After The Attack
Harry and Hermione dashed through the corridors, and made the other students go up against the walls to avoid being run over by the pair. They skidded round the corner and into Salem's Hospital Wing. It was clearly evident as to where Neville was lying as he was the only person occupying a bed.
"Thank god you're here" Seamus said as he turned to see the running couple enter the wing.
"How's Neville?" Hermione asked.
"Not too good" Luna said in a quiet voice. "He lost a lot of blood, and some of the potions are not working correctly" and she looked as if she had been crying quite a bit.
"Dumbledore has a lot to answer for" Harry muttered darkly. "So what happened?" he asked the others – not including Hermione of course. She had been with him at the time of the attack.
"Dean was in the sitting room when it happened" said Lavender. "From what we have been able to gather, Dumbledore was here to force you back to Hogwarts" and Harry was fuming.
"What the hell does he want?" he shouted.
"I heard that he was going to make you marry Ginny" said Parvati.
"WHAT?" Hermione's shout was as loud as a sonic boom – to Harry at least.
"I heard the same sort of thing" said Padma. "Both the Weasleys were there as well" and there was a silence as Harry considered something.
"Who else?" he asked. "Who else was with the dickhead?" and the others looked at each other before Susan answered him.
"Professor Lupin" she said quietly.
"The bastard" Harry spat angrily.
"There was a few others, but I could only tell those few I have met" Susan said.
"Was…" Hermione stopped before starting again, "Was McGonagall involved?" she asked them.
"No" said Hannah, "That much is for certain" and Harry and Hermione both felt relieved.
"Well at least that is good" Harry said, "How long is Neville going to be out for?" he asked, looking down at the seemingly sleeping boy on the bed. He at least had his arm back on, but was a deathly grey colour in terms of skin colour.
"At least another four or five hours" said Luna said. "The nurse said she was keeping him under sleep because of the damage to his arm. The nerves need to heal themselves again" the blonde haired girl said.
"I promise you all that this will not go unpunished" Harry said.
"But what can we do?" asked Lavender. "Everyone believes him over anyone else. No one is going to trust any evidence that we present" and Susan gave a weak smile.
"I spent a lot of time with my Aunt over the summer to get some extra money to spend" she said. "I picked up a few tips on how they investigate crimes. Even though the Americans will investigate this … perhaps we should go after this ourselves" said the former Hufflepuff.
"I'll help as well" said Padma, "I mean we all know about Dumbledore better then anyone at Salem. We should try to figure out what his aim is, and try to think when he might attack Harry next. Him and his group left as soon as they discovered you wasn't here, Harry" and the person concerned agreed.
"Let's be careful here" Hermione said. "Do you realise that we are going up against Albus Dumbledore?"
"Does he realise that he is going up against Harry Potter?" Harry remarked to her in reply. "He isn't our first concern though. While we were away, Voldemort decided to attack us" and there was a series of gasps from everyone.
"What?" said an alarmed Hannah.
"I'll tell you about it later" Harry assured her. He felt drained now after what had happened on Sodor, and it was all he could do to stay awake. "My plan is going to bed for an undetermined time. Dumbledore won this round, but he will not win the war. He is going to be brought down, even if I have to do it with my bare hands" and with that, he strode from the room.
"He'll be alright soon" said Hermione softly. She looked down at Neville, and then said that they had better leave him in peace. They left him alone in the Hospital Wing and returned to where they lived. Harry had already gone to bed, but Hermione was still worried about him though anyway. Harry was certain that Dumbledore had had a hand in Sirius's death, though he had mentioned that he might not have actually killed him himself. As she half listened to more details of what had happened, Hermione thought about when would be the good time to tell Harry about his parent's will not being read.
"HELLO? Earth to Hermione?" Dean's waving hand brought her out of her deep thinking.
"Sorry" she said, "You was saying?" and Dean rolled his eyes before speaking again.
"We just wondered when we should contact Neville's grandmother" he said. "We should let her know that Neville's alright" but to his surprise, Parvati shook her head.
