Sometimes It's Worth It

by elvirakitties

Severus and Lucius get into trouble to show Harry what they need. Dumbledore bashing. The war is over, but Dumbledore isn't a good as he appeared.

Chap 1-Hiding

Severus was walking fast, trying not to run. He needed to get to Lucius and they needed to hide. He found Lucius as he was about to enter the Great Hall. "No, we need to stay away from the Great Hall. Let's go, we need to get to the Manor and hide."

"Severus, what is going on?"

"Harry found it." Severus knew Lucius understood immediately and they began to walk away from the Great Hall and they were almost to their quarters when the voice they don't want to hear spoke.

"Going somewhere?" Harry asked coming from around the corner near their quarters. His voice was calm, but Severus knew the tone, it's the tone they didn't want to hear. It's the tone that made anyone who knew Harry want to run.

"Just to our quarters." Severus answered calmly, much more calmly than he was feeling.

"Good, get in there now." Harry ground out, steel lacing his voice.

Severus and Lucius stood in the middle of the living area, not moving and watching Harry as he gathered items from around the room, nothing that they would associate with punishment. It was books, parchment, and quills. "I want to know what you think you were doing?"

"Harry, it's not what you think." Severus knew they were for punishment, he just wanted it to be for the right reason.

"What do I think it is?" Harry finally sat down in his chair, looked up at Severus and Lucius.

"We weren't brewing any forbidden potions, we were actually trying to create a potion." Severus quickly informed him.

"It is what I thought. Do you think I am stupid, Severus?"

"No." Severus at one time in his life that answer would have been a yes until Harry showed him differently. He swallowed and resisted the urge to touch his collar for comfort. "I know you aren't. You earned your Masters, just as I did."

"What is the rule about creating new potions?" Harry asked. "Lucius, you may be not have been creating one but I do recognize your assistance in a lab." Lucius nodded his head. "Lucius, what is the rule about that?"

"I must always answer you. I am sorry, I am just nervous." They hated their collars that they wore for one reason only. It wasn't because of Harry. However, when Harry asked a question like that, they replied and gave the truthful answer to whatever question he posed to them. Harry didn't like lies or half truths, their collars also made it hard to hide things from Harry.

"No creating a new potion, without first submitting the notes and idea to you, having you check over the work before I begin to experiment with the ingredients. You do it so that I won't blow up any cauldrons and get hurt." Severus was used to his collar making him answer so completely. He doesn't like it but considering what the other Death Eaters lived like and what their collars do, he was grateful. He knew Harry honestly cared for them. The rule came about because Harry got tired of finding them passed out in the lab when Severus wanted to create a new potion.

"Why did you disobey?" Harry looked at them.

Severus hung his head and thought about how to answer this one. "I wanted to see if you would punish me, it's been a while and I miss it." He felt embarrassed.

"Me too." Lucius added quietly.

"You two want me to punish you?" They could hear the confusion in Harry's voice.

"Not really punish us, but we miss the spankings and you holding us afterward. I know you hold us, you always are touching us and we love that, don't get us wrong. We enjoy how you do take care of us, but you see-" Severus stopped talking.

"What he is trying to say, is when the Dark Lord was alive, we were painfully punished, but before that in Slytherin, there is a class system, based on if you were dominant or submissive. We are submissive, even though we come across as dominant." Lucius explained.

"Lucius, Severus one of the reasons I have our rules is because I know you are submissive. I know you need the orders and control aspect in your lives. It's also the reason why I made sure to keep you out of some of those crazed buyer's hands."

Severus and Lucius knew who Harry meant, his former friend Ron purchased Theo Nott and Theo wasn't well taken care of, despite Hermione Granger's pleading for Ron to treat him better. It ended their relationship. Hermione, shortly after that, purchased Draco in order to help him recover from the abuse he was receiving from a former Ravenclaw. They have three kids together and come over to visit a lot. The slavery spell the Ministry forced on the Death Eaters would never break as it was part Vow, part binding, and part spell woven into runes that were spelled into each slave. Not that Harry and Hermione didn't research ways, even Severus and Lucius provided help with access to Snape, Prince, and Malfoy family libraries as Harry was their owner.

"You aren't upset with us?" Lucius asked.

"No, I am not, you will be punished for breaking the rules and we will talk about what you need and setting up guidelines."

Severus and Lucius smiled, this was what they wanted and needed. They walked closer to Harry and dropped to their knees. "Master."

Harry caressed their faces. "Yes, you can use that term, but only in here and only when you need this. Do you understand?"

Severus kissed Harry's hand. "Yes, Master. Punish me now?" Severus was trying to keep his eagerness out of his voice.

"What am I going to do with you two?" Harry smiled at them.

"Keep us, of course." Lucius grinned at him.

Chap 2-Buying (When Harry bought Severus and Lucius)

Hermione was standing next to Harry. "I can't believe they are allowing this to happen. I can't, this isn't what we fought for. How is this any better than what Voldemort wanted?"

"I know Hermione but all we can do is help who we can." Harry told her as they watched the naked, filthy, bruised, and bloody forms come into the room. There were two guards. "We will fix this." He quietly whispered to her. He saw her nod her agreement.

"Kneel." One of the guards said, and together as one, they all knelt, all six of them. "These are the ones ready for sale. As you can see, they obey the basics of commands. They need to be collared and taught what you wish them to learn, there are classes you select for that."

"Do we have to have them take these classes?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, if you look on the parchments since these ones haven't had any previous owners, they have to take at least three classes." The guard said.

Harry and Hermione looked down the list and felt sick.

How to Pleasure Your Master
How to Pleasure Your Mistress
Cooking and Cleaning - House Elf Level
How to Run A House
Store Clerk
Behavioral Modification
Hand Signal Obedience
Pet Obedience - Trained to be the perfect pet, includes Kennel Training
Kennel Training
Your specific kink trained

Harry looked at Severus and Lucius and wasn't sure what to do. He knew he would be buying them, he wasn't going to leave them here any longer. It took him weeks to get a viewing of them. "I want those two." Harry pointed to Severus and Lucius. "I want to speak to them about this list. I don't want to have them take a class they can already do."

The first guard, the who spoke earlier, replied, "that is usually what new owners want with new slaves, no sense in wasting your coin." He turned to the other. "Take the rest back." He kicked Severus and Lucius. "Go and kneel in front of your new Master."

Severus and Lucius didn't look up beyond the ability to see where their new Master was standing and crawled to him, laid their heads on the floor. "Hermione, I want to talk to them alone."

"Fine Harry." Hermione was trying to keep the anger out of her voice. Harry knew she wasn't angry with him and he understood why she was angry.

Harry cast a Mufflio over the three of them. "Severus, Lucius can you look at me?"

"Yes, Master." They looked up at Harry.

"That will have to go, but before I can take you out of here I need to select three classes for you to take. I want you to tell me which ones you want to take." Harry read off the list. "I need you to be honest in this, as I read that if you two take a class you are already skilled in they will just another one to make up for it. One we don't get to pick."

Severus and Lucius closed their eyes. "We are gay, so that removes that one, Master." Severus said, pointing to the list.

"I don't want pets or kennel." Harry told them.

"What will you do for punishment, Master?" Lucius asked.

"Spankings, as that is the least objectionable one on the list, they have some heavy duty punishments. I believe you have been experiencing it."

"Yes, Master, we have." They answered together.

"I live at Hogwarts almost year round. I am the Potion Master, yes Severus I got my Masters in Potions and Defense. I am also the Slytherin Head of House. I am going to want you there. So most of these won't help."

"Hand Signals could be one, Master." Severus told him.

"Cooking and Cleaning, even if you have an elf, we can do it in your quarters, Master." Lucius added.

"One more and I am not liking the options."

"Master, maybe put down something like organism delay or denial." Severus said.

"Something they wouldn't need to hurt you for and yet we meet the requirement." Harry thought for a few minutes. "That sounds like a good plan, these three classes. I will have them provide you with grooming products, robes, and some shoes."

"No, Master, don't, it will make it harder on us. The classes are just a month long, we can survive longer." Severus told him.

"Severus, you know I tried to stop this. Hermione and I, we really tried."

"I know, it's the old coot's fault Lucius and I are here, Master. He didn't keep his promise." Severus told him.

"Draco too." Harry informed them. "He was brought about a week ago. Hermione is working on trying to purchase him. Ron brought Theo." Lucius looked down. "Lucius, we are going to get him."

"I believe you, out of everyone I have ever met only you and Hermoine have kept your promises. You fought for all of us, which is more than I can say for the man we turned spy for." Lucius almost spat the last part out.

"He is going to pay. I promise." Harry told them. "Right now, I want you two out of here. I believe I can visit once a week while you are in these classes, I'm going to try for more often. I will try to bring you something to help."

"Chocolate, Master?" Severus asked.

"I will bring you chocolate."

"Tea, please Master." Lucius requested.

"Tea and chocolate." Harry told them. "Let me go and pay for you and get these classes submitted. Things should improve since you are now technically owned."

"They do, Master. We will be moved to a cell, the two of us together, given better food and actually will get a shower." Severus gave him a slight grin.

Harry removed the spell. "Can you please escort them back to their cell? I will finish the paperwork."

Harry and Hermione watched them leave. He looked down at the list. "I can't believe this list."

"Neither can I. What did you three decide on?"

