A/N: I know most people just go with the popular thought that Amelia is Susan's guardian, but I'm gonna go with the idea that Susan's parents are still around. After all, it's never said that they aren't, just that Amelia's brother Edgar and his family were killed.

EDIT (4/8/2016) : Apparently I'm as bad at math as JK Rowling. I managed to put Percy as being only three years older than the boys and Ron rather than four. My bad. The mistake has been fixed.

Hannah joined Neville, Draco, Harry, Hermione, and Luna in their carriage on the way back to Hogwarts. She usually rode with Susan and some of the other Hufflepuff girls, but she'd had the feeling that sticking with the other Founders' Heirs and their friends would be a good idea for this ride. She'd meet up with Susan and the others at the feast, of course, but for now, she was happy to be where she was.

She was startled when she felt the wards slide over her magical core and then wrap around it.

.: Ah, good, :. Lady Hogwarts murmured to her. .: Welcome, Helga's Heir. I've been hoping you would take up your legacy soon. I am Lady Hogwarts, though you can call me Acalia if you like. Please have one of the others bring you to the Hufflepuff wardstone soon to clean and cleanse it, preferably tonight. I believe Harry has a very useful tool to help you avoid the caretaker and his cat. :.

.: Of course, my Lady, :. Hannah said. .: Thank you. I'll make sure to talk to Harry during the feast :.

.: Wonderful. Enjoy the meal. I'll speak to you again once the wardstone is claimed and cleansed, :. Lady Hogwarts replied before her presence faded from Hannah's mind. Hannah smiled to herself as the carriage drew to a halt in front of the castle. She joined Harry at the Hufflepuff table, with Susan on her other side. Hannah knew she couldn't speak of her heirship to Susan, but there certainly weren't any barriers against her talking about the bonding ceremony she'd witnessed, nor the celebratory meal afterwards.

"It was wonderful," Hannah told Susan as they ate. "I never really expected to see Professor Snape- well, I guess it's Lord Prince now -to marry anyone, but they seemed very well suited for one another. Their bonding robes were gorgeous as well."

"I'm jealous," Susan said. "I've never really gotten to see a bonding ceremony. Well, not yet. My second cousin is going to be bonded this summer. That should be interesting."

"Definitely," Hannah agreed. "You'll need some good dress robes."

"Oh, Mum's going to be taking me shopping once school's over," Susan said. "My cousin's colors are blue and white, both of which will work with my coloring. I'm just thankful she didn't choose pink or something like that."

"Mmhm." Hannah finished off her food, waiting until they were back in the Hufflepuff Common Room to pull Harry aside to quietly talk to him. "Harry, the Lady said you'd be able to bring me to the wardstone?"

"Yeah, hang on. We'll have to wait until the common room empties out some before we can slip out," Harry murmured back. "I've got several things that'll help us do that. Why don't we go get our Charms books and study for a little bit until we can head out."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Hannah said. "I just need to get my book from my trunk."

"Same here. Meet you back out here?"

Hannah nodded and then headed to get her book from her trunk. She and Harry read quietly until the common room started to empty. Only when the last person had gone did Harry get out the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak from his pocket. Hannah stared at him in surprise.

"Is that an..."

"Invisibility cloak? Yep," Harry said with a grin. "It's a family heirloom. Got it from my father, who got it from his, and so on."

"The charms on that must be very strong," Hannah breathed. Harry's smile went lopsided.

"Something like that." He quickly checked the Map, nodded as he cleared and then returned it to his pocket. "Alright, let's go. The hallway's clear."

"I take it that's the useful tool the Lady mentioned?" Hannah asked, amused.

"Yep." Harry stepped close and drew the Cloak around the two of them before heading out of the entrance barrel and into the castle proper. They had to dodge Peeves and Mrs. Norris a few times before they were able to get to the corridor that led to the ward stones. Hannah's eyes went wide when she saw the Hufflepuff Badger across the chasm. Her awe only grew when she and Harry crossed the bridge and reached the massive platform in the center of the cavern.

"This is amazing," Hannah said, coming to a halt in front of the Badger. Harry nodded and then drew Hufflepuff's ceremonial dagger out of his bracer.

