Chapter 45
The next three days were far from pleasant, especially for the people at the Daily Prophet. Mrs. Schwarber wasted no time in tearing Cuffe and Benson a new one. The two tried to defend their actions by saying the public had a right to know. They only clamped up after Arcturus came in with a dark look on his face. That clearly said, if you want to live, shut the fuck up. Lord black read the paper and got a call from Harry, who explained what he was about to do, and the older Black readily agreed. Unfortunately, Rita happened to walk in while they were meeting and the very moment she saw Arcturus. She immediately went pale as a bedsheet. Rita was many things, but she wasn't stupid and didn't have a death wish. The look on the man's face scared the living shit out of her to the point where she was close to passing out and shitting herself.
The Prophet lost some credibility and had to apologize to Hadrian for printing about his personal life. They also lost 2.9 million galleons, and Benson had been suspended for two months without pay. Cuffe also didn't escape unscathed, Arcturus had some words with him, and the man looked on the verge of a heart attack. The cold grey eyes in Black's eyes made his blood run cold so much that he thought the older man was either death or he was going to kill him. Arcturus being the Lord of the House of Black, passed some of Cuffe's shadier dealings to Madam Bones.
Barnabus was not a man easily scared, but the way Arcturus tore into him would have certainly been enough to give anyone nightmares.
However, that paled in comparison to the other things Arcturus had to deal with. For the past few days, he had received letters from Mr. Shiba. He had become enamored with Hadrian and made subtle mentions about creating a betrothal contract between his daughter and the boy. Black was not a fool as he knew why the man wanted a contract with his nephew. Even though he declared that he never sign a contract for anyone in his family, he swore to be a better Uncle toward his nephew. Not only that, his sister and Severus would try to kill him if he ever did such a thing.
Over at Hogwarts, a thoroughly agitated Dumbledore was pacing in his office. The one hundred and fifteen elderly wizards felt every bit of his age. He had taken drinking to a new level, his breath often reeked of Firewhiskey, and it had taken multiple breath-freshening charms to keep people from thinking that he was turning into an alcoholic. There weren't many things that could annoy Albus. But one boy and his family were starting to become the bane of his existence. It was bad enough that he couldn't get the boy under his control or speak with him privately without his guardians present. But he had no influence in the I.C.W. and couldn't find out about what happened at the meeting between the boy and the Japanese Minister.
The conference was one that he was barred from attending. It not only cost him the chance to prove his abilities in diplomacies to the boy, but it also robbed him of getting the Japanese Minister on his side. He wanted to know what happened, but no one would say anything. This was a shitstorm, in his opinion, since he failed to get what he wanted. Not, even Fawkes would trill to soothe his nerves. The phoenix had mostly ignored him and looked at him sideways. Moving behind his desk, he took a seat in his chair and started to think of ways to make the people trust him again.
The sorting hat and portrait of Phineas Nigellus were enjoying watching Albus lose his nerve. Former Headmaster Nigellus was thrilled that the goat fucking bastard was finally getting what he deserved and was even more pleased that it was someone from his House who was dishing out the punishment.
In the room of requirement, Harry and Emily were currently locked in a magical duel. The latter was doing her best to keep up with her brother but knew that be very difficult as he was a warrior of blood. She could tell that he was holding back and was teaching her the advanced level of dueling. Safe to say, Emily's magical skills were growing rapidly while not in the same ballpark as him. She was still a formidable witch in her rights, even more so when he began teaching her silent casting.
For the most part, she was on the defensive, either blocking or dodging his spells. Utilizing her martial arts skills and gymnastics made her movements unpredictable and quite agile. Emily remembered his words about magical combat. True martial magic is not the same as brawling. A person can't just throw sloppy spells at random places to obtain victory. One must measure their reach against their opponents, judge their breathing, and how they move in battle. The person must be skilled both mentally and magically. Their movements have to be fluid and be able to switch between techniques. That is what makes a powerful duelist rather than a person who wants to brawl like a child.
Harry sent a bone-breaking curse her way, which she avoided by rolling to the left and striking back with hydro cannon. He took the water and added a freezing charm before transfiguring it into shuriken and sending them towards her. She quickly spun around mentally, saying Protego impetum waving her wand around the whips of fire arose and protected her from the shurikens made of ice. Harry had created other variations of the spell along with ignis pignus, but fire always melted ice. As she waved her wand, the whips started attacking Harry, who began dodging them and retaliating with his spells.
