This story is not the work of J K Rowling

Chapter 21

"Sirius."

"Pup, Remus told me what you did. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I no longer have to put up with Dumbledore, and I found a great place to live. I'm having the best wards erected around the estate, and I have Tonks and Allison here to protect me. I can hardly wait to show it to you."

"Do you need your elves back to help you get your house in shape?"

"No, there are an incredible amount of elves here, seventy-four in fact, and they have kept this place looking like new for a very long time."

"You have seventy-four elves working on one house? What are they all doing?"

"I took my broom and flew over the estate earlier. You won't believe the size of the manor and the number of guest houses. There are miles of brick walls to maintain and miles of trails out through the forests. There are greenhouses and gardens that never end. There is just too much to tell you about, you will have to see it. Believe me, all the elves are kept busy" Harry paused for a second. "How is your house coming along, do you like what has been done?"

"Yeah, it is great, you won't recognize it when you see it. I did three rooms over the second time, I thought that they looked too much like they did before. I'll start buying new furniture tomorrow and then I'll be done. I'll be finished with your elves either tomorrow or the next day. I never could have done it without your help."

"I'm really glad that it worked out. Now that you are done remodeling, I'll have to get you the proxies so that you can take over the Wizengamot."

"What?!"

"I found that there are more seats than I first thought. I don't have a final count yet, but you will have a lot of power, far more than anyone else."

"That is a lot of responsibility. Are you sure that you want me to do this?"

"I'm positive. I want there to be change so that there will never be anyone else like Cornelius Fudge."

"I'll do my best. What are you going to do now?"

"I intend to explore the estate and get settled in. There are a lot of things around here that I want to know more about. In a few days I want to find tutors to help me with my OWLs and see if I can pass the tests as soon as possible. I'm hoping that, with individual tutoring, I can get through the OWLs and NEWTs sooner than normal."

"It seems that you have things under control for the moment. Is there anything that I can do?"

"Not that I can think of. I want you to see this place soon, but until then, I don't think that I need anything."

With a few more pleasantries Harry and Sirius concluded their evening talk and Harry went to his jungle pool for a good night's sleep.

It was nearly 9 o'clock before Harry woke. He hadn't slept well the night before at the Tonks' house, and he made up for it sleeping next to the pool again. He got dressed in casual clothes, he didn't have to dress in school robes in the future and that was a strange feeling. The thoughts of having Hogwarts behind him made him sad and happy at the same time. He was sad to leave the first place that he truly felt at home. There would always be a part of him that thought that he belonged there. Another part of him was glad it was over, no more fighting Dumbledore, the students and the rest.

He was going to miss many of the students of Gryffindor, he didn't know how he was going to find people his own age to spend time with. Sure, Tonks and Allison were only a few years older, but he considered them adults, and it just wasn't the same. He was not going to miss the girls of Hogwarts. The harassment from them was more than he could handle, and he was partially at fault for that. The photos of him were to blame for most of it, but there was also the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing along with his wealth. With all three components, he couldn't hope that he would ever be treated normally. With just the Boy-Who-Lived thing he was mostly stared at and made the center of attention. That was bad enough, even though that was uncomfortable; he got used to it and could mostly ignore it. With the photos, he was never going to be able to ignore it. It would plague him for years to come. He screwed up by mixing up the negatives, publishing one photo that went much further than he wanted and pretty much ruined his chances at a normal life. He was very happy that he nearly bankrupted Voldemort, but the cost was much higher than he thought it would be. He was away from his friends and there was no way of going back to normal.

Harry left the tent to find Tonks and Allison waiting for him.

"Good morning you two, have you been to breakfast yet?"

"No, we waited for you. We wanted to stay close until the wards were done. There is no telling what might happen."

"I'm sorry that I took so long. If I had known that you were waiting for me I would have gotten up sooner."

"That's okay, we will get our schedules adjusted as time goes on. Let's go to breakfast, I'm hungry." Tonks said.

