A/N: Harry Potter meets the Press! Fun with Ron and Hermione (oh, joy). Sirius proves yet again why he's the Best Godfather Ever. The boys have a bedtime chat.
Once again, I am indebted to the incomparable Miss Idina Malfoy, my beta. You may all hate her, as she's roughly ten chapters ahead of all of you with the story. *snicker*
Disclaimer: buy gold, and stockpile food, ammo & chocolate.
Chapter 25
The rest of that day flew by, even with all of the horribly mind-numbing paperwork that Polly Gallsworthy insisted that Harry complete 'just while we're here, don't you know?' In addition to formally registering as the Head of Potter House, Harry was officially recognized as having his majority, with all of the blah blah blah entitled to blah blah blah….
Polly promised him a two page summary within the week, preventing Harry from going spare right there in the administrative offices.
The one bit of true unpleasantness came in a Ministry corridor, where Harry's group just managed to dodge Lucius Malfoy. The Malfoy patriarch was talking to Fudge, and Harry thought he heard the 'clink' of galleons, but his barrister sailed him right past the tall blond with just a nod and a murmured 'Lucius'.
Malfoy looked as though he wanted to say something, but Fudge was nattering on about some business or other, and he was forced to let Harry, Cedric, Remus and Polly stride past.
Later, Gallsworthy explained to Harry that Lucius Malfoy was 'very well connected', largely because of his history of donations to various causes. Of course, what Harry and Cedric couldn't tell the man was that, thanks to future-Draco, they had a better idea than even the redoubtable A. P. Gallsworthy about just how far Lucius' influence reached. A shared look between the two boys promised that they would speak about this later, in a much more private setting before revealing even a fraction of what they knew.
Cedric and Harry received a bit of a shock when A. P. Gallsworthy informed them that he had scheduled a press conference for 10:00 am that very morning in the atrium of the Ministry.
"Harry, my boy, don't worry," the barrister said, clapping Harry's shoulder in encouragement. "I'll do most of the talking, and I took the liberty of jotting down a few words for you, as well. Don't let them rattle you, smile, look virtuous and humble, and let old Polly take care of the rest."
Cedric moved up behind Harry and said softly, "Harry, I know you don't like this kind of thing, but I think I know why Polly's doing this…just trust him, okay? He's done right by us thus far…and anyway, Remus and I will be right here with you."
Harry looked back at his boyfriend and smiled. "Am I that transparent to you, Ced?"
"Yeah," Cedric beamed back. "Good thing, too, keeps us both out of trouble."
When Harry rolled his eyes, Cedric knew that he had done what he needed to do.
After a quick glance at the parchment Polly had given him, Harry looked up, one eyebrow raised. "Polly…are you sure you wrote this for me?"
A.P. Gallsworthy just laughed. His rich voice boomed out, echoing in the corridors, startling more than one Ministry employee as they scurried about their business. "Merlin's beard, I hope so, Lord Potter. Can't be seen to be disrespectful to a peer, now can I?"
Before Cedric or Lupin could find out just what was going on, Polly and Harry strode off towards the atrium fountain. A small mob of press was already waiting for them there, and they began screaming questions at Harry as soon as they saw him.
Gallsworthy immediately took charge. "I have a statement which I need to make, and then Harry Potter will read his own statement. There will be time for only one or two questions afterward, but you are all invited to submit any questions you may have for my client to my office. Reasonable questions will be answered as soon as possible, probably within a week's time. Also, my office will be releasing a prepared statement within the hour, in plenty of time for you all to make your afternoon editions."
