Chapter 51
"I've looked it up; Beauxbatons have a number of
students who are Veela. Do you want to see someone
like Draco Malfoy sneer at one such Beauxbatons
student and call her a half-breed? Even a blind man can
see he will do it! That's yet another example of bullying;
and will be one aimed by a Hogwarts student at a
visiting student. What sort of international incident will
that create? Hmm?
"And, speaking of bullying, any form of it... whether it's
by word or deed... needs the perpetrators to feel like
the wrath of the Gods have descended upon them
when they're caught bullying another. For instance, I
guarantee none of the staff are aware that young Luna
Lovegood is being horrendously bullied by just about
every member of her own House; plus quite a few
other individuals. So much for that 'Your House is your
family' nonsense Professor McGonagall here spouts off
to the unsorted First Years each year; yeah?
"And the reason the staff are unaware of this, is
because the students have no faith in the staff meting
out reasonable punishment; let alone actually listening
to a student when they come to them with a complaint.
The staff has taught the students well. Don't bring your
complaints to us. That whole 'Heir of Slytherin' thing is
a prime example of bullying going on right under the
noses of the staff, and nothing being done to stop it.
You could have... should have... and failed to do so.
"You also speak of forgiveness, Headmaster. Well,
before you can have forgiveness there must first be
recognition by the perpetrator they did something
wrong; and be sorry for doing it. That's remorse. Next
is repentance. They must, more or less, vow not to do it
again. Thirdly, they must face atonement. In part, that's
punishment. Then, once they feel genuine remorse,
have accepted they've done wrong, repented and
made a promise to fix their ways... and been properly
punished for it... then, and only then, can forgiveness
be considered. Not before. Even the Holy
Bible recognises that. You seem to just want to skip the
important steps and get right to the forgiveness
part. That. Does. Not. Work.
"The three of us also want to be re-sorted. It's creating
problems for us being a mix of Gryffindors and
Slytherin. Hermione and I no longer feel safe at the
Gryffindor table with two of the Weasleys already
attempting to poison us with love and compulsion
potions. We don't want to give them any further, or
easy, opportunity by sitting table with them ever again.
And it makes everyone uncomfortable if Hermione and
I take seat at the Slytherin table. Having us re-sorted
into one House... either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff... will
make the three of us less uncomfortable and reduces
the risk of harm to the three of us.
"You also have this whole Tri-Wizard Tournament thing,
this year. I'm telling you, right now, I have
absolutely no intention of participating in it other than
as a spectator. However, as usually happens, I'll
somehow be dragged into it, risking my own life yet
again. Well, I won't have it. I will not participate,
Headmaster. I don't give a flying rat's arse about the
thing. I Will Not Compete. And, if someone attempts to
force me to do so, there will be ever-loving Hell to pay.
I will make it an unbreakable vow if push comes to
shove. So, you need to make damned sure I'm kept the
Hell out of it.
"Finally, I'm beginning to suspect you're holding off on
getting my godfather a trial in an attempt to force me
to return to Privet Drive each summer. I want a proper
home, Headmaster. And Privet Drive is not my home;
it's my prison." Harry heard the little trinket on one of
the cabinets give a little chirp before it died, and saw
the Headmaster give a tiny wince in response. "You are
the Chief Warlock. It is within your purview and
mandate to get it done. So, please, get it done. Right
now, I am in the process of organising a solicitor for
him through Matthias Greengrass."
"Contrary to the ludicrous views of Professor Snape, I
am being systematically abused at Privet Drive;
physically, psychologically and emotionally. And, with
the bond forming between Daphne, Hermione and I,
we need to stay together over the breaks lest we risk
harm to the forming bond. I will not subject them to
the Dursleys for even a moment.
"Those are my bare minimum conditions for me to stay.
They are not negotiable. I have to protect myself and
my ladies, here. If you cannot meet those conditions in
full as they have been explained to you, you need to
tell me now."
Dumbledore almost impassively sat there for a few
moments longer before glancing at both Professors. He
then looked back and Harry and asked, "Could you
please give us a little time to discuss this? You've
spoken about matters of which... I swear to you... I'm
completely unaware. I promise the three of you I will
have a decision by lunch time, today."
Harry stared back at the Headmaster for a few more
moments before turning to the two girls. "Ladies?" he
asked. "Should I?"
"Giving up your magic is a huge step to take, Harry,"
said Hermione. "I know you can easily live life in the
muggle world, but it means returning to live with those
horrid relatives of yours."
"Though they end up giving me only rags to wear, feed
me only table scraps, and make me do all the chores
and handyman jobs around the house and yard, while
the rest of them sit on their bums and just abuse me,
that's still preferable to staying here with the way
things are," Harry softly replied.
He didn't see the look of shock and subsequent sudden
glare at the Headmaster by Professor McGonagall,
who'd been listening in.
"Besides, though I occasionally cop a beating...
especially from my whale of a cousin... at least they're
not trying to kill me," he reasoned.
"I'd much prefer you to stay, Harry," Daphne sniffled.
"But I also understand your need to get away from here.
I say give the Headmaster until lunch time today, as he
requested. If even one of your conditions is not met, I
support your need to leave our world."
"Thank you, Daphne," he replied.
"I do, too, Harry," Hermione softly added.
"Thank you," he replied with a small smile.
He then turned back to the Headmaster and said,
"We've agreed to give you until lunch time today to
decide whether or not you'll meet my conditions,
Headmaster. If, however, I have not heard from you by
then, or you disagree with even a tiny part of those
conditions, I'm gone."
"Thank you, Harry," Dumbledore firmly said. "I shall be
meeting with the senior teaching staff between now
and then. You've provided information even I want
answered."
Harry gave a short nod before turning to escort the two
ladies from the Headmaster's office, and off towards
their classes, before Dumbledore called him back.
When Harry turned to look back, the Headmaster was
holding his wand out and said, "Please take your wand
with you, Mister Potter. For now, at least, you'll need it
for class."
Chapter 52
Harry thought about it for a moment before walking
back to the desk and accepting the wand. "Thank you,
Headmaster." Then turned back and rejoined the girls
in leaving the office.
As they walked, in the usual formation once they'd
descended the stairs to the corridor, Daphne asked,
"Would you have really gone ahead with it, Harry? Left
the magical world?"
He replied, "Dumbledore would never have allowed it
to happen. The prophecy makes sure of that. I just
needed him to believe I was resolute in my desire to
leave. That way, I've forced his hand to get things fixed
around here."
Hermione cut in and said, "Dumbledore will bend over
backwards, wear a pink tutu and sing 'I'm a Little
Teapot' in the middle of Diagon Alley during the height
of Christmas shopping, if he felt he had to do that to
keep Harry here," She then looked at Harry and asked,
"What would you have done if he'd let you walk out
that door?"
"Gone directly to Gringotts, pulled out all of my trust
fund and named you my Heir... so the likes of Malfoy
wouldn't be able to get his hands on the Potter
fortune," he replied. "Then, gone to the offices of
the Daily Prophet and given Rita Skeeter a tell-all
exclusive interview of my life, together with why I was
choosing to leave the magical world. Then gone to the
DMLE where, I've no doubt, Dumbledore would have
been waiting for me to stop me. If not, I'd have
requested it.
"I also have little doubt Madam Bones would have bent
over backwards to stop me, as well. She'd want to
know why I was choosing that path, and that would
have put her on the warpath against Dumbledore.
