15

Chapter 15

"What?" Lucius Potter stated flatly as he brought his fist tightly about the handle of his wand and glared at Charlus.

"Yes, that was about my own summation of things," Charlus agreed with a faint nod of his head.

"How the bloody hell does he manage to get called in front of the board of governors after only one bloody day?"

"Minerva Bloody McGonagall," Charlus stated with a grimace of distaste. "That woman…"

"How is Minerva a problem?" Lucius said with a confused frown. "I've always found her to be…"

"Apparently she let her famous temper get the better of her." Charlus stated sourly. "Went on a warpath because her 7th year lions came to her complaining about Harry's methods. Word got out and some less than well intentioned bastards decided to take a shot at him because of it."

"… Because McGonagall is considered to be a dedicated instructor and generally stern and strictly by the rules. Lucius stated slowly as he leaned back and groaned. "Because most people forget she has a bloody temper because she never lets it loose on students."

"It seems Harry is old enough to be exempt from her rules. Or she let her assumptions about his actions get the better of her. Or any number of things," Charlus stated helplessly as he lifted up his hands and then sighed. "Whatever the reason, the woman has made things more complicated than they need to be."

"And I'm sure that Harry's general attitude had nothing to do with it," Lucius said with a roll of his eyes as he looked back at Charlus with a purposely bland expression.

"Are you implying something, Lucius?" Charlus asked with a frown. "He is family, after all. Not just my own."

"He's also, thankfully, your problem more than mine," Lucius answered easily enough as he allowed a faint smile to curl over his lips. "I find that fact surprisingly refreshing. Especially considering all the headaches you've caused me over the years."

"You say it like you haven't cause me a plethora in turn," Charlus shot back before shaking his head. "So, how exactly are we going to handle this?"

"Do we even need to handle it?" Lucius asked mildly. "While I can see Harry having ruffled a few feathers, it is more likely that Minerva is over reacting due to letting her maternal instincts run wild."

"You'd rather just leave it to chance?" Charlus asked incredulously.

"I'd rather come in with full facts and destroy someone who thinks they can play games with students' lives." Lucius clarified with a faint smile. "And it's not like there hasn't been enough evidence of late that more caution should be taken."

"But…!" Charlus started to protest.

"Which would you rather, us prematurely flexing our strength and wasting it over something minor, or waiting for them to make a poor move, reacting and strengthening our position?" Lucius countered as he arched a brow at Charlus.

"… I hate playing politics," Charlus stated with a sigh and a grunt.

"Which is why I do it, not you," Lucius reminded him with an amused nod. "Play to your strengths like telling the boys where to attack."

"If you weren't family…" Charlus said with a halfhearted grumble.

"If I wasn't family, you'd have never made it out of Hogwarts," Lucius stated with a bemused chuckle. "I remember what you were like, Charlus."

Charlus was smart enough to shut up at that.

-o-o-o-

Harry was less than thrilled as he looked at the rather stern faced Board of Governors, and he posture showed it as he leaned back in his chair.

"Professor Potter. You are here because one of your coworkers has raised rather troublesome claims about your teaching methods." The apparent head of the board was no one he recognized and he hadn't bothered to learn their name. "Do you have anything to say before we begin?"

"I put my NEWT level classes through a mock dark creature attack with cushioning charms. I fail to see exactly what the problem is." He spoke as if he was addressing a small child, his eyes hard and almost flinty as they stared back at the Governor. "As the creatures were animated under my direction and will, at no time was I not in control of the situation, nor were the students ever in any real danger. I fail to see why I am here."

"Professor Potter! If this is the type of teaching that we can expect from you…!" One of the governors started, only to be silenced by a glare from the Professor in question.

"I repeat. My NEWT level classes. These are the only classes I am putting through these scenarios. Scenarios that I am taking from recent events. Or perhaps you're all forgetting what happened in London just a few months ago?" Harry demanded with a scathing hiss of breath as he glared back at them.

