Welcome To the Topsy Turvy World Of Mr Harry James Potter, And How The Magical World Copes With His Decision To Leave The Magical World For A While – Part 2
Or
Chapter 25 (take your pick of titles)
Harry turned to look at the ship one more time. Titanic sat in Harland and Wolfe's Titanic dock like a Goliath and surrounded by all of the small buildings that made up the ship yard. From this distance it looked as if hundreds of ants crawled over her as the workers began the long task of a complete repair and refit. After that came her proving trials before she sailed the seas again. He remembered the sound that the old vessel had made as she had made her way up the Lagan river. Harry had his friends go down to deal with the boiler and to keep casting spells to ensure maximum boiler pressure. When they had done that, Harry had tied down the ship's horn so it blasted out while it had sailed into dock. With one last glance at the ship, Harry apperated home to Allcroft House.
#
"There's another letter for you here" said Lavender as she went through her pile of letters. The group had found a large pile of them waiting for them upon their arrival home.
"Might as well read it" Harry said, and Lavender passed him the letter and he read it aloud.
Dear Mr Potter,
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE come back to us. It is understandable that you are angry with the wizarding world, and we are sorry that our world has failed you. Please forgive us for our mistakes. If there is anything that we can do to repay even one iota of the debt we owe you, then you only have to let us know. Should you wish it, I will resign my position as Minister for Magic in place of whomever you so choose.
Signed
G. Marchbanks
"Well if they want to start repaying me, then they can award me the entire contents of the LeStrange, Riddle, Malfoy, Goyle, Crabbe and Parkinson vaults for a start" Harry said as he put down the letter.
"Not wanting to get on your bad side, but don't you have enough money already?" asked Padma.
"I wouldn't touch it" Harry said quickly, "Rather I would put it all together and make it into a sort of charity vault. So the profits of evil can be used to rebuild people's lives" and the others agreed.
"TEAS UP!" came Dean's shout, and he hovered a large tray of tea cups into the living room.
"Took your sweet bloody time" said Hannah as she took a cup. They sat talking for a while drinking tea when Parvati reacted to one of the letters.
"This is from Ginny" she said. Harry paused, took another mouthful of tea, and then took the letter from his friend.
"She has the cheek to write to me?" he fumed.
"What does it say?" asked Susan. Harry was about to throw it into the fireplace, but then decided that reading it wouldn't do much harm.
Dear Harry,
I know you said that I shouldn't talk or contact you ever, but I hope that you at least read this before blasting it into pieces. It took a lot of begging to Aurors before they gave me some parchment and ink. This is the first thing I've done since I arrived at Azkaban.
There are not enough words in the English language to describe how stupid I have been. If Percy had not been uncovered as a Death Eater, then it was my plan to ask permission to speak to you. I wanted to explain that I was duped by my mother and father. They used to tell me when I was little that I was destined to be Mrs Ginny Potter. Every night my mother would tell stories of how I would have to do things to make you notice me. Being in prison has made me see that I should have said no to them, but it was all I knew. After all, what girl would not want to be the wife of the brave and noble Harry Potter?
Being locked in a cell all day has given me a lot time to think, and I want to tell you that I wish to distance myself from them. I know you will not think much of this, but I want to say that I am sorry about Hermione's death. I know that it is very unlikely that I'll leave my cell unless I need medical attention. I look outside, see the clouds and cry for hours on end because I will never be able to fly on a broom and feel the wind whip around me. I think that the day I leave my cell will be the day that I die. I think that that will be soon because of my broken heart. Nothing can cure that medically. Would it be too much to ask if you would visit me? Even if it was for five minutes, at least it would put my mind at ease and give me closure. All I want to do is to apologise in person for being stupid and foolish to believe that you would ever love me. If you want to do it, then you can come and take my memories to prove all I've said. It might mean much to you from me, but at least it would allow me to go peacefully.
If you destroy this letter and do not see me, then I completely understand.
Signed
Ginerva Weasley
"What are you going to do?" asked Seamus when he had read the letter.
"I don't know" Harry replied, and he took another sip of his tea whilst thinking deeply. "You stupid girl" he said at last. "You stupid, stupid silly little girl" and Harry shook his head, finished his tea and then got up.