"Hand Signals, Cleaning and Cooking and we selected one under the kink area but I am not telling you that." Harry gave her a grin. "I think for the Hand Signal one I have to be here every day so I can make sure they are taken care of. I hope so, anyway, or I will be limited to once a week."

"Good. Let's get out of here, this place gives me the creeps."

"I agree." They went back to the main office, paid and filed the paperwork.

Chap 3 -Home

Harry was in a foul mood, he was returning from one of the three classes he had to take in order to keep Lucius and Severus. He was walking into the castle and he saw of out the corner of his eye Dumbledore heading toward him. He groaned, he really didn't want to deal with the man. He knew Minerva usually kept Dumbledore away from Hermione and him, as she knew they weren't happy with Dumbledore.

"My boy, I was wondering where you have been. You disappear for hours every day, is everything alright?" Dumbledore joined him at the entrance. Harry knew the man had to have been watching for his return.

"I have been going every day to the classes I need to take in order to bring home Lucius and Severus." Harry kept calm, he was so glad that Hermione insisted they work on their Occlumency, not the old codger knew that bit of information.

"I had heard that you purchased them. Will you allow them to teach?" Dumbledore asked. "I am sure Lucius would make an excellent history professor and Severus could take either the potion or defense position."

Harry knew the old fool was counting on getting Lucius and Severus to teach for free. The Board forced him to release Binns a week ago. "I already arranged with the Board for Lucius to actually teach political science and Severus will handle defense while I will be teaching potions. Hermione is taking the History spot, she just finished her internship with Flitwick. They asked us yesterday, we signed the contract earlier before I went to the Ministry for the classes."

He watched Dumbledore's face. Harry controlled the Board, via Lady Longbottom, Andromeda Tonks, Roger Davies (a former Ravenclaw), Amos Diggory and Irving Patal (the Patal twins' father). "I wasn't aware the Board had made the decision and we do not have a political science course."

"I believe you will find when Hogwarts starts its next term that Hogwarts does, along with a law, music and wizard customs course. It will be announced today, I found I was surprised you weren't at yesterday's session when they made their decision." Harry knew the fool still thought he had control over the Board and also knew that Dumbledore would be demanding answers.

"I wasn't aware there was a session yesterday. How did you find out?"

"I was informed by owl. I am only a junior member, so I do try to go to all the session to learn as much as I can." Harry watched the man's face flush with anger. Since the War ended almost six months ago, Harry, with Hermione aiding him, had been slowly and quietly taking control of his seats and titles. Seats that Dumbledore had tried to hide from Harry. He made a mental note to buy a pensive before the opening session of Wizengamot, as the change of seats would be revealed and Dumbledore would be losing a lot of his power. Harry didn't have the pull or sway Dumbledore had with the Wizengamot but he was going to learn.

"I would like to review those contracts."

"I was sure you would have received your copy with the notices about Lucius and Severus' new positions. They will be joining me here at the end of next week." Harry informed him. "Minerva already arranged for my quarters to be extended. Hermione and I will submit our lessons plans next week."

"I need Lucius and Severus' also." Dumbledore almost snarled out but at the last minute, Harry could tell, held back to reflect his careful grandfatherly act.

"As soon as they are here and settled, they will work on them I am sure." Harry stopped walking as they reached the potion lab he preferred in the dungeons. "Do you wish to join me in the lab? I need to make some healing potions for St. Mungos."

"No, thank you, I need to take care of some of my correspondence." Dumbledore turned and faced Harry. "Harry, can you let Lucius and Severus know I did try to stop them from being collared, it's just that the public wanted all Death Eaters punished."

Harry wanted to curse the man. Had the man finally lost it? Did the man forget that Harry and Hermoine had been in the courtroom, the Wizengamot, and watched him do nothing to prevent his spies from being punished as he called it? "You could have stood up for them." Harry answered. "You know what they did and you did nothing."

"Harry, it's for the greater good, I didn't want to create any more problems. The war may have been over with Voldemort, but we still have a lot of cleaning up to do." Dumbledore sighed, trying to make himself look like he felt bad, but Harry knew the man didn't care and his next words confirmed it. "Lucius and Severus still had many crimes they needed to repent for. You are aware of that they were guilty of the crimes."

Harry closed his eyes and counted to ten before he replied "crimes that if they had interfered with, would have gotten them killed. Now if you excuse me, I need to get started, I need to add some ingredients into a burn salve."

"Certainly, my boy. I do have one more questions, is Ron going to be joining Hermione here?" Dumbledore asked.

"I am not sure. When I last spoke to Ron, he was telling me that his training supervisor was requesting and waiting for approval for Ron and a few other trainees to get some training in France." Harry had only found out because Hermione was upset that Ron had asked Molly to watch Theo instead of Hermoine. Hermione had been hoping that Ron would leave Theo with her and she could get him some medical help.

"I am sure it will be approved." Dumbledore's face reflecting his happiness at hearing Harry was still speaking with Ron.

Harry opened his lab door. "I need to take care of the burn salve. I will be working through dinner. If you need me, just send Dobby."

"Very good." Harry heard as he closed his lab door on the old fool. He couldn't wait to get rid of the old fart. They were slowly gathering the evidence they needed to enable them to remove the controlling, manipulative, meddlesome, batty headmaster.

*****Flashback****

"Harry." Hermione entered his office and closed his door.

Harry looked up from his book that he was reading. He had left his door open to get some air into this office. He looked at Hermione's face and wondered what was going on. "Hermione?"

"Draco was charged. Dumbledore was at the Ministry and Harry, I heard him speaking to Fudge, they want to make Draco an example out of the remaining free dark wizards."

"Example? Hermione, take a seat before you fall down." Harry told her. Hermione looked pale and was clearly upset.

Hermione took the offered seat and inhaled deeply and exhaled. "They caught Draco with a book. It was one of newer banned books. They want to collar him, as an example of what will happen if the Ministry catches anyone with what now consider dark."

Harry sighed. "I am so glad we hid those books." Hermione and Harry had removed all of the books from all of Harry's properties and put them into a few different vaults in Gringotts. "Is there anything we can do?"

"They already have a buyer for him."

"Who?" Harry asked, fearing what Hermione was going to tell him.

"I don't know, I didn't hear them say a name, but they did say Draco would learn his lessons, and that Ron was going to be teaching owners how to handle slaves."

"Ron?" Harry asked. "Oh no, Hermione. Ron mentioned to me that he was hoping to get into a training program next month. They will be going to go to France, sometime in the future, with several others for special training. Do you think that is why?"

"I think so. Harry, he so cruel to Theo. I found Theo on the kitchen floor this morning, he had welts on his back. I gave him a pain potion and treated the wounds. When I spoke to Ron about how he was treating Theo, I got his rant about snakes and how they need to learn their place and be punished for their crimes."

"I will see if we can find out who is going to own Draco." Harry informed her.

"Thank you, Harry." Hermione gave him a small smile.

**********End Flashback*****************

Hermione entered Harry's lab, she waited until he was finished counting his stirs. "What did you tell Dumbledore? Fudge and the traitor were upset by something you did."

"The teaching contracts." Harry answered and saw Hermione grin in pleasure. "I expected him to call a meeting of the board and demand answers, he hasn't as of yet."

"He still might. He doesn't like that he can't control the board. Neville told me that he was there last night. Neville said he didn't know what his grandmother said, but Dumbledore didn't leave happy."

"Interesting." Harry answered. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Hermione retorted.

Harry laughed. "Since I now own Severus and Lucius, I got control over their assets. Next week, when I get them, I was hoping you could come with us and see what is in their libraries, we might find a way to undo this mess."

"Gladly. I heard they have a huge collection of books. The family books alone will be interesting to read."

"I agree. I am looking forward to it." At the end of their fifth year, Hermione had come to Harry after learning about the prophecy and asked a few questions that Harry had been asking, like why it took Dumbledore five years to tell Harry the truth. Together, they began to research the prophecy, Horcruxes, and ways to kill Voldemort. They knew something was not right with Dumbledore but agreed to handle the man after Voldemort was dead. They, however, didn't expect the man to advocate slavery. As far as they were concerned, Dumbledore and Fudge were just as evil as Voldemort. Voldemort didn't hide his policies like the Ministry and Dumbledore did. Enslaving dark wizards or anyone who was a Death Eater, even if they were forced by their parents to become one, wasn't right.

"When do you get to take Severus and Lucius out of there?" Hermione asked.

"Next week." Harry answered. "I can't wait. They do look better than they did three weeks ago."

"So they are passing the courses?"

"Yes, I hate seeing Severus so meek, Lucius looks so beaten down."

"How are they mentally?" Hermione asked.

"Good, I don't get to speak to them that much, but they are looking forward to leaving soon."

"Dumbledore can't prevent it?" Hermione asked.

"No, already spoke to Kingsley and John. It's all set." Harry answered. John Dawlish and Kingsley were still Aurors and they didn't like this new policy regarding Death Eaters, neither did Mad-Eye Moody, but he was retired and really couldn't do much. "Did you pick your course books as of yet?" They were soon into a heavy discussion about books, as Harry worked on the potions he knew he would need for Severus and Lucius.

"Mr. Potter, which kit do you wish to purchase for your new slaves?" The clerk asked, looking down at the parchment in front of her.

