early,” said Harry, who'd protested his girlfriend coming into his dorm room and waking him up in time for breakfast. “It's Sunday. Padma didn't wake Terry.”

“We still have to do our exercises. You should be thankful I didn't wake you earlier.”

Harry did know she was right. If he was going to beat Voldemort, he couldn't let himself get out of shape and lose his edge. He knew he had the endurance to last a lot longer than any Death Eater or Dark Lord in a fight, and that would be his greatest advantage. He was always learning new curses, but didn't fool himself into thinking that he knew more spells than Voldemort. He just had to make sure he could dodge whatever Riddle sent at him and still be ready to fight back. Despite that, he still felt obligated to reply, “If you had, I'd have thrown my pillow at you.”

“Excuse me, guys,” interrupted a Gryffindor fifth-year boy they knew well.

“Yes, Neville,” Hermione responded.

By his response, it was obvious that the Longbottom heir was nervous. “Er, I was wondering if…well, I know you guys do exercising and training and stuff, and I was wondering if you were, y'know, training to fight Death Eaters?”

“Yes, we are,” said Harry, not seeing a reason to deny it. Everyone still would've believed that was the reason anyway. “You can't be prepared enough for an attack.”

“Yeah. I was, well, wondering if you could train…me?”

Harry had long ago, in America, learned of the attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom and had expected something like this ever since the Lestranges had escaped Azkaban. “Of course, Nev. But it will be tough.”

“I know,” he replied, looking even more nervous.

“Then let's get started.”

--HPM--

While it was obvious that Neville Longbottom was about to pass out within just a few minutes of starting their jogging around the lake, he didn't complain. He kept going for as long as he could, which turned out to be fifteen minutes, before he sat down panting and gasping for air. His face showed signs of being ready to pass out, but he didn't protest how hard he'd been pushed. He did, however, think this was an excellent opportunity to practice a spell they'd mentioned in study group a few weeks before. He pointed his wand toward his mouth and said, “Aguamenti.” Unfortunately, the water spell didn't act like a water fountain. It acted like a hose. Within seconds, his mouth and nose were full of water and he was choking as he dropped his wand. He was grateful his companions were far enough ahead that they didn't notice his blunder.

“Well, what do we have here?” sneered the Seeker who'd been humiliated the day before. He quickly picked up the discarded stick. “What does a squib need with a wand anyway?” The resulting chuckles brought attention to the fact that Malfoy had his two bodyguards with him.

“Give it back,” Neville shouted as best he could in between pants as he stood up.

“Or what?” mocked Draco as he held the stolen wand in both hands.

“Or I'll fight you,” Neville threatened, putting up his fists.

“Muggle fighting is all you can do, you filthy squib!” he taunted before making to snap the wand.

“No!” shouted Neville, looking concerned about his father's wand.

“Why shouldn't I break it?” he asked before Neville jumped at him, his fists flying at Malfoy's face. As soon as Neville's fist collided with Draco's jaw, he fell and the Gryffindor got on top of him. The pampered prince of Slytherin threatened, “The Dark Lord will get you,” while Longbottom pounded on his face until two thugs grabbed him and started to rough him up.

Malfoy, nose bleeding with the beginnings of a black eye, stood up and commanded, “Hold him there, Crabbe and Goyle,” before he started punching Neville in the stomach.

It was at that moment three red beams of light shot straight into the three Slytherin backs. Neville looked up to see Harry, Hermione and Padma walking toward him, wands in hand, as the snakes collapsed unconscious.

“What happened?” asked Harry.

“Are you alright?” asked Padma as she approached him, looking for damage.

“I'm not too hurt,” he claimed as he blushed from the attention he was receiving. “Luckily, Draco didn't let the two goons hit me much before he started throwing his weak punches at me.”

“But how'd it start?” asked Hermione.

“I dropped my wand and Draco grabbed it. Which reminds me…” He then frantically looked around the ground until… “Oh no! My wand got broken! It was my dad's.”

“That's awful!” said Harry as he examined the two pieces, before sighing. “Who threw the first punch?”

Looking down, he admitted, “I did.”

With a grin, the Boy-Who-Lived replied, “I understand. Draco can get under anyone's skin. I used to fight him all the time. But you've got to remember that if you start the fight, you'll get in trouble. My aunt can't let us get away with everything we do.” He looked around. “They didn't see us stun them, and I don't think they'll want to report that they lost against a Gryffindor they had three to one odds against. I say we leave them here.”

“I agree,” said Padma, and the others didn't protest.

“Let's have lunch at C.A.R.E. headquarters,” suggested Hermione.

--HPM--

“This is the place,” said the woman in a dark robe. The most feared witch in Britain turned her head to face her two companions, both of whom were wearing full Death-Eater garb.

“I still say we should've attacked his mudblood girlfriend's parents,” commented one of them.

“Special wards have been put up at their house, Rabastan. We already discussed this! Help would be at that house before we even got inside. His other friend's parents will have to do.”

“It should send the message, anyway,” commented Bellatrix Lestrange in a sing-song voice. “This should be fun!” She then wordlessly shot a spell at the door in front of her, blasting it backwards, revealing the common room.

A red spell shot out the door toward Bellatrix, who easily shielded the stunner. “How dare you fire at me? Crucio!” While she tortured Mr. Patil, her husband and brother-in-law entered to find Mrs. Patil.

--HPM--

“Miss Patil, may I have a private word with you?” Padma was a bit surprised that her head of house, Professor Flitwick, had been waiting in the common room when she'd entered it from her dorm, but had thought he'd had a reason that had nothing to do with her. Now, judging by his solemn expression, along with the fact he'd singled her out, she was very worried. This could not be good news.

Apparently, Hermione had picked up on that as well. “May Harry and I accompany her, Professor?”

Sighing, he nodded. “Perhaps that would be best.”

“Good morning. What's going on?” asked Harry as he approached the group.

“We're accompanying Padma for a talk with Professor Flitwick.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.”

“This way, please,” said Filius as he led them to his office. When they entered, they found Parvati already inside, along with Lavender Brown and Professor Sinistra, the head of Gryffindor. Once they were seated, he said, “I'm sorry. I don't know any other way to put this.” He sighed and looked at the two Patil girls. “Last night, your parents were attacked by Death Eaters.”

“No!” shouted both sisters as they instinctively grabbed each other's arm.

“I'm afraid it's true,” confirmed Sinistra. “Your mother is hurt badly but will recover.”

“What about Dad?” asked Parvati.

“I'm afraid your father was…” Sinistra blinked back tears as she glanced at Flitwick, who nodded.

“I'm afraid I have to inform you that your father was tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange,” he said as calmly as he could, under the circumstances. Harry and Hermione immediately put their arms around Padma while Lavender did the same with her best friend. “You may stay here as long as you wish. You're all dismissed from classes his morning. We'll arrange for you two to visit St. Mungo's after lunch.” The two professors then quietly left the grieving students.

--HPM--

It wasn't long before Harry realized why the Patil family had been targeted, although he kept his mouth shut until Padma and Parvati had been escorted to the hospital by Harry's aunt, who, unlike the two heads of house, didn't have classes to teach.

“Voldemort was sending a message to me,” he claimed while facing his girlfriend. “That's the only explanation.”

“I know,” she agreed in a whisper.

“You know?” he asked, surprised. “Aren't you going to argue that it wasn't the reason, that it was pure chance?”

“No,” his crying girlfriend replied. “I will emphatically state that it wasn't your fault, but I agree that's the reason they were picked.”

“I should've insisted that they get wards like your parents have!”

“That would've been great for them, but the Death Eaters would've still attacked someone. That's what those monsters do. All we can do is to prepare as best we can to stop them.”

“Sometimes I feel so useless!”

--HPM--

“Mum will be spending the next week in St. Mungo's recovering, and she's planning on us leaving the country during Christmas break. She's looking into having me and Parv transferred.”

“Oh no!” replied Harry and Hermione together.

“Maybe she'll change her mind. In the meantime, my house is going under the Fidelius Charm with my mum as secret-keeper.”

“That's probably a good idea,” said Harry, hesitantly.

“I know why my family was chosen, Harry, and I want you to know I don't blame you. It's them I want to fight.” She sighed. “Parvati was hoping you'd let her join our training. She wants some revenge.”

“Of course,” replied Harry and Hermione together.

The next day, both Patil twins were jogging around the lake with Neville, Harry and Hermione. Neville hesitantly approached the twins, telling them of his parents' condition. They started spending a lot of time together.

--HPM--

About a week later, Neville and Parvati were doing prefect rounds when they heard some shouting echoing down the hall.