"Where are you going?" asked Lavender.
"I'm going out for a while" Harry said in reply. The others knew what he meant, so they let him go to think. An upset and angry Harry was not a good thing for the windows, plates and other breakable items in a building.
#
Rain came down in sheets, and Harry felt the chill set into his bones as he stepped off the small boat. The tall structure was both a fearsome and impressive site to behold, but Harry put his mind to the task ahead of him and walked up to the thick wooden doors. When he got close to them, they seemingly opened on their on and he went inside and found a number of people waiting for him.
"Mr Potter" said a short man.
"Mr McKay" Harry gave him a short nod.
"Allow me to introduce my assistant, Mr Barrowclough" McKay pointed him out.
"You understand why I am here?" Harry asked. While he was talking, he was actively scanning the minds of those people around him. None held any hostile intent towards him.
"I do" McKay replied. "These Aurors will take you to see the prisoner" and Harry was taken to the lowest parts of Azkaban. This was were the most dangerous criminals were held, and the stone passage smelled of damp and filth. It was lit only by burning torches of Everlasting Fire which cast flickering shadows on to the already darkened walls. Although he couldn't see them, Harry could sense the Dementors close by. One of the Aurors tapped a cell door in a certain manner and it removed the look, and she opened the door and spoke harshly.
"Prisoner 74656! Stand up with your back to the wall. You have a visitor" and in the cell, and curled up form unfolded and stood up slowly.
"You may go" Harry said quietly.
"I'm afraid that is against the rules" said the female Auror. "We must be present in case the prisoner escapes" and Harry executed a heel spin so quickly, it would put a Sgt Major at Sandhurst to shame.
"I said leave" he repeated.
"We don't take orders from you" replied the male Auror. "You're not the Minister anymore" and Harry's eyes burst into flames.
"That was not an order… that was me telling you. She will not escape from her cell I assure you" but the Aurors refused to budge. "I killed Voldemort you know, and I wouldn't be too upset about adding to my tally. After all, who would take the word of two Aurors against the boy who lived?" and with a shared look they both fled the corridor. Harry turned and entered the cell to survey the prisoner.
"You came" Ginny Weasley said. Filth caked her body and the now disgraceful looking robes she wore. They were little more then the rags Cinderella would have worn, and they hung off her like she was a skeleton. "Thank you" she said.
"It was no trouble" Harry said in reply. The cell was spartan except for a mouldy old mattress, a thin blanket on top and a bucket that Harry could rightly guess the purpose of. "I read your letter. Did you mean everything you said?" he asked.
"Yes" Ginny said. She was still up against the wall with her hands on either side touching the stone wall.
"You can stand easier you know" Harry remarked, and Ginny became more relaxed in her posture. "Did you mean what you said in it?" he asked her, and Ginny nodded.
"I've been stupid, foolish, silly dangerous and anything else you can think of" she said.
"Why?" asked Harry. He had noticed that Ginny was on the verge of tears, but these looked to be genuine ones.
"Because I grew up with stories about you. Not the real ones of course, but stories of how you would come on a big white horse and make me your wife. Remember Kings Cross? I kept wanting to see you on the train. Then in my two years I couldn't stop stammering whenever you came close to me. Mum said that you had to see how good I would be as your wife, so she taught me everything she could to get you to marry me…" Ginny stopped as she burst into tears, and she put her head in her hands as she sobbed – her entire body shaking whilst she did so.
"You said some pretty hurtful things to me and Hermione" Harry said.
"I... I… I know" she said through the tears. "I don't know why I said them. I was just so mad that you didn't want to be with me. Now I'll never be able to marry you at all. What is it like outside? I don't get the post much and we're not allowed to see the papers. In fact apart from twice when I was examined by the Healer here, I've never left this cell" and Harry thought about her words.
"Your not likely to be out of her for a very long time, you know that" and Ginny nodded.
"I was given a hundred years" the girl said, and she dried off her tears with a corner of her tattered and filthy rags.
"You think that you could do that long?" Harry asked her.
"No. I'll die before then. I'll die from a broken heart and from the shame of the mess I have put myself in. I won't even have my dream fulfilled…" and Harry raised an eyebrow.
"What is that?" was his question.