"No, I doubt very much I'll ever get an actual
opportunity to walk away from the magical world. No
one will ever accept the Boy-Who-Lived would want
to not live in the magical world. There'd be rioting in
the streets. Well, except for the period between
Voldemort's resurrection and the battle at the Ministry;
or, whatever is going to happen here."
"And what's going to happen... what are you going to
do... when your name comes out of the Goblet?" asked
Daphne.
"Create one Hell of an almighty stink," he replied with
a shrug. "I don't know if there actually is a loophole in
the so-called magical contract that can be used to get
me out it or not. But, that's beside the point. What I've
set up, back there, is how I'm going to deal with the
student body before things like those 'Potter Stinks'
badges come out.
"I'm okay with competing, now. I know what I'm going
to face; and, I'll be prepared. I just don't want to have
to tolerate the scorn and derision from the other
students as I did the first time through. I've made it so
the staff will have to come down on them, hard. I'll
remind Dumbledore how, by not competing, I'll be
'squibbed'. And how that'll be a free pass for me to
escape into the muggle world. There's nothing he could
do to stop it, if that's the case. He'll make damned sure
I choose to compete by forcing the student body to
leave me alone."
"In other words, you've got him over a barrel," smirked
Hermione.
"Eww!" Harry shuddered in response. "You know he's
gay, right? That's a vision I didn't want. He might
actually like the idea of being over a barrel."
Both girls laughed in response.
At 11:00am, the senior staff of the school attended a
mandatory staff meeting in the Headmaster's office.
They were told to cancel any classes they may have had
for that period and the next two hours, and attend.
Lunch would be provided.
As they all congregated in the office, Dumbledore
conjured a conference table with surrounding chairs.
"Please, be seated," he requested.
Once the senior staff - The Headmaster, Professors
McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape and Sprout, and Madam
Pomfrey - were all seated, the Headmaster said,
"Professors McGonagall, Snape and I recently had a
most worrying and troubling meeting with Mister
Potter and his two bondmates. The meeting was
originally supposed to only cover Mister Potter and his
bondmates' concerns about the return of the two
youngest Weasley children to this school."
"I'm not surprised," huffed Professor Sprout.
After a moment to glare at the Professor, who didn't
look abashed at all, Dumbledore continued, "In the
meeting, Mister Potter raised a number of other
concerns - as well as his concern about the two
Weasley children. He raised issues of which I'm only
partly aware or not aware of at all. We are going to
discuss those points, right now."
"I cannot believe you're going to kow-tow to that
little..." Professor Snape began to snarl.
With a firm slap of his palm against the surface of the
table, Dumbledore interrupted him and barked back,
"Severus! Enough!"
The Potions Master visibly flinched back but did hold
his tongue.
Looking back at the rest of the staff, the Headmaster
began to raise the points Harry had raised with him. "It
appears, and I have no reason to doubt him after what
I heard, Mister Potter believes things have gotten so
bad for him at Hogwarts, he is willing... I dare say even
eager... to see his wand snapped, his magic bound and
his eviction from the magical community
as more desirable than remaining a student here."
Of those staff who weren't at the earlier meeting,
Professor Sprout gasped in horror, as did Madam
Pomfrey, while Professor Flitwick looked completely
stunned.
"That's horrible!" stuttered Madam Pomfrey. "Why
would he want such a thing?"
"That's what we're going to discuss," the Headmaster
firmly replied.
During the subsequent meeting, he also let them know
just how angry he was with them for him not being
aware of many of the points raised.
Finally acting as the executive unit they were supposed
to be, the staff, with the Headmaster leading the
discussion, made decisions.
Once again sitting table at the Slytherin table, the three
had just finished lunch when Professor McGonagall
approached and said, "A decision has been reached. I'll
escort you to the Headmaster's office once you've
completed your lunch."
A quick glance at both girls to make sure they'd
finished, and Harry looked back up at the Professor and
said, "Thank you, Professor. We're done. If you've not,
though, we can hold off."
"No, I've completed my meal, thank you," she replied
with a smile. "If you're ready, we can go."
The three teens then rose and followed the Professor
back to the Headmaster's office.
Chapter 53
Inside were Dumbledore, the four Heads of Houses and
Madam Pomfrey. They were sitting in a circle around a
small table that Harry suspected was very recently a
much larger one for their meeting. There were three
chairs left vacant together, with another next to the
Headmaster. To that last was where Professor
McGonagall headed.
As Harry escorted the two girls to the other three
chairs, before sitting in the middle one, as
surreptitiously as possible he tried to gauge the mood
of the senior teaching staff. They all looked quite happy,
except for Dumbledore. He looked like he'd sucked on
too many of those Lemon Drops he favoured, with a
somewhat pinched countenance.
As Harry sat down, the Headmaster said, "Thank you
for coming again, Harry. And, thank you for giving us
the time to go over your... conditions."
Harry gave a slight head nod in response.
"As I mentioned earlier you raised a couple of points of
which I was unaware were going on in this school," the
Headmaster continued. "Firstly, we were all completely
unaware of the bullying of Miss Lovegood that was
going on. That will be dealt with this afternoon and
during the evening meal. Professor Flitwick, as Head of
House, will be immediately addressing that problem.
"As for the general and... oft times... public bullying
that's occurring, the entire staff has been instructed to
come down on the perpetrators of it with the full
weight of the Headmaster's office. You are correct in
positing that displays of one or more students bullying
another or others is not something we want our
soon-to-be arriving guests from Beauxbatons and
Durmstrang to witness.
"No, it's something that should never occur. So, the
staff has been told to be extra vigilant in both looking
for it, and dealing with it. And that includes use of slurs
such as 'mudblood' or 'half-breed'.
"You also indicated great disappointment in how the
House point system is being... tainted. That, too, is
being addressed. New guidelines for both awarding
and deducting points are being drawn up. And the
teaching staff will be required to adhere to it. Further,
if you have a complaint about what you believe to be
unfair points deducted or awarded, you can raise the
issue with your Head of House or, if they're the one you
believe is being unfair, you... indeed, any student... can
raise it with me. What you are probably unaware of, is
that there is a ledger kept within this office that
records the awarding and deducting of points, and why,
and it will now be constantly reviewed.
"Now we get to the more serious issues you raised.
Though, I do recognise bullying as a serious issue. First,
Professor Snape is now on probation. I have spoken
with our Head Boy and Girl, and other senior class
students, and have confirmed everything you told me. I
was completely unaware of just how... bad... it had
become. For that, I am deeply sorry; and, hope you can
find it in your heart to eventually forgive me for being
lax in that regard in the past.
"Professor Snape has now been instructed he is to use
the points awarding and deducting guidelines when
awarding and deducting points. He is to also refrain
from using or intimating any denigrating language
when communicating with students. He will be
monitored for compliance. If he breaches these
instructions in future, he will be summarily dismissed.
He will also provide proper instruction for the making
of each and every potion. He will no longer be allowed
to just say, 'Instructions are on the board. You have one
hour.' or similar. I, or Professor McGonagall, will
conduct random reviews to ensure these conditions are
met."
With a surprisingly genuine sigh, he said, "As for the
two Weasley children. I had already spoken with Arthur
and Molly, Mister and Missus Weasley, about the two
children before that... unpleasantness... this morning.
At that time, I gave them both my assurances the
children could return to school and classes until the
trial. As such, I cannot go back on that promise."