“You don't have your brother around to protect you tonight, do you?”

“I don't need Harry to protect me from you! I…”

As the Gryffindor prefects approached, they recognized Brianna, but not the person she was arguing with. He was in an outfit that hid his identity - a dark robe with a white mask. It looked similar to Death Eater garb, but not quite authentic. Neville suspected it was a wanna-be. He was drawing his wand when he saw a spell hit Brianna from behind. From the way she stiffened up and fell backward, he knew it was the full body-bind. He, as well as Parvati, pointed his new wand, one that had chosen him, but before they could do anything, someone else ran from the other direction.

“Reducto! You scum!” The original attacker screamed in agony as his right hand was blasted off.

“Crucio!” shouted the other, putting James Sauder under the torture curse. Seeing that particular spell angered both Neville and Parvati, however, there was a problem. From their angle, it would've been very easy to hit Brianna if they missed. They looked at each other and nodded, each realizing that the other understood. They immediately sent stunners at both attackers, who fell to the floor.

“I'll get Professor McGonagall. You help them,” said Parvati before running off.

Neville quickly ran up to the victims. “Finite,” he said while pointing his wand at Brianna, who could now move again. He helped her up while James managed to stand on his own.

“That's quite a curse,” he commented while still shaking from it.

“Yeah,” Neville softly responded while nodding. “Parvati Patil is getting the headmistress. In the meantime, we can bind these creeps. I'm sure she'll want to hear the story from you.”

“I just hope we don't lose points for being out after curfew,” said Brianna while accidentally stepping on one of the Death Eater wanna-be's. “James and I were supposed to meet here to…” Brianna looked a bit uncomfortable.

“I get the picture,” interrupted Neville with a grin.

--HPM--

“Why'd you just stun the bas…”

“Harry, language,” corrected Hermione half-heartedly while Neville and Parvati were explaining what had happened the night before to Harry, Hermione and Padma. The Headmistress had been incensed and immediately brought the perpetrators to the Ministry herself. Inwardly, Hermione agreed with her boyfriend.

“You should've blasted their bits off!” he finished. “I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm thankful you were there to help Brianna and James, but I just wish…”

“I know,” interrupted Neville with a grin. “You wanted more violence.”

“Exactly. Now they're going to jail and I won't be able to get any revenge.”

“Believe me,” replied Neville, “We both wanted to hurt them badly. They used the Cruciatus.”

“The reason we stunned them is because we could've hit your sister,” said Parvati.

“And what would you have yelled at us if we'd accidentally Reducto'd Brianna?” added Neville.

“I suppose that makes sense,” commented Harry, “but I still wish they'd been hurt worse. I mean, only one of them lost a hand.” He sighed. “I guess I'll have to thank James for that.”

--HPM--

Harry did thank James for defending Brianna a bit later when the trio visited them in the hospital wing. Although they were fine, Minerva had insisted that they be checked by Pomfrey, who thought it best to have them spend the night before being released to attend classes. The Headmistress gave a very stern warning to anyone considering repeating the actions of the night before, and Harry had never seen her look more serious and angry. The perpetrators turned out to be two seventh-year Slytherins Harry had never met before named Anthony Dirkwood and Jason Richardson. Both of them were over 17, so they couldn't argue that they were minors to try to get lighter sentences. Richardson, who had cast the Cruciatus, was sentenced to life in prison while Dirkwood got five years.

Before long, it was time to leave Hogwarts for the Christmas break, and for the first time, Harry would be riding the Express during winter break. While normally he'd have waited with his aunt and Apparated with her, he was obligated to perform his Prefect duties, which included patrolling the Hogwarts Express. Brianna decided to ride the train as well, to spend more time with her boyfriend. They were surprised to see Professor Burbage riding a carriage to Hogsmeade with them.

“Well if you must know,” she answered with a grin after Harry asked what she was doing after he, Hermione and Padma had gotten aboard her carriage, “I have a date.”

“Really?” asked Hermione. “That's wonderful.”

“Anyone we know?” asked Padma. They could tell that the Muggle Studies professor wasn't uncomfortable talking about her life with them.

“As a matter of fact, it is. A certain former professor of Hogwarts sent me an invitation.”

“Let me guess,” joked Harry, “It's Mad-Eye Moody.”

The three ladies burst out laughing.

“Not quite. It's Remus Lupin.”

“That's terrific,” said Hermione, looking genuinely pleased. “He really is a great guy.” At that moment, the thestral-drawn carriage stopped. “We'd better go.”

“Tell Remus we said hi,” requested Harry as he helped his girlfriend off the carriage. They quickly made their way to the scarlet train that looked just like the model he'd been given as a young child. After they boarded and found a compartment, the couple made their way to the Prefects' meeting.

--HPM--

Harry and Hermione quickly volunteered for the first rounds, in order to get it out of the way, so they found themselves walking the length of the Hogwarts Express a little over one hour into the trip. They'd found a few couples getting a bit too familiar and had them cool off. Brianna knew that her brother would try to get the first rounds, so she and James were sitting one foot apart when the Ravenclaw prefects walked by. The couples happily greeted each other. Once they'd gone, Brianna and her boyfriend moved closer and started kissing.

When Harry and Hermione were in the area the Slytherins used, they noticed that Malfoy wasn't there. “Where do you suppose he is?” asked Hermione.

“Probably hexing a first-year,” said Harry. “We'd better find him.” They hadn't noticed that Draco wasn't the only one missing from the train as they looked around for him.

They were just about to give up their search when they heard a noise in the last car. They noticed the curtain had been drawn closed, so they opened the door to see something they did not expect. Draco Malfoy, with his broom in hand, was climbing out the window.

“Malfoy!” shouted both Ravenclaws as he jumped, but it was too late. They rushed forward to look out the window, to see they'd been over a high bridge. They watched as he managed to mount his Nimbus and start flying before hitting the ground.

They heard him shout, “Enjoy the train ride!” at them before they noticed he wasn't the only wizard outside. There was a crowd of Death Eaters on brooms.

After muttering an expletive, which Hermione didn't bother to correct, Harry grabbed her hand and they both bolted out of the compartment toward the front, intent on speaking to the conductor. When they were nearly there, it happened.

BOOM!!!

The train was hit so hard that it fell on its side and continued sliding for about a minute before crashing into a group of trees. Harry and Hermione were thrown into a wall. He managed to get up while he asked, “Are you alright, Hermione?”

“Yeah, I am. Aside from a few bruises, I'm fine. You?” She got up after he held out his hand for her.

“The same.”

“Help me!” called a muffled voice from nearby that Harry would recognize anywhere.

“Brianna?” he asked while looking around for the source. “Where are you?”

“In the loo. I can't move.”

He and his girlfriend quickly located the bathroom and opened the door, which was a bit awkward since the train was on its side. Harry was pleased that his sister was clothed, but terrified as he noticed that her left leg was bent in a way that it shouldn't be and her head was bleeding. Before he could say anything to his sister, another familiar voice, this one booming from a Sonorus spell, echoed all over the train.

“Harry Potter, if you don't want the entire train destroyed with all your fellow students, show yourself.” It was Voldemort.

Harry's eyes grew cold as he summoned his wand from his holster.

“Harry…” said Hermione.

“Don't tell me not to…”

“I wasn't going to,” she answered. “You have no choice. I was going to wish you good luck, and promise to take care of Brianna.” She hugged him tightly before giving him a quick peck on the lips. “I believe in you.”

He managed to say, “I love you,” before making his way toward the nearest exit. Had he not been so focused, he'd have noticed that he wasn't the only student headed in that direction. Once he managed to get out the door, he saw the Dark Lord standing nearby surrounded by several Death Eaters.

His green eyes full of fury, Harry said coldly, “Hello, Vol de moi.”

-->

8. Confrontation

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Harry Potter-McGonagall - Chapter 8 - Confrontation

“Vol de moi?” replied the Dark Lord, his red eyes glowing in anger. The surrounding Death Eaters, along with Nagini, were spreading out to face the students that had exited the recently crashed Hogwarts Express behind Harry. “Are you daring to imply that I flee from you?”

“That's what you did at our last meeting,” Harry answered with a smirk. “It might not be perfect French grammar, but I think it gets the point across.”

“I'm not running from you today, Potter!” he hissed. “Today, we're going to end our little rivalry. I'm going to break you, Harry. After today, if people still speak of you at all, it'll be of how you begged for death, and I, being a merciful lord, granted it.”

Doing his best to look confident, the Boy-Who-Lived responded, “You're welcome to try.” Then, he pointed his wand and thought, “Reducto!” beginning the battle.

