Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it, blah blah blah.
A/N – Writing time has been very difficult to find these past few months and this has been a difficult chapter to write, it is the longest one yet so I hope you like it. Enjoy.
The Summer of Changes
As Harry slowly began to wake up he realised he was in a bed, 'Hmm probably St. Mungo's', he felt Ginny sleeping in the chair next to him and gave a small smile, he also felt Sirius and Remus asleep in two chairs on the opposite wall, sitting quite close together. He frowned when he recognised the presence of three Aurors out in the hallway, 'they had best be there for my protection' Harry thought to himself somewhat angrily.
He frowned again when he sensed another magical presence in the room, one that was not human. He managed to open his eyes partially, only to be blinded by the white light of the room, he held back a moan, and darkened the room with a gesture of his hand. He opened his eyes again, blinking a few times to get used to the low light; he then turned to face the other presence in the room, and froze.
There sitting on his bedside table, was a creature he hadn't seen or heard from for five years, a bright red bird with gold plumage and jet black eyes staring straight at him, Harry breathed out "Fawkes."
"Greetings young one, it is good to see you awake at last."
Harry's eyes widened in shock, he knew that the voice belonged to the swan-sized phoenix in front of him, but he was shocked at how the bird had talked to him seemingly in his mind, with everyone else in the room asleep Harry tried to think back, "Erm, Hi?"
Fawkes gave a soft trill of amusement, "You learn quickly young one."
Harry blinked heavily, "Ok. Can Albus talk to you like this?"
Fawkes just gave him a blank stare, "He wishes. No young one, I can only converse with a true Master of Death." Upon seeing Harry's eyes widen, Fawkes gave another soft trill of amusement, "Yes young friend, I can sense the mastery of death that surrounds you; I can also sense Time's gift on you and your mate, as well as your phoenix nature, although you seem to have not embraced it fully."
Harry just lay there doing a passable goldfish impression; he was so absorbed that he did not sense Ginny waking up beside him. "Harry?"
Harry turned to her at the sound of her voice, and gave her a smile; he frowned when he saw the bags under her eyes, and the state her hair was in; He put up a muffliato around them before speaking. "Gin-" that was as far as he got before she launched herself at him, hugging the life out of him. Before Harry could get his arms around her, she leaned back and started attacking every inch of him that she could reach.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER! DON'T YOU EV-" Ginny could not get any further before Harry silenced her with a kiss, whilst throwing a ward or five at the door, and around the room.
Ginny's shout had awakened Sirius and Remus, who were both a little shocked at seeing the 11 and 10 year olds snogging on the bed. Sirius cleared his throat loudly.
Harry and Ginny pulled apart slowly with Harry staring into her eyes, completely ignoring the others in the room, "I'm sorry for worrying you Gin, but you know I had no choice, if I didn't stop it then-", this time is was Ginny's turn to silence Harry with a kiss.
When she pulled back, she leaned over and embraced him whispering in his ear, "I know."
Harry smiled and returned the hug, this time both Sirius and Remus coughed loudly; he just smiled as he waved his hand and threw up a few more wards to secure the room, both the adults felt them go up, and were staring at the young wizard in even more shock. Harry managed to sit up, whilst still hugging Ginny, who had yet to let go of him.
"Hi guys, this is my wife Ginny. We have been sent back by the Gift of Time from eleven years in the future."
The looks on their faces were priceless, they even had Fawkes trilling in amusement; Harry looked over at the bird in question with a raised eyebrow, "I still have an awful lot of questions for you."
"I know you do young one, and rest assured, in time I will answer them all. For now though, I will take my leave, and allow you to catch up with your family." Fawkes stretched his wings, before he took off, he looked at Harry "You must learn to embrace the nature of your inner phoenix my young friend. When you examine your wand I would suggest placing a new feather into it."
"What happened to my wand? And a feather from where?" Harry asked back getting a little concerned that something had happened to his wand.
His concern must have shown because Fawkes gave a soothing trill, "Relax my friend your wand is fine, but it will need strengthening if you plan on wielding that kind of raw magic again soon. As to where to get another feather, you already have one of mine, and I know of only one other phoenix, even if he is extremely young." With that, Fawkes took flight over the bed and disappeared in a flash of flame.
The phoenix leaving startled Sirius and Remus out of their shock, Remus spoke up first, "That… That explains a couple of things." Sirius, nodded in agreement.
"Yeah it does, like how on earth you knew what our Marauder names were, or how you even knew I was innocent."