"I believe they would like some assurances that you aren't planning to do this for your other classes," one of them stated delicately as they looked at the rest of the board with a look of pleading. "Yes?"

"Only the Sixth years in the second half of next semester, so they have an idea of what I'll be putting them through for NEWTS year." he answered as he took a slow, deep breath and then released it, forcing himself to try and remain calm. "The other years I will be incorporating building them up to that level with different exercises."

"What sort of exercises, Professor Potter?" One of the more neutral governors asked with a slight frown that showed they still very much had his NEWT exercise on their minds.

"Starting in Fourth year they will be learning a paint spell that's easily ended by a simple Finite, where in they will spend several exercises learning to both dodge and aim." Harry stated simply. "First years will learn team work exercises in the form of a team game I'm going to work with them on that will also incorporate some of their spell work towards the middle of the second semester. Fifth years will be taught the Patronus charm and how to run away from a hostile conflict."

"I'm worried about your definition of hostile conflict, Professor," one of them stated with a frown that conveyed a great deal of disapproval.

"I will be playing the part of the hostile force, using only the same paint spell as I will be teaching to Fourth years." Harry was trying to keep the irritation out of his voice but it was getting a bit hard to do. "Everything in my lesson plan is designed to teach."

"Be that as it may, Professor Potter, we must ask you to cease these types of lessons going forward in the future." There was another one of them, shifting forward slightly, a puffed up edge of condescension. "We cannot…"

"No." Harry cut in with a sharp, flat voice that sliced through the air like a knife.

That made the Head of the Board of Governor's frown as he tried to lean forward, as if he was trying to loom over Harry. "I beg your pardon, Professor Potter?"

"I will not be changing my lesson plans." Harry had had enough of this. There was no discussion, there was no listening to him, there was just a flexing exercise of power they wanted to exert over him, and he had more than enough experience with that in the past.

"We are not making a request, Mr. Potter." There was an icy chill to the head's voice as they glared at Harry now looking down his nose at him. "If you cannot follow the Board's direction, we will dismiss you."

"Go ahead," Harry stated with a pair of tightly pursed lips as he purposely kept his hands on front him and away from his wand.

"… I can assure you, I am quite serious about that, Mr. Potter." The moment of disbelief passed across the head's eyes, but quickly hardened in irritation.

"I never said you weren't," Harry agreed, and he was more than sure they were serious, but he really, truly wasn't going to play this game. "If that's your response to this, that's your response. I am going to attempt to remain civil about this but I designed my lesson plans to keep my students alive. I will not endanger them by giving them a false sense of security about their capabilities and knowledge."

Apparently that was not the reaction they were expecting, leaving them to stare at him in disbelief.

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore took the opportunity to make his presence known for the first time since the inquiry had begun, a slight tone of worry in his voice as he realized just how implacable Harry was going to be. "Perhaps, Professor Potter, we could come to some form of compromise about…"

"No," Harry stated simply and coldly as he looked back at Dumbledore with a stone faced expression. "I am taking more precautions than are taken in Quidditch. I am giving them valuable lessons that will help them for the rest of their lives."

"You did terrorize your class in the opinion of an established and respected Professor and Head of House, Professor Potter," Dumbledore reminded Harry as he looked at him over half-moon spectacles. "That does raise some questions that need to be answered."

"And I have answered them." Harry stated with a coolness that immediately let Dumbledore know he has already been pushed past what he considered reasonable as his eyes just bore back into Dumbledore's with nothing but irritation, bordering on outright anger.

Dumbledore sighed softly and shook his head as he could feel the throbbing of a headache beginning to grow. "Very well, Professor Potter. If you could please excuse us for a moment?"

Harry simply gave the man a curt nod as he stood in one fluid motion and left without even bothering to acknowledge the board with even a glance.

Once the door shut behind him, the eyes all turned towards Dumbledore, even the neutral governors holding a look of irritation in their eyes. Slowly and deliberately clearing his throat, the head of the board fixed Dumbledore with a look. "I don't care what kind of qualifications that… boy has, he is not…!"