The barrister cleared his throat, giving the press time to quiet down, then went on. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I'm sure that by now you are all aware of the facts relating to the incident that occurred on the second of August." They should have been, at any rate. The Prophet had run no less that four stories and dozens of interviews in the days since the incident. "Today, my client appeared before a portion of the Wizengamot—in a hearing which was a mere formality, I assure you—to clarify certain issues that have been raised about his noble, selfless act of courage in once again protecting his fellows from the threat of Dark forces. The facts of the matter—namely, that Harry Potter did indeed use the Patronus Charm on that fateful day to destroy no less than six Dementors, thus sparing countless innocents from the horrors of the Kiss—have never been in doubt by anyone. However, due to my client's age, the Wizengamot was appropriately concerned about the possibility of improper magic use by an underage wizard. While we all are aware that self-defense has always been an acceptable reason for underage magic use, the fact that Harry Potter's was the only effective Patronus cast during the entire affair was of some concern to the Government. Also, while this was not an issue with the case today, the fact that Ministry aurors did not arrive until after Harry Potter's Patronus had eliminated the threat is no doubt under investigation even as we speak. My client was asked to provide testimony that will no doubt be used to further both of these investigations, and I would not presume to answer questions about what are properly the Minister of Magic's to discuss. What I can tell you is that, upon hearing my client's personal testimony and following a review of all pertinent facts, all charges were dropped and the case— again, which I am sure, was brought only as a formality—was summarily dismissed. Lord Potter will now read a statement." Polly Gallsworthy smiled, and gently pushed Harry forward.
"I am happy with the outcome of this hearing, of course. I would like to commend the Wizengamot for their concern and interest in the safety of our citizens. I can only say that I was happy to be of service to my fellow witches and wizards, and wish them all well. Thank you," Harry ducked his head and stepped back while Polly Gallsworthy smoothly stepped in front of him.
"Now, I believe that I have time for a question or two. Yes, you sir…in the plaid robe," he picked a reporter out of the crowd.
"Thomas Flowdon, Daily Prophet," the man began. "There have been rumors circulating that Harry Potter's wand would be snapped for underage magic use. Has his wand been snapped?"
"No, certainly not, my client has his wand on his person even as we speak…and I, for one, feel safer for it! Next question…yes, you, ma'am, in the pink glasses."
"Priscilla Pewterplatte, Witch Weekly. Given that Mr. Potter had a previous warning for underage magic use there has been speculation that this latest violation would result in his expulsion from Hogwarts. Any truth to that rumor?"
"My client has spoken with Headmaster Dumbledore since his hearing, and been assured that he has a place at Hogwarts waiting for him, so no, he has not been expelled. One more question…you, in the dark blue bowler."
"Horace Lekkesmon, Crystal Ball. You referred to Mr. Potter as Lord Potter…care to explain?"
Polly Gallsworthy's smile became even broader, if possible. "I was wondering if any of you noticed that. Yes, I did refer to Lord Potter by his proper title. As of the thirty first of July of this year, Harry Potter has assumed the mantle of Head of House of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter."
"But…that makes him legally an adult! And they were trying him on the basis that he was under age!" A voice rang out from somewhere in the press mob. "They had no reason to try him, but they did anyway!" Immediately a hubbub broke out among the press people, but the same voice continued, "so, will Lord Potter be suing the Ministry for false arrest and wrongful imprisonment?"
If A. P. Gallsworthy heard this last series of statements he gave no sign. Instead, he raised his hands in a calming gesture while he raised his voice to carry above the crowd. "Thank you, but I'm afraid that's all the time we have…Lord Potter has other business here in the Ministry, and can't be delayed any longer. You may all feel free to contact my office, if you like." And with that, he turned, spread his arms and shepherded Harry, Cedric and Remus out of the Atrium and through a doorway that was very firmly closed behind them.
Once the door was shut, Polly Gallsworthy could contain himself no longer. The other three were initially somewhat puzzled by his roars of laughter, even though they were all smiling with relief that it had gone so well. After a minute, Cedric caught his attention and asked what everyone was thinking.
"So, Barrister Gallsworthy…that last questioner…who was it?"
Gallsworthy managed to calm himself with some difficulty. "That was actually one of my junior partners, mixed in with the press crowd."
Harry just gaped, while Cedric grinned and Remus smirked. "So…you set the whole thing up, didn't you," the werewolf demanded.
"'Course not! I'm offended that you would even suspect such a thing of me, Mr. Lupin," Gallsworthy said. When a chorus of snorts and 'course nots' answered him, he had the grace to look a bit sheepish. "Well, only the last bit, actually. The first two questions were so blatantly obvious that someone had to ask them…and I would have been terribly surprised if someone hadn't."
