Minnie's Song

Disclaimer: JKR's Characters and settings: My Ideas (Sort of) Your time: Thanks for reading

It was early in the morning of Sunday, November 1st when Harry and Hermione woke up again cuddled together in front of the fireplace. It had happened several times over the course of the summer that he had spent at the Grangers. While at Hogwarts, they seemed to wake up together at least once a week. Harry never minded because the world always seemed right when he woke holding tightly to Hermione. By unspoken agreement they shared a quick kiss and rushed back to their dorm rooms to get ready for the day.

They met in the common room again and Hermione laced her fingers through Harry's. Together, harry and Hermione walked down to the great hall without saying a word to each other. One of the benefits of having been friends for so long was that they could say as much in their silence as with words. Harry and Hermione each grabbed a handful of toast. Hermione's eyes searched the staff table and found Professor McGonagall. She gave the transfiguration teacher a shy smile. In return, Professor McGonagall nodded her head slightly.

The Gryffindor couple walked out into the morning air. "Why do all of our adventures seem to start on Halloween?" Harry complained. "In our first year you were almost killed by a troll. In second year, there was the trouble with the heir of Slytherin. Last year Sirius tried to get into the Common room and this year I got entered into that damn tournament against my will. Ron's convinced that I'm an attention seeking prat."

Hermione hugged him tightly with her free arm. "There is one good thing that happened on Halloween; it's the day that we became friends." She kissed Harry tenderly on the cheek.

"That probably would have happened a whole lot sooner if I hadn't blindly followed Ron." Harry answered in an emotionless monotone.

"Harry, what happened last night between you and Ron?"

They sat down on a large rock overlooking the black lake, throwing bits of toast into the water for the giant squid. "Last night when I finally got to the dorm, Ron was there. He accused us of making a fool of him yesterday morning when he tried to enter the tournament. Then he went on about how I was rich and famous and how I stole his girlfriend. After his little tirade, Ron tried to punch me. I ducked out of the way and he hit the bedpost instead. I don't know what happened to him after that."

Hermione's fingers found Harry's back and she began to trace delicate circles over and over. "I know that there's no real excuse for his behaviour, Harry. On the other hand he is partially right. Everything does seem to happen to you. I know that you didn't ask to be famous, but you are, and whenever people meet you, Ron gets shoved to the side without ever really complaining about it."

Part of Harry wanted to rage at the injustice of his life, Ron deserting him, and how fate liked to kick him in the nuts every time he got up. The logical side of Harry's brain, that he tended to use a lot more since he had been dating Hermione, found the truth in her words. "I hear what you're saying Hermione, but Ron betrayed me last night. I'm not sure if a simple apology is going to set things right."

"It may take Ron some time to come around, Harry. Just don't throw away three years of friendship until you give him a chance to redeem himself."

They sat on that rock for a long time, finding comfort in each other's arms. When Harry and Hermione began to get a little numb from the cold and their stomachs rumbled with hunger, they began to make their way inside. "Are you going to tell me what happened with Professor Dumbledore?"

"Of course I will Harry, I just need to talk things over with Professor McGonagall for awhile first. I'm going to meet her after lunch if you don't mind. Maybe you could write letters to Sirius and my parents. I'm sure that they would appreciate hearing from you."

Harry walked Hermione to Professor McGonagall's office, and then walked back to the empty common room to write his letters. Harry sent Hedwig with a letter to Hermione's parents and he used one of the school owls to send a letter to Sirius.

With nothing else to really do and no one to talk to, Harry made his way to the library to work on his Potions essay. Harry was convinced that Professor Snape was going to poison him at the end of term, so he wanted to learn more about antidotes.

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Hermione knocked on Professor McGonagall's door as she had done so many times already this term. For the first two weeks of school she had visited every other day. Hermione had taken the professor's invitation from the beginning of term to heart.

Professor McGonagall offered her a cup of tea and a ginger newt. "I'm so worried about Harry, Professor. I don't have any idea how he is going to survive the first task, let alone the tournament." Hermione had dived right into discussing her latest problem.

"I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't worried about Harry too. We will have to trust Professor Dumbledore to look out for Harry" Professor McGonagall said before taking a sip of her tea.

"In other words Harry will be in as much if not more danger than always. I went to see Professor Dumbledore last night after Harry got out of the champions meeting." Hermione's face began to redden as she thought of the meeting with the headmaster. "I was so mad when I got there; I just about scared the robes off of Ludo Bagman. Then I called Dumbledore a sanctimonious bastard and threw a glass at the door."

