Thus ends the first year! Heading over to the summer and second! Review if you can, much appreciated. Spread word of this story!... Somehow.
The six of them were gathered at the Hospital Wing, trying to get over the shock. Hermione was hugging Harry in her legendary crushing hug and not letting go anytime soon. Rapunzel had wrapped her hair around Harry's neck and healed the hand marks. Soon, Dumbledore walked through the door, along with all the magical parents, who quickly clamored over them all to make sure they were all right. The Muggle repelling wards prevented the non-magicals from entering unless given special permission from both the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic. Obviously, there was no time for that, and the Ministry of Magic tended to snub on muggles. That and the Muggle parents had jobs to attend to. Soon, the adults were all convened at Dumbledore's office.
"So, Dumbledore," hissed North, "When were you going to tell the parents you had the Sorcerer's stone hidden inside a castle full of children?"
"How did you-?" stuttered McGonagall, who just walked in with Snape sneering.
"Wasn't hard," replied Valka, "Our children asked who Nicholas Flamel was. We could piece it from there easily. That and Hagrid doesn't seem to keep secrets that easily."
"Hagrid has my trust," said Dumbledore a bit heatedly.
"I said keep, not reveal," sighed Valka, "Hagrid a good man, but terrible at keeping his mouth shut."
"She is right," murmured McGonagall, "Hagrid does tend to have trouble with that."
Dumbledore merely put his hand on the bridge of his nose.
"So, tell me," boomed Fergus, "Did you know someone was going to try to steal it?"
"This doesn't concern you at all," snarled Snape, "What we do is our business."
"And when our children suffer for it, it becomes ours!" snapped North.
Dumbledore raised his hand, preventing Snape from retaliating with another outburst before conjuring a few chairs for them all to sit.
"Nicholas, one of my mentors, reached out to me," admitted Dumbledore, "He told me there had been signs of someone attempting to steal it. So we tried to play a trick. The stone here is a fake, while the real one is hidden away from the castle."
"So a bait," acknowledged Valka.
"Yes," replied Dumbledore, "We did not know who it was, but we figured that if the stone was inside the castle and 'publicly' announced to stay away from the third floor, it would lure the thief out. They were supposed to face Hogwarts wards, which is one of the strongest ones in the country, before even reaching the children. However, it was only after the year started did Severus bring it up that Quirrell was acting suspiciously. Indeed, it became more apparent after Halloween that Quirrell was the one. So I decided to lay more traps, using the Mirror of Erised."
"That mirror?" asked North, "Were you planning on trying to trap Quirrell in a state of desire and be frozen long enough to get him?"
"The mirror has another function," sighed Dumbledore, "While capturing the person's attention, there is a chance that any spirit, any parasite, attached to the said person, will be trapped in the mirror itself, freeing the man."
"So you were hoping to free Quirrell from Voldemort in hopes of saving him while defeating Voldemort," deduced Fergus.
Dumbledore nodded, "But as you can see, it did not work. Perhaps the spirit was too strong, or that not all of it was there. Maybe Quirrell truly wanted Voldemort with him, therefore not releasing his grasp on him. If the said person welcomes the spirit, then the mirror cannot easily trap it."
"Well, can't say I'm happy about it, but I guess we can get over it," sighed Fergus, "Provided that this sort of thing doesn't happen again. And about Voldemort?"
"I prefer to let fewer people know about this," sighed Dumbledore, "Especially since most of his men are still free."
"Fine," grunted North, "But I'm having some of my people looking into this discreetly."
Dumbledore agreed on that statement. And with that, the parents left.
"Why did you tell them?" asked Snape.
"Because they deserved to know," replied Dumbledore tiredly, "It was their children that were affected. It was lucky that Harry's protection from his mother allowed him to fight off Quirrell long enough."
"That brat," sneered Snape, "He was probably heading towards the third floor to see what he could do and gain more fame."
"Severus!" snapped McGonagall, "How dare you accuse my lions of such a thing!?"
"Then why were they there?" drawled Snape, "Potter's just like his father, always-"
"Enough!" commanded Dumbledore, "Severus, I need to talk to you privately. Minerva, please attend to the castle. I believe the exams still needs to be graded."
McGonagall huffed and was about to leave when she turned around, "And the boy's living conditions?"
"Harry will continue to live with Hiccup and the rest of them," replied Dumbledore, "I have checked and approved that he will be safe there."
