10 Chapter 10: She Came In Like A Wrecking Ball

Today, he was meeting Griselda Marchbanks. They had exchanged a single set of letters before he received a missive yesterday which asked to meet in person. However, Harry wasn't a fool to just accept it at face value. The request for a meeting could be a way for someone to try and get a hold of him or force him back to Hogwarts. He had arrived early, paid for a Butterbeer and sat at a table nearest to both the apparition point and the floo. Although, he had one minor problem in his plan; he didn't exactly know what Marchbanks looked like. She had been an examiner at Hogwarts and he hoped he would recognize her from that, even without her uniform on.

He was on the lookout for anyone suspicious. He had watched James Bond movies in the past and tried to mimic his spy skills. He figured Moody's constant vigilance wouldn't hurt too. He pretended to read a book while scouting the area. Harry recognized quite a few people as they came and went. Prior to the last school year, he'd spent quite a lot of time here and did not order any food in fear that Tom, the innkeeper, would recognize him. Curse that man for knowing all of his preferences.

Ten minutes before they were supposed to meet, he saw a faintly familiar woman enter. She was old and though she was visibly elderly, she still had gumption. Harry watched her make her way directly to the innkeeper, not wasting a single movement. They exchanged a few words before Tom brought her to a private room, one she had priorly reserved. Harry stood up and made his way to the room he had seen Tom just come out of. Pulling his cloak up a little higher, he walked right into the room. The centenarian lady was the only one in the room.

"Mr Potter, I presume?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Yes, a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Harry responded offering a quick smile while he closed the door and secured the room with the basic privacy spell from Salazar's memoir along with the accompanying locking charms.

"My, my, deary, silent. And with such limited wand movements that I can't name the spell. More to you than meets the eyes especially considering your pedestrian marks. Maybe some of your lineage coming out?" She remarked and wondered aloud, to herself, not caring if Harry heard or not.

"Err, right." Harry wasn't quite sure how to deal with this woman. She didn't have the same stern and stiff posture he'd come to expect with older witches like Professor McGonagall and Lacroix.

"We don't normally get to see you for another year yet. Oh, deary, where are my manners? Call me Grisy, Griselda or Madame. Come sit. Tom, that lovely boy, but a poor NEWT student made us some tea and biscuits." Marchbanks was a whirlwind, chatting a mile a minute. The older woman flicked her wand and two chairs moved from their place, tucked under the table, into the perfect position for seating oneself. Harry watched the surprisingly dextrous old lady sit down and then gestured for him to do the same. Harry moved towards the chair on autopilot. He was mesmerized by this lady and had no real idea of what to make her. Her mannerisms shocked Harry and he had no experience dealing with someone like her. He remembered seeing her at Hogwarts and she comported herself as the epitome of upright and proper.

'Did she really want him to call her Grisy? He'd be sticking to Madame.' Harry thought.

"The Potter. Emancipation at fourteen, oh me, yes… yes, you Potters were always such firecrackers." She cackled, reminding him of an odd mixture between a stereotypical evil villain laugh and firecrackers exploding. "You've done it now though. Little Charlie and messy Jamie, no… no, they didn't make a ruckus like this, no… no they did not. You've stirred up the hornets' nest, the bees nest, the wasp nest, even the yellow jackets nest!"

Harry's jaw could not stay shut. His gaping maw never made noise when his facial muscles failed to keep it shut. He couldn't stop it from slowly slipping open over and over. He kept closing it but Gale Wind Grisy must have cast some spell to amplify gravity.

"Don't just gape like a fish! Tea and biscuits, the good stuff, from little Tommy." She whipped her wand around and Harry found himself sitting in the chair; the one he'd made his way over to but hadn't yet sat in. A small plate of biscuits appeared in front of him and a cup of tea poured itself into the teacup in front of him. The woman was a certifiable menace!

"Where were we? Emancipation! You've stirred it up, the whole kit and caboodle. They've stripped our budget, our authority. Alby, pudgy Corny who knows? Who cares? You won't be tested through our ministry. Oh, no mister! Can't be done."

Harry was just trying to keep up. 'Alby? Albus Dumbledore? Pudgy Corny. Harry took a moment and racked his brain for a connection. The Minister maybe? Cornelius Fudge was a portly man…'

"What do you need it for at 14?" She asked, not beating around the bush in the least.

Harry had the distinct impression the woman had a walking cane she would use to poke and prod him with it until he answered.

"I don't want to live with my muggle relatives any longer, I want financial independence and to continue my studies outside of Hogwarts, or have the ability to choose all of those options for myself," Harry responded. He sensed the woman would offer aid if she heard what she wanted.

"Nothing else?" She leaned forward and kept her sceptical beady eyes fixed on him.

Harry didn't want to get into any kind of retelling of his history with a batty old lady he didn't know at all. He kept his face stony and shook his head.