Harry was about to interrupt when the Headmaster,
recognising Harry's ire, held up his hand and continued,
"However, I also understand your view on how it
makes you both uncomfortable and feel there is further
risk to being attacked via potion with them in the
school, though I do not agree.
"To address that, all Weasley children, including Percy,
were subjected to a snap inspection of their belongings,
late this morning; and their incoming mail will be
monitored. Other than prank items in the possession of
the twins, there were no other suspicious packages.
What the younger Weasleys had in their possession
from before, were already seized by aurors from within
the DMLE when they were first taken away. I can assure
you that they will be closely watched and monitored to
ensure they do not attempt such a heinous act again.
"Further, it has been decided you will be allowed to be
re-sorted and change Houses. It is clearly
uncomfortable for the three of you to remain in the
Houses you are currently within. If you want to be
re-sorted, it will occur immediately before the evening
meal, this evening. The student body will only be told it
is an option made available to you due to the bond, so
that you can all be in the same House."
Harry simply nodded in response.
"As to the matter of your godfather, Sirius Black; I, once
again, apologise I have been somewhat lax in that area.
It is good that you're organising a solicitor for him; and
I commend you for that. Once you have the solicitor
organised, and he or she is ready for trial, I will use my
office as Chief Warlock to push for the trial. I can only
hope that he is exonerated. The Ministry, including the
Wizengamot, is rife with corruption. As such, nothing is
a given."
"The final matter you raised was the Tri-Wizard
Tournament, and how you feared you'd be entered into
the event against your wishes or desire. With what you
have gone through over the past three years you've
been here, it's quite understandable you fear the worst.
So, I'm going to tell you how the choosing of the
champions will take place. I trust the three of you not
to share this information with anyone else."
Harry and the two girls nodded.
With a responding nod, Dumbledore then went on to
describe the Goblet of Fire, and how it would be used.
He also gave the information that the minimum age of
a contestant was seventeen.
Harry was then ready with his questions.
"What is to stop someone of-age deciding to submit my
name against my wishes?" he asked.
His first question and Dumbledore clearly didn't expect
it. He was surprised by it. "I must say, that did not
occur to me. I shall take steps to ensure that cannot
happen."
"And, if it still does? If my name comes out of this...
Goblet... after all?" Harry asked. "It sounds like an
incredibly dangerous artefact, Sir. It could be used by
one wizard to see the magic stripped from another."
"There are safeguards to the second part of your
question. But, in the highly unlikely event of the first,
you would have to compete."
Chapter 54
And, before Harry could interrupt again, Dumbledore
said, "I see your concern, Harry. And, I will take steps to
combat against it. But, it's now too late to stop this
from happening. Contracts have been signed and
arrangements have been made."
"You can still skip using the cup... Goblet... and just
have a standard magically binding contract," Harry
muttered back.
"Sorry, no," said Dumbledore. "Tradition holds that the
Goblet be used."
"It's not much of a tradition if the Tri-Wizard
Tournament hasn't be held for centuries," Harry shot
back, to which the Headmaster only acknowledged
with a slight nod. With a sigh, he said, "Please tell me
this is not going to occur on Halloween. You know what
that day means to me."
"Errr... sorry," the Headmaster sheepishly replied. "The
draw will take place at the conclusion of the Halloween
feast."
With an admirable acting performance, Harry looked at
the Headmaster with much disappointment. "First
year," he said, beginning to tick them off his fingers.
"Troll. Troll in the dungeon. Thought you'd want to
know. I, dragging a very reluctant Ron Weasley along,
manage to rescue Hermione here from said troll with
only moments to spare.
"Second year. It's Nearly Headless Nick's 500th
Deathday party, Missus Norris gets petrified, and it's
the start of almost exactly six months and one week of
being held to ridicule, fear, contempt and similar by the
entire student body, while the entire teaching staff
appeared to sit back and did absolutely nothing about
it.
"Third year. Sirius Black, the so-called escaped mass
murderer and right hand man of Voldemort, is in the
castle. He attacks the portrait of Imogene - the Fat Lady;
and we all have to sleep in sleeping bags in the Great
Hall. Of course, I was in no danger, but we didn't know
that at the time, did we?
"And now, fourth year. It's that exact, same, day you're
holding the draw for the champions for the Tri-Wizard
Tournament," Harry sighed in exasperation. "You know
there's no way in Hell my name's not going to come out
of that Goblet now, don't you?"
Dumbledore stared back with a look that was a cross
between consternation and constipation before he
finally cleared his throat and shook himself out of it.
"Yes. Well," he muttered. "I do see your point, young
Harry."
Muttering sulphurously for a few moments, Harry then
sat up straighter and said, "It's now clear to me that my
name will be coming out of that Goblet on Halloween.
It seems I'm Lady Fate's personal punching bag and
that date is the date she's set aside to personally
torment me.
"I can already see what's going to happen. The event is
designed for witches and wizards over the age of
seventeen. Therefore, the events are designed for
those witches and wizards who have that level of
education. It'll even challenge their knowledge and
skills. I'm fourteen with only three years of magical
education. In other words, I'm toast.
"On top of that, as I'm only fourteen and the event is
only open to those who are seventeen and above,
when my name comes out of the Goblet, everyone's
going to say I somehow cheated my way in. So, yet
again, I'm going to be slandered and ridiculed. The
question I have is, is the staff going to actively work at
preventing it, this time around? If not, I'm out of here.
"Of course, if I do get held up for slander and ridicule
again by the sheep of the wizarding world, I will have
absolutely no problem with flipping the lot of you the
finger, and refusing to compete. In other words, I can
use it as the perfect opportunity to have my magic
stripped, rather than bound. That way, no one can stop
me from going back to the muggle world to live, and I
can wipe my hands of the lot of you. With a muggle
population in Britain approaching sixty million, it won't
be hard for me to disappear into the crowds."
Harry could see his words were having a profound
effect on the staff. Professor McGonagall was trying to
sit stoically as she stared off into the distance, but her
eyes were leaking tears. Professor Snape sat scowling
with his head down and appeared quite tense.
However, he remained quiet - thankfully. Professor
Flitwick was still in shock and looked ready to vomit.
Professor Sprout was quietly sobbing while shaking her
head in apparent dismay and an attempted refusal to
believe what she was hearing, as was Madam Pomfrey.
Staring straight at the Headmaster, Harry asked, "So,
Headmaster, what is the plan for when my name comes
out of the Goblet? Because, I really don't think
anything you do is going to stop it from happening."
After clearing his throat again, Dumbledore firmly said,
"I assure you, Harry, I'll be doing my best to ensure that
does not happen. However, if you're correct, I don't
know what I can do once it happens."
Harry shook his head in annoyance and said, "Then, I'll
start." He drew his wand and held it up in his hand. "I,
Harry James Potter, swear on my magic and my very
life I will not submit my name to the Goblet of Fire. Nor
will I ask, or in any other way actively encourage
another, to submit my name to the Goblet of Fire. I do
not want to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. I
do not want to be involved in the Tri-Wizard
Tournament other than as a spectator. As I say, so I
swear."
There was a quick and almost blinding flash of light as
the oath was accepted. And he immediately cast a
stream of sparklers.
Harry turned to the senior staff and said, "I trust that is
enough for everyone here to know and understand me
being in the Tri-Wizard Tournament is not something I
will work towards achieving?"
Most of the staff looked horrified at what Harry had
just done. It was Dumbledore who replied, "Harry, a
magical oath is not something that should ever be
taken lightly..."
