Sunday 25 April, 1993 Potter's Place
Harry and Hermione were cuddling up on the warming bench. They were spending an otherwise rainy day curled up in each other's arms.
"Harry? I have a question," she began, "You know that economic plan of yours, the one where you trade the gold Galleons for British Pounds?"
"Mm-hmm." He murmured gently stroking her hand with a thumb.
"What's the real reason behind it other than making a lot of money? Hufflepuffs normally don't act or think like that."
"Hmmph. I've been described as a Hufflepuff with Slytherin tendencies. I'm interested in family, art, making friends yet I will do whatever I can to benefit myself and those close to me. I had the idea the summer before first year that has slowly been developed into, in my opinion, a powerful plan to defeat my enemies whoever they may be. In this case, it would be Voldemort and his minions. In the case of Voldemort, after I heard the Prophecy, I charged the Department of Mysteries to act as my "Hand" to find out how the Dark Bastard defeated death and became a wraith, eliminate what has been determined to be Horcruxes and finally send his evil butt to Hell. With his minions, I will wage economic warfare on them. Picture what would happen if the half-bloods and non-magically born and raised were to realize that all of their supplies could be obtained cheaply and more readily out in the non-magical side? Aside from a few specific items like magically grown potion ingredients or certain animals, everything including the textbooks could be found and sold in "regular" stores. The magical textbooks could be in these regular stores as well, just label the section as something like "Practical Fantasy." The store could be warded to freeze any moving images once it left the premises if bought by a non-magical person.
Hermione slowly nodded in muted shock that such a plan could wreck the magical community without even firing a single spell.
Friday 30 April, 1993 Potter's Place Ritual Circle
It was Beltane again and Harry led the school in another Spring Ritual. In attendance were Sirius, Mister and Mrs. Tonks, Lord and Lady Malfoy, Director Bones, Auror Tonks and several members of the Wizengamot. A reporter was there to cover the event and take a few pictures. Things were shaping up nicely at Hogwarts now. The newly formed Art Gallery was a tremendous morale booster. Students and staff were constantly amazed and inspired by the works of the artists and musicians in the school. Guest artists, musicians and other speakers were invited to give seminars covering their field of expertise. The board had discovered where Binns' salary had disappeared to and rerouted it to a new account to cover the newly hired Magical Crafts and Art professor who would be starting in the fall. Harry had finally talked to Draco about his knowledge of Dobby's actions and attempts to keep him from coming back to school in September. Harry assured Draco that he held no animosity towards the Malfoys just that he was concerned that Dobby's appearance suggested that there were things occurring in the household that should be addressed as soon as possible.
Draco hadn't understood what Harry had meant about Dobby's appearance so one evening; he called the elf to him.
"Dobby!" The elf appeared in front of him, dressed in a dirty and stained tea towel with bandages wrapped around his hands and hunched over.
"Dobby! What happened? Why are you so dirty and wrapped up in bandages?" he exclaimed, deeply shocked by the condition of the house elf.
"Dobby accidentally burned this morning's breakfast, young master. Master ordered Dobby to punish himself." Whimpered Dobby.
Draco broke out in tears as the realization of what Harry had spoken of earlier came crashing in.
"Dob-Dobby… are you unhappy with our family?" Draco whispered, "Are things that bad at home that you feel the need to punish yourself like this?"
Dobby's ears drooped sadly and Draco's heart just broke. Dobby explained as best he could that Dobby's family had much evil in their hearts and minds. Their magic was poisoning Dobby.
"But…but… what about all the cleansing rituals that we've taken part in? Don't they help?" stammered Draco, his eyes tearing up a bit.
"At school, they does but not at home. Home is where Master's magic resides. Home is where the rituals must be used to cleanse Master's magic." Dobby sobbed. "Ever since Master has gotten rid of evil book, things have not been so bad but Dobby still feels the poison of the book in everything Dobby touches."
Draco broke down and sobbed out loud at the realization and the confession of Dobby. He knew he had to do something. He just didn't know what.
Harry was going through a bunch of job description flyers that were scattered about on the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall the next morning. There were flyers for everything from Training Security Trolls to various departments in the Ministry. He approached Professor Sprout after he discovered that there were no flyers covering teaching positions. He told her that he wanted to eventually come back and teach Art. Sprout raised one eyebrow at him and said that if he wanted to become a teacher then all he had to do was to obtain an apprenticeship to a current Art Master and eventually get certified. She admitted that if he took that route, it would be several years before he could earn his own Mastery in the subject. His other option would be to talk with the school board as they handled the formation of new teaching positions. He thanked her and wandered back to the table to eat his breakfast and to contemplate things.
