"The only other thing I have, that we said had to be done before the end of this school year, is Archer's adoption." Hermione answered. "There are now three options, that have been put forward. First is Remus. Second are Lucius and Narcissa. And today, Bill's added he and Fleur to the running. That puts Archer as either… Harry's brother, Draco's brother, or Bill's son. Question is… which is he going to choose…?" Everyone turned to look at Archer. "While Archer's thinking about that… Are we still giving the Professors gifts for Yule? If so, who gets what?"
"Well…" Harry huffed. "We all know that Dumbledore gets books, but… remember the mirror? Back in… 'Research'…? Or late 'Troll' …? No. Early 'Research', Dumbledore didn't pass along the cloak until Christmas. Anyway… when he caught me sitting in front of it, he asked me what I saw. I told him that I saw my family and that's when he told me he was moving and warned me off of looking for it. As he was escorting me out, I asked him what he saw. His answer was himself holding socks, apparently everyone keeps giving him books."
Lucius chuckled, Narcissa smiled and McGonagall snickered, while most everyone laughed outright.
"Laugh all you want, but… Does anyone ever remember anyone giving Dumbledore anything but books or sweets?" Harry said, causing the adults to stop and think.
McGonagall frowned, Lucius tilted his head back to look at the ceiling, Narcissa pursed her lips, while Remus, Tonks and the other travellers hummed in thought.
"No…" McGonagall said very slowly.
"I don't believe I have, either." Snape nodded slowly.
"It was always books." McGonagall went on.
"Or sweets." Remus said.
"Exactly." Harry gestured as though he were pointing at them. "And that's why we're not going to give him books. Or sweets. Anything but books or sweets."
"I've been knitting a Dr Who scarf." Hermione offered and huffed as people smothered their amusement. "I can't help it. It stops me from trying to step in and correct some of the rubbish our housemates say is their homework."
"Dumbledore will like it better than the elves did." Ron snorted.
"I know, I know. But it's such a waste… giving it to him, I mean." She'd come a long way from hiding knitted hats around the common room, knowing that an elf faced with dust or dirt was going to react the same as a dog faced with a ball. They were genetically conditioned to react in a certain way and over centuries, elves came to believe that they would loose their magic if they weren't bonded to a family or to a place of high magical saturation. Breaking that belief was nigh on impossible and after Dobby's death, Hermione felt it would be better to champion better care for elves, rather than demanding they discard their beliefs.
"Maybe, but it will portray us in a positive light to the Meddler." Harry reminded them.
"True." Hermione huffed.
"I've got a sketch of the Scottish moors. I was going to give it to Mother, but she asked me to do one of her garden. Go figure." Dean shrugged.
"Great, Dean, thanks. Anyone else?" Harry scribbled a few lines on a scrap of parchment.
"I've some Alihotsy that've just started flowering." Neville offered. "I potted up a few, wasn't sure how many would take and I wanted one for Mum, Gran and I took it in last night. Dumbledore can have one of the others."
"That's very generous of you, Neville." Narcissa smiled gently at the boy.
He laughed. "It won't go with his medication, it'll increase the absorption rate of the anti-psychotics."
"I don't have a problem with that." Draco's laugh echoed Neville's. "Do you?"
"Nope." Neville sat back and sipped at his hot chocolate.
"We've got an animated statuette of Fawkes." Fred said, gesturing between himself, George and Ron.
"We might not like Dumbledore much, but that bird saved your life." George went on.
"Him…? Him, we like." Ron finished.
Luna looked at Harry. "I knew you were going to do this, I just knew it." She shook her head, not sure whether to be disgusted or proud of the man she considered as a brother. "Alright, I've got some Augurey plumes I picked up on one of Daddy's expeditions to Ireland, I knew this was coming so I kept one aside. I trimmed it ready, it will make an excellent quill."
"Thank you, Luna." Harry replied quietly. "I appreciate your sacrifice."
"I know, otherwise I wouldn't offer it." The blonde girl smiled across the table at him.
"Cedric's offering a wooden letter opener, carved from a hornbeam burl, in the shape of a quill." Hermione said.