"Fine! You Potters, always so secretive, the whole lot of you!" She exclaimed, lightly.

Before he knew it, she had a rat, a ferret and an owl spread out on the table. They must all be petrified because none of the three animals were moving at all. If they were fakes, they were incredibly well done. The owl even looked the same as the one Natalia had brought to practice with at their first study session.

"Change it to red, shrink it, then enlarge it." She commanded and pointed to the rat at the far side of the table.

He flourished his wand quickly and then did as she asked completing it with style. The rat had a multi-toned red colour with a light red disposition taking up most of its body aside from the two thick dark red parallel lines running down the length of its body from head to tail. He grinned as it looked like a racing rat; if a racing rat was painted like a classic American muscle car. He didn't wait for directions to move to the next stage, he just focused and silently used the shrinking charm to make the rat as small as a box of matches. After he let it stabilize for a couple of seconds, he quickly cast the enlarging charm and watched as the racing stripe clad red rat grew to be the size of a small dog. After glancing at Grisy, who nodded, he shrunk it back down to the proper size and removed the colour changing charm.

"Vanish the ferret." She said as soon as he had completed the first task.

Harry had a little trouble with the vanishing spell when he first used it. However, it was transfiguration and it didn't take long to perfect. He expeditiously cast the Evanesco spell, wordlessly, and the ugly white ferret was gone without a trace it previously existed.

"Change the owl into opera glasses." She said, not commenting on his impressive displays.

Harry smiled widely knowing how easy this was going to be. He'd have to tell the brat about this. Harry quickly repeated what he did for Natalia except he went to show off even more. He set a flower pattern to the body pieces of the exterior that matched Madame Marchbanks handbag.

"Silent, perfection, and with distinct modifications. You seem to be using NEWT calibre spells. Tofty will be most displeased you won't be testing with him." Marchbanks idly commented. It had been amazing for Harry to see the old woman switch into her work mode. Her quirks had disappeared and she played the part of an old lectern professor to a T. "You Potters are all the same and love to do things in style. I had to know. Yes.. yes… can't be going along with the Potter anarchy for you to fail."

Griselda swooped her wand in a slow arc packing up the rat and opera glasses right back into her handbag. She sipped her tea and dunked her biscuit in it taking her time to properly wet it before depositing it into her wrinkled mouth. "Boy-Who-Lived emancipated at fourteen, quite the headline there, deary." She resumed alternating between dunking and eating her biscuit between sips of her tea.

Harry sat wide-eyed in his chair trying to keep up with the thought processes that flew past at Mach speed. "Madame, I'm not emancipated yet. I need to write the three OWLs and didn't you just say the Ministry won't let you schedule my exams before the end of the tournament?"

She expressed no doubt he would be emancipated if he could take the exams. She seemed to think he was past OWL level and that was quite the confidence booster. This old lady confused the hell out of him but she fondly reminded him of how LaCroix boosted his confidence.

"Keep up deary. Take your exams at the ICW. Have them owl me the results directly and send the memory too since we cannot disappoint poor ol' Tofty." She hadn't bothered to look up at him as she kept up her devouring of the biscuits and tea.

"Pardon me for my ignorance as I really don't know how the examinations work. Did you just tell me I can schedule my exams through the ICW and as long as they owl you directly, the results and memory of the examinations, I will be emancipated?" He hadn't shown it before but his spirits were downtrodden when she told him he wouldn't be able to take the exams. He didn't want to return to Hogwarts without having that ace tucked up his sleeve. He was tired of people meddling in his life.

"With the ICW treaty, the Wizarding Examinations Board just has to rubber-stamp the approval. No precedent for blocking it but the ministry toadies will try and block it if they know about it. You'd be blocked if you failed any of them or scored poorly, deary. Pass the exams you will. Don't forget to send wee Sammy to me for the article." Griselda picked up her tea mug and finished the remainder of what was left in it before abruptly standing.

She picked up her bag and briskly strolled to the door. "Goodbye little Potter, you Potters always cause such wondrous ruckus. Augy will be so jealous of the chaos. This will be the most fun I've had since Charlie and Arty were around. Good day, deary." She dispelled his spells and strode out the door.

Again, she must have cast the gravity amplification charm on his jaw. He used his hand, again, to lift it back in place.

It took him a minute to collect himself and get over Hurricane Grisy. Once Harry was ready, he exited the Leaky Cauldron and headed into Diagon Alley; he had quite a few gifts to pick up. He thought he should be the bigger man and get presents for everyone he would have in the previous years and for all his new ballet academy friends. Some of the items he could owl order and the items he bought in-store could be delivered to the recipient on his behalf. He'd mentally prepared a list so he could get in and out as quickly as possible. For Ron, and his dormmates, he'd send them quidditch magazines. Hermione was simple, he could get her some store credit if he didn't find a book she would be interested in.