"Good," replied McGonagall, "See to it that you do not do the same mistake again."
She slammed the door shut, leaving Snape with Dumbledore.
"Does he?" asked Dumbledore.
"The Dark Lord does not know I am still your agent," murmured Snape.
"Good," sighed Dumbledore, "And Severus? Please stop judging Harry as his father."
Snape bristled, "He's exactly like him. Arrogant, Egotistic, obviously with a spoiled upbringing-"
Snape suddenly became silent when he felt a wave of power wash over him. Dumbledore was now glaring at him in clear cold anger.
"Harry," breathed Dumbledore heavily, "Is not who you think he is. You have allowed your grudge for James Potter and his friends to carry over to the next generation. There is a saying that I was told before. The sins of the father are not the child's fault, for they cannot control that."
Dumbledore stood up, signifying this meeting was over. As Snape was about to leave, Dumbledore stopped him before passing him a thick folder.
"Read this, and see if you can continue your judgment."
Snape scoffed when he saw Harry's name on it, but took it.
A week passed, and the grades came out. Hermione received the top overall score out of all the first years. Harry was in the top 25%, along with Merida and the rest of them. Even Neville managed to pull a passing grade on potions, although his Herbology was very well on the top. Ron was in the middle/lower half, while Malfoy was in the 25%, just below Harry. That made him mad. His cronies Crabbe and Goyle made up the lowest half, just passing.
"See? And you were so worried."
Hermione had been panicking once again, saying she failed everything. This time, Harry hugged her to calm her down. Jack and the others were already making schemes on how to make their friend go for each other when they saw Harry react like this.
Soon, it was the End-of-the-Year Feast. Ravenclaw had won the House Cup while Slytherin won the Quidditch Cup. Between Hermione and Hiccup, they earned at least a quarter of the points in their house. Draco looked angry that a Muggle-born and Halfblood had been the reason for Ravenclaw to win the cup. Snape looked sour as he passed the House Cup to a grinning Flitwick, already making up in his mind to find ways to dock Ravenclaw points. It was harder than it seemed, as Ravenclaw usually didn't do stupid stuff. At least he got to keep the Quidditch Cup in his office.
They were on the train, heading home.
"You have to come visit us at our house," said Merida to Hermione, "Jack's uncle got the manor set up so we can actually do magic without being caught."
"Wait. I thought we're forbidden to do magic over the summer break," frowned Hermione.
"Eh, true," admitted Hiccup, "And apparently, they put this Trace on us when we get on this train."
"Wait, what?" asked Harry.
"Yeah. It's the reason why we leave from Hogwarts back to King's station. It automatically puts a Trace on us so they can detect if we're doing underage magic," explained Hiccup, "But I think the whole rule about forbidding underage magic is bull. It's obviously a law selected to target people like Hermione, who have no magical parents. Go to any 'pure-blood' house, and you'll see kids practicing magic. The Trace doesn't kick off a warning in the Ministry as most likely the area they live in is saturated with magic, making it undetectable. Avoidance through sheer magic."
"That means!" exclaimed Hermione."
"Yep," sighed Merida, "They want pure-blood children to have an advantage over others. One of the more backward things in our society. Thank heavens most jobs aren't biased on what your parentage/heritage is like. No pure nepotism in it. Only a select few are like that, and that's just because there are biased bosses. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time and effort learning for any Muggle-born."
Hermione seemed scandalized that some people like Draco would have the advantage over the summer, but seemed mollified after confirming that her future wasn't in jeopardy.
"Does that mean I can show my parents what I've learned if I bring them to your manor?" asked Hermione.
"Of course," exclaimed Rapunzel, "It's kinda why we want you over. So you can show your parents what you've learned as well as hang out with us!"
"I'd like that," grinned Hermione.
Soon, they arrived at King's Cross, where they met up with their family. Hermione's parents were delighted to be invited over to the manor so they could witness all that their daughter learned.
"I'll see you all in the summer again," waived Hermione as she went with her parents.
"Ready to go home?" asked Valka to the children.
Harry smiled at this. Home was finally somewhere he could be comfortable with his life. No more being called freak or doing an unreasonable amount of chores.
"Yea. Let's go home."
Snape was in his dungeon, going over some of his projects.
"Good. Now to add some stewed newt eyes," murmured Snape as he put some into the cauldron. After seeing it change to the correct colors, he put on the auto stirrer. The next step was to let it stew for the next 2 hours, so he locked the door and went to his room. He sat on the chair and had a houself bring him some dinner and a drink. While he relaxed, his hand touched the file with Harry's name on it.