Interrupting, Harry replied, "And what part of this
entire conversation could be considered 'light',
Headmaster? I understand what will happen if I decide
to take the option of having my magic either stripped
or bound, and my then being ostracised to the
mundane world. Compared to that, a magical oath is
merely a doddle."
"Nevertheless," the Headmaster sighed, "It is still a
serious act to undertake. But, what is done is done. I
believe I speak for all the staff when I say we do not
doubt you have no wish to participate as a champion in
the Tri-Wizard Tournament. However, what would you
have us do if... or, as you believe, when... your name
comes out of the Goblet?"
Harry frowned and appeared deep in thought. A few
moments later, he looked back at the Headmaster and
replied, "As soon as my name comes out, I'm going to
make a very public magical oath similar to the one I
just made, here, stating it wasn't me. I also demand
you make damned sure none of the sheep you call
students has a go at me about it. It would be collective
bullying at its worse.
"Because, I'm telling you now, if the student body
even thinks about denigrating, slandering, defaming,
vilifying, ostracising, scorning or similar me or either of
my bondmates, I will retaliate with physical force. I will
not stand for it. Not for even one jot of a moment. I will
not tolerate another second year."
Chapter 55
"I believe, once we begin to enforce the rules regarding
bullying at tonight's meal, that will not happen," said
Dumbledore.
"Well, Sir," Harry retorted, "A famous theoretical
physicist, Albert Einstein, once said 'Two things are
infinite: The universe and human stupidity; and I'm not
too sure about the first'(1). No matter how much you...
impress... upon the student population that such
actions will be harshly treated, there will still be those
who will choose the stupid option and ignore you. I,
however, will not ignore them."
With a sigh, the Headmaster sat back and said, "Alright,
Harry; I think we've covered all the points you've raised.
Are you satisfied with what you've heard here?"
Instead of answering immediately, Harry turned to the
two girls and non-verbally asked for their views.
Hermione, who was still clearly upset, nodded back; as
did Daphne when he turned to her.
Turning back to the Headmaster he replied, "So long as
there is an immediate major shift towards what we've
spoken about, and then that major shift continues, I
currently withdraw my wish to be evicted from the
magical world."
The Headmaster visibly sighed in relief.
"However, I reserve the right to make such a
determination in future," Harry continued. "I will wait
to see what happens... especially surrounding the
tournament... and will be constantly internally
reviewing my decision. There must be radical changes
to have occurred before I will remove my desire off the
table completely.
"Further, if I do end up deciding to leave the magical
world, I expect my wishes to be honoured. It
is my choice. And I really don't give a flying toss if the
magical world gets all up in arms about how the
Boy-Who-Lived would make such a decision. My
decision will be my own; not theirs. And I really could
care less about the so-called Boy-Who-Lived
because he is not me. You can blame the idiots who
have, without my authorisation, used my name to sell
products for that.
"I'm also supposed to be this great bloody hero who
got rid of Voldemort for the magical people. However,
not one of them even wrote to me to say thank you.
The first letter I ever received from anyone... let alone
the magical world... was my Hogwarts acceptance letter.
And I had no way to reply to that, anyway."
Harry watched as the Headmaster almost
imperceptibly winced.
"If I'm supposed to be their hero, then why was I
ignored by them?" Harry asked. "No. They clearly
couldn't care less about me. All mouth and no action.
Therefore, I can't see them really being upset if I decide
to leave."
"Mister Potter," said Professor McGonagall, getting
Harry's attention. "Plenty of people wrote to you. No
one ever heard back."
Glaring back, Harry replied, "I assure you, Professor; I
never received..."
"Harry," the Headmaster interrupted.
Turning to look at the Headmaster with a frown, Harry
asked, "Headmaster?"
Clearly uncomfortable and even squirming slightly in
his seat, the Headmaster said, "The reason you didn't
receive any mail is because I was concerned that some
of it would contain harmful potions, charms, portkeys
or the like. They represented a great risk to you and
your safety. Furthermore, I knew your aunt and uncle
would not appreciate being... bothered... by the
magical community. As your magical guardian, I made
the decision to intercept your mail and have it stored
elsewhere until..."
Harry listened first, with dawning comprehension, then
mutating to anger. Eventually, he'd heard enough and
surged to his feet in rage.
"Jesus bloody Christ, Dumbledore!" he roared as
Dumbledore was immediately cut off and the staff
visibly flinched back. "Do you have any bloody idea as
to the consequences of your actions? It's no wonder
the student body out there denigrate me one moment
and worship me the next.
"Holy bloody Hell! There'll be kids out there... not to
mention their parents and guardians... who wrote to
me and never heard a bloody peep out of me back!
God damn it; some may have even sent me gifts and
they now think I'm a right prick for not even
acknowledging them! Including over the past three
years. It's no bloody surprise, now, why I'm getting
treated the way I do! They fucking hate me!"
Harry grabbed hold of his spiking emotions, not even
noticing that documents and trinkets had been sent
flying during his rage at the Headmaster by his almost
uncontrolled magic. Once he'd managed to get his
emotions back into check, he collapsed back into his
seat.
"You imbecilic prick!" he moaned. "What have
you done?"
No one even dared to reply. Only Hermione first, then
Daphne, moved closer to him and hugged him.
"Oh my God!" he sobbed into his hands.
The first to recover of the staff, Professor McGonagall
glared at the Headmaster and quietly but firmly
demanded, "Albus? Where is Mister Potter's mail?"
Calming himself down, the Headmaster quietly replied,
"It's being stored in an unused storeroom here, in the
castle. I have not taken the time to go and have a look
at it, so I have no idea how much is there. I'm also
concerned that some of it may still have those illicit
charms, potions, portkeys or the like I mentioned
attached to them.
"Therefore, I ask that you not go looking for it, at this
time, Mister Potter."
"Fuck you, old man!" Harry snarled back. "I don't know
what the laws are in the magical world surrounding
intercepting the mail of another; but, in the muggle
world, it's an automatic stay in one of Her Majesty's
gaols!
"I now take full responsibility and possession of my
mail. Any and all mail redirection charms or whatever
you have in place concerning me, you will immediately
strip away, never to return them... or organise for
another to place such upon me and mine. I'll have our
two house elves go through it all and separate out
anything that's dodgy, and set them aside for the DMLE
to deal with. As for the rest, I'm going to need time to
go through it all and send out letters of apology to each
and every person who sent me something, and explain
what happened.
"While your motives for intercepting my mail were just,
the method by which you went about it is abhorrent.
Once you began to intercept my mail, it fell to you to
treat it with respect according to how you
believed I'd want it dealt with. And, I assure you, I
consider ignoring it a loathsome and despicable act. It's
no wonder there are those like Professor Snape who
consider me arrogant.
"At the conclusion of this meeting, you will
immediately take me to where you've stored my mail.
At that time I will use our two house elves to begin the
process of sorting it and separating out the letters and
packages that are suspect. Then, I'm going to begin the
process of going through each and every item and
responding to it. I don't care if it's been up to almost
thirteen years since the sender sent the letter or
package. They deserve a reply; and, they're going to get
one; no matter how long it takes me to do so."
When he finally finished his rant and collapsed back in
on himself in his seat, Harry let the girls cuddle back
into him from either side.