This year, he would branch out a little beyond just the few gifts he traditionally gave. As Lacroix told him, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. He would buy something for the quidditch team, nothing expensive the idea was just to make sure they knew he thought of them by giving a gift. Ginny, he would add in just because she was Ron's sister. He would possibly get something for Percy for his unknown dating example that worked so far with Natalia. He could send Sirius a care package. Perhaps, he should get gifts just to confuse people too; he could send Dumbledore a random gift. The only ones he was putting real effort into were the most recent acquainted females. He had learned jewellery would be appropriate, although he knew a ring of any kind could misconstrue the message he wanted to send.

With that firmly in mind, he made his way to the wizarding jewellery store, Smith's Jewelry. Harry opened the door and made his way into the shop. It was a rather small shop. A few display cases set up on the open floor plan with most of the merchandise set in an L shaped configuration which sat in front of the proprietor of the store.

"Season's greetings young man," The fellow said in a kindly manner, "anything I can help with?"

He knew nothing about jewellery, really, so why not ask the guy who did it for a living?

"Yes, some help would be great." Seeing the quick nod from the man, he explained his needs. "I'm looking for a few gifts. Two sisters, one around my age and the other a couple years younger, I'm looking to get a thank you gift for. I'd like to get something that says thanks but is also clear it's just a friendly thanks."

"It's got to be quite the gift to match quite the favour…" He mumbled to himself. From the way his facial features lit up, the jeweller seemed to have an idea. He lowered his right arm and began to move towards his right when he stopped, abruptly. "Do you have a price limit?" He asked.

"Well… nothing too crazy; I don't mind spending a bit on them." Harry supplied back. It was a bit foolish to not have any idea on how much he wanted to spend, nevertheless, he was already in the shop and would roll with it.

"Very well, come look at these." He replied as he'd moved down two display cases and pulled out his wand. He used it to manipulate what was being shown. The display cases were not simple muggle ones. The product changed through, at least, five variations before it stopped.

"Here, what do you think about these?" He gestured to a whole series of combinations. When Harry leaned forward to get a better look at a set, they moved higher in the display case and seemed to grow in size so he could easily see the details. There was even a small write up on each one, that appeared in midair, with the title above and the description below.

"What colour hair do they have?" He asked the younger teen who was focused on reading the information about the various products.

Harry quirked his head back. What colour did they have? He danced with them five times a week. He really should be able to answer. It wasn't black. Brown?

"Blonde." Harry was mentally pleased he was able to remember so quick.

"What type of blonde?" The man asked looking at him expectantly.

Harry's eyes widened, comically. "There's more than one?"

Like a balloon deflating from air lossage, the man visibly shrunk. "Yes, there's more than one type of blonde hair." He rolled his eyes at the naivety of the typical teen boy. "There are many variations and when picking jewellery such things matter. You can't buy earrings that clash with the woman's hair colour."

He shook his head at the ill-educated boy and continued. "Off the top of my head, here are some of the different types: platinum, strawberry, baby, golden, ash, honey, dirty, and I'm sure they've invented all manners of new names for the various colourations and styles that go in and out of style." Seeing that he'd lost the poor boy, he simplified. "How about this, tell me is it light or dark? Red, brown or yellow?"

After hearing the final question, his eyes began tracking from one corner to the other, back and forth as he tried to remember.

"Light and, uh, yellow?" He said.

The man nodded and brought out a picture with hair colour rather similar to the Fairmont girls. "Like this?"

"Yes, though maybe a touch lighter." Harry agreed happy he'd worked it out, with a little help.

"Okay, and their skin tone?" The jeweller asked.

There were matching groans from the two males. The store owner could tell from young man's paling face he had another set of explanations in front of him and Harry couldn't believe how bloody complicated this was. 'Why couldn't this be as easy as getting a book for Hermione?' He thought.

Harry returned to the chamber with quite a few more galleons spent than planned. All of the gifts for the students attending Hogwarts were set to be delivered for him. The only ones he had to deliver himself were for Anna, Hannah and Madame Lacroix. He still had the large issue of not yet having a gift for Natalia. There were a couple of emergency options at Smith's Jewelry but he didn't feel any of them were right.

He ended up with a package set for the two sisters. Each would get a Milgrain Diamond and Gemstone Halo Necklace, whatever that meant, with matching oval stud earrings. They were perfect for their age group. Casual enough to wear with blue jeans and still elegant enough to pair with a fine evening gown. That was the sales pitch at least. Mr Smith, the jeweller, promised they would be over the moon for the gift. He hoped so as it cost more than he anticipated.