He created the spells and therefore knew about their weakness. Quickly taking action, he conjured a large torrent of water and transfigured it into two giant fists that went straight to Emily. That inadvertently forced her to send all the fire around her to intercept the water coming her way. The collision created some steam. Harry then used that to his advantage, saying aqua pignus instead of fire columns rising from the ground. It was water; however, he turned his wand 45 degrees to the right making the water hot. As the columns of water formed around her, he decided to use his new spell. Conjuring a set of black arrows, he sent them towards her.
Emily acted quickly and just before she felt the full effects of the hot water. She thrust her left hand in front and circled her wand above her head. Being a water elemental, she was able to bend any water to her will easily. So controlling the water was very simple, requiring elegant and fluid movements; the water just circled her. Unfortunately, she became so concerned with the water that she didn't see the black darts coming. The darts came rushing through the water, and she was barely able to dodge, moving to her left. Out of the ten darts he fired, only six hit her. The next thing she knew, she collapsed on the floor, unable to move, then the water splashed on the ground. Try as she might, her body would not move.
Harry walked over to her with a smirk on his face and with a wave of his wand. He summoned her wand to him, which he caught in his outstretched hand. Looking down at her, "I say we call it a day, Shizuku," waving his wand a few times, he removed the darts and levitated her onto a couch near the fire.
"Why can't I move," she asked as he came over.
The only thing he did chuckle a bit before sending a pale yellow spell at her. A second later, she soon regained her motor skills, albeit somewhat stiff "how did you do that? She asked him while sitting up.
"A new spell I created in my spare time," he casually replied. She just gave him a dumbfounded look, so he continued, "it's a variation of somculis. Instead of gas coming out and putting the opponent to sleep. It shuts down the bodies motor systems" he then told her the name of the spell and how to revive someone who has been affected by it.
"Dang Harry, you do act like a ninja," she joked as he sat next to her.
Harry laughed a bit and continued, "your abilities are growing rather nicely. Though, there are some areas where you need to improve on. You are adapting well. If I had to make an accurate guess, your power and skill would surpass that of the other students in your year."
Emily smiled as he praised her "well, I had a good teacher. Even though he's tough and strict, he's a good teacher."
She followed up, "is there anything else you are going to teach me for the day?"
"They're a few things you should know," he began, "and it has to do with the second duel we had today. Remember when I hit you with intadole and the disarming charm?"
She gave a slow nod.
"First, I used a spell to make it hard for you to do magic. Then I disarmed and deprived you of the use of your wand," he said to her. Emily was confused about what he was trying to say, but she remained quiet and allowed him to finish. "If your enemies insist on war… then you take away their abilities to wage it." Imparting that wisdom to her.
She quickly connected the dots. "I think I understand what you are trying to say by taking away a person's ability to cast spells and depriving them of their wands. We essentially take away their capabilities to attack or defend," she summarized.
He gave her a look of pride as she understood the philosophy behind those two spells.
"Yes. But always remember this: A witch or wizard with magic is always a weapon."
She shot him a confused look, wondering what he meant. Deciding to think about it later, she changed the topic of the conversation "so, what did the Japanese Minister say about the potion you created?"
Harry knew what she was referring to. Before they started training for the day, she overheard his conversation with Shiba "according to him, the criminals he tested it on had a few side effects. I told him the potion wasn't ready and that it still needed testing. The third batch, while an improvement, didn't restore their sanities completely. However, I was able to find the problem and currently working on fixing it."
Emily soon adopted a grave expression "what I don't understand is why he wanted it to be tested on the people from Japan? There's the chance of him testing it on innocents rather than criminals. That and the fact of him taking the credit for your work. The whole thing sounds fishy to me."
He responded, "right," groaning a bit, "and theirs the fact that he seemed a little too eager to get the potion. However, I took steps to ensure no one would be able to steal my work. That said, I don't let my guard down for even a minute around him."
Harry then began rubbing his chin deep in thought about Mr. Shiba's attitude and behavior. The man was a politician, and each politician had a dark side to them. He'd been doing some research about when Yuichi was elected to be Minister and found out that this was his last year in office. Not only that, but he also asked Arcturus and Cassiopeia to do a background check on him. Cassie said she would do it but warned him that it would take a while.