"Nice." Harry nodded.
"And Seamus is putting up a bottle of Boomberry Brandy." Luna laughed.
"Of course, he's providing an alcoholic beverage." McGonagall sighed. "Alright, I'll add in a pair of fluffy bunny slippers." Her hard-done-by tone caused everyone to laugh.
"Moody's putting up a set of goblets with automatic potion detection charms." Hermione laughed as she read. "He's been wanted to get rid of them for a while, he doesn't like his… guests… to know if he's plying them with potions."
"Good old Moody." Tonks' laughter joined Hermione's.
"We've a desk set." Lucius sighed as he offered. "It's reputed to have been a gift from one of the early Headmasters, to a Professor. I procured it for… Riddle, but it wasn't rare enough for him to use."
"It's hideous." Draco smile. "Dumbledore will love it."
"My neighbour insists on gifting me with afghan rugs and her taste in colours is very similar to the Headmaster's. I'm be more than pleased to pass over a selection for his enjoyment." Snape managed to present the offer with a straight face, not a sneer or a smirk in sight.
Harry turned to Tonks and Remus. "Just you two left now. What are the newly betrothed couple going to give the Headmaster? Huh?"
"Like Luna, I had a feeling this was coming." Remus huffed. "So we've been out collecting feathers, too. One of the werewolf kids I tutored in the Bahamas was the grandson of an Ojibwa Chippewa shaman and taught me how to make a magical version of a dream catcher."
"Mostly from Scottish birds, but I managed to scrounge a few Fwooper feathers from Regulation and Control." Tonks added.
"Brilliant!" Harry beamed at them.
"And we're all assuming that you'll be putting up socks, Potter?" Snape asked.
"Yep. Dobby taught me to knit, the summer after the tournament and it's been my go to for meditation, ever since." Harry started.
"None of the team have bought socks since joining the Raiders." Draco laughed. "Which reminds me, I want my bed-socks, please."
"Already on it." Harry nodded. "So I made him six of the most god-awful garish socks I could, mix-and-match, of course. And just to make it worse, I added some core-instability runes to them, he won't see them, they're in the same yarn as the sole of the foot. They're so small, they won't register at all and will only give minor fluctuations, but when that's combined with the anti-psychotics, the Alihotsy and our ghosts?" He spread his hands out an gave an innocent smile. "It'll be just another symptom of his decline."
A few chuckles floated around the table.
"How did you avoid Slytherin?" Narcissa asked seriously.
"Occlumency." Harry sighed. "Bloody good occlumency shields."
"Yes, that would probably work." She nodded.
"Um… Moody's writing and I'm not sure I'm following him. Harry can you check it?" Hermione passed her journal to Harry and waited while he read Moody's contribution.
"Oh, hell…" Harry grunted.
"What now?" Hermione whined.
"Moody's got a portrait informant in the Meddler's office, she's reported back that he's been muttering about whether or not he should be using compulsions on me, as I seem to have no intention of investigating his traps on the third floor. Moody's asking if we should do something, to let Dumbledore know, that I'm not a Horcruxe anymore."
"Crap." Draco sighed.
"Shoulda seen that coming." Dean nodded.
"So what're we going to do?" Neville asked.
"Oh…" Ron exhaled slowly, he face taking on that contemplative expression that Draco hated.
"No, no, not again…" The blonde boy whined, and let his head fall to the table.
"Would someone please explain?" Hermione's Father, Oberon asked.
"Ron comes up with the most unexpected ideas, Daddy, they come out of nowhere and Draco hates them, because he can't work out how Ron does it." Hermione answered, her fingers already running through Draco's hair.
"Oh, I see. Well, what's the plan, Ron?"
"The basilisk and the Room of Requirement." Ron answered.
"See?" Draco thumped his head on the table. "How is that connected to Dumbledore wanting to compulsion Harry?" Draco muttered.
"Ron?" Harry asked. "Some more details?"