"Why do I even keep this?" grunted Snape as he noticed it again. It was most likely filled with every little boo boos that Harry had, probably some papercuts. And yet, Dumbledore insisted on him reading it.
"Might as well get it over with so Dumbledore doesn't nag," sighed Snape, picking up the file. With a swig of pumpkin juice he got to reading.
An hour later, the pumpkin juice had switched into firewhisky as Snape put down the file. He looked into the fireplace in his office, his eyes haunted at what he had read. He didn't believe it at first. But he was well aware of Muggle doctors and the official documents. He had hoped it was a lie. Sadly, he saw that all the injuries listed was true.
"Have I truly been blind?" asked Snape to himself.
He closed his eyes as he reviewed the year. Harry was basically a carbon clone of his father... and yet when Harry first arrived, he was shorter and skinnier than most boy his age, unlike his father. And the eyes. They were Lily's eyes. However, it hurt him so much when he saw those eyes. The pain of losing someone he dearly loved, to someone he hated. As he contemplated about it, he reached a decision. He did turn a blind eye on obvious injuries, but he would continue to protect the boy, in memory of Lily. And he would try to curb his hatred on a dead man and putting it on his son. It was Lily's boy, afterall.
Meanwhile, in Azkaban, Sirius Black was in the high security prison, with Dementors constantly patrolling the area. He closed his eyes, focusing on the one true thing the Dementors could not take. Harry was safe. And as long as he was safe, Sirius was fine with suffering like this. He had failed his duty to his best friend when he allowed the cowardly Peter Pettigrew to betray them. His tears flowed a little, only for it to freeze due to the Dementors influence. Suddenly, the Dementors were driven away, and the jailer came by.
"Get up, Black," spat the jailer, "There's someone who wants to see you. Don't know why, though, freaking murderer."
Black slowly got up, unable to comprehend what was going on. One moment, he was in his cell, the next moment, he was in a room with some water and food not of Azkaban quality. That was to say, actually edible food and clean water.
"Wonder if this is my supposed last meal," grunted Sirius, "Still, would prefer something better than this if it was."
"Relax, this isn't your last meal."
Black turned around to see 3 lawyers entering in the room. Black flinched at the sudden sight of suits and briefcase, trying to see what they wanted. Having been trained in the First Wizarding War, he was always suspicious.
"Relax, Black," chuckled one of the lawyers, "We are here to see justice be brought to justice. We are from the firm DLA Piper LLP."
"Sorry, never heard of that wizarding lawyer firm," said Sirius, his eyes narrowing.
"Of course not. But perhaps you have heard of our alternate name for the wizarding firm, DnD?"
Sirius's eyes widened at this. DnD was the number one firm that opened 5 years after the fall of Voldemort, and shot up in popularity. They won many cases against other known wizarding firms who looked down on them. It was said when they were on the case and were after you, you better pray they don't find your skeleton closet. Most of the time, they did, and even if they didn't, they found other ways.
"So, did you come to push for a death sentence?" asked Sirius.
To his surprise, all three lawyers laughed at that before the lead one responded, "Oh no. Quite the opposite. We're here to pursue justice, as we said. That means getting you that trial you deserved instead of being thrown in here without any real charges."
Sirius's heart leaped at this. Was this his chance? But what were these people playing at? Perhaps someone with money hired them so they could have him thrown in jail properly and lose the title of being Lord Black of the Ancient and Noble House? He could imagine the Malfoy family doing such a thing. With him gone, then the title would fall to Narcissa's child. That was certainly something he didn't want.
"As I was continuing," said the lawyer, "We're going to push for a trial, and we're here to represent you and get you out of this."
Sirius's jaw dropped at that before responding, "What do you want from me? Who sent you?"
"I think we already stated our first reason," said another lawyer dryly, "As for the second one.. Well it's certainly not someone who wants you dead. Our client wants us to represent you on a gut feeling... and usually his gut feeling are pretty accurate."
The lead lawyer took a seat directly in front of Sirius, taking off his glasses before staring Sirius right in the eye.
"Before we do choose to represent you, I need to know one thing before we accept our client's case. Are you, both past, present, and future, a Death Eater, and/or do you side with Voldemort?"
