"Dementors?"
"We were coming home, and everything started getting cold- it was hot and humid today, I knew something was wrong, and then I just felt so miserable, and I remembered... well, I knew it had to be those things. Then my dad fell over and mum wasn't much better, but I remembered to use the locket you gave me, so I grabbed their hands and we came here. Oh no! Crookshanks! We left him at home. Oh, Harry do those monsters go after animals? We need to go get him."
"Hermione, try to calm down," Harry said as he patted her back. She was still shivering even as she hugged him. "Did you see them or just get the feeling that they were close?"
"I didn't see them, but nothing else feels like that."
"Okay." Harry took a deep breath and ran through several things in his head. He didn't think Dementors would attack Hermione's cat, but he knew how badly Hedwig's death would affect him, so he was going to have to check anyway. "Dobby, I'm going to need you to take me to Hermione's house in a minute."
He let go of Hermione and walked over to Pansy who was already pulling his invisibility cloak out of her purse. "You need to stay here."
"I know." She handed him the cloak and pulled him to her for a kiss. "I don't like it, but I'm still underage. Just be careful."
"I will."
"Dobby, I need you to take care of Harry. His safety comes first, alright?"
"Of course, miss Pansy."
Harry had his wand ready and Dobby grabbed hold of his leg as he swept the cloak over the two of them.
"Be back soon."
There was a pop and they were gone.
They landed in the Granger family's yard and Harry immediately noticed the open front door. He pointed towards it and Dobby nodded. They crept inside.
Harry couldn't feel the aura of the dementors yet, which made him wonder if they had already left. Once he closed the door behind him, he pulled off his cloak and folded it up best he could before setting it on a little table that stood just inside the home's entryway. There was a bit of mail sitting on it, so Harry left one of the letters on top of the cloak so he would be able to find it again as easily as possible.
"Do you sense anything Dobby?"
"It gets colder towards the rear of the house."
"Shit. Let's be ready then. Can you go find Hermione's cat?"
"Dobby has to stay with master Harry. Miss Pansy said to take care of you first."
"Of course," Harry replied. Sometimes he forgot that she was every bit as protective of him as he was of her. "Let's try upstairs in Hermione's room first."
As they made it to the stairs, Harry could feel the dementors were nearby, but there was still no other sign of them. Hermione's bedroom door was open, and sure enough, Crookshanks was curled up asleep on her bed. "I know she's got something to carry him in around here somewhere."
Dobby found it in her closet and Harry set the grumpy but still tired cat inside. He then noticed the fog on her bedroom window.
"They've got to be somewhere nearby." Harry saw Dobby looking worried. "Dobby, I know I need you to watch my back, but I want you to take Crookshanks to Hermione."
"But master Harry!"
"It will only take you a couple of seconds, and I'll be right here waiting for you."
"If Dobby must. But be careful sir, or miss Pansy will never let either of us hear the end of this."
"I know," Harry nodded, and turned towards the door, listening for any intruders. It was too bad the dementors could glide, as without footsteps it made them better able to sneak up on someone, but Harry still only felt mild discomfort from the depressing aura so he had to assume they weren't too close.
There was a pop and within just a few seconds, Dobby reappeared.
"Dobby left before miss Pansy could finish yelling, sir."
"I'll make it up to her later," Harry said with a grimace. "Let's check the rest of the house."
Moving through the rest of the upstairs, they still found no trace of the dementors, other than more fog on the windows. When they went back to the ground floor, Dobby tugged on Harry's hand.
"Master, look."
The french doors leading to the backyard were open. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood up and a shiver went down his spine. "Watch my back, Dobby. Someone might have brought them here."
"Dobby will."
Harry led the way as they headed outside. He saw the cold mist that covered the ground and heard the rattling breath before he saw them. Two dementors circling the pool and... was that growling? It was somewhere between a dog's snarl and the sound of nails on a chalkboard.
There was no time to waste.
"Expecto Patronum!"
White light blasted forth and his dragon slammed into the nearest of the two dementors, which retreated as quickly as he had ever seen one of those hideous monsters move. Its partner also fled, heading around the side of the home. Harry followed them and watched as they streaked down the road heading north.
The strangest part was seeing one of them glide out of the way of an oncoming car. He knew that muggles couldn't see them, but he also realized just how much of a physical presence they had as well.
It brought a funny thought to mind. What would happen if a car ran over one of those awful things?
He chuckled for a moment before putting his wand away and heading back inside. As he closed the door behind him, he saw an owl swooping in through the still open back door. It deposited a letter onto the table, and Harry saw that it was addressed to Hermione.
"This can't be a coincidence."
"I think there's some chocolate in one of the cupboards," Pansy said a moment after Harry and Dobby had gone. Granger nodded at her and the two of them started searching together, finding some chocolate biscuits after a few minutes.
"Better than nothing, I guess," Granger said and she went over to her parents. Pansy noticed Mr. Granger had his eyes closed and was taking deep breaths trying to calm himself, his hands still shaking.