"That boy, as you call him, has slain at least one thousand year old basilisk, repeatedly bested dark wizards…" He paused there, taking a breath before grimacing as he rephrased his words. "No, besting is not the correct word. He destroyed them. Have you all forgotten what happened when he was interviewed?"

"What exactly does that have to do with this?" one of the governors asked in confusion as he looked at Dumbledore with a look of absolute confusion on his face. "I was under the impression that issue was resolved by the Storm Chaser?"

There were a number of nods of agreement among the board as they then turned their attention back to Dumbledore expectantly.

"I had hoped you realized before you made yourselves an enemy of his," Dumbledore stated with a bland tone and no small amount of exasperation. "I suppose it was too much to hope that you had taken the time to do proper research before this little inquisition."

That made them pause a moment before one of them stiffened their back and glared at Dumbledore. "I don't care if both the Potters and the Blacks supported his hiring! That kind of behavior cannot be tolerated!"

However other members of the board were not quite so quick to dismiss Dumbledore's words as several of them shifted uncomfortably in place, looks of displeasure crossing their faces. "The Potters and the Blacks? Oh, dear…"

"It doesn't matter! We cannot tolerate such blatant insubordination! That kind of disrespect…!" The head of the board's face turned a bright read as he rose up in his seat, glowering back at Dumbledore.

"Very well, if you are determined to make an enemy of the Storm Chaser and his allies, I can see there is little I can do." Dumbledore stated with a note of resignation in his voice as he shook his head. "I suppose you have a successor ready, then? I do not believe we have ever a professor fired in their very first week before."

A sudden silence fell across the board before the head of the board looked at Dumbledore incredulously. "What, now you're trying to protect him by implying that he is an ally of the Storm Chaser?"

"No." Dumbledore took a moment to collect himself as he fought down the slow burn of frustration he was feeling swelling up inside of him. He did understand Harry's frustrations; he truly did when it came to these people, but... "He is the Storm Chaser. I thought that was blatantly obvious, all things considered."

"Him, the Storm Chaser?" the man repeated looking at Dumbledore incredulously. "Are you daft?"

"I confirmed his identity with Alastor Moody himself." Dumbledore struggled to not pinch the bridge of his nose as he looked at the man, speaking in a slow, deliberately calm voice. "That is where his influence comes from. That is the man you have made an enemy of. A man that could duel me either to a draw or potentially defeat me, should certain information be accurate."

He let that sink in for a moment before continuing, even as he struggled to not take pleasure in the looks of ill ease on their faces. "What's more, I have already had a long and thorough discussion about things with Professor Potter. He has an instinctive grasp on the subject matter and this lesson plan was approved."

"You approved this madness?!" the head of the board demanded, staring at him incredulously.

"We have more injuries and fewer precautions taken with Quidditch," Dumbledore calmly repeated Harry's earlier words as he used a much more experienced voice. "As he said, he had cushioning charms in place and there was not a single injury to the students. Everything they faced was directly under his control, in a manner beyond any sort of trained creature or animation charm can be. There was no danger."

"Beyond them being terrified out of their minds!" one of the governors protested, struggling to regain their ground and shift the argument back in their favor.

"Which was part of the purpose of the class to begin with." Dumbledore cut back with a gesture of his hand. "Or have we suddenly come to the conclusion that encountering a Dark creature won't terrify them out of their minds?"

"Well, no, but…!" The governor struggled to come up with another argument in time maintain the strength of their position.

"So, you are saying that you want the students to freeze up in terror if they ever encounter a dark creature? For them to not have any experience in understanding how they should cope with when their body rebels against them and clouds their mind with fear and terror?" Dumbledore pressed, remembering so very much of how he had first reacted to the proposal Harry Potter had given him.

And he remembered the way Harry had explained it to him. Only, Harry wasn't very patient about it. The man was, Albus had to admit, very much the warrior. He could teach, yes, but he taught with an almost brutal practicality to his methods.