--HPM--

Just a few minutes before, a shaken up and bruised Ginny Weasley had gotten up from where she'd fallen as the train crashed. After she made sure she didn't have any major injuries, she started making her way toward the nearest exit, knowing that someone would have to fight the monsters that had attacked a train full of students. When she heard Tom Riddle, for that was how she thought of the Dark Lord, shout for Harry to come out and fight, the youngest Weasley knew that if he was conscious, her friend and rival Seeker would face the madman. She decided that, even if, according to the prophecy, he would have to personally kill Voldemort, he wouldn't be facing all the Death Eaters as well. As others joined her, she realized that they weren't about to let Harry fight their battles, either.

She wasn't surprised when Harry Potter-McGonagall walked out and began insulting Tom, and was ready when one of the masked Death Eaters started firing on her. She dodged out of the way quickly and sent a cutting hex at him, which her opponent managed to shield. However, this allowed her to take the initiative as she fired curse after curse as he blocked them all. Then, from behind her, she heard another Death Eater say the dreaded words, “Avada Kedavra.”

--HPM--

“It sounds like the battle has started,” commented Brianna to Hermione. The Chosen One's sister had stopped bleeding from her head under the older girl's care. Her brother's girlfriend had her wand out with one eye staring around them, looking for any motion, while her other hand was trying to make her comfortable.

“I suppose so,” she replied while glancing around them again.

“I wish I could be in the fight,” said Brianna. “You don't have to stay. I'll…”

“I am not going to leave you alone,” Hermione interrupted.

At that moment, almost from out of nowhere, a huge snake snapped at Hermione, who barely dodged out of the range of its fangs. She started shooting spells at it that seemed to just bounce off its scales as it changed its intended victim to the prone girl with a broken leg. Brianna managed to shout, “Reducto!” blasting one of the serpent's eyes, causing it to hiss loudly. It opened its mouth wide, making ready to strike in revenge. Unfortunately for Nagini, her lack of a right eye stopped her from noticing Hermione get into position, until it was too late.

“Reducto!” Hermione shouted, shooting into the snake's open mouth. The blast penetrated the beast's brain, causing instant death.

“That was close,” whispered Brianna.

“Yeah,” agreed her companion just before a green mist rose out of the dead snake and an unearthly scream filled the air.

“What was that?” asked Brianna.

It took about five seconds for Hermione to realize what that meant. “It must have been a Horcrux. That would make all seven,” she whispered to herself as she ran through the list of the diary Harry destroyed, the locket and ring Dumbledore had destroyed, Ravenclaw's Tiara that and Harry had found, Hufflepuff's Cup that the goblins had destroyed and Harry's scar that had been relieved of its Horcrux the night Voldemort had resurrected. “He's mortal now,” she whispered. “I wish Harry knew.”

“Do you have your mirror with you?” Brianna asked.

“Yes.”

“Why don't you call Aunt Minnie and have her call the Ministry?”

--HPM--

Ginny dodged the green beam of light that had been sent her way with ease. However, the Death Eater she'd been fighting apparently hadn't expected that. When she dodged the spell that had been shot from behind, it went past where she'd been and straight into the other Death Eater. She then turned and started fighting the one who'd just tried to kill her, but instead killed his ally.

--HPM--

It was a sight to behold as Harry and Voldemort battled it out. The Dark Lord was using more complex spells, but the Chosen One was holding his own, dodging whatever his nemesis through at him, while Riddle was blocking everything the Boy-Who-Lived shot at him. The younger opponent was currently rolling out of the way as a large fire-serpent was flying at him from Tom's wand. Just as he stopped moving, he shot a cutting curse at Voldemort's hand, causing him to end the fiery spell in order to block. All of Harry's physical training was paying off as he wasn't even getting tired from his dodging - this time from a Cruciatus curse.

“You'll never win,” taunted Voldemort. “Why don't you give up and stop your little dance while you still have some dignity?”

“Why don't you shut up?” he spit back before shooting a fireball at the killer of his birth parents.

--HPM--

While the battle was going on outside, Ron Weasley began making his way toward the exit.

“I hope I don't run into any Death Eaters inside the train,” he whispered to himself, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to fight in close quarters.

“I think you will,” came a voice from another compartment. He turned to see a masked Death Eater pointing his wand at him. The enemy fired a Cruciatus curse at the redhead, causing him to jump out of the way, landing a bit clumsily, but avoiding the torture curse.

“I guess you want to make this difficult,” commented the attacker.

“Reducto!” shouted Ron, surprising his opponent as his left arm was hit. The Gryffindor was back on his feet now, firing every hex he could think of so that his enemy would be too busy blocking to fire back. He began closing in on the maniac, causing him to back down the hall.

Ron smirked when he looked down that corridor to see another Death Eater being backed down, this one toward him. He had to admit he was surprised to see that the one firing was the person he considered the hottest girl in Gryffindor, if not the school - Lavender Brown.

Knowing this was a life or death situation, he decided to take the cheap shot at the other Death Eater's back, which was blasted in two. At the same time, he was showered with some of the remains of the attacker he'd been fighting.

Lavender walked up to him with a smirk, “I guess we both got the same idea, Weasley.” She winked at him before turning back the way she came. “There are more of them, Ron.” He followed, if only because he liked to watch her walk.

--HPM--

Outside the wreckage of the train, within a viewing distance of Harry's battle with Voldemort, Neville Longbottom, who'd been one of the many who'd followed the Chosen One off the train, had just taken down a Death Eater that he suspected was a new recruit. However, before he could enjoy his victory, he heard a female voice saying, “It looks like Longbottom knows how to play.” He turned to see the face that filled his nightmares. He was looking into the eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the few attackers not wearing a mask. He had to stop himself from shaking in fear as he held his wand steady. This was the moment he'd been training for.

He shot a cutting curse at her, which only made her laugh as she tapped it away with her wand. “Is that all you've got, Nevie-poo?”

“Reducto!” he shouted, only to be taunted again.

“I must say I'm disappointed. Your parents put up such a better fight than you. They'd be so ashamed.”

He shot a fireball, which she put out with an over-powered, “Aguamenti!” blasting him in the face with water as though he were being attacked with a hose. His opponent was cackling the whole time. He knew he was severely outclassed.

She started shooting curse after curse, which she easily stopped, not giving up one millimeter of ground. It was clear she was toying with him. She was blocking another cutting curse when her wand grew a whip out of it that reached out and grabbed Neville's feet, roughly pushing him on the ground. “It's time for you to feel what I did to your parents, Neville. Crucio!”

--HPM--

Not far away, Harry and Voldemort were still going at it. The Chosen One, sweat pouring from his dirty face, was shooting conjured arrows at his foe, a spell he'd recently learned that he was quite proud of. Unfortunately, Riddle caused incredible wind to push them all into the ground.

“When are you going to realize you can't win? When will you just admit defeat?”

“Every time I argue with my girlfriend,” he replied, doing his best to sound bold. In truth, he had now gone through every spell he knew, but hadn't landed a single shot. On the other hand, Riddle hadn't gotten him, either.

“Ah, yes. Miss Granger. I believe I'll find her once I'm through with you.”

Harry gritted his teeth as he fought to control his temper. Suddenly, he had an inspiration. He'd act like he wasn't controlling his temper. “YOU WILL NOT!” he shouted, beginning to run toward his enemy, seemingly forgetting he had a wand.

“It seems I've hit a nerve,” taunted Voldemort.

Harry got within just a few feet of Riddle, pulled back his left fist, preparing to punch him, and shouted, “Reducto!” causing his wand, which was in his right hand, to blast the wand in Tom's hand. It shattered in his hand as Harry's left fist made contact with his jaw, sending him falling onto his back. The destruction of his wand had caused a momentary lapse of concentration, which Harry was only to happy to take advantage of.

Harry pointed his wand at his disarmed opponent and began the incantation for a cutting curse aimed at his throat.

Before Harry could complete the spell, Voldemort pulled another wand out of his pocket and silently pushed Harry to the ground. As he quickly bounced back onto his feet, he recognized that the Dark Lord was holding Dumbledore's wand.

--HPM--

Pain. That's all his existence was. He'd heard of the Cruciatus curse all of his life, how it had cost him his parents, but he'd never felt it until now. Knowing who was doing this to him made it all the worse. Neville didn't know whether he'd been under the curse for a minute or a month - he just knew he couldn't take much more of this. He could easily see how this had driven his parents out of their minds.