"Hermione, you know we don't eat that sort of thing," her mother argued but Hermione pressed forward.
"Chocolate is the best thing to treat the after effects of dementors, mum. We all need it, unless you want to feel horrible for the rest of the night."
Her father reached out and tore open the box, popping one in his mouth. He let out a breath a moment later and opened his eyes. "She's right, dear. It does help."
"Fine." Mrs. Granger's mood perked up almost immediately too.
Pansy went to sit down in a chair and waited, trying not to worry about whatever Harry might find. She knew, logically, that he should be fine- after all, he had dealt with a stadium full of those monsters nearly two years ago. But that did little to help her nerves.
She reached into her purse and pulled out the list of ideas for things to do with Luna, but even as she tried to read it, she found herself merely scanning over words without really thinking about it.
"I hope he's alright," Hermione said, and Pansy looked up at the girl who was pacing around the open room. "I wish Harry wasn't always rushing into danger, dealing with all these terrible things."
"So do I, but you should be glad he is," Pansy replied. "Would you prefer to have to deal with this all on your own? You never finished learning the Patronus charm, did you?"
"No. I can manage a shield, but I never tried it under the stress of actually facing a dementor." Hermione shook her head, frowning. "I hope you realize how much I appreciate all he's done for me. The portkey saved all of us."
"Portkey?" Mrs. Granger asked. "Is that what that awful feeling was called?"
"It's a magical way of traveling," Hermione explained. "Almost instantaneous, even over great distances. Harry created an emergency one that he enchanted into my locket. He said it would take me some place safe in case of... well, in case of something like today happening."
"Where are we anyway?" Mr. Granger asked after he finished another biscuit. His hands were still slightly shaky.
"It's probably better if none of you know," Pansy replied. "Let's just say it's a safe house, and leave it at that."
"Why?"
"Because, Granger, if none of you know where it is, then you can't reveal it to anyone. The more people know about it, the more chance of a leak happening."
"I guess we shouldn't open the curtains then."
"I would prefer if you didn't."
Hermione nodded.
"Why are you so paranoid?" her mother asked.
"You still haven't told them?" Pansy turned to Hermione who looked sheepish.
"I didn't want them to worry."
"Worry over what, Hermione?"
"Mum, it's-"
"Terrorists," Pansy answered, cutting her off. "Probably war. Your parents were endangered today, Granger. Hiding things from them now could get them killed."
Hermione grimaced but nodded and Pansy continued.
"The very short version is that most of the Death Eaters that killed so many people two decades ago escaped justice. Their leader returned recently, and they are almost certain to start attacking people again. That is unless we get very lucky and someone kills them all first. Hopefully, it won't have to be Harry."
"Why would it have to be Harry?" Mrs. Granger asked.
"Because almost everyone else in the magical world is completely useless," Pansy spat in disgust. "I just wish Mad-Eye still had both his legs. He's one of the only ones who is willing to do what's necessary."
"At least we've got professor Dumbledore on our side," Hermione suggested. "He was supposedly the only one that Riddle ever feared."
"Hmph," Pansy grunted in annoyance. "He's worse than useless if you ask me."
"How can you say that?"
"Because if he were even half the wizard people think he is, then he would have been on the front lines, killing Death Eaters. But no, the almighty Dumbledore had to keep his sense of moral superiority by not getting his hands dirty."
"Do you really think that's necessary?" Mr. Granger asked.
"Do you have any idea what they would do to your family? Because I do. They would magically bind the two of you while they took turns raping your daughter right in front of you. If there were enough of them, they would probably do the same to your wife. They'd probably throw in a bit of torture too, just for extra fun. The Cruciatus curse is the worst feeling in the world, believe me. If you were lucky, they would kill you all once they got bored.
"But if you weren't, then they would probably use the Imperius curse to force one of you to kill the others. Likely your daughter- as a muggleborn they would take special delight in breaking her spirit. And after the two of you were dead, your daughter would spend whatever time was left wishing that she had died too. Better that than ending up in a dungeon for the Death Eaters to play with whenever they felt like it."
"Dear Lord," Mrs. Granger gasped.
"My father was proud to be one of those sick fucks, so yes, I am very sure that it is necessary to kill men like that." Pansy turned to Hermione, who flinched at the anger in her eyes. "And as for your precious headmaster, he didn't even have the decency to make sure they faced justice for their crimes. Just bribe the right people, and walk free like my father or Malfoy did. Or have Dumbledore hand out second chances to scum like Snape.
"The hell with that! Every single Death Eater needs to die."
There was little anyone could say as Pansy sat back and tried to take a deep breath after her rant. The silence was broken when Dobby popped with Hermione's cat stuffed into a carrier and hissing.
"Here miss Hermione," the elf said as he handed the angry beast over.
"Dobby, you were supposed to protect Harry," Pansy growled.
"Dobby knows miss!"
With that, the elf disappeared.
"What should we do now, Dobby?"
"Dobby isn't sure, sir."