For Lacroix, he had actually used his memory to think of a gift. Madame Lacroix loved to wear thin necklaces that dangled down her body. Harry had found a white gold necklace that had five pearls set in it. Two opposite each other and one at the bottom of the necklace. Contemporary freshwater pearl earrings to match and he was done… or so he thought at the time. He was then asked if he wanted enchantments. The younger ones got some basic protection charms. Mr Smith described that many families got unenchanted jewellery since they had their own family magic put on them. He decided to buy Lacroix's without any enchantments and wondered if his family vault would have anything like that. The family vault was his final hope for finding something for Natalia. He had a final few days and would be going to see the old crone of a dance instructor first thing in the morning.

Harry arrived at the dance studio at six-thirty in the morning. He knew Natalia would have already been practising and he normally would be doing his own routine but this was far more urgent. He should have been taking his tests with Marchbanks this week and Gale Wind Grisy blew that right off course. Thankfully, she'd given him a new heading to chart.

Harry moved into the main practice studio and saw his date working. Deciding to be courageous, he walked right up to her. She saw him as he was closing the distance between them.

"Harry wh-" Any other words were unable to be spoken because Harry kissed her right on her lips, and not just a quick chaste peck.

"Hey brat, do you know where Madame Lacroix is?" Harry quite enjoyed surprising her. Not only was she supremely startled to see Harry, she had not been expecting a kiss let alone the sweaty hug she was now enveloped in. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to complain and was going to take advantage of the situation. She pushed herself up a little further, rocking onto her toes, and she kissed him this time not even bothering to consider answering his query.

She smiled at him. "What are you doing here?!"

Harry was enjoying this happy flustered version of the older girl. "I just told you. I'm looking for Madame Lacroix. Are you sure we got it right? I thought I was the dolt and you were the brat." He gave her a lopsided grin.

She scowled hearing his words. "You can be both: a dolt and a brat!" She poked him in between his ribs eliciting a responding grunt from Harry. He hadn't seen the poke coming as he had his arms wrapped around the ballerina.

"Well, are you going to answer me?" Harry asked as he extricated himself out of the hug and used his hand to rub the spot where he received the less than delicate prod.

"Are you saying you didn't come this early just to see me?" She pouted at him.

Harry was still rubbing his ribs, a visceral reminder of what another rejoinder may cause. "Of course, I came to see you!" He half lied.

"Mmm, and it was quite the nice greeting," she smiled in memory of the first time he had initiated a kiss, blood rampantly plundering her face's capillaries.

"Am I interrupting something?" A dour Madame Lacroix asked projecting her voice. Both teens whipped their heads around to look at the dance instructor. Neither responded as they fruitlessly fought off the effects of their embarrassment.

"You, Mr Potter, are certainly interrupting something." Harry sheepishly avoided the gaze of the impervious instructor. "Just what are you here for?" Her relentlessly severe manner hadn't softened one iota.

Natalia had turned and tried to make it seem like she was practising her movements again. She shot a challenging look back at Harry, daring him to change his answer.

"Well… you see, I, err… I wanted… wanted…." A tactical analysis was needed, stat! A multifaceted battle plan on how to not rile up the splenetic sophist and the brusque brunette. Easy, distract with jingly jewellery!

"I wanted Natalia to see the gifts I got for Anna and Hanna; I thought she could tell me if I did well or not." Harry did his absolute best to put up a faux innocence across his entire demeanour.

Regardless of whether they saw through his ruse, it was a legitimate reason he could be here. He reached into his pocket and pulled the two boxes out and passed one over to Natalia, who had hurried back to him, and the second box of jewellery he floated to Lacroix, who was walking over towards the two now.

"Wow, these are really nice! You have good taste, Harry." Natalia said as she looked at the amethyst set.

Harry looked back towards Madame Lacroix and saw her as she opened the topaz ones. She regarded them carefully before commenting.

"Agreed, tasteful, refined, and all things considered, an appropriate selection. Did you pick them yourself?" She asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, I had the jeweller's help. I made the final decision, but he helped refine the selection to a couple of options and educated me on different cuts, colours, clarity and such."

"Yes, most young men don't learn that until they are purchasing an engagement ring," Lacroix replied knowingly.

"So you got me a set for my Yule gift?" Natalia asked, nibbling on her bottom lip.

"Who says I'm getting you a Yule gift?" Harry teased.

Natalia opened her mouth to riposte the retort but the third occupant in the room broke in first.

"I say you will. Now, enough distractions! Natalia back to work; Harry with me." Lacroix declared leaving no opportunity to broker an argument.

Harry heard Natalia grumpily sigh. He turned his eyes back towards her and gave the ballerina a tentative smile and jaunty wave. The young ballerina tried to mouth something but Harry didn't quite catch it. He briskly trooped after Lacroix who, unsurprisingly, headed to her office. Harry entered into the familiar office space. She sat behind her desk and the sour look on her face hadn't sweetened up at all.

"Why are you really at my studio?" Madame Lacroix asked; the flaring of her nostrils was not a good sign.

"I actually came to talk to you," Harry replied honestly, with the nerves that had been pooling in the depths of his belly since yesterday's talk with Hurricane Grisy, trying to return to prominence.

