As always, I'm only playing with JK Rowling's toys.
All credit goes to JK Rowling, her publisher and all the other people involved in bringing her work to life.
#
'How are preparations for the tournament coming along?' asked Cornelius Fudge
'Everything is in place, we have arranged for the Dragons to arrive on the twentieth of November. It should give the handlers plenty of time, the Merpeople have been contacted by Dumbledore, and all the various creatures and obstacles have been planned for the final task. Only the design of the maze is yet to be finalised.' explained Ludo Bagman, who seemed very pleased with himself.
Cornelius turned to Barty Crouch and asked 'Have all the appropriate arrangements are in place for the visiting dignitaries? We don't want another fiasco like the aftermath of the world cup. It was very embarrassing, Barty. The Ministry must be seen as the leading light in the magical world; we cannot have these backwater countries like Bulgaria or Lichtenstein believing that they are superior to us.'
'Everything has been prepared. I have personally designed the security arrangements for each of the visiting ministers. I wouldn't trust Bones to tie her own shoelaces never mind something of this importance.' sneered Crouch.
'Yes well, Amelia is a witch. What does a witch know about security? You realise that I had to appoint a witch to the position after you left, don't you? No other wizard wanted to follow in your footsteps, Barty. You cast a massive shadow, I must say.' Fudge smiled as sincerely as only a politician could.
'Well if it were up to me, there would be no witches in the Ministry at all. I don't hold with this equality nonsense.' Exclaimed Crouch.
'Yes, well perhaps this is a conversation for after the tournament.' Said Fudge, 'If there are no further matters of concern, then I will close the meeting' Fudge looked at both men, seeing no objection he closed the meeting and shook both men by the hand and watched them leave the office.
'Well, I must say, Crouch certainly hasn't lost any of his vigour since being removed from his post has he?' the well-dressed figure of Lucius Malfoy appeared as the disillusion charm faded.
Ah, Lucius. I trust the information was to your liking?' whimpered Fudge.
'Yes, very much so, I will ensure that the correct people know. Cornelius, we must ensure that there is a Hogwarts victory in this tournament. We cannot allow these upstart schools usurp Hogwarts as the premier magical education establishment in the world. They must be put in their place.' said Malfoy as he inspected his nails.
'O..o..of course Lucius. Hogwarts will be victorious come June. You have my word.' Fudge tried to smile; unfortunately, it appeared to Malfoy that Fudge was suffering from flatulence.
"Why must I have to deal with these cretins?" Lucius asked himself before he said 'I must be going Cornelius, I have much to do this afternoon. Good day to you' Malfoy turned and walked from the Minister's office, leaving Fudge to his own devices.
#
As the Minister and Lucius were concluding their meeting, Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbot and Minerva McGonagall made their way to Gringotts and the recovery rook that was currently housing Harry. They briefly saw the headmaster before he headed back to the school; Minerva and he exchanged a brief nod as they passed each other.
'Professor McGonagall I am healer Aglig, I shall escort you and your party to His grace, please follow me.' Aglig turned and stalked away, leaving the trio trailing behind him.
Hannah was gripping Neville's arm for dear life; she had been told since she was a little girl that the Goblins were a fearsome race and would devour anyone who showed disrespect to the Nation, this was playing on her mind.
Neville, on the other hand, knew that while the Nation had a well-earned reputation for blood lust, they took the well being of children and those they saw as kin very seriously. If Harry had asked for them to be there, then they would be afforded all the safety that the bank could provide.
'You'll be fine, Hannah, I promise.' He whispered gently to her in the hope that he would still be able to use his hand at the end of their visit.
For more than a few minutes, the trio trailed after Aglig before they arrived at the recovery room. Harry was sitting up in bed, Hermione was sitting on the right side of his bed, holding his hand; while on the other side sat the Grangers.
'Good morning you three' said Harry
'I trust everything went well this morning Mr Potter?' Minerva asked the concern in her voice was evident.
'If you are talking about the procedure, it was a complete success. However, Harry's bawdy attempt to defuse the tension left a lot to be desired; in fact, I might even consider my position.' huffed Hermione.
'It worked though, didn't it Mia?' said Harry with a wink, causing a blush to appear in her cheeks.
'I hope that you don't mind that Hannah is with me, Ron was an arse this morning, and I didn't want just to abandon her.' asked Neville.
'I would have expected you to bring her along as well mate. Hannah, please don't let Ronald Weasley cloud your judgment against the rest of Gryffindor, he has increasingly become an irritating arse, you are always welcome.' Said Harry to his friends
'So Harry...' asked Dan, 'What have you been getting my daughter involved in since we last saw each other?'
'Well, Mr Granger, Mia has been saving my life. Long story short I collapsed during our first lesson back after her birthday. It was simply due to a slight concussion, but it was enough for her to be worried enough to defy Professor McGonagall and stay by my side in the infirmary. Your daughter is rather formidable.' said Harry with another wink to Hermione.
The conversation was light and comfortable, although no one wanted to mention the Erumpent in the room. Hannah took a moment to look at the people gathered, and it struck her that everyone was treated as equals; the respect that was both given and received was eye-opening for her. She was glad to be part of this group and felt honoured that they would accept her without question.
After a while, Director Ragnok arrived with his elder council in tow.
'Your Grace, how are you feeling?' asked Ragnok.
'Director Ragnok, I am well; thank you for asking. Please allow me to introduce my friends and family. Professor Minerva McGonagall, whom of course you know, This is Neville Longbottom my god-brother and his partner Hannah Abbot' this declaration by Harry caused the Hufflepuff to turn crimson.
Harry continued 'Please allow me to introduce Doctors, Daniel and Emma Granger. Now last and by no means least, please allow me to introduce to you my best friend and the love of my life Ms Hermione Granger.'
Ragnok and his elder council bowed to each person as they were introduced, this caused wide-eyed surprise to the Hogwarts trio. This was something that did not happen, and they were shocked to see such behaviour.
'The elder council heard what happened at the procedure this morning and after viewing the memories of the healers that attended you this morning, they wanted to meet with the chosen one of our gods.' Said Ragnok
'Your Grace, my name is Gutuk, and I am from the tribe of the blue lion. I speak today for the elder council. This morning after your procedure Director Ragnok made you and your family Kin to the Nation. It is something that has not happened since the days of Merlin, the twelve council members spoke and gave their blessing to this. Each of your family here will be given this accolade in line with our customs.
The seven of them looked stunned. Hannah began to panic a little before Neville took her in his arms. Harry spoke up and said 'Elder Gutuk, do you mean to say that each of my friends here will also be recognised with me?' the hope in his voice was palpable.
'Yes, Brother Harry, this is what we mean. As kin to the Nation, you will receive the same protections that every Goblin in the Nation enjoys. You will have access to all our services and, importantly, in the eyes of the Nation you will be seen as Goblin and treated with the same respect one goblin would treat another.' Replied Gutuk.
Ragnok stepped forward and produced a box from out of the ether and said 'We do not have a ceremony for this; Merlin was the only wizard to receive such a boon. When Merlin received this accolade, the Nation forged a ring that every Goblin in the Nation recognised as the mark of kin. We have forged the same rings for your all. These will magically shrink to fit your chosen finger. The ring has the crest of Ragnuk the first, the king of the Nation in the time of Godric Gryffindor. Every Goblin in the world will know you as kin.'
He opened the box, and seven rings appeared, Gutuk made a gesture with his hand, and the rings floated out of the box to the recipient of the ring. Everyone raised their hand, and the ring landed softly on their hands. Harry, Neville and Dan placed the rings on the pinkie of their right hand while the four women opted for the right ring finger. With very little pomp, the seven were now kin to the Nation and in effect a family after a fashion.
Wide-eyed with shock, Hannah looked at her ring finger and gasped, the realisation of how her life had changed in such a short time began to sink in.
'Don't worry, Hannah' said Hermione 'I figured out a few years ago that having Harry as a friend is never dull.' She smiled at her new friend.
#
Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk. Scattered all around him was the last fourteen years of research, everything he had collected had pointed to there being only one way to rid a vessel of a soul fragment, and unfortunately, this left the vessel destroyed.
The revelations of the day weighed heavily on him, all of his secret plans now lay redundant, obsolete and in tatters.
'How could I have been so blind?' Albus asked his empty office.
One of his particular failings was that he was that because he was so smart, he would not believe that his reasoning could be wrong. His single-minded dedication to one thread of investigation made him overlook alternative solutions because they didn't fit in with the evidence he had gathered.
'Headmaster, if I could offer a suggestion?' asked the portrait of Everard.
'Of Course Everard, your council is always welcome' said Albus.
'It would appear that in your fervour to find a suitable and permanent solution; you became myopic to the fact that other magical cultures could offer alternatives. It may be impertinent of me to say so, but your early association with Grindelwald has coloured your judgement.' Said the portrait.
'I fear that you may be correct, Everard. I was so sure that I was on the right track that I lost sight of what was at stake. I weighed the fate of one person against the greater good, and it appears that my imprudent actions have alienated me from the very person I was attempting to help.' Albus said as he sat back in his chair and sighed.
'Everything you have done since Tom Riddle re-emerged as Lord Voldemort has ultimately cost our world so much needless hardship.' admonished Everard
Albus simply nodded; the realisation hit him hard.
#
Hogsmead weekends were always busy; students from the third year up were swarming through the village having fun and spending their money with happy abandon. The mass of kids paid no attention to the fact that several prominent forth years were missing.
Draco and his fellow Slytherin housemates commandeered a table at the back of the three broomsticks, the plans that Draco has pulled together to change the outlook of his comrades were currently playing out.
'Come off it Pansy! There is no chance that Potter killed an ancient sixty-foot basilisk with a sword. It's ludicrous even to suggest a fully qualified hit wizards could do such a thing, it's just plain idiotic to say a twelve-year-old wizard with just over a year of magic training could do it.' scoffed Terence Higgs.
'Normally I would be the first to agree with you, Higgs. However, you forget one fundamental thing.' Said Draco
'And what would that be, Malfoy?' asked Higgs
'Harry Potter.' said Draco before taking a swig from his Butterbeer.
This comment caused the table to become very quiet.
'You see Terence, everything that you have said is correct. I have met some of the most highly trained hit wizards and trust me when I say that these guys are no slouches, but not one of them would survive against a basilisk or a group of a hundred dementors for that matter. If fact my father and I had the pleasure of viewing a few memories with Walton Dovetail, he commands the elite hit wizard unit in southern England. He had to change his underwear.' Said Draco.
'You've seen the memories? So this isn't just the Gryffindor P.R machine boasting about their golden boy?' asked Miles Bletchley.
Draco simply nodded and stood up and walked away from the table and headed to the bar, closely followed by Theo Nott.
'What are you playing at Draco?' he asked
'I'm not playing at anything. I have had my eyes opened, and I don't like what I'm seeing.' Said Draco
'Are you talking about what happened on the train?' asked Nott
'I looked into his eyes, and you know what I saw? Nothing. There was no fear, no contempt, or even pity. I saw a cold abyss, and it scared Me.' said Draco
'What happened?' asked Theo
'I threatened Granger, and I almost hit her with a curse. The Dark Lord has nothing on Potter, and if he ever comes back and threatens Granger, well let me just say there is not a power in this world that will save him.' explained Draco before walking away to buy a drink.