I have gotten multiple reviews after chapter 21 regarding something I put about pitbulls and bulldogs. I'll make this brief.

I looked it up in several sites, including the site where I got the information about the law regarding pitbull breeding, and they all had bulldogs listed as type of pitbull. dogtime. com specifically states that: "Any dog in the bully breed can be classified as a pit bull, and all are derived from dogs that were originally a cross between some type of bulldog and a terrier"

So, yes. I do my research, and I do not appreciate reviews that condescending like that and suggest otherwise. Not all of them were written that way, but a few of them were.

That being said, thank you for the reviews! And, I agree that pitbulls aren't aggressive unless raised right, if you don't know how to properly handle an animal, than I don't think you should have it. That's just my opinion, anyway. I probably should have put this at the beginning of chapter 22, but oh well.

I have been so focused on the trial and writing everything with the attack, I completely forgot about this. Choices for the Muggleborn girl Harry met in the animal shelter are currently:

Morgan (or Morganna)- 3

Rosetta- 2

Lydia- 2

Allegra (Italian for Joyous)

Personally, I'm leaning more towards Allegra at the moment, because as soon as I got the review for it, I started mentally mapping out the family history for the girl. But, if the readers want something else, the readers will get something else.

Gobbledygook

Bill leaned back and frowned. The Hufflepuff cup and the Slytherin locket had already been cleansed and placed in the appropriate Family vault, with Family Heads being notified, if it was known who they were. That... wasn't what was bothering him.

What bothered him was that, when he went over the results of the monitoring charms and rune sets he had around them during the cleansing... he found something he wasn't expecting.

Instead of simply dissipating as other soul pieces did once the Horcrux was destroyed, these pieces seemed to go somewhere. He had no idea where it could be though, or how. But... at the same time, he also couldn't think of a single situation before this where a wizard was insane enough to make more than one Horcrux. It's just never happened before that they had record of.

And the Goblins had pretty extensive records.

He was playing with his dagger, proof of his station within the bank as well as being useful down in the tombs in situations where they couldn't use magic, when his supervisor came into his work area.

"There you are. I have a job for you... a Black Family Elder has contracted us about a cave of Inferi that the Dark Lord used. According to her, it is the original hiding spot for the Locket." He said.

This got Bill's attention. "Inferi?" He asked in disbelief. He didn't think there were any pockets of Inferi in Britain. They were all over the Egyptian tombs, but he didn't think they existed here. Although, if anybody would know how to make them, the Dark Lord Voldemort would.

He nodded. "Yes, it may also be where Regulus Black died, so you can't go in with fire spells blazing, we've been asked to try and retrieve the body if possible." Bill grimaced.

"Great." He muttered. "That should be fun."

The Goblin just smirked, obviously glad that it was Bill and not him that was going. Then he noticed what Bill was working on. "What's this?" He asked.

Bill sighed. "I got some strange readings from the monitors when I cleansed those two Horcruxes we'd found so far."

"Oh?"

"Instead of dissipating like normal, they traveled somewhere. I checked the Rune sets for finding them, but nothing. There are trails of where they went, and they were heading North. But... they might have stopped within some wards."

The Goblin was silent for a moment, studying the results as well. "Could they have rejoined with the main soul?" He asked after a moment. Rumor throughout the caverns (confirmed by Sharpaxe when asked) suggested that Heir Potter-Black faced the main soul at the end of the last school year, after the shade possessed his Defense professor for the entire year. It was possible that the shade was still somewhere in North UK.

Bill was quiet for a moment, thinking. "It's possible. Although... there would be so little of the main soul left... they might have more likely joined with the largest piece of him, which would be the first Horcrux made. I don't know how long ago that was, depending on his age at the time, that soul piece would be the strongest part of him." He said, thinking out loud.

His supervisor nodded thoughtfully before he grimaced. "Yes, that is possible, too. Unfortunately, there is no precedence for this kind of situation. Nobody has ever been crazy enough to tear his own soul into so many pieces." He said with a sigh. "Why don't you go take care of the Inferi cave, and come back later. Your partner for the job is waiting in the main Hall... I can take this to the King, he will want to know about this so we can prepare for the possibility of a younger and saner Dark Lord." He handed Bill the file he was carrying. It contained every piece of information Kreature the House-elf had given Head-elf Mattie, who had then shared everything he'd been told with Cassiopeia Black. Hopefully, it would be enough for Bill to find it and come out safe.