"She hasn't even been told about him getting injured" the girl pointed out. "Besides, isn't it better to find out how bad Neville is going to be? Assuming that his arm is never going to be fully healed" she added.
"Perhaps" Dean conceded, "So what do we do?" he asked. They all looked at each other, before they turned to look at Hermione.
"What?" asked the bushy haired girl.
"Well in the absence of Harry, you are the next best thing to a leader" Lavender said.
"Oh great" Hermione dead panned. "Well before I say anything, there is something you should be told about" and she told them about the unread will.
"That's illegal!" said Susan "Dumbledore could be fined for that, or even put in Azkaban for a year. How the hell has he got away with that?" and Hermione said she didn't know.
"The first thing we should do is to get as much documentation as we can" Padma said.
"Where can we get that from?" asked Hermione.
"Well we can request a lot of it from Gringotts" said the former Ravenclaw. "Some of it though will have to got from the Ministry" and Hermione frowned.
"I don't think they will let us just walk in there and take what we want" she said at last. They all tried to think of something, and it was Hannah that figured it out.
"Susan would know where everything is because of her Aunt. All we do is to make her Harry's lawyer, and then she can get what she needs. All Harry has to do is to register the appointment of Susan, and then everything is wrapped up nice and legal" and it sounded a good plan.
"I'll talk to Harry about it when he is in a better mood" Hermione promised. "The main problem is what to do about Dumbledore's attack. I am sure that the Americans will want to investigate and maybe prosecute him" and Seamus snorted.
"Jackson told us that they proberly won't do that at all. From what we've been able to gather, the only serious attack happened on Neville. And that took place right here" he said. "Everyone else was hit by stunners or jinxes at the worst. Because of that little trick that Harry did, it means that the attack happened on UK soil" and Hermione suddenly smirked.
"That's why he did it!" she laughed. "Harry knew Dumbledore might attack…" and the plan was easily seen once explained.
#
Hogwarts
Headmaster's Office
"So where was the little brat?" asked Molly Weasley.
"I do not know" admitted Dumbledore. "We had traced his magical signature, but he clearly wasn't there. He can not have had time to hide, not could he have hidden himself with magic. I would detected the powerful burst from him" and he thought about it for a moment.
"Well at least we got something with his seed on it" said Lupin. "I can have the potion made by the middle of next week at the earliest" and a smile crossed over the faces of both the Weasley adults.
"It will be a normal period before birth?" asked Mr Weasley.
"Yes" said Lupin, "But I will try to cut it down by a month if possible. Too much altering of what I have, and we may well have to try and get more of him for another attempt" and he went on to explain that it was a complex potion.
"All Ginerva has to do is drink it, and there will be no effects to her. Except the fact she is carrying Harry's child" Dumbledore said.
"Good" said Mrs Weasley. "Ginny is most willing to help in the plans" she assured the Headmaster. "And Ron is pleased with what he has been given" she added. Ron had been made Head Boy and Quidditch captain. This was the price which Dumbledore was willing to pay in order to get hold of some of the Potter fortune.
#
Hogwarts
Potions Dungeons
It was clear that Harry had not got the message, so he had to think of another way. That was why Snape was down in the dungeons where he normally resided, and he looked around to see if anyone was nearby. Satisfied, Snape reached out and removed one of the ingredients from the bench in front of him. He was just in time because at that moment, Lupin came into the room.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"I was coming to speak to you, but found you not here. I was about to go when I saw the potion bubbling. I read your notes and added the material from the Potter brat for you" Snape said.
"Thank you, Severus" Lupin.
"I am surprised why Dumbledore didn't ask me to brew it" Snape remarked.
"Most likely so that if Voldemort tries to read your mind, you can possibly prove that he didn't ask you. I don't really know to be honest" Lupin said. "All that matters is that we get everything that the brat owns" and Snape nodded and agreed. Now that he had removed the vital ingredients, Snape could now do his best to hurt Harry. But first he would tell him in a letter what the Order was planning on doing.
#
Salem
Several Hours Later
"I'm back!" called Neville as he came into the living room. The others turned to see him walk up to them, and Luna jumped up and gave him a massive hug.