"I wish we had someone else here to help. Or at least some way to... communicate." Harry realized what he needed but then started to go through several different scenarios. It was too bad he hadn't created any more sets of the mirrors yet. Sirius had one, but Harry's was in Pansy's purse. He could have Dobby go get that one, or...
"I need you to go get Sirius, Dobby. Make sure he has his mirror and bring him here."
"Are you sure, master Harry?"
"The dementors have gone, Dobby. I have a feeling that it's going to be a battle of politics now. As fast as the letter arrived for Hermione, this smells like a set up to me."
"Dobby will be as fast as he can."
Harry nodded with a smile as his friend left with another pop. He noticed how the sound tended to be louder when he was stressed or worried. When things were calm, Dobby was practically silent. Harry couldn't really blame him for being tense today though.
Thankfully, it was only a few minutes later before Dobby returned with Sirius in tow.
"Harry, what's going on?"
"Do you have your mirror?"
"Right here," Sirius said as he pulled it out of a pocket.
"Let me borrow it please." As his godfather handed it over, Harry looked into it and called out Pansy's name. He heard some muffled sounds as he guessed that she was digging the matching mirror out of her purse.
"Harry?" she answered after a moment. Once she saw his face, he could see her relief. "Is everything alright?"
"I think so, for the most part. Can Hermione hear me too?"
"I'm here, Harry," she replied as she peeked in the mirror over Pansy's shoulder.
"Cool, okay. Let me see where to start. There were two dementors here. I found them in your backyard. I was able to drive them off easily enough. However..."
"However what?" Pansy prodded as Harry's face disappeared briefly.
"An owl dropped off a letter shortly after they were gone. It has Hermione's name on it and it appears to be from the ministry."
"That's fishy," Sirius added.
"I know. That's one of the reasons I wanted you here. Is there any way you can get in touch with Tonks?"
"She's an auror, good thinking. Give me a minute, I'll be right back." Sirius apparated away.
"Where are your glasses, Harry?" Hermione asked while they waited for his godfather to return with the pink-haired cavalry.
"I'm wearing my contacts. That night at the graveyard was proof enough of how big a handicap losing them could be."
"You weren't wearing them at your birthday party."
"No, but that's one of the only times I've worn my glasses this summer. Besides, they wouldn't have worked with Pansy's outfit the other day." Harry smirked as his girlfriend blushed. "So I just happened to have my contacts in today. I guess this supposedly quiet boring summer afternoon is more evidence that I need to be prepared at all times."
There was a crack as Sirius returned with his cousin.
"Have no fear, Tonks is here!" she cheerfully proclaimed.
"Your poetry is magnificent, but we need you as an auror," Harry replied with a smirk while Tonks stuck out her tongue at him.
"Fine, ruin my fun. What's going on?"
Harry started to explain the situation to her as she looked over at the envelope. Before he was finished, she raised her hand for him to stop.
"You've got that lawyer, right Harry?"
"Yes."
"You should get him here."
"Good idea. Dobby?"
"Dobby can get mister Sam."
"I'll go with him," Sirius suggested as he stood. "We don't want a receptionist holding Dobby up just because he's a house-elf."
"Mister Sirius is smarter than he looks," Dobby said with a smile which made Tonks nearly fall out of her chair laughing.
"Even your house-elf is a smart-ass, huh Harry?"
"He could have said you were dumber than you look, if you'd prefer." Harry grinned until Sirius reached over to ruffle his hair with enough vigor to actually make it look worse than usual.
"Come on then, Dobby. Let's go find Sam."
The next couple of hours would prove to be some of the longest of Harry's life. Hermione wasn't having a very fun time either, as her twelve year old self's worst fear came to pass: expulsion from Hogwarts. Only, that verdict was quickly set aside as Sam McKenzie was once again worth his weight in gold. The lawyer got that ridiculous penalty overthrown almost immediately, although not before Hermione nearly had a panic attack.
With Tonks there, she was able to act in her official capacity, testing both Hermione and Harry's wands for recent spells cast- which of course meant that Harry's was the one that showed a Patronus charm used.
That was the good news. The bad news was that there would still be an official hearing in a week, and that it looked like something strange was going on in the ministry of magic. With Fudge covering up the truth, it was hard to tell who in the government might be involved.
Tonks delivered her report to Madam Bones though, and that should hopefully be a good start in getting the whole mess cleaned up.
That left the problem about what to do with Hermione and the Grangers in the meantime. Sirius suggested they stay with him at Grimmauld Place until they could get some magical protections set up for their home. It would be a lot less of a hassle than living in the middle of nowhere in Harry's safehouse.
Dobby volunteered to take them to and from work in the meantime as well. Harry just chuckled at that, and even more so a couple of days later when Hermione's dad asked why portkey travel couldn't be as pleasant as when Dobby transported them. His response was that Dobby was just better than wizards.
Considering the fact that Dobby had stood between Harry and Lucius Malfoy, blasting him down a hallway, Harry meant it too. No other wizard had ever done something quite like that for him, at least not since his parents had died trying to protect him from Voldemort.