Dumbledore appeared to be getting his own emotions
back into check. Once he was calmer, he said, "Harry,
I'm truly, truly sorry this has happened. It was my
intent to do just as you suggested; but, I managed to
put it off until it was too late, and the amount became
too large.
"It was then my intent to use the house elves to sort
out the... as you put it... suspect packages and letters
and see the lot handed over to you when you first
arrived here in the beginning of your First Year. But,
again, it had slipped my mind."
After a short hesitation he said, "Very well, Harry. At
the conclusion of this meeting I will take you to where
your mail is stored. I only ask you ensure it is all
checked, and bring anything suspect to me, before you
handle any of it."
Harry didn't even bother to reply. He took a deep
breath of air and said to no one in particular, "I need to
get out of here. I need to get some fresh air."
He then stood and said, "I'll come back later. I'm
finding the conditions in here, quite stifling, at the
moment."
Not even bothering to see if the Headmaster or the rest
of the staff acknowledged him; the two girls stood
either side and walked out with him. They were
headed directly for the main doors of the castle to walk
down to sit near the edge of the lake.
Once they were gone, Professor McGonagall staring at
the Headmaster, fuming. Once she could, she growled,
"How could you, Albus? What other harm have you
done to that poor boy?"
"What I've done is..." the Headmaster tried.
Professor McGonagall just barked straight over the top
of him. "Don't even think of saying 'It's for the Greater
Good', Albus. If it's for your so-called Greater Good to
cause harm to that boy, I want no part of it.
"A lot of what is driving that boy out of our world is
directly attributed to what you have caused to happen
to him. You have meddled in his life long enough. It is
high time you made sure his godfather gets his trial and
Harry gets to develop a family with him. Because,
it's only family that will keep that boy from leaving our
world.
"And, if he does end up taking that option, it will
become very clear very quickly exactly why he left. I
doubt very much you will manage to hold on to any of
your positions of power once the dust finally settles."
Chapter 56
After they spent time just talking at the edge of the
lake, the three reviewed what they'd managed to so far
accomplish.
"Alright," began Hermione. "The horcruxes. The
diadem horcrux has been cleaned and is ready to hand
back to the school, once this is done. We either need to
get Sirius to get us the locket horcrux so we can put it
to the same ritual... then get him to see if he can get
the cup horcrux from the goblins from Lestrange's
vault... or I go to the goblins and get it direct.
Dumbledore still gets the ring. And Nagini is for later."
"I'll see if I can deal with Nagini at the graveyard in
June," said Harry. "She's already the final horcrux, so I
can deal with her now, rather than later when she'll be
much harder to get. I also need to practice wandless
summoning to summon my wand back to my hand. I
don't want to be without my wand in the graveyard,
again."
"We'll organise a second wand for you during the
Christmas break," Daphne cut in. "One that you can
keep hidden in the sleeve of your right arm and you can
pop into your hand if you're bound."
"That's a good idea," said Harry. "Thank you, Daphne."
She merely nodded back.
After a nod of acceptance as well, Hermione continued,
"The Hallows. Harry is now the rightful owner of the
Elder Wand, even if Dumbledore has it back in his
possession. We'll get the stone from the ring later, once
Dumbledore has it. And Harry already has the cloak.
"Sirius. Daphne's father is organising a solicitor for us,
and Harry now has Dumbledore actually starting to
work at getting Sirius a trial. We can't do anything
further on that until we speak with the solicitor.
"The press. Harry has already put the hard word to the
staff about how he get's treated, without actually
saying so, once his name comes out of the Goblet. A
solicitor with defamation experience is also being
organised by Daphne's father. As we've got almost two
months until Halloween we've got plenty of time to
deal with that issue.
"The basilisk. Daphne's father is also organising for that
to be rendered down. From that we'll save enough hide
to ensure the three of us, at least, have full body suits
of armour."
"Good," Harry firmly said. "I'll be one Hell of a lot
happier if I know both of you are protected from most
curses and hexes."
"The latest issue is a new one; Harry's mail." Hermione
turned to look at Harry directly and said, "Did
Dumbledore ever tell you he had your mail in the
castle?"
"No," Harry growled. "Clearly, he didn't think it
important enough to tell me."
Daphne snorted in an unladylike fashion and said, "It's
more likely he was worried that, if you knew about it
and had read some of it, you wouldn't have gone ahead
with your little suicide at the wand of V-Voldemort."
Harry smiled back and gently placed his hand on the
blonde girl's leg. He gave it a gentle squeeze of
assurance, and was pleased when she didn't flinch
away. She was clearly beginning to trust him; and that
he wouldn't take things too far. It was progress.
"What are we going to do about the prophecy orb?"
Hermione asked. "We really don't want to leave it in
the Dee-oh-Em."
Harry thought for a moment and replied, "I want to go
and get it this Christmas but I don't know if we'll have
time. If possible, I also want to replace it with a fake
containing a false prophecy. As long as we keep the
first two lines intact, we can 'fiddle' with the rest and
make it seem like, if I can get hold of him, Riddle's toast;
and there's nothing he can do about it."
Hermione giggled and said, "The one with the power to
vanquish the dark lord approaches... born to those who
thrice defied him; born as the seventh month dies...
And the dark lord shall mark him as his equal; but, he
shall have power the dark lord knows not... and the
one with the power will kick the dark tosser's arse into
the next millennium, where he shall forevermore burn
in the fires of Hell... The one with the power to
vanquish the dark lord shall be born as the seventh
month dies."
Harry roared with laughter while Daphne grinned back
at Hermione. "Descriptive," she smiled. "But, not
exactly prophecy material, is it?"
"I'll work on it," Hermione laughed. "If we're successful,
it'll make Riddle panic."
"Yes, but we have no idea what he'll do as a result,"
said Daphne. "He may flee Britain completely. Or, he
may decide he no longer wants to be the one who
takes Harry out; and puts a bounty on his head."
Calming down, Harry said, "It's still better than him
getting the full prophecy."
"It shall end where it all began, as the chosen one
defeats his foe," Harry murmured after almost a
minute of silence. "It's descriptive without giving
anything away. It'll drive Riddle nuts trying to figure
out what 'where it all began' means, so he can stay the
Hell away from the place. And, once the Prophet starts
calling me 'The Chosen One', it'll demonstrate to him
the prophecy is real."
Hermione hesitated a moment before she said, "As I
said, I'll work on it. But, I like the way you're thinking."
After sitting staring at the lake for a few minutes more,
Harry said, "Ladies, I'm sorry that you missed your class
on Ancient Runes. And, Herbology this afternoon,
when it comes to that."
"Don't be silly, Harry," Hermione gently scolded him.
"It's not as if we've not gone through this before.
We've all already completed our sixth year of
education. Daphne almost completed her Seventh Year.
For us, it's all just revision."
"Hermione's right," said Daphne, supporting her
bond-sister. "Anyway, we should think about heading
back to the Headmaster's office. We'll be joining you
when you go to look at your undelivered mail."
Harry nodded and the three stood before walking back
to the castle.
As they approached the Headmaster's gargoyle, they
arrived just in time to see the other Professors come
down.
"Ah, Mister Potter, Miss Greengrass and Miss Granger;
you're just in time," said Professor Flitwick, the first to
spot them.
"If you don't have class now, Professor," said Harry.
"Would you care to join us? I think I speak for the three
of us when I say we believe we'll be in your House by
the time we sit for dinner."
Surprised but clearly pleased, the diminutive Professor
said, "I'd be delighted to. And, I must say, I'd be quite
pleased to welcome you into the House of the eagles; if
that's where you end up being sorted."
