September was an interesting month for Harry. He regularly wrote letters to the Weasley Twins as Harry, he wrote letters to Bill and Charlie Weasley as Obscurus every other week or so, he would text Neville and Remus often while they were at school, and occasionally he would text Severus Snape. He would take missions from Erluk, but the rest of the time would be put towards his Muggle-Wizard hybrids in his workshop or spending time with his Godfather. However, during the whole month, out of countless opportunities, Harry had not retaliated yet for Sirius changing his ringtone.
Until today. Saturday. 2nd of October, 1993. 2:30 am. The day Remus was supposed to have Breakfast with them and spend the day together, just the three of them.
Harry smirked evilly at his peacefully sleeping godfather as he stood next to the bed. Harry set Sirius' Mirror back on his nightstand before quietly making his way to the ensuite bathroom to have some fun. First, Harry stopped at the toilet and placed an invisible magical wall over the bowl to prevent Sirius from properly using it. Next, he changed the water coming out of the shower and sink to melted candy. He then conjured a large pile of feathers and had them floating above, only to be triggered with a drying charm and spell-resistant so Sirius couldn't banish them away.
Harry left the bathroom and over to Sirius' wardrobe, shaking with silent laughter. He changed the color of every piece of clothing, including the 3 underwears, into Neon colors. He made sure to set it up so that if Sirius tried to change the color back to normal, it would just change to a different neon color. Harry then used a strong sticking charm on all of Sirius' shoes and set out a pair of slippers for him. Bright pink bunny slippers with sparkly purple bows on top.
Mentally cackling, Harry quietly left the bedroom and set up the final touch. When Sirius opened the door to leave his room, he would have spell-resistant glitter dumped on him.
Harry went to his room to get four and a half more hours of sleep. As Harry laid down, a satisfied smirk graced his lips and stayed there the rest of the night.
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Remus exited the floo and hugged Harry, who launched himself at Remus.
"Good morning, Moony!" Harry cheered. Remus stared at Harry warily before sighing.
"You look like your father when he successfully pulled off a prank. What did you do?" Remus asked.
" Someone decided to mess with my ringtone on my Mirror. I merely retaliated," Harry told him with a grin. "Come on, I'm sure the elves have finished breakfast already. Although, I should warn you that Siri seems to be having a slow morning today. He was supposed to greet you with me."
The two made it to the family dining room and sat down with two cups of tea and chatted about some of the students at Hogwarts. Harry turned to the door when the wards told him that Sirius finally exited his room and poised his Mirror to take pictures when he finally arrived. Remus, seeing Harry getting ready, turned to stare at the doorway just as Sirius entered and promptly started laughing. Sirius was a mess!
The older animagus was covered in feathers and rainbow glitter. He wore a Neon Green t-shirt, Neon Purple trousers, and Neon Yellow socks with his bunny slippers. His clothes would also occasionally stick to the little bits of skin that weren't covered by feathers and glitter. Harry smirked wider when Remus fell to the floor still laughing.
"Pup?" Sirius asked with an edge to his voice.
"You shouldn't have messed with my ringtone," Harry said in an innocent voice with a look to match. Sirius' eyes grew wide as he realized what was happening.
"That was a month ago!" Sirius protested, making his way and sitting down in his chair, Remus following suit after he calmed down.
"Yes, well, the best pranks are thoroughly planned out," Harry said, getting ready to send Sirius' picture to Remus, Sirius, Snape, and Neville. "That and making it unexpected." Harry waited until the food arrived and Sirius took a bite before sending the pictures.
Remus and Harry stared at Sirius with raised eyebrows when a female erotic moan came from Sirius' direction, making the older animagus nearly choke on his eggs.
"Sirius?" Remus asked.
"That wasn't me!" Sirius shouted. Neither man noticed one of Harry's hands under the table, texting Sirius. They did, however, notice when Sirius' area moaned again. That was also the point when Sirius realized what was moaning at them and took out his Mirror. There he had received texts from Harry. One was a picture in his messy state, the other a message with a semicolon and half a parentheses to create a winky face. "Fine. You win, pup," Sirius said with a pout.
"Of course I do," Harry said, smirking at his godfather. Remus snickered where he sat.
Harry and Remus were the first to finish eating and Harry offered to show Remus the changes since James' years living at the manor. Sirius tried to get up and follow him but could seem to get out of his chair. Harry and Remus were long gone before the semi-sticking charm finally let up.