Needless to say, Dobby was in a very good mood for the rest of the summer.
That weekend, Sirius asked Harry to come over as there was going to be a gathering of the Order of the Phoenix. While he hadn't been invited to the meeting itself, Sirius said that a few people wanted to speak with him. And he might have mentioned that Hermione was driving him insane while she worried over her upcoming trial.
When Harry and Pansy arrived that evening, they quickly entered and saw Sirius waiting in the hall with a finger to his lips and his other hand pointing to the covered portrait of his mother. His latest letter mentioned having to remove an umbrella stand made from a troll's leg that Tonks kept tripping over every time she came by the house. It would always wake up the delightful Walburga Black and the shrieking could last for hours. Harry had suggested using some sort of paint stripper and Sirius was planning on asking the Grangers for help in finding the most caustic one possible to threaten her into silence.
There were a few people who were already in the kitchen behind Sirius, including Mad-Eye and Lupin that Harry recognized, but he and Pansy headed up the stairs. The drawing room was open and inside there were several teens waiting for them.
Ron sat on the far side of the room, scowling at Flora and Hestia who were playing chess together. Pansy went over to join them. Meanwhile, Hermione and Ginny were chatting away on a couch. Fred and George came over as soon as they saw Harry.
"Did you see how many people were here yet Harry?"
"Several, but I didn't recognize everyone. Why?"
"We're hoping to try out a new invention tonight. George, get the door will you?" Once it was closed, Fred pulled a long flesh-colored piece of string out of his pocket. "We call them extendable ears. We're hoping to hear what's going on in the meeting. You interested, Harry?"
"That's okay, guys. Sirius will tell me anything really important that I need to know."
"Wish our parents would," George muttered. "Dad probably wouldn't be too hard to get something out of, but mum has been a nightmare this summer. We're of age, she can't keep us out of the fighting forever."
"Death Eaters won't care if you're of age anyway," Harry replied.
"Exactly."
"Well, I saw Mad-Eye here, so he'll probably have a bunch of protections up but you might as well try them out."
"Checkmate." Harry turned and noticed Flora grinning at her sister.
"Finally," Pansy said as Flora got up and pulled Hestia to her feet.
"Come on, Hes, let's go somewhere more private."
"Have fun, Harry," Pansy said as she stopped before leaving the room. She grabbed him for a very unchaste kiss and winked before following the Carrow twins upstairs. Harry smiled as he watched the extra bit of sway to her hips as she left.
"Don't take this the wrong way, Harry," George began, "but sometimes I envy your choice in girlfriend."
"Or at least how aggressive she can be," Fred added. "I wish Angelina had a little more of that."
"Are you two still dating then?" Harry asked while trying not to look at Ginny, who was clearly bothered by Pansy's antics.
"Yes. I haven't been able to see her too much this summer, unfortunately." He sighed but then turned to Harry with a smirk. "She's been made the quidditch captain for our team. Only about three months till our next match. Hopefully we can find a good keeper for this year."
"Ron's keen to try out," George said. Their little brother perked up at that mention and was obviously listening to their conversation, but he stayed in his seat. Harry hadn't really talked to him in almost a year and things were clearly still awkward between them.
"Is he any good?"
"He's not bad when we play at home," Fred replied. "Not as good as Ollie was, but then who is?"
"He was the best keeper in all my time at Hogwarts," Harry agreed. "I heard he's been playing some for Puddlemere lately."
"Yeah, their starting keeper got injured, so he had his first start back in May. They've won all three games he's played, so I guess he's doing well."
"He's let in more goals than he did when he was playing with us," George said with a smirk. "Obviously, it's because he doesn't have such dashing beaters playing with him."
Harry just chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure it's that and not the fact that he's playing against actual professionals now."
Over the next hour or so, Harry kept Hermione's mind occupied by talking to her about what protections she would like to put up around her home. He knew a fair amount about runic enchantments that could be used, and Sirius had suggested several things already, including three that Harry hadn't heard of before.
The Weasleys had meanwhile headed to the landing, trying out the extendable ears. It turned out that Harry was right though, as Moody or someone else had charmed the door to the kitchen to be imperturbable, so they were out of luck on their eavesdropping.
They knew the meeting was over when the four Weasleys hurried back into the room and sat down, acting as nonchalantly as possible. Their parents came in shortly thereafter and they bade Harry and Hermione farewell as they headed back home.
Following them up, Harry was surprised to see professor McGonagall with Sirius, Moody, and Dumbledore. He hadn't known any of the other teachers were in the Order.
"Miss Granger, mister Potter, I would like to speak with the both of you briefly this evening," she said as she sat down at a desk and pulled several items out of her pockets. He noticed that there were two shiny metal badges as well as a couple of pieces of parchment. "Officially, I can't give both of these out until this nonsense is dealt with at the ministry. However, miss Granger, I am sure that this set of rules for prefects will give you something to read over and think about in the meanwhile.