They were lucky Bill was already here, otherwise they would have had to go through files and summon somebody from Egypt. None of the Curse-Breakers stationed here in Britain had the experience needed for such a large pocket of Inferi, especially with the body retrieval on top of it. The training, sure. The experience, no.

Bill grimaced at the reminder of his new job, and the thought of the Dark Lord returning and being able to think and plan clearly. He sighed as he left, a cave full of Inferi, and he couldn't even light any of them up. Stupid body retrieval... he made a mental note that this was one story about his job that he was never telling his mother. She would not be happy.

Harry laughed while he raced away from Fred and George on their brooms. The past few weeks since the courthouse attack had been quiet, surprisingly. Well, except for the newspaper campaign starting against Dumbledore, which he was told was going pretty well. So far there had been two articles, he had no idea what was being written though, since he banned the Daily Prophet from the castle just after the first one, and before any of the students got a chance to read it. He went so far as to have all the owls coming in searched, and the newspapers they carried taken. (The flock of owls looked a little empty without all those owls bringing the newspaper...) A series of wards had been put up, he was told it acted similar to the Thief's Downfall in Gringotts, and washed away any and all concealing enchantments. So, the newspapers couldn't be hidden as something else.

The students would figure out ways around it eventually, but for now they had no idea what was going on in the outside world. They'd written their parents to complain, though. And the parents wouldn't be happy that they were paying for a subscription and their children weren't even getting it because of the Headmaster, so he knew the paper ban wouldn't last much longer. And, even if the Headmaster managed to keep the students from telling their parents about it, he was sure Severus would drop an 'anonymous' tip to somebody eventually. Harry was told the articles were beginning to do their job, though. People were starting to question him. Well, except for his most die-hard sycophants. According to the letter from Barchoke, they were trying to shut down the articles and figure out who was having them printed. While at the same time trying to excuse Dumbledore's actions.

Personally, Harry thought that his actions in banning the paper just made him look even more guilty, because it more or less confirmed everything the paper was saying. Now, if he'd tried to play it off like Lockhart was doing with the book recall, then he might have more of a shot at salvaging something and turning it around on his accusers.

Not that Harry cared about that at the moment, he was too busy enjoying the mornings practice. Wood was in a surprisingly good mood today, he didn't even yell at his Beaters as they messed around, challenging the other team members to races, and eventually starting a game of tag in the air. Or maybe he actually saw their antics as a training strategy. Because the game of tag they currently had going on was testing their maneuverability to its limits.

Unfortunately, at the moment Fred was It, but apparently when one of them was It, they were both It. Which was very annoying seeing as how Katie almost got tagged when she was hovering next to George, watching Fred chase Alicia, and barely got out of the way in time after George lunged in her direction to tag her. They quickly learned that both Twins needed to be avoided.

Harry thought that having their abilities unblocked gave them an unfair advantage in this game. On the other hand, it made their teamwork as Beaters even better than it was before. If that was even possible. He looked down when he heard barking, and laughed when he realized that Maddie was trying to chase the people in the sky. Since it was Saturday, he was allowed to have her here, as long as she wasn't a disruption. Wood had just given her a strange look before he played with her ears for a bit and told Harry not to let her distract him during practice.

All those in the Tower had come to love her, she was a little bundle of energy, and loved bouncing around the Common Room whenever Harry was in there, especially when they'd been able to take the bandages off. She loved the attention. She also couldn't seem to understand what was happening right now, why her human was up in the air, and not on the ground where he belonged. He'd pay her some extra attention later to make up for the confusion he was causing, and maybe make use of the dog treats Mipsy had provided when Maddie was dropped off for the day, along with a book 'Dog Training for Dummies'. Along with a chest of memories that she'd put inside the Library compartment of his trunk next to the cabinet he'd asked her to put in for the Family Pensieve. She'd found it hidden in the main study of Shire Abbey. She said the memories were of famous dog trainers, kind of like the wizarding version of training videos.

First though, after practice, he was going to head up to the Room of Requirement and make sure everything there was ready, before he was going to let the Weasley's and Neville inside, along with a few Heirs from the Potter Alliance and the rest of those that wanted to celebrate. And then, he would go hunt down Hermione (and more than likely find her in the library). He had not been happy to learn that her birthday had been the week before, and she hadn't told anyone about it.

He'd had to borrow some owl order catalogues off some of his Housemates to find something that would be suitable, but in the end he ended up just writing to Jack at the trunk store. He included written permission to take payment out of his personal vault (along with a vague threat that the money better be taken out, he would know if it didn't happen), and requested a Library trunk similar to his, but he requested lighter woods and different overall color scheme, although he requested the same protections that was on his (since Jack wasn't there to set the protections to her magic signature, he had it set up so they would lock onto the first person to push their magic into the lock on the clasp). Similar to the Greenhouse he ordered for Neville's birthday.

