The Burrow, St. Ottery Catchpole, England: July 25, 1996, 700 hrs.

Harry took a sip of his tea while waiting for Sirius. Mrs. Weasley kept insisting that he eat breakfast to calm himself and keep the hysterics under control, but Harry could be stubborn sometimes and politely refused the offer.

It was a gloomy day. Light rain was pouring outside, and the temperature dropped drastically. Harry guessed it was the morning coldness.

How about the dread he felt in his stomach? He trusted Hermione. He trusted that she would do alright in Umbridge's trial, but judging from the Muggle-born prejudice, things might go to the dogs.

One thing he had to get used to knowing, though, was that Hermione would always have a backup plan if her original failed. Using this thought as reassurance, he looked forward to the moment Sirius could live a free life, and at the same time avenge Cedric. If he knew Amelia Bones, she would immediately send Aurors to hunt down Pettigrew.

He barely heard the feet that were descending from the stairs of the Burrow. Barely looking away for a sign of Sirius, Harry said, "Good morning, Hermione."

He promptly went back to blankly staring at the now-moistened window. Great, he thought to himself sarcastically. Now I'm stuck to waiting here.

"Are you excited?" She asked him suddenly. There was no denying that he was looking forward to Sirius's freedom, but he had that sinking feeling that something even bigger than Voldemort would emerge from the shadows.

Now that he thought about it, he realized that Hermione did more to him than he could ever ask of her. She risked her life just so she could research more about the Basilisk. She helped him save Sirius using the Time-Turner. She helped him in the Triwizard Tournament. She helped him in their O.W.L.s. She helped him in rescuing Sirius (which turned out to be a fake vision), and took a curse from Dolohov. Now she was risking being judged as a 'Mudblood', most likely, but there was a ninety-nine percent chance of that happening, just so he could be present at his godfather's trial.

Today was the day, he would change. Today was the day, he would care more about her. He knew to himself that he valued Ron more as a friend, that he thought Hermione was only second-best, and today was the day he would prioritize her in his life. Strangely enough, today was the day he would come to love her more than a friend.

Courtrooms, Ministry of Magic, London, England: July 25, 1996, 1000 hrs.

"How did it go?" Harry said as he saw Hermione go down the corridor. She was looking a bit pleased, which Harry took as a good sign. The next good sign was the sound he heard from Dolores Umbridge as she was dragged away from the Aurors.

"Potter, please! Tell them I did not torture you! Tell them I did not use a Blood Quill on you! Tell them!"

Harry smirked at her helpless state. "I'm truly sorry, Dolores, but I mustn't tell lies." With those words the Aurors Disapparated with her, hopefully to Azkaban. Harry had no idea what the Dementors' reaction would be to seeing her, though.

"Good news, my friend, they listened to a Muggle-born in court. Strange, yes it was, Dumbledore was contradicting me constantly," Hermione stated.

"Wait..." Harry paused, narrowing his eyes. "Wasn't he also affected by Umbridge while she reigned at Hogwarts?"

Hermione nodded vigorously. "Exactly! I don't see why he would not be opposed to the toad. Clearly something's very wrong, maybe I just don't see it yet..."

In the corner of his eyes, Harry thought he saw a tabby cat jump onto one of the chairs. He shook his head, deciding it was just an illusion.

What surprised him wasn't the fact that it was actually Professor McGonagall, but the warning she gave him.

"Potter, Granger, have you any idea what a marriage contract is?" McGonagall said sternly, but Harry could sense pity in her voice.

Hermione responded immediately. "Marriage contracts are agreements from two sides, usually old families, to intermarry, usually signifying allegiance to one House. The contract can be made by the parents or magical guardian of the individual. What about them, Professor?"

McGonagall nodded. "I have to show you something, and I'm sure you won't like it. Are you familiar with Apparition?"

"Yes," Harry and Hermione said.

"Let's go then," McGonagall said, taking each of their hands and Apparating to The Leaky Cauldron. Harry felt as though his entire physical body was being forcibly squeezed into a rubber tube, and that rubber tube wasn't that big, either. It was like Portkey, but a little disorienting, and vomit-inducing.

"I don't think you liked the sensation, Potter," McGonagall noted. "Do you even read your books? I vaguely remember taking those lessons when I was a student."

Harry shook his head. "It's my relatives, Professor."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "What might your relatives have in connection to your reading habits?"

"They hid my school supplies every summer. I was barely able to sneak out of the cupboard with my Potions homework last summer," Harry said. "Professor."

