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.
#
The entire Weasley family gathered around Ginny's bed, the shock evident on their faces that such a thing would befall one of their own. In the time that Albus had been away from the infirmary. Ginny had been sedated, mainly for her wellbeing but also to save her from the constant wailing that Molly would undoubtedly bring.
'I have performed various scans on Ginevra, and the results were conclusive.' Explained Poppy.
'Conclusive?' asked Molly
'They came back negative.' Answered Poppy.
'Negative? Isn't that a good thing?' asked Molly, a slight flicker of hope in her voice.
'The results came back negative for the presence of magic, mum.' Said Bill, 'I warned you, I said that you would end up with blood on your hands, now she's lost her magic, and it is your doing.'
The gravity of what had happened hit Molly like a freight train. All colour drained from her face as she slumped to the floor, there was no wailing or complaining. Her actions had caused this, every word, every thought, and every single deed that denigrated Hermione or made Ginny believe that she stood a chance with Harry cause her daughter to be judged unworthy to wield magic.
As Molly sat slumped on the floor, and the rest of the family stood in respectful yet unbelieving silence, the door to the infirmary opened and John Dawlish and his Aurors from earlier entered and made their way towards Albus. He had chosen to stand a few feet away from the family.
'Headmaster' said John
Albus turned and scrutinised the people before him. 'How can I be of assistance Auror Dawlish?' he asked.
John handed a roll of parchment and said 'I am here to take Ronald Weasley into custody.'
'Under what charges may I ask?'
'Including but not limited to Wasting Auror time, making a statement that he knew to be false, Slander, stalking, Attempted Indecent assault, Robbery and Attempted Robbery. He will be held until his trial later in the week.' Said John.
Dumbledore could say nothing. This was an official warrant signed by the Head Auror and the Director of the DMLE; due process had to be seen to be carried out.
The Aurors made their way to the Weasley Family.
'Ronald Billius Weasley, You are under arrest. In a moment, you will be searched by my colleague before magic restraints will be placed on your wrists. I must inform you that you do not have to say anything at this time however anything that you do say will be noted and could be used in your up and coming trial. Do you understand what I have just said to you?' asked John.
Ron looked dumbfounded and blinked at the Auror.
'If you understand what I have told you, then say yes, if not say no and I will explain to you.'
Ron blinked again before looking to his dad.
Arthur looked from Albus to John and then to his son; this was turning out to be a day from hell.
'Can you tell me what this is about?' asked Arthur
'Several complaints have been made, and we have investigated these, and there are grounds for his arrest. Since we have returned to the school we have spoken with several classmates and girls throughout the school, and I have to tell you, Arthur, if he were a couple of years older then would be looking at a significant period in Azkaban.' said John.
'Auror Dawlish, this is ridiculous. These are baseless accusations designed to embarrass a prominent pureblood family and by extension Mr Crouch. I firmly sug-' Percy was cut off in mid-rant by one of the accompanying Aurors.
'Sir, I am detaining you for obstructing an Auror while discharging his duty. I must also inform you that you do not have to say anything at this time; however, anything that you do say will be noted and could be used against you. do you understand?' asked the Auror
'YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME. DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I AM THE EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO MR CROUCH.' Screamed Percy as the Auror led him away.
The twins struggled not to laugh.
'Ronald, you have done something or said something wrong, and you have to go with these Aurors so that they can get to the bottom of it. Don't worry; I will come to see you and arrange a lawyer for you. Just do what they say, and you'll be fine' said Arthur
Ron moved on auto-pilot, he held out his hands and the restraining cuffs where attached and he was searched, and the contents of his pockets were placed in a moleskin bag before he was led away.
#
In southern France, within the Pyrenees mountains stands the highly acclaimed Beauxbatons Academy of Magic; a chateau of breathtaking beauty surrounded by formal gardens. The Headmistress sat in her office with the selection of the best students that her school had to offer.
In a heavy French accent, she said 'Ladies; We have been invited to take part in a prestigious tournament that has very recently been reinstated. Also invited are the young men of the Durmstrang Institute and Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry who will also be hosting this event. Within the next month or so, we shall embark on a journey to Scotland.'
The assembled girls began to chatter excitedly.
'This is an opportunity to meet with the finest minds of your generation, and it is also an opportunity to show our competitors; that's we should not be underestimated. Our curriculum may not boast a course as aggressive as The Dark arts, or as esoteric as the Arithmancy course at Hogwarts. Our fine school has produced more Charms masters than those two schools put together over the last hundred years.' Continued the Headmistress
This caused the girls to sit a little more proudly.
The Headmistress continued 'we will meet many challenges over the year, not all of them will be academic. I urge you to be on your guard at all times; many will wish you harm in more ways than one.'
One of the older girls raised her hand.
'Yes, Adalene, you have a question?' the Headmistress asked.
'While we are at this 'Ogwarts, will be attending the same classes as our competitors?' asked Adalene.
'Headmaster Dumbledore has extended the invitation to all who wish to accept, the opportunity to take part in the standard curriculum, 'Ogwarts has an extensive and diverse library that you will have full access to.' Answered Madame Maxime.