"As a little girl, I used to fall asleep thinking that Harry Potter would give me a hug and a kiss" Ginny laughed sadly. "I guess I blew that chance. Guess I blew it for my life" and she looked at the dirty floor at her feet.
"What would you do to get out of here?" Harry asked.
"Anything! I'd sleep with a thousand people if I could get out of here. The screams of the others in here keep me up in the night. Then in the daytime I have the Dementors to face… its just too much, Harry. Will you kill me now please?" Ginny was on her knees begging. "If you conjure me some parchment and a quill, I'll write a letter saying that I asked you to do it. Just please don't let me face this nightmare every single day for the next hundred years…" she was sobbing again as the sorrow in her voice tore at Harry. Ginny looked to be genuinely sorry for what she had done, and even though he was more then aware of her crimes, she didn't deserve this at all.
"I'm leaving" Harry announced, and he turned and left the cell.
"HARRY!" the call came like the last desperate plea from a drowning person.
"Ginny!" Harry said sharply, and she looked up from the littered floor to look at him with darkened and red rimmed eyes. "The cell door is still open… I will give you one more chance because I thought you to be like the sister I never had. You lost the trust and faith in you. Now it will have to be earned back" then Harry's tone grew dark. "I've given you another chance, Ginerva. I can just as easily break you" and then he relaxed his tone to normal again. Harry reached out one hand and gently pulled the surprised Ginny to her feet.
#
"We only have to get past the wards" said Harry as the pair of them walked down the cold and dim passageways. Harry had given Ginny a Pepper Up potion on account that she was very weak. The potions effects would do harm to someone in that condition, but Harry wasn't bothered by that as he could always heal her later on. The Aurors on the gate simply froze in a state of shock as they saw Harry and Ginny casually walking out of the main doors. The Auror who had crossed Harry's path was the first to come round, and she sounded the alarms before setting off after the pair.
#
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" the voice rang out over the night air. Harry and Ginny turned to see the same two Aurors who has escorted Harry to Ginny's cell hovering on two brooms, others came running up from the prison and Dementors could be sensed close by.
"Don't… just don't" Harry warned, but the Aurors opened fire with a combination of spells and jinxes to take both of them out. As Ginny had no wand, Harry put her behind a boulder and started firing stunners at his attackers. While the Aurors had more experience of fighting, they simply were no match for Harry. One by one they fell to powerful stunners – plus one large rock thrown by Ginny – until the hovering pair cast blasting hexes at Harry. He dodged them before disarming both.
"Go on then" taunted the female Auror.
"Surrender or prepare to be blasted out of the skies" Harry said, and his wand tip glowed with pure magical energy.
"I would advise you to do what he says" Marchbanks' voice made Harry glance behind him for a moment.
"Evening" he greeted coldly.
"Mr Potter" Marchbanks was taken aback a moment by Harry's curtness. "May I ask exactly why you seem to have released Miss Weasley? A prisoner that you yourself was giving evidence against" and Harry snorted.
"Well let's just say I had a change of heart" Harry said, and then surprised her by pointing his wand at her. "Duck" and Marchbanks hit the ground and Harry blew up the Dementor which was about to attack him. "The next time you see me, is when I sail my nice new shiny yacht into Harbour. I'm sure you'll get the report. Now if you want to stand a chance of seeing me again, then I suggest you put these two idiots on a full suspension without pay followed by an investigation, get rid of the Dementors and clean up Azkaban" and Marchbanks gawped at him. "Don't sack McKay or Barrowclough though – they know their jobs" he added. Harry held out his hand to Ginny who took it as they stepped into the small boat which set off by itself. Marchbanks and the Aurors watch as they grew smaller in size as the distance got more and more. They vanished as Harry apperated them both back to wherever he had come from.
"You two might as well consider yourselves relieved of duty. Go back to your quarters here, pack up your stuff and return to the Ministry. When you get there, head to the Auror department and turn in your badges and explain that you are on suspension pending an investigation" Marchbanks was furious. Not with the Aurors themselves, but she didn't have much of an Auror force to begin with. Her greatest hope was that Harry wouldn't depose her the same way he had deposed Dumbledore from office.