The elderly witch shook her head. She knew that Dumbledore's move would have repercussions, and now, one of her cubs' home studying was affected.

"Don't worry, Potter. I'm going to fix this right now." She barely looked at Tom the barkeeper as she was internally fuming. How dare Dumbledore! She had warned him of the Muggles' attitude, yet the old fool did not listen.

She tapped the necessary bricks with her wand, and to no surprise, a doorway started to form.

Without saying a word, the professor led them to Gringotts Bank where they would deal with the contract lying in the depths of the Potter vault.

"Potter, do you have your vault key?" She asked Harry as they stepped into the bank. Harry was surprised to see that goblins were walking back and forth the hall of Gringotts, carrying strange bags with them. A redhead stepped up to meet them.

"Hey, Harry!" Bill said cheerfully. "Are you here to make a withdrawal?" Upon seeing McGonagall, he offered his hand. "It's nice to meet you again, Professor McGonagall."

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Weasley, but I'm afraid Mr. Potter will need to deal with something here," McGonagall replied.

"Oh! I must've been mistaken, who are you meeting today?" Bill asked her.

"We're here to see the Potter family account manager," McGonagall stated. "Can you bring us to him?"

Bill shook his head. "Bloodfang? 'Fraid I can't help you with that, but I can call Fleur to lead you there. You won't have to take a cart to get there, Professor," Bill added quickly after McGonagall made a face that suspiciously looked like pukig.

"Great, then, Mr. Weasley, where's Miss Delacour?"

"Fleur! Oh, here you are. Can you guide them to the Office of the Potter House Manager?" He asked the Veela witch.

Fleur nodded her head, "Sure."

Fleur took McGonagall's hand and started to walk to the elevators, much like the Ministry's. Before Harry followed them, he whispered to Bill, "Be careful, Bill. I have a suspicion that Fleur is being made a puppet. It's just a theory, I don't hope it would come to that. Can we talk about it later?"

Nodding at the strange request, Bill whispered back, "Meet me at the living room of 12, Grimmauld Place after this meeting."

As Harry walked to the elevator shaft, he felt all of the goblins' eyes were trained on him. It was a weird, not to mention scary, sensation. He knew it had nothing to do with the 'Chosen One' business and he doubted it was about the fact that he was with McGonagall, either. Whatever the reason, he needed to find out what was going on.

Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland: July 25, 1996, 1000 hrs.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore, was pacing in his office. Not because he was bored, but because a certain student found out about his plans.

He looked at one of the trinkets that were ticking. It had given him the impression that he was the best wizard in the world. He didn't know how, but it was so mesmerizing, yet so dangerous.

He had a clock that actually was a tracker keyed to Harry Potter. It was sort of similar to the clock at the Burrow. It allowed Dumbledore to know everywhere Harry went, what he was doing. The clock would point to Harry's whereabouts. Some examples were 'Gringotts', 'Privet Drive', and 'Burrow'. There was also another gadget he designed himself so that he could plant any thought or emotion in Harry's mind. He hid these gadgets whenever he invited Harry to his office as to not raise any suspicions of his manupilations.

Last year, he signed a contract with Molly Weasley saying Harry and Ginny had to marry before Ginny's sixth year started. Because Molly was blinded by her greed for money, she immediately agreed, because she knew of the Potter vaults and what they contain. Plus, she looked forward to Ginny's reaction when she would gain access to the Boy-Who-Lived and all the fame that awaited her daughter! Ginny would restore the former glory of the Weasley family. She knew Ginny would go to lavish parties, attend international balls, all because she was the wife of Harry Potter.

Molly envisioned Ginny ordering Harry around like a slave. The contract said under the special terms section, that the male participant (Harry) had to obey each and every order the female participant (Ginny) would give.

"I don't want any pesky children, Harry."

"Okay."

"Tie my shoes, Harry."

"Okay."

Now that Harry noticed Fleur Delacour's movement towards him, he would hopefully be more than friends with the Veela, and find out about the contract with Ginny, which would break his heart and also hopefully make him lose all hope in the world and surrender himself to Tom Riddle. Then Dumbledore would destroy all of Tom's Horcruxes and kill Tom himself, making sure the press, especially Rita Skeeter, would catch the footage of the great wizard Dumbledore defeating the Dark wizard Voldemort. He would get the glory all to himself, and everybody would forget the bloody Boy-Who-Lived, and what happened to him.

Unfortunately, Molly didn't see that coming, and she was still under the impression that Harry will be Ginny's slave.

Now that Harry was a bit aware of the plans Dumbledore laid out, he had to take the necessary actions.