Though Albus had been ashamed at the surprise he'd felt at the depth of understanding Harry had about the need to keep the student's safe.

"You know that is not what I'm saying!" the governor declared angrily.

"No, I do not. Nor do I believe that the public will when the papers publish the story about this." Dumbledore stated with a shake of his head.

"We're acting in the best interests of the students!" the head of the Governors declared with an angry, puffed up chest, face again flushing red. "They wouldn't…."

"Blacks and Potters," Dumbledore reminded him calmly as he gave them all a look to remind them of exactly what kind of fight they were about to get themselves into. "You might manage to get a preemptive strike, but then they will hit you back."

He paused there, letting the words sink in as he gave them a look. "However, I do understand your reservations of Professor Potter's methods. I had them myself, but the man knows what he is doing, and his control is nothing short of astounding. Nothing happens with his creations that he does not direct them to do."

"And what's to stop him from…!" The governor started to protest again, only to suddenly fall silent beneath the look that Dumbledore affixed him with.

"The same thing that's stopping me and him from deciding that, because you don't listen to us, and are, in fact, being purposely obtuse and obstinate in regards to this, that the lot of you should be summarily dealt with." Dumbledore stated with an edge to his voice that immediately made the governors stiffen. "Our desire to maintain civility for both ourselves and society. So, if I might suggest: This discussion shall be tabled and we shall redress the results at the end of the school year."

He paused there, his eyes moving from one member to the next. "That way he will have either proven his point or granted you sufficient proof that he should be dismissed to the point that neither Blacks nor Potters will intervene."

He looked at them all expectantly as he allowed them to mull over their options.

-o-o-o-

It was sometime later, after the conclusion of the meeting, that Dumbledore found Harry seated outside the room on a stone bench he was quite sure had not been there before. In his hand, Harry was making notes in a leather bound journal with a sleek black fountain pen. However, his attention was not so focused upon his writing that he did not make note of Dumbledore's approach.

"Headmaster," he nodded his head towards the elder man and carefully screwed the cap back onto his pen before quietly putting it away and shutting his journal. "Will I be needing to clear out my office?"

The tone was blunt and calm, without any inflection as the man studied Dumbledore with a distant look on his face.

"For the moment, no. I have managed to impress upon them that it would be best to not jump to any ill-considered conclusions," Dumbledore stated with a generally neutral tone as he looked at Harry. "As such, they will wait until the end of the year to fully assess your skills."

"Oh?" Harry's voice was slightly skeptical as he looked back at Dumbledore. "That must've taken some work. They didn't seem to be very eager to change their minds."

"Yes, well, it was more reminding them that they can only afford to have their egos survive so much before it ends up costing them more than they can afford." he stated with a calm tilt to his head. "They simply thought that Minerva's reaction was enough by itself for them to act on."

Harry shrugged his shoulders a bit as he fought to keep his tone neutral, though, it was audibly strained. "She had a very strong reaction. Publically as well."

"Yes, I'm aware," Dumbledore agreed with a nod of his head, his eyes filled with a look of disappointment.

"And you're going to…?" The sound in Harry's voice held more resignation than Dumbledore was expecting, with a flatness that told him that the expectation was nothing.

"I shall have a word with her," was all Dumbledore managed to say. "In the meantime, I do believe you have a class to teach."

Harry looked at him with eyes more jaded than Dumbledore was normally comfortable with seeing on his teachers, before simply nodding his head, standing and leaving without a word.

Dumbledore was left watching his departure and wondering just who had failed the boy so completely that he found himself so completely untrusting of him to do his duty.

-o-o-o-

"They failed, my lord," the wizard stated simply as he bowed to Voldemort.

"Unfortunate," Voldemort stated with a frown of displeasure. "Why?"

"Those not immediately loyal to our cause were… unaware of the Professor's identity, and that coupled with the fact there was no actual harm done…" the wizard trailed off and kept his face down and supplicant to the man in front of him. "It was pointed out that they were NEWT level students, and… they should be taught how to not freeze up when faced with dark creatures."