Bellatrix Lestrange was cackling madly as she twisted her wand, causing her victim to scream one octave higher. She idly wondered if she could learn to manipulate the screams so well as to use her playmates as musical instruments. She was brought out of her thoughts when a raven suddenly swooped down in front of her. She stopped the curse on the Longbottom boy to kill this blasted avian when it changed form in front of her, becoming a girl pointing a wand at her.

“My compliments on learning to transform so young,” Bella said before adding, “Don't I know your parents, Miss Patil?” Without waiting for a reply, she shouted, “Crucio!”

Padma dove out of the way while watching a shaking Neville stand up, getting his wand off the ground where he'd dropped it.

“So, now I'm facing two almost-orphans I created. What fun!” Lestrange taunted as her whip was once again conjured and aimed at Padma.

--HPM--

“Do you really think I'd be so foolish as to only carry one wand?” bragged Voldemort as Harry glared at him. “Let me guess. You thought you'd won, didn't you?”

“Reducto!” shouted Harry, no longer conversing with his opponent. He was more determined than ever before to end this.

“Tsk, tsk. Don't be so rude,” Riddle gloated as he batted away Harry's spell. “I've so enjoyed our conversation.” He then conjured a stone that flew at his opponent like a hit Bludger. Fortunately, the Boy-Who-Lived had lots of experience dodging them, so he had no problem with that as he shot his next spell. Pointing his wand at Voldemort's feet, he transfigured his shoes into roller skates. Unfortunately, Riddle kept his balance while shielding the follow-up tripping hex. By the time Tom's shield had been broken, his shoes had been returned back to normal.

--HPM--

Hermione, who'd finished speaking to Minerva, who'd promised to call the aurors, was standing up guarding Brianna against the latest Death Eater who had entered the hallway when he fell forward, dead from a blasting hex to the neck. She looked behind the corpse to see James Sauder, Brianna's boyfriend, standing with his wand pointed. She could see the moment he noticed his girlfriend on the floor.

“How is she?” he asked, his eyes showing how concerned he was.

“I'm dead, Jim,” she replied, causing Hermione to snort at her Star Trek joke.

“It's good to see you've still got your sense of humor, although your leg looks awful.” He had noticed how her broken leg was bent the wrong way.

“I thought you liked my legs,” she replied, faking offence, causing Hermione to role her eyes. “Hermione, you can go help that crazy brother of mine before he gets himself killed. James will protect me, won't you?” She turned to her boyfriend.

“With my life,” he promised, and Hermione transformed into a cat and took off.

--HPM--

Padma had to admit that Bellatrix Lestrange had well earned her reputation at the most feared witch in Britain. She was taking on both Neville and herself, and making it look easy. It was all they could do to avoid getting hit. At this point, Lestrange wasn't shooting torture curses anymore, since that could never work while fighting two opponents. While you hold one under the curse, the other kills you.

Suddenly, a beam of light shot toward Bella from the other side. The experienced Death Eater managed to dodge, but saw she was in a bad predicament. Parvati Patil was behind her while the other two were in front of her.

“Let's spread out and surround her!” ordered Padma as they caught Lestrange in a crossfire.

--HPM--

The cat that was Hermione had just exited the train and was looking around. She did the closest thing to a smirk that a cat is capable of when she noticed Bellatrix's predicament. However, she wasn't here to observe the battle. She spotted Harry and Voldemort, almost in a world of their own as they were given a wide berth. She made her way through the chaos unnoticed until she got as close as she felt she could, and transformed back into a girl.

“Well, aren't you full of surprises, mudblood?” asked a voice she recognized from behind her. She inwardly cursed that she was so careless to let someone see her. She spun around while shouting, “Reducto!” surprising Draco Malfoy while blasting a hole through his chest. She took a deep breath, keeping herself focused on what needed to be done. She could have a panic attack after the battle was over. For now, she had to help Harry.

--HPM--

Even in a crossfire, Bellatrix Lestrange lasted longer than most fighters would. However, when three blasting hexes were shot at her, she had no place to dodge to and couldn't shield in three different directions at once. The most feared witch in Britain died from being shot by three children of her victims. Most would agree that it was a fitting end for her.

--HPM--

Hermione got close enough to help Harry just as he was dodging a fireball Voldemort had sent his way. However, Riddle had picked up his pattern and quickly fired a bone-breaker where he'd dodged. His right hand was hit, causing his wand to fly backwards, far away from him, as he cradled his broken hand in pain.

“Harry!” shouted Hermione in horror, giving her presence away.

“I told you how this would end, didn't I, Harry,” gloated Voldemort. “If you'd have given up earlier, you wouldn't have had to see this.” He pointed his wand at Hermione.

Harry moved his left hand to summon his first wand from its holster while his enemy was distracted.

“Avada…” said Riddle lazily.

“Reducto!” thought Harry at the same moment.

Voldemort didn't get to finish his curse because his mouth, along with the rest of his head, had been blasted off his body.

“You did it!” proclaimed Hermione while Harry watched the corpse fall.

“He'll be back.”

“No, he won't. I had to kill his snake, and when I did, a green mist floated out of it and screamed.”

Harry looked at her incredulously. “You mean…”

“Yes. He's dead forever.”

--HPM--

All around Harry, Death Eaters were being killed. When Harry decapitated their master, they felt their Dark Mark completely fade and were distracted. The few who weren't killed surrendered. Showing their usual promptness, the aurors arrived moments after the battle ended. Harry commented to his girlfriend, “At least they can clean up the mess.”

In the end, while most students were injured, only ten were killed, one of which was Anthony Goldstein. Rufus Scrimgeour, the new head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, showed up soon after the aurors and congratulated Harry on his victory. He thanked the man, but his heart wasn't in it. He just wanted to get away from the area. Aunt Minnie soon arrived and hugged him tightly at about the same time the Healers arrived. Brianna was taken to St. Mungo's. Her family, along with Hermione and James, followed.

Over the course of Christmas break, celebrations were held, Orders of Merlin rewarded (Harry got a first-class while everyone else who participated in the battle got a second-class) and funerals were attended. Harry and Hermione helped each other get over their traumas as best they could. The break ended quickly, and soon they returned to school. Life went on.

--HPM--

I hope you enjoyed the battle. An epilogue will be following.

-->

9. Epilogue

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Harry Potter-McGonagall - Chapter 9 - Epilogue

“Harry, wake up, mate,” said Michael Corner as he pulled back the blue curtains that were protecting his dorm mate from the sunlight.

The Man-Who-Won blinked his eyes as the light shone onto his face, ending his slumber. “Wh-what?”

“It's time to wake up. We've got to get breakfast, and then we'll have just a few hours to get ready.”

Finally remembering what was going on, Harry Potter-McGonagall smiled at his friend for seven years. “At least this is the last time you'll be waking me up.”

“Yeah. I'll leave that to Hermione in the future.”

Harry's grin widened at the thought of his fiancé. “I'll bet she's already up, as usual.”

“No doubt about that is there?” asked Terry Boot, who revealed himself to be awake and already dressed for the day. The dorm the three of them shared still contained a fourth bed - the one that had belonged to Anthony Goldstein. Every day, in what had become something of a ritual, Harry would glance at the empty bed and close his eyes in remembrance of his friend. This would be the last time he'd be able to do that.

“No doubt at all,” replied Harry, after a few moments. He noticed a hoverboard on top of his magical trunk and placed it into the largest compartment, on top of a stack of hoverboards. Then he made his way to the bathroom, where he showered and prepared to face the day, somehow sad that this would be the last time he'd go through his morning ritual in the Ravenclaw dorm. While he was still exercising most days, he'd decided not to do it on this special occasion. He still kept in shape because he never knew when the next nut would try to take over the world. When he finally reached the common room, he saw the woman he loved waiting for him.

“Well, it took you long enough, Harry,” she exclaimed. “Did you oversleep again?” He could tell that she was frazzled, most likely because of the importance of this day.

“Good morning to you, too, love,” he replied with a smirk.

The Head Girl took a deep breath. Her years with Harry had calmed her down to a point, but sometimes she still overreacted, and this was one of her boyfriend's ways of pointing that out to her. “Good morning, Harry. I'm sorry that the first words out of my mouth were me nagging you instead of saying, I love you.”

“I love you, too. And, you're right. I am running late, but I got twenty enchanted last night.”

“Twenty?” she asked, obviously surprised. “Just how late did you stay up last night?”

Yawning, he replied, “Pretty late. Anyway, we'll have to hurry through breakfast.”