Harry smiled, "Good; because I really didn't want to have to steal, I mean borrow, Albus's pensieve to get you to believe us." Sirius smiled at the intentional slip up, whilst Remus groaned, mumbling something about another one.
Harry gestured for the two of them to sit down, "Right, first off, what happened after I collapsed, and how long has it been?"
Ginny's arms tightened around him shortly when he mentioned collapsing, it was Remus who answered, "After you defeated the Fiendfyre and Malfoy was stunned, the Auror's immediately rushed to arrest him; and we all rushed down to see you." Harry nodded, "Before Albus could even ask for a healer, Fawkes grabbed onto you and brought you here. A few seconds later, he came back and grabbed Miss Wea-Mrs Potter, and took her away as well. The headmaster guessed where he had taken you both and made a portkey for us and the rest of the Weasley's."
Sirius picked up the story, "Its Sunday evening, you've been out for two and a half days; the healers said you had severe dehydration and heat exhaustion from battling the flames."
Harry nodded, "Who stunned Malfoy? I know none of the Auror's would have been quick enough of the mark to do it, which leaves either myself, but I was a tad busy, Dumbledore, or…" Harry looked down at his wife as she tried to bury her head into his chest, "Gin? Something you wish to tell me?"
Ginny mumbled "No", although she was certain Harry could feel the heat of her blush through his hospital gown, Harry gave a small laugh and kissed top of her head. Harry looked up at the others, "So who does everyone think stunned him? And why does it look like the three of you have been sleeping in this room?"
Remus cleared his throat, their little interaction reminding him of a similar looking couple from a long time ago, "People are under the impression that it was Mrs Weasley, but she has adamantly refused to answer any questions on the matter, even Dumbledore couldn't get her to tell him what happened."
Harry smiled at his mother-in-law's actions, "What has the press been saying? And you avoided my second question, why does it look like you have slept in this room?"
Ginny snuggled deeper into his chest as Harry hugged her, as such, he missed the look that passed between the two Marauders.
Sirius decided to get the easy answer out of the way first "It looks like we've slept here, because we have." Sirius raised a hand to stop Harry's interruption, "We weren't going to leave you pup. And after Ginny's little display when her mother tried to get her to leave, we thought we would stay as well, so she had some adult supervision."
Harry frowned, "What display?"
Harry barely heard Ginny's mumbled response, but he got the gist of it, "You accidentally banished your mother through the doorway when she tried to get you to go home?" He felt her nod against his chest, "Was she alright?" another nod, "Then there is no harm done; she already thinks we are falling in love, now she has even more proof."
Ginny looked up at him sharply, "She thinks were falling in love?"
Harry nodded, "You know for a professional quidditch player, you're not very observant." She gave him a scowl and slapped him playfully on the arm, "Prat."
Sirius had a small smile on his face, from the pair in front of him; he shifted in his seat trying to move away from the topic of the press, but could not do it, deciding to summon up some Gryffindor courage he spoke, "Erm, about the press…"
Harry quickly looked up at him, "Would the public's reaction have something to do with the three Auror's stationed outside?"
The two adult's eyes widened slightly as they nodded, Remus spoke "Perhaps it would be best for you to see for yourself." He reached into his robes and pulled out a slightly worn looking daily prophet. "This was a special edition from Friday evening."
Sirius Black Innocent!
Ministry on the brink of collapse!
Harry Potter – a Mage?
Harry Potter – The Boy Who Lived, stunned the wizarding world earlier today by declaring the Ministry and the Wizengamot to have "Corruption at its heart". He also showed us how he managed to stop He-who-must-not-be named all those years ago, with displays of magic not seen since the time of Merlin himself.
After sending the two Dementors that were present away with a powerful burst of magic that left everyone firmly planted in their seats. He repaired the snapped wand of his godfather one Sirius Orion Black, who was cleared of all-charges, and compensated for wrongful imprisonment. Incidentally, it was the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius Black, who was sent to Azkaban without a trial that started Mr Potter's campaign against the Ministry and the Wizengamot.
The Senior Undersecretary to the Minister one Dolores Jane Umbridge, refused to believe the truth of Mr Black's innocence, and attempted to interfere with "the course of Justice" as Mr Potter phrased it.
The crowd began shouting and protesting loudly at the injustice that Ms Umbridge was trying to force upon Mr Black, Mr Potter silenced the crowd instantly when he flung his hand in the air.
Upon seeing the illegal actions of one of the highest members of our society, Mr Potter gave a rousing speech about how the members of the Ministry and Wizengamot should be just, true, and "held accountable to the same law's as the rest of us."