"We've decided to have a chat with the Hat, Professor,"
said Hermione. "Your House is the one into which we'll
be requesting it sort us."
"Well, that pleases me, immensely," the Professor
beamed, before his face dropped into one of sadness.
"I have also investigated what you told the Headmaster
about how Miss Lovegood is being treated by her
Housemates. I assure you, it is currently being dealt
with. You shall hear more of that at the evening meal. I
also apologise I was not aware of it before now."
Chapter 57
"Luna is such a gentle soul, Professor; she could not
find it in her heart to complain about her treatment,"
replied Harry. "I take it she told you it was something
like Nargles or Wrackspurts responsible?"
"That she did, Mister Potter," said the Professor. "I
have also come to understand she uses those...
mythical creatures... to mask her pain."
"Yes, Sir," said Harry. "Those creatures are her way of
bonding with her father since the passing of her mother.
It's something she and her father can share, as if it's all
some big secret. However, if she was properly tested, I
believe you'll discover she naturally sees magical auras.
That's why she often seems so spaced out. She's
looking at things very few other people can see. And,
even then, they can only see when they activate their
mage sight.
"What she sees and calls Nargles, Wrackspurts and the
like; I believe is something to do with her natural mage
sight. Just saying, Sir."
The little Professor stared up at Harry with a slight
frown on his face before he gave a small nod and said,
"Thank you, Mister Potter. I believe that's also
something I'll investigate further."
The three teens and the little Professor finally headed
back to the Headmaster's office.
When they entered, the Headmaster said, "Welcome
back. I was just about to send for you, Mister Potter. I
take it we are all heading for the storeroom?"
"You take it correctly, Sir," replied Harry. Harry was
surprised the old man didn't try and dismiss anyone
again. It was a pleasant surprise.
The Headmaster led their little party up to the seventh
floor and into a tower that Harry thought was currently
unused. Just inside the Headmaster stepped to the left,
drew an old key from his robes, and unlocked a heavy
wooden door. The hinges squeaked as he swung the
door, inwards.
After the old man stepped within, Harry followed. He
was just in time to hear the Headmaster mutter in
surprise, "Oh, dear."
Harry stepped right in to clear the doorway for the rest
of their party to follow. Inside, the room was filled with
shelving. Opposite the door was a window with a
surmounting owl window.
The shelves were literally covered in mail. There were
large and small envelopes; large and small packages.
"Bloody Hell!" muttered Harry, looking around. "That's
a lot of mail."
The Headmaster moved over to the shelf on the far left
and said, "If the charms I placed on the room worked
properly... Ah, yes."
Turning back to Harry, he said, "The mail arrives via owl
on that centre table with the owl perch on it." He
pointed at the table. "From there, the owl is
automatically relieved of its burden and allowed, even
encouraged, to depart immediately afterwards."
Professor Flitwick moved to the table and began to
make intricate gestures with his wand, frowning and
grinning at odd times.
"Once the mail is released," the Headmaster continued.
"The magic in the room, driven by runes, then sorts the
mail according to quite simple commands.
"It is all sorted in chronological order, starting with this
shelf over here." And indicated the first shelf he'd
approached. "Letters, cards and the like go on the
upper shelves; while packages go on the lower
shelves." He pointed out each.
Turning back to Harry, he said, "When I first set up this
room, I expected it to be about ten times more than I
would ever need. However, now looking around, it
appears I almost didn't plan for enough. There is,
almost literally I'm afraid, about ten times more mail
than I originally anticipated.
"I had expected that the 'fame' of the so-called
Boy-Who-Lived would wane within a few years.
However, that does not seem to be the case." He
moved to the opposite side of the room and began to
look at various items of mail. "If anything, it appears
your fame has increased with time; especially, over the
course of the last three plus years."
"It's a lot of mail," said Hermione, quite awed by what
she was seeing.
"Indeed," said Professor Flitwick.
"Where do we even start?" asked Daphne, also awed
by what she was seeing.
"One letter at a time, right from the beginning," said
Harry. "The walk of a thousand miles begins with a
simple, small step; and is merely repeated over and
over again."
"Yes," said Professor Flitwick, pleased with what Harry
said. "But I believe magic can help a lot with this
massive task."
"And house elves," said Daphne.
"We need a plan to deal with this," said Hermione,
clearly thinking furiously. "We need a system."
Harry grinned back at her, knowing this sort of thing
was what she enjoyed doing. He prompted, "We'll need
to create form letters. Then use dicta-quills to copy
them over and over; for as many as needed. Different
form letters based on the intended audience, the
original; and on what it is they sent."
Hermione nodded and said, "Lots of parchment. Lots of
parchment. And ink." She began to nibble on her
bottom lip and continued, "We'll have to hire a lot of
owls, too. The school owls are for all the students. And,
it'll be unfair to deprive the rest of the students of
them. Owl post would also be swamped and unable to
handle the load, depending on how fast we worked
through it all."
As she talked, Harry looked at Daphne and grinned. She
smirked back.
"We'll need a bigger room," Hermione continued.
"We'll need to move all this to something like a large
unused classroom, shelves and all. Then, set aside part
of the room as the work area. It'll also need to have a
large owl window for outgoing flights and returning
owls. Plenty of roost spaces, too; near the window."
"It can be a project for our house elves to handle in
their spare time," said Daphne.
Hermione glared at her for a moment before her
expression softened. "So long as they promise not to
work too hard at it, I can live with that."
Seeing the odd expression on the Headmaster's face at
what Hermione said, Harry told him, "Hermione is very
concerned about the way house elves are treated, their
health and welfare."
"An admirable quality," the Headmaster replied, giving
a small bow to Hermione. He then handed the key to
Harry and said, "I shall have the redirection ward
removed within the next couple of days. And, don't
worry, your aunt and uncle will never know I was
there."
Chapter 58
Harry accepted the key and nodded back, "Thank you,
Headmaster."
With that, the Headmaster said, "I shall see you at the
evening meal," And swept out of the room.
Professor Flitwick said, "I look forward to seeing you at
the sorting." And followed him out.
Once both adults were gone, Harry turned to the two
girls and sighed. "Contrary to what I said earlier, how
on Earth am I going to handle all this?"
"We, Harry," Hermione said, almost offhandedly.
"She's right," said Daphne. "We're in this together,
remember?"
"This," said Harry, waving his hand at all the shelves, "I
doubt very much was under consideration when you
agreed to the return."
"No," Daphne replied with a shrug, moving closer to
hold his left arm at the elbow. She tilted her head to
rest it on his left shoulder. "But, I think it could be a fun
project."
"Students," Harry suddenly said, coming up with an
idea. "We hire students looking to make some pocket
money. I've got plenty in my trust vault, at the moment.
It won't run me short."
"Trustworthy students," said Daphne, understanding.
"Hufflepuffs?"
Checking to make sure the adults had truly left, Harry
turned back to her and said, "Cedric Diggory,
remember? He becomes the true champion."
"I remember," said Daphne, as if he'd insulted her.
"However, the Headmaster has assured you... us... he
will make sure everyone understands you're in the
Tournament unwillingly."
"Some of the 'Claws might be willing to do the work,
too," Hermione pointed out. "We're going to need
seniors to check each item for potions, enchantments
and the like, anyway. Such people are usually found in
Ravenclaw."