Although, hers was charmed to be able to shrink down to the size of a bracelet charm. And there was a small rune carved into the trunk lid, with the corresponding rune on a chain link of the bracelet he got her, so the two would attach and she could wear her personal library like a bracelet.

(Jack was extremely happy that Harry had stepped in his shop for a new trunk, because Harry had all kinds of ideas that he could use to expand his business... He also said it was a good challenge for his skills, trying to make the ideas Harry was coming up with a reality. He'd already visited the patent office and started the paperwork to patent the ideas under Harry's name as the one to come up with it, and himself as the one to actually create it.)

Oh, and a new school bag. One like his, hers was starting to look a little ragged from all the books she was always carrying.

He'd also sent an order to Honeydukes for a few things he thought she might like to try, like sugar-quills and things, and a couple of books he thought she would find helpful. Madam Longbottom had recommended them to her, but she hadn't been able to get them yet. For some reason, they weren't even in the school library. So there was that. It might be a little overboard for her birthday, but he missed the last one, and he wanted to do something nice for his friends.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard his name being called, and darted out of the way just before Angelina's hand swiped where he'd been a second before. Grinning, he took off, with the Chaser right behind him. He leaned over his broom handle lead her on a chase, taunting and teasing the whole way. He'd wait until she was within touching distance, then suddenly dart just out of reach again. He would have feared she would be mad at him for it, but he could hear her laughter, along with the encouraging calls of his team.

He laughed when he heard Alicia call that he better not let her catch him, because the rest of them wanted a chance of escape. A chance they weren't going to get with him being It, apparently.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione shaking her head fondly before she said something to Ron and left. Probably to go to the library, or the Common Room to study a book Augusta sent her for her birthday the week before. She only knew because Hermione's parents mentioned it, and that was how Harry found out, he'd asked her where the book came from, because he knew they didn't sell those in Flourish and Blotts.

The chase with Angelina stopped when Oliver called, "Hey guys, I'm releasing the Snitch! Harry, your job is to catch it, while the rest of us try to catch you!"

Harry audibly groaned when he finished, while the others looked intrigued. And the Twins looked mischievous. Harry really did not want to know what those two had planned right now. However, once the Snitch was released, Harry took off again. Now having to avoid all six of his teammates. He waiting for a minute before he started looking for the Snitch though, to give it time to 'hide'. "Wood, one of these days I'm going to wrap you in bacon and lock you in a small room with Hedwig!" He yelled at the captain. A nervous laugh was his only answer.

He looked around when he heard loud laughter, and narrowed his eyes when he spotted his roommates. Dodging Katie, he took off towards them, pulling up at right in front of them and zooming off in the other direction seconds before he would have hit them. He enjoyed the nervous fear on their faces, and the cursing he heard behind him from Alicia, who had followed when he dive-bombed the four boys and was now having to swerve wildly to brake and keep from crashing into them. Oliver exclaimed happily over her evasion, happy that she had obviously been working hard to improve her evasion tactics.

A few minutes later, Harry had yet to be caught by the rest of the team, and he'd seen the Snitch once. Although Fred and George blocked him before he could do much of anything about it.

Severus sat back and looked at the letter on the table in front of him warily.

Remus Lupin, after so many years of absence, was demanding a meeting with him, demanding for him to come with an explanation for why Sirius Black was attacked outside a Muggle courthouse and not in Azkaban. And, most of all, demanding to know why Harry was with him when he was attacked. Why Harry had anything to do with the traitor, and why Severus was allowing it!

To be honest, he was surprised Remus came to him, and not to Dumbledore, or even Minerva. Although, he supposed that despite everything Dumbledore had 'done for him', he never did quite trust the old man as much as some thought he did. Oh, not to say he wasn't grateful for Dumbledore letting him come to school. But he never quite trusted him.

After a few moments of thought, he pulled a piece of parchment and a fountain pen (thank you, Harry, for giving him these as a late birthday present... Harry had not been too happy to hear that he'd missed Severus' birthday. No matter that his birthday was back in January and it was already August when he found out... this pen was so much nicer to use, especially when he charmed the ink tube to be self-refilling) to write a letter. While he wrote, he summoned Lola and instructed her to fetch Daily Prophets from the end of the summer about Sirius and Harry, as well as his copy of James and Lily's wills. He would make another copy of them and send them along as well. It was clear, the only people who knew about the switch all those years ago were the Potters, Pettigrew, Sirius, and Dumbledore.