His speech was met with a standing ovation from the crowd, and several pale and shaken faces among the benches. After Mr Black was cleared and his wand repaired, the Chief Warlock and Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Albus Dumbledore and Amelia Bones, stated that "All Ministry department heads, and members of the Wizengamot will submit to questioning under Veritaserum regarding allegations of corruption."
After the cheering from this announcement subsided, Lady Augusta Longbottom, a long standing member of the Wizengamot stood up and said, "I will willingly submit to this questioning, I have nothing to hide" She went on to motion that all Ministry personal should be questioned regularly.
This is when our leader, the Minister for Magic Cornelius Oswald Fudge, spoke up for the first time since the beginning of the proceedings. He attempted to stop the goings on around him, but was silenced by Mr Potter when he insinuated that the Minister had taken bribes from a Death Eater.
That said Death Eater, revealed moments later to be apparent upstanding member of society Lucius Malfoy, tried to leave the courtroom, but was spotted by Mr Potter. Upon being spotted Mr Malfoy cast the dreaded Fiendfyre curse and tried to flee, a powerful stunner coming from the crowd brought him down; sources are unable to confirm the identity of the origin of the stunner at this time.
The assembled witches and wizards stared on in shock as eleven-year-old Harry Potter, contained, controlled and subsequently extinguished the cursed flames, without any loss of life or damage, before collapsing from apparent exhaustion; sources indicate that both Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy are currently recovering in St Mungo's.
Madam Bones wasted no time in starting the questioning of personnel; she began with the Minister himself. After only a few minutes of questioning he was stripped of his position; when he had finished answering the questions poised to him his total sentence in Azkaban amounted to 67 years.
The previously mentioned Ms Umbridge managed to get out of the Ministry before the Auror's began rounding people up for questioning; she was apprehended by Mr Black and a close friend of his Remus Lupin a few hours later as she attempted to sneak into St Mungo's. She is currently in a holding cell at the Ministry, awaiting questioning, but this reporter believes that she was there to attack Mr Potter.
If Mr Potter is capable of doing all of this before he has even attended Hogwarts, what will he be capable of when he graduates? This reporter is not sure, but one thing is for certain, Harry Potter is a force to be reckoned with.
This reporter also feels obliged to point out that a young female red head was seen in very close proximity to Mr Potter upon his collapse, it was also this red head that was the first to reach his bedside in St Mungo's, could love already be in the air for our young saviour?
Story by Rita Skeeter.
For more on the trial of Sirius Black see pages 2-4
For more on the trial of Cornelius Fudge see pages 5-12
For more on the devastating effects of Fiendfyre see page 13
For information on Harry Potter see pages 14-18
For information on Ministry and Wizengamot Members, see pages 19-36
Harry dropped the paper to the bed and rubbed his face with his free hand, "Well, it could be worse."
Ginny gave a soft giggle, "Yeah it could be, and at least it is all truth and fact; which from Rita is rare."
Harry snorted, "Yeah. So how many have been fired or sent to Azkaban, or even fled the country? Wait, is Lucius still here?"
Sirius nodded, "Yeah, he's still here, his injuries were apparently quite severe, personally I think its Dumbledore's doing to make sure you're fit and ready for Malfoy's trial. As to the-"
"Wait." Harry interrupted him, "Has Lucius's home been searched yet?"
It was Remus who answered, "No, the Auror's couldn't get past the Manor's wards, they asked Dumbledore for help, and he said he would 'get round to it in a few days.'I'm not sure why, but I think he is waiting for you."
Harry nodded, "I'll give him that he his smart." Ginny looked up at him, "You think he knows?" Harry shook his head, "I doubt it, though I suspect he knows enough to guess. Which is a good thing, the last thing we need is that accursed diary ending up in the wrong hands." Harry clenched his eyes shut when he sensed Ginny seize up, "Gin, I-" Harry took a deep breath, "Ginny, I'm sorry, I…" Harry gave her a big squeeze in his arms, "It is just a memory Ginny, it's just a memory, and you will never have to face him again, I promise."
Harry saw the questioning looks from the others, he shook his head, Sirius nodded before he spoke again, "Well, almost half of the Wizengamot have resigned, as have quite a number of people in the Ministry, but Madam Bones isn't letting a minor thing like a resignation stop her." Sirius's face lit up in a Marauder style grin, as Harry gave a chuckle.
"Good. Who is acting Minister?" Harry asked.