"Mister Potter, I trust you can handle this responsibility for the coming year. You have already taken on the burdens of leadership when the situation has called for it, and people will naturally be looking at you for guidance in the future. If either of you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to speak with me. We will all need to do our part to keep the peace this year at Hogwarts.
"Miss Granger, I am also leaving your letter about what supplies will be needed for the next year. Officially, it couldn't be sent out while the hearing is still hanging over your head, but I believe that is only a matter of time. Mr. McKenzie is a very skilled solicitor. Try not to worry yourself too much."
"Thank you, professor."
"You're very welcome, Hermione," McGonagall replied with a hint of a smile. "There is really no other choice, you know. Can you imagine either miss Brown or miss Patil as a prefect?"
Harry wasn't sure which was odder about the occasion- McGonagall joking or Hermione giggling in response. Plus, he thought Parvati wouldn't make a bad prefect. She certainly couldn't do worse than some of the bastards Snape had given the badge to over the years. Harry still remembered one of them taking off points from him in his first year for getting lost in the halls on his third day at Hogwarts.
Stupid school should come with a map for new students. Or some sort of orientation- that's what the muggle world would do, especially for people completely foreign to the world of magic. But no, why do something logical like that when instead you can give jerks the authority to bully younger students just for kicks?
Hell, if either of them were still alive, scumbag Snape would have probably made a proudly-bigoted piece of filth like Malfoy one of the prefects.
Harry had to swallow his rage before looking at the headmaster, who he just knew would have let both of them get away with it too.
'Focus on the war,' he thought to himself. 'Let's find out what they've been doing this summer.'
"Now then, mister Potter, miss Granger, there will be a meeting of the prefects on the train that you will both need to attend, as well as leading the new first year students to Gryffindor tower after the welcoming feast. I wish you both well until we see each other again at Hogwarts."
"Thank you professor."
"Miss Granger, will you please escort Minerva out? We have something to discuss with Harry," Dumbledore said, and the two of them left the room. Moody immediately sealed the room and threw up at least half a dozen privacy charms.
"We're secure, Albus."
"Thank you, Alastor. Why don't we all have a seat?"
Sirius settled in on the couch next to Harry while the headmaster sat opposite them in an antique high-back chair. Mad-Eye merely slowed his pacing around the room. Harry had to grin as the semi-unretired auror kept his wand in hand, just in case. You never know when Death Eaters could attack a small meeting in a sealed room in a house under the Fidelius after all.
"Alastor and Sirius have been arguing against something that I have prioritized for the Order to do this summer, and they both insisted that I speak with you about it, Harry. You know that Voldemort heard only part of a prophecy about the two of you all those years ago. With yet another miraculous escape from his clutches recently, I believe he may try to steal the recording of it that is held at the Department of Mysteries, which lies deep in the ministry. I have asked our members to keep watch, in case of any attempt to break in."
"Why don't we take it out instead?"
"That is precisely what I've been saying," Sirius agreed.
"There is a wisdom to that idea," Dumbledore added. "However, if we are to do so, it will require your assistance, Harry."
"Okay. Why me?"
"Only those who are subject to the prophecy may remove it without harm."
"Alright," Harry said as he thought for a moment. "Should we try to do this quietly, I assume?"
"That would be for the best. I have a contact in the department that we could possibly meet with and then, hopefully, he could escort us to the prophecy."
"Maybe we should try to do that after Hermione's hearing," Harry suggested. "It could be a distraction that we could use."
"True, however, the media could be there and looking for a quote from you afterwards. It will be expected that you will be with miss Granger due to the nature of your patronage of her."
"Hmm."
The room grew quiet for a moment until Sirius nearly shouted out.
"Tonks! We could have her take Harry's place on the way out. Meanwhile, he slips on his cloak and follows Dumbledore down to get the prophecy."
"That could work," Moody grunted. "I could be there as well, to act as security and help push them out of the building to keep any reporters from asking too many questions. We don't want Nymphadora to have to do too much acting, or say anything that could screw up this plan."
'I believe that could work," Dumbledore replied. "It might be for the best if you meet with Nymphadora before hand. A bit of practice at mimicking your speech, as well as coming up with what you might want to say would be wise."
"I believe she's still here," Sirius added. "I'll go check if this discussion is over."
"Very well," Dumbledore said as he stood up. "Alastor, if you would, please remain behind so that everything can be explained to her about this plan."
"Of course."
"Harry, I'll see you in a few days."
"Headmaster," he nodded.
"It's too bad he was kicked out of the wizengamot," Moody said after Dumbledore had left. "Seems mighty fishy that an attack happens on your girl within days of getting Albus tossed out. Fudge doesn't have a case here. I don't know what the idiot thinks he's doing."
"Are we sure it's him? Maybe someone else has a grudge against me. Or someone who just hates muggleborns."
"Aye, both are possible."
"Are we sure there aren't any rogue dementors?"
"I went to Amelia with that concern immediately," Moody replied. "They were checked the next day at Azkaban, and all were accounted for. But that was enough time for a couple of them to return from a failed hit job."