"I'd offer the chance to the twins; but, I don't want to
find out they use the opportunity to pull pranks," Harry
sighed. "Then, I'd have to fire them. We're having
enough Weasley trouble, as it is."
After they stood there for a few moments longer,
Hermione huffed and said, "Alright. If we wait to move
everything until after the Headmaster removes the
mail redirection wards that gives us time to organise a
large classroom with a lockable door... and get it
warded.
"The classroom needs to then be stripped of most of
the furniture to allow room for the shelving in here...
letters, packages and all... to be moved to the new
room. The classroom also needs to have a large
window with an existing... or, with the option to have
fitted... a decent sized owl window."
"Depending on where we get sorted, the classroom
should be near our new common room," said Harry.
"That means we really can't go looking for a new home
for all this until after we've been sorted, and learn of
where we can find our common room."
"We get Dobby and Winky to move all this to there,"
Hermione continued as if she hadn't heard what Harry
had said.
"Then we can organise the rest of the space as a work
area," she mused. "One area for checking the mail, one
for opening it and setting it out for others to read and
judge which of the form letters best suits a response,
one for drafting the responses, one for finalising
everything and, where necessary, for Harry to sign the
response, and one for then sending out the response
and dealing with the owls."
"You're thinking of a production line," Harry muttered,
amused.
Hermione turned to him with a big grin and said, "I am,
aren't I?"
"You also need a section of your line that works out
how to deal with the now responded-to mail. There are
going to be a great many gifts of all sorts, in there. We
need to figure out what we're going to do with them."
"Noted," said Hermione, again thinking about it.
"A job for another day, then," said Daphne. "Come on.
Let's go back to our... current... apartment and relax for
a while."
"Current?" asked Harry.
"I daresay we'll need to be re-housed in an apartment
closer to the Ravenclaw tower; or, down near the
Hufflepuff burrow, if we're sorted into there."
Harry snorted and said, "I didn't even think of that.
You're right, of course."
"Of course I am," she smirked. "I am a Slytherin, after
all. Well, for next couple of hours, at any rate."
Harry turned more fully towards her and hugged her.
"You'll always be a Slytherin, Daphne. You'll just be
wearing Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff colours, is all."
"Do you think we can ask for an apartment with more
than three private rooms?" asked Hermione, coming
over to join them.
With a shrug, Harry replied, "We can always ask. We'll
need a good enough reason to have more than three,
though."
As they made their way out of the room, and Harry
locked the door before dropping the key into his pocket,
Daphne said, "For visitors... guests. We can explain
how we want our various families to come and stay for
short durations so they, too, become comfortable with
our three-way bond."
"I don't know if my parents can come," Hermione
quietly said, as the three headed back to their
apartment in their usual formation. "What with the
muggle repelling wards."
"There's ways around that," explained Daphne. "All it
takes is a charm in the short term; or an enchanted
object in the longer term. We'll sort something out for
your parents, I promise."
A much happier Hermione brightened up and said,
"That would be marvellous! I've wanted my parents to
see Hogwarts for the longest time."
After returning to their apartment, Hermione ducked
across to the Gryffindor common room to collect
homework assignments for the classes they missed
that day. For Harry it was just COMC. For the other two
it was COMC and Arithmancy for Hermione, and just
Arithmancy for Daphne.
In the time between when they returned, and before
going down for the evening meal, the three worked on
their assignments. Harry even paid attention to the
Arithmancy assignment the girls worked through, as he
was trying to work through the Ancient Runes
exercises.
While working, Harry casually mentioned to Hermione,
"You know how you suggested we can get Winky to
help us move my mail to a classroom?"
"Uh-hmm," Hermione almost absently replied.
"None of us have bonded her yet," he explained. "She's
probably currently down in the kitchens getting drunk
on butterbeers."
Chapter 59
Hermione's head snapped up with a look of horrified
comprehension. "We forgot about her!"
With a nod, Harry replied, "We did."
"Pardon?" asked Daphne looking up. "Who's Winky?"
"Crouch's ex-house elf," replied Hermione. "He gave
her clothes at the World Cup because she was unable
to keep Crouch Junior from running off. It wasn't her
fault, though. It was Crouch's fault and he blamed her."
"Dobby!" she called.
With a pop Dobby appeared. "Yes, Miss Grangy?"
Ignoring his name for her, she asked him, "Can you
bring Winky here, please? I know you've been looking
after her."
With a little look of fear, Dobby popped away. And, a
few moments later, he was back. With him he brought
Winky; looking dishevelled, drunk, sad and weepy.
"Winky is a bad elf," the little female elf sobbed. "Why
does Dobby's Miss Grangy want to talk to a bad elf?"
"Because you are not a bad elf, Winky," explained
Hermione. "Your old Master Crouch gave you orders
you could not meet, even with your elf magic. He was
the one at fault, and he blamed you for it. He was
being very unfair. Even the other wizards there, told
him so."
"Master still gave Winky clothes!" the elf sniffled.
"Winky is not wanted by a family now."
"Rubbish!" Hermione shot back. "I have a family and I
want you."
With a look for a hope, the little elf looked back at
Hermione and plaintively asked, "Y-You do?"
Dobby was looking very excited. He said to her, "Miss
Grangy is family with the Great Harry Potter Sir and
Miss Daffy!"
Winky looked at Dobby with awe before looking at
Harry, who smiled and nodded, and at Daphne, who
also smiled back; before she once more turned her
eyes to Hermione.
"You want Winky?" she asked again.
With a bit of frustrated sigh, Hermione said, "Yes.
However, you have to accept the same pay as Dobby,
accept the same conditions of employment, and no
more drinking butterbeer."
"Winky can do that," replied the little elf, slowly
nodding her head in wonder.
"Good," Hermione firmly stated. "Now, come and show
me how you can bond with me."
A quick house elf bonding ceremony later, and
Hermione owned her very own house elf.
Harry started giggling behind his hand, trying not to
laugh.
As Dobby took Winky away, again, to explain the
conditions of employment, and help her choose a
uniform, Hermione scowled at Harry. "What?" she
snapped.
"There goes Spew!" he laughed.
Hermione glared at him for a little while before she
took on an aloof air and harrumphed at him, "Well, I
know better now; don't I?"
Harry laughed while Daphne smiled. After a few
seconds, Hermione decided he'd laughed enough and
threw a wadded ball of parchment at him. "Hush, you!"
she mock-growled.
He eventually calmed down and the three returned to
their homework.
With plenty of time before the commencement of
dinner, the three checked their rooms to make sure
they had everything sufficiently packed for a quick
move to a different apartment. Of course, the house
elves would have taken care of everything, but Harry
and Daphne were making that little bit of an effort for
Hermione's peace of mind. Then headed down to the
Great Hall.
As Ron and Ginny Weasley were still in the school and
sitting at the Gryffindor table, the three bondmates
went and sat at the Slytherin table as everyone began
to settle down. Of course, the school gossip-vine had
been in full swing all day. It was even more noticeable
as the entire Ravenclaw table sat in sad silence, not
even looking around.
As they were sitting down together, Tracey was sitting
opposite with Horace and Blaise. She lean forward
towards Daphne and asked, "Rumour has it something
big is going to happen tonight. It has something to do
with you three, doesn't it?"
"Yes," Daphne replied. "There're a couple of big things,
actually. And I'm sorry I wasn't able to give you a
heads-up about it before now."
Frowning and clearly a little worried, Tracey asked,
"What's going on? The 'Claws look like all their
Christmases have been cancelled."