Noticing that his expression became serious, which slightly scared her. "Harry," she said but got no response from him. "Hadrian!"
That got his attention, turning his head to her "you're making that scary face again," she nervously said.
"I hope it's not scarier than usual," he replied before laughing a bit. However, it seemed forced and held no true enjoyment.
Emily continued, "Harry, I know you probably won't want to hear this, but don't you think you were a little hard on Daphne!" it wasn't a question. He gave her an expressionless look that momentarily startled her, so she continued, "look, I'm not saying that I liked the way she acted. But even I hate to see someone that badly hurt. Whether you want to admit it or not; you can be very secretive and quite cold at times" pausing for a moment. "I know you that you only choose to keep a small number of people close, but I have to say the way you talked to her a few days ago was pretty harsh."
Harry wanted to protest and say that his actions were justified. But deep down, he knew she was right. So he stayed quiet.
Emily saw the conflict in his eyes and continued, "you may not have noticed, but you have been more relaxed whenever she's around. All I'm saying is, do you hate having her around?"
"No," shaking his head, "I like having her around. And it's been nice having someone who understands what you're going through most of the time," he grudgingly admitted.
Truth to tell, he surprisingly enjoyed having her around. It always seemed to provide him with a bit of relief, not to mention that she had a strong spark. In the past, he hardly let anybody in, mostly because of how he was raised, the fact that he hardly had reasons to trust anyone. But Daphne was different, making up his mind. He let out a breath, "I'll speak to her when I get back."
Rising from his seat, he raised his shirt so Byakko could go into his tattoo form. The white monarch was resting by the fire when the two were dueling until he got up and went to his partner. Byakko assumed his tattoo form. When he was done, Harry left the room of requirement and went to the front gate.
Arriving at his destination, he was soon met by his godfather. Sirius agreed to take him to the Ministry to teach the Aurors how to perform the Patronus charm. Despite his young age, he could already apparate; however, the laws stated that he needs to get a license. Harry immediately refused to take the test at the Ministry as he was a familiar face and didn't want anyone reporting that he was getting an apparition license. So, after he was done at the Ministry for the day, Sirius would take him to the I.C.W. to get his license.
After exchanging greetings, they walked to the apparition point and apparated straight to the Ministry.
Back in the room of requirement, Emily was reading her alchemy book when she felt the wards tell her that someone was about to enter the room. Looking at the door, she saw Daphne walk in. The normally composed Slytherin Ice queen looked to be in deep thought as she sat down on a couch the room provided.
"Hey Emily, do you know where Harry is?" Daphne asked as Iroh emerged from her shadow and went to sit next to the fire.
"Sorry you just missed him," she replied.
Daphne released a breath "do you know when he'll be back? I need to talk to him."
The younger girl shrugged her shoulders "he might be out for a while," she answered. "When he's done teaching the Aurors how to produce a corporeal Patronus. He has to go to the I.C.W."
She noted that the older girl's expression became solemn.
"Alright, I'll bite," closing her book and giving her full attention to Daphne. "Why do you want to talk with Hadrian? I thought you two weren't speaking with each other." She, of course, knew why the Greengrass was in the room; Astoria made her aware of how she'd been acting as of late and that she wanted to apologize. Emily knew that he wanted to do the same, but the two were quite stubborn and very prideful. At the very least, she wanted to hear it from Daphne's mouth.
Daphne's mouth felt dry, which was mostly from guilt. "I wanted to apologize for the way I acted a few days ago. It was stupid and immature for me to lash out at him the way I did."
That got Emily's attention "you got that right," she said. "However, I'll tell you something that you didn't even know," pausing for a moment. The older girl gave her a curious look. "Shiba has been sending him letters regularly. And the only thing he does is quickly skim through them before setting them on fire."
"All honesty, he rather is buried alive. Then date her."
That caused a small smile to appear on Daphne's face, which didn't go unnoticed by Emily.
"Look for what it's worth," she continued "he feels bad for what he said to you. I love my brother dearly, but he can be very cold and ruthless. More so than usual! Though, keep in mind the way he was raised and what he had to go through. Can you blame him for being private?"
Daphne had to think about that from Harry's perspective. She silently thought about how life must've been like for Hadrian growing up. Sure, she knew how he was treated with his muggle relatives and the events that led to his new family. But that was only the minimum of what she knew "no, I really can't be mad at him."