"Kit?" Harry looked around confused, he didn't see any clothes, he only saw things he considered that were for torturing someone.

"Yes, kit, do you want the basic kit for each of them? It includes a leash, wrist and ankle restraints, a gag and a paddle. The Pet Kit comes with all of that and a kennel. The Beginner Kit includes the basic with a crop, whip, two different paddles, three different size tethers and a variety of plugs. The Advanced Kit includes the Beginner with feeding bowls, a pallet and you can select five different restraints and five different toys. The Expert Kit includes the Advanced Kit with any additional toys that you may select from the far left wall, it allows up to ten." The clerk pointed to the wall.

"Do I have to buy a kit? They have their collars." Harry asked.

"Do you have leashes for them? They aren't allowed to leave your residence without either being leashed if they are with you or restraints if they are to run errands for you."

"I have their leashes." Harry showed the clerk the leather leashes Hermione and Harry had picked up. They really were just for show, they wouldn't restrain or stop Severus nor Lucius in any way.

"That is fine. They have passed their courses, and you have employment for them at Hogwarts, you are all set." The Clerk answered. She nodded to the guard standing by the door to her right. "They will be right out."

"Thank you." Harry moved over to her right to wait for Severus and Lucius so that the older man behind him could pick up his slave.

He didn't realize how tense he was until he saw Severus and Lucius step into the room. "Mr. Potter, they are ready." The guard said. "Please sign here."

Harry had already seen Severus and Lucius thirty minutes ago, but they had to be processed out. Harry clipped their leashes to their collars. He opened his hand and gave a slight downward motion. Severus and Lucius went to their knees, Harry dropped the handle to their leashes. He faced the guard and took the parchment and quill. He read the parchment. "Why does this list I purchased advanced collars for them?"

"Any slave that was in the in the Elite or Inner Circle receives one." The guard answered.

Harry could tell it was the standard answer based on the flat and bored tone of the guard. He signed his name, he bent down and picked up the handle to their leashes, Harry gave a slight tilt of his hand with a bit of a wave and Severus and Lucius rose. "Let's go home."

Chap 4-Starting Anew

Harry was sitting at his desk, grading papers. Lucius was polishing something, he wasn't sure what, the man seemed to find things to clean. Lucius didn't like sitting idle. Severus was in their adjoining lab, with the door opened. Stupid laws were all Harry could think of. Severus was more than capable of brewing without supervision. The more he thought of those laws as he graded, the more his magic sparked around him. "Master?" Lucius asked seeing the magic flying around Harry, fear crept into his voice.

Harry looked up from his papers, frowning. "Lucius?" Lucius was so timid, and Harry wanted to curse the trainers that changed Lucius and Severus so much. Gone was their arrogance, their pride, their confidence in themselves, instead, there was timidness, self-doubt, and fear.

"Have I displeased you, Master?" Lucius slipped to his knees, his body trembling.

Harry started to mentally curse the Ministry and Albus "Greater Good, My Arse" Dumbledore. He got up and walked to where Lucius was kneeling and pulled him into his arms. They had only been here a week and that blasted training really did a number on all three of them. Harry knew Lucius and Severus were severally damaged because of their months of training before he was able to take them home. "No, Luc, you haven't." He rocked Lucius as he spoke. "I was thinking about the Ministry and their laws."

Hermione and Harry had spent the day after Harry brought them home, explaining how they felt about the Ministry, the laws and of course, Dumbledore. They also told them about some of their friends who were always buying slaves and aiding them, when they could. They asked permission from Lucius and Severus to look through their family libraries to see if there might be something to help.

Lucius and Severus were shocked at being asked. According to the law, Harry, as their Master, owned everything they had. Their Manors, their titles, and any investments or in Severus' case their property rights to his potions he had created. They were surprised when Hermione and Harry explained how much they had already researched into the slavery spells that were woven into the very fiber of their beings.

Severus stepped out of his lab as they were speaking, leaned against the door jam. "We know you aren't going to let this slide, Master, we want to help but the training-" Severus trailed off on what he was thinking, they had been trying to overcome a lot of the training during this week but it would be a long time before they could or would forget some of the training.

"You're right, Sev, I am not going to let this slide. Dumbledore is going to pay for it, and so is the Ministry. I will explain what we have planned during our Yule holiday as we won't be staying here and the walls don't have ears at my Manor." Harry informed him. "We are safe in our quarters, I have added some parsel wards to protect us, and the paintings are ones from the Malfoy, Prince, Black, and Potter Manors, so all family members and they won't report us to anyone." Harry had met with Hermione and few others yesterday to start working on their plan, he didn't get to speak to Severus and Lucius regarding what they wanted to do.

Lucius and Severus had spent the day with Poppy, she had used the excuse of healing them from their year in Azkaban and then training to allow her to run the scans they needed to see exactly how extensive the runes and other spells were, how they were woven together and how they affected the person.

"That is correct, young Lord Potter." Phineas Black said from his portrait. "The man put me here, figuring I would spy on my great-great-grandnephew. He believes because the Mutt only blood adopted Harry, it wouldn't matter to me, I know he forgot that Harry's grandmother was my niece."

"I agree." Archibald Prince stated from his portrait. "Grandson, it's a pleasure seeing you again." The man was tall, had a full set of black hair with just a touch of grey. His nose was not broken but long and it was clear to see where Severus got his from. He was tall, lean and a bit of a yellow tint to his skin, which gave Severus his look, when Severus spent too much time over a cauldron instead of some of it outside.

"Grandfather." The happiness in Severus' voice was clear. He had made up with his grandfather after his mother's death. He walked closer to where his grandfather's frame was and almost reached out to touch it but refrained. He wasn't allowed to touch things his master owned without permission. He felt Harry's eyes on him and knew Harry wouldn't punish him for it, and inwardly cursed himself for allowing "their" training to affect him so much.

"Don't forget me." Abraxas Malfoy said from his frame. He looked like almost exactly as Lucius would look when he got older.

"Father?" Lucius pulled away from Harry and went to the frame with his father in it. He didn't reach out for the same reason Severus didn't.

"Harry arranged for us to be put here, we have copies in our houses, he beat the idiot of a headmaster in putting portraits in here and on the doors. The idiot can't get them removed." Phineas stated. The families had all spoken after Harry had gone to them and informed them about what had happened. Harry had found a lot of pure-blood families now supported him, even if their children weren't the ones enslaved. He also discovered a lot of his former school mates didn't care for the new Ministry policies and were willing to work with Hermione and Harry to fix it. They just needed to make sure those in charge weren't aware of what they would be doing.

"Yes I used a permanent sticking charm in parsel, similar to the one Walburga used for her portrait. It was her that gave me the spell." Harry smirked at them. "Touch them if you want."

Severus glanced at Harry, he wanted to touch his grandfather, but fear stopped him. He felt Harry's arms go around his waist and he was hugged. He didn't resist when Harry took his wrist and guided it up to his grandfather's frame. "Touch it, Sev, please."

Severus obeyed, he closed his eyes and touched the frame. "I picked out this frame. We went to the Madrid's version of Diagon Alley when I was just seventeen." Harry kissed the back of Severus' neck. Severus took that to be the encouragement he needed and continued. "It was after my mother was killed by my father. I had no place to go, but Prince Manor. I dreaded the idea of spending time with a person I didn't know." He hadn't stopped touching the frame. "I, instead, found a man who gave me encouragement. It was because of him, I went for my Mastery earlier than I thought possible. It was because of him, I was able to get it done so quickly. He paid for everything, so I didn't have to worry or work during that time frame. I should have been suspicious of Dumbledore, he offered to pay for everything, even had a contract drawn up. I refused it because it would have bound me to Hogwarts as a professor forever and anything I created would have gone to him. I turned to him when I realized your mother was in danger."

"He loved you." Harry whispered into Severus' ear. "He still does."

"Yes, and he understood." Severus mumbled. "He understood so much." His grandfather was the first person who even tried to fully understand Severus. Lily was his best friend but one mistake and she tossed him aside. Despite how much he had loved her, that part still hurt.

Lucius walked closer to them, and let out a bit of a yelp when Harry pulled him into their hug. "I know I have said it a few times and I will keep saying it until you believe it, but you are safe here. No trainers, no Dumbledore, no Ministry, no matter what they can't remove you from my custody." Harry watched them touch their collars, he knew it was a habit now, something they did when they wanted to feel secure. They had started touching them during the daily training sessions when Harry was present and a trainer would enter. It was their reminder that they didn't belong to the Ministry any longer and that the trainers just couldn't hurt them because they could. The trainers now had to answer to Harry if they were hurt.

"Sev, how is your potion?" Harry asked, not letting them go as of yet.

"It's finished. I don't want to miss my bedtime, so I didn't start another one. Poppy has a long list for me to brew for her over the weekend." Severus leaned into Harry. When Harry had brought them home, he rushed them up to see Madam Pomfrey. Poppy declared that they needed a lot of rest, good food, and some potions to help heal them from the harsh treatment they had received.

"You still don't like my bedtime rule do you?" Harry caressed Severus with his right hand while he used his left to rub it over Lucius' butt.

"I love it actually, Master." Severus answered. The first night they had the rule, he had been nervous, thinking he was going to be used, but instead, Harry had put them into his bed. He tucked them in and noxed the candles and left the room.