Fergus was sitting at his study, looking over some shipping details when an owl came to his window. He looked at the letter and saw it was from the DLA Piper LLP. He chuckled as he remembered the alternate name they had, DnD. Dungeons and Dragons. They chose that name because the person who started the wizarding firm was a Half-Blood who liked the games the non-magic world had. He thought it would be ironic for the best wizarding firm to be named after a non-magical game. And lo and behold, they were the top firm, and the Pure-blood had no idea about the name. DnD managed to become contracted under DLA Piper LLP later on. The owner of DnD was quite surprised that a non-magical law firm also had contacts into the magical world, but that was because they had a special section used to help represent the Queen's Court if needed. DLA decided to take in DnD because they thought it was the best one.
Fergus opened the letter and frowned. Soon, it became a scowl as he finished the letter. He got up to a telephone and dialed a few buttons. A few seconds later, he announced that all parents to come to the main study room while the kids were busy outside.
"What's this about?" asked Stoick when they were all gathered.
"Just got word from my lawyers," grunted Fergus, "Sirius Black is apparently innocent. He never betrayed the Potters. Heck, he was never a Death Eater."
"Then why was he thrown in jail?" asked Arianna.
"Apparently, when he cornered Peter Pettigrew, who is the true traitor, he was tricked. Peter was faster than he expected and casted Bombarda Maxima, killing 12 innocent non-magical people. Sirius Black was too much in shock apparently when the Aurors grabbed him. He kept saying 'I killed them', and the Aurors, being the usual bigoted force they sometimes are, took that as a confession instead of exploring more on what he meant," sighed Fergus, "The Potters were under the Fidelius Charm, but to play a trick, they made everyone think Sirius Black was the Secret Keeper when Peter Pettigrew was the real one. He sold the secret to Voldemort, and lo and behold, we have an innocent man in jail. Reason for no trial might be because of Bartemius Crouch Senior. Rumors says that not only does he hate Death Eaters, but he had a real grudge against the Black family. He dealt with two birds with one stone in his mind when he threw Black to Azkaban with no trial."
"That's barbaric!" gasped Valka.
"We're going to go with plan A," stated Fergus, "If we can get a trial and show that he's innocent, then he'll be free to go, and Harry will have a godfather back."
"Godfather?" asked Frederic.
"Yea, he's supposed to be his godfather," replied Fergus.
"Make sure they use Veriterserum to verify his words before we represent him," warned North, "Don't want him to be lying and having it fired back on our face."
"Of course," replied Fergus.
"Hope this works," grunted Stoick, "If not, then plan B will be put into action. And it won't be pretty."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Summer passed through rather quickly. Hermione went to their manor with her parents and was able to show off what she had learned, much to her parent's delight. North managed to ward her house with some basic protections before finally managing to get her house connected with the Floo Network. That way, Hermione was free to come and go when she wanted to.
The lawyers were working up the case for Sirius Black. Everything was looking good until they hit several roadblocks. Fudge, the Minister of Magic, scoffed at the attempt of the trial and said there was no need for it. The sight of Lucius Malfoy with Fudge made it suspicious to them, though. They appealed to the DMLE, and Amelia Bones seemed especially interested in the case. She was horrified hear that her predecessor had thrown someone to Azkaban without a trial. But from their point, there was something... more.
One day, Hermione decided to ask once more about Rapunzel's hair.
"How did it heal that unicorn?"
Rapunzel sighed as she brushed her hair, closing her eyes for a bit.
"When I was still in my mother's womb, she fell ill," explained Rapunzel, "Doctors had diagnosed that she wouldn't be able to live before I was even born. Still, my father would not give up. They had met with Merida's parents and the others, but even magic had no cure. Then, one day, Jack's parents stumbled across a magical golden flower, said to have healing powers unrivaled. They took it and quickly returned to my mother, where they grinded the flower into powder and sprinkled it into some water. My mother drank it, and became healthy again. When I was born, they were all surprised to see me with golden hair instead of brown hair, like them. But North managed to explain what had happened, and they were happy."
"Did they know about your healing power?" asked Harry.
"No, they didn't," answered Merida for Rapunzel, "Nobody knew until that dreadful night. Apparently, there was an old lady who knew of the healing flower, but hoarded its healing power for herself. She tried to take a lock of her hair just to find out that if you cut Rapunzel's hair, it loses the effect, both the lock and the hair that you cut. So she kidnapped her instead."