Emily noticed the expression on her face "just be patient with him, and when he is ready, he will come to you," smiling at her. "If it makes you feel better, you are one of the few people who is allowed to get close enough to him."
"Thanks, Emily," Daphne smiled at her.
Emily had a feeling that Daphne liked Harry as much more than a friend. She'd seen how they interacted with each other, and while, and she had a feeling he had similar feelings. She refused to push the issue. Knowing her brother as well as she did, he probably denies it and wouldn't say anything. There were two girls close to Hadrian's age who he became very fond of. Miwa was his first female friend, and they were as close as siblings. Daphne was different from him. In her opinion, she thought the blonde Slytherin girl was good for him. With that thought in mind, she would not vocally say it to either of them.
However, she wanted to be certain. "Let's go to the great hall. It's time for lunch" getting up from their seats, they exited the room and headed to lunch.
As they were walking through the corridors, they made light conversation about the fireworks festival. Daphne was excited about finally being able to see one. Emily talked about the festivals and explained how fantastic they were, finally explaining how some people often wore yukatas.
She never finished, and they ran into a group of crying first years, who were sitting on the floor with their legs close to their chest. Both girls had a suspicion that they knew who did this to them. One smelled of honey and was covered in feathers. Next to her was a girl who had pimples on her face, covered in red and silver polka dots, and her hair was seaweed. The other girl had a bad skin rash, and a few bee stings were bald and had duck feet. Finally, the last one had a red nose, antlers, seaweed hair, and her skin kept on changing colors. Emily recognized some of them as she had a class with them. Two were from Slytherin, one Hufflepuff. The other was from Gryffindor.
Looking at the floor, they saw their bags were destroyed, along with a few books and essays.
Daphne calmly stepped forward "what happened to the four of you?" she asked while comforting two of them.
The bald one spoke, "we… we were pranked… by a couple of redheaded boys," she sobbed.
"Not only that," the girl next to her spoke, "our books and essays are now ruined."
Emily narrowed her eyes "these boys, did they look alike, and were they on the quidditch team?"
They all nodded. "The Weasley twins," she groaned in annoyance.
Daphne didn't look any happier "it's okay now. We'll escort you all to Madam Pomfrey and have her fix you right up."
Together they escorted them to the hospital wing and to where Madam Pomfrey was in the middle of restocking some potions. The moment she saw the four students, she hustled over and immediately put them in four open beds. The school's matron asked what happened, and Daphne replied that the Weasley twins pranked them.
When they were done, Pomfrey sent them on their way. The two went to the great hall and briefly looked at the Weasley twins with anger in their eyes before sitting with the others at the Hufflepuff table.
"Where were you guys," Blaise asked, swallowing a bite of his sandwich.
"Had to escort a couple of first-years to the hospital wing," Emily replied, taking a bite of her salad.
The others looked at each other before turning back to them. Astoria was the next to speak, "why were you escorting first years to the hospital wing?" her voice was laced with concern.
"Them," Daphne pointed to the twins. The two were chatting with their friend Lee Jordan.
"What did they do this time?" Tracey asked, having grown tired of their constant pranks. She and the others all thought they were a pair of bullies.
Emily explained what they did to a group of first years. Not only were they humiliated, but their books and essays were ruined. Easy to say that nobody was happy with them and their antics.
"How is it that they haven't been expelled yet?" Aaron asked while glaring at them.
Adrian responded, "six galleons say that Dumbledore often pulls strings for them," he said with disdain. "It's no secret that the Weasley's are some of his most vocal supporters. Damn goat!"
They continued talking for a few minutes. Blaise admitted that he broke up with Lisa yesterday and didn't seem all that cut up about it. If anything, he sounded relieved.
"Oh, and you guys might want to avoid the corridor bathrooms," he warned.
"Why?" Tracey asked.
Blaise answered, "because a few of the other students said that when they tried to go. Pumpkin juice sprayed out of the toilets," then pointing to some of the other students.
They looked around and saw a few students fidgeting in their seats as if they were trying to hold in their bladders.
"And that was just this morning," he added. "What kind of sick people thinks that funny?"
Nicole came in "that is precisely why I always cast spells to make sure that nothing funny has happened" she took a swig of her water. "Which bathrooms did they mess up?"