*****************Flashback************

"Severus? What is going on?" Lucius asked he cuddled into the security that Severus had provided for the months they were in their training. The last month they had a cell to themselves and spent the time cuddled together each night on the small pad and shared the two blankets to keep warm.

"Safety, Lucius, we are finally safe." Severus told the man. "Our Master is a true Master, not one such as the Dark Lord or Dumbledore. I believe he actually cares about us."

Lucius didn't respond for a long time, Severus had thought he had fallen asleep, he was almost asleep when Lucius said, "he is going to keep his promises again. You know Severus, out of all of the people we have known, dealt with or even had a short acquaintance with, I believe our Master, with Hermione Granger, are the only two who actually stick to their convictions and will do something about this."

Severus kissed the top of Lucius' head. "I was so wrong about him." He sighed. "I hate being wrong, but I was. I started to see it during his sixth year and refused to believe it. Dumbledore kept telling me he was different. I saw flashes of what his life was like and still didn't believe. When he spoke during our trials, I changed my mind about him. When he bought us and actually spoke to us about our training, it made me realize how much I had misjudged him. Today, when the first thing he did was take us to see Poppy, I realized how lucky we are that he bought us. You saw how some of our fellow Death Eater came back for training because their Masters wanted them mindless, obedient little slaves. Even the ones who are just dark wizards are now facing the light's wrath. We heard the rumors of how many were being treated, we got our Master's luck for a change."

"They will find Draco." Lucius' tugged the blankets closer to him. "I'm cold."

As soon as he said the words, they felt the heating charm on the blankets start. Severus didn't need the candles light to know that Lucius was happy. He, himself, felt elated that his Master thought of that for them. Poppy had mentioned to Harry how easy they would be cold until they got some fat and muscle back on their bodies. They were skin and bones from the lack of food combined with the increase in exercising because of their training. "You're right, they will find Draco and they will fix this."

"Severus, do you think he will expect us to-" Lucius stopped speaking. While they hadn't actually been used in that regard during their training, the trainers did hint enough times to them being used if they weren't sold in a certain time frame.

"In time, I don't think he will force us or take us without us wanting to." Severus caressed Lucius. "That being said, I want you to be aware of the fact, I have had feelings for him since his seventh year and the training we went through with him made those feelings stronger."

Lucius lifted himself off of Severus, bent his head and gave Severus a kiss. "I thought it was just me. I thought it was because we were in training with him."

"I think that increased our feelings. Master might not like us kissing." Severus warned Lucius. "We belong to him, Luc, and it's up to him if we are allowed to do anything with each other."

Lucius laid back down. "I know, I will tell him in the morning that I kissed you and accept his punishment."

Severus heard Lucius' yawn, gave the man another kiss on the top of his head. "I will let him know I also kissed you, but I don't believe we will be punished for it. Our Master is above such petty things."

Lucius kissed Severus on his chest. "He is." Reinforcing Severus' beliefs that they were truly protected now. The next morning, after breakfast, they told Harry about their kissing, Harry smiled, gave them each a kiss, handed them a peach and said, "we have a busy day ahead of us. I am teaching Defense and Potions, the OWLs levels and above. I am expecting you two to assist me until Dumbledore gives me back your lesson plans. There are a lot of students here now. I forced them to open it up to more of the needy people in Knockturn. Set up a scholarship program, against the fool's advice, so we have double the normal amount of students."

*********************End Flashback*******************

"You will join us?" Lucius timidly asked. Lucius was enjoying how slow and easy Harry was with them. They never felt any pressure and Lucius got to be snuggled and cuddled each night by Severus and Harry. Some of the time they double-teamed Severus into cuddling and the man yielded surprisingly easy.

Harry gave Lucius a quick kiss and replied, "of course. I already arranged for Dobby to draw you a bath, with your favorite bath salts." He had been trying to give Lucius back his confidence, the training seemed to have gotten rid of the arrogant man that Harry first remembered meeting during his second year. He missed that man, yet at the same time, loved the needy and clingy Lucius. "I need to finish grading these papers."

"Do you want us to help, Master?" Severus asked, not yet ready to leave his Master's closeness.

"That would help a lot. Just remember, don't grade the way you used to, I don't need that crazy old fart believing I am allowing you any type of authority. He would have a field day with it."

"I know. I will even use the spell to make my writing look like yours, Master." Severus answered. They were allowed to use magic whenever they wanted in their quarters, legally, they had to have permission but Harry gave them free use of it inside Hogwarts.

"Tomorrow I will be taking you to Potter Manor, we will go by floo, so no leashes will be required." Harry stepped away from them and returned to his desk, where he started to separate the essays he had. "You will be meeting ones who want to aid Hermione and I get rid of the slavery laws."

They didn't answer as they walked to the desk. They waited until Harry was finished separating the essays and took the papers he handed to them. Severus went to the table and knelt on the floor. "Severus, please use a chair. The floor is hard and too cold." Lucius was in the motion of kneeling but stopped himself at his Master's words and took the chair closest to the fireplace.

"Yes, Master, thank you, Master." Severus automatically responded. The relieve of not being punished made his flush and he knew Harry and Lucius saw. He took the chair opposite from Lucius.

"I wish I could get rid of that aspect." Harry muttered, but they heard him and they felt a flood of relief again. They inwardly acknowledge again how lucky they were. How lucky they were their Master wasn't like Dumbledore or the Dark Lord. Their Master was powerful, and they knew he was more powerful than those two Lords were.
******************************************

Hermione looked at Theo curled up on the floor, shivering. She laid a blanket over him after transfiguring a cushion into a bed for him. Theo never woke up during her moving him. She had covered him up and was about to leave the room when Ron entered. He looked at Theo and pulled out his wand. "No, Ron, I put him there and covered him up. He never even woke up. He was shivering on the floor."

"He is being punished for not finishing his chores yesterday." Ron told her. "He was slacking off on them and I won't have it."

"Ron, he is exhausted and about ready to drop. You can't keep pushing him like that. He needs to rest." Hermione tried to be patient but she already lost a great deal of love or respect she had for Ron originally. "Let him sleep today. It will allow him to work and get his chores done tomorrow. Why don't I take you out for breakfast?"

"It's not going to work Hermione. He needs to be fully trained to obey me. It's my job now to train others in how to train useless slaves like him. Those snakes spent years doing nothing while we fought. When the war started, again they did nothing, until their slimy master called them to action. This is their punishment, don't interfere with my training of Theo." Ron snapped at her.

Hermione closed her eyes, to her this was the confirmation she needed that the Ron that she loved was gone. Here was, instead, a bitter man, a man who was going to take all his anger, his temper, and his jealousy out on poor Theo. She didn't want to believe Ron would be jealous, Harry had warned her, but she didn't want to believe it. Over the last few weeks, since Harry had mentioned it, she realized Ron was jealous of Harry, he was jealous because of all the money the pure-bloods had. It was one of the reasons he bought Theo when he realized that Theo's family was almost as poor as his, he went crazy and beat Theo with a whip.

Hermione opened her eyes. "Leave him alone today, Ron. I mean it." She stood between Ron and Theo and knew as soon as Ron left the room, she would need to ward it against the ginger. She also knew that today would be her last day in their flat. She would ask Harry if she could stay at one of his places, she knew he would let her.

"He needs to be trained." Ron growled at her.

"He is fully trained. Theo doesn't even move unless you give him permission or he is assigned a task by you." She informed him. "Look closely at him. He has dropped down in weight, you are going to kill him if you don't back off."

Ron peered around Hermione and saw that indeed that Theo wasn't in good shape. He knew the rest of Theo would show the marks that Ron had enjoyed leaving on his slave. He enjoyed watching him moan, scream and try to get away from whatever implement Ron had selected to use on him. "Fine, but tomorrow he is back to his chores." He turned and stomped out of the room.

Hermione sighed. "Oh Theo, I believe I might have made it worse for you. Tomorrow he is going to be so angry."

"Yes, he will, but it won't be anything I haven't endured from him. Thank you for the blanket, bed, and the day off, Mistress Hermione." Theo said from behind her.

Hermione faced Theo and gave him a sad smile. "I have been trying, but I know he won't sell you, not unless I find someone with the funds to meet his high goal."

"When he is bored of me, he will sell me, Mistress. It will just take some time. You and Master Harry will find a way to fix this." Theo told her and before she could comment, Theo held up his hand. "Don't confirm or deny, I can't say a thing if I don't know the answer, Mistress Hermione. I am only going by your actions."

Hermione nodded her head in understanding, she summoned some food and another blanket for Theo. "I am going to put up some wards to protect you today. If you need more food, call for Winky. She will bring you some more, just eat slowly and often today."

"Thank you, Mistress." Theo said and curled up under the blankets and closed his eyes.

Hermione cursed the Ministry as she began to set the wards to protect Theo. She placed a warning alarm in the wards to make sure that if Ron tried to take them down, she would know as soon as his wand cast the first spell. She needed to speak to Harry, they needed to start their plan sooner rather than later.

Chap 5-Setting The Stage

Harry sighed, he knew Hermione was worried about Theo, and he didn't blame her. He was too, however, until they could get Ron to sell him. He grinned. "I know how we can save Theo."

"How?"

"The Twins." Harry grinned. "They must have enough blackmail material on Ron, that he would be willing to sell or even give them Theo." He knew things about Ron that combined with the Twins' knowledge would guarantee that Ron would sell them Theo.