"And the reason you cut and ran when you did?" Remus pressed on.
"To keep from having to answer a question I didn't already have an answer planned for, my dear Lupin. First rule of dealing with the press, all of you," he said, taking a deep breath and clutching the front of his robes in what Harry was starting to recognize was a characteristic posture for the man. "Never let them ask you a question that you don't have an answer ready for."
"But…" Cedric said, then stopped, shook his head and grinned. "I suppose that's why we're paying you all of those galleons, isn't it?"
"Of course, my boy, how right you are!" the barrister laughed with them. "Oh, how right you are!"
***
When they returned to Grimmauld Place that evening, Harry was surprised to find that Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the twins and Mrs. Weasley were there to greet them.
"Oi, mate, you got off! I knew it! I just knew it!" Ron whooped, pounded Harry on the back and broke into an impromptu victory dance. Then, just as suddenly, he pulled back and looked Harry up and down. "Blimey, Harry…Mum said you'd grown a bit over the summer, but…" he trailed off, stunned that Harry was only an inch or so from his height.
Harry just laughed, but Cedric got in the best comment. "Oi, Ron, wait until you see how he eats! You'll be wanting to watch your fingers around him at table, at least for another few months."
"Honestly, Harry…whatever were you thinking, casting a spell like that, and in front of so many people," Hermione had apparently decided to skip all of the 'hello, how are you, I'm fine, how have you been' pleasantries and go straight to the nagging. "Didn't you stop to think that…?"
"That dozens of people might have been Kissed, or perhaps killed in the panic, Granger?" Cedric cut in ruthlessly, saving Harry the embarrassment of either listening to his friend rant or trying to get a word in edgewise. 'Honestly, Harry', indeed! For all that he loved Harry desperately; he couldn't for the life of him see just what made Harry so loyal to the bushy-headed girl. Ron, bless him and all of his faults, Cedric could almost understand—almost—but Hermione didn't have a single friend other than Harry and Ron, for good reason.
"Well, that's a fine attitude for you to take, Cedric," Hermione wasted no time rounding on the Hufflepuff. "Letting Harry take chances like that…and where was your Patronus? Or Professor Lupin's, for that matter?"
"Hermione, I was…incapacitated, and Cedric was keeping me from being trampled," Remus broke in smoothly, giving Cedric a quick, repressing look. "By the time either of us knew what Harry was about, his Patronus was already chasing down the last of the Dementors. Of course, by then it was far too late to stop him, so…" Lupin shrugged. "But it all came out well, so there's an end to it." His tone left no room for argument…but Hermione looked ready to argue anyway.
"Well…I suppose so. But still, what I don't understand is how you can all just stand there, so…so…nonchalant. Harry broke the law, and I know that the Wizengamot dropped the charges, but what I don't understand is…."
"Quite a lot is exactly what you don't understand, Granger," Cedric snapped. The downcast look on Harry's face had set his blood to boiling. "Now, if you'll just shut up for half a minute," he grinned as Hermione gasped at being spoken to like that, "we'll try to explain to you…in very small words…just exactly why Harry didn't break any laws."
"But…but…" Hermione sputtered. "He's…Harry's only fifteen, and the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery clearly states…."
"Oh, come off it, Granger. There are other decrees, you know…oh wait, you obviously don't know them all, do you?" Cedric was enjoying this far too much. As for the rest, a small audience had gathered around Hermione and Cedric, with the twins restraining Harry gently so that he could watch his boyfriend defend him.
Harry had initially wanted to jump in, but as he saw the argument progress—and Cedric stand up for him so strongly—he just stood there, enjoying the warm feeling that was growing inside of him each time Cedric spoke.
"Tell me, Granger…does the Inheritance Decree of 1348, as modified in 1486 have any special meaning to you?" Cedric snapped, then raised one eyebrow questioningly at Hermione.
"The…Inheritance Decree of 1348?" she asked hesitantly.
Cedric nodded. "As modified in 1486," he repeated.