"My uncle went into a rage," continued Jack, "He hates when people kidnaps children. And it's very rare for him to get mad. He and his special group searched for her when all other failed, and found Rapunzel locked away. It was then they found out that Rapunzel's hair had magical healing properties, same as the flower. There was a song that needed to be sung, just like the one you heard back in the forest. The woman who kidnapped her was, to be lightly described, put on North's naughty list."
"That's why her hair is so long," finished Hiccup, "Rapunzel decided that she wanted to keep her hair to help others, even though her parents were all for cutting it when she grew older. Cutting all of it will make her lose that power."
"That was until after the forest," added Rapunzel.
Everyone looked at her in shock when she lifted her hair to show that the brown streak of hair she had from cutting had turned back to match the rest of her blonde hair.
"When the unicorn blessed the blood on my hair, it gave this strand of hair its power back."
"Whoa, so does that mean any hair that is cut keeps its power?" asked Hiccup.
Rapunzel shook her head, "I tried it. If it's cut from my hair, the detached part turns brown. But the hair still connected to my head remains blonde and still has its power."
"That means we can finally get you that haircut!" cheered Merida.
"No more brushing your hair forever," added Jack.
"That sounds good," grinned Rapunzel, "But I still like my hair going down to at least my feet."
In the latter half of the summer, something was going on. Harry's letters kept disappearing. He had sent a few to the Weasley, keeping in contact with the twins and Neville. But yet, he didn't receive a reply. When Hiccup sent it, they got a reply saying they never received any mail from Harry, and that they were asking why he didn't respond to theirs. Finally, during a dinner, they got an unexpected guest.
BOING
North raised his eyebrow at this sound. Somebody had just tried to apparate or teleport into their manor. He had this placed warded heavily thanks to his 'secondary' job. The first part was suppose to block any possible apparating or portkeys in. If anyone somehow manged to do so, the second part would kick in and redirect whoever was trying to come in to a room, and not let them out unless he gave them permission.
"I'll be right back," sighed North as he left.
"What do you think that noise was?" asked Harry curiously.
"That's his redirection ward," replied Jack, "Anyone trying to get in via apparating and manages to break through the first ward gets hit by the second one. And nobody leaves the special room unless given permission. And trust me, that room is very secure."
North opened the door leading into the special room to see a house elf, looking quite nervous.
"Ooohhh this is bad. Dobby has no idea how he got here, and Dobby can't get out."
"Dobby, is it?" asked North, surprising Dobby, "What is a house elf doing here?"
"Dobby can not say," replied Dobby, "Dobby will be punished by his master if he does not get their tea in time. Please let Dobby go."
"Huh. That tells me a lot," rumbled North, "You're doing this without the consent of your master."
Dobby froze before trying to ram his head into the wall. North caught him by his pillow case clothes before Dobby could punish himself.
"Whoa there," chuckled North, "I'm very used to your kind's behavior. Got a few of them in my factory myself, along with your cousin species. Funny little guys, but not very bright. Now, tell me, what are you doing here?"
"Dobby cannot say. Dobby merely wants to protect the Boy-Who-Lived."
"Harry?"
Dobby realized what he said and tried to punish himself. He tried to punch himself in the head, but North stopped him.
"Why do you want to protect him? My manor has enough protection, as you can see. Now tell me."
When Dobby shook his head, North sighed before taking on his serious face.
"Look at me Dobby, and tell me what you see."
Dobby took a look into his eyes and gasped.
"You...You is... a Guardian!?" gasped Dobby, "Dobby is not wo-"
"Enough," commanded North, "Now. I'm going to repeat myself. Why are you here?"
"Dobby is here to warn Harry Potter that he must not go back to Hogwarts!" exclaimed Dobby, "Harry Potter will be in mortal danger if he goes. Dobby had hoped Harry Potter would not want to return to Hogwarts if he didn't get his letters."
"Can you tell me more?" asked North. Dobby shook his head, and North knew any more information would be pointless to try to pry. It would most likely reveal the family he was serving.
"Fine. I'll take your warning to the boy. But Harry will most likely want to return to Hogwarts. It's where his friends are besides the ones living here, and we want him to get an education. I will, however, take heed of your warning. Give me his letters, and I'll let you leave, Dobby."
Dobby nodded his head, and with a snap, apparated away. The letters stayed in the room
"Well, this should be interesting," grumbled North as he walked away, grabbing the letters.
And thus, year one ends and we get through most of the summer.
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