"He might go running to Molly." Hermione stated. "Dumbledore really pushed him to take the job and I know Molly has also been praising him for being part of the Ministry, telling him how she only has two failures for sons." She had officially moved into Hogwarts at the start of term. The History of Magic class was no longer time for catching up on sleep or assignments.

"Their business makes more money in a month than any of her other children see in a few months, well with the exception of Bill." Everyone in the Weasley family had been telling Molly for years to be proud of Fred and George but the woman had a blind spot in regards to her twins. "Bill was able to buy Pansy, Fleur had her father step in and arranged the purchase. Dumbledore tried to get Bill to buy someone else, someone more suited to his status." Harry informed her. Dumbledore had been pushing all the light families as heroes of the war and made sure to keep his name and anyone else he was "proud" of in the Daily Prophet.

"Good, I will remove her from the list. I am still looking for a few others, their sales were well hidden or they are still in training. I can't get into that section any longer." They knew who was blocking it. Dumbledore and his cronies were stopping a lot of beneficial programs from going forward, usually saying that their world needed more time to recover and develop before they did any changes.

"I can, they tried to block me, but my Lordships overrode theirs." Harry had a lot of titles, titles that ranked higher since he had three of the Founders titles. Some he was gifted with, some he inherited, some he got when he defeated Voldemort and bought Severus and Lucius. "Neville is looking at buying someone, so is Luna. They're going to buy separately and then announce their betrothal so that they can save two." He paused. "I believe it's going to be Daphne and her old boyfriend." Neville and Luna were using their own titles to make headway on finding the children of Death Eaters.

"Terence Higgs." Hermione supplied. "That would be good. I will give them any information I have."

"Master, he is looking for you." Severus entered the room and knelt quickly by Harry's feet. Severus had been brewing a potion when Dumbledore entered the potion lab he was using. He was going to use his personal lab but he already had three potions brewing in there and he needed a bigger space than available in his personal one.

Harry caressed Severus' hair as Severus leaned into the touch. "Where is Luc?" He asked.

"Cleaning the kitchenette, he made some fresh bread, Master, and left some soup on to simmer for dinner." Severus answered. "I think it's French Onion Soup."

"I swear I am going to gain a stone if I eat any more of Lucius' cooking." Hermione said. "I need to go before he finds me here and I say something I mean." She had been avoiding Dumbledore ever since she yelled at him regarding his failure to let Lucius and Severus teach, per their contracts. She usually sat at the opposite end of the Head Table during meals. Minerva and Filius seemed to be able to keep Dumbledore away from Harry and Hermione.

"I will floo you later." Harry told her as she headed towards the floo to leave before Dumbledore made his appearance down in the dungeons, trying to figure out where Harry was. "What does he want?"

"He wouldn't tell me. Just demanded I tell you that he is looking for you. I think he is finally giving the approval on our lesson plans. Filius and Minerva mentioned us starting to teach next week. I think he delayed it long enough that he has no choice now. Minerva said something about the Board getting ready to sanction him." Severus knew who alerted the Board to the situation.

Dumbledore had been trying to get Binns and Sybill returned and stopping any new classes. The Board rejected all of his ideas and reasons. They warned him during the last meeting that if he needed to follow up on the changes or they would start fining him. Dumbledore didn't mind the fines but when Harry suggested to Lady Longbottom putting him on suspension, during a break, she passed the idea on to the others and Harry knew the idea worked when Dumbledore stormed out of the meeting.

Harry gave him a smirk. "I should have sent Hermione after him. You know he is going to give both of us a headache, I do hope he didn't bother Lucius." Dumbledore had been taken to terrorizing Lucius if he caught him alone. Usually by mentioning Draco, and when he was feeling spiteful, bringing up Narcissa and how she turned him and Severus into Voldemort. However, it had been the day before the final battle. On the battlefield, Voldemort had tried hard to kill Lucius and Severus, but Harry was able to save them.

"He didn't, Master. I was in one of the potion labs when he found me. I stopped by our quarters before I came here." Harry was in his secret office in the dungeons, one that the snakes wouldn't allow Dumbledore entrance to.

"Let's get this over with. Sev, make sure Luc doesn't go anywhere without protection." Harry leaned forward and gave Severus a quick kiss. "I will see you a dinner."

Harry saw Minerva on her way to the Headmaster's office. "Be careful, he is on the warpath. He received the notice about being suspended if Severus and Lucius didn't take their positions this week. I saw the notice, he would be suspended for a year. I think he thought the Board wasn't serious."

"I figured that much. I am sure he is going to blame me, again." Harry didn't miss her rolling her eyes at him. She knew what was going on. Harry didn't mind the blame, he was after all to blame. Dumbledore, however, thought Harry was just a pawn to be used and wanted to continue using him.

Dumbledore still hadn't realized that the staff was against him, everyone was upset at what he did to Severus. While they found Severus brisk and his demeanor to be harsh, they didn't think he deserved to be enslaved, especially when it came out just how much the man did to aid the war. When Lucius' efforts came to light, it switched most of the Order's allegiance to Harry. They couldn't believe this is what they fought for.

The staff was civil to him, but he wasn't respected like he was before and found it harder to get the staff to do what he believed was for the greater good. The house rivalries were at an all time low since no one but Dumbledore encouraged them. Slytherins were still viewed by the man as evil, however, a lot of Gryffindor and Slytherins were friends, despite the ban that Dumbledore put on anyone eating at different tables. They got sneaky and everyone pushed the tables together and sat together. The house elves made the tables so that they couldn't be moved.

Many of Wizarding World spoke up against the enslavement of Death Eaters but many didn't carry any political power and the few that did, were in the minority at the time, including Harry. Since he was underage, he couldn't use his seats or titles to stop it.

It wasn't until he went to Gringotts when he had his seventeenth birthday that he realized just how much Dumbledore had hidden from him. Including the fact that he had been declared an adult during the Triwizard Tournament. The goblins worked with Harry to fix everything, however, because Harry never claimed his titles nor did he decline the use of them by the Headmaster, there wasn't much they could do.

When Hermione and Harry, working with the goblins, came to the sad conclusion that they couldn't remove any part of the combination of the enslavement, they decided to work on rescuing as many as they could. The goblins worked on tracking down anyone suspected of being a Death Eater and together they set up a network of people to aid them.

"Luna is working on a few leads. She sent me a message that they might need some more advanced healing potions." Minerva stated.

"I have them in the works. Did she say who?"

"No, it was her usual brand of writing." Minerva became the key person in regards to letters since they all knew that Dumbledore read Harry and Hermione's mail. They had removed enough redirects off of Harry's mail, and Neville and Luna would send him bogus letters, in which Dumbledore would either try to use against Harry or stop something. Luna's last letter made sure mention her desire to become the Magical Studies professor.

Harry had wondered briefly where she came up with that title, but no one who supported Harry was surprised when during the last Board meeting, Dumbledore came armed to the teeth with facts about Magical Studies and what it could mean. When the Board mentioned new classes and professors, Dumbledore went on a tirade about new staff and classes and how ineffective a Magical Studies class would be. When Lady Longbottom asked him what exactly Magical Studies was, they got another tirade about useless classes. It only ended when Andy told him they never heard of a Magical Studies class but if he wanted one, they would gladly add one.

They didn't speak as they walked, not wanting the students to hear them speaking. They didn't need to feed the rumor mill of Hogwarts. He didn't hide his smile as he saw Filius and Pomona standing by the gargoyle waiting for him. "Let's go and pull the dragon's tail."

After everyone took a seat, Dumbledore started the conversation by saying "I am not sure if you heard but Lucius and Severus will remain on staff and they will start teaching after Yule."

"They will start on Monday, you can't delay it any longer." Minerva told him. "I have orders to tell them if you delay."

"We don't need to interrupt the term." Dumbledore stated.

"It just started two weeks ago, I personally could use the break and just teach my own classes." Filius stated, the man wasn't smiling and that should have warned Dumbledore that the staff was sick of his tactics. The war had been over for more than eighteen months and Dumbledore still treated everyone as if they had no right to know anything.

"Their lesson plans were approved." Harry added. "Teaching Defense and Potions is exhausting."

"I agree." Minerva stated. "I don't have as much knowledge as Lucius does regarding Political Science and I have a large number of Transfiguration NEWT students this year. We need them to start their jobs."

"I have been teaching the first years on Defense and I am already lagging behind on my own work, the greenhouse is getting filled with weeds." Pomona told them.

"I don't believe the students are ready for two Death Eaters to be instructing them. I am also worried about what they will be teaching them when no one is around." Dumbledore gave them his sad and worried face.

Harry glared at him as he said, "I see." Harry slowly stood up. "I will inform Lady Longbottom, Mrs. Tonks, Mr. Patel and the rest of the Board of your decision." He walked toward the door.

"Harry, that isn't necessary. They will start on Monday." Dumbledore ground out. He didn't like losing, but he had no choice. He couldn't be away from Hogwarts for a year. His position in the magical world was declining and he knew if he was out of Hogwarts people would see they didn't need him.

"I will let them know." Harry replied without turning around and exited the office. He heard Minerva say "well you blew that one."