"Today's the solstice, right?" Ron waited for an answering nod. "Right, so if we went to Hogwarts tonight, or this afternoon really, and emptied the Room, we could deal with the basilisk and the diary at the same time. Then we come back here and set up a scenario where you have an episode, of some sort, that requires medical treatment, Snape or Remus can take you to Hogwarts' hospital wing, Pomfrey will do some scans and you can bet your last knut, she'll get Dumbledore down to corroborate her scans. And if they say that you're not a Horcruxe, anymore, we know that he'll go to check his self-updating file on Riddle and it's going to show him as deceased. Plus while Dumbledore' in the hospital with you, Neville and Archer can alter the book on Horcruxes that we all know he has, you know the one I mean. Hermione, can you and Draco write up something up that says that soul containers have a finite lifespan? Detail a few limitations, maximum of fifty years and that making more than one will only ensure that there is no chance to actually using one to return to life as anything other than a golem, as a human body requires a third of a soul for a muggle system and just under half of a soul to maintain a working magical system. I'm sure that the two of you can work out some technical details and justify the percentages."
"Whoa…" Fred gasped almost silently, looking at his brother with wide eyes. This was not something he'd ever seen Ron do, not like this.
"And the episode here?" Harry asked.
"We all get ready for bed, you scream, we come running, find you on the floor or floating in mid-air, blood everywhere, your scar burst open. Snape or Remus will floo you to Hogwarts, the rest of us hot on your tail." Ron sat back.
"It would take a little more finesse and some careful time-turning, but we could make that work." Remus rocked his head from side to side as he thought his way through it.
"It would have to be me, that takes Potter to Pomfrey, Minerva and I are the only ones here that have emergence staff access direct to the hospital wing and Dumbledore knows we were going to be here tonight." Snape offered.
"And I can head straight to the Headmaster's office and inform him of the emergency, that way, he can hurry off to the hospital while I'm still in his office, waiting to escort the rest of you to the hospital wing, that will give Neville or Archer time to alter Dumbledore's book, before we are all present and accounted for."
"Archer does the book. He can be the first to leave the office, right after the Meddler, but with the cloak, he can duck back into the office to do the book. Do we know where he's likely to keep a book on Horcruxes?" Remus asked.
"Yes. He's got a shelf hidden inside one of the stone pillars, not either one his bed is in front of, but the next one around, clockwise." McGonagall answered.
"I can do that." Archer nodded.
"But the basilisk? I've rethought that." Harry said. "We can't require it from the Room, not if we want it dead permanently. The Room does what we require, but once we leave, it reverts back to the Room of Lost things and anything we 'require' is returned to Lady Magic's domain. We wouldn't actually be summoning the real basilisk from the Chamber, but an exact replica of it."
"Damn, so we're going to have to go down the chute again." Ron grimaced.
"Maybe not, mate. We could 'require' a passage or a door from the Room to the Outer Chamber." Harry offered. "We'd still have to open the actual Chamber and take our own rooster, but we'd be able to bypass the chute, we'd just have to have someone stay in the Room to keep the door open."
"And once it's dead, we can extract the venom, levitate the beast into an expanded trunk and place the whole lot under a stasis, for later examination." Snape ended.
"Exactly." Harry nodded.
"Alright, let's get planning."
Albus Dumbledore startled as his floo burst into green flames, just a few minutes after midnight. He blinked in surprise as Minerva McGonagall stepped from them, her pale green robes and face speckled and smeared with blood.
"Minerva?" He leapt to his feet. "Are you injured? What happened?"
"Oh, Albus! It's all Harry's, Severus has taken him straight to Poppy. It's… it's…" She seemed to not be able to speak.
"What happened? Tell me." He said sternly.
"It was just a few minutes ago… the children went to bed… there was a scream… it was Harry… we got to his room to see… Oh God, Albus… his scar burst open and this horrid green fire came out… the screams, Albus… Oh, his screams… and the blood… it went… it went everywhere…" She was gasping and crying and hugging herself. "The… he was in so much pain… Severus has taken him… to Poppy… Oh, Albus…"
"Severus has taken him to Poppy, you say?" Albus asked urgently.
"Yes, yes. I said I'd tell you and ask if the others can come through? Harry woke the whole house, Albus and the children are so scared, they need to know he'll be alright." Minerva begged.