"I was so worried" she sobbed into his jumper. Neville just held her tightly, and stroked her hair softly.
"Good to see you up and about" said Harry, and he looked at the newly repaired arm. "So you okay to do everything then?" Harry asked him.
"Oh yeah" smiled Neville. "I have a ten year guarantee on this. If it fails, then I get my money back" and Dean laughed as well as Hermione.
"Well you picked a good time for you to get back to us" said Harry. "We was just discussing Dumbledore's attack, and how we plan to get back at him. It seems that the will of my parents hasn't been read, so I have written to Gringotts and asked for the will to be read. No doubt Dumbledore will try to pass off some law against me having it, but we'll not let that happen" and Harry went on to explain exactly what was going to happen. He had arranged for the will reading to happen at Christmas, so they had a few months to prepare for the event. After hearing it all, Neville was sure it would be a most interesting session.
"Well it will all be heard in a Gringotts office" he added.
"Actually I have asked for it to be heard in court. That way he can not disprove what was said" Harry said.
"That was my idea" said Hermione.
"Well Hermione helped a bit" Harry added quickly, and Hermione gave him a half hearted glare.
"Well whoever thought of it was onto a good thing there" said Neville, and he sat down with Luna perching on the chair arm to his left. "So what do we do until the case? I imagine that Dumbledore will try something. He always acted oddly when he came visiting over the summer. It was almost as if he was reading my mind" and Harry's neck snapped round so he was looking at Hermione.
"Are you thinking what I am thinking?" she asked.
"I think so" Harry replied.
"What?" asked Hannah.
"Dumbledore was reading my mind all the time we were at Hogwarts. I bet he did it to others as well" Harry said.
"I got that feeling myself, but I thought it was just that he knew so much" said Seamus.
"Can we do anything about that?" asked Luna.
"We can kill him" suggested Lavender.
"Let us not be so drastic. How about we think of something that won't land us all in prison?" Hermione said. Before she could speak again, Dobby appeared in the middle of the living room. He looked around for Harry, and then held out a letter to him.
"A letter, Harry Potter sir" said the elf. Harry took it, and then scanned it for any charms or spells. They only one that was on the letter was a charm which meant it could only be opened by the addressee.
"Thank you, Dobby" said Harry, and the elf beamed before popping away.
"Who do you think sent it?" asked Neville.
"I have no idea" Harry shrugged, and he opened the letter.
Dear Potter
Dumbledore is planning on making Ginerva Weasley pregnant with your child. Once you are born, you would be killed. I have prevented that however, but I thought you should be informed. I owe a debt to your mother – that is now paid.
Signed
A Friend
"Of all the two timing low down things" Harry exploded. "Can Dumbledore have done this?" he asked, passing the note so that Hermione and Padma could read it.
"Possibly" Padma said. "So long as there is the… seed… in the potion, it could be true. But the letter says that it won't happen" she added.
"We can't assume that this is accurate though" Hermione interjected. "Though I have heard of this myself. It is like the magical version of IVF" and Harry caught on.
"Dumbledore is planning on getting a child by me. Once he or she is born, he will kill me and get Ginny to hand over a large some of money to him and the order. The bloody bastard" he swore, and Harry sat fuming as the others waited for him to calm down. When he was, Hermione sealed the door with a tricky little locking spell that would take some time to undo.
"Time for a council of war" she said when she got questioning looks. She conjured some pen and paper and propped it up against her knee. "So what do we know about Dumbledore? Starting from the top".
"He tried to get Harry to give up most of his life this year" Neville said.
"He also tried to stop him from speaking to his friends" added Luna.
"Ordered him to turn in his Quidditch equipment because he wouldn't be able to play" said Susan.
"Don't forget that he tried to prevent him from attending Sirius Black's will reading" Hannah said.
"And his parents" Dean said.
"Tried to bribe him with being a prefect" Seamus said.
"He's a bastard" said lavender.
"And he resorts to potions and stuff when he doesn't get his way" said the twins. Hermione wrote it all down, and then started to think of things.