Lucius was sitting on the couch in their living quarters. They had all weekend to get used to the idea of teaching today. He was nervous. He hated being nervous. He felt the couch depress and knew Harry was sitting next to him. He felt himself being pulled into Harry's arms. "You are going to do great. Everyone, with the exception of Dumbledore, is excited for you to teach. The students can't wait to sit in your class."

"Why, Master?" Lucius asked as he touched his collar, seeking comfort from it. He felt Harry's arms tighten.

"Because they know how brilliant you are. Luc, despite that collar, you are still amazing at the political situation. These students know our world now is more about politics and they want to change it. There isn't a student here that is happy to see people collared." Harry didn't add the only ones who were happy about it were people like Dumbledore and Ron Weasley.

"Luc, we will be there for you." Severus said from the doorway of their bedroom. "You're a Malfoy, you're a Potter, work those attitudes."

Harry grinned at Severus, leave it to Severus to sum up the solution in a simple Slytherin method. "He is right. Those students also need us to protect them from Dumbledore and his ideas. We are teaching them to broaden their horizons."

"Really Master? Broaden their horizons, it's more like we're teaching them not to be dunderheads."

Lucius laughed as he felt Harry kiss his temple. "Show up Dumbledore. I can do that." Lucius smirked.

"Exactly." Severus was already dressed in his new teaching robes. He held out a set of robes to Lucius. "Come on you prat, let's go terrorize some students."

"Remember, if Dumbledore bothers you and you cast those lovely curses or hexes at him, that he can't blame you. I expect wandless or use your second wands."

"Second wands?" Severus tried to act innocent. His second wand was already strapped to his ankle. He knew Lucius had his in the same spot.

Harry laughed, he had two additional wands himself. He paid for Severus and Lucius to get illegal wands and he wasn't going to remove them from either of them. "Just remember the Slytherin motto."

"We will." Lucius said. Severus and Lucius already made arrangements for Dobby to give a potion to Dumbledore that would turn the man into a chicken each time he said "my boy" or "Gryffindor". They were walking out of their quarters.

"Oh, just to let you know, I changed the trigger from Gryffindor to lemon drop." Harry exited their quarters. He tried not to smirk as Lucius and Severus exchanged a look.

"How did he know?" Lucius quietly asked Severus before they exited their quarters.

"I have no idea." Severus stated, "but I wish we thought of lemon drop."

Chap 6-Draco

Hermione came rushing into Harry's office. She looked around and cast some privacy wards. "I found him." Since it was Saturday, she had left Hogwarts to go and run some errands, well that was what she told Dumbledore. She was really following up a lead that Luna and Neville had found.

Hermione and Harry had alternating weekends off. They knew Dumbledore did it so that they couldn't work on anything outside of Hogwarts together. The rest of their group were former members of the DA, the Order, and of the older and former members of the Hogwarts Houses. They had the support of many of the foreign members of the magical world. They hid some of the wanted dark wizards and witches in those countries.

"You did?"

"Yes, Andy summoned Poppy to her, saying that Teddy had a cold, so Poppy is now examining him." She sat down. "He's in bad shape, some Ravenclaw, by the name of Andrew Kilkenny was his former owner. I gathered as much evidence as I could. We should be able to use Draco's memories when the time is right. Harry, he almost killed Draco. I bought Draco after Luna and Neville kept me from killing the idiot. He was trying to sell him on the open market in Diagon Alley. Tom sent a note to Neville, so we were able to be there on time."

"I will let Lucius and Severus know. Did they get the two they wanted?" Luna and Neville had been working on trying to get Daphne Greengrass and her boyfriend, but their owners were being difficult. Luna and Neville were now well known in the slave markets.

"Yes, that is how she found out about Draco." She paused "I saw Molly, she told me that Ron is going to be taking over the Ministry job of head trainer. Arthur told Molly the good news, yesterday. She was beaming and looking so proud of the prat." The disgust was clear in her voice. She really didn't think it was going to be good news for anyone. Ron was cruel, and Theo was still suffering because of it, however, Molly had put her foot down and got him to ease up a bit, but Theo was still overworked, underfed, and beaten a lot.

They had spent the last eighteen months getting people in place, because of the war, with so many Death Eater that worked in the Ministry, he had been easy to slide in people Dumbledore and Fudge thought supported them, especially with Kingsley, Tonks, and Mad-Eye's support.

Dumbledore still relied on those he called the old guard to be loyal to him and do as he told them to do without question. Mad-Eye had been sickened by what happened to the Death Eaters and anyone else Fudge and Dumbledore thought were dangerous. Kingsley and Mad-Eye compared it to the Salem Witch Trials and the Spanish Inquisition. However, they did comment that no real witches or wizards were burned in Salem.

The goblins, their support surprised Harry, but they wanted Dumbledore gone. They believed it would only be a matter of time before Fudge and Dumbledore would start to target creatures. So Gringotts now provided safe havens if they had to get someone emergency treatment if they couldn't use Poppy. They provided all of the members of their new organization with free Inheritance Test, which gave Harry and some of his friends some political power, however, not much because most were still loyal to Dumbledore and believed the man's methods were cruel but necessary.

The goblins also had a lot of information on Dumbledore and they were going to use the foreign press to get it released. They traced Dumbledore's history back to his father, who was thrown in Azkaban for attacking some Muggle boys. While they knew it wouldn't do much against the die-hard Dumbledore supporters, if used correctly it would sway those on the fence. They couldn't use any of the United Kingdom's papers as they feared the Ministry and Dumbledore. The Daily Prophet was too afraid to go against Fudge and Dumbledore for fear of being enslaved on trumped up charges. They had already tried to get Rita enslaved, but Harry was able to get her out to France, and Rita was making Dumbledore's life miserable from France.

It was almost the end of the school year and the battles between the Board and Dumbledore were making the papers and Dumbledore had come down on a few reporters, but since it was in the transcripts there wasn't much the man could do, especially when the Daily Prophet only printed the transcripts and left out any opinion. That bit of reporting didn't need a reporter to be named, and Dumbledore couldn't target one person, however much he tried. Dumbledore had tried a boycott on the paper, but that just drove the sales up. Harry and his group buying three or four papers a day to annoy the man.

"Are you going to leave for the summer?" Hermione asked she already had a safe place set up for herself and she would be bringing Draco there as soon as it was possible. Right now he was safe at Andy's place, the wards were ones they got from the Black Library.

"Yes, I have to meet with the ICW, and I want to make sure Severus and Lucius are safe. If I leave them here, I am afraid of what Dumbledore might do while I was away and claim it was an accident or for the greater good. I had the goblins make Potter Castle unplottable." There was already a Fidelius Charm on it. Hermione had spent a lot of time there.

"I know I have said this before, but I wish we had taken them both out at the same time. I really didn't think he would go this far." Hermione never thought the person she had admired so much was just a grandfather looking version of Voldemort.

"I agree. I can't get over the changes in Ron, he is taking so much pleasure in this." He knew Ron always had an issue with anyone in Slytherin and Ron other issue was jealousy. Ron wanted money and fame, and he resented that he didn't get any from the war.

"I thought about it and read a few books."

"Really, you read a few books?" Harry gave her a grin.

"Funny, but the books made me think about Ron when we first met him. He hated Slytherins than, it's not surprising he is like this. He is able to let all his hate out and not face any consequences from it."

"I am hoping him and anyone else like him will be held responsible for what they have been doing. Some I know aren't being cruel, there was one of the trainers in my class, he was very businesslike, he was just doing his job, but some of the others were just like Ron. I still want to wipe the whole system out."

"I am going to change the subject for a minute, but I at the Ministry yesterday, I saw that girl that has been asking a lot of questions. She was in an office with Fudge and I saw Dumbledore heading to the office. I was in the file room at the end of the hall, so they didn't see me." Hermione stopped using Headmaster Dumbledore and Minister Fudge as she lost respect for either man, and she wasn't about to use honorific titles for men who didn't deserve respect.

"I didn't trust her, which is why she doesn't know anything, let the others know. I don't want her to try and cozy up to someone else and find out anything."

"Do you know who her contact was?" Hermione didn't rely on her gut feelings like Harry did, but she trusted Harry's gut feelings.

"No, she was asking some questions at the Forge and Gred's store, but they didn't answer her, I happened to be there and she started talking to me. It was weird, I am used to strangers talking to me, but she seemed to be fishing for answers to questions she already knew the answers too."

"My suggestion is no more members, keep it to ourselves unless we know for sure we can trust the person."

"I agree. Hey you better head to the Great Hall, you know he is going to be expecting you. I already told him I would be in my lab brewing."

"I already told Minerva I would be down for dinner if he asked her." Hermione hated the way Dumbledore wanted to keep track of every single member of his staff, every minute of the day. "I want to make sure he doesn't connect me to Draco as of yet."

Harry nodded his understanding. He wasn't looking forward to telling Lucius and Severus they had Draco and how bad Draco was. He would wait for Poppy to give him Draco's condition. "Don't mention it to Severus or Lucius, I will do it once I speak to Poppy."

"I figured that you would want that. Poppy said she would let us know as soon as possible." Hermione stood up. Everything was going so slow, but they had to, Dumbledore and Fudge has too much power and to take them on, they needed everything in place, enough evidence to support what they were accusing him of and keep everyone safe from the backlash Fudge and Dumbledore would release upon them.