"And what is so paramount you had to come so early?" Her lips thinned again after she finished speaking.

"The Ministry of Magic is blocking my attempt to write the three OWLs I was supposed to complete this week. Griselda Marchbanks told me to write them at the ICW. As you have homeschooled dancers I was hoping you'd know who to contact; I wasn't told."

"I see." She responded curtly. "You are aware that this being Monday, December 21st they are more than likely away for the holidays?" The tone and mannerism indicated she clearly thought it was a total waste of time to pursue.

"Make a floo call for the 'ICW Department of Education." If there is anyone working, you will need to ask for Madame Duvall." She turned her attention the paperwork in front of him and shooed him off with her left hand. Harry didn't need to be told twice. He stood to leave and just as he got into the doorway he heard a parting reminder to not be late to his dance lesson this evening. They'd discussed on Saturday that they would continue lessons. However, Natalia was out of school and would be able to practice with him this week. Excluding the twenty-fourth, this week they would be working on the specific choreography for the opening few dances.

Harry made it to the floo, and after using the floo powder, he did exactly as he was instructed.

Harry arrived in an office with a reception desk that sat underneath the large sign denoting he was in the exact place he had wanted to be. Harry moved further into the office and saw the reception desk was void of a person. Being unsure of what to do, Harry stood at the front desk and waited while looking around.

After a minute of waiting, a voice broke him out of his boredom.

"Mister Potter, we didn't expect to see you here until nine. Well, with three exams to complete today this does give us more time." Harry turned to locate the source of the voice. A short, and thin, woman with black hair and soft features was smiling gently at him. "Come this way Mister Potter, we aren't quite ready yet but we shall be shortly," she gestured for him to follow and Harry found himself following the woman who had yet to introduce herself.

As they walked, Harry had to ask the questions that were racing through his mind. "Why were you expecting me?"

The woman glanced back at him as she continued towards whatever destination they were heading to. "Madame Marchbanks dropped in for a quick chat; she let us know you would be coming today to write your owls in Charms, DADA and Transfiguration."

She said it as if she was just reporting the agenda for just another day.

Harry wasn't exactly sure what to make of this. "And Hurricane Grisy didn't feel like mentioning it to me nor who to contact…" He mumbled under his breath.

The still-unidentified woman heard it and looked at him brightly. "Oh good! You did meet ol' Grisy Bear properly then!" She tilted her head to the side. "Hurricane Grisy." She tried, testing out the words coming off her tongue. "Yes, that is rather apt," she nodded to herself and continued, "I've always seen her as more of a grizzly bear; she comes rumbling in and mauls you." She pondered her own words for a moment. "Hurricane Grisy, I like it. The devastation she leaves in her wake is much more hurricane-like than a bear. Though, I do like the Grisy Bear versus Grizzly Bear better."

"The look you have is about the same look I used to get before I got used to Mad Marchy." She told him fully amused by the dumbfounded look he was sporting.

"I'm glad it's not just me," Harry was relieved as he started his reply, "she scheduled a meeting and even when taking the time to dunk her biscuits in her tea, the woman just didn't stop. She was in and out and didn't even make sense half the time."

The woman laughed. "What do you think happens if you spend more than a century giving the same set of exams to teenagers?" She prompted him to ponder. "She's been at this so long that she was the proctor of Albus Dumbledore's NEWTs. As she would tell you, she didn't do his OWL exams, that was Tofty's father." She grinned before going on, "My personal theory, you see, is that she spends all her time at work so rigid and proper and is quite sick of it. Now, whenever she gets a chance she deliberately causes chaos, and I mean chaos with a capital C."

Harry looked at her sceptically. He'd had one experience with the madness that was Hurricane Grisy but he still wondered if his memory was playing tricks on him.

"Yesterday, Ol' Grisy Bear came barging through my floo, and I didn't even know she had the Duvall home floo address, telling me Harry Potter, of all people, would be coming to take his three OWL exams with us tomorrow. I'm to arrange it for the 21st at nine a.m. and have the results to her on the 22nd. She'll confirm them for you on the 23rd while I'm to be prepared for 'wee sammy' to contact our department and respond. On the 24th, 'wee sammy's article will release the hornets, the bees, the wasps and even yellow jackets'. Harry thought she did quite the impression of the last line; it was eerily familiar to the way Gale Wind Grisy delivered it in person.

"I mean, I thought she may have just gone off the rocker this time. Yet, here you stand and I wonder if the madness is seeping into me yet. I'm a half-century at this and here I am taking this all in like it's not a big deal." Remembering the encounter, she shook herself, clearly, lucidity was accompanied by an aftershock.

"Well, I think you are sane so far." Harry grinned at her, trying to console the woman from her unavoidable fate.

"Says the young man taking three OWL exams in a single day; your wits are clearly suspect." She quipped back, her mouth curving into a smile.