"Was that…the decree that established the principle of hereditary Wizengamot seats?" Hermione asked in an uncertain voice.
"No," Cedric said, then just looked at her. Behind Harry, one of the twins snickered, earning himself a quick death-glare from Hermione before she tossed her hair and turned back to Cedric.
"Then, no…I'm not familiar with that particular decree," she said boldly. "But still, I don't see…."
"Exactly, you don't. And, until you do, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't berate my boy…buddy and friend Harry over something you obviously know nothing about." Cedric managed to cover his almost-slip with a biting retort to Hermione and a quick turn away. "Now, it's been a long day and I, for one, could use a cup of tea. Harry, Gred, Forge, everyone…join me?" And leaving a sputtering, insulted and angry Hermione Granger behind him, Cedric Diggory took his boyfriend and their friends away for tea.
***
Mrs. Weasley chided Cedric for speaking so harshly to Hermione, but a quick comment about how 'she needs to mind her own business before minding everyone else's' from Cedric ended that particular line of discussion. Then, Harry was forced to explain to everyone (except Hermione, who was off sulking in another part of the house—Cedric briefly worried about his computer in the library, then remembered that it was password protected and locked against just such a problem) just what had happened in the courtroom. As expected, Mrs. Weasley clucked her disapproval at Harry's description of Fudge's antics, but the rest of the audience loved it. When Harry told about Gallsworthy's handling of the entire matter, the kitchen exploded with catcalls and cheers.
"So, it's to be Lord Potter, then," one of the twins was saying while the other laughed. "Will we be required to salaam every time we see you, m'Lord?"
"Absolutely, peasants," Harry laughed with them.
"I should have known," Ron said ruefully. "Harry always comes out on top," he went on.
"Ron, what's wrong?" Harry asked, concerned. He had been expecting his best mate to be, well, happy with the way things had turned out.
"Nothing," Ron said, then he jumped up and left the room suddenly.
"What's wrong with him?" Cedric asked, while Harry just sat there, stunned.
"Oh, ickle Ronnikins is probably just jealous of our Harry here…you see, he just found out that he and Granger were made Prefects for next year…and here Harry comes back with a Lordship and his majority!" Fred explained.
"Ooh, ickle Ronnikins feels inadequate…yet again," George put in.
"Boys!" Molly Weasley snapped at both of them. "Harry, I'm sure that Ron doesn't mean anything by it, it's just…he was so happy for once to be able to have something of his own to brag about…something that you didn't, don't you see?" she wrung her hands as she tried to explain.
Harry sighed. "I understand, Mrs. Weasley," he said, his entire happy mood deflating in an instant.
The joy seemed to drain out of the entire room in seconds, leaving everyone just sitting there staring down at the table. Finally, Sirius broke the silence.
"So, Harry…I take it that you and your barrister called your solicitor to help you with the necessary paperwork, then. Any word on when they'll make any progress with my case? Quite frankly, I can't wait until I can walk out of this place without always looking over my shoulders for the aurors…."
And with that, the conversation gradually resumed…but the pall never completely lifted from around the table for the rest of the evening.
***
Since everyone was staying the night at Grimmauld Place with the excuse that they would all be going to Diagon Alley the next day to buy their books for the upcoming year, Harry and Cedric had to go through the motions of going into separate rooms to sleep that night.
Molly Weasley had wanted to put Ron in the same room with Harry, and was more than a bit put out when Sirius insisted that Ron and the twins all bunk together in a guest room on the third floor with the rest of the visitors.
"But…I don't understand, Sirius," she harped for the umpteenth time. "Why should all three of the boys be cramped up in that one room when Harry has plenty of room for us to conjure another bed in his room?"
"Because, Molly, the room your boys are in is twice as big as their room at the Burrow. Besides, Ron snores…and after the day that Harry's had, I won't have him disturbed by your son's snoring all night long. Oh…and it's my godson, and my house." And with that, the Lord Black turned and walked away, ending the discussion.
A bit later, Harry found the opportunity to whisper to Sirius "Best Godfather EVER!" which earned him a smile and a wink in return.