Friday 21 May, 1993 Great Hall
It was turning out to be a good day, Friday. It was a beautiful spring morning and Harry was sitting next to Hermione having a cup of tea going through the morning paper. Gold prices were nearing £250 and looked to keep climbing. His other investments were raking in the dividends as well. Over the past year he had invested in a diverse group of non-magical technology stocks such as IBM, 3M, British Petroleum and Microsoft. He also invested in smaller companies that offered interesting returns such as a coffee house in the United States of America called Starbucks and the American fast food chain McDonald's.
All heads looked up as the Weasley twins provided this morning's entertainment. The morning delivery owls brought the assembled crowd copies of the Daily Prophet and as everyone settled down to read; exclamations and shouts of disbelief filled the air. The twins had successfully brewed their own version of Veritiserum and had found their first victim…er, test subject. According to the twins, their version caused the "test subject" to write out the truth instead of speaking it. Just like its original counterpart, the potion was odorless, colorless and tasteless. It had taken them nearly eight months to come up with a working potion much to Professor Snape's surprise. He had discovered what the twins were working on during one his nightly patrols through the castle. Rather than reprimanding them, he offered his assistance in the finalization of the brewing. The twins in turn, offered Snape a spot on the paper they were going to submit to the journal Practical Potioneering and he accepted to be listed as faculty advisor.
The previous morning, they had spiked Lockhart's morning tea with the improved Veritiserum then asked him questions regarding his supposed exploits described in his books. Lockhart wasn't even aware that he was writing down the truth even as he verbally boasted about his travels around the world, the various creatures he supposedly encountered and the people he had interviewed with. Fred and George then sent the exposé off to the Daily Prophet and a copy off to the DMLE.
The doors to the Great Hall burst open to admit two Aurors and Director Bones who strode in, Amelia spoke to Acting Headmistress McGonagall, turned and nodded to the other Aurors who promptly arrested Lockhart for various counts of fraud, illegal use of Memory charms and two counts of illegal relations with students under the age of seventeen. They hauled him out of the castle to the jeers and boos of students and staff. The court case was handled quickly and easily. He received five years in Azkaban for each count of fraud and sexual assault and ordered to pay for the restitutions to the memory charmed victims and all those who bought his books.
Friday 25 June, 1993 Hogwarts Express
It was the end of the year and Harry was on the train heading back to King's Cross Station. Hermione had had the brilliant idea to go down to the kitchens and ask the elves to pack a basket of food for at least eight people for the ride home. They came through in marvelous style. The table in the compartment was loaded down with platters such as roasted chicken, spiced corn and peppers, two different kinds of potatoes, a salad with a light vinaigrette dressing and for dessert, fresh fruit compote. The elves included several bottles of Butterbeer and pumpkin juice. The others complimented Hermione on her insightful culinary gift, as the thought of bouncing off the walls due to the sugar rush just didn't appeal to them as much as it used to.
Harry had just finished rereading the letter he had received from Sirius that morning. In it, the older man had regaled him with the adventures he had partaken with the Healers at Saint Mungo's. The Healers had put him through, in his opinion, a harrowing tale of potions that no sane person should ever take complete with descriptions of the taste and appearance of such, encounters with probes and wands trying to diagnose what else was wrong with him and to Sirius' disgusted opinion, being shot down in his repeated attempts to 'woo the pretty nurses.' Sirius had told him that he probably wouldn't be able to get out and find a decent living space until later that summer and he hoped that Harry could deal with staying with the Dursleys until at least just after his birthday.
Harry made the decision that this year he would make a concerted effort to visit the London Museum of Art, as he never got around to it last year. He thought he'd be able to include Sirius in his plans but would wait until he got home before writing to him outlining his ideas. He had already invited Hermione and Neville to join him and both accepted. He thought back to an earlier incident that made him believe that his philosophy was slowly influencing the minds and hearts of others. Draco had approached him as they were loading up to go down to the Hogsmeade Station and told him the discoveries and revelations he had made regarding Dobby and his family. Harry told Draco that if he needed his help in setting up and leading a cleansing ritual that he'd be more than happy to assist. He recommended that he discuss with his parents the option of contacting the DoM to help with the cleansing Malfoy Manor of any Dark objects before they tried to do any rituals. Draco had profusely thanked him and promised that by the end of summer there would be changes.
After the train pulled into the station, Harry disembarked. He made his way through the barrier and found his uncle sitting on a bench waiting for him. Vernon asked him where his trunk was and he replied that he had shrunk it and was in his pocket. His uncle's eyebrows rose at that and Harry could see that his uncle was imagining the possibilities of such information. Vernon then asked what Harry's plans were for the summer as they walked out of the station towards the car. Harry just gave him a sly grin…
(AN: I'm sure a bunch of you are wondering why Dobby didn't make more attempts to get Harry to return home during the Chamber of Secrets fiasco. Well, in most stories Harry is avid flyer or gets into danger on a regular basis. My version of Harry is more sedate and 'down-to-earth' so to speak and doesn't seek out adventure or anything that could cause bodily harm to himself or others.)