"Damn. We need the government to try to assassinate the right people if they're going to pull something like that." That made Moody chuckle.
"Officially, I didn't hear any of that. Unofficially, I'm not sure who would be the best target anyway. Getting Fudge out of the way wouldn't help if we didn't have someone better to replace him."
"With my luck, we probably would get someone ever worse next," Harry muttered.
"Hah! That's the spirit, Potter. We need more cynical bastards like us to keep idealists like Albus from floating off in the clouds. Black tells me you're already thinking about teaching others next year some of what I taught you."
"It seems necessary," Harry shrugged. "Riddle and his minions aren't going to spare anyone just because they happen to still be teenagers."
"Damn right, laddie. I'll be interested to see how that goes."
A few nights later, Harry was snuggling in behind Pansy, who had claimed his hand for the evening and was resting it below her navel. He had gotten used to the ritual now, but she was extra tense that week and her cramps had started a day early. Not only was the nonsense with the ministry still hanging over them, but they also had Luna's upcoming visit and Pansy wanted to make sure they were very good hosts for their friend.
"Harry?" Apparently she wasn't quite ready to sleep yet.
"Hmm?"
"I was thinking of growing my hair out."
"Okay."
"You wouldn't mind?" Pansy turned over and looked at him. He had to smile as she once again took hold of his hand and placed it where she could get the most comfort.
"No. I'll probably always like you with a bob style because that's what you looked like when I fell in love with you, but it's fine with me if you want to change it."
"You're very sweet, Harry. I didn't think you would care, but I wanted to check first before I do anything drastic."
"Drastic?"
"I'm going to let it grow until I get sick of it. I haven't ever had really long hair. Most of the girls I spend time with have very long hair."
"Like Luna."
"Or Parvati. Even Lavender and Granger have it well down past their shoulders. And..."
"And?"
"I was thinking it might be more fun to have you pull my hair if it's longer," she said with a grin. Harry chuckled in response. "Don't act like that isn't fun for you too."
"I'm not arguing. I guess I should check with you in the future if I ever want to change my look. Like growing a beard or something- you know, when that becomes an option."
"I would appreciate it." She giggled after a moment of thought. "I don't know that you could pull off facial hair."
"I'm Harry Potter, I can pull off anything," he teased.
"Just don't pull your hand off tonight."
"Of course not."
Pansy nodded and rolled back over. "Do you think there will be any problems tomorrow?"
"I hope not. Sam says everything should be a lock. We've got witnesses. We've got auror testimony. They really don't have anything to stand on. I still don't know what the fuck Fudge is thinking."
"You assume that he can think," Pansy snorted. "I was worrying more about this whole prophecy business afterwards. I just hope you won't be gone too long."
"Are you sure you don't want to come?"
"No. I've got the mirrors that you finished. I was planning on talking to Luna and getting everything ready. I'll have the one that matches yours if you need to contact me about anything."
"Oh, that reminds me. I was talking to Sam earlier and he suggested that we all go out to eat for lunch after the hearing, just to be seen after the charges are dismissed. It would be good for morale or something. I think he might be planning on letting the press know too."
"Okay, then you'll have to contact me when it's over anyway. Is he planning on it being somewhere like the Leaky Cauldron?"
"Probably something like that," he agreed.
"Alright. I guess I should let you get your beauty sleep then, before you have to appear in public."
"How kind of you, sweetheart."
"Good night, Harry."
Hermione looked like she hadn't slept well, if at all, the next morning. Sirius and Tonks had brought her to the ministry, and they were waiting with Sam when Harry arrived.
"We've already got some extra idiocy, Harry," Sam said. "They tried to change the time of the hearing three hours before it was supposed to begin."
"On the very day?"
"Yes," Sam replied. "I shut down the moron that tried to pass it off immediately, but Fudge has somehow forced a trial to be before the wizengamot instead of just the small hearing in front of Madam Bones, where it should be by all rights."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that it is even more important that you all keep your heads and let me do my job. That goes double for you, Harry."
"Alright, Sam. This is what I pay you for."
"Just try to keep miss Granger calm and everything should be alright. The two of you will be sitting with me. Let's go."
Tonks led the way as they pushed through to an elevator that would fit the entire group. Hermione still looked nervous, so Harry pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "Just stay on my arm and everything will be okay."
She nodded, still looking wary but he reached over with his other hand to squeeze hers in support.
The tension did not abate as they made their way down a long hall and Tonks opened a door which led them to the courtroom. There was only a single chair on the floor, apparently meant for the defendant, but Sam ignored that as he conjured a table and three chairs so that he and his clients would all be together.
"Now see here, Mr. McKenzie," Fudge began to protest before being cut off.
"No, you see here, minister. This supposed hearing is already full of irregularities and has no place even being before the wizengamot in the first place. But it is the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement who runs criminal proceedings, not the minister. Unless you want to admit that this is nothing more than a political attack on House Potter, in which case I already have a statement ready to be released to all members of the press as well as the WWN reporter who is expecting me this afternoon."