This seemed to excite the girls; The Hogwarts library was the stuff of legend. Near the back of the group sat a stunningly beautiful blonde-haired girl, her feature seemed to have been carved from the finest alabaster. Fleur Delacour's outward demeanour gave the impression that she could care less about the trip to Scotland or the tournament, but inwardly she was always planning. She was the top student in her year in Charms; potions and alchemy. This would be too great an opportunity to squander.
##
Harry paced the floor in the study of his suite in the Dorchester; the Grangers were currently in the dining room, enjoying some unexpected family time that Harry had insisted they take.
His musings were interrupted by the soft wrapping on the study door, 'Hello?' he asked uncertainly.
'Do you mind if I come in Harry?' asked Mrs Granger
'No, please come in.' said Harry
Emma gently closed the door and sat on the chesterfield that Harry and Hermione had fallen asleep on, during her birthday.
'I just wanted to check on you, to see how you were holding up after what you told us earlier. Are you alright?' she asked with genuine concern in her voice.
'No, not really.' Replied Harry before he sat on the couch and held his head in his hands.
'That's to be expected, you bared your soul, and that is never an easy thing to do, especially to your girlfriend's parents.'
'May I ask you something Harry?' asked Emma
'Of course.' he replied
'Why tell us all that you did? Please don't mistake my meaning; I am grateful that you felt comfortable enough with us to share something that big, but I can't help wonder why.' Said Emma.
'Mia knows me like the back of her hand, but she didn't know about all the things that happened to me before school. Many stories were published about The-Boy-who-lived and his exploits in the time away from the Wizarding world. The coming tournament will bring even more scrutiny on me and those close to me. I just wanted...' Harry's words failed him.
For a few minutes they sat in silence, Emma concerned for the young man sat to her left and Harry worried that the family he had grown so attached to would abandon him.
'Mrs Granger, why have you and Mr Granger accepted me into your lives so easily?' asked Harry
'After we found out that Hermione was a witch, she simply shone with excitement. She didn't have many friends growing up, normal kids were intimidated by her intellect, and the teased her relentlessly about it. Within the first few days of being at Hogwarts, she sent us a letter saying that she had found you. The boy in her books, and that you were just as nervous and as unprepared for magic as she was.' Said Emma
Harry looked up at Emma, who continued 'Every letter that she sent featured you very heavily. That is until the second year, for two months we heard nothing. We were very worried as you can imagine, but then we got a letter from her, and she told us what had happened and that you had never left her side. She could hear you reading to her, talking over the day's schoolwork and most importantly, she could feel every time you just sat and held her hand. You looked after our daughter when no one else would. That is why we accepted you into our lives so easily.'
Harry was stunned at this revelation, 'She means the world to me, and I would do anything for her.'
'Then live for her Harry. Keep her safe and live for her. Can you do that?' asked Emma
'I will.' Declared Harry
In the dining room, Dan was pouring some tea for himself while he listened to his daughter rant about how unfair it was for someone as kind-hearted as Harry to have been treated so poorly.
'I never even asked, daddy. What kind of friend does that?' she asked
'Love, will you stop beating yourself up? I doubt very much that Harry holds it against you, hell I bet he doesn't even realise that you feel bad for not asking him about his home life, so please just stop.' Spat Dan
Hermione stood dumbstruck; it was not what her father said, but it was the tone that he used, he had never spoken to her like that. He wasn't finished.
'You have to ask yourself, Hermione, do you deserve him? after everything that he has been through and all he has ever done for you, do you deserve him?'
'No, daddy, I don't.' She sobbed
Dan smiled and went to his daughter to comfort her and said 'you know, I do believe that he would say that he doesn't deserve you either. I think that you two were made for each other and as long as you strive to be the person that he deserves, then you will both be fine.'
For the rest of the morning, Harry and Hermione stayed with the parent that came to them, for the first time Harry understood what it was like to have a mother and Hermione grew closer to her father than she ever had.
##
As lunchtime came around, the four occupants of the Potter Suite descended upon the dining room as the waiting staff brought in the ordered buffet lunch. After the emotional rollercoaster of the morning, everyone seemed to be in a far happier place.
'Harry, tell me about your godfather.' said Dan
'Sirius was best friends with my dad and our defence professor from last year. They were as thick as thieves, causing Minerva all sorts of problems. They each had unique nicknames; Professor Lupin was called Mooney, Sirius is called Padfoot, and my dad was called Prongs. They called themselves the Maraud-' Harry stopped in mid-sentence as the realisation that he had forgotten to send word to Minerva. 'Shit' he exclaimed before getting up from the table and running to the study.
The elder Grangers both looked at Hermione, who in turn shrugged her shoulders.
'DOBBY' came to the cry from the study. The excitable elf popped into the room beside Harry.
'Dobby, can you take this letter to Minerva. Give it to her only when she is alone and stay with her, out of sight in necessary, she will need your assistance before the day is over.'
Harry handed the elf the letter, and Dobby popped away to carry out his task.
The grangers came into the study 'Everything alright Son' asked Dan.
'I hope I'm not too late; I forgot the message from Pomfrey.' Said, Harry.