Professor McGonagall smiled at the young witch. "You remind me so much of Harry's mother sometimes, it's uncanny. Just like you, Lily Evans was considered the brightest witch of her age. She was muggle born and loved learning just as much as you do. The only difference is that you were able to start trying to beat some sense in Harry, much earlier than Lily did with James."

Hermione began to giggle a bit as she blushed at the compliment. After the two settled down, Hermione told the Professor more about her visit with the Headmaster. "When I came in to his office I was so angry. I was upset that he allowed Harry's name into the goblet. When I pointed out that Harry was too young to be entered into a legally binding contract, all he said was that a magical object could not tell how old someone is. What makes me really angry is I just sat there as Dumbledore said that I should help Harry in the tournament so that we could find out who had entered him. I can't believe that I just agreed to let my Harry be used as bait and at the end of my talk I even thanked the manipulative old goat." Hermione's fists were clinched tightly as she bit down furiously on one of the biscuits.

"Unfortunately Hermione, I'm not surprised. When you're angry at Albus, it does no good to confront him in his office. All of the drinks that he serves and his lemon drops are laced with calming drafts. I swear that he must have cast every relaxation spell and compulsion charm there is on the chairs in his office. It's very unsettling to go into his office ready to tear a strip off of him only to find yourself agreeing to everything he says."

"Why that sanctimonious, manipulative son of a …" Hermione was stopped from carrying on further by her favourite professor.

"Hermione, I think that it is best if you calm down child. It does no good to rage about what has happened. If you thought that Harry needed you in the past, he will need you even more so now. Especially now that Mr. Weasley has let his jealousy get the best of him."

The young witch nodded her head in understanding. "Thank you for letting me vent Professor. I don't know how I would get through this year without you to talk to." Hermione stood up and gave a Professor McGonagall a quick hug before leaving the office.

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It had taken sometime, but Albus had finally located the Gaunt shack. The dilapidated old building was barely standing. He walked slowly around the property several times while muttering spells under his breath. Finally Albus arrived at a break in the overgrown shrubs that surrounded the yard. He smiled briefly after muttering a phrase that would allow him to access the wards on the property without alerting anybody.

The Headmaster entered the unkempt yard and again he began very carefully making his way around the property. At last Dumbledore walked up to the remnants of the shack, and did the same thing once again. After trying a variety of increasingly powerful unlocking spells to no avail, he sifted through the memories he had of Harry speaking in parseltongue. Duplicating the sounds and vibrations that he understood to mean open, Dumbledore watched as the door slowly opened.

Once inside, it was easy to find the ring's hiding place. Carefully, he pried up the rotting floorboard that covered it. He seized the case and again cast detection spells on the box. Once Dumbledore was sure that there were no curses placed on the box he lifted the lid. Upon seeing the symbol that was etched into the stone, Dumbledore was tempted beyond reason to put it on. It took all of his willpower to close the ring case and tuck it into a pocket of his robes.

On his way back outside the shack, Dumbledore decided to see what would happen if he tripped the outermost alarm ward that was protecting the property. After tripping the ward, he disillusioned himself and waited patiently.

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A short distance away, Lord Voldemort felt the pull of the broken ward. "Wormtail, the ward at my grandfather's shack has been triggered. I want you to go there at once to look for intruders, and make sure that you're not seen."

"Yes Master" the balding and hunched form of Wormtail replied.

""And Wormtail, make sure that you inspect the property thoroughly" Voldemort hissed.

"Yes Master" With a loud pop the traitor disappeared and reappeared close to the shack. Immediately he transformed into a rat to avoid detection.

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Dumbledore was waiting patiently when he noticed a small rat systematically making his way around the boundaries of the property. With a wave of his wand, a red streak of light hit the unsuspecting rodent. Albus walked over and picked up the rat. "Well, hello Peter; imagine finding you here. Your master must know that somebody is here."

Holding onto the rat firmly in one hand; Dumbledore apparated to the lobby of the Ministry of Magic. After pocketing the rat, he marched quickly to the lift. His first stop was to see Amelia Bones, the head of the D.M.L.E.

He strolled up to Amelia's secretary, "Good afternoon Miss. Clearwater. Would Madam Bones be available for a brief meeting?"

She checked her appointment book and smiled up at her former Headmaster. "Madam Bones has no meetings scheduled for the rest of the day sir. I will check if she is available to talk to you."

A short minute later, the door opened to Madam Bones' office. "Hello Albus. What can I do for you today? She held the door open as Professor Dumbledore walked through.

"What I have to say is of the utmost importance Amelia. May I ask that you put your strictest security measures in place? Do you have any veritaserum in your office?"

Amelia reached into her desk and pulled out the truth potion. "What is this about Albus?"