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Severus rolled his eyes as he felt his Mirror vibrate. Only two people message him through the Mirror: Lucius Malfoy, who usually calls instead of text; and Harry Potter, who usually texts instead of calls. Pulling out his Mirror, Severus noticed it was Harry and opened the message only to almost spit out his coffee. He stared out at the students, trying to control his amusement at the picture Harry had sent him.
Over at the Gryffindor table, Severus could see a violently shaking Neville Longbottom bent over his Mirror and a hand over his mouth. The Gryffindor, Severus noticed, had gained a lot of confidence since the last school year and his grades showed it. He no longer blew up his potions, all of his other class grades have been consistently EE's or O's, and Severus wouldn't be surprised if Longbottom was one of the top students by the end of the year.
Severus took a deep, fortifying breath before looking back at the picture Harry sent him. Of course, the contact name was actually Obscurus to protect Harry. With a smirk, Severus saved the photo of Sirius Black's demise by his own Godson to his Mirror.
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Harry stood in the back of the Wizengamot Atrium a week after getting back at his Godfather. He used his Metamorph ability to make himself look more like his father with his mother's eyes, although he didn't change much. It's a wonder how much glasses can change a person's look. His hair was in the Potter bird's nest but he had the tips of it red to make him look more different from his Obscurus looks. He wore traditional black robes with red stitching to show that he was still the 'good little Gryffindor'.
Three days ago, Regent Longbottom informed him that Dumbledore was giving her troubles when it came to pulling back the Creature Restrictions and getting Sirius a wizarding trial. Now Harry was here to present the counterargument to Dumbledore's and Augusta still holding his proxy seats for when the votes come in. Two days ago, Ragnok went to the higher-ups to get Sirius a Goblin trial to use for today and found him innocent. Harry couldn't wait to rub it in the Wizengamot's face. Augusta, of course, knew that Harry was hiding in the shadows, waiting for his moment to enter the conversation.
"Next on our agenda," Minister Fudge announced, "is the investigation into the trial of one Sirius Black by Madame Amelia Bones." Murmurs could be heard among the Wizengamot members.
"Surely that isn't necessary," Dumbledore stated. "Everyone knows that Black was guilty."
"How can we know this for sure?" Amelia asked, interrupting Dumbledore before he could go much farther. "Sirius Black never had a trial and I have evidence that shows Mr. Black is innocent. Including a willing interrogation with Mr. Black under Veritaserum." Many members started shouting around the room, Dumbledore could be heard trying to deny that a trial for Sirius was necessary.
"Well, this certainly reminds me of why I prefer to stay with the Goblins," Harry stated loudly, getting everyone's attention. Harry practically glided to the center of the room.
"Who are you?" Fudge asked, looking the teenager up and down.
"I'm Harry Potter," he answered, mentally smirking when it caused an uproar.
"Harry, my boy!" Dumbledore shouted, taking the teen's new looks in.
"I am NOT your boy , Headmaster," Harry nearly hissed at the old man. "You were the binder of the Fidelius Charm and yet, you allowed an innocent man to go to Azkaban without a trial. You knew Sirius Black, my godfather, was innocent, my godfather was even proven innocent when he went through a Goblin's trial where they used a high-grade Veritaserum to get the trials over with quickly. So the question is, why? I asked you not to send me back to my relatives over the summer, that I would pay to stay at Hogwarts, anything to not return to my muggle relatives. So why did you force me to return to them?"
"Harry, my boy, it's for the greater good that you return to your relatives," Dumbledore tried to soothe. "The blood wards protect you from Voldemort and his Death Eaters."
"Falsehood," Harry stated. The entire Wizengamot stayed silent to listen to the two most famous men in the room. "I've spent well over a year with the Goblins and have learned a lot in that time. One of which is wards. Blood Wards in particular need the recipient, which in my case is me, to feel loved and cared for in the house and must consider the place Home. I grew up in a cupboard while my cousin got two bedrooms. I worked as a house elf while my uncle worked, my cousin either played games or with his friends, and my aunt was too busy trying to get gossip from our neighbors. Meanwhile, I was mowing the yard, gardening, doing the dishes, cooked every meal, and cleaned every inch of that house.
"I thought my name was Freak and Boy until I was five years old and started primary school. My cousin and his friends chased me around in a game called Harry Hunting where they would beat me up once they caught me. My relatives, despite the fact that I was the one cooking all of those meals, refused to feed me anything but a slice of bread and a glass of milk once every three or four days. I would also get punished for getting better grades than my cousin, who didn't even try.