"At least now I don't feel so bad when you were helping me. I mean, they did everything but say you were the next Merlin."

"Hey, it wasn't that bad. I mea-"

"Yes, it was! Did you even read it?" Natalia cut Harry's reply off. "Here, actually read it this time!" She exclaimed shoving the article back into his hands.

The two were back on their bench; the place they'd shared their first kiss and a spot that was becoming special to them. The articles on his full, irreversible, emancipation had been released in the newspaper this morning. How the hell did Natalia know he'd just skimmed them?

The Boy-Who-Became-An-Adult

Samantha Roberts

Yesterday, paperwork was filed that led to the full, legal and magical, emancipation of Harry James Potter. It is almost an unprecedented event for a fourteen-year-old to be given the full rights and responsibilities of an adult and all that it entails.

Harry Potter has taken advantage of his forced participation in the Triwizard Tournament. The bylaws for the historic tournament were updated so only those 'of age' were allowed to compete. In the eyes of magic, the moment his name came out of the cup, he was considered an adult and the underage monitoring would have ceased to exist. Albus Dumbledore, Bartemius Crouch, and Ludovic Bagman all approved of the selection of a minor and did not try to limit or put conditions on Mr Potter's inclusion. The Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Harry Potter's magical guardian, the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, and two Department Heads of the Ministry of Magic all gave tacit agreement to the silent declaration of his magical emancipation.

There is a single law that could have been used to stop Harry Potter from becoming an adult wizard. Adult wizards that have not completed the wanded owl exams, with a passing grade, are not granted the right to have a wand. On December 21st, the final blockade was eradicated…

"Look, I'm this far," Harry said as he stopped reading and pointed to the spot he had gotten to. "I don't see anything that is really all that important yet."

Natalia slapped his arm. "Not that one, you dolt! The article on your exam scores." She sighed, far louder than was natural, in mild frustration.

"Well, you should have handed me the right article, you brat!" Harry retorted while bumping his body against hers. Natalia fake pouted at him briefly before she wrapped her arms around him as he began to read the next article.

Harry Potter Scores Unprecedented OWL Results!

Samantha Roberts

As part of his quest to gain emancipation, Harry Potter completed the three OWL examinations taking all of the written and practical tests on a single day. He took the OWLs at the ICW's Department of Education. While Harry Potter was not interviewed for this article, Griselda Marchbanks, the Department Head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority for the Ministry, explained the circumstances that led to the event.

" There was an emergency amendment to the budget for our department you see. I had the polite young man scheduled to take his examinations just the same as for those that do not attend Hogwarts. Unfortunately, all expenses invoiced were denied and any attempts at booking a room to conduct testing at the Ministry were revoked. Testing approval was only given after the identity of the student was given. It has been a long-standing policy that the student's names are kept anonymous from both the Ministry and examiner to prevent bias."

Clearly, the Ministry became aware that Mr Potter may seek emancipation and sought to block his attempts. It is a great loss for our country given the spectacular results as Senior Examiner Professor Tofty explained:

" Our nation has been able to boast some of the best and brightest students over the centuries. Scores that have corroborated, and are seen as the true markings of, our magical education system. We boast the two highest NEWT scores ever recorded by Albus Dumbledore and Tom Riddle. Sadly, we have forever lost the opportunity to compare his OWL results to theirs."

NEWT examinations are an international standard. Each year, the same exam is used across every member nation of the ICW. The ICW's DoE has recommended another series of major testing, prior to the NEWTS, and each school of magic sets their own standard. The OWL examinations given this year at Hogwarts will not be the same as the one Harry Potter took at the ICW.

As Professor Tofty lamented in the interview, we have lost the ability to see where Harry Potter ranks against our nations finest and driving him off our shores for such a simple matter. The score results have been released, with permission from Mr Potter. In all three subjects, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration, he scored O+ with merits of distinction. Mari Duvall, the ICW's Head of the DoE, explained the results:

" His control over his magic was far beyond what we usually see. Silent casting, minimal wand movement and such mastery over the assigned spellwork. It was past anything we have seen before. There are no, official, results that we can claim to even be within the same league. To have accomplished such a feat a year early is truly astonishing. It will be a highlight of my career."

The Ministry of Magic did not respond to the request for a comment on the article and….

"What in here says anything like Merlin? I'm this far," he said pointing his finger to the place he had stopped reading, "and nothing mentions anything close to that."

She rolled her eyes at him and good kindly scolded him. "Keep reading, you impatient dolt."

Harry Potter has the highest recorded OWL results with the only close, unofficial, candidate in contention being Gellert Grindelwald. He took the ICW OWL exams at sixteen. His scores are not kept as a part of the official records due to his age at the time of the examinations. At fourteen, Harry Potter's results place him above Grindelwald's unofficial score. It is more noteworthy because the third-highest NEWT score ever recorded was completed the following year by Gellert Grindelwald…

"You mean this part?" Harry asked.