“Then I have to read through my speech again, then make sure everyone's getting packed, then get dressed for graduation, then reread my speech, then make…”

“You'll do great, love,” he interrupted. “You always do.” He then kissed her quickly before taking her hand in his, running his finger over her ring, causing her to glance down at it as he led her out the door. Hermione's promise ring had been replaced with a genuine engagement ring nearly a year before. She smiled sweetly as she remembered Harry's proposal.

--HPM--

It was Hermione's 18th birthday, and, as usual, Harry threw her a party in C.A.R.E. headquarters. She'd received several presents from her gathered friends, but one present was missing.

“Didn't Harry give you anything?” asked Ginny Weasley when she'd noticed the absence of a package with his name.

“He's probably got something special planned,” she said, sounding much more confident than she was.

“Of course I do,” replied Harry, startling the two witches as he walked up from behind. “I just thought I'd give her my present in private.”

Together, nearly every occupant of the room said, “Wooooo,” making suggestive faces regarding what they thought Harry's gift would be. Harry and the birthday girl began blushing madly.

“That's not what I meant. It's just…I want to be alone with Hermione when I…” Judging by the looks on their faces, he realized that he wasn't convincing anybody of anything. “Forget it. Isn't the party over, yet?”

“There's still a lot of cake left,” offered Brianna, pretending she was being helpful.

It was another hour before the other people left, leaving Harry alone with his girlfriend.

“So, what is it that you're giving me for my birthday that can't be shown in public?” It was obvious from her tone that she was a bit annoyed, but not very. She didn't really care what people thought they were or weren't doing behind closed doors. It was their friends that had slightly annoyed her with their insinuations. It was none of their business.

“Er, well, it's not that it can't be seen in public, in fact, I want you to show it in public; it's just that I don't want to…”

“To what?” she asked, her curiosity peaked.

“Um, to repeat what happened on your 16th birthday.”

“What do you mean?” she asked as she searched her memory of that day. Suddenly, she remembered what had been special that day as she caressed the promise ring on her finger. Although it had been over two years since the first time Harry had spoken of marrying her, Hermione's insecurities couldn't let her just immediately believe it. “Are you trying to say…”

Getting down on one knee, imitating the muggle tradition, the Chosen One held out his right hand, which was holding an engagement ring. It was a simple gold band with a small diamond on top, but it was worth all the Galleons in Gringotts to her. “Hermione Jean Granger, I love you more than anything in this world, and I can't bear the thought of not having you in my life.” He took a deep breath while preparing himself to say the last part of his rehearsed speech. “Will you marry me?”

“Of course I will, Harry,” she replied while allowing him to replace her promise ring. “I love you, too.” She then pulled him toward her and kissed him deeply.

--HPM--

The engaged couple reached the first staircase on the route from Ravenclaw Tower to the Great Hall. However, the stairs weren't there; instead, they were moving a short distance away. “Did you do it?” asked Harry.

With a grin, Hermione answered, “Yes, and it worked.” While Harry had been enchanting hoverboards, his girlfriend had enchanted something else. It was an idea that they'd mentioned on their very first day at Hogwarts, although they didn't get started on the project until after Voldemort was dead. They'd been working out how to do this for over two years, and wanted to complete the project before graduation.

Harry cleared his throat. “Stairs. Down toward the Great Hall.” Suddenly, the wayward staircase stopped what it was doing and moved toward them. As a small group gathered around Hogwarts' golden couple, one end of the staircase attached to the point in front of them, while the other end attached as far down and in the direction of the Great Hall as it could. They could see other staircases moving into positions to complete the route as their friends in Ravenclaw clapped.

“I've got to admit,” said one of them, “I never thought you'd actually do it.”

They just smiled as they stepped onto the staircase and made their way down. “So,” asked Harry, “Do you think this will get us mentioned in the next edition of Hogwarts, a History?”

With a small grin, his fiancé replied, “If this doesn't, I don't know what will.”

“It's weird to think that we'll never have breakfast in the Great Hall again,” commented Harry as they entered the largest room in Hogwarts, whose ceiling was revealing the summer sky. To indicate the winner of the House Cup, the hall was decorated in Ravenclaw colors.

“There you are,” declared Padma, who was sitting at the Ravenclaw table next to her current boyfriend, a Hufflepuff named Justin Finch-Fletchley. She'd broken up with Terry Boot during their sixth year. She was eating breakfast and the remains of an omelet were on her plate. “Did Harry oversleep again?”

“Of course,” replied Hermione. “He's been oversleeping every morning since we finished our N.E.W.T.s.”

“I'm right here,” said Harry with a yawn, “And do you know how late I've been staying up working? Until three a.m.”

“Sorry, Harry. I suppose you're entitled to sleep a bit late. When's the grand opening?”

With a proud grin, Harry replied, “In one week. Remus and Sirius are getting the shop all ready. I'll have to handle organizing the warehouse once I get out of here.”

About that time, several owls flew into the Great Hall carrying the mail. One, a snowy owl, swooped down right in front of Harry, who was filling up his plate. “Good morning, girl,” he said while giving Hedwig a piece of bacon. He untied a parchment from her leg that said it was from Marauder's Quidditch Goods. Before he could open it, another owl landed in front of him, bearing a parchment with the insignia of Puddlemere United. “How many times do I have to say no to these people?” he asked with a sigh.

“Apparently at least one more time,” replied his fiancé. “You've got to admit that any team that contracted you would double their crowds and revenues.”

“Just so people can see the guy who wasted that idiot,” hissed Harry.

“He wasn't an idiot,” replied Padma, in Ravenclaw lecture mode. “You simply were ready for him, and he knew it. He attacked the train to force a confrontation because he knew you were growing stronger by the day. He probably hoped you'd have been injured in the crash.”

“Your hard work paid off,” added Hermione. “Just imagine if you hadn't been preparing for that fight. It could've taken years to beat him.”

“Especially if Dumbledore and Bones hadn't taken care of most of the Horcruxes,” whispered Padma, making sure not to be overheard talking about those darkest of objects.

“You'd been going to magic school since you were six years old, which gave you much more experience with spellcasting than any other Hogwarts student, besides Brianna,” Harry's girlfriend added.

“Look at this, Harry!” a girl excitedly squealed from behind him. He turned to see the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, Ginny Weasley, standing next to her long-time boyfriend, Michael Corner, while staring at a parchment like it was an ice cream sundae. He noticed the logo on the parchment.

“The Holyhead Harpies? That's great, Ginny! Aren't they a bit early, though?” he asked.

“They say they've been watching me play and invited me to practice with them for a few weeks this summer!” she exclaimed, the joy evident in her face. “Can you believe they're actually scouting me!?”

“Congratulations, Ginny!” Hermione said with a smile.

“That's terrific!” added Padma.

“Thanks, guys. Harry, I was wondering, er, if I could borrow one of those Marauder brooms you made that goes a bit faster than the Firebolt for that. I'd take really good care of it. I j-just wanted to…”

“Knock their socks off?” asked Harry with a grin while she nodded sheepishly. Putting his head down, he put on his most unemotional face. “Can't do it. Sorry.”

Ginny's face fell. “Come on. I promise I won't damage it. I…”

“The reason I can't loan you one is because I'm giving you one as an early birthday present,” interrupted Harry. “I've already enchanted it.”

Ginny looked like she wanted to either faint or snog him. She settled for saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” while pulling him into a tight, yet brief, hug.

“Just so you know, I'm also giving one to Ravenclaw's new Seeker next year, so I'm not helping Gryffindor beat us.”

“I can't wait to see Ron's face when I tell him!” said Ginny. “He'll be so jealous!” Harry looked to see that the redhead in question currently had his face attached to Lavender Brown, whom he'd been faithfully dating since the day Voldemort died. Harry chuckled as, at that same table, he saw Neville and Parvati feeding each other, amused at their antics. They'd grown very close after the final battle with Voldemort. Once the youngest Weasley had walked off, Harry unrolled his scroll.

Furball,

You won't believe how many preorders we already have, both for brooms and hoverboards! I hope you've been making more like you promised, because if you don't, we'll sell out before lunch on opening day.

What followed was a list of the orders, along with Sirius' Marauder signature - Padfoot. No matter how many times Harry told them to call him Claws, they insisted on Furball.

“I thought that was from Marauder's Quidditch Goods,” came another voice from behind Harry. He turned to see his sister standing, holding hands with her long-time boyfriend, James Sauder. “I told them to send me a copy of everything, too.”

“I told them, too, sis. I know you invented the hoverboard and are in this business, too. And so do they. I guess they know you'll read whatever they send me over my shoulder, anyway.”

“Still, it's not like I'm not up half the night enchanting, too. And I'll be working during the summer, especially during your honeymoon.”

Harry blushed at the way his sister had mentioned the last word, but managed to say, “You can yell at them tonight, Brianna. They'll be here for the graduation.”

“Yeah. It'll be soooo much better at Hogwarts once you're gone,” she said, clearly being sarcastic.

“You'll cry every night next year, and you know it,” replied her brother.

“I'll comfort her,” said James, with a wink.

“You'd better not comfort her too much or I might have to come back.” While the words sounded harsh, Harry's expression showed he wasn't really threatening his sister's boyfriend. Despite himself, he had grown fond of him over the past few years.

Rolling her eyes, Brianna changed the subject back to their business. “I guess I'll have to remind them that I am a partner.”

“You sure are,” he agreed, thinking back to the day they'd started the business.

--HPM--

It was July of 1997, just after Harry had finished his sixth year at Hogwarts. He and Brianna had decided to visit a place they hadn't been to for a few years - Frank's Flying Funhouse in Little Salem, Illinois. This time, Harry brought his latest custom-broom while Brianna brought her hoverboard. After they signed in, they made their way to the cushion-charmed practice area.

“Now, the fun begins,” declared Harry's sister as she stepped on her hoverboard, allowing the sticking charm to attach it to her left foot, and began flying upward in circles as her altitude increased. Harry, in the meantime, kicked off and flew straight up in the middle of her circles, holding his body tightly against his broom. It was almost like a dance that the siblings had worked out as they showed off their enchanting and flying prowess. When they almost reached the ceiling, they began the next phase, accelerating forward as fast as they could. Brianna had to semi-squat on her board to keep from blowing off it while moving at these speeds, her hair blowing in the wind. When they reached a certain point, they started diving, which gave Harry the advantage as he could go straight down on his broom but his sister had to make circles around his descent to avoid falling and embarrassing herself.

When they got to the floor, they were surprised to hear deafening applause. “I guess we got an audience,” Harry yelled at Brianna so she could hear him.

“It must have been my flying,” she replied with a smirk.

“Wow!” said one of the employees. “Where did you get that hoverboard?”

“I took apart a skateboard and enchanted it,” Brianna answered. “Why?”

“Incredible! It's just like Back to the Future, but I think it moves faster!”

“That's what inspired it,” replied Harry. “I've got one, too.”

“Could one of you make one for me? I'll pay you for it.”

“Me, too,” said a stranger who just walked up. Before it was over, half of the crowd had agreed to pay them to enchant hoverboards. Others had noticed the broom that Harry was using was also custom-made and asked him about it. Many people asked them to make brooms, too. They ended up getting a lot of orders.

Ten days later, while Harry and Brianna were busily enchanting their orders in Harry's bedroom, there was a knock. Harry pointed his wand at the door, which opened immediately, to reveal Sirius and Remus.

“Hey guys, how are you doing?” asked Padfoot.

“Pretty well,” answered Brianna. “Last week, we went flying for fun and ended up having about fifty people asking us to make them either hoverboards or custom brooms.”

“How much are you charging?” asked Moony.

After they'd answered the question, Sirius got an idea. “Furball!”

“I told you, my name is Claws!” replied Harry.

“Of course, Furball. I just got a great idea! You'll be graduating in about a year. What if we opened a store or two that sold these things?”

Harry and Brianna both smiled widely as they pictured their own store, enchanting brooms and hoverboards for a living. They imaged improving their enchantments and coming up with more products. “That sounds AWESOME!” exclaimed the Boy-Who-Lived.

That was when the idea for Marauder's Quidditch Goods was born. It was decided that Remus would be in charge of finances and Sirius would be in charge of advertising. They'd gotten a lot of business experience with their muggle business, which was still flourishing under the manager they'd hired, so Harry and Brianna agreed that they'd be tremendous help. The older Marauders would both work at the first store, which would be in England, until it started making enough money to hire people, and then would open one in America. Ever since then, the McGonagall siblings had dedicated much of their spare time to enchanting and improving enchantments on flying equipment, selling from a catalog.

--HPM--

Hermione Granger frowned as she looked in the mirror. No matter how she wore her graduation cap, it made her hair look awful. Ravenclaw boys graduated in blue, while the girls graduated in bronze. She knew they were her house's colors, but she thought the bronze looked horrid on her. She sighed as she looked her speech over for the twentieth time that day.

“Come on, Hermione. We'll be late,” insisted Padma.

Shrugging her shoulders, the valedictorian walked out of her dorm with her best friend.

One thing that Hermione soon-to-be-Granger-Potter-McGonagall (or some variation of that - she still hadn't decided) was glad of was that Hogwarts used Pomp and Circumstance as the graduation music. She smiled as she watched her head of house directing the school orchestra and imagined how chaotic it would be if they'd used the Hogwarts theme song instead. She marched in with the other Ravenclaw girls and took her seat. The order that graduates entered was Gryffindor boys and girls, then Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. They sat on chairs that had been specially arranged for this ceremony, as opposed to the house tables that customarily filled this room.

She nervously looked around her as she waited to give her speech. She first saw the girls she'd been sharing a room with for seven years, then Harry and his dorm mates. She saw Neville wearing Gryffindor red while Parvati wore gold. The Hufflepuffs and Slytherins were also in their house colors. Hermione was barely paying any attention to the headmistress' speech as she looked at the crowd. She could see her parents, as well as Harry's family, sitting among the crowd. Brianna seemed to be hissing at Sirius and Remus, who actually appeared to be afraid of her. Hermione imagined it was about them not sending her a copy of business correspondence as well as Harry. Hermione even saw an old woman with a vulture hat crying in one of the seats.

Minerva finished her speech and announced, “And now, our valedictorian and Head Girl, Hermione Granger of Ravenclaw, would like to say a few words.”

Swallowing, Ms. Granger stood up and walked to the podium to tremendous applause. She figured that no one wanted Harry Potter to think that they weren't clapping for his fiancé. When the applause ended, she began her speech. “Er, hello, everyone.” She took a deep breath. “What I'd like to talk about is what Hogwarts has meant to me. Eight years ago, I didn't know of this place's existence, but now, it's become one of the most important places in the world to me. It's certainly been a place of learning magic, but also a place of making friendships. It's been a place of growing closer to some people. It's the place where I became engaged…” She paused as she decided to stop herself from following that line of thought while noticing her fiancé giving her an encouraging smile.

“It's also a place that has improved tremendously since I started attending here. Professor McGonagall, who became headmistress in our second year, has tirelessly worked toward making Hogwarts into a safe and pleasant sanctuary of education. This safety was threatened many times during our years here, and I don't believe I have to name the member of this graduating class responsible for finally eliminating that threat over two years ago.” She paused while the audience gave Harry what she believed was a well-deserved ovation.

“In this sanctuary of learning, Harry Potter-McGonagall was able to study, learn and practice what he needed in order to accomplish his goal, as have many others. Had improvements not been made, who knows if any of us would've been able to meet our goals and achieve our dreams.” She thought about how many people in her class had achieved a Potions N.E.W.T. that most certainly wouldn't have if Snape hadn't been sacked. She knew he'd helped with the war, but that did not make him a good teacher. Likewise, she knew that Dumbledore had had his heart in the right place, but he had not been a good headmaster. He'd managed to almost eliminate all Potions N.E.W.T.s by hiring Snape, thus ending countless dreams before they could be realized.

“Thanks to Headmistress McGonagall's efforts, the most important thing I've learned here, that I plan to carry with me, is that hard work does pay off.” She returned to her seat to tremendous applause.

There were a few more speeches before the graduates were called up to receive their diplomas, which were on scrolls of parchment. Those that wished a muggle-looking one, such as Hermione and Harry, would receive one in the mail with a different school name than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

--HPM--

After the ceremony, Harry and Hermione walked hand-in-hand to find their families. “You did a great job on your speech, darling,” remarked Harry.

“Thanks. Are you sure it didn't sound stupid?”

“Of course not.”

“Would you tell me if it did?” she countered with a smirk.

“There you are,” said Hermione's mother. “We've been waiting for ages.” Marissa Granger was standing with her husband, along with the McGonagall family, Remus with his wife of six months, Charity (formerly Burbage), and Sirius with his girlfriend-of-the-week - Maggie something.

As they strolled out of Hogwarts, Mark McGonagall asked, “What restaurant is it we're going to?”

“A very lovely place in Edinburgh's historic Old Town I'm sure you'll enjoy,” replied Minerva. “It's a muggle restaurant called, the Witchery.”

“Are you sure it's muggle?” asked Cindy. “It sounds magical to me.”

“It was named that because of the hundreds of so-called witches burned at the stake in the sixteenth and seventeenth century at that site,” added Hermione solemnly.

“Isn't that one of the places Wendelin the Weird purposely got herself caught?” asked Brianna.

“Yeah,” replied Harry, chuckling, glad his sister had changed the conversation from somber to amusing.

At that time, they passed the gates of Hogwarts, and so were out of the anti-apparition field. Harry, Minerva, Remus, Hermione and Sirius Side-Along-Apparated Mark, Cindy, Adam, Marissa, and Brianna, respectively, while the others Apparated themselves.

They arrived behind Edinburgh's Waverley Station and began a short, but very steep, uphill walk. While they were making their way to the restaurant, Hermione pulled out a brochure and read aloud.

“The Witchery is located at the top of the Royal Mile, you'll see us on the left hand side of the road as you approach Edinburgh Castle.

We are hidden in a collection of ancient buildings in the heart of Edinburgh's historic Old Town. The entrance is though an ancient 'close' below a gilded heraldic sign.

Located in a sixteenth-century merchant's house, the rich baroque surroundings of the Witchery's original dining room offers one of the city's most exceptional dining destinations.

Dine on red leather seats, surrounded by ancient oak panelling and hung with tapestries. Heraldic painted ceilings are reflected in the candlelight of dozens of antique candlesticks, whilst historic stone walls ooze with the building's history.

Both the original Witchery and the enchanting Secret Garden make memorable settings for private dining, events, weddings or celebrations, in the historic heart of Edinburgh.

The richly baroque Witchery, with its oak panelling and ancient tapestries, seats up to 50 guests. Whilst the elegant Secret Garden, with its hidden terrace, seats up to 60.

Private dining in either the Witchery or Secret Garden is on an exclusive-use basis, allowing your guests to enjoy the magical atmosphere undisturbed.”

When they arrived, they were quickly shown to their dining area where they were given menus. They listed Scottish seafood, beef, lamb and game along with the Witchery's legendary Angus beef steak tartar, briny-fresh seafood platters and even some haggis.

During the meal, the topic soon became the upcoming wedding of Harry and Hermione. The men were bored while the women spoke of decorations, outfits and many other details. Harry didn't dare mention that the only detail of his wedding that he cared about was the identity of his bride.

Eventually, Remus decided to end the wedding talk by clearing his throat and asking, “Charity, darling, do you think now's a good time to make our announcement?”

Instantly, his bride began blushing. “I suppose now's as good a time as any…I'm having a baby!” She almost yelled the last part in her glee. Everyone offered congratulations, and then the topic of conversation went from wedding details to baby shower details.

By the time dessert came, they had a new topic of discussion: Hermione's new job that she'd be starting right after her honeymoon.

“I couldn't believe it when I got the letter from Minister Bones offering me the job. I didn't really think she was serious when we'd discussed it.”

Harry added, “Hermione met Madam Bones at the ceremony when the Ministry gave out those trinkets…”

“You mean the Orders of Merlin,” corrected his fiancé.

“Whatever. The point is that she told you that she believed that sending the Death Eaters, who fortunately didn't get away with an `Imperius Plea' this time, would allow the political climate to change so much that she'd be able to form a C.A.R.E. department, working for equal rights for all magical sentients.”

Hermione grinned and said, “I didn't think it would really happen, but then last month, I got the letter from her that said she was going to start the department and wanted me to run it. I know it'll be a small department with only a few people, but still…”

“It's a wonderful opportunity,” said Minerva, “and it couldn't have come to a more deserving person.”

“Your father and I are so proud of you,” added Marissa while her husband nodded.

“And so am I,” declared Harry with a grin.

--HPM--

“Five minutes left!” announced Brianna, looking at her watch. She, along with her brother, Sirius and Remus, were standing on the sales floor of Marauder's Quidditch Goods on the day of their grand opening. Harry would normally work in the warehouse away from the public, who frequently asked for his autograph, but today he would make an exception. He certainly wanted the public to find out all about their products, so today he would sign anything bought at the store. He figured that getting writer's cramp was worth attracting the largest crowd possible. He looked at all the merchandise surrounding him and his hand began to hurt prematurely.

The brightly-lit, colorful store was completely stocked. He couldn't count how many hoverboards were stacked up in every color and design they could imagine. The Marauder brooms were just as numerous. They also stocked standard and custom Quidditch equipment - Seeker gloves, Bludgers, Snitches, Quaffles and hoops. The equipment was only custom-charmed for durability, although they did have special training-equipment that was not meant for actual games with other charms. The hoops were charmed to reflect the score on an included scoreboard. The set actually included a Snitch, too, so that the scoreboard would reflect when the Snitch was caught.

They also sold Quidditch magazines as well as jerseys and memorabilia from all the teams. The only things they didn't carry that Quality Quidditch Supplies did were the standard brooms. This store only carried its own brand of flying equipment. They also carried a limited stock of Quadpot merchandise, and planned to stock a lot more in their American branch when it opened. Perhaps even the name of that store would be Marauder's Quadpot Goods instead of Quidditch due to the inexplicable (at least, in Harry's opinion) popularity of that sport in America.

The outside of the building was a bright shade of blue with a gold roof. The name of the store was in large letters flashing every color of the rainbow. On the door was a large sign advertising the grand opening, as well as the fact Harry Potter-McGonagall would be present signing autographs on purchased merchandise. There was already a line at the door that seemed to almost fill that section of Hogsmeade.

“It's time!” declared Brianna, before Sirius pointed his wand at the door, causing it to open.

“Welcome to Marauder's Quidditch Goods!” exclaimed Harry with a grin plastered on his face as he saw the store fill up with customers. He knew it would be a long day.

“Thank you for shopping here, and come again,” Harry said for the thousandth time that day after signing yet another hoverboard. His hand was aching. He was trying to massage his cramped hand when someone else walked in front of him. He was wearing more expensive black robes than the last time Harry had seen him, which appeared to be made of silk, but that was the only difference. His black hair was still as greasy as ever, and his abnormally large nose was still just as peculiarly big. His sneer was also still in place.

“Mr. Potter,” said Severus Snape severely. “I should've known the son of James Potter couldn't help but go into a Quidditch-related career. Just like your father, you think life is a game.”

“I see you're still just as warm and charming as ever, Mr. Snape,” replied Harry.

“I see you're enjoying using your fame to con people into giving up their hard-earned money to get your worthless autograph. I suppose that today's success has inflated your already-enormous ego even more.”

“I thought it was a Slytherin idea to use my fame to help this business,” Harry replied. “I'd think you would appreciate the plan.”

“It's quite infantile, Potter, certainly not worthy of a Slytherin. However, it appears the sheep have fallen for your simplistic tactic.” He took a deep breath. “I, however, am here for an entirely different purpose. In the taxes for the potions business that I inherited from Professor Dumbledore after his unfortunate demise, I am in need of a write-off that happens to match the price of your useless Marauder Broom. Therefore, I have purchased it for that reason. While I hold no value whatsoever for your autograph, it seems likely that if I obtain it here, then someday I'll be able to swindle some fool of many more galleons if it has your worthless scrawl on it. So, sign this broom so I can leave this pathetic nursery.”

It was then that Harry noticed that Snape was indeed carrying a broom, along with its receipt. He was truly surprised, even a little touched, that after their history, Snape would show up to support his business, no matter what his excuse. He quickly signed the broom like he'd done the others, and said, “Thanks for coming.”

“I do hope your business doesn't fail, Potter. I'd hate for you to end up living off my taxes.”

--HPM--

Harry wiped the sweat off his forehead as he stood before the crowd, dressed in his black tuxedo as he waited for his bride. He watched patiently as the entire wedding party walked up the aisle until finally the music changed to the traditional wedding march.

He watched with a huge smile as Hermione, dressed in a lovely white gown, made her way toward his location to stand with him. The minister asked him if he'd take Hermione Jean Granger for his wife, to which he enthusiastically answered, “I do.”

When the question was put to Hermione, she frowned while a tear began to fall from her left eye. “I can't,” she stated, to the shock of the crowd. “You see, Harry, I'm in love with someone else.”

“What?” Harry asked in dismay. “Who?”

“Him,” she said, pointing at a redhead seated in the crowd who was currently stuffing a cupcake into his mouth. “Ron Weasley.”

Harry awoke with a jump. He was covered with sweat as he gasped for air. “Where'd that come from?” he asked himself as he shook his head to clear out the nightmare. He glanced at the clock to see that it was six a.m., so he decided to get up and shower. Today was to be the most important day of his life.

--HPM--

With a determined look on his face, the young man pointed his own wand at his chest and said, “Frigus!” He smiled and sighed as he felt the affects of his cooling charm. He honestly wondered how muggles could stand to wear a tuxedo, especially one with a vest like he had just put on. Granted, as he glanced at the mirror, he agreed that he looked good in it, but he thought he was about to have a heat stroke. Now, he could look good and feel nice and cool, despite it being a hot July morning. He looked admiringly at the suit he was wearing. It had black slacks with a matching jacket, a white shirt and a light blue vest with matching bowtie and handkerchief.

He took a deep breath and released it slowly. “At least this part is done,” he said to himself. Putting on the tuxedo was the first of his challenges this day, but he knew that in the end it would be worth it. He was about to marry the only girl he ever loved, or even thought about loving - Hermione Granger. He knew that it was unusual to marry the first and only girl he ever dated, but he didn't think anything was wrong with that. Dating, as he understood it, was to find the right person to spend your life with. He just got lucky and chose the right girl first. They'd had disagreements, but didn't let them turn into hurtful arguments, and therefore, hadn't had a nasty breakup. Hermione and he had both won and lost their share of disagreements, and in the end, they still loved each other. He was positive that she was the only girl for him, and absolutely sure he wanted to marry her, so the only question he had was why he was so nervous.

It wasn't as though this was his first time in front of a crowd. He'd played dozens of Quidditch matches at Hogwarts with hundreds of spectators. He'd had to give a speech when he was given his Order of Merlin. He made it through those experiences, so why would he be nervous when all he had to do was stand in front of a crowd, make a short speech, put a ring on Hermione's finger and say, `I do.'

There was a knock at the door before he heard the voice of his dad, Mark McGonagall, calling to him, “Are you ready yet?”

“Yeah. I've got the tux on, dad. I told you I didn't need help putting it on.”

The door opened and Mark, as well as Sirius Black, entered, both wearing their own tuxedos.

“Hi, Sirius.”

“Hey, Furball. How are you feeling?”

“Just fine,” he answered quickly, so nervous that he didn't remind Padfoot to call him Claws.

“It looks like you almost got it right,” commented Harry's dad as he adjusted the collar of Harry's shirt. “By the way, you're not fooling anybody with that, `I'm fine,' answer. We both know you're scared to death.”

“Am not,” he protested. “I want to marry Hermione.”

“Of course you do, cub,” agreed Sirius, “but that doesn't mean you're not nervous. Remus was terrified. Even James…”

“My biological father?” questioned Harry.

“Yes,” answered Padfoot. “James Potter spent years trying to win Lily Evans' heart. He was sure he'd marry her the moment he met her, and informed us of that on our first night in Gryffindor tower. But on his wedding day, he was pacing the floor of his changing room looking like he wanted to bolt.”

“I know I was a wreck the day I married your mother,” added Mark. “It's perfectly natural. Marriage is one thing you don't want to make a mistake with, and I don't believe you have.”

“Neither do I,” said Harry with a determined expression. “Let's do this.”

--HPM--

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and woman in holy matrimony…”

Harry looked deep into Hermione Granger's eyes, even through the veil that she wore. He'd watched her walking toward him, looking for all the world like an angel. He could see that she was as nervous as he, as well as determined. He grinned as he thought back to the first time they'd spoken.

--HPM--

Harry sat down first and began to fill his plate when Hermione sat down next to him. “Hello Harry,” she said. Her face began to get pink. “I, er, was wondering if you could be, er, my study partner.”

For a reason he couldn't fathom, his face began to turn pink too. “What exactly do you mean?”

She looked down at the table. “Er, to do class work and homework together, to study together.”

“Oh, you mean like friends.”

“Well, yes. Almost like friends.”

Harry wondered why she'd say, `Almost like friends' as though she never had friends before. He suspected it was her obviously studious nature that classified her as a bookworm that prevented her from gaining friends. “Sorry, can't do it,” he said with a grin.

“I'm…sorry to have bothered you,” she said as she began to get up. She sounded like she was about to cry.

“If you want, we can be friends, and study together as well. But I'm not good at being `almost like friends.'”

She sat back down with a huge grin that showed her buckteeth, but more importantly it showed real happiness. “Friends? Do you mean it?”

--HPM--

He had meant it, and had never regretted that decision. When she'd found out his true identity, they'd fought, but their friendship ended up growing even stronger through that difficulty. She'd been by his side for over two years before he'd asked her to date him. He'd realized even back then that if he didn't get his act together and ask her out, someone else would've. He was still amazed that she actually loved him and had agreed to marry him and was determined to make sure she never regretted that decision.

“Harry and Hermione have elected to make their own vows. Harry, if you'd begin.” The elderly minister nodded at him to start talking.

Suddenly, Harry's nervousness was gone as he stared into the face of the woman he'd been blessed with. He smiled as he opened his mouth. “Where do I begin? I'll never forget the day you asked me to be your study partner. Both of us were just about to start at a new school far away from our homes. I had my aunt working there, but you didn't even know anybody there. Have I ever told you how much I admire your courage to do that?” He was careful not to make any references to the fact that it was a magical boarding school that was literally in a different world than the muggles she'd been raised by as he continued.

“That was when we became best friends. That was about seven years ago, and you've been the truest friend I ever had, always supporting me when I faced the…challenges in my life. When I was old enough, how could I not wish to be your boyfriend, fiancé, and now husband, even though it does prove that Brianna was right about us all along?” His sister, who was one of the bridesmaids, chuckled at that statement.

“Hermione, I love you and vow that I always will. I also promise that I will mess up sometimes and irritate you, but it won't be on purpose.” Many people in the audience chuckled at that statement, as did the bride. “I also promise that when I realize how stupid I've acted, I'll properly apologize and try to be a better husband to you.” He took a deep breath as he practically whispered the last line. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Hermione took a deep breath as she willed herself not to cry as she lost herself in Harry's green eyes. “I remember the day we met, as well. I asked you to be my study partner because I didn't even dream you'd want to be my friend. I thought that eventually, after a few months or even years, you'd think of me as your friend. I was genuinely surprised when you said you wanted to be friends right then. I'd never really had good friends before, and suddenly I did. That meant a lot to me, as did the fact that you stuck to that promise, and eventually became so much more to me.

“Since you promised you'd make mistakes, I'll admit that I have, and definitely will keep on making mistakes. You've helped to make me a better person in your attempts to rein in my bossy side. I know that if you didn't love me, you wouldn't try to help me as you have. You'd either yell at me for annoying you or completely ignore me.

“I've grown to love you from that first day we met, and intend to keep on loving you more and more as we grow old together. I want our lives to be intertwined so that neither of us can even conceive of the idea of living without the other. I will be the best wife I can be, and ask that you continue to tell me when I've been too bossy. I also promise to let you know about your mistakes.” The crowd laughed at that declaration. “I can't imagine my life without you, Harry, and don't ever want to experience it.”

The minister then proceeded to have them exchange rings and asked them if they'd take each other as their wedded husband/wife, to which they naturally said, “I do.”

The minister eventually announced, “Ladies and Gentlemen, let me be the first to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Potter-McGonagall. You may kiss the bride.”

Harry lifted the veil from covering her face and kissed her deeply, knowing that whatever the future held, Hermione would stand by him, as she always had.

The End

--HPM--

A/N I'd like to thank all my readers who have stuck through this story to its conclusion. I wrote the outline years ago, and while writing this story, have moved to a different state, had a major surgery where I nearly died from complications, and have gotten a much busier life than I had when I began.

Despite what some of my reviewers think, I did not cut out half my outline and end the story early in frustration. It ended where I always intended it to end. I was genuinely surprised that most of you didn't notice when all the Horcruxes were destroyed. I really wonder what you expected to happen after that.

I may post an explanation of the ending of this story on my profile soon, but the basic idea is that hard work and preparation actually paid off for Harry. If the Harry Potter of canon, who didn't do much to prepare for his encounters with Voldemort, managed to beat him by the end of year seven, doesn't it make sense that this Harry, who has been doing a ton of preparation, would finish of Voldemort sooner? Voldemort wasn't doing extra preparation, so he wasn't any tougher than the Voldemort of canon. Harry McGonagall was the preparation, while was the endgame.

I took the description of the Witchery from their website, www dot thewitchery dot com. For those of you who wish I'd described the food: I'm sorry, but I get very bored reading about food, so I don't write about it. Anyway, I've never been there, so I don't really know if it's good or bad, but if I ever go to Scotland, I intend to find out.

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