"It's for the Greater Good, my boy..."

The Office of the House Potter Account Management, Gringotts Bank, London Branch: July 25, 1996: 1000 hrs.

"Hello, Mr. Potter." One of the goblins guarding the door to Bloodfang's office greeted him.

Harry bowed. "Fancy meeting you today, sir."

The goblin was amazed; Harry was among the few wizards that even respected the goblin race. Most of the wizards were ignorant of other magical creatures and thought of themselves as superiors.

"Good morning, wizard, the door to Bloodfang's office is right through here." Harry nodded gratefully, while McGonagall and Hermione did the same.

The goblin rapped on the door three times. The response was a muffled 'Come in', then the goblin opened the door and let the three in.

"Ah, Harry Potter. We meet at last." Bloodfang offered three seats to the lot, which they immediately sat on.

"So, Mr. Potter, what brings you here?" Bloodfang asked as the tea was served and the they were all comfortably seated.

McGonagall spoke up. "I'd like to have Mr. Potter checked for any magical core blocks that may be interfering with his powers."

"A magical block, yes. In fact, I see it myself. As a goblin of great power and high position, we are given the power to see through wizards and take a look at their magic," the goblin said.

"What is the meaning of this?" McGonagall demanded.

"I do believe Mr. Potter's, unfortunately, has been blocked by Albus Dumbledore. Do you care to elaborate?" Bloodfang asked.

"Albus? Albus Dumbledore?" McGonagall shook her head in disbelief. She had suspicions about Dumbledore, that was a given, but she never knew he would step to great heights and risk the magical death of an important figure in the Wizarding society.

"The very same," Bloodfang said.

"He was raising Harry like a pig for slaughter!" McGonagall cried out.

"I'm afraid he was, Miss McGonagall."

"He must go to Azkaban! I mean, he committed an illegal move by placing a block on someone's core! Removing them could kill the person! He should go to jail! My goodness, if Potter is quite adept at dueling, how much more if his block is removed!"

"You have answered the mystery, McGonagall," Bloodfang said calmly, despite their situation. He knew his talking to humans would be a rare occurrence, but here he was, solving questions for the heir of the House he was managing the account for.

"W-What?" McGonagall yelped in surprise.

"Dumbledore is a glory-seeking bigot who could care less about his inferiors. We know why he placed the block on Mr. Potter's magical core, it was to keep himself in the spotlight. Once we gather enough evidence against Dumbledore, we may put him on trial against attempted murder. Blocking a core is tantamount to indirect murder. He would try m to plead 'not guilty', and this would be hard for us because of his influence of your world. We goblins, however, see through an old man's mask and see a hideous, manipulative monster within."

Harry spoke up for the first time in minutes. "Yesterday, sir, my friend Fleur acted strangely. It was something she would never do, since she was engaged to Bill Weasley. Could this be Dumbledore too?"

Bloodfang nodded. "Quick thinking, Mr. Potter. While we reserve the right to immediately get Dumbledore arrested and his magic and influence taken from him, we would have to investigate. It would be a shame if the so-called 'Leader of the Light' dabbled in the Dark Arts himself."c

"Let's get down to business, sir," Harry said. "I was told that a marriage contract was signed by my magical guardian, mostly Dumbledore. Can I see it for myself?"

Bloodfang nodded. "Why, of course, Mr. Potter. I have the contract in here somewhere. Let me look..." The goblin stood up. He was barely taller than your average goblin. He had the Potter coat of arms sewn on his left breast pocket. He was wearing a monocle, like Amelia Bones. He hd long fingers that looked scarily similar to claws. He was dressed like a proper goblin, but Harry didn't think there were improper goblins.

"I'll be right back, Mr. Potter."

Bloodfang left, then after several minutes, maybe even hours, he returned with parchment that looked barely a year old. "Here it is."

THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION

RE: Contract of Betrothal

Under the published laws of the Ministry of Magic, Great Britain, and the Wizengamot, specifically the Reasonable Intermarrying of Ancient Houses, this contract would marry one (1) Harry James E.(vans) Potter, and one (1) Ginevra Molly P.(rewett) Weasley.

Under special requests of the arranger, the two individuals must be married by or before August 23, 1996. Failure to do so will result in the loss of magical power, leading to being an equivalent of a Squib.

Quantum Unitum Est,

Signed,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (Magical Guardian)

Molly Prewett Weasley (Biological Mother)

Cornelius Oswald Fudge (Witness)

Harry stared on the piece of parchment in shock.