She looked down to where he was mentioning. "Obviously." She drawled.

"It doesn't say I'm going to be the next Merlin, you brat." Harry chided her.

"No, it just implies you are already ahead two years younger and achieved better results than the wanker that cut a path through Europe and scored the third-highest NEWT score ever. Nothing there at all says anything like that," she finished sarcastically.

"It does not!" Harry protested. "I wrote just three exams. The others wrote their full course load and I'm behind in every class except those three." Harry argued his point further.

"Whatever you say, Merlin ." Her nose crinkled as she laughed at his souring face from hearing the name.

"Keep it up, brat and I won't give you your Yule gift a day early." Harry gave her a smug look knowing exactly how she would react.

"Early?!" She sat upright and looked earnestly into his eyes. "Do you have with you now?" Her voice was tinged with longing and a slight hint of desperation.

"Maybe," Harry responded, enjoying drawing this out.

In a surprise move, she grabbed his head and started kissing him. His mind went blank as he was busy feeling all the passion she was putting into the kiss. She withdrew and they both took a breath.

"Do I get it now"? She asked, batting her eyelashes seductively at him.

"What…" Harry was still in shock and Natalia smirked.

Thankfully, his mind quickly jumped back into action and he remembered what they were discussing before the kiss. "That was not a fair move, and just for that, you won't be getting your gift now," Harry said while fighting off the effects of the now sulking beautiful girl next to him.

"You are too easy. All is fair in love and war, dolt." She sat on Harry's lap and gave a small wiggle. Natalia coyly watched him and continued to wiggle a little more.

'Two can play this game' Harry thought and pulled her in for a kiss. This time, her tongue demanded entrance into his mouth. They had never done this before, and as was typical, he let her lead. Their tongues danced around each other. Once again, they withdrew when they needed air. Harry looked at an equally breathless Natalia, pleased with himself. Natalia burrowed her head into his chest and hugged him. She didn't tell him that she had liked when Harry took the initiative out of fear that it would increase his ego.

Harry reached into his pocket, pulled out a jewellery box and pulled Natalia's chin up so he could look into her eyes as he spoke. "I know you want a ring, but I'm not ready yet."

"Prat." She said softly as she contorted her body to better look at and receive the present.

Harry chuckled and passed the box to her. With slightly trembling hands, she took it and carefully opened the hinged box. She gasped and her free hand went to her mouth. Inside the box was a half karat round diamond solitaire pendant on a 24-inch chain. Warily, her hand moved to hold the necklace with her dainty fingers neatly picking it up; the solitaire pendant pooled into the palm of her hand.

"Do you like it?" Harry asked, it came out far less nervous than he felt. He'd picked this one and not the jeweller.

"Like it? I love it." She kept staring at the gift for a few seconds before she lifted her chin and looked at him, her eyes full of emotion. "Can you put it on me please?" She managed to breathe out.

"Of course, my lady." He replied gently. Natalia turned and pulled her long hair up and presented herself for the task she'd asked of him. Harry took the necklace out of its restraints and expertly opened the clasp. Mr Smith had told him he should practise so he wasn't a bumbling fool trying to put it on her. He lifted his arms over her head and brought them down so the pendant rested on her chest. Moving his hands behind her neck, he quickly closed the clasp. Natalia turned back so she was sitting beside him looking at the pendant she once again held in her hand. "Thanks, Harry, I love it! It's… it's beautiful," she stopped talking and pulled him in for another kiss. This was a short kiss since she was almost entirely enamoured with the necklace.

She tucked the diamond into her clothing resting it against her skin. When it made contact, she felt something more than just white gold on her body. She asked him hesitantly. "Is..is it enchanted with something?"

Harry nodded then explained. "I gained access to my family vault and was able to find this enchantment. It took a few attempts for it to take but it should be working now."

"A family enchantment?" She asked, awed.

Harry shrugged. "From what I can tell, it's been given as gifts before. It's also not a permanent enchantment; it has to be renewed."

"What does it do?" She was really curious. The feeling of the pendant on her bare skin felt really nice, especially when she was holding it with her hand against her chest.

"When you think about the person who enchanted it, it gives off a minor pulse of my magic. You should be able to feel it and it's supposed to be a comforting presence. Something of me to always be with you whenever you feel anxious." He tried to smile but was cut short by her lips connecting with his again.

As they shared another kiss, he thought how lucky he was to be in this position and he would express his emotions more often if it made her kiss him more.

"You planned to go in those rags?" Lacroix asked when she saw the robes Mrs Weasley had picked up for him this past Summer, which felt like a lifetime ago now.

"No, I knew you'd never let me wear something so plain after all the work you've put into my dancing." Harry grinned at the older woman, enjoying teasing her for once.