"The first three floors." Blaise got up from his seat with the others "that's as much I know."
As they were leaving the great hall, they heard a few explosions go off. Turning around, they saw the people at Ravenclaw table changing different colors, sneezing like crazy, and wearing different clothes. The Hufflepuff table was entirely covered with garlic powder. Some of the students cried out and said that their eyes were burning. They were farting up a storm at the Slytherin table and had pumpkin juice and water coming out of their noses. Finally, many of them were sporting elf-like ears at the Gryffindor table and releasing a pungent amount of disgusting odor. A few of them were rushed out of the room and cried out "bathrooms" as they ran by. The gang had to cover their noses as they smelled diarrhea coming from them.
They all stared with wide eyes, wondering what was going on until their gazes fell on the Weasley twins and Jordan, who were clutching their stomachs, rolling on the ground laughing.
Nicole spoke, "okay, we need to get out of here before we get pranked."
They followed behind, and just as they made it out of the great hall, they were bombarded with balloons filled with flour. Daphne, Emily, Blaise, and Tracey were able to avoid them because they had better reflexes. The others weren't so lucky as flour was now on their faces and clothes.
Susan spit out some flour and looked at them. "I'll see you guys later," was all she said before running to her House's common room with Hannah right behind her.
The others didn't say anything; they just went to their respective common rooms to wash the flour and smell it off themselves.
Hours later, in the room of requirement, Emily and Daphne were sitting on a couch in front of the fire. Iroh was asleep on his bed net to the crackling fire. Suzaku was sitting on a perch next to the window, looking out into the horizon. Dinner ended a half-hour ago, and the girls were currently in their pajamas.
Daphne heard the door open and saw Harry walking in with Byakko. The white monarch didn't waste any time greeting them as he made a b-line for the bed Iroh was resting on and collapsed asleep right there. Harry looked about ready to do the same when a soft brown recliner appeared behind him, and he fell back in it. Then he reached into his watch and pulled out a cold bottle of water and drank it. "I swear," he muttered while rubbing his temples.
Emily could only look at him and could see that he was exhausted "what happened to you?"
Harry lazily glanced at her "spent most of the day teaching the Aurors how to perform the Patronus charm. Then I went to the I.C.W. to get my apparition license and had to deal with the bureaucrats. Damn, I hate that shit" he took another hearty swig of his water.
The girls could only give him sympathetic looks. They knew how much he loathed politics and certainly had no desire to become a politician.
"Well," Emily drawled, "look on the bright side. You don't have to deal with them for a while," smiling at him. Harry just raised his bottle before drinking the rest of it.
"Hey, would you mind if I sleep here for the night?" asking as she had no desire to head back to Ravenclaw Tower.
"I don't mind," he responded.
Emily then got up, walked over, and hugged him "night, everyone," she said, then walked into the bedroom the room provided for her.
The only ones left were Daphne and Harry. Neither of them said anything except steal glances at each other. After what seemed like an eternity, they spoke.
"Daphne, I!"
"Harry, I!"
They said at the same time.
"I just wanted to."
"I just wanted to."
They did it again, making the atmosphere around them feel uncomfortable.
"You go first," Harry suggested.
Daphne took a breath then spoke, "I wanted to apologize for blowing up at you. A couple of days ago," she began, "I shouldn't have invaded your privacy like that."
Harry could tell that she meant it and felt a tug from his heart "you had every right to be mad at me," he earnestly said and walked over to sit next to her. "I hope you believe me when I say that she took me by surprise when she kissed me. Truth to tell, I didn't particularly enjoy it," he jokingly said.
Daphne giggled a bit.
"And what I said about you not being important was out of line" he then took her hand in his and looked directly into her eyes. "I didn't mean it."
She responded, "can I ask you something?" He gave her a slow nod telling her to proceed "why didn't you just say what happened at the restaurant?"
"Because Iwasembarrased," he said in a low voice.
"What?"
He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I said I was embarrassed," he said a bit louder.
"Why would you be embarrassed by that?" she asked, mentally kicking herself.
"I don't like having my personal life exposed," Harry answered.
Daphne had to agree, as that would have embarrassed her too. "You know you can tell me anything, and I'll never betray you."
"Thanks," he smiled at her.
They stayed like that for a few minutes before realizing that they were still holding hands and slowly pulling away. While at the same time blushing.