Not even he and Remus knew.

Remus,

First, I am enclosing copies of the relevant Daily Prophet's, they are surprisingly accurate and truth-full in this instance. I have also enclosed a copy of James and Lily's wills.

Second... where have you been all these years, you worthless fleabag?! I have been searching for you, the Goblins have been searching for you, for years. When I get my hands on you, you are going to wish you'd never been born. I am going to test all my experiments on you instead of myself, how could you just leave Harry behind like that?! And don't think that I'm the only one you have to answer to, Sirius is not happy either! The two of us at least have an excuse for not knowing where Harry was or how to find him, for not even contacting him, what's yours?

... I can meet you this next Saturday in the Three Broomsticks at noon to discuss things.

Have your own questions ready.

Not happy with you,

Severus

He leaned back and sighed. Maybe he should have saved the rant for when they were in person...? No need to scare him off, again, after all.

...Nah. He needs to know that he shouldn't have just taken off. Not without Harry. He was a werewolf, he could have probably sniffed Harry out. Especially since he'd claimed Harry as his Cub. That formed a bond, almost similar to and as strong as a parent/child bond.

Instead he just took off when Harry needed him most.

So, yes. He and Sirius were going to be very thorough in making their displeasure known. And making sure he knew better than doing it again.

Harry was excited when he led Hermione up to the Room of Requirement. Quidditch practice had ended a half hour ago, the Room was set, and everyone was cleaned up from practice and inside waiting for the guest of honor. When he informed people that Hermione's birthday was a week ago, they had all (like him) scrambled to buy or make something that would be acceptable for the thirteenth birthday present for a young witch.

According to Ron and Neville, jewelry was usually a traditional gift for a witches thirteenth birthday, because, not only was thirteen a magically powerful number, it was the year you became a teenager. They said something about it signifying that this year was a transition year between their childhood and truly starting to grow up. Since the teenage years was usually when the body started changing or something like that. Apparently, there was something about getting good jewelry that showed a girl was growing up. He didn't know, he just left them to it. Luckily, they told him that what he had in mind was fine, (especially since the trunk could be shrunk and attached to a bracelet, thus fulfilling tradition) because he had no idea what to even look for when it came to jewelry. If she had her ears pierced, then he might have just gotten a simple sapphire stud earring or something.

(Although, he was also told that it was traditional for a witch to get their ears pierced at age twelve. Neville's grandmother had written to tell him that she would be picking Hermione up and going with her and her parents for the occasion in a few weeks. Get them pierced at age twelve, get loaded down with earrings at age thirteen... fitting.)

Maybe for Christmas. For now, he was sure that she would like her library trunk and the books he already had placed inside it. The candy from Honeydukes he had ordered were sitting on the desk inside as well, while the books were sitting on a shelf close to the door, where she would see them first thing. The bag was hanging on the desk chair, already filled with parchment and everything.

He was actually a little nervous for her reaction.

"Harry, what is going on now?" Hermione asked, laughing a little bit. She had actually calmed down a lot since the talk with Severus. To the point where, when he dragged her away from her homework to come up here, she hadn't protested too much this time.

"Just wait!" He said with a smile. Finally, they reached the Room and he grinned before pushing the door open and pushing her a little to get her inside.

"Happy birthday!" Was the happy chorus of Neville, the Weasleys, Quidditch team, Dean, Seamus and two Slytherins; Daphne Greengrass and Terrance Higgs. There were some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws added to the group as well. Harry figured that if they were supposed to be in a political alliance, then they better get used to being around his friends. What better way to do that than to throw one of his best friends a birthday party?

And, of course, Maddie had to add her own chorus to the cheerful greeting. She was running around everyone's feet barking happily. Harry laughed and scooped her up.

"Now, I know its a week late, but I didn't find out when your birthday was until yesterday." Harry said with a slight pout when she turned incredulous eyes on him. She stared for a moment, before a small smile started that grew into a wide, beaming smile that lit the room up. She looked around the room and gasped. The Room had been transformed into a small, seaside cottage. Outside the door, she could see a white beach, perfect for going for a swim later on.

Her attention was caught by a clearing throat behind her, and when she turned around, her eyes widened further when she saw Harry coming over balancing a big, two-tier birthday cake in his hands. He set it up on the table that appeared as soon as he wanted one there. She gaped even more when she saw the design on it. It had a library theme on it, tiny bookshelf figurines decorated the top, along with the usual 'Happy Birthday Hermione' written across the top. "Thank you." She said softly, looking around at everybody. They just grinned.

Harry's grin was the biggest. "I figured we could eat first, and then dive into presents before going to play on the beach." He said, gesturing towards the table where the presents were piled up. Harry was the only one who figured she could count on a lot of books and jewelry for this birthday. Jewelry according to tradition while they also tried for a more personal gift as well, which was where the book would come in. Luckily, however, when they got together the night before, he asked them to let everyone else know if they planned on a book, and what book, so she didn't end up getting five of the same book. That was just bad all around.

He'd seen it happen to Dudley once, it had not been pretty.

Her eyes widened again when she saw the presents, "You didn't have to..." She said, looking around.

"We wanted to." Percy said, shrugging before he came forward and waved his wand to light the candles. "Now, Harry has told us about the Muggle tradition of making a wish as you blow out the candles, so," He gestured towards the candles and stepped back. She grinned again and came forward to blow out the candles, wishing that everything would work out and all her friends would make it out in one piece. Once the candles were out, a small feast was laid out before them, surrounding the cake.

There was steak, green beans, potatoes, some chicken, carrots, dinner rolls, and corn. Steak and kidney pie, shepherds pie, ham. There was some fruit, too. Various melons, apples, blueberries, and strawberries. All perfectly ripe. It was a lot of food. Among the plates were small dishes of butter and multiple salt and pepper shakers, all in the shape of either a book or seashell. Everything looked and smelled amazing.

For an extra treat, he even managed to get ahold of some Coke, which he had been told was Hermione's favorite drink.

"Did you make all this?" She asked Harry, suspiciously. If he did, then he must not have gotten any sleep the night before. There was no way he'd made it this morning, he'd been at Quidditch practice until half an hour ago.

He smiled guiltily and shrugged. "I couldn't sleep last night. Thank goodness for Mipsy. She helped me spell it so it would all stay fresh and ready to eat. Elf magic is much better at that than wizards magic is, that's for sure." He said conversationally as he started dishing up food and passing it out to people around him, Hermione naturally getting the first plate. She just smiled and shook her head fondly.

Daphne took a few bites and almost moaned in bliss. Only her Pureblood upbringing and Slytherin mask saved her from the action. "This is very good, Potter." She said in surprise, starting to eat more readily as opposed to her hesitant first bite. He just grinned, pleased when everyone else echoed the sentiment. It was nice to get compliments for his hard work now, as opposed to when he was forced to cook for the Dursleys and they just scarfed it down after deeming it 'barely passable'. However, when he cooked for Mrs. Figg that one time, she declared it the best thing she had ever eaten, and made sure to tell him not to listen to his relatives.

Everyone laughed when Hedwig winged her way into the room and Harry directed her attention to the large plate set aside loaded with meat, especially bacon, and fruit. He reminded her not to eat all of their food. They would like to eat it, too. And for Merlin's sake to stay out of the cake! Everyone laughed harder when they saw the Snowy Owl eye the cake with clear desire. Harry shook his head and cast a quick ward around the cake to keep the greedy owl out of it, before he sat down beside her at the table and started on his own food while laughing and talking with everyone else as the feast was slowly demolished. With many compliments to the chef, of course.

(When the wary Purebloods tried the Coke, they were amazed to find how much they liked it and quickly asked the Muggle-raised in the room where they could get more.)

"I hope you don't mind some of the others," Harry murmured in Hermione's ear. "They're the Heirs of the Potter Alliance, and I need to start interacting with them more, getting to know them. I figured that, if they're going to be around me more, then they better start getting used to being around my best friends more. And a party was a good way to break the ice." He was somewhat nervous about her response.

She smiled and shook her head. "I don't mind. Besides, it means more presents." She said mischievously, casting a longing glance towards the table covered in said presents.

Harry laughed when he saw her look. "We can start on those after we at least cut and pass out the cake. But definitely before we go swimming, I know we have drying charms, but..." He shrugged. Besides, he happened to know that Hannah Abbot had gotten Hermione a new swimsuit after he wrote to Emma Granger for ideas and was informed that she needed a new one. He'd mentioned it offhand during the planning session the night before and Hannah had pounced on the idea.

Once the food was finally devoured, Harry cleared his throat and steered Hermione towards the cake before pressing the knife into her hand. In his opinion, the birthday girl should get to cut her own cake. "Oh!" He exclaimed, honestly surprised. "I just remembered, I made ice-cream, too." He said sheepishly when everyone looked at him confused. "Mipsy!" He called quickly. "The ice-cream, it should be on the counter." Her eyes widened and a moment later, the ice-cream appeared on the table beside the cake.

Hermione just shook her head fondly at the bowls of simple vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice-cream. Complete with homemade whipped topping and chocolate sauce on the side. All of it perfectly charmed so it wouldn't melt and would be at the right consistency. Of course everything here would be made by Harry's own two hands. Of course it would be.

"Is there anything you can't make?" She asked, fondly amused.

He tilted his head to the side. "Hm... I've never tried sushi before..." He mused, thinking about it while he started to dish up ice-cream on plates and setting it out for people to grab what they wanted before going for the cake. Somehow, Hermione was not surprised to see that the cake itself was split between chocolate and vanilla, on both tiers.

Everyone just stared at Harry like he grew a second head. He just shrugged. It wasn't his fault he'd been in charge of cooking at the Dursleys since he was four, or that they would sometimes ask for the most random things to eat just to trip him up and punish him. So, he had to get good at making everything.

Neville clapped him on the shoulder and shook his head. "Don't ever change, Harry. Don't ever change." Before he grabbed a plate of strawberry and got in line for the cake after practically drowning his ice-cream in chocolate sauce and whipped cream. It didn't take long for Percy to come over with an extra spatula and start helping Hermione with passing out the cake. Harry just blinked after him, wondering where that came from.

Once the cake had been demolished, with even more compliments, the Twins eagerly pulled Hermione towards the mountain of presents just for her. "Here! Open ours first." They said in unison, plucking theirs off the top of the pile and handing it over.

She looked at it warily. "Is it safe?" She asked, already moving to open it.

A look of mock outrage spread across the Twins faces. "Why, Georgie, it's like she doesn't trust us." Fred said, 'angrily'.

"I know, I don't what we did to deserve this kind of treatment, I don't." George said, sniffing in disdain. Everybody chuckled at the act.

"Gee, I wonder." Hermione said, deadpan, as she opened the box.

The Twins both flashed a quick, genuine smile. "Seriously, though. We don't mess with presents. Just for future reference." Fred said, seriously. The rest of his siblings nodded in agreement. It was true. In all the years since the Twins learned how to say the word 'present', they never once pranked a present they were giving. They took giving and receiving presents very seriously.

Hermione smiled at them briefly, then gasped when she looked down and saw what was inside. She pulled it out, causing everyone else to gasp, as well. It was a delicate choker necklace, made of silver links with a single sapphire where it would rest against the base of her throat. "It's beautiful. Thank you." She said, looking at them. She looked back into the box to make sure she didn't miss anything and pulled out the matching pair of earrings. "You do know my ears aren't pierced, right?" She asked, holding up the earrings with a glint in her eyes.

They shrugged. "You have them if you do get them pierced." They said, together. They already knew she'd be going in a few weeks to get them. They would have gotten her separate gifts, but they'd had to pool their allowances to get her that, and used most of it up in the process. They'd seen it in the catalogue and just knew it was perfect, so... They would probably have to end up borrowing some money from Percy for Hogsmeade weekends. It was worth it though, to see how much she enjoyed the gift.

Ron punched Fred on the shoulder while Ginny punched George. "Way to set the bar high, you two." He said, joking. He glanced at Ginny, concerned with how pale she'd gotten in the almost month they'd been at school already, but decided to ask Percy about it later.

The rest of the presents more or less followed that pattern. Most, especially the Purebloods, gave jewelry of some kind. Bracelets, earrings, necklaces (some more expensive than others), one very nice wristwatch delicately made out of solid gold with a silver face, gold hands, and twelve diamonds shaped like Roman Numerals around the face. Hermione took one look at the card of authenticity that came with it and swore that she was keeping it locked up when it wasn't on her wrist for special occasions. Luckily, in the same box was a much less fancy and expensive watch that she could wear everyday, the most expensive part about it was the silver face. She just gave Daphne Greengrass a wide-eyed look and stammered her thanks.

Daphne shrugged. "Everyone should have at least one nice watch for special occasions while also having one for everyday use." She said. She knew that men would have pocket watches, but men received their watch when they turned seventeen. Otherwise, she would have ordered one for Harry as a late birthday present. That, and gifting him with a watch was going to be Lord Black's job, as his family.

Once everyone got over the shock from the watch, Terrence cleared his throat and fished his own gift out of the steadily diminishing pile. "On that note, I think it best if you open mine next." He said, glancing at the watch. His present was quite a bit bigger than the others, which was mostly jewelry. Although his wasn't the biggest. At the very bottom of the pile was Harry's, it was the biggest of the lot.