"Finally, I stopped considering that place my home as soon as I started staying at Hogwarts. Hogwarts became my home. Tell me, does it sound like I was loved and cared for in that house? Does it sound like that house was my Home? No, to both questions. Thus, the Blood Wards are nonexistent. Not only that, but according to my parents' wills, I was never to go there because they're magic hating muggles! They punished me for doing accidental magic!" The members were whispering loudly at what they're hearing but Harry ignored them in favor of finishing what he started. "My parents' wills also stated that their real secret keeper was Peter Pettigrew, who is still alive! And don't you dare tell me I'm exaggerating Dumbledore. My healer was appalled at my health as a result of my relatives. My Goblin friends have done more to help me in the last week than most of the wizards and witches in the Wizarding World have in my entire life!
"And I know why you wanted me with those people. I know you wanted me to die in the final battle with Voldemort. Well, too bad, Dumbledore. Thanks to the Goblins, we've destroyed all of his artifacts that kept him alive, including the accidental one we took out of me. So now the Dark Lord Voldemort, also known as the Halfblood named Tom Marvolo Riddle, is officially dead and all of his lordships and everything that goes with it goes to me by right of conquest.
"However, I do seem to have gotten off-topic," Harry said, ruffling the back of his hair in a teenage fashion and looking suitably sheepish. The Wizengamot was shocked and Dumbledore looked furious that all of his plans were blasted into smithereens by one teenager. "What I meant to talk about was getting Sirius Black a trial under veritaserum. It shouldn't be too hard to see that he is innocent of all crimes. After all, the Goblins were able to see that he was innocent." Harry noticed a few well-known Slytherins giving him appreciative looks, seeing that he was trying to manipulate them in a gentle way compared to Dumbledore's method.
"Another thing that I've heard you've been having troubles with is the Creature Restrictions," Harry said.
"And why you haven't taken your seat as Lord Potter," a lord from the Dark Sect called out.
"Yes, well, I'm only 13 and didn't grow up with the proper training like your heirs thanks to someone ." Harry turned to glare at Dumbledore. "Not only am I working for the Goblins as an inventor but I am also taking lessons on how to run a Lordship. In the meantime, Regent Longbottom has been doing a great job speaking for me. Now, for the Magical Creature Restrictions: Take them down. Seriously. Why did so many side with Voldemort? They were promised basic rights. How would you feel if your government said you weren't allowed to marry or have children or have a job. In some cases, you lot even forbade them to eat. Just imagine yourself in a world where you weren't allowed to live your life freely. Wouldn't you revolt?
"You can't win this argument by saying these creatures are Dark and that all of the Dark should be wiped out," Harry said, stopping the arguments before they could start. "At the same time, I'm not saying I agree with everything that is Dark. All I'm saying is that there is a balance to everything. There is no Light without Dark. What is always present when you light a candle? Or when you go outside on a sunny day?" Harry paused to see if anyone would answer.
"Shadows," Amelia Bones answered.
"Exactly!" Harry grinned at the Head of the DMLE. "Even in Nature, you can see the balance. Did you know that in South America, they've already discovered a cure for Lycanthropy?" Harry asked, accidentally going into his DADA tutor mode from when he was teaching the DA. "Instead of them being insane wolves on the night of the full moon, the potion needed changes the curse of the wolf into more of an animagus form. The werewolves not only keep their minds but can also willingly change into wolves anytime they wish like an animagus.
"The only things that are different between a Werewolf and an animagus is that the werewolves still need to be wolves during the full moon and they can still infect others. However, with them retaining their minds better than the wolfsbane potion, that number is nearly nonexistent in other countries. Even the few who are infected, are infected because they wanted to and have gone through a series of tests before they're changed to ensure they won't do stupid things after they are changed."
"If this cure is so great, why don't we have it?" A Lady in the back asked. Dumbledore opened his mouth to try to stop Harry from continuing but Harry beat him to it by flicking his wrist. Duct tape appeared over Dumbledore's mouth and wrapped around his beard.
"Because," Harry said, fighting a smirk at Dumbledore's disgruntled state. "Instead of Regulating what type of Blood magic people are able to use, you've banned the whole thing. There are so many things that Blood Magic can be used for and most of it is in the medical industry. In Japan, they found a spell-potion combination that can cure Dragon pox completely but is banned here because it's Blood Magic. There is also one that originates in China that can reverse mental breaks. Who here has heard what happened to Lord and Lady Longbottom 12 years ago?" Harry raised his hand in the air and every Lord and Lady and most of the elected officials raised their hands. "That Blood Magic cure in China? That can reverse their conditions and bring them back to their right state of mind within two months. But that can't happen here because that magic is banned.
"And another thing, since we're in this general area of topic: The Olde Ways. Does anyone know what the Olde Ways actually do? Or why they were banned?"