Still later that evening, Cedric and Harry finally were snuggled together behind multiply locked, shielded, silenced and warded doors.
"So, Lord Potter…I suppose formal congratulations are in order," Cedric said softly.
"I suppose, peasant," Harry giggled. Cedric's breath was tickling his ear, so he wriggled into a slightly different position. "I'm just wondering why Ron and Hermione are suddenly here, after not being allowed to come before now."
"I suspect the fine hand of our esteemed Headmaster," Cedric replied after a moment's thought. "The timing is a bit…suspicious, especially given the conversation with the Headmaster that we had earlier. Also, did you notice that it was just assumed that you would need to go buy your books tomorrow? Why now, when there hasn't been a word mentioned about it until this evening? And why announce two of the prefects so early…usually that wouldn't happen for at least another week. Not that I think that the timing doesn't make sense," Cedric muttered. "I've never understood this sending out booklists and important announcements at the very last minute. You'd think that the booklists, at the very least, could be sent out a good month in advance."
"Mmm, you're right, of course," Harry sighed. "It's more than a bit suspicious, actually. Of course, it could just be that they want to rub it in that they'll be prefects and I won't, but that might actually make me less likely to want to go back than not, don't you think?"
"Maybe," Cedric allowed, "but that's one of those things that could go either way, I suppose. No, I think we'll see the full story come out tomorrow."
"Especially since my boyfriend did such a wonderful job in putting Hermione in her place this evening. After that, I don't think she said three words to either of us." Harry smiled up at Cedric. "By the way, have I told you lately just how much I like having you stand up for me?"
Cedric pretended to think very hard before he answered. "No, I don't think that you have," he said, smiling back. He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Harry's hair before continuing. "That's okay, though…just so you'll know, I enjoy being able to stand up for you." For the first time in your life, he thought. My poor Harry…well, I'm here to stand up for you, and I'm not going to let you be treated the same way you have been in the past.
"Cedric, can I tell you something?" Harry asked carefully.
Cedric sensed that something was up, and tried to be especially gentle when he answered. "Harry, love, you can always tell me anything…what is it?"
Harry sighed contentedly and shifted a bit closer before he spoke. "I just want you to know…it feels so different, knowing that you'll be there to stand up for me. I can't really describe it, except that I like it. Does that make sense?" he asked anxiously.
"Oh, you little prat," Cedric said fondly. "Yes, it makes all the sense in the world."
"Prat back," Harry said softly. "I guess that's good, then," he half-questioned.
"No, love…it's the way things ought to be," Cedric answered, then pulled Harry's face up for a gentle brushing of lips. "And, it's the way things are going to be, from now on." Before Harry could answer, Cedric had started another kiss, this one deeper and more intense than the one before.
By the time the boys had finished snogging, Harry's anxiousness was a thing of the past. And, despite Harry's fleeting fantasies of the afternoon (in which he used his new-found majority to have his wicked, wanton way with his boyfriend) he immediately fell asleep.
Cedric Diggory, on the other hand, lay awake for some time, thinking about how he could continue to help Harry outgrow the horrible circumstances of his previous life.
Obviously, he had his work cut out for him.
A/N: Shout Out! to athenakitty for first review received, as well for her (as per usual) extremely thoughtful and though-provoking review. I probably should send her advance chapters as well as the divine Miss Idina Malfoy, just to satisfy her kitty curiosity! Also, Miss Malfoy is accusing me (ME!) of trying to incite you wonderful readers into sending her howlers! Can you imagine! I have NEVER been so SHOCKED and INSULTED in my ENTIRE LIFE! *swoons, clutches pearls…fan me, Prissy, fan me!*
*snicker* Okay, don't flame her, k? But, a message (or six) telling her that she's doing a good job and that you appreciate her, too…well, I suspect that it would be well received. And, she might just talk back with you about the story…who knows? Merlin knows, I can always use more ideas, even if I can't answer each and every review. *sigh*
Next Chapter: Unhappy Hermione *sniff*, speculations about DADA, Goblin etiquette and robe shopping! Arthur Weasley and the boys have a little talk.