"Here. This is yours," he said, handing it over hilt first. "It's Helga Hufflepuff's ceremonial dagger. Cut your palm and then press it against the Badger before taking it away. Then you have to say, 'I-" and then you say your full name here, "-do claim and cleanse the wardstone set down by Helga Hufflepuff as is my right by blood. I give this gift of my blood to aid in the cleansing. May Magic see my gift and bless my purpose. So say I, so may it be!"

Hannah took the dagger, examining the badger's head on the pommel that had a yellow diamond between its teeth. She took a deep breath and then cut her palm before placing it against the Badger's head. Once she was sure she'd left a good imprint, she lifted her hand away.

"I, Hannah Catherine Abbott, do claim and cleanse the wardstone set down by Helga Hufflepuff as is my right by blood. I give this gift of my blood to aid in the cleansing. May Magic see my gift and bless my purpose. So say I, so may it be!"

The yellow diamonds set into the Badger's eyes flashed in recognition of her rightful claim to the Hufflepuff Family Magics, and the runes moving over the Badger turned crimson as the blood soaked in. Harry gently took her hand and healed it with his wand before Vanishing all the blood there. Hannah nearly missed what happened next. The runes on the central stone glowed red, green, blue, and gold in turn before turning the shimmering silver-white that reminded Harry of a Patronus.

"Oh, my," Hannah said. "Do you feel that?"

"The wards feel like they're singing," Harry replied, his eyes just as wide as hers. "Hang on."

.: My Lady, did the Headmaster notice anything? :. he asked.

There was a sad sigh from Lady Hogwarts. .: No, beloved. The Headmaster only keeps the most tenuous of connections to the wards these days. He more than likely thinks that their growing good health is his doing somehow, even though it's been well over thirty years since he's been down to the Great Stones. :.

.: What, really? :. Harry asked. .: That's horrible. And really irresponsible. What are the wards capable of now that all the Heirs have claimed and cleansed the Stones? :.

.: Well, for one thing, I can now protect fully against Dark creatures and beings, :. Lady Hogwarts said. .: I can also fully ensure that students cannot cross the boundaries of the Forbidden Forest. It used to be a beautiful place where students and staff alike could wander freely, but then the Acromantulas came. Hagrid is a wonderful groundskeeper, but the Headmaster indulges him too much in his love for dangerous creatures. The Cerberus was returned to Greece, thankfully, or else I suspect he'd be roaming the Forest as well. For now, I'll only let Hagrid and the Potions Master into the Forest. :.

.: We'll see about cleansing the Forest as soon as we can, :. Harry promised. .: After all, Cedric Diggory's father is part of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. We could mention it to Cedric and see what he says his dad can do. :.

.: Thank you beloved, :. Lady Hogwarts said. .: If your Remus comes to teach here like he did in your other life, then I'll allow him in, as according to you he was one of the best Defense teachers Hogwarts has ever seen. :.

.: He was, :. Harry said simply. .: Thank you, my Lady. Hannah and I best be getting to bed now. :.

.: Of course. Sleep well. I'll keep the hallways clear for you. Peeves, for all his destructive tendencies, has his uses. He'll serve as a fine distraction for Mister Filch, :. Lady Hogwarts told him with a laugh. Harry grinned.

.: That he will, :. he agreed. He draped the Cloak around him and Hannah once more as they made their way back to the Hufflepuff common room. They parted ways once they were safe and sound, leaving the common room empty once more.

~/~

Fred watched the staff table at dinner halfway through May, doing his best not to look too eager about what was supposed to happen. Operation Lose Lockhart, as it had been dubbed by Harry (who had admitted he wasn't the best at thinking up names for things like that, but it was the goal that mattered, not the name) was starting to reach its conclusion. There were only three rules for the whole thing: One, Lockhart couldn't be permanently harmed by any of the pranks. Two, no one else could be hurt or affected by the pranks. Three, they had to somehow get Lockhart to admit that he was indeed a fraud.