"Because they are Dark Rituals that can hurt people," one of the elected officials said.
"Wrong. They were banned because the Ministry wanted to make muggleborns feel more comfortable. When you visit another country, do you expect them to change their ways to accommodate you?" Harry saw several people shaking their heads 'no'. "Exactly. So why are we changing for the Muggleborns? It's part of the reason I want to get the Magical Primary school up and running, so we can integrate the muggleborns into our world sooner and have less conflict in the future.
"What the Holidays mean isn't bad at all. The ritual for Samhain was a gift from the Deity, Death, so that we can spend time and talk to our loved ones that passed away for one night a year. Yule symbolizes rebirth and the return of the fertile season. The only ritual for that is to 'sacrifice' a small portion of your food into the Yule fire. Beltane marks the first day of Summer and rituals were performed to protect the cattle, crops, people, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, and their flames, smoke, and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. This is just 3 of the 8 holidays and not a single one of the 8 holidays is dangerous. In fact, I've participated in some outside of the country just to see why we banned it. And I don't see why we banned it at all. Every single one that I participated in made my magic stronger and sing with joy. When I took my NEWTs months ago, I still had to use my wand for everything. Now, after attending 3 of the holidays, I can cast every single NEWT spell wandlessly and at least half wordlessly."
This got a lot of gasps from the crowd.
"On another note, Purebloods." Harry looked mostly to the Dark Sect for this part. "I know you want to keep your blood 'pure' but really, by continuously marrying into more pureblood families instead of diverging, you're not only weakening your magic but also killing off any chance of having more than one child with any sort of magical prowess. Now, listen to me before you get angry because I might just have a solution to that as well. My mother was a Muggleborn. But where do the Muggleborns get their magic? Before the beginning of this school year, the Goblins called in a lot of Muggleborns to get an Inheritance Test. In my own test, I gained 3 lordships from my mother. Every Muggleborn that got a test also got at least one lordship or was in line for a lordship. Can anyone guess why?"
Everyone was quiet for a long time. Harry opened his mouth to state the answer when Lord Nott raised his hand.
"Go ahead, Lord Nott," Harry said.
"They're descended from Squibs?" The lord asked unsurely.
"Correct! Every Muggleborn is a descendant of a Squib. Imagine Magic is like a river, always flowing and moving and the different family bloods are sticks and stones floating in the river. When Purebloods produce with other Purebloods, the more sticks and stones there are in the river until a dam is made, a Squib. Muggleborns are the sticks and stones that were loosened over time and allow the magic to flow freely.
"Voldemort was powerful because his pureblood mother created him with his muggle father. Now, I'm not saying that you should all go and marry every muggle out there. Not all muggles are kind, just like not all magical people are kind. I'm just saying that you should loosen up a little when it comes to Muggleborns. It's fine if you allow your heirs to be with Muggleborns. Not only will it replenish the magic of their offspring, but it could also bring in new blood to the families and potentially new titles, if that's what your heirs are after." Harry paused and thought about what he told everyone today.
"Oops," Harry mumbled. "Sorry for taking up so much of everyone's time today," Harry said, a little louder for everyone to hear. "I seem to have gone into tutor mode again." Harry gave a weak chuckle over this and ruffled the back of his hair again. "Anyways, I mostly came here today to see if you all would give Sirius Black a proper trial and to make sure my thoughts on the Creature Restrictions are clear since some didn't believe the prophet." Harry then moved back into the shadows to watch the rest of the Wizengamot.
By the end of the meeting, Harry was smiling. Not only did he get Sirius to have a wizarding trial, but he somehow managed to get all of the Creature Restriction laws disbanded. Harry was also happy to note that Dumbledore had to use severing charms on his beard to get the Duct tape off. After the meeting, Augusta invited Harry to lunch, which seconded as a getaway from Dumbledore, before parting ways for the time being. Harry thoroughly enjoyed watching Sirius' howl of laughter when he told him about Dumbledore's beard.
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"What did you do to his beard?"
Harry blinked several times in surprise at his Mirror. He still had his pajamas in one hand and was about to change into them when his Mirror started ringing.
"I didn't know you two were getting along now," Harry answered. The picture his Mirror was showing him was Severus Snape sitting in the Defence office with a snickering Remus Lupin in the background.
"What'd you do, Brat?" Severus asked again.
"All I did was magic some muggle Duct tape on his mouth and beard," Harry answered. "It's not my fault that he decided to use severing charms instead of just pulling them off." Remus gave a full belly laugh while Severus just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, his lips twitching in an amused smirk.