"That is correct. Your clothes are in the men's changing room. Natalia is already in the women's changing room getting ready. She has been in there for some time."

"What am I wearing?" Harry inquired.

"Well, muggles wear what is called a tail suit; it features black pants and tailcoat." Seeing the blank look on his face, she explained. "It's like a suit coat but with more glossy lapels and the coat runs down to your buttocks. Black smoothed pants that run up just shy of the bottom of your ribs, a white waistcoat, white shirt, white suspenders and a white bow tie."

"And I'll wear the same as muggle dancers?" He asked sceptically.

"Oh heavens no, we do have magic," Lacroix responded right away.

Harry rolled his eyes, He was certain she took perverse glee trolling him with useless facts just because she could.

She continued, "The style is similar but you don't need a jacket cut for your dancing position. Magic can handle that with ease. You'll have a magical version of what closely resembles a tail suit just with wizarding robe features."

Harry nodded and didn't give her an opportunity to tease him further as he fled to the changing room. Harry quickly showered and began dressing. Fresh undergarments and black dress socks. He put on the white dress shirt and noticed there were not any buttons for the upper half of the shirt, the part that would be visible. He found a long slender box and opened it to find fancy substitutes for the absent standard buttons. Harry didn't really see the difference but he wasn't going to risk complaining. Next, he put on his overly tall pants, tucked, his shirt in, and put on the magical cufflinks. He continued dressing by putting on the white waistcoat. At this point, Harry realized he would need assistance. The suspenders were there and they didn't have any clips to affix to the pants. Further, he had no idea how to actually tie a bow tie. He put on the highly polished dress shoes and made his way back out to find Lacroix.

She was waiting for him. "I see you need my assistance for the finishing touches," she remarked inattentively as she spelled his suspenders, even managing to get them on under the waistcoat he shouldn't have put on first. Next, she used magic to perfect his bow tie. She also fixed his hair, as best as was possible, and completed the outfit with a light grey pocket square. Now that he was all ready, he waited.

"Nervous?" Lacroix asked him.

"Not for dancing." He replied honestly.

"I didn't mean dancing," Lacroix responded with a half-hearted rolling of her eyes.

"I know." He replied softly. "It's hard to explain." Harry took a deep breath trying to find the words to explain his conflicted state of being.

"You've helped me learn to handle myself at these kinds of events. I'm magically far superior to the boy I was and I do feel I'm ready for this." Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair trying to find a way to describe how he was feeling. "It's just I'm going back there and I'm not the same person anymore." His face was showing the discomfort and warring emotions he had for his return to Hogwarts, well the non Chamber of Secrets part anyway.

Lacroix hummed to herself for a brief second before responding. "You have changed in just a few short weeks I've known you and have really come a long way," she gave him a reassuring look as she affectionately placed her hand on his shoulder. "I am proud of you and know you will do well tonight. Natalia will help you; she's been raised in these events. I expect to read all about how glorious Harry Potter's triumphant return was; I already know you two will be front-page news," she patted his shoulder.

"Come, Natalia will be ready momentarily, let's allow her a better entrance so she can properly stun you." She gave Harry a knowing look as the thoughts about his date took his mind off the anxiety he was feeling about seeing all the familiar faces awaiting him tonight. She held her arm to be properly escorted by him.

Harry didn't have to wait long, Natalia came out from the changing rooms and found them in the entryway. Harry's breath was taken away when he caught sight of her. She radiated elegance and beauty. She was in a silver dress, comprised of a fitted bodice with long sleeves and continued into the skirt of her dress which flowed out from her hips falling down covering her legs. The chest had a wide V shape at the top that gave way to a curved diagonal slash that left open skin between her bosom that slipped and flowed down to her opposite hip. Her dress was classy and enticing, showing skin while the tight bodice fully covered her breasts.

Harry assumed the dress was customized for dancing, just as his outfit was. There would be no wardrobe malfunctions that bared anything Natalia preferred covered. Though Harry didn't know it yet, with a slight pulsing of her magic, it would provide skin coloured fabric to seal away any chance of her dress moving and causing a scene from their choreographed movements.

Harry knew he had to say something. He had some lines picked out in his head but none of them fit now that he saw her. He just went with what he was thinking. "You look stunning and I love your dress. You will be the prettiest lady there, as well as the best dancer, and I am fortunate to be taking you."

Natalia blushed under his praise. Harry moved forward and gave her a quick kiss.

"I have no doubt you two will make me proud this evening." Lacroix praised as she smiled at the two of them.

"Are you ready?" She asked the two.

"Yes," Natalia responded softly as she put her hand in Harry's, ready to apparate to the gates of Hogwarts.

Harry looked from Lacroix, who nodded at him, to Natalia.

"Yes," Harry said as he lifted his chin and squared his shoulders.

He had Natalia on his arm and had prepared everything he could for tonight. "Yes, I'm ready."