"For a start, we're being re-sorted," Daphne replied, a
little worried about her friend's reaction. "These
two..." indicating Harry and Hermione, "... need to get
out of the Lion's Den because of what happened with
the two youngest Weasleys. And, because they're being
re-sorted, so am I."
Tracey appeared to think about that for a little while as
Blaise asked, "Any idea into which House you'll go? Or,
is that what's got the 'Claws so down?"
"Ravenclaw, Mister Smarty Pants," Harry spoke up,
grinning at Blaise. "We've decided to ask the Hat to
place the three of us into Ravenclaw. And what has the
'Claws down, as you put it, has nothing to do with that.
That's something else."
"We'll miss you in the Snake Pit," said Tracey, a little
sadly to Daphne. "And, I'll miss our late night talks."
"You'll still be able to have them, occasionally," Harry
said, trying to soothe her. "Hermione and I don't mind
if you spend the occasional night in our apartment with
us. I'm sure we can sort something out."
Tracey smirked at Harry and asked, "Trying to get me in
bed with you, Mister Potter?"
Harry just gently laughed back and said, "Definitely not,
Miss Davis. We'll be speaking with Professor Flitwick
about a larger apartment."
"We're asking for one with four bedrooms," explained
Daphne. "We're using the excuse that, because a
three-way soul bond is such a big and unusual thing,
we'd like our families to stay with us for the occasional
night, here and there, so they can also become
comfortable with our new relationship."
"Clever," said Horace.
They were interrupted from chatting further when the
Headmaster stood up and moved to his lectern.
Though he had almost total silence descend on the hall
during the time he stood and moved to the lectern, he
still said, "Quiet down, please."
Chapter 60
Once the last of the chatter died off, he said, "We have
a couple of items of business to attend to before we
start tonight's meal. We'll get them out of the way now,
so you won't have to hold back after you've filled your
young tummies and have become sleepy.
"For the first announcement, I call on Professor Flitwick
to address you."
The Headmaster stepped aside from the lectern and
conjured a smell set of steps where he'd stood as
Professor Flitwick came around the head table and
took his place at the lectern.
Allowing a moment for the light chatter that had arisen
as he walked to the lectern to die back down, Professor
Flitwick said, "It has been brought to the attention of
the senior staff we have been quite lax, or simply blind,
to what's been going on in a few areas.
"One of those areas is that a member of Ravenclaw
House has been the victim of long term ongoing and
systematic bullying. This afternoon, I held a full House
meeting in the Ravenclaw tower common room to
investigate just how bad it had become. I was both
shocked and appalled to discover it was even worse
than even I could imagine.
"As a result, I made a number of sweeping changes,
and handed out quite a number of punishments. One:
all Ravenclaw prefect positions have been stripped
from those who held them. It is an important
responsibility of the prefects to both protect House
members from just this sort of thing, as well as act as a
conduit between the Head of House and the students
under their care. That not one of them even informed
me of what was going on, that some of them were
even involved, and that it took a member of another
House to inform me, speaks to how badly all
Ravenclaw Prefects were remiss in their duties. I will
endeavour to select new prefects for Ravenclaw House
over the coming week who better understand their
responsibilities.
"Two: Because of the great number of members of the
House who were involved in the bullying of one of their
own, let alone anyone else, I hereby deduct one
thousand points from the Ravenclaw tally for the
House Cup. Though the House Cup is not running this
year, having the loss of points displayed for everyone to
see... including the delegations from our soon-to-be
visiting schools of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang... I
hope will stand as a stark reminder of their shame, and
my disgust with them.
"Three: Again, though the Quidditch Cup is not being
held this year, all members of the Ravenclaw Quidditch
team have been stripped from their positions. I shall
select a new Team Captain, and task that captain with
developing a new team, later in the school year. With
the exception of two existing members of the team, the
rest of the existing team is now forbidden from playing
until further notice.
"Four: In my shame in not being aware of this bullying
within my own House, I offered my resignation as Head
of House for Ravenclaw to the Headmaster. However,
he has chosen not to accept it. So, instead, I offer my
most sincere apologies to you all, to the staff, but...
most especially... to the victim herself. Miss Lovegood
is a wonderful person and a true Ravenclaw. She has
Ravenclaw's Gift. If there is anyone who deserves to be
a 'Claw across the entire school population, it is Miss
Lovegood. And, as a mark of my own shame, I have
offered myself to her as her Personal Champion."
That made quite a few of the students, who knew what
he meant, to gasp in surprise. Even amongst those
Harry and his bondmates were sitting with, there was
shock. A Personal Champion was effectively both
bodyguard, as 'shield', and meter of justice, as 'wand'.
It was the responsibility of the Personal Champion to
act as defender and warrior for those to whom they
were Champion. If Luna was to be challenged,
Professor Flitwick would stand in her stead.
"Did you know about this?" Tracey demanded in a
whisper.
"About the bullying; yes," Daphne whispered back.
"But not the Champion thing."
Further discussion was cut off as the Headmaster, once
more, took the lectern. "The bullying, however, has not
been limited to just one person within one House. It
has been most clearly impressed upon me that we, the
staff, have been entirely too lax in dealing with this
abysmal behaviour across the entire school.
"That ends now. As of now, all bullying will be punished
most harshly. Personal slurs, such as 'Loony', 'Scarhead',
and the like, are now forbidden. Likewise, are generic
slurs such as 'Mudblood', 'half-breed', 'filthy snake'...
and 'dunderhead'."
As he said each, the Headmaster looked at the main
perpetrators of those slurs, including Professor Snape;
before he turned back to face the hall, at large.
"How punishments and awards are issued has also
been addressed. The staff and I are in the process of
reviewing how such are handed out. We're setting
down a system that will see fairness return to the point
system; as well as to detentions. We're aware that
many of you have become... disillusioned... with the
point system; and have, as a result, developed the
behaviour of just ignoring the point system entirely.
You feel it is a waste of time; and, having now reviewed
the ledger that lists down each and every point
deduction and award, it does not surprise me. It is my
hope the new methodology will see you, once again,
respecting the point system for its fairness.
"To aid us, and you, we're also implementing a review
process. If you feel you have received unjust point
deductions, or another has received unjust points
awarded, you can take the matter to your Head of
House. The matter will then be reviewed. However, be
warned, abuse of this system could see you punished,
as well.
"As you're aware, we'll be hosting delegations from
both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang starting from a few
days before Halloween. And they will remain here until
late June. In many cases your behaviour has been
appalling. This new point system should go a long way
towards rectifying that. However, for those who feel
they can ignore this directive, I point out that the castle
is going to need a good spring cleaning between now
and when the delegations arrive; and for the time they
are here. I'm sure Mister Filch would love to have your
assistance in getting the castle cleaned and ready for
our guests."
The Headmaster then paused for a few moments to let
the chatter die down again before moving on to the
next item. With a nod towards Professor McGonagall,
who rose from her place and ducked out for a moment
through the staff entrance, the Headmaster said, "As
you'd also be aware by now, three of your fellow
students have found themselves in a unique situation.
They are involved in a three-way soul bond.
"On the very rare occasions of when a soul bond or
binding occurs between current students, when both...
or, in this case, the three... reside in different Houses.
They are offered the opportunity to be re-sorted. After
wisely having considered it for some time, Mister
Potter, Miss Granger and Miss Greengrass have decided
to accept this offer.