"Harry?" she said, looking up.
"Mmm?" Harry replied.
"Do you think that you could get the reading heard sooner?" Hermione said. "If we do it now, then the potion will be easier to detect on Ginny. We will have to sound out someone though for our own testing. I wouldn't put much doubt into anyone that Dumbledore suggests – except Pomfrey" she added. "I don't think she is in on it. Pomfrey wouldn't hurt anyone, and I bet she'd even treat Voldemort if he needed it" and Harry thought about it.
"What do you think?" he asked Susan.
"Well the earliest it could happen is this weekend" she said after a moment's thought. "But I have had another thought just now. If Harry was to die, then there is a chance he might try to put Hermione under a spell and make her marry Ron Weasley" and Harry froze in the act of picking up a cup of tea that Dobby had left. Why he had brought it with him, he did not know.
"That the only method?" he asked.
"That or a marriage contract" Parvati said.
"Marriage contract?" said Hermione in surprise. "I thought that was illegal now" she said.
"Not in the Wizarding world" Padma said. "It is like a muggle one though, but with a few tiny changes. With a Wizarding one, Hermione would be forced to accept the offer" and Hermione frowned.
"Why?" she questioned the girl.
"Because she is muggle born" Harry said slowly, and the others nodded silently.
"There is a way out of it though" said Lavender.
"Oh?"
"Harry could propose to Hermione. As she would be engaged, not even Dumbledore could order the marriage contract to take place" and Lavender blushed, and then the Patil twins looked sad slightly.
"Girls? What's wrong?" asked Dean.
"It's the reason why we know so much about marriage contracts" said Parvati.
"Our father entered us into them when we were both very young" said Padma. "We don't know our Husbands – To – Be, but our father has said that he will get a lot of money for us both" and she burst into tears and fled up to the girls dorm.
"I didn't know" said Harry.
"Not even Lavender knew" said Parvati.
"It seems stupid and horrible" said Hannah.
"Selling off your children to gain money and status" Susan shook her head. Harry's mind was spinning with thoughts of the recent attack, Dumbledore, his parent's Will Reading and now this.
"Why don't you go and sort out your sister, Pav?" suggested the raven haired boy. Parvati looked oddly at Harry before going upstairs.
"What are you planning?" asked Susan. "As your lawyer, I really should know" she joked.
"I was thinking about getting the twins out of their contracts" Harry said seriously.
"You can only have one wife at a time" Neville pointed out.
"I know that" said Harry.
"So what are we going to do?" asked Hermione. The girl had forgotten about her own problems for the moment.
"When we go over for the will reading, I will request a meeting with their father afterwards. I will see what I can do for them. I might not know them as friends as well as Hermione or Neville say, but they are friends nonetheless. I will not see them go off into a life of what seems to be little more then slavery" Harry said.
"What are you going to do?" asked Seamus. "Tell him that you are going to steal his children?"
"More or less" Harry said. ",ore or less" and the rest of them could see Harry was being perfectly serious.
A/N:
So another exciting chapter of Leaving Home.
So we have Dumbledore attempting to steal the fortune, only to be saved by Snape. For those of you who didn't get it, it was him who sent the note to Harry.
Well I hope you liked this chapter, because the next will be the last for some time. Why? I hear you ask? Well looked below this sentence.
HARRY POTTER TRUE FRIENDS 2 IS GOING TO BE OUT SOON!!!!!
Bet you're all looking forward to that! It will take some time to complete, but I always planned for it to take a back seat to my other works.
Back to Leaving Home:
If any of you have any suggestions as to what might happen, then please suggest it. All reviews are answered personally – a nice little touch I always think!
By the way – to the anon user galaxy. If you post what I think you will post, then I will simply delete your review. If you keep on posing the same one, then I will simply disable the anon reviews. I leave them on out of courtesy, but that is slowly running out. So what if my grammar is bad? I will write the way I want, and will not conform to your high values.
BE WARNED!
So if any of you have any theories, then please say in your reviews. It is always fun to see what some of you come up with…
Regards
Pixel