"Of course, Minerva, of course. You wait for the children and I'll go down to the hospital." Albus didn't wait for Minerva to reply, but hurried from his office and down into the school.
This could be Voldemort's return. It wasn't how Albus pictured it at all, but really? Who could say how a Dark Lord would resurrect himself.
Down the Turris Magnus and around to the hospital, Albus ran. He burst in the doors to find Poppy working feverishly over the small boy and Severus standing at the foot of the bed, watching closely.
"Poppy?" He asked.
The medi-witch didn't answer, she just held her hand up in a 'wait' gesture and kept working.
"Severus?" He then asked.
"The children had just retired, I doubt that any of them had even reached their beds. Potter screamed, there was so much pain in that one sound, Albus. I've never heard the like of it before. Not even those tortured at the Dark Lord's hands, screamed like that. Lupin and I were in the kitchen, we've been trying to come to some sort of agreement about Godric's Hollow, unfortunately we're stalemated, there. Minerva was at the base of the stairs, she was heading up to the second floor where Granger and Lovegood were to sharing a room. She reached Potter's door a few seconds before I. It was… there was a gout of green fire bursting from his head and so much blood. It was almost like a fountain. And I could see his magic, Albus, it burst from him in waves, pulsing waves that were clearly visible. Then one of the waves reached the fire from his head. It turned it to smoke. Gods, the smell was putrid, like rotting flesh that was then burnt. It was enough to make the children, who'd come into the hall, sick. And Potter's just standing there. His head fountaining blood and green fire and his magic pulsing out of him bright blue waves. Albus, I've never seen anything like it." Severus almost babbled his reply.
"Oh, my… From his head?" Could that be the Horcruxe escaping? Or taking him over?
Poppy Pomfrey stepped back from the bed. "Albus can you check my findings, please?" She handed over a strip of parchment.
Albus read the parchment and blinked. What? My binds are broken and the Horcruxe is gone. And the blood glamours based on James' blood, are fading. This is not good. He waved his wand over the boy and checked the fresh parchment. Same answers. Hmm… maybe a soul assessment? Would that tell me the name of the soul in control of this body?
"Intus nominabit animan." Albus chanted and waited for the spell to filter through the boy's body and core. The seconds passed and slowly a line of letters appeared above the boy.
H.J. Potter.
"Oh, my…" The boy is no longer a Horcruxe, he will no longer have to be sacrificed to destroy Tom Riddle. What now? Albus wondered to himself. If Tom is… wait… He turned to Severus. "You said a gout of green fire?"
"Yes."
"And when the blue waves from his core met it, it turned to smoke?"
"Yes."
"What happened to the smoke?"
"It rose to the ceiling of the room and puddled for a few seconds, but with each wave from Potter's core, it dissipated a little, collapsing in on itself, almost like it was water sucked down a drain, it spiralled into nothing." Severus answered.
"Ah…" No, that wasn't a Horcruxe escaping, not according to my research. I'll need to check The Tollmans' Index, to confirm. But my bindings? Should I look to replace them? Or the glamour? If he's no longer at risk, do I need to replace them? No, let them be for the moment. I can always reinstate them later if need be.
"Albus?" Poppy asked.
"No, Poppy, it's fine. My scans corroborate yours. Significant blood lose, I'm not sure if replenishing potions are going to be enough or whether you'll need to inject him with fluids, but I'll leave that to your discretion. And a massive drain on his core, I note that there are some minor bindings or charms placed in infancy, that weren't removed, that have broken or are fading, but nothing else of note." Albus replied.
"Yes, that was my finding, too." Pomfrey nodded. "Very well, I shall endeavour to treat the lad. I may have to contact St Mungo's, if he doesn't respond, Albus." She warned.
"Poppy, you are the medi-witch, I shall defer to your judgement. Now, I have left Minerva in my office, waiting for Mr Potter's friends to arrive, I shall go an assure them that he's in the best of hands." Albus nodded to Poppy and indicated to Severus to join him. "Severus, this may change things, my research has so far not covered anything of the nature of this event."