"Hem, hem," a fake cough came out of a hideous little toad of a woman dressed in a sickeningly pink cardigan. "Are you suggesting that the ministry has something to gain by attacking a random muggleborn witch? That is preposterous, Mr. McKenzie."
"What is preposterous, Delores, is everything about this situation."
Amelia Bones stood up and headed for the podium as murmurs made their way through the crowd. Hermione tightened her grip on Harry's arm and he patted her in sympathy. He was going to have to remember to give Sam a bonus of some sort for today.
"Mr. McKenzie does have a point that it is not in the minister's purview to run today's proceedings," Bones said as Fudge glowered as he was shunted off to the side. "There are two charges against miss Granger that we are here to discuss. First, a count of underage sorcery, and second, a charge of breaking the statute of secrecy. How does your client plead, Mr McKenzie?"
"Not guilty on both counts. And unlike the ministry, I have actual evidence- evidence that proves miss Granger's innocence."
"Very well, please proceed." Bones looked like she wanted to get this travesty over with as soon as possible, and Harry thought it was probably due to the fact that Tonks had reported to her after her investigation.
"On the first count, I call on auror Nymphadora Tonks."
Tonks tried to keep the frown from her face as she came down to testify. The next few minutes went slowly, as both Fudge and his toady in pink tried to interrupt and lead the questions away from the facts, but Sam and Tonks kept pushing on as it was clear that the ministry's sensors merely flagged Hermione as the one muggleborn witch who lived in the area of the magic cast, similar to how Harry had been blamed for Dobby's magic three years prior when he was still stuck at the Dursleys.
Regardless, Tonks' eyewitness account as an auror trumped that. The spells used by their wands were much better proof, unless the ministry wanted to try to argue that Hermione could not only cast the Patronus but wandlessly to boot. There were a few chuckles at that.
Harry, on the other hand, was famous for being able to cast the spell, so it was yet another strike in their favor.
On the second count, Sam brought up a point that Harry hadn't thought of.
If the statute of secrecy had been broken, with muggles witnessing magic, then why were the Obliviators never called?
That was the entire point of the Oliviator department. The government could hardly claim such a breech against secrecy if they themselves did nothing about it.
Not to mention the fact that the muggles supposedly witness to magic were Hermione's parents, who would not be covered by the statute in the first place.
Like Sam had said, the entire 'trial' was completely preposterous.
Harry was called to testify and it was similar to what Tonks had gone through. Fudge and Delores Umbridge tried to argue, interrupt, and generally cause chaos, while Sam either refuted or ignored them. Harry found it much harder not to lash out and yell at the idiots, but he tried to focus on Hermione sitting next to him, as she was clearly still a ball of nerves.
The facts were clear though. Harry had cast the spell, not Hermione, and the only muggles aware of the dementors were the Grangers.
For closing remarks, Sam once again suggested that this appeared to be a political strike against House Potter since he did not for one moment believe that this was a random attack on the one witch in the country known to be under Harry's protection. He also mentioned the fact that with Harry's address no longer being in the public record (as all his mail went through Sam's office) it gave him an amount of protection- but this could have left Hermione a much more attractive target, especially since there was a long standing societal bias against muggleborn witches and wizards.
There were several scowls that answered Sam's words, and Harry had a feeling that meant he could pick out the blood supremacists quite easily. He was slightly relieved that there weren't more than a handful of them.
In the end, even Fudge looked like he realized the case was falling apart by the time Bones called for a vote. The vast majority voted innocent of all charges. Umbridge was one of the few that was in favor of Hermione's guilt- the minister himself refrained from voting, apparently worried about how this could look to the public.
Regardless, Hermione slumped against Harry's side in relief once the case was dismissed. He hugged her and helped her to her feet as they both then shook hands with Sam and started to make their way out of the courtroom.
Sirius was waiting for them and he congratulated Hermione as they began to head back towards the elevators leading up. A tap on the shoulder from his godfather got Harry's attention and he asked the group to wait as he stopped to use a restroom.
Thankfully, they were in luck as there was only a single man inside- and seeing Harry enter, the man shifted into his favorite pink haired cousin.
"All's well that ends well, eh Harry?"
"We're not quite done yet. Are you ready for the last bit?"
"Don't worry. I know my line. Mad-Eye is waiting in the lobby. We'll get Hermione back to headquarters, safe and sound. Just don't let the headmaster keep the rest of us waiting too long- I think we all want to know what happens next. Now, hurry up. It can't take you too long to piss."
"I guess it's a good thing I don't actually have to go," Harry chuckled as he covered himself with his cloak and watched as Tonks took his place. It was rather odd seeing her shift into him but he shook that off and followed her out the door.
Harry slid right up next to the wall and waited for the hallway to empty as much as possible. He headed towards the stairs that lead to the ninth floor and then went towards a door at the far end, where two wizards were waiting for him. One of them was unmistakable, but the man Dumbledore was talking to in hushed tones was not someone that he had ever seen before, a rather unassuming and slight, sallow faced man who Harry guessed could have been anywhere from forty to sixty.