"Well, um," Harry cleared his throat. "I think we should go to bed now" he rose from where he was sitting and was about to leave.
Without thinking, Daphne reached up and grabbed his hand, bringing his attention to her. "Can we stay down here for a while longer?" She didn't know why she just asked that, but for some reason, she felt cold when he was about to leave.
Harry sat back down next to her, and a blanket appeared on them. They spent the rest of the night talking before finally falling asleep. Daphne's head rested on his shoulder, and she had a small smile on her face. He to rested his head on hers. Ironically, enough they didn't notice their hands interwinding with each other. They both were asleep as the fire kept crackling.
(0^0)
Five days later, it came time for the Wizengamot session. The three non-human factions were looking forward to today's session, even more than Hadrian was. He desperately wanted to attend but could risk blowing his cover. Instead, Arcturus agreed to fill him in on what happened via pensieve memory. Hopefully, after today's session, the start of a new world could begin.
In the deepest part of the Ministry, a session for the new year was about to begin. Everyone from Lords and Ladies from prestigious families along with the Heads of the major Departments. Then came the holders of the Order of Merlin and finally members from the Minister's office. All of whom took their respective seats. Griselda moved from her seat and went straight to the podium to begin today's session. Madam Marchbank was a fierce woman and had garnered a lot of respect. Her position as the Head of the W.E.A. was the start, and now she was Chief Witch. She had been a member of the Wizengamot for a very long time and thus earned her reputation for not taking a shit.
"I call this Wizengamot meeting of January 15, 1994, into session," she spoke in a business voice that told everyone in the room. The meeting had begun. "To start, we will address a complaint from the Director of the DMLE, Madam Bones. The floor is yours."
Everyone turned to Amelia, who had risen from her seat "thank you, Chief Witch," she respectfully acknowledged. "I like to begin by addressing the fact that the Auror department is lacking in funds and forced to relieve thirteen Aurors." The steel in her voice showed that she was serious. "I have asked the budget committee time and time again to send us funds, but they've said that all the money is being directed to other departments."
Cornelius cleared his throat "Madam Bones, you are aware that we just recently settled a dispute with magical Britain. As such, we have to make cutbacks. The loss of a few Aurors may have been hard, but we need to conserve as much money as possible."
"We wouldn't have had to make cutbacks had the Ministry did its job and not sent Dementors to protect the students," came an irate Cyrus Greengrass. "Not only that, but we also still have to find the escaped convicts."
Fudge fidgeted in his seat, turning his head to Lucius for a solution.
Lord Malfoy stood up and spoke, "I suggest that we table the discussion about the escaped death eaters for another time. At the moment, we have other things to concern ourselves with" he then turned to Madam Bones. "As for your claim about the Aurors not receiving any additional funds, they are needed elsewhere. Like the Department of Magical transportation" gesturing toward Corban Yaxley "with the need for transportation so high. It stands to reason that they need it more."
Amelia thinned her lips then replied, "I fail to see why transportation is more important than this country's security. Far as I am concerned, my Department does more for the Wizarding world than the Department of magical transportation."
Lord Yaxley sneered, "that's a very bold claim coming from you," he bit back, "need I remind you that it was members from your Department who hand a hand in the debacle with the Japanese" choosing to place blame on her. "As for doing more, do share what it is that makes your department so special."
She gave no quarter and replied, "unlike your Department, mine is the one that ensures that there is Law and Order," she said in a firm tone. "Last I checked, the only thing you and the people in your Department do is transport people and goods. Perhaps the Ministry should look more into what your Department is doing. Instead of just sitting around and marking papers," fixing him a cold glare.
"Why you" he began to shout but was cut off when Marchbank banged her gavel "order, order. Be seated both of you." The two locked horns, and their eyes both held fire in them before taking their seats.
Spending the next three hours discussing the distribution of funds, addressing the complaints from the other departments, and finally discussing the number of trade goods coming in from the other countries. Madam Marchbank finally called for a recess, and everyone filed out of the chamber to grab some food.
Thirty minutes later, everyone returned to their seats and resumed. "Does anyone else having anything they wish to say," Griselda asked, looking around the chamber?
"We have something we wish to say," a gruff voice came, and everyone turned their heads toward the entrance.
They heard footsteps, floor scraping, and some grunