CHAPTER 30
Harry had never been a fan of the 'Daily Prophet' but, when they put in your hands for you to read it, you do it. Teddy had intercepted him before he could enter the Great Hall. Harry hadn't understood the worry look on his godson's face until he saw the first page of the paper. He couldn't believe Rita Skeeter was still such a liar writer. But, the most important thing was all the truths she had gotten right. How did she get so important information and that accurate?
He had to speak with Ginny. That news report was bad. The children had been exposed. Emma and Teddy had been marked by the press for being closer to Harry. It was dangerous. If people supported Rita's lies, they would defend Nott. He entered the Great Hall at a fast pace, the murmurs increased when he was seen, Teddy on his side.
"Teddy, go get Emma and Thomas and take them to my room, I'll see you all there in a bit."
Teddy went directly to Gryffindor's table, Emma's flaming hair was easy to find. She was being enclosed by her cousins, who seemed to have read the paper.
"Emma, Harry says we have to go to his room." He whispered when he was close enough.
"I'm going with you." Victoire said worriedly, she knew what a vicious woman Rita Skeeter was.
"Me too" Dominique, Fred and Patrick said at the same time.
The six of them went together to Ravenclaw's table. Thomas was surrounded by many students and once they got a good view, they realised he has arguing with Burke and Flint, the Slytherin fifth year bullies.
"Oh! Here's the rest of your family, Nott." Burke mockingly.
"The humble Weasleys" Flint laughed while using Skeeter's words making many Slytherin sniggered. The four cousins flushed profusely.
"And the half-breed Lupin." Teddy's hair stand up and turned a furious red, a sign of how livid he was.
"And you're the bastard Potter" a repugnant smile appeared on Burke's mouth.
"Don't you dare say that again, Burke!" Thomas exclaimed, his anger barely in check.
"It's the truth, Nott! Your sister is a bastard just like your mother is a slut." the Slytherins laughed but not for long.
Without even remembering that he had a wand, Thomas launched himself against Burke and started punching him hard on the face. The other kid was so surprised by the attack that he didn't have time to react and fell down on his back. Thomas immobilized him and continued hitting the boy, blood started painting Burke's face.
Suddenly, Thomas felt a strong pain on his abdomen, someone had hit him with a cutting curse. Raising his head he saw Flint's wand pointed at him but, before Thomas could fight back, Flint had been thrown through the air. Emma had done a Flipendo maxima at the Slytherin bully, making him hit his head to a table.
"What's the meaning of this?!" Harry had made his way through the crowd, Ginny, Neville and Haley behind him. He had a big suspicion that the two Slytherin boy had been making fun of Thomas and Emma but, he wasn't happy with the way the Notts had acted.
"Burke, Flint! Go to the Hospital Wing. Rower, escort them there." Neville intervened asking another Slytherin to accompany the two barely conscious fifth years. Looking at the rest of the students who had been observing the situation he spoke once again. "Continue eating your breakfast. And I hope nothing like this ever happens again."
Harry gesture Teddy and the rest of the family to follow him. Besides both Teddy and him, they were at his room also Ginny, Thomas, Emma, Haley, Neville, Victoire, Dominique, Patrick and Fred. It wasn't prepare for so many people and it was quite cramped. But, he couldn't tell anyone there to leave, they were all important to the family and genuinely worried.
"Is what Rita Skeeter wrote true?" Fred asked.
"About you being Emma's father." Patrick added.
"Of course we know not everything she says is real, I mean aunt Ginny is no scarlet woman" Dominique said with a smile trying to lighten the mood, but only worked little.
"Why didn't you tell us anything?" Victoire asked clearly hurt. Throughout the months that had passed she had thought to become pretty close with Emma, she considered her a friend.
"To protect Emma. These kinds of news are a feast to the press and I went through it many times when I was young, I didn't want my daughter to go through the same thing." Harry explained to them.
"But we wouldn't have said anything. Emma, I thought we were friends."