Making sure that they were alone, Harry removed his cloak as he approached them.
"Ah, Harry, good timing. Allow me to introduce Broderick Bode, an Unspeakable acquaintance of mine who will be leading us today."
"Mr. Potter," Bode said with a nod as he opened the door behind him and beckoned them to enter.
"Thank you, Mr. Bode."
"Don't thank me yet," he replied somberly.
Harry found himself in a large circular room with a number of identical unmarked doors. Bode led them on through one in particular, although Harry had no idea how he picked out the correct one. They were led down a dark and spartan hallway that turned twice before three nearby doors, one of which Bode stopped at.
"Wait a moment."
Dumbledore nodded as the unspeakable went inside. Harry wanted to ask several different questions, but before he could decide on which one to start with, the door opened and Bode rejoined them carrying a very worn looking leather bound ledger of some sort.
"This way." With that, Bode led them even further onward toward the end of the hall where the was one last door.
When it opened, Harry saw an enormous low-lit room full of shelves, all of which contained hundreds of dusty glass orbs. Many of them were dark, probably the majority of them Harry guessed, but there were others that held a soft glow that somehow felt wrong to Harry. Bode strode off to the left and Dumbledore drew Harry's attention to follow after him. They walked on in silence for a few moments and he could only marvel at the enormous amount of prophecies recorded. He wondered for a moment if these were just those from Britain or if they covered the whole world, not to mention how far back into the past they might have gone.
The entire situation felt off and a bit sickening to Harry, who still didn't like the idea of whatever unknown force somehow brought forth these things.
Finally, Bode led them to a stop on row ninety-seven and motioned to a shelf.
"But this cannot be," Dumbledore whispered, a pale look of shock overcoming him.
"It is."
"What?" Harry asked. Bode responded by pointing to a label beneath one of the dark orbs. There was a date from 1980 and the initials S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D. above the phrase that had set everything in motion: Dark Lord and ? (Harry Potter).
"I don't understand," he said as he turned to the two other wizards. Dumbledore had a tear rolling down his face, while Bode was still serene as he turned to answer Harry.
"The prophecy has been nullified."
Harry didn't really know what to say to that.
And it looked like the headmaster was at an even greater loss for words.
"In fact, Albus, your girl is now naught for two," Bode continued as he pointed to another dark orb on the same shelf. This one was from the spring of 1994 and was labeled S.P.T. to R.B.W. above the name Peter Pettigrew. Professor Dumbledore wiped at his face and took a breath as he regained control over his emotions.
"Can you tell me anything else Broderick?"
"I thought you might ask," the unspeakable replied as he opened up the ledger he had brought with him. "The second prophecy went dark within hours of its appearance. As for the first...
"Give me just a moment." He flipped through the pages back and forth a couple of times. "Ah yes, here we are: the thirteenth of June, 1993."
"So, what does this mean?" Harry asked as Dumbledore frowned. "Should we just leave it here, since it is no longer in play?"
"I am not sure. It may still be best to remove it, but on the other hand, it could leave Tom even more confused. How that confusion could lead him to act is an even bigger question."
"You are missing one piece of information, Albus," Bode remarked. "Even if Mr. Potter were to take the orb now, there is no longer a viable record for him to hear. Once it was nullified, the words themselves were lost as well as the light within."
"So, then we should just leave it?" Harry asked.
"I suppose so," Dumbledore replied.
"What do we do now?"
"I have no idea."
"I believe it is time for me to escort you out," Bode suggested.
"Yes, of course." The headmaster nodded and put a hand on Harry's shoulder as they followed the unspeakable back out of the hall of prophecies. "Please tell no one of what has occurred today, Harry. I need time to try to discern what our next move should be."
"I guess guard duty is canceled."
"Indeed. That will go over well with several people." Harry slipped on his cloak as Dumbledore seemed to become lost in his thoughts.
The walk out of the department of mysteries was much quicker for Harry. Part of that was certainly due to no longer feeling like a weight was riding on his shoulders. The idea of fate or destiny demanding that he face Riddle was odious to him. He knew that the insane snake-faced monster would be coming after him anyway, but at least now mysterious cosmic forces weren't trying to control his future as well.
Harry just had to survive the war and keep his loved ones safe. Maybe Pansy's wish could come true and Mad-Eye could catch a Death Eater meeting place and burn them all down with Fiendfyre? Man, wouldn't that be nice? Then he and Pansy could retire somewhere with a beach.
Preferably, a private beach.
He smiled at that thought as he headed for the floo and called out 'the Three Broomsticks' where he was going to meet Hermione and company for the celebratory lunch. As soon as that was done, he was going home to snog Pansy senseless at the day's good news. Dumbledore would probably be very disappointed in him, but there was no way he was going to keep this secret from his girlfriend.
Neither of them were fans of Divination anyway.