#
"Expecto Patronum" a patronus came from Harry's wand. "Alert the others" he told it, and the silver stag sprung away through the nearest wall. The next spell he did was the air freshener charm as Azkaban had failed to give Ginny any kind of shower or bath during her stay. In a matter of minutes everyone had arrived and stared at Ginny – Dean and Seamus had actually pulled their wands out – and they sat down or stood as they listened began to hear what Harry had done.
"So long as it doesn't take all night" said Susan.
"Well you know the letter that was sent to me by Ginny. Well I don't know how to say this, but this time I knew she was really telling the truth. When I went to talk to her in Azkaban I was appalled by the conditions. Ginny told me why she did what she did, and that she is sorry for it. As we left, we encountered… problems, but Marchbanks knows I've taken Ginny. I don't think we can expect much trouble from her anyway" Harry was glad that nobody was against Ginny being present.
"So what do we do now then?" asked Lavender.
"First thing is to get Ginny cleaned up and given some clothes that will fit her. Conjure up some pyjamas for herself as well. But get her clean first and then bring her down here" Harry ordered. The five girls amongst them jumped to the task and led Ginny to the large bathroom on the second floor. Dean and Seamus looked at Harry as if they had a question to ask, but both of them knew Harry had reasons why he kept his reasons to himself. The Ginny that came down was different to the Ginny that went up. Not a single speck of dirt could be seen on her squeaky clean skin. Her hair had been cut to shoulder length, and the girl was dressed in what looked like fluffy cotton pyjamas.
"They let me look outside for a moment" said an excited Ginny. "From the bathroom window I mean. I can not wait to see what your garden looks like in the daylight" and Harry smiled before asking Ginny to sit in the chair in front of him.
"Now I've got you out of that hellhole. You can just as easily go back unless you follow the rules of this house" he said sternly. "You will not contact anybody in the magical world by any means. You are forbidden to use magic at all except for magical objects. We will teach you anything you missed during the year at Hogwarts,you're your wand will be handed back to one of us at the end of the you are with somebody else, you are not allowed to leave the house or the gardens. Tomorrow you'll go with the girls to get yourself some muggle clothing" Harry saw Ginny looking at the floor.
"Thank you" she mumbled.
"Apart from that, you'll get a crash course in muggle things so you don't cause a scene when you do go out. Now for other things. There are objects here that are sentient, and I would like it if you treat them the same as any other person" Ginny seemed to accept that so he went on. "Now I remember you used to like reading magazines. If you want to keep up with them, then let me know and something will be arranged. I'm not being evil, Ginny, but if you keep breaking those rules then you'll go right back to Azkaban. Now go with Lavender to the kitchen because there is some soup on the stove for you to eat" and Harry gave a smile at Ginny before the girl followed Lavender to the kitchen.
"Marchbanks is going to kill you" said Padma.
"I don't care anymore" said Harry. "If it comes to it, then I'll simply stay here for the rest of my life. I'd even give up magic if it came to it" and the others exchanged looks.
"How bad was the conditions that she was kept in?" asked Dean. He was talking about Ginny.
"You only saw her physical condition" said Harry. "She was put in the high security cells. Hell, she isn't even 17 yet. Now if she had been an adult then I wouldn't have minded, but something told me her letter was from the heart. And I read her mind as well while I talked to her" and Seamus raised an eyebrow.
"You really did that?" he asked in surprise.
"I had to be certain" replied the raven haired boy. "I meant what I said to her about the terms of her staying here. Please treat her like any other person, but keep an eye on her so she does not use the floo or anything like that" and they agreed. A short while later and Ginny came back in from the kitchen after finishing her soup. She seemed to be a lot better for it, and Harry wondered if she would be up to eating a standard breakfast the next morning.
"Lavender is going to show me to my bedroom" Ginny said to Harry. "Will she be locking me in?" the girl asked.
"Do I have your word that you will not use the floo to leave this house?" asked Harry, and Ginny nodded. "Well in that case the door will remain unlocked. I'm giving you a second chance at being my friend, Ginny. Please do not break my trust" and on a sudden impulse, she ran forward and hugged him. Harry patted her on the back before sending her upstairs to bed.