They all walked downstairs to the small dining room where they had eaten the night before. Supper was one of the best meals they ever had; Kippy had came through with her promise of giving them 'the bestest meal' they ever had. Breakfast turned out to be just as good or better. Harry, Tonks and Allison praised Kippy for the job that she had done until she had tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks.

"Dobby."

"Master Harry calls for Dobby?"

"Would you go somewhere and get us copies of the Daily Prophet? I want to see if the article was printed."

Dobby popped away and returned with copies for each of them.

HARRY POTTER DRIVEN FROM HOGWARTS

By Archibald Withers

Harry Potter has left Hogwarts after the treatment that he received became too much to bear. In a long interview, he blamed Headmaster Albus Dumbledore for creating an environment of scorn, abuse and violence toward him. It started as soon as the school year began when Harry led a revolt against a ministry-planted Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The woman in question was unfit by any standards for teaching the course. She didn't have a NEWT in the subject and had only passed her OWL with a grade of 'A'. She had been placed there by our disgraced former Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, for political reasons and was hated by the entire student body. Harry led a peaceful revolt that resulted in her leaving Hogwarts. Harry reports that Headmaster Dumbledore was very upset that Harry had taken it upon himself to remove a professor and that it was not the job of a student to perform such a function. Harry pointed out in the interview, that it was the entire student body that joined together to accomplish what the headmaster failed to do.

The problems continued and became critical when the students decided to have Harry, once again, lead an effort to remove a Death Eater from the faculty. The Death Eater in question went before the Wizengamot and would have been convicted if not for the efforts of Albus Dumbledore. Upon the Death Eater's return to his teaching post, he immediately banned Harry from classes for the rest of the year, leaving Harry without a means to learn a core subject. With the strong urging of the students, more civil disobedience was planned and executed to remove the Death Eater from the school. Headmaster Dumbledore spitefully refused to feed the students of Gryffindor as well as intentionally denied heat and water to Gryffindor tower. Ultimately it was up to Harry Potter to provide for the basic needs of his school mates, to the great displeasure of the headmaster.

More spiteful actions by the headmaster and faculty continued by…

The front page article continued onto pages two and three. It fully explained, from Harry's point of view, all the troubles that he encountered during the school year. The sexual assault was more graphic than he wanted to see, but it accurately described the event without being too lurid. Overall Harry was very pleased with what he read.

~~oo000oo~~

The Great Hall was filled with owls for the headmaster and staff. Most of them were howlers that made the noise level so high the students' ears were hurting. Molly Weasley's howler was clearly heard above them all. It was impossible to carry on a conversation in the hall, so most of the students grabbed toast and other foods and left the commotion behind them. Once they were away from the noise, Harry's friends gathered on the Grand Staircase to discuss what they read.

"Hermione, what did you think of the article? I didn't see anything that wasn't true." Ginny asked.

"I think the article was well written from Harry's point of view. It surely upset enough people to create the mass of howlers that we just witnessed. I don't know if Dumbledore is going to be able to get his viewpoint out nearly as well. With Harry owning the Daily Prophet, it is fairer than it has ever been, but it would take a miracle for the headmaster to explain away these charges. Most of them have a lot of witnesses that will support Harry's allegations."

"Can we do anything to help Harry?" Neville asked.

"I can't think of anything. If Harry needs us, I'm sure that he'll ask."

~~oo000oo~~

Voldemort was gleeful. There was a permanent wedge between Dumbledore and Potter. Potter was no longer at Hogwarts and was vulnerable. He just needed to be found. The Dark Lord used the dark mark to call everyone to his side.

"I want Potter found. He is no longer protected within Hogwarts and should be easy to find. I want all of you looking for him and I don't want to hear about your failures. If you fail me, you will die. Bring me Potter."

"Master, do you know of places to look? We don't want to miss anything that is obvious to you."

"Crucio! I don't need to tell you how to do your jobs. Get out there and find Potter!"

The Death Eaters left, thinking that the reward from Potter was better than the abuse from their master.