Voldemort frowned unpleasantly before reluctantly nodding his head. "Ambitious. And difficult to pull off."

"As you say, my lord," the wizard demurred to his greater experience and knowledge. As well he should.

"I suppose that it was unlikely that the ploy would succeed. Fools will be fools," Voldemort leaned back in his seat and considered what actions to take next.

There was a lingering silence, before finally Walburga spoke up. "My lord, if I might make a suggestion?"

"Ah, yes, Walburga, please do enlighten us about your idea," Voldemort almost purred out his words as he slid forward. If nothing else, it would be entertaining for the sheer brutality and viciousness it entailed.

"It occurs to me, my lord, that everything that happened to…. go off track started with one particular incident," Walburga stated, a look of vitriolic hate in her eyes.

"Oh? Which incident would that be?" He had an idea, but really, he wanted to see exactly what the woman had in mind.

"The night that Bellatrix Black was supposed to be inducted into the ranks of your Knights." she said, practically spitting the name out.

"Ah, yes, the first appearance of the illustrious Storm Chaser," he agreed, nodding his head vaguely as he gestured for her to continue. "Do go on."

"It was her memories, her testimony, her words that turned them against you," she stated with a furious grinding of her teeth as he could see the muscles of her jaw clenching. "She was the one that turned them from the true path. That blinded them to how our place was at your side."

"And you want to do something about her, hmm?" Voldemort offered with a slowly drawn out smirk on his lips.

"It is her fault all of this occurred. It is her fault that they lost their way. It is her fault they cast me out!" Walburga declared, her fury building up as he could almost see a frothing bubble of spittle forming.

"Yes, I suppose it would be," he agreed with a faint nod of agreement, hiding the dark amusement he was finding at the entire situation.

"And what's worse? She is infatuated with that lying filth!" she almost shrieked out in righteous indignation. "The Blacks need to learn a lesson! They need to learn that they made a mistake! And that Storm Chaser needs to learn that he cannot corrupt good purebloods without proper consequences!"

Voldemort chuckled softly. It was an entertaining thought. And he could think of how he could work it to his advantage.

Yes, it certainly had possibilities.

"My dear Walburga, I believe you have inspired me."

-o-o-o-

"You wanted to see me, Albus?" Minerva McGonagall asked, standing tall, stern and proud as she walked into his office with her head held high.

"Yes. Professor McGonagall, I did." Dumbledore stated with a pointed look and a voice schooled to strict neutrality. "Please be seated."

Immediately she stiffened, if ever so slightly. Never before had Albus Dumbledore been so formal with one of his professors, typically fostering a lax and friendly atmosphere that, she would admit, she occasionally found lacking. She could feel the cold trickle of worry sinking down her spine even as she calmly took her seat.

"Headmaster. Might I know what this is about?" she asked with a detached calm as she struggled to keep her emotions in check.

"This is in regards to your rather public actions and accusations towards Professor Potter, the repercussions of your act and the resulting fall out." Dumbledore stated with a weary sigh as he leaned back in his seat.

"He…!" she began the protest out of reflex, before she visibly restrained herself and took a slow deep breath, forcing herself to continue in a more controlled manner. "In what way, Headmaster?"

"The way that you publically confronted him and accused him in front of our students in the middle of the Great Hall." Dumbledore stated in a slow, sad voice as he watched her over his spectacles. "Which has put me in position I do not want to be in. Tell me, Professor McGonagall, do you know where you failed?"

The cold pit of ill-ease sank even deeper into her stomach as she shifted slightly, but none-the-less stiffened her back and refused to back down. "I did no such thing. That…"

A simple look by the headmaster reminded her that she was not in an informal meeting where her temper was allowed free reign, and she again forced her words back down with a bitter grimace.