Once Hermione opened it, everyone gave a sound of appreciation, and Hermione flashed a thankful smile. It was a tallish jewelry box that would stay on the ground. Drawers for bracelets, rings, and earrings, with a glass fronted compartment with a spinning, chandelier-type thing at the top for the necklaces. Naturally, it was charmed to hold as much as she put in it without running out of space. "Here, push your magic into here..." He said, pointing at the spot on it where there was a small keyhole. She did as told, and the whole thing glowed for a second before those that were sensitive to magic could feel the protective spells and wards lock onto her signature. "There, now nobody can get in it but you." Hermione looked thankful and carefully stowed her new watch away in a drawer, along with all the rest of her new jewelry, she would sort through it later.

"Good thinking." Percy muttered to Terrance, who just shrugged. Most Pureblood witches would already receive a jewelry box at least a month in advance of their birthday, in anticipation of receiving almost nothing but jewelry on their birthday. Since Hermione was Muggleborn, he hadn't been sure how prepared she would be for this, despite her being a ward of House Longbottom now. Especially since at the time Madam Longbottom should have gotten the box, she hadn't even met Hermione yet, let alone become her Guardian.

Of course, jewelry wasn't the only thing she got. She got plenty of books, and some clothes. All the girls made sure to let her know how beautiful they found the new swimsuit Hannah got her. She even got a wand-holster for her wrist, and a gift voucher for a pet at the Magical Menagerie. Susan said she would have just gotten her a cat, but she wasn't sure if that was what Hermione would have wanted, or if Hermione's parents would appreciate it, and she found it better if the owner got a chance to pick out their own pet. Harry just smiled and scratched Hedwig underneath her wings. He was in complete agreement with that.

Neville got her a beautiful set of dress-robes, appropriate for her age while also conveying that she was growing up. They weren't the childishly girlish robes that one would find children wearing, while they also weren't as sophisticated like a Lady's would be. They were elegant in their own right, though. They were a pale, purplish pink with darker accents around the trimming and modestly cut. He also got her a set of hair-pins with the House Longbottom crest on it. Ron's gift went along with Neville's, being a jewelry set that matched the robes perfectly. From the look of surprise on the boys faces, they hadn't actually planned that.

There was one present that nobody seemed to be taking credit for, but Harry seemed to know what it was, because he had a small, secretive smile on his face. She opened it to find a portable potions kit along with a book comparing opinions on why following recipes was important versus why sometimes it was important to go more with your instinct. She knew who it was from. She flushed when she realized he must have heard her the other day, she'd been chewing Harry out a little when he stopped following the recipe and started doing something else, and somehow still ended up with a better potion than everyone else in the class. She'd been even more unhappy when she saw his textbook becoming covered in notes about when the recipe could be discarded and other methods of carrying out a step than what the book said.

When Harry saw the book, though, he scowled. He'd told Severus to leave it after the man questioned him on the argument he'd overheard between Harry and Hermione after Potions one day.

Finally, Harry's was the last one left. He licked his lips nervously as he watched Hermione start to unwrap it. There were a few gasps when they saw the trunk, although they were somewhat confused when they saw the bracelet chain attached to the lid. When Hermione turned wide eyes on him, he shrugged. "It's not an actual trunk, it's your own personal, portable library. Here..." And he quickly showed her what the bracelet chain was for, and had her lock the protections onto her magical signature, like Terrance had her do for the jewelry box.

She looked at the pile of presents, and then looked at the party guests and thanked everyone again for coming out and for all the presents. Some of which were very expensive... but what did she expect from a bunch of rich Purebloods?

After the girls spent some more time admiring the jewelry and clothes Hermione got, Harry clapped his hands. "I don't know about you ladies, but that beach looks beautiful, and the water looks great." He said, quirking a grin. Thank goodness Severus had taken a day and taught him how to swim during the month at the Longbottoms. "Ladies can change through there," He pointed at a door off to the side. "While guys, over there." He said, pointing and giving them all a look that made it clear they better stay over there.

Once everyone was finally 'outside', playing in the water, a corner of the room shimmered back into view, revealing a small desk covered in parchmentwork and student's essays, already marked up in red ink. Behind the desk, was one Severus Snape. He got up and moved over towards the doorway, so he could discreetly watch the students playing in the water. Mostly though, he was watching his godson playing in the water. Severus rarely saw him this carefree...