#
Harry woke the next morning slightly later then normal, and he showered and dressed before heading downstairs. He followed the delightful smell of bacon, sausages, mushrooms, fried bread, hash browns and tomatoes all being cooked in the kitchen. The surprise was that the newest member of the household was the one doing the cooking.
"Good Morning, Harry" Ginny greeted him.
"Morning, Gin" he said. "I see you know your way around the kitchen" he added.
"Well mum taught me how to cook for when I married you. I thought I might as well use those skills to do breakfast for everyone" Ginny said, and she started turning over the bacon. "I was wondering though. I know there will be chores to do around the house. Would you like me to do them?" and the question was a valid one.
"Chores are shared between everyone in this house" said Harry. He poured himself a cup of tea from the pot. "You will be like any other person here, except for not going out of the boundaries of the property and the no wand rule. Now later this morning, the girls will take you into town for some clothes for yourself to wear" and Ginny looked slightly alarmed.
"But I have no money" she said.
"You worry about getting some clothes. And I don't mean plain stuff either. If there is something that you want, then by all means get it. Same goes for your room. If you want to decorate it in whatever manner then let me know. I do have one thing to ask you though" Harry said.
"What?" said Ginny as she took the bacon off the stove top and put it on a platter.
"Do you have any magazines or newspapers you would like to read?" and Ginny nodded.
"Witch Weekly and Home Help" she replied. Harry made a note to talk to Griphook about it later on. He would have a copy of each by the time Ginny came back from her shopping trip. Breakfast was served at the same time that the others came down, and though it took them time to warm up to Ginny after what had happened, they treat her like any of themselves. When she came back, Harry had never seen so many shopping bags. Ginny had been brought a dozen pairs of jeans, t shirts and blouses of different colours, multiple pairs of socks any some other items that Harry guessed the purpose of. When everything had been put into Ginny's room, the girl was given the tour of the house. She could go into any part she wanted, and the library was free for her use at any time of the day or night. The only room she was forbidden to enter was Hermione's old room. Ginny remarked about the huge back garden, and Harry smiled to himself. That afternoon she was given a talk by the others on muggles. The youngest Weasley knew some things, but the information was at least fifty to a hundred years out of date. An amusing incident had occurred when Harry had switched on the TV to watch Aquila. Upon watching it, Ginny found herself asking if this was some kind of Pensive recording. Harry then explained it all to her, and Ginny grew to like TV. A week later, and her first trip to the cinema took place as she was introduced to watching films outside of viewing them on the TV.
#
"I never thought he would be that forgiving" said the woman.
"Harry is forgiving" said Hermione. "I just hope that his trust in her is not misplaced" she added.
"Well you will find out soon enough" replied the woman. "You are going back" and Hermione was surprised. The woman then explained it was a reward from the higher powers for beating Voldemort.
"I guess I'll prepare myself, Mum" Hermione said to her mother.
#
Ginny came out of her shell as the days went by, and soon her weight was back up to something near normal. During this long process, Harry had her write down everything that had happened to her in Azkaban. Apart from not giving her a lot of food, the Aurors had routinely used her as live target practice. This resulted in the use of the potions that Harry had for medical use. Ginny herself was more then happy to abide by the rules Harry set out to her, and not once did she attempt to leave the house. Harry had had to tell Ginny that she didn't have to do the house work by herself, and that everyone did their part. This was after she had attempted to make up what she had done by making breakfast, lunch and tea for the first week. Her first introduction to a talking steam engine had been a complete laughter festival as Ginny had rendered unable to talk for the next five minutes as she tried to get her mind around the concept. She and James had clashed slightly when they compared their respective shades of red. Harry came out of the hidden life he had been leading, and he had spoken at great length about things to Marchbanks and Auror Jackson. Ginny wondered why Harry was smiling about something, but when she asked him what it was, the only reply was that she would find out later. Harry was just about to go to bed when he heard some important news. Knowing that there was not much time to lose, Harry grabbed his wand and travelled directly to the Ministry where he found only a skeleton night staff.
"Who is your duty Senior Auror?" asked Harry of the desk witch.
"Auror Sharpe" the witch said, and pointed him towards a long corridor. "Would you like someone to take you there?" she added.
"I know the way" Harry told her. He made his way to the Auror department and found them in a kind of rush. Harry watched them for some time as they ran around like headless chickens. "Report!" he barked.