"But is that because you weren't looking for it, Albus, or because it wasn't there?" Severus asked. "I mean no disrespect, but you were researching how Riddle could return and how to eliminate a Horcruxe, not what happens when one is destroyed."
"True, too true. And that may have been an oversight. I'll browse through The Tollmans' Index and see what they have to say. They've certainly been the go-to for information, I'm sure that Octavius Nott is regretting gifting it to me, his last year here."
"Quite likely, Albus." Severus paused, as Minerva and a herd of children appeared hurrying down the hall. "Minerva, Lupin. Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood, Mr's Weasley, Mr Thomas, Mr Evermond, Draco."
"Professors." The children all spoke together.
"How's Harry?" Archer Evermond asked, before pulling himself up. "Greetings this Yule, Headmaster." He gave an awkward little bow.
"The season's greetings to you, too, Mr Evermond. And Mr Potter seems to be stable at present. Madam Pomfrey is treating him, as we speak, however he has lost a lot of blood and blood replenishing potions may not be sufficient to counter that, in which case she will have to have someone from St Mungo's come and set up an intravenous system, to inject fluids directly into his bloodstream. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. The only other significant concern is a case of magical exhaustion. That may take a week or two for him to recover from. You may go down to the hospital, but please be aware that Madam Pomfrey may not allow you to stay long."
"Thank you, Headmaster." Archer sighed in relief.
"I'll see that they stay out of the way, Albus." Minerva nodded in response to Albus' pointed look.
"I shall head back to the cottage and inform Miss Granger's parents and Miss Tonks." Severus said. "I would surmise that Mr Potter will be under Madam Pomfrey's care for a few days and as such, if you like, I am prepared to bring your gifts, here?" He asked the group.
"Oh, would you? Oh, Professor Snape that would be great. We could see people's reactions instead of just reading a thank-you note." Miss Granger beamed, almost bouncing in place.
Snape nodded and waited while Minerva and Lupin herded the children down the hall.
"Albus, I'm not comfortable leaving Miss Tonks with Miss Granger's parents, I know it's not recommended, but I would suggest allowing them here. They like us, were quite alarmed at Mr Potter's… event, shall we call it. Plus, as Miss Granger stated, they've gifts for each other and for the staff. It would be impolite, in the extreme, to deny the Granger's attendance, when they come bearing gifts."
"In all honesty, Severus, I'm not sure that I can face another year of books." Albus sighed.
"Albus, these children… they are… books are unimportant to them… people are important to them. I know for fact, that at least some of the gifts Miss Granger indicated, are not books. And with only a handful of students, does not the castle feel empty of the season's cheer?" Snape assured him.
"Oh… very well, Severus. Today is Yule. If ever there was a day to make allowances, today would be that day."
"Thank you. May I send a patronus to Lucius and Narcissa? They would surely be pleased to join us."
Albus Dumbledore sighed. "You may. If you'll fetch the Grangers, I shall enchant a pair of bracelets for them. It would not do, for them to not be able to see our beloved Hogwarts, in anything less than her full glory. Now, would it?" Albus chuckled.
An hour later, Harry sat up in a hospital bed, for a change, not the one he remembered as the one he occupied so frequently, in that other future. Gathered around him were those he considered family and peeking their heads in through the hospital wing's doors were the Hogwarts staff. A nod to McGonagall and the staff quietly filed in, they'd been updated on the night's drama and were hesitant to disturb the calm.
"Come in, come in." Tonks chirped, from her perch on the bed next to Harry's.
"Mr Potter will be staying here for at least the moment and as such will likely not be home for the passing out of Yule gifts, tomorrow." Snape informed the staff. "Yule is a special time for family and friends, for Mr Potter to miss it, would be a shame. The headmaster has generously allowed Mr Potter's guests to join him for a short time, this evening."
"Long enough for gifts to be handed out, anyway." Remus snorted.
"Ah. I see." The tiny form of Flitwick was the first to join them, he conjured himself a plump armchair. A few more flicks of his wand and matching chairs appeared in a semi-circle around Harry's bed. "Season's greetings, Mr Potter."
Harry gave him a weak smile and lifted a trembling hand to wave.