"Exams are next week. Why don't you bring him to Potter Castle? Lucius and Severus would love to take care of Draco. Severus would also be able to brew whatever Poppy wanted for him, without worrying about Dumbledore noticing anything missing from her potion cabinet."

"True. Andy and Teddy could also come and join us."

"Sounds good. We need to touch base and work on who we want to acquire next. Ironclaw mentioned they have been tracking sales. We don't want to give our game away."

"I used a fake name to purchase Draco, with a poly-juice potion, voice alternating potion with a backup charm and spoke French." Hermione gave him a grin.

"Which one of the Fleur's friends?"

"Manon LeMay. She gave us a few hairs, as did a lot of Fleur's other friends. Viktor also sent a bunch of hairs with the names."

"Good. I will make sure we have fresh supplies in stock." Harry glanced at the clock in his office. "You better head out."

Hermione stood up and removed the privacy wards and headed to find Minerva.

Chapter 7

"Mr. Potter, you are under arrest." Three of Fudge's Aurors surrounded Harry as he sat in the corner table of the Leaky Cauldron. Everyone was silent as if they doubted what they heard.

"For what?" Hermione looked around surprised, as many other were also. She could already hear the murmuring of false arrest, many were very dissatisfied with how their world was being run. This wouldn't be the first false arrest since Voldemort died. Dumbledore and Fudge had been using it as a way to get rid of anyone powerful enough to oppose them.

"Murdering the Minister of Magic." The Auror responded. He was a heavy-set man, thin blond hair, a ruddy complexion with brown eyes.

"We have a witness that claims you killed the Minister two hours ago, outside of the Ministry. He claims he saw you cast the Killing Curse." Another Auror explained. He was tall, extremely thin, almost skeleton thin, with long, brown hair, pockmarked face and beady green eyes. He earned a glare from the heavy-set man.

"What?" Harry choked. "I have been here all day, plenty of people can vouch for that, including Tom."

"Aye, he has been. They have been working on Hogwarts stuff, talking about books, classes, projects, essays." Tom informed the Aurors.

"You still need to come with us." The first Auror stated, pulling out some cuffs.

"Hermione, have my barrister meet me at the Ministry. Get anyone who we spoke with today, to come and give statements." Harry ordered. He gave her a silent order of make sure Severus and Lucius were protected.

He felt his arms pulled behind his back and the cuffs placed on his wrists by the thin man, who leaned forward. "Dumbledore was the witness, be careful."

Harry wanted to dance. Dumbledore was going to try and have him tossed in Azkaban. The man just made the biggest mistake of his life.

Harry was sitting in the barren interrogation room. He knew they wouldn't speak to him until his barrister arrived. He was going to enjoy the surprise when they realized who it was. He looked as the door was opened and Apolline Delacour entered the room, as an Auror held the door opened.

"Apolline, I am sorry for taking you away from whatever pleasures you were enjoying today, but it appears I am under arrest for murder." Harry smirked.

Apolline sat next to Harry, putting her bag on the table. "It is always a delight to visit you Harry, but you didn't have to be falsely arrested for to see me."

"I was a bit surprised myself. There was even a witness, which is strange because I have over fifty that can attest to where I was all day." Harry grinned. He leaned in close. "Are we being monitored?"

"Yes." Came the quiet reply. "Yes, the witness. I have yet to see the statement, but I was delayed in my arrival by the vast number of witnesses to you being in the Leaky Cauldron all day. Frederick is speaking to the ICW as we speak."

"You must tell him how much I appreciate his efforts. How are your daughters?" Harry asked. He knew they wouldn't have to wait much longer as the British Ministry had been holding off an investigation by the ICW for several months.

Before she could answer the door was opened again and Madam Bones entered. "Mr. Potter, I must apologize I was just informed of your arrest."

"So you did not sign the arrest warrant?" Apolline asked.

"No, I didn't, Madam Delacour, I wasn't informed until you arrived in the building along with the numerous witnesses. I, however, do need to ask for the record, Mr. Potter where were you at 2:47 PM today?"

"At the Leaky Cauldron with Hermione Granger, Bill, Fred, and George Weasley I believe were still present or had just left my table but they were still present in the Leaky Cauldron." Harry answered.

"How did your wand end up at the scene?"

"It didn't. The Aurors took it when I arrived here." Harry stated.

Madam Bones got up, opened the door and spoke for several minutes. She stayed in the doorway for a few minutes before returning with two evidence bags. "Mr. Potter, as you can see we have a slight problem." In each bag was a holly wand.

"I have a solution." Harry grinned. "I will write down what my core is, pick my wand out and if I am right, you will find they both have the same core, however, the one I won't pick, you will find is newly crafted."

"We have determined that one is newly crafted. Please select your wand." Madam Bones stated. She opened the evidence bags, laid them in front of Harry.

Harry right held his hand over each wand, frowned, and returned his hand to the wand on his left. "That isn't Fawkes' feather."

"I am not sure I understand." Madam Bone stated.

"If you check the feathers with Voldemort's wand, you will find our wands have the same exact core, a feather from Fawkes. That other wand doesn't. I am not even sure it's from a real Phoenix." Harry frowned, trying to remember when he last saw Fawkes. "Fawkes."

Fawkes appeared in the room. "Mr. Potter, you are not leaving."

"I wasn't planning on it. I summoned him for two reasons, one is I couldn't remember the last time I saw Fawkes. The second is, you are going to need him to compare the feathers too."

"I will return with a wand maker and the other wand." Madam Bones stated. She knew Dumbledore was trying to frame Harry, but she had to follow the law. She was impressed with Harry being able to stop Dumbledore from just having him tossed into Azkaban. The boy played it exactly right.

Two hours later:

"The feather in that wand isn't a Phoenix Feather, it's been transfigured into one. It's a Griffin feather." The wand maker replied. "The other feathers do come from a Phoenix, and they match Fawkes' generic code and magical signature." The man was a lot younger than Ollivander and had taken over the business after the war. He was about forty, with auburn hair, green eyes, and a long scar going down his cheek. He was average height and had a bit of a stomach from his enjoyment of food.

"Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Robson."

"Pleasure is all mine." Mr. Robson was escorted out of the room.

Madam Bones looked at Kingsley and Mad-Eye. She wasn't sure what to do. She knew Dumbledore had to have murdered the Minister. Dumbledore also would have known what type of wand Harry used.

"He will claim poly-juice." Kingsley stated. "Even if in his statement he stated he was sure it was Harry." Kingsley wanted to find a way to get Dumbledore out of power. He knew Dumbledore was counting on the chaos, the automatic belief that Dumbledore was never mistaken which would have allowed Harry to be put in Azkaban and the slavery spell placed on him before the truth was revealed. He bet that Dumbledore had a few of his most loyal there ready to cast the spell.

"I am wondering how he did the wands." Mad-Eye stated. "He could have used a feather from Fawkes, so he might state it wasn't his intention to accuse Harry." Harry's wand was a well know as being a Holly wand, but the core wasn't that well known, even less had the knowledge the feather came from Fawkes and it was the brother wand of Voldemort.

"I wondered about that, but something Mr. Potter said is making me wonder if Fawkes is even around him. He said he summoned him for two reasons, one of the reasons was he hadn't seen him in a while." She looked down at the three wands. The brother wands radiated power, the other wand only had one spell used, the Killing Curse.

"If he summoned him that means the bird isn't loyal to Dumbledore." Mad-Eye commented.

"I don't have enough to arrest him." Madam Bones informed them. "Everything is just conjunction for us."

"No, but I don't think that is going to stop Potter from using it." Kingsley grinned.

"He won't try for the Minister position himself, any idea who he wants?" Madam Bones stated.

"Arthur Weasley." Mad-Eye answered. "May I suggest one of you run."

"I believe if we run this idea by Harry, you will find he already has an idea of me running." Madam Bones stated. "He seemed to carefree about his arrest. Let's go release him from the holding cell."

Later that night:

"I knew you were going to say that." Madam Bones took a sip of her wine.

"It makes sense. He can't claim you're dark. Your record speaks for itself." Hermione stated.

"If I tried to run, he would release information about the Horcrux I had in me. Even if it makes him look bad, he would just say he was trying to protect me, but now I must surely being corrupted as I never wanted fame, power, or even anyone looking at me. He would use a lot of memories to support that." Harry informed her.

"I am aware. I was going to put Kingsley's name into the ring, but Dumbledore has too many people in the DMLE for one of Kingsley's experience to be removed. I could make him the head of the department."

"That would enable him to clean up the department too." Hermione grinned.

"Kingsley will have no one objecting about his placement either. Dumbledore would support it as he believes Kingsley is in his pocket." Lucius quietly said.

"Very true." Harry smiled at Lucius.

"I want to try and get the ICW involved still. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in the Ministry and we can't do it all." Harry stated.

"I arranged a meeting with them for this weekend." Hermione smirked. "Ron and his fellow trainees arrived yesterday in France, they got assigned a different instructor."

"That sounds like interesting information." Harry stated.

"While we were waiting, Appollina and I were speaking and it turns out the French aren't happy with the idea of training Ron and his cohorts to be slave trainers. So they decided to "create" a new program for them. I am not sure how long they can keep them from realizing they aren't learning training techniques."

"I hope they can teach Ron how to be human again." Harry sadly stated. He felt Severus and Lucius touch his legs, from their position on either side of him.