Professor Dumbledore smiled and his blue eyes twinkled. "I have located a witness that will prove that Sirius Black is an innocent man and we can give him the trial that he was denied all those years ago."

Dumbledore reached into his pocket and produced the rat that he had captured less than an hour ago.

"A rat!" Madam Bones shouted, "You have a rat that is going to testify that Sirius Black is innocent. You are losing it you barmy old coot!"

Dumbledore waited patiently for her tirade to end. Professor Dumbledore waved his wand and the rat transformed into Peter Pettigrew. The Headmaster levitated Pettigrew into the chair and ropes shot out of Madam Bones' wand, securing Peter to the chair.

"Damn Albus, this does change everything."

"You are quite right Madam Bones. Unfortunately even when he is faced with the truth, Cornelius will be reluctant to grant Sirius a new trial. That is why I came to you first. Even if we manage to secure a trial for Sirius it will not be safe for him here until his name is cleared."

Madam Bones thought for a minute. "We could hold the trial in Zurich. No Dementors are allowed in Switzerland. I am sure that my Swiss colleagues will agree to ensure Sirius' wellbeing until the trial can take place. I will see to the details as soon as we are finished here."

Amelia called for her secretary to come in, and then she went to the fireplace to ask the minister to come and join them. Fudge almost passed out as he stepped from the fireplace in Madam Bones' office.

Albus woke Pettigrew up and Amelia administered the veritaserum. Together they questioned Peter about his role in the murder of the Potters.

Cornelius was flustered. Potter and his friends had been right about Black. If he agreed to give Sirius a trial then the ministry would be under a lot of public scrutiny. Also, he definitely did not want anyone poking around in his private affairs. "I'm sorry Albus, but I can't authorize a trial for Sirius Black. I will agree to call off the hunt for him, but that is far as I can go. I don't want the reputation of the ministry to be battered anymore than it is already. You must understand that with the incident at the world cup and Rita Skeeter nosing around for a story." Fudge finished with a humphhh.

Amelia's face turned red and her monocle was clenched tightly to her face. "I'm sorry Minister but as head of the DMLE it is my decision,not yours, as to whether or not Sirius gets a trial. Because it is not safe for Mr. Black here in England the trial will be conducted in Switzerland. I will inform you of the date and time. If you have a problem with that Cornelius, then I will tender my resignation in the morning."

Fudge turned on his heal and stormed out of the office. Penelope duplicated her notes and gave a copy to Professor Dumbledore. She then left the office and returned to her desk.

"Albus, let me call some aurors and I will have Pettigrew placed in a detention cell until the trial."

Dumbledore walked over to Peter and rolled up the rat's sleeve. Madam Bones let out a gasp as she saw the dark mark on Pettigrew's arm, it was not clear yet, but it could definitely be seen.

"Peter was on a mission from Voldemort. I think that he has information about what is being planned and about Harry Potter's name being entered into the goblet of fire."

Under the influence of Veritaserum, Peter told of how he found the dark lord and the subsequent murder of Bertha Jorkins. Amelia was horrified when Peter described in detail Voldemort's plan to capture Harry Potter and return to power. The one thing that he could not tell was the location of Voldemort. The hideout of the dark lord has hidden by fidelius charm.

"Alright Albus, we should secure our rat and expose the fake Moody."

Albus shook his head in disagreement. "I'm sorry Amelia, but we must alter Peter's memory and return him to where I found him. We have his testimony recorded and verified by three people of impeccable reputation as well as the Minister for Magic."

"You really have gone mad Albus. We have Peter and we can save Harry Potter and prevent Voldemort's return." She thundered at Dumbledore.

"Again your reasoning is flawed Amelia. We now have a detailed knowledge of Lord Voldemort's plans. If we keep Peter and move to thwart this plan then he will find another way to return that could be even worse for the wizarding world." reasoned Dumbledore.

"So what you are saying is that we let this play out and risk Potter's life and let the dark lord return. That's unacceptable Albus."

"Madam Bones, there are things that you don't understand about this situation. Letting Voldemort think that his plan is going off without a hitch, while we keep tabs on all the suspected death eaters will give us a tactical advantage. When it comes time for the plan to be executed then we will be able to ensure that Harry is safe and Voldemort's power when he returns is limited."

"Would you care to enlighten me on what part of this story I'm missing Albus?"

"I'm sorry Amelia, but I cannot divulge anything further to you at the present time. You will just have to trust me."

"Alright Professor, but after this is over, I will expect you to explain all of the details to me."

Amelia bones released Pettigrew from her spell and then Dumbledore travelled back to where he found Peter. He modified Peter's memory and disillusioned himself again.