"Mr Potter, please lay back. If you exert yourself, you will leave me no alternative but to insist that your guests remove themselves, until you have improved considerably." Madam Pomfrey said sternly.
Harry gave her a half-grimace, half-smile that was just barely visible through the semi-clear magical oxygen-generating mask he wore, and nodded, settling back against the pillows that Fred and George had piled against the headboard.
"Mr Evermond? Would you care to do the honours?" Snape gestured to the bag of gifts on the bed at Harry's feet.
"I can do that, Professor." Archer grinned and reached for the bag. He handed small brightly wrapped parcels out to people, after quickly reading the name on each one.
One by one, the professors, the children and their adults, opened their gifts. Each of them expressed their appreciation of the items they'd been given, before sitting quietly and chatting, it took time but eventually the Headmaster re-joined them. His face was tired and his eyes resigned, when he slowly settled into a chair.
"How are you fairing, Mr Potter?" He asked.
Harry gave him a small smile and a brief thumbs up, but said nothing behind his mask.
"I'm glad for you, my boy." Dumbledore smiled, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I've a gift for you… Well… I say, I have a gift… in actuality, the gift is from both Fawkes and myself." He laid a long red and black feather on Harry's feet. "It's not magical, like his tail feather that's in your wand, but it is still a precious thing." Archer lifted the feather for Harry to see. "I had Scribulus' add a quill grip to it for you, this will enable you to change the nibs." He laid a small box beside Harry's feet. "A quill holder for your desk."
Harry smiled brightly and looked to Archer.
"We've also gifts for you, too, Professor." Archer said quietly.
"That's not necessary, Mr Evermond." Dumbledore objected.
"No, but we still did it, anyway." Archer handed Dumbledore the first of their gifts, knowing that the shape and size of it would prompt him to think it a book.
The Headmaster held back a sigh at the familiar shape, but he was loath to upset anyone, particularly Potter in his fragile condition. His fingers slipped the ribbon from the gift and let the paper fall open. His eyes widening, slightly, in surprise at the sight of a box instead of the expected book.
Lifting the lid on the box, his eyes met what appeared to be a feather, but closer inspection said otherwise. It was wood, a carved feather with a sharpened tip, like a flattened quill, perfect as a letter opener.
"Oh, my…" Dumbledore whispered. "How lovely, please be sure to thank Mr Diggory for me…"
Another parcel was deposited in front of him. On opening it, he found not another book but a beautifully detailed sketch of a Scottish moor. The next was a gilded timber desk set. Then a plant in a pretty pot, in a hanging birdcage-shaped terrarium, it's tiny buds just beginning to open. A multi-coloured scarf slid from the next box and puddled in his lap. Followed by a pair of powder blue fluffy slippers, complete with twitching rabbit ears. Then it was what appeared to be a sun catcher, but the note with it indicated that it caught bad dreams and not the sun's light. A set of delicate goblets were next, the note in Moody's rough hand stated that both had extensive potions-detecting charms embedded in them. A squat bottle of Boomberry Brandy nestled in a bed of the dried herbs that Fawkes adored. A pair of what appeared to be handkerchiefs, in a rainbow of colours, held a card that stated they were in fact, shrunken blankets.
The last three gifts had Albus sitting back and wincing internally, thankful his fears had come to naught. An animated statuette of Fawkes, it's wings moved, it's head lifted and tilted, while it's body sidled along the delicate wooden stand. An Augurey plume, a stunning primary flight feather, deep rich green with a faint golden shimmer, all ready for him to use.
And socks.
Not just any socks but hand knitted, vibrant bed socks. Six of them, all having the same colours, but all of them individual in design. The colours of Hogwarts graced each one, but from there the pairings failed. One had owls lining the cuff and a host of fallen feathers trailing down across the foot. One had small squares that upon closer inspection were picture frames, that was the Fat Lady and one down to the left was Sir Cadogan, Dumbledore's eyes picked out a number of the portraits. One had candles, obviously meant to imply the Great Hall's floating candles. One had tiny envelopes, again symbolic of the student letters. One had the house mascots chasing each other around the sock. And the last had a griffin and a hippogriff flying around the battlements of the castle.