"Glad you got here" said Sharpe. "We just got news that Princess Diana was in a car crash. Our French counterparts said that it was caused by dark wizards" and Harry frowned.
"We let some slip?" he queried.
"They don't think so" said Sharpe, and Harry looked at some of the reports. "Where are you going?" he added when Harry had spun around and headed out the door.
"To Paris" Harry replied.
"You can't simply go and save her" Sharpe said. "You'll be breaking the International Secrecy Statutes – you know that" and Harry paused for a moment.
"I know" he said. "But I'm going anyway" and then he left. Sharpe looked at the Aurors on the night shift.
"Somebody get Jackson here please. I think this is a two Senior job" Sharpe begged, and one of his juniors went off to get Jackson.
#
Harry looked around to gain his bearings, and decided that he should head off in the direction of the flashing lights. He arrived to find a scene of complete chaos as people took pictures or stood around gawping at the spectacle.
"Non… Non" a policeman made a vain attempt to stop Harry from entering the tunnel, but Harry showed him the card he carried when abroad. If a muggle looked at it, then it would show he had diplomatic immunity. It was rather handy when Harry popped over to Calais to pick up some duty free. Harry saw that the car had crashed badly and that one man was dead, another possibly, another injured and a woman whom the entire world knew about.
"Good Morning, Your Highness" Harry said. "My name is Harry Potter, and I have something that will help you" and he shoved a potion down her throat. The French doctor looked at him with surprise, and then demanded to know what was going on. Harry told him – in perfect French – that it was an experimental drug, and that circumstances dictated the use of it. He then surprised the man by asking the fire fighters to cut open the wreckage of the car so the Princess could get step out. To the sheer amazement of everybody present, the woman did so and was treated by the doctor who simply was amazed at the rapid and almost instantaneous recovery of a person close to death. Harry meanwhile had gone into the back of the car and checked the passenger but it was too late. With a sigh he backed out and looked at Diana. "I'm sorry…" and the woman nodded and became slightly angry.
"I bet it was Charles that ordered it" she said. "Him and that bloody fucking Camilla" she fumed. Officials from the local embassy came along and took Diana and Harry to the embassy, and arrangements were made at once for them to return to Britain. Harry though used several memory charms to make them forget that they had been there. It turned out that Diana was aware of magic, so he apperated them both to Balmoral Castle in Scotland – not that far away from Hogwarts. The security officers on the doors took no effort at all as Harry simply made their footsteps silent as they walked up the gravel drive. They waited in the dining room for a few hours until a tall man with huge ears came in with two boys younger then Harry. The Queen, Prince Phillip and the Queen Mother also came into the room while the security officers waited outside the room.
"This should be interesting" remarked Diana.
"Indeed" Harry replied.
"Now boys…" the big eared guy said. "I'm afraid that something terrible has happened to your mother" and the elder of the boys looked puzzled.
"What, dad?" he asked.
"Your mother was in a car and it was hit by another one and made to crash into a tunnel wall. She is dead, I'm afraid" the Prince put on a suitable expression. The boys looked devastated as they started to believe what their father had said.
"That has about as much truth to that as the vows on our wedding night, Charles" Diana said. The royal family looked around the room but could not see who had spoken.
"Show yourself" commanded the Queen.
"As you wish, Your Majesty" Harry said, and he cancelled the disillusionment spell on himself and Diana. Nearly every jaw dropped in the room as Diana looked to be in almost perfect condition.
"I… I don't understand" said Charles.
"Your Majesty" Harry said. "What I am about to say may seem a little odd, but I can assure you and your family that this is the perfect truth. Do I have your permission to begin?" he added with a bow.
"You may" the Queen sat down on the nearest chair. William and Harry rushed over to their mother who hugged them whilst sending Charles death glares. Prince Phillip was trying to understand how Harry and Diana had been invisible, and the Queen Mother had opened and closed her mouth several times before going to the door and asking for a very strong pot of tea to be brought for her.
"The story starts a number of years ago" said Harry. "On the wedding night of the Prince and Princess Diana, the Prince did not spend it with his new wife. He was actually spending it with another woman by the name of Camilla Parker Bowles. For years his Highness had secret meetings where he would spend the night or several with her" and Harry continued talking for a full hour. The Queen grew more and more furious as time went on, and Charles went redder and redder.