After Dumbledore had left her office, Amelia bones sent a message to the international portkey office to arrange a portkey to Zurich in half an hour. In the mean time, Madam Bones had just enough information that she could formulate two new security directives.

She marched into the office of head auror, Rufus Scrimgeour. "Rufus, it has come to my attention that Voldemort is regaining some of his power. As of tomorrow morning, you will require that every employee of the Ministry present their left forearms for inspection; I mean everyone including the minister himself. Amelia handed Scrimgeour the directive. The second directive is that you assign two trusted aurors to guard the Minister at all times. Nobody has access to Cornelius without rolling up their left sleeve to see if they have the dark mark.

Rufus nodded his head. He liked the way that Amelia conducted business. She was as tough as nails and wouldn't put up with any crap. "I assume that you want me to confiscate the wands of anybody bearing the dark mark and hold them for questioning."

"Exactly Rufus; we will work out the details when I get back from Switzerland. Be waiting for me in my office in two hours."

"If anybody tries to claim that they were under the imperius curse."

"Rufus you were at the questioning of Igor Karkaroff just as I was. He told us that the only way to receive the mark was by their own free will. Anybody with the dark mark knew exactly what they were doing."

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It was the beginning of an afternoon potions class when Draco Malfoy unveiled the badges that he had made. 'Support Cedric Diggory, the Real Hogwarts Champion" was written in large red letters. When he pressed the badge it read 'Potter Stinks!' Draco smirked in triumph.

"Is that the best you could do Malfoy?" Harry muttered with disdain in his voice.

Draco's face turned pink and he drew his wand. "At least I don't spend my spare time snogging a filthy mudblood!" Malfoy pulled his wand quickly and a blue coloured spell shot it. Harry ducked and the spell hit Hermione in the mouth. Professor Snape chose that moment to see what the commotion outside his classroom was. He caught Harry with his wand drawn and pointing at Malfoy. "Ah Potter, you know the rule about duelling in the hallways. That will be fifty points from Gryffindor."

Harry's face was flushed with anger. "Malfoy cast the first spell and it hit Hermione."

With a look of amusement on his face Snape examined Hermione's mouth and noted that her front teeth were growing rapidly. "I see no difference in Miss. Granger's appearance now get to class."

Hermione turned to flee up to the hospital wing as the Slytherins howled in laughter. Harry turned to follow Hermione when he felt a hand grab his shoulder. "What the Hell Potter? Are you just going to let Malfoy get away with that? Some champion you are." Ron's fist was raised threateningly.

"Get your hand off me Weasley! The last time you took a swing at me, I let you get away with it because I thought our friendship could still be saved. Next time that you try to hit me, you won't be so lucky!" Harry twisted himself from Ron's grip and chased after Hermione.

A very smug Ron Weasley entered the classroom and immediately wilted under the hateful glares of his fellow Gryffindors.

By the time Harry got to the hospital wing, Hermione was already behind a screen and being treated by Madam Pomfrey. Harry waited patiently until Hermione was finished. She rushed to hug Harry tightly. After she let him go, Hermione started lecturing Harry about skipping class. Finally she took Harry's hand in hers and led him to the nearest broom closet.

Hermione kissed Harry with a fiery passion that she rarely displayed even in private. As the couple deepened their kiss, Harry pulled away abruptly. "Hermione, your overbite, it's gone." Harry was greeted by a magnificent smile from Hermione.

"When Madam Pomfrey was shrinking my front teeth, I just let her keep going until they matched the rest of my teeth." She kissed Harry again.

The couple were interrupted by Professor McGonagall opening the closet door. "Alright Potter, Granger, come with me now." She led Harry and Hermione back to her office. "I just received a note from Professor Snape about the two of you skipping his class. As I read the note, I figured that there must be some extenuating circumstances. Then I find the two of you snogging in a broom closet."

Harry and Hermione both tried to explain what had happened when they noticed that Professor McGonagall was smiling. "Fortunately for the two of you, he sent Mr. Longbottom with the note. Neville took the time to explain what had happened."

"Thank you Professor." they said in unison.

They noticed a mysterious glint in Professor Mcgonagall's eyes when she spoke again. "Harry, as your head of house I must commend you for your restraint, but you know that you cannot let young Mr. Malfoy get away with this. Might I suggest talking to the Weasley twins and plotting a little revenge? My personal choice would be for the two of you to do something like this." Madam Paws went into a detailed explanation of what they could do to Malfoy and how they could pull it off. By the time that she had finished with the explanation, both Harry and Hermione were doubled over with laughter.