"As you fail to understand, I will explain by using Professor Slughorn's example," he stated calmly. "As you will recall, the class consisted of both Gryffindor and Slytherin students. And, as with the Gryffindors, the Slytherins went to Professor Slughorn to complain about the class. Do you know what he did, Professor McGonagall?"

"Something else, I would gather," she allowed a trace of sullen defiance to leak into her voice as she glared back at him.

"Indeed. He did not scream at his coworker in front of the student body over actions he had not fully understood or considered," he agreed with a nod of his head. "Instead he came to me first and actually talked to me about the issue."

She swallowed the unpleasant taste in her mouth and slowly nodded her head. "I… see."

"No, I don't believe you do," Dumbledore stated coolly as he leaned forward and affixed her with a look. "Not in the least."

"My students…!" she began to protest, her voice rising slightly in response to his response.

"Were Seventh Years that had volunteered to take the final year of Defense against the Dark Arts. Seventh years complaining about being scared during their lesson when they were confronted by the sort of thing they would be expected to defend themselves against." He took his time, emphasizing the words with a subtle force as he threaded his fingers together. "Seventh years, complaining about the danger they were supposedly in, when not a single one of them had so much as a bruise or a scratch as a result of the class."

He sighed then and slumped back into his seat with a weary resignation. "I understand your initial reaction, I truly do, Minerva. What I don't understand and cannot accept is how you chose to react to it. We are here to set an example for our students. And yet, you went and undermined not only Professor Potter's but my own authority in front of them."

"He's a menace!" she protested, her voice raising slightly, though there was an undercut of uncertainty in her tone as she shifted slightly in her seat. "How can you side with that… that brute!?"

"Because I have taken the time to look at the issue objectively," he responded. "Do I particularly like the lesson? No. Do I believe that it is absolutely necessary? I hope very, very much that it is not. Do I think he put them into any sort of danger what so ever? Absolutely not."

That brought her up short as she stared at him in disbelief. "Albus! You know as well as I do that animation charms fail all the time! That they degrade and act in chaotic and unpredictable manner unless strictly controlled with built-in rune…"

"And did you check to see if he was using animation charms, Minerva?" he asked pointedly, cutting her off her exposition on things he most assuredly already knew, feeling a faint headache building up behind his eyes.

"My students…" she immediately protested.

"Are students, who have not finished their primary education and have a limited grasp of magic's capabilities," he stated before taking a slow deep breath to force down his emotions. "So, shall I sum up your beliefs on the matter?"

He didn't give her a chance to consent before he continued. "You believe that, based on the statement of a group of students, students who have still not even graduated our fine institution, that you knew exactly what magics were being used, and that your students were in danger, despite the fact that not a single injury, no matter how minor, had been reported.

"Solely based on their statements, without any investigation of your own, you decided to forgo coming to me with any concerns you had and decided instead to directly and publically confront a man you barely know, destroying any potential respect or trust he might have gained for you." He finished laying out the case as he paused a moment, giving his words a chance to sink in. "Does this summarize what happened?"

"That is a slanted interpretation of what happened and you know it, Albus!" she snapped back with a glare. "I…"

"No, Ms. McGonagall, it is not," he stated as he found himself wondering exactly where he had gone so wrong with such a promising young woman. "You allowed your emotional response to overwhelm your manners, decorum, and common bloody sense!"

She started as, for the first time she could recall, she found herself facing an Albus Dumbledore who raised his voice out of anger as he stood up in his chair and loomed over her. "I have taken the time to speak with Professor Potter about this. I have taken the time to watch him demonstrate the spells he used for his exercise. I have interviewed the students who, after being forced to calm down, admitted that none of them had been injured even in the slightest.

"And what's more I have to watch as Professor Potter was called before the Board of Governors in regards to this whole mess simply because word reached them through our students without any sort of proper investigation being done." Dumbledore loomed up over her as he glared down at her, his voice bearing an edge of frustrated anger never associated with him. "And I assure you, Ms. McGonagall, I do NOT appreciate being called in to participate in what amounts to an unfounded witch hunt against one of my professors.