These children… Albus had been teaching at Hogwarts for over eighty years, now, and in all that time, he'd received less than a handful of gifts that weren't books, but these children and their families… Not one book to be seen.
"Thank you…" He whispered. "Thank you, they are… truly beautiful…" A tear left his eye.
Harry nodded fractionally and lifted a hand to touch Archer's leg.
"Season's greetings, Headmaster." Archer spoke for Harry, his hand resting on the other boy's shoulder.
That was almost too much for Dumbledore to bear, he made his excuses and gathered up his precious gifts. Wandering up to his office and quarters, all he could think of was Harry Potter. The boy is no longer a Horcruxe. Tom is gone. Harry doesn't have to die. The Tollmans were quite clear on the limitations of Horcruxes, why did I not see that before? Why did I skim passed that? If I'd known that Harry's core was going to reject Tom's Horcruxe, I wouldn't have placed bindings on the boy. But that's over, now… What do I do now? All I've done for the majority of my life is oppose Dark Lords and prepare others to do so. What do I do now? Albus Dumbledore climbed the stairs to his office, his arms clutching at boxes. I think… I'm tired… Have I ever been this tired, before? I don't know… I need a vacation…
Harry was released into Narcissa's care the next morning, with Pomfrey's smile following as he left. Narcissa, Tonks and Juliet Granger positioning him on a sofa with stern instructions to not move. The other children settled around him, the adults on the expanded sofa opposite them.
"Oh, thank you." Harry whispered, as Remus handed him a bottle of water and ruffled his hair. "Ron? You're the chair."
"Thanks, mate." Ron moved to sit at one end of the sofa. "Cedric would you take notes?" He asked.
"Sure." Cedric pulled his cushion towards the coffee table and the portable writing desk, there. "Ready."
"Excellent." Ron said. "So… that went well." People started to laugh, in varying degrees of amusement. "Now that the Meddler is aware that Harry's not a Horcruxe and that Voldy's dead, that should make him back off a little and give us some breathing room." Heads nodded. "So, what else have we still got that has to be done now?" Cedric slid over a slip of parchment. "Ah. Harry and Archer's adoptions, Neville's parents and the Meddler's ongoing treatment."
"Don't you feel bad about giving him the gifts, that you did?" Oberon Granger asked.
"Not really." Ron answered. "We're not intended to harm him, we just don't believe that he should be in charge of impressionable children. We don't dislike him, just his methods."
"Speak for yourself." Fred muttered. "I can't stand him."
"Yeah, but you never could, even back then, you didn't like him. And that's what I mean. None of us have changed the way we really feel about him, not personally anyway. Some of us like him, some of us don't. But… All of us feel that he needs to be removed, if it hadn't been a unanimous decision, it wouldn't have happened." Ron explained.
"Ah, thank you, I wasn't sure of your… objectivity." Oberon nodded in thought.
"Oh, no, Daddy. We laid it all out, after the war. We tracked everything that had happened from the day that Tom Riddle received his letter to the Battle of Hogwarts and Dumbledore's involvement in those events. It wasn't nice, the old Meddler could have stopped this while Tom was still at school, but he didn't even try. But we also did it as a group of about thirty(?) people?" Hermione questioned Luna, who nodded. "About thirty people. The Meddler was involved in almost everything that went wrong, from the 1920's onwards, at least in some way or another. His promotion of forgiveness and rehabilitation allowed the Darker witches and wizards space to plot and plan the destruction of our world. Both worlds."
"The unanimous consensus was if Dumbledore had been stopped, even in 1990, roughly ten thousand lives would have been saved and Wizarding Britain wouldn't have been on the verge of collapse." Bill said, from his seat in front of a window. "If he'd stopped Tom Riddle from becoming Voldemort, we probably would be a hundred thousand people better off."
"Ah…" Oberon exclaimed almost silently.
"Yeah. We're just taking actions that were agreed upon by a committee appointed by the Wizengamot… albeit one that won't happen, now." Neville went on.