"No one." Remus answered, "All the positions that are being vacated are being left empty until 'The Potter Sweep' as people are calling it; is finished."
Harry groaned and dropped his head back to his pillow, "Perfect, something else named after me."
Ginny laughed, whilst the others just shook their heads in amusement, Sirius broke the silence, "So, thanks for getting me out of there, but um, well what on earth is going on?"
Harry laughed again, before he went onto explain to them the main events of the past, when he explained that they knew where Peter was, the two of them leapt up and demanded to know where he was.
Harry slammed them both back into their chairs with a thought, and made them listen as he explained all about Voldemort's resurrection, the prophecy, the battles, the War and its aftereffects, he deliberately left out information about the Horcruxes, that was a talk for another time.
After the telling, both of the Marauder's had unshed tears in their eyes. Sirius came up and hugged him as he spoke in a voice cracked with emotion, "I'm so sorry pup, and you have my word I will never get too cocky in a duel again." As Harry hugged him back, Remus spoke up "I can now see why you reacted so badly against Umbridge."
Harry nodded grimly, "Yeah. I have never cast the killing curse upon a person, but I'll be honest with you," Harry took a breath before locking eyes with the werewolf "I came damn close in that courtroom."
They stayed up talking way into the night, Sirius started teasing Remus mercilessly when Harry let slip that he was married and had a son, he stopped when Remus began teasing Sirius about being a ladies man at Hogwarts, that was when the story telling switched to the Marauders past. It was almost 4am when the two youngest finally succumbed to sleep.
Harry was extremely grateful for his invisibility cloak, as he and Dumbledore made their way down Diagon Alley towards Ollivanders, from the conversations going on all around him he dreaded to think what the reaction would be if he were visible.
After the healers had let him go, he let the two marauders in on the secret and then took them and his wife to Godric's Hollow, after he got the two marauders settled he took his wife back to the Burrow.
As soon as they arrived Harry began casting new wards around the property to keep unwanted people and reporters out, as well as keep Pettigrew in, he also placed a complex ward around Ron's bedroom that would make the rat stay in there unless Ron carried him out. For even more security Harry put a tracking Charm on the rat as well, 'no running away under a full moon this time.'
Harry was surprised by the reaction Dumbledore got walking down Diagon Alley, people nodded to him and waved, but no one approached him, Harry was making a note to ask the old man about why that was, when they entered the wand shop.
Harry sealed and warded the door and window before Ollivander came out, "Ah Albus Dumbledore, one of the only Ollivander wands in use today that I did not make myself." Harry saw the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes dwindle, but he ignored that and whipped of his cloak with a flourish he developed for scaring the hell out of the Auror trainees.
To Harry's disappointment and surprise, Ollivander did not leap back in surprise like cadets did, "Mr Potter, I have been expecting the pleasure of this visit."
Harry nodded his head whilst smiling at the man, "Perceptive as always Mr Ollivander. Yes, I am in need of your services." At this, Harry took out his wand and placed it on the counter; Harry then reached into his robes and took out a brilliant red feather that Ginny had plucked from his backside that morning, much to her amusement and pleasure.
As he laid the feather down next to the wand he looked up to Ollivander to see the man's eyes as wide as saucer's, "Whilst I knew of course you would be seeing me again, I… I never expected you to know why, or to have found an additional core, might I ask where you got that Phoenix feather from?"
Harry gave a grin a Marauder would be proud of "You may of course ask Mr Ollivander; that does not mean I shall answer, but by all means ask."
Harry saw the wand maker narrow his eyes at Harry briefly, before nodding his head and picking up the materials and going into his back room, he called over his shoulder, "You may want to grab some lunch this will take me a while."
Harry glanced back to Albus whose eyes were twinkling quite merrily, he inclined his head towards the door, the old man spoke "Are you sure you wish to be seen in public with me Harry? It would raise a few questions if you ate from under your cloak."
Harry just nodded, "We can get one of the back booths, Tom is a good barman; he'll respect our privacy." Albus smiled and gestured out of the door as Harry slipped his cloak back on.
"Ah Headmaster, nice of you to finally lend us your time." Amelia Bones spoke with just a hint of venom in her voice, as Albus and an invisible Harry made their way up the path to Malfoy Manor in the early evening.
"Ah Madam Bones, I must apologise for taking so long to get back to you. I was waiting on a specialist I know to recover from his last adventure." Albus replied, whilst eyeing the several Aurors who were guarding the property.
Madam Bones gave a small frown, "Where is this specialist Headmaster?"