"Is this true?" the Queen asked her son.
"Oh alright then… yes!" spat Charles. "I never loved her" he pointed to Diana, "But I did it so I could get an heir and carry on the family line" and moved with an evil intent towards Diana and the children.
"Not so fast" Harry gave a wave of his wand and sent Charles flying backwards. At the sound of the tumbling, the security men came in but the Queen sent them right back out again.
"I have never been more ashamed of you then now, Charles" she said. The head of state seemed to be thinking of something for a while. "Phillip? Can you get the security men in please?" she asked. Harry spoke aloud before anyone could do a thing.
"I would not bother Ma'am" he said. "Your husband is involved in this as well" and the Queen turned in her seat to face Prince Phillip.
"Not you as well" she said sadly. While most of them had been paying attention to the Queen, Charles had got up, grabbed a knife and then charged at Diana in an attempt to kill her and so cover up the rest of the tragic and torrid affair. However as Harry brought up his up wand to bear, the Queen Mother – showing none of the ninety plus years - took hold of one of the salt pots and threw it with pinpoint accuracy at her grandson and made him stumble away.
"Billy? Dave?" she shouted to two of the security men outside who came bursting in. "Take my grandson and son in law away and lock them up" and they did so with the aid of several other people.
"Perhaps you might want to take the boys to the playroom?" suggested the Queen, and Diana nodded and took them away while still wearing the clothes she had been wearing in the car crash.
"You have uncovered a nasty scandal, and we thank you for it" said the Queen.
"Nothing more then my duty, Ma'am" Harry bowed after putting away his wand.
"And in return, is there anything that your country can do for you? I have money after all" the Queen said, and Harry smiled as he started thinking of things.
"May I sit at your table, your Majesty?" he said, and the request was granted. With some paper and pen, Harry began to write out a list of things he wanted.
"Just these things, Ma'am" and he pushed the sheet over to his sovereign.
Myself and my friends to be Knighted, Permission to ride in the next state opening of Parliament, Royal Decree to run a train on the network whenever I want, the ability to fly in the Battle of Britain flight.
"I think we can do all this" said the Queen with a smile, but that faded after a moment as she went over what had happened over the last hour and a bit.
#
It wasn't until mid-morning when Harry arrived back home, and he looked at the surprised looks on their faces.
"Where have you been?" asked Hannah weakly.
"Well I saved a woman from dying, uncovered a case of adultery and got myself a knighthood" Harry said.
"Oh" Hannah seemed distracted by something. When he looked at the others they also seemed this way.
"What is the matter?" asked Harry.
"We got a little surprise that's all" said Dean, and he rolled his eyes towards the kitchen door. Harry followed his gaze and saw…
"Miss me?" asked Hermione. Harry's jaw opened and closed like he was part of a crazy golf course.
"Oh my gods…" Harry rushed over and embraced Hermione tightly as he sobbed into her shoulder. Then the pair kissed for a full five minutes without stopping for air.
"I guess you did miss me then" Hermione breathed. Harry thought how lucky he was to get Hermione back and he grabbed her hand and started to drag her towards the stairs and the bedroom that waited for both of them. "Where are we going?" Hermione had to ask the question.
"We're going to my… our room" Harry replied.
"To do what?" asked his newly returned to life wife.
"I'm going to fuck you silly and senseless for the next three days" Harry said, and the girls in the room blushed a deep red.
"And then what?" Hermione's voice drifted down the stairs.
"Then I'm going to make love to you" Harry's reply came back.
A/N:
Well so there you have it!
Hermione's BACK! Now in the poll (results should be visible) I said that if you all voted for Hermione to return, then there would be a hidden catch. As a plot twist, Ginny is not the twist. This is it: The first voyage of the newly refitted Titanic will be to North Korea! No… really it is.
Well there is a reference to Star Trek VI somewhere in here, and I've waited 24 bloody chapters to find a place to slot it in to.
Hope you enjoy this chapter. Glowing I REPEAT glowing reviews will result in an entire chapter of M rated Harry/Hermione action. (suggest tissues are kept on standby for both man and women…)
Regards
Pixel