~~oo000oo~~

"Mr. Potter?" It was one of the goblins working on the wards.

"Yes… Grimfang wasn't it?"

"Thank you for remembering. I need to tell you that, due to the enormity of this estate, I have had to call in more teams of warders, and it will take at least four days to complete. There have to be ward stones placed closely together for miles around the estate and this will take a lot of time."

"Will I be safe in the meantime?"

"You will be safe once we are done, but there is a small risk now."

"I understand. Please continue with what you are doing. I'll be happy to pay more for the extra teams of warders. I just want the job done right; if it takes a little longer then I'll just have to make adjustments."

"We will be done as soon as we can."

Harry left Grimfang as he looked for Tonks and Allison. He explained what the goblin had told him and waited for suggestions.

"I think that you would normally be safe enough but with today's news article, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will know that you are no longer in Hogwarts and are more vulnerable. I expect that he has everyone out looking for you, which is a big cause for concern." Allison reported.

"What if we had more help? I think that I have an idea." The three of them went to the study in the manor and Harry took out parchment and quill.

Mr. Moody,

As you may have read in the Daily Prophet, I have left Hogwarts. I have found a new place to live and I'm having Gringotts build their best and strongest wards. Unfortunately the warding job will not be complete for a few days. I have guards, but we suspect that the Death Eaters are looking for me in full force. I was wondering if you could bring some of your people to help secure this place until the wards are complete.

I don't want to give my location to you in this message. If this idea is agreeable to you, please go to Gringotts and ask for Nearfang, he will know where to find me.

Harry

Hedwig flew to his shoulder without being asked. He wondered how she always knew when he needed her. He tied the letter to her leg and sent her on her way. Harry wrote another message for Nearfang to expect Mad-Eye and gave him the location. Harry had Dobby deliver the message to Gringotts, and all he could do now was wait.

~~oo000oo~~

"Mister Moody" Harry greeted the grizzled old retired auror. Tonks and Allison were nearby.

"Potter, there is no 'Mister', you can either call me Mad-Eye or Alastor. What is the situation around here?" Mad-Eye had responded to Harry's message, went to Gringotts and arrived at the estate in less than three hours.

"As you know, I have left Hogwarts and Dumbledore's control. I want you to keep secret from him where I am and what I'm doing. If you read this morning's paper you will understand why."

"I'll keep your secret. I don't like what you described in the paper. Albus stepped over the line several times." Moody continued. "Now what is going on, and what do you want me to do?"

"This is a large estate that the goblins are working very hard to protect. Until they are finished, in about four days, we only have a few mild wards that provide us some protection. We are still vulnerable to attack, especially since it's likely that Voldemort has every one of his people out looking for me. I would feel safer if there were more protection."

"I'm glad that you called me. I have gone through the money that you gave me, and I'll need more to keep my people working." Mad-Eye explained, "Guarding you will be no problem. We can take care of this and enjoy some downtime while doing so. How many people should I bring?"

"You can bring as many as you want. How many are there anyway?"

"I have eighty-seven working for me night and day. So far we have eliminated nineteen Death Eaters."

"That is terrific news. If you think that your troops can relax here and could use some needed time off, then bring them all. I have over a hundred rooms here in the manor with four guest houses, a carriage house, a gatehouse and several magical tents that can hold your people. I also have a lot of house elves who can take care of them."

"You have yourself a deal. I can have some of them here immediately with the rest coming in the next few hours."

"Sounds perfect, I'll also have Varnok make available another three million galleons."

"I like you, kid" Moody said with as much of a smile as he ever gave.

~~oo000oo~~

Harry went alone into the study for the manor and called for his elves.

"Goldy? Dobby?"

"Master Harry calls for Dobby?"

"I's is here, Master Harry."