Over the various breaks, they'd set up pranks to target Lockhart while they were gone, so they couldn't be blamed for it. Most of the stuff was minor- changing the color of his hair, messing with the portraits he had in his classroom and office, and so on –but their grand finale was a mild potion that lowered Lockhart's ability to lie. They'd given it to him in small doses over the months to introduce, but the largest one was due to be delivered tonight in Lockhart's drink. The house elves had more than readily agreed to play along with it as they weren't particularly fond of Lockhart's pompous attitude either. Harry and Neville hadn't even had to use their influence as Founders' Heirs to get them to go along with it.

They'd compiled a list of all the inconsistencies in Lockhart's books, making sure to organize them neatly by year and place. They'd also copied it several times just in case the original somehow went missing. The plan was to submit the copies to the Board of Governors and the DMLE to make sure Lockhart's incompetence was well-documented with the appropriate authorities, as well as to expose his lies in front of the whole school. Hermione was the one chosen to approach Lockhart with the list, as she was the one who would be the most believable to have made it.

She made her move just before dessert, approaching the staff table with list in hand. It was a scroll of parchment at least three feet long in length, and filled with the neat printing that an Auto-Scribing Quill provided. Said Quill was the more accepted version of a Quick-Quotes Quill, and had a deep orange plume rather than the poisonous green of its cousin.

"Excuse me, Professor Lockhart?" Hermione said, coming to a halt in front of the staff table. Lockhart set down his fork and gave her a winning smile.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Well, I was doing some revision, and I noticed a few things in your books that I was hoping you might be able to explain to me," she said with a shy smile.

"Why, certainly. What questions did you have?"

Hermione's expression quickly turned into something that a traditional Slytherin Pureblood would be proud of, going sharp and calculating in the blink of an eye. She unrolled the scroll, letting it fall to its full length. "This is a comprehensive list of all the inconsistencies in your books, organized by date and time. I would like to know how you expect us to pass any of our end-of-year exams in your class with all of these fallacies and falsehoods, especially those who have to take their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s."

Lockhart's smile faltered at her words, especially when the upper years at the nearby tables chimed in as well. One of his eyes twitched as he tried to fight the potion's compulsion, but the increased dosage was too hard to counter.

"I suppose I don't," he choked out. "I mean, none of the material in my books is really worth anything, and it certainly won't be useful on any of the standardized tests. Then again, given how behind the times the British Wizarding O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s are, it doesn't really matter."

"What do you mean?" Percy Weasley called out, rising to his feet. "Of course it matters! And why are they so behind the times?"

"I have no idea. All I know is that the International-level O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s are much more comprehensive and rigorous in their testing. That much I learned on my travels," Lockhart said before he was able to stop himself. Percy looked lost for words, unsure of how to take this academic betrayal. He sank down in his seat before burying his face in his hands.

Fred felt rather bad for Percy, knowing just how much stock his brother had put into his studying for the O.W.L.s. To be told that they were worthless had to have hit him hard. Dumbledore didn't look very happy with Lockhart; his eyes were narrowed and his beard was twitching.

"Is there any chance to take the International-level tests this late in the year?" Penelope Clearwater called out.

"Of course. They just don't advertise them at the Ministry here," Lockhart said. "All you have to do is apply to the ICW to take them and-"

"I think that's enough, Professor Lockhart," Dumbledore said tersely as he put a Silencing Charm on Lockhart. "I suspect someone's slipped you something. Poppy, perhaps you'd be willing to test him for any potions?"

"I will once I'm finished eating, Headmaster," Poppy replied calmly. "He'll be fine."

Professor Flitwick quickly hid a smile behind his goblet, while McGonagall merely pursed her lips together in faint disapproval, though it it was about Lockhart's actions, Dumbledore's Silencing Charm, or Poppy's comment, Fred wasn't sure. Either way, the prank was a success. The fifth and seventh years- at least, those that cared about such things –were likely to inquire about the ICW's versions of their career-critical tests, and the rest of the school now knew about Lockhart's idiocy and lies.

Fred had no doubt that the castle would be near-devoid of owls by curfew. He grinned. Mischief managed indeed.