"I better head back home. Susan has a lead on Crabbe. She wants me to review the information." Madam Bones rose. "I believe she mentioned that Katie Bell might need some funds to purchase him, I told her we would find the funds."

"We will." Harry stated. "I will give her the vault number when she goes to purchase him."

"Let's head back to the Manor, I believe all of us want to check on Draco." Harry stated. They held informal meetings in Prince Manor, the bigger meetings they used Malfoy Manor, and for formal they used Ravenclaw Castle, all were under a Fidelis Charm. They didn't want to take any chances when it came to Dumbledore finding out what they were doing.

Chapter 8

Harry grinned at the top headlines in the foreign press. All were wondering what Dumbledore was thinking of trying to claim that Harry Potter killed Minister Fudge. It had been a month and more and more of the "facts" about the problems in the British Wizarding World were being leaked out. This mornings article based on the headlines had statements from almost everyone who was in the Leaky Cauldron when Harry was arrested, to several "unnamed" Aurors comments.

Harry had wondered why the man selected to have Harry framed in such a public way. He would have thought that Dumbledore would have made sure he wasn't seen by the public. The more he thought about it, he suddenly realized that he had told Dumbledore he would be brewing all day. Something that wasn't unusual, but since Harry usually brewed alone, it was what man had been waiting for.

Dumbledore had asked over breakfast what Severus and Lucius were going to be doing that day, which wasn't any different than any other day. If Harry didn't have an answer, Dumbledore would try to "borrow" them for the day. He casually had asked what Harry was going to also be doing. Harry informed him that while Severus and Lucius would be grading assignments, he needed to brew. He had started out brewing but realized he needed a few things from Diagon Alley to make a special potion they wanted to try on the abused slaves they had been rescuing. It was going to relieve pain as it closed wounds and prevent them from scarring.

Once he had picked up the needed ingredients, many of his supporters and friends at arrived at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch, and Harry had joined them, after sending a note to Lucius and Severus where he would be. He had been a bit surprised when almost four hours later Aurors arrived to arrest him, in a full Leaky Cauldron.

"Stop smiling." Hermione nudged him. "He is going to wonder why you are so happy."

Harry was about to respond when the doors to the Great Hall opened and Kingsley, with Madam Bones, and a group of wizards and witches arrived with the ICW robes on. "This is going to be good." Harry remarked as they kept walking closer. Behind the members of the ICW, were some of the account managers from Gringotts.

"Harry?" Hermione looked concerned.

"I didn't arrange anything." Harry was also wondering what was going on. He hadn't been informed about them arriving.

Madam Bones stopped in front of Dumbledore. "Albus Dumbledore, we are here in the official capacity as a ICW Board of Inquiry. There is to be a full inquiry into the handling of Hogwarts, her students, her staff, her accounts, and her wards. The audits and warding will be led by Goblin Master Warder Grinder and Goblin Master Account Manager Ironclaw. The ICW will be auditing all the classes, interviewing the staff and students, including past students."

"I forbid it." Dumbledore roared.

"You have no choice. Also, your slave training program has been canceled. Those trainees will be returning after they have completed the ICW training courses, if they fail, they will not be allowed to continue as Aurors, or work in the Ministry." Madam Bones pulled out the scrolls. "The ICW has ruled, you may appeal, but I will tell you the decision was 430 to 2 against you."

Dumbledore paled as he took the scrolls. Harry knew the man had counted on the tight control he had over the Ministry and those he had alliances with in the ICW. Harry wondered if the man knew how many in the ICW had been waiting to remove the man for years. "Why wasn't I made aware of the vote? I am a member of the ICW."

"Your membership was revoked when you lost the Chief Warlock position at the close of the last Wizenagamot session. You received the notice of it on the 23 of June." Madam Bones referenced her notes.

Harry was grinning. He wasn't expecting to see the results of his new seat assignments so quickly. He didn't think the change would happen until the new session started next month on the 23 of Oct. "There haven't been any new seats." Dumbledore glared.

"No, but a 124 out of the 204 seats that were assigned to the Light faction, have been assigned to the neutral faction, allowing the dark faction to attain the majority vote. Currently, it stands at Light, 80, Dark 45, neutral, 425. They gained 124 from the Light faction, and 65 from the Dark." Ironclaw presented the figures to Dumbledore. "As you can also see, the four founders' seats are also claimed, they are remaining neutral, but they don't count in the Chief Warlock position count, as the founders' are on a higher tier then the Chief Warlock position."

"Who claimed those seats?" Dumbledore demanded.

"That is sealed until next month by the head of those houses." Ironclaw responded.

Harry felt like dancing. He had the Slytherin (thank you Tom), Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw (that came when he purchased Severus) seats and Neville controlled the Hufflepuff seats, despite Justin Finch-Fletchley thinking he did. Justin was one of Dumbledore's supporters and was the current best friend of Ron Weasley.

"I believe we need to discuss this in my office." Dumbledore picked up the scrolls.

"There is nothing to discuss. Professor McGonagall, perhaps you can arrange quarters for those who are remaining here." Madam Bones asked.

"Certainly. If you will follow me, we have the guest suites ready."

Harry arched an eyebrow, the suites were ready? He wondered how and saw Kingsley's smirk. Kingsley must have warned Minerva what was going to happen. His own lips twitched as Dumbledore started to debate the issue with Madam Bones, while the rest of the staff and students were listening, all knowing who was going to win the debate, after all, it was the ICW and the DMLE.

Hermione was running down the hall. "Harry, Harry."

Harry turned and as his friend almost slammed into him trying to stop on the freshly clean floor, he was able to catch her and keep her from crashing. "Good news, I take it?"

"Yes, they arrest Dumbledore. The goblins did. They took him by port-key right from the seventh-floor corridor. He was up there trying to hide some dark artifacts, and they caught him."

"Interesting."

"Yes, but they also found the stolen money from the vaults, and the Founders' items he removed and claimed Tom Riddle used them as Horcruxes. They were hidden behind some wards."

"Well, the goblins won't release him, if they arrested him, he has already been found guilty." Harry started thinking.

"Exactly, which means it opens the door for the ICW to step in and clean up the Ministry. It doesn't help fix the slavery issue, but it should allow us to find the ones we are missing and make sure they are being taken care of."

"Yes, it does. I am sure Amelia will have more information for us."

"Harry, you know this means that we can end those stupid laws, and those who abuse their power can face punishment."

"Yes, I believe Severus and I will need to make a few batches of truth serum." Harry smirked. He pulled Hermoine to the side and quietly said, "keep everyone hidden still, we don't want to have anyone try and get revenge on anyone enslaved. I know Ron is still in France, and but I would feel safer if you could get Kingsley or Mad-Eye to remove Theo from the Burrow. I can't leave here as I know some of Dumbledore's supporters are watching me. They won't follow you if you head to the Ministry first."

Hermione nodded her agreement. She knew Molly would allow her entrance into the Burrow, but she wasn't willing to let Harry after Harry had punched Ron for his treatment of Theo.

The next few years was busy for everyone. After Dumbledore's arrest, the ICW stepped in and did a total clean-up of the Ministry. Arthur Weasley and a few of the other department heads were discovered to have obedience and loyalty potions in their system. The potions were made by Molly and they found Dumbledore had been using some of the Hogwarts house elves to deliver them to the heads.

Ron and a few of his cronies were arrested for abuse and mistreatment of their charges. Ron was given an additional three counts of abuse concerning the condition of Theo. Who was given to Luna and Neville. Theo was still a bit quiet but Luna and Neville's quiet demeanor helped Theo out.

Madam Bones was now Minister Bones, those who were now arrested lived in a safer Azkaban, with no dementors, no slavery spells, no collars. They had clean beds, warm cells in the winter and food.

The wizarding world wasn't perfect, Harry wasn't going to fool himself into believing that, but the Ministry was now running on its own, without interference from the ICW. Hogwarts had more students since no one was now being denied an education.

Creatures were getting their rights back, it was slow at first, but now people were more accepting, once the truth about Dumbledore and his plans escaped out to the public. Harry still smirked at how the twins had "assisted" on the escape of those plans.

"Master?" Severus asked from the doorway to their bedroom.

"Sorry, Sev, just thinking about the past." Harry knew that Severus would kill anyone else who called him that.

"Hermione's news seems to have affected you, Master." Lucius moved to Harry. He was still a bit timid, as was Severus but overall things had improved for them.

"Yes, it did. It's great news. How could I not be effect, you too Luc. You're going to be a grandfather." Harry smiled at the man. Lucius gave him a sad smile, his hands seemed to be itching to do something, as they were being rubbed along his pants. Harry recognized the man he knew from his second year was truly gone. Lucius was quiet, and when he got nervous or upset, would start to clean. Not that he didn't clean anyway, but he would clean things like the silverware when he was upset or nervous. Severus would bury it, but he would pace or brew simple potions that he didn't have to think about. "What is wrong, Luc?"

"Will my grandchild be a slave, Master?" Lucius finally asked.

"No, we already reviewed it and check, your grandchild will be free. No more slavery spells for anyone." Harry reassured him. Lucius stopped rubbing his hands, as Severus knelt next to him and pulled him into his arms. Harry ran his fingers through Lucius' hair. "How about an early night? We cuddle in bed?"

"Cuddle, Master, is that what they are calling it now?" Severus smirked.