He was quite impressed with how quickly Harry rallied everyone here to throw a party, and he was quite impressed with how they managed to get those gifts on such short notice. Harry only told them about the party the day before... He was also proud of Harry for doing this.

All his grading was finished as far as essays were concerned, although he did have some potions to test and grade once he got back to the lab. He could do them later, they didn't take long. For now, he would continue supervising his godson and his friends.

Assassin Caught!

Interrogation Yields Interesting Results

My dear readers, I have recently come upon some disturbing news.

As I have already reported, the one who attacked Lord Sirius Black and Heir Harry Potter-Black outside the Muggle Courthouse where the Mixed Courts operate out of, was caught a few days later trying to sneak into Lord Blacks hospital room. We can count ourselves lucky that Lord Black was no longer there, having been transferred back to Gringotts Infirmary earlier that day. The man has since been held in the Dungeons beneath the bank, and I have recently been given access to a small piece of the interrogation records from his initial questioning.

The man, one Michael O'Connell, was a Hit-Wizard during the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, until he was fired without pension for poor conduct and was suspected of accepting bribes from suspects.

The one who filed the paperwork resulting in his termination? One Sirius Orion Black.

Since then, he has been responsible for the completion of several hired hits. Some of which, it is suspected were put out and paid for by the Ministry, however information on that is still unknown and being investigated. So, when he was contacted about taking Lord Black out, he didn't hesitate.

Due to the investigation, I cannot reveal who it was that hired him, but I can tell you that this is not the first time this individual has hired him. Several of the marks this individual hired him for include prominent members of our Government; several Lords and Lady's of the Wizengamot and other important Ministry workers.

Including, two notable deaths. At the time, it was determined that they died from a sudden onset of Dragon Pox, which they quickly succumbed to due to old age. Due to the evidence of the disease, it was not looked into any further, mostly due to the fact that quarantine and cleansing procedure's had to be put into place quickly to prevent the disease from spreading from the Potter Manor, now being renamed back to its original name, Shire Abbey.

That's right, for those who remember the news reports at the time, I am talking about the late Lord and Lady Charlus and Dorea Potter nee Black.

From the interrogation reports, Mr. O'Connell found the couple in their manor, in perfect health and able to put up a good fight despite old age and peaceful retirements, proving why Charlus Potter was one of the most feared and decorated Aurors and war heroes of his time, (for more information about Lord Potter's actions during the war against Grindlewald, see page 3) before his retirement from the force at the death of his father, the Lord Potter before him. Lady Potter is also reported to have proven her Black lineage during the fight as well. In the end however, age caught up and they were both beaten and killed by O'Connell, who was paid extra by his employer to make it look like they died of Dragon Pox.

He claims that he was able to erect wards over the property before attacking, so as to keep the family House-elves out, and keep them from interfering. To this end, Gringotts is investigating and is offering the services of the Gringotts Ward-Masters for a discounted price to erect wards being designed to counter the one used against Lord and Lady Potter.

The deaths of Charlus and Dorea Potter was a sad day for the wizarding community, especially when not six years later, we were faced with the deaths of James and Lily Potter on the night of Halloween 1981. For further information on the accomplishments of the Potters, see page 2.

The full extent of his targets is still being investigated, and names are still being given. Once I am given the list of O'Connell's victims, I will be approaching the families privately, along with a DMLE representative. It will be their choice whether or not the name of their family member is published. I am not going to be putting names out there and completely blindside those who may or may still be grieving. (I had special permission to publish the information about Charlus and Dorea Potter.)

Some of the names of his victims that we have so far been given are also prominent figures in foreign nations, and the respective governments are being contacted, as well. We ask for privacy and consideration for the families of O'Connell's victims.

I will continue to stay informed of the situation, and as such, keep the public informed. However, I want to remind the public that not all information will come immediately, due to the nature of the investigation and who is involved. The DMLE asks for patience.

Justice will be served.

Special correspondent to the DMLE,

Amy Johnson

Dumbledore sat in his office and glared at the article and started drafting a letter to another, ah... associate, of his. This one didn't yield results that were as... permanently damaging to the target, but it would suit his purposes. Time to shut this reporter up. He also needed to find out just what they'd discovered in their investigations so he would know how to proceed. Who to Obliviate, what records to see vanish, who's memory he needed to modify... who he could pay off...

This associate was good at gathering information. He would go himself, but he was currently banned from the Ministry. And, if he was going to give the illusion of obedience, he needed to stay here and lay low. Wait for everything to die down. A few well placed Obliviates here, some gold there, a vault drained here and there... and everyone would forget this past month even happened.