~/~

The furor when the British Wizarding Community learned of Lockhart's misdeeds was intense. All awards that he'd earned were stripped from him, and he was swiftly ousted from the castle by the school board. The end-of-year exams for Defense Against the Dark Arts were canceled, though the rest of the exams were still carried out. Quite a few fifth and seventh years had applied to the ICW to take their versions of the tests; some sixth years, including Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater, had applied to see if they could retake their O.W.L.s at the same time.

Much to Percy's delight, he passed the International O.W.L.s with flying colors, though he was rather annoyed that the EE he got on DADA hadn't changed. Thankfully, that could be put down to the slipshod and random style of teaching he'd had over the years, so he wasn't too broken up over it, or so he said. His grades were more than good enough to keep him in his N.E.W.T. classes, and Dumbledore could hardly say that they weren't valid. The thought that the Ministry had been part of the lack of quality in the educational standards had taken some shine off working for them, and Percy could see why Bill and Charlie had chosen to avoid it. That made the young wizard think that perhaps he should start thinking about quietly researching alternate methods of employment as well.

Percy knew his mother wouldn't be too fond of the idea of yet another son not following in Arthur's footsteps, but he also knew that he didn't want to have any part in an organization that stifled the knowledge and learning opportunities of the people it was supposed to govern. Besides, even if you had connections at the Ministry, the starting wages were never very high and it would likely take years to move up to even a mid-ranking position. Hell, the twins already had jobs lined up for them after Hogwarts, assuming they got the grades for it, and if Percy knew anything about the twins, it was that when they wanted something, they worked hard for it, even if it didn't really seem like it.

He sighed, looking out the window of the Hogwarts Express as it steamed south towards London. Maybe they could put a good word in for him with Lord Black or Lady Longbottom. They seemed to be making waves that were reaching far places and affecting the world for the better. That was definitely something Percy could get behind.

Percy nodded to himself. No, even better, he'd write letters to Lord Black and Lady Longbottom himself. He couldn't rely on family connections forever, after all, and it was time he started doing things for himself, even if he was only sixteen. He owed that much to himself and, if he was lucky, his future family.

Percy leaned back against his seat, slipping off his glasses and tucking them safely in his pocket before closing his eyes, daydreaming about what was to come. Life suddenly looked far better than it had just a few short weeks ago.

~/~

Angus McLeod had been the Azkaban boatman for thirty years, taking over after his father passed away. The money was decent, even if the work was relatively sparse these days, which, he supposed, was a good thing. Less trips meant less dangerous criminals out and about, in Angus' mind. The biggest event that usually happened was the Minister's yearly examination, and that was coming up in a few days.

Angus had pulled the boat up onto the shore to make sure it was seaworthy. He was in the middle of carefully Banishing any of the barnacles with his wand when suddenly he felt a wave of bliss wash over him.

Stop what you're doing and listen to me, a voice murmured in his cotton-wrapped mind. It sounded vaguely familiar to him, but Angus couldn't quite place it. He did as told, feeling like it was the best thing to do. Good. Put the boat back in the water and then get in. I have an errand that needs to be done before the Minister visits, and you're just the man to do it.

Angus preened at that, soaking up the praise. He got precious little of it as it was. No one really cared about what he did, after all. He listened to what the voice had to say, nodding along to the honeyed words with a preternaturally calm smile on his face. With a careful flick of his wand, the boat was set aright and bobbing about in the water. He wrapped his cloak around himself, climbed in, and started sailing, disappearing into the fog that started just a few meters from the shore.

The man that came back several hours later was a far cry from the one that had left. His long hair was matted and dull, his robes torn and faded. The only things that were relatively well-kept were the cloak slung around his thin shoulders and the wand clutched in his trembling hand. He stumbled out of the boat when it reached the shore, falling to his knees on the rocky beach. Soft mutterings could be heard on the still night air as he rocked back and forth on the spot. Wreathed in shadows and charms, an unseen watcher smiled as the words issued forth:

"Black will be mine! Black must die!"

~/~

Angus McLeod's body was found three days later by a Muggle fishing boat. The official autopsy revealed that he'd broken nearly every bone in his body by dropping from a great height into the water, but nothing the medical examiner tested for could explain the eerily calm smile on Angus' face.