"Especially not because of the foolishness of one bloody idiot who can't keep her own bloody temper in check!" He almost growled out the words as he watched her shrink down into her seat, a look of white faced terror in her eyes that immediately made him reign in his temper, forcing himself back into control.

"I do not know where this sudden foolishness came from, Ms. McGonagall, but you must now face the consequences." He said the words with a bitter disappointment and a weary sadness. "I have no choice but to place you on probation and revoke your position as Head of House for Gryffindor."

"Headmaster!" she protested, suddenly sounding absolutely horrified as her eyes opened wide and disbelieving.

"If you had kept this a private affair, I could've kept it all politely under the rug, as it were. Unfortunately you did not, and you have forced me into a position I loathe." He almost fell back into his seat as he looked back at her. "I do not like interfering with my instructors, Minerva. I believe that it is up to you to do the best you can and, as long as you are not repeatedly or intentionally putting our students in danger, I give every one of you a remarkable amount of freedom."

He pushed his spectacles up to the ridge of his brow and the rubbed his eyes tiredly. "That is because I have to trust you to be respectful professionals that are capable of doing their jobs in an intelligent, respectful manner.

"Until one of you proves me wrong." He allowed the glasses to slip back down onto his nose and he affixed her with a look. "I will be expecting a full and public apology from you to Professor Potter."

"I…! But…!" She again began to protest before withering beneath his gaze.

Dumbledore held his glare upon her for a lingering moment before breaking it and sighing as he shook his head. "But, I will also have Professor Potter give you and the rest of the staff a proper demonstration of his skills and an example of exactly why he is in complete control when he was running his students through his exercise."

The woman looked at least slightly mollified at that, though Dumbledore had a feeling that things would not be resolved so easily.

-o-o-o-

"So, I finally received a letter from my prodigal son," Orion noted as he slowly swirled his glass of brandy in his hand.

"Oh?" Cygnus looked, not intrigued, but at least mildly curious.

"He is, it seems, a Gryffindor," Orion stated sourly, though he did not seem horribly disappointed. "I shouldn't be terribly surprised, but, I do feel… annoyed I suppose. I had hoped…"

"Why are you not surprised?" Cygnus asked, frowning slightly as he parsed the statement. "Why would you not be surprised?"

"He chose to ask to see Bellatrix's memories," Orion stated simply as he slumped back into his seat. "Brave and foolish."

"I suppose I would have to classify it as that," Cygnus acknowledged with a grimace of understanding. "Though, to see such a thing so young…"

"As I said, brave and foolish," Orion said again as he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. "He has at least made friends with Lucius' boy. And managed to get himself in trouble with the Storm Chaser. Along with your daughter."

"… Which?" Cygnus asked after a moment. "I mean, I was already aware of his… issues with Bellatrix."

"Andromeda apparently," Orion noted as he flipped open the letter once more and then glanced through it. "She apparently attempted to try and help her sister with her mad attempt to court the man."

"… I suppose I can see where he might find that unappealing," Cygnus noted with a frown and a sour grunt. "With the revelation that he was muggle-raised and what not. They have such… odd ideas about how courtship should be."

"Quite," Orion agreed before wincing slightly. "Though, after things with Walburga, I am wondering just how wrong they actually are."

"Just because…" Cygnus said before trailing off as he remembered exactly what his own wife's reaction had been and what he had almost had to do. "I suppose I really can't be someone to really make aspirations about this, can I?"

"You could, you're at least better off than I am, though I would find reasons to complain," Orion responded with a sigh as he sank back deeper into his chair. "I honestly have no idea what to say to the boy. I mean… He's a Gryffindor!"

"There is that," Cygnus agreed with a slow nod of his head. "But, there is something even worse you haven't considered yet."

"What in Merlin's name could be worse than this?" Orion sounded absolutely incredulous as he sat up in his chair and stared at his former brother-in-law.

"What Uncle Charlus is going to say when he finds out."