"We're friends! I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Vic, I just wanted to meet him first. I wasn't ready for everyone to know the truth."
"Mommy! Tommy has blood!" Haley shouted in fear and started crying while pointing at his ripped robe. Ginny got closer to her son and started looking at his wound. Harry took Haley up in his arms trying to calm her down.
"Merlin, mom! I'm fine, stop it!" Thomas told her. He was in pain but the feeling of embarrassment was worse. He didn't like to show weakness in front of others.
"Thomas! Stay still! I can't clean your wound if you move so much. It's deep. Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey." Ginny said worriedly.
"It doesn't hurt much. I'm fine. It's not the first time that something like this happens to me." He reminded her of all the injuries he had gotten courtesy of his father.
"If you want, Thomas, I can heal you. Hannah taught me a few healing charms." Neville offered. Hanna Longbottom, nee Abbott, was a healer, though she didn't work anymore as one. Now she was the owner of the Leaky Cauldron.
"Yes, Neville, treat him" Ginny answered for her son.
"Then, Thomas, take off your robe and shirt so I can do a better work."
"I'm not going to take my shirt in front of everyone, professor Longbottom."
"Harry, can we use your bedroom?" Harry nodded his head and Neville and Thomas, a little bit resentful, went there. Before they closed the door, they heard the older wizard speak to Thomas again. "And call me Neville, or Nev."
"Okay, going back to the main topic here, Gin, this is really bad."
"I want to murder that disgusting cockroach! How dare she exposed my children! Pages and pages with their photos! They're minors! And Teddy too! What she said about Lupin and Tonks was terrible!" she exclaimed furiously, she was seeing red.
"That's not the only thing." Despite the situation, he almost smiled, Harry liked seeing Ginny like that, worrying about his godson.
"I give a shit about the rest, Harry! I don't care if the rest of the world thinks I'm a slut. The people I care about know the truth."
"Ginny, I'm talking about what she wrote about Nott! She made him look like some kind of hero that you mistreated! She made you look like a piece of trash and him like a martyr! People are going to defend him! She even made a clear difference between him as his father, making it clear Nott is the farthest thing from a Death Eater."
"Theodore is not a Death Eater, he never was." Ginny defended him unwittingly; it was something that came out of her mouth without her realising it. After all, her husband wasn't that far of being one, even if it was hard for her to admit.
"Don't you dare defend him, Ginevra!" Harry exclaimed irritated. It was really difficult to make her see the truth about Nott, he was getting tired of repeating it.
"I'm sorry. You're right. What I am going to do?" she asked letting herself fall on the couch. "Maybe I have to get back together with him."
"NO!" Harry exclaimed heatedly.
"It's the only thing I can think about to keep my children safe! If I get back together with him he won't be able to use them. They'll be safe here at Hogwarts. You can take care of Emma and I'm sure my parents or one of my brothers will take Haley and Thomas."
"Stop saying stupid things, Ginny. That's a suicide plan, who would take care of you? I've told you before, I'll protect you and your children. Now what he have to do is defend you. We have to make an article on another newspaper to show your side of the story."
"I don't want to talk, Harry!"
"It's the only way."
"It's embarrassing and degrading. I don't want the whole world to know what a useless and disastrous witch I am that I couldn't defend myself from my husband. And what a failure of a mom I am that I couldn't protect my children." She said covering her face with both hand to hide the tears that had started to fall down.
"Don't say that, Ginny, that's not true."
"You're the best mom ever!" Emma exclaimed perplexed by what her mother thought of herself.
"Yes!" Haley agreed with a smile.
"He is the failure, mom. He is useless and disastrous. He is the one who should be ashamed of himself. He doesn't even deserve to be called a father. You should talk to a reporter. Don't let him win." Thomas said while exiting Harry's bedroom with his wound healed. He said it with such a disgust for his father and security that Ginny felt horrible for giving him and Haley such a bad father.
"I know someone who would be happy to help and interview you, Ginny. I can fixed it for today too." Neville smiled with encouragement.