"We took oaths, Daddy, oaths that are still binding and will be while-ever there is blood in our bodies. Oaths to Lady Magic and the betterment of the Wizarding World." Hermione begged her Father to understand.
"We have a chance to fulfil those oaths." Draco stated. "And fulfil them we will." His voice was calm and quiet but as resolute as it was possible to be.
"I see…" Oberon nodded in thought for a few moments. "Very well. You know the world you came from, I will accept that you are doing everything you can to avoid that happening, again."
"We are." Hermione was a firm as Draco.
"Alright, back on track…" Ron huffed. "Adoptions, yeah?"
"Yeah." Archer and Harry responded.
"What's the verdict?"
"Remus is adopting me." Harry stated.
"And Archer? Where are you going?" Ron glanced down at the parchment. "Malfoy's, Bill or Remus?"
"It's just occurred to me that there is a fourth option available to Archer." Lucius said. "Yes, he can be adopted by others, but he's also the Lord-Designate of House Black. As a Lord or Lord-Designate he can adopt others."
"In what way?" McGonagall asked.
"Archer can adopt William just as easily as William could adopt him." Lucius explained. "The difference being, that if William were the adopter, Archer would become his son, but if Archer were to adopt William… William would become his brother. He still wouldn't be able to claim the Title, only Archer can do that, but it would remove any chance of manipulations. Adopting an older brother who is already his seneschal would secure Archer's independence and doesn't have to impact on his muggle guardianship, in any way."
"But doesn't that defeat the purpose of proposing an adoption? As far as the muggle government is concerned?" Juliet asked.
"No, not really." Remus answered. "The true purpose was to remove them from Dumbledore's control. My adopting Harry in the muggle world means that there's no way that Dumbledore can get Harry sent back to the Dursley's, even if they returned to England."
"And adopting Archer, would mean that he never has to return to the orphanage." Tonks added.
"But if he adopts William, doesn't that happen in the Wizarding world?" Juliet asked.
"It does, but I work for Gringotts." Bill shrugged. "Having identities in both worlds is essential for a curse-breaker, we have to deal with muggle tomb-raiders and governments on a regular basis."
"It would only take Moody's contact adding in a single piece of paper to have Archer having a long-lost relative. An Uncle, maybe or a cousin…" Remus hummed. "Either way, Archer's safe. It all comes down to Archer and where he wants his future to go."
Archer looked over at Fred. "Sorry, mate. I'm going with Bill and me adopting each other. That way, to the muggles he'll be my Father, but to the magicals he'll be my brother. I can always do with another brother."
"That means.. it's you and me, then, huh Harry?" Fred grinned, a glint in his eyes.
"Yeah, Fred. Sirius was damaged by Walburga, he can't have kids, so Archer's already decided that Remus and Tonks' first kid will be his heir." Harry answered.
"So… what about you? If you and Fred exchange contracts, where does that leave the Potter title?" Lucius asked.
"Well, I'm seriously thinking… and we'd need to get your Father involved, Luna… of adopting Luna as a sister and making her kids my heirs." Harry shrugged.
Lucius tilted his head as he ran the possibilities through his mind. "Yes, yes, that could work. It would leave no recourse for House Malfoy in reclaiming my sister's descendants back into the House at any point in the future, but I do believe that Pandora would prefer your option to my doing so. And it would give Luna a greater degree of societal respectability and hopefully stabilise her internal Magics."
"Bill…" Ron's voice cut through the discussion.
"Aw, crap, he's going to do it again." Draco whined.
"Bill." Ron repeated. "You're the eldest of us, right?"
"Right." Bill couldn't see where Ron was going with this.
"Then have Archer claim you as a Son of House Black and as a brother. Later he can do the same with us. We'll still be Weasley's but we'll be Weasley-Black's and didn't you tell Remus there was a marriage contract between Houses Potter and Black still pending?"
"There are." Snape nodded.
"Harry adopts Luna as a sister, while Archer adopts me as a brother. Then it can go either way. Fred and Harry or Luna and me. Not even Mum can argue that."
Draco was quietly thumping his head on the table and while Lucius watched, his son lifted his head just a fraction and winked at him. The older man blinked and swallowed a laugh.