"He quite prefers his anonymity and I am inclined to agree with him, it would not do well for anyone to discover this specialist's identity." Albus stated with a subtle hint of power in his voice.
Undeterred by the Headmaster, Madam Bones spoke "Hmm... while I can understand the need for secrecy, I must insist that I be informed of his identity. If it would be acceptable I will send the Auror's home, and it will just be the three of us?"
Harry decided that this was the best offer they were going to get, and sent a legilimency message to the headmaster, "Albus, agree with her, and make sure she understands the need for complete secrecy about this, especially about what we are removing."
Albus gave a subtle nod to acknowledge that he had heard Harry, "Very well, Madam Bones, please dismiss your Auror's and I shall contact my specialist."
Amelia was a bit surprised to have gotten her way with arguably the most stubborn man on the planet, but not wanting to risk him changing his mind, she quickly dismissed her Aurors, and gestured to the headmaster, "Your show Albus."
Albus, cast some heavy privacy wards across the drive behind them, and then nodded to where he guessed Harry was hiding, "You can come out now Harry."
Harry whipped his cloak off and folded it under his shirt, where he kept it permanently now, thanks to a handy hidden expanded pocket he installed in all his shirts. "Thanks Albus." He nodded to the head of the DMLE, "Madam Bones."
"Mr Potter!" Amelia exclaimed.
"Yep. As the headmaster explained, my involvement here is known to only the three of us, and that is the way it will stay." Harry gave her a piercing stare, which would have made most of the Auror's quiver. She merely nodded, though Harry could tell she was a little apprehensive.
Harry explained why he was here, "Madam Bones, we have strong reason to believe that there is an item in this house that belongs to Lord Voldemort himself, and if discovered for what it truly is... Could be used to bring him back."
Harry watched as her eyes widened and she visibly gulped, Harry gave her a grim smile, "I see you fully understand the scope of the situation."
She gave a hesitant nod, and cleared her throat, "Indeed I do Mr Potter, what help do you need?"
Harry gave a genuine smile, "First of; where is Narcissa and Draco?"
She looked at him curiously, "We believe they have left to a villa in the south of France."
Harry mouthed 'believe' to Albus, he gave a subtle shrug, "Very well, is that permanent? Or will I have to put up with Draco at Hogwarts?"
"I am afraid I do not know, Mr Potter." She explained looking slightly annoyed, as she had caught the mouthed word.
Harry caught the look of annoyance and guessed what it was for, "Tell me Madam Bones, who was it who actually apprehended Mr Malfoy? Who was it that stopped that Fiendfyre? Who was it that got YOUR department of its arse to do its job?" Harry paused as he thought how to suggest to her subtly that the Auror's were useless, "I could probably train up some of my new future classmates to be a match for your Auror's by Christmas!" 'Ok maybe not very subtle.'
Harry stared down the slightly embarrassed witch, until she looked away. He walked closer to the house, when he was a couple of steps past her she spoke "Mr Potter, I could use an outside perspective on my department, despite your age you appear to have a very mature head on your shoulders, do you have some suggestions on ways to improve the Auror force?"
Harry turned back to face her, "Madam Bones, I could write a whole seven-part Harry Potter book series on how to improve the entire Department of Magical Law Enforcement!"
Harry turned back round to examine the wards, when she spoke again, "I would be very interested in reading those books Mr Potter. We…" she sighed, "I have let the entire nation down in my duties, and I will do all that I can to rectify that."
Harry looked into her eyes and saw the sincerity there; he nodded slowly, "Ok. I shall forward some suggestions for you when I get home." Harry turned back and started to feel the magic of the wards; he spoke without turning round, "With an attitude like that, you would make a good minister."
Before she could comment, she saw Harry snap his wand out, and decided to wait until he had finished whatever it was he was going to do.
He brought the tip of his wand to point into the palm of his left hand, and he began to build up a magical pulse, using his hand to hold it in place and shape it into a ball. After a second, the ball was ready, and Harry flicked it at the wards with a velocity that forced a shockwave to flatten the shrubbery on the sides of the path.
The ball slammed into the wards and caused an echoing clang as it made a splintered fracture in them, as if it cracked a giant glass dome that was around the Manor. Harry noted where the fractures ended, and charged and fired two more balls into the wards in the shape of an upside triangle, he made sure the fractures overlapped.
After he fired the second ball, Amelia went and stood next to Albus, not wanting to disturb Harry she whispered to him, "Albus, have you ever seen someone dismantle wards like that?"
Albus never took his eyes of Harry and the wards in question, "No, I have not. And I feel he is not dismantling them, but destroying them."