"I'm going to need your help along with the rest of the elves who aren't busy. I have lot of soldiers that are coming to stay for a few days until the wards are done. It is possible that I'm not as safe as I could be, and I'm going to bring in a large group of people to help out. I expect that the manor, guest houses, carriage house and gatehouse will be full. You might want to make the extra tents available as well. I would like for the elves to help take care of everyone."

"Wees can doos that."

"Dobby, I don't think that Kippy is going to be able to keep up with feeding ninety people, and I would like to have more elves to help her. Could you find more elves to help out?"

"Dobby can finds elveses easy."

"That reminds me… I never knew that Goldy and these other elves existed… with all the other estates, are there more elves waiting for me?"

"Oh yes, Master Harry. Theys bees lots and lots more elves."

"Lots and lots?"

"Lots and lots."

"Okay… I'll let you take care of helping Kippy. Do either of you have any questions for me?"

"No, sir, Master Harry"

"Dobby, if I ask you to listen for someone else's call, can you respond to them?"

"Dobby can doos that."

"Thank you, Dobby, that will be all."

Harry wasn't sure how he was going to travel to each of his properties to claim the estates and the elves. He couldn't use Tonks and Allison without them learning of all the other titles and money. Maybe he could learn to apparate and do it himself. He would have to talk to Amelia about an exemption.

~~oo000oo~~

Tonks, Allison and Harry were enjoying another meal from Kippy. She was outdoing herself every time; that elf really liked to cook.

"Tonks, Allison… I trust Moody to pick out good people, but they are mercenaries and are paid to fight for whatever side they are on. I feel much more comfortable with you protecting me. Can I have you be my primary defense? I would feel much happier knowing that you were standing between me and them."

"That is my idea as well, Harry, let's move all three of us into the master bedroom. You can stay in your tent, while we can take turns guarding you while the other one of us sleeps." Tonks said. Allison agreed.

"I think that I'll ask Dobby to stay with me as well."

Within a very short time, the tent was set up in the master suite and Tonks and Allison were moved in as well. Dobby was going to be nearby in case of trouble and each of them was wearing their emergency goblin portkey. They all trusted Moody to pick good people but with the wealth displayed all around them, they weren't sure how it would affect those coming to help. It was better to take precautions.

Harry thought that he would visit the incoming soldiers later. Now he wanted to enter the study in the tent and get some tasks accomplished.

Hermione,

I hope that all is going well at school. I can't tell you how much I miss you and Ron, as well as the rest of my friends.

I have found a great place to live; it is huge and is in perfect condition. It has been in the family for a very long time, but no one has visited for almost two centuries. There are a lot of house elves that have taken perfect care of the place. Before you get upset, you wouldn't believe how happy and excited they got when I arrived. I am used to excitable elves, but this was beyond anything that I could imagine.

The manor is huge, and there are extensive grounds, gardens and a huge forest as well. The only thing missing is a quidditch pitch, and I will add that later. I have Tonks and Allison staying with me and I have taken further steps to protect my safety. I am as safe as I can be.

Would you do me a favor? You told me that Colin took a lot of photos of me after my assault. I am uncomfortable having those photos around. I don't know what Dumbledore could do with them, but I would feel much better having them in my control. Would you negotiate with Colin and buy the photos and negatives. Don't try to bring his price down, give him everything that he asks for and more. I just want those photos and for Colin to be happy.

When you get them, would you call for Dobby, I will let him know to listen for your call, and he can bring the photos to me.

With what has happened, I know that things will never return to normal. I know that my actions led to this situation, but I miss my old life. Now I wish that you and the others were here with me. I haven't hired the tutors yet, but it would be great to have other people learn with me. I asked Minister Bones about granting a special dispensation to you and my other friends. She told me that she wouldn't do it unless you had been singled out for unfair treatment. It looks like I won't have anyone to learn with until after the OWLs. If you can think of any other way, please let me know. I miss all of you and want to spend time with you.

I have asked Hedwig to wait for a reply, let me know how things are going.

Harry

Harry called Hedwig and sent the message to Hermione. Next he wanted to work on the proxies. He went through the master ledger and found where the Wizengamot seats of the Death Eaters went as well as the debts that were uncollectable. They were scattered over several of his accounts and he sent letters to each of his account managers and Varnok to sell the seats and debts to the Potter account. Since the debts were virtually worthless, he had the Potter account buy them for ten percent of the face value. He didn't want to use too much of the Potter account funds. Then he went through each of his accounts and prepared the forms to give Sirius proxies to even more seats. When he got through, he gave Sirius control over twenty-two seats in the Wizengamot. That would be an unbeatable voting block, and they would be able to push through almost any legislation they wanted. Sirius was either going to be the most loved or most hated man in the Wizengamot. Harry sent the forms and requests to Nearfang and Varnok. He would send the actual proxies on to Sirius tomorrow.

Amelia,

It seems that I am always asking for favors, and I have another one to ask of you. Because my life has been threatened so often by Voldemort, I would like to have another means of escape. Would it be possible for me to learn to apparate and take my test early? I can hire tutors to guide me through the process so I can be safe. Please let me know if this is possible.

In other news, I have obtained the debts and Wizengamot seats for the Death Eaters that were involved in the gold deal in Africa. I also asked some friends that I made over the summer to give me their Wizengamot proxies as well. All together, I will give Sirius Black twenty-two votes to add to his own tomorrow. I look forward to working with you and Sirius to accomplish real change to our society and avoid the corruption that was so rampant with Fudge.

As you know, I left Hogwarts and have found a new place to live. The property has been in my family for hundreds of years and I am having the wards upgraded to the best that Gringotts can produce. After everything is done I would like for you to visit and see my new home; I am very proud of it.

I will soon be looking for tutors for my classes. If you have recommendations, I would appreciate you letting me know.

Harry

With the messages all sent, Harry gathered Tonks and Allison and went to find Moody and the mercenaries that would be staying there. He was visiting and welcoming his new guards when an owl swooped down and landed on the back of a chair next to him. Moody did his usual paranoid thing and examined it with every spell that he knew before finally allowing Harry to touch it.

Harry,

You asked me to meet with a person about the journals we discussed. I have been unable to make arrangements until now. I am to meet her in my office at 4 o'clock today. Since you are no longer at Hogwarts, I thought that you might like to join me. Bring your cloak, we may want to use it.

Remus

Harry discussed the idea of his going and about security on the trip. Mad-Eye insisted that he go along to make sure that it wasn't some kind of a trap. Harry thought that Mad-Eye might be valuable as a source of experience. He didn't know what he was going to buy, and Moody might know more about it.

Harry sent the owl back with confirmation that he was coming with Moody and his guards and that he would be there early. After changing into nice robes, Harry and the others left for the Daily Prophet.

"Remus."

"Harry."

"I think that you know Mad-Eye and Tonks, but this is Allison Jeffries my other babysitter."

"Pleased to meet you, Allison," Remus said. "The woman with the journals seems to be very nervous. It has taken a while for her to agree to meet here. She thinks that she is only meeting with me. I didn't have time to tell her that you would be joining me. I think that she will be okay with you, Harry, but if we add three more people to the group, she may get scared and leave. With Mad-Eye here, I suggest that he sit in the corner with the cloak while the other two of you wait outside the door in the reception area."

"That seems like a good plan, Lupin. I'll keep a wand on her at all times." Moody said.

"I don't have a problem with it either. I don't want to scare her off. Do you still have access to my funds? I forgot to bring anything with me."

"I have what we need. We just need to see if what she has is worth anything," Remus stated. "I think that we should all take our places in case that she is early."

Everyone did as Remus suggested and right on time a woman was announced and let into Remus' office carrying a small bag. Moody scanned the bag with his eye and found nothing but books.

"Good afternoon, my name is Remus Lupin and you know Harry Potter. Harry was able to join us today, I hope that you don't mind."

"My name is Evelyn Douglas, and I'm happy make both of your acquaintances. Do you have the money?" She took out five journals and placed them on the table. There were multiple bookmarks in each of them.