"An excellent observation Albus." Harry shouted from down the path.
Dumbledore gave a small cringe, "Forgive us Harry, we did not mean to disturb you."
"I know. And the reason no one has ever broken wards like this is simple-" Harry turned back to face them, "No one else has the raw power to do so." He turned back to the wards and adjusted his footing, "You may want to shield yourselves, this is gonna be big."
He felt them both erect shields and took a deep breath, "He goes nothing." He muttered under his breath as he brought up his wand and began charging a new ball. This one took almost half a minute to charge up, by which time Harry was barely visible to the two observers because of the glow of the raw magic in his hand. Harry flung his wand forward to throw the ball, as he brought his left hand up alongside his wand with the palm outwards, to form a beam to the ball so he could channel even more magic into the ball as it flew towards the wards.
The giant ball slammed into the dead centre of the triangle with a massive clang that would have been heard miles away. The dome of the wards buckled under the impact of the ball and started to bow inwards at the triangle where Harry was still pumping magic into them. After several seconds, the wards could take no more and the beam of magic from Harry ripped through and shattered all of the windows this side of the Manor.
Harry pulled his hand back and flicked his wand to form a maxima shield around him and the others. As the wards collapsed in on themselves, they released a devastating magical backlash that levelled everything around as far as the eye could see. Harry's shield was severely tested by the backlash as it buckled and strained, but managed to hold.
Nothing could be heard in the silence that rained, Harry took several deep breaths before starting down the path, he paused as the memories of his last visit to the manor came tumbling through his occlumency shields; he managed to force the sound of Hermione's screams back down behind his occlumency, and continued down the path.
Albus and Amelia were still rooted to the spot in shock at what they had just witnessed; Albus seemed to come around first and guided Amelia along the path after Harry.
As they approached the front of the manor, Harry waved his wand and the main doors flew open as if they had been hit with a battering ram. Harry wanted to repair the windows, but thought that Amelia had had a big enough shock already.
Harry stood in the doorway and closed his eyes, reaching out with his magic to try to find the horcrux, he felt Amelia and Albus come and stand beside him, and felt Albus gesture to Amelia to stay quiet and still.
The three of them stood still for almost five minutes, until Harry's eyes sprung open and he took off at a brisk walk through the hallway to the left.
Harry quickly shattered the wards protecting the secret chamber under the drawing room, and entered slowly, the others followed him with their wands drawn, once they were inside Harry flung a lumos maxima into the middle of the room, the three of them stopped dead at the sight.
"Good lord" Harry heard Amelia whisper; before them was one of the largest collections of dark artefacts Harry had ever seen, the room itself was almost half the size of the Hogwarts Library. Harry turned around to face the others when he caught a flash of light to the side, he looked towards it and froze, anger at Malfoy bubbling up inside of him, he pushed it down, 'Malfoy will get justice.' Harry repeated the phrase repeatedly in his head several times until he was calm.
The two adults saw the look of anger pass across Harry's face and turned towards it, Amelia let out a gasp, and Albus did not seem to be bothered by it. The white mask and black cloak were in pride of place on the main wall, ready to be used again at a moment's notice.
Harry snapped his eyes back to Amelia and Albus, "We are looking for a small black book, it has the name 'Tom Marvolo Riddle', in gold lettering on the back, if you find it, DO NOT touch it, or even approach it." Harry fixed the two of them with a strong gaze, before turning round to begin searching through the dark arts treasure trove.
It was the day after the excursion to the manor that found Harry sitting waiting in a meeting room in the DMLE. He could feel the presence of the horcrux in his pocket, and it was taking every ounce of his self-control to not fling it out and turn it into ash. He restrained himself for one reason, he wanted the object's themselves as intact possible; so he could show them to Voldemort in their final duel, so the dark lord who fled from death, would know he was about to die.
At that thought Harry stopped dead, as his mind seem to freeze, "I have to kill him." Harry whispered aloud 'I can't rely on a back-firing wand, I have to actually kill him.' Harry gave a small involuntary shudder at that thought before he froze again, "I have to kill Quirrell…" Before Harry could get lost in his thoughts, the door banged open.
In the doorway flanked by perhaps the two most contrasting Auror's in the world, Kingsley and Dawlish, stood a rather worn looking Lucius Malfoy, his prisoner robes appeared fraid and his hair was unwashed and a complete mess. The death-eater who had seen better days looked around the room with slightly tired eyes, the life in them mostly extinguished, when he saw Harry he stopped dead, and was unable to stop the shudder of fear that ran down him as he laid eyes on the boy that had defeated his Master and stopped Lucius's own Fiendfyre.
Harry quickly shook away his thoughts and nodded to the two Auror's, they chained Malfoy to one of the chairs, and left to stand by the door, Harry just stood there staring at them. Kingsley seemed to get the message first, "I'm sorry Mr Potter, but we have orders from Acting Minister Bones, we aren't to leave Mr Malfoy's side."
Harry gave the new Head Auror a nod, 'so she did listen to my suggestions then' he thought with a mental smirk, "Very well, but I must insist on some privacy charms." Harry told them with a less than subtle hint of a command behind his words.
Harry watched in satisfaction as Dawlish visibly squirmed, but Kingsley merely stood there, although Harry could pick up the ever so subtle hints that he was putting on a front, the fang ear-ringed Auror spoke "I can allow a silencing charm, but that is all Mr Potter."
Harry nodded in acceptance and let the Auror cast the silencing charm, he then turned his attention to Lucius who had watched the exchange with a hint of curiosity, "Lucius." Harry nodded to him, he fished the diary out from his pocket and threw it on the table, he watched has Lucius's eye's went wide and he looked up at Harry with nothing put pure fear etched on his face.
Harry gave him a small smile, "Yes Lucius, I know this came from your master, and I know what it is capable of." Harry said whilst glaring at the man, who seemed almost frozen, whether it was in shock or fear, Harry was not certain. "Once you confess to all your crimes under truth serum, you know that there is a snowballs chance in hell that you won't get the kiss." Malfoy just nodded numbly at Harry, the young wizard continued, "What do you think the reaction would be if I revealed the origin of this diary, and its capabilities, to the Wizengamot during your trial?"
Harry watched as the blond death eater paled even further, "Yeah; they would string you up as an example, milk your vaults dry, and do everything they could to completely destroy both you and the entire Malfoy name, before tossing you to a Dementor."
Malfoy just nodded numbly whilst a small part of his brain tried to fathom out what Harry was doing, "W… wh… why a… are y… you do… doing th… this?"
Harry gave him a grin that sent a shiver down his spine, "Because Lucy, you have something I want; or rather someone."
Lucius gave a small frown "Wh…" he coughed, Harry turned to Kingsley and mimed a glass of water, Kinsley quickly conjured one with a straw and set it down in front of the death eater. Malfoy greedily drank the water before he tried speaking again, "What are you on about Potter?"
Harry gave him a glare as his eyes began to glow slightly, "I want your house-elf, Dobby."
Malfoy blinked at him in shock, he wanted to burst out laughing, but the glowing green eyes kept his humour in check, "And why Potter, should I give you my house-elf?"
Harry kept his eyes glowing as he smiled, causing even Kingsley to have a small shudder in fear, "Because Lucius, I can see to it that this diary never sees the light of day, and I can get you the veil instead of the kiss. And all I ask for in return for sparing your family humiliation, and yourself from a fate worse than death, is a single house-elf; quite a bargain if you ask me."
As they were driving to Kings Cross in the Weasley's ford Anglia, Harry reminisced over the best summer holiday's he could remember.
After giving the little guy a massive hug, Harry issued several standing orders to Dobby, and left him in the care of the Marauders as they settled in to Godric's Hollow. Harry completely ignored Remus's protests when he forced gold upon him; Harry said it was "For your new job." When Remus all but demanded "What job!" Harry told him, "My Private Tutor." Harry quickly Disapparated from the kitchen, before Remus could protest.
Harry returned to the Burrow, where there were the quidditch games with all the Weasleys, who were in shock when Harry let loose with a few professional moves on his new Nimbus 2000, a belated present, curtsey of Sirius; although Harry knew it was Ginny's idea. In addition, they were left completely dumb founded when Ginny flew rings round her brothers on an ancient broom; she flew so well, that her brothers refused to play when Harry lent her his Nimbus.
On one of the many afternoons when they came over, the twins got to meet their idols when Harry greeted Sirius and Remus by their Marauder names, after much story telling from the Marauders, much to Molly's chagrin; the twins handed over the map to Harry.
They spoke in perfect unison, "Son of Prongs, Godson of Padfoot, Nephew of Moony, we present this to you, and hope you use it wisely, and let us borrow it on occasion." Harry graciously accepted it, whilst smiling widely; he was going to have some fun at Hogwarts this time around.