"I can give you a bank draft if what you have is worth what you say it is. Could you give us the history of these journals and how they came to be in your possession?"

"My father was Evan Rosier, he was a dorm mate of Tom Riddle when he was in Hogwarts. By sharing the dorm they were as close as Tom Riddle ever allowed anyone to be. My father was Riddle's first follower and helped to establish how the dark mark and other things worked. My father was not a nice man, these journals are filled with horrible things that he did. Despite what he did, I still loved him. During the first war, Tom Riddle didn't like anyone knowing too much about himself, and he killed my father. Riddle didn't know that he kept journals. There are many things in them that Riddle would like to keep secret, more than just the dark mark. I'm here today to sell you these journals because I'll have to leave the country before Riddle learns that the journals exist and that I sold them to you. I want to see that Riddle gets what is coming to him, but I also need to get away."

"May we see two of the journals?" She handed two of them across the table and Harry and Remus opened them to bookmarked pages. They studied different pages for at least fifteen minutes. Both Harry and Remus nodded at each other.

"Ms. Douglas, I believe that these journals are all that you say they are and more," Harry said, "I have stated that I would pay fifty thousand galleons for each of the questions that were published in the paper plus more for items that I didn't know about and were useful. There is a lot of information here that exceeds what I offered to pay, and I would like to offer you more. Would you take a million galleons for these journals?"

The woman in question had a stunned look on her face. "I was expecting you to try to buy them for very little money. I can't believe what I'm hearing. I would be thrilled to sell them to you for a million galleons, on the condition that you do everything possible to kill that creature that used to be Tom Riddle."

"Remus, please write out a bank draft for Ms. Douglas." Harry then turned his attention to the woman, "Ms. Douglas, do you need any help in getting out of the country?"

"I need to sell my house and furniture and close my bank account and then I'll be ready."

"I want to see you safely away for your peace of mind. I'll pay a fair value for your house and contents today, if you go to Gringotts and ask for Nearfang, he will take you to Varnok, and the money will be waiting for you. He can also turn this bank draft into whatever type of cash that you want to travel with. Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

"You have done more than I dreamed possible. You have been so nice that I won't even mention your photos." She grinned as she left the office.

Harry sighed and walked to the door and motioned for Tonks and Allison to enter. Moody took off the cloak and the five of them discussed the journals.

"From what I can tell, these look like the real deal. I need to look at them closely, but these are a gold mine from what I have seen," Remus exclaimed.

"Potter, I think that this is going to devastate Voldemort. We need to think about the best way to use them. We need to study them and make plans." Moody seemed excited.

"Remus, can you help make five more copies of each of them? I would like for each of us, plus Sirius, to have copies so we can study them and learn as much as we can. I would also like this information to stay with the six of us. I don't want any possibility that Moldyshorts will learn about it."

"I agree with you, Potter, the fewer people that know about it the better. I can help Lupin make copies. I'll bring them back to the manor when I'm through, although it will be quite late."

"I learned the copy spell last summer, and I can help as well. I need to let Nearfang and Varnok know about the money I just spent before I start. Remus, can I borrow some parchment and a quill?" Harry received both and wrote a note to be taken to Gringotts. "Dobby?"

"Master Harry calls for Dobby?"

"Would you take these messages to Nearfang at Gringotts for me?"

"Dobby will doos it right away," and with a pop, he was gone.

"Remus, I would like for you and Sirius to visit, maybe after you have read some of the journals, so we can all get together and discuss them. Maybe lunch or supper tomorrow will work?"

"Give me until tomorrow evening, I have a lot of meetings tomorrow, and I'll find time in between to study as much as I can." Remus said.

"Okay, how about you let Sirius know, and we will plan for supper at 7 o'clock at the manor. Does that work?" Everyone agreed, and the three of them got started copying journals. Later Harry left with three sets of journals along with Tonks and Allison. The war had just taken a turn for the better.