Seeing Remus and Sirius so happy, made Harry smile, he decided to leave the Horcrux hunt until the next summer, to give the two old friends a chance to get to know each other again, before being plunged into stopping a war.
For Ginny's 10th Birthday, Harry got her practically every bit of Holyhead Harpies kit that was made, clothes, quills, posters, diary's he also got everyone tickets to a Holyhead Harpies game, which resulted in a squeal of joy before she pounced on him and kissed him, in full view of the entire family.
The kiss was broken when a loud cough startled them; the cough quickly became a fit, and then turned into hysterical laughter. The young couple looked over and saw Sirius on the floor and Remus desperately trying to hold in laughter as well.
Harry glared at them, "Something to say Sirius?"
Sirius had managed to climb back onto his seat, and got out between bouts of laughter "No, not at all, just marvelling at the Potter curse." At everyone's questioning looks he elaborated, "Potter men, have always fallen hopelessly in love with red headed women the second they lay eyes on them."
Ginny blushed and looked down, Harry reached out and grabbed her chin, and he turned her head to face him, and placed a tender kiss on her lips. When he pulled back, she was as red as a beetroot but smiling a brilliant smile, Harry spoke in a soft quiet voice "I can live with that."
Harry glanced around, he noticed the smile on Mr Weasleys face as he gazed at his only daughter, and he sighed when he saw the mischievous grins on the twin's faces. Percy was looking thoughtful, Harry guessed he was wondering who he was going to ask out. Ron was just staring at Harry as if he had grown a second head; finally, he blinked and gave half a shrug. Harry smiled at his friend before turning to face Remus and Sirius who had a couple of unshed tears in their eyes. When Harry's gaze found Mrs Weasley, he groaned at the look on her face, Ginny followed his gaze and giggled, she spoke to Harry but made sure everyone could hear "It is ok Harry; I'll make sure she doesn't go overboard planning our wedding-" She added in a whipser meant for only Harry, "again."
Harry smiled as he remembered the overheard conversation between Mrs Weasley and Sirius later that afternoon "Yes I'm sure Molly, Harry is in love with her. It was the same with James; thankfully Harry has a better head on his shoulders at this age then James did."
Harry was pulled from his musings as the car stopped outside Kings Cross station, the group of them made their way through the station, attracting several odd stares as they did, it was a rather uncommon sight to see two owls in cages, and five large trunks being wheeled through the station.
Sirius was pushing Harry's trolley whilst conversing with Remus about what the two of them were going to do now Harry was off to Hogwarts. Harry could have sworn he heard them mention the words 'joke' and 'shop' and he figured the twins would have a rival, or a business partner, he stopped thinking about when he felt Ginny give his hand a hard squeeze.
Ginny had Harry's hand in a vice grip, no one had spoken to the young couple on the journey, it was clear to all that they were going to miss each other like crazy.
With the truth of their relationship out in public they had not had to hide it, and had been showing affection to each other in front of others; they had to tone it down somewhat though around the other Weasley's. Harry had stopped bothering to count the number of times Arthur came to check on the pair of them during the night. It got so bad that Harry had taken to actually sleeping in his camp bed, instead of just jumping in to it at the last second; whilst that was very hard on both of them; they knew that the much bigger separation was coming.
Thanks to both Harry and Ginny backing Mrs Weasley's suggestion of finishing the packing the night before, there was no mad dash through the station to get to the platform. After the trunks were loaded onto the train, everyone said their goodbyes to each other and slowly boarded the train, until it was just Harry, Ginny, and the other adults left.
Harry looked into his wife's eyes and he saw the sadness that she was trying with all she could to hide, it broke Harry's heart to see her like that, he gathered her up in a hug, and stroked her hair as she broke down crying in his arms.
The adults saw this and all formed a protective barrier around the couple, shielding them from everyone, as Harry surreptitiously raised a notice me not charm around the two of them.
With the charm in place, Harry gently pulled her away from him until he could look into her eyes, "I love you Ginevra Molly Potter, with all my heart." Harry then kissed her pouring every ounce of feeling he had into it, it only took a split second before Ginny was kissing him back with equal vigour.
After what felt like hours the two lovers broke apart, Ginny leaned her head against his chest and spoke softly, her voice laced with emotion, "And I love you Harry James Potter." Harry gave her a final tender kiss and a squeeze before he dropped the charm and walked towards the train without looking back.
A/N - I hope you liked it, longest one yet :S I haven't decided on the name for the next chapter yet, but it will involve the journey and probably the sorting as well. I have no idea when I'll get it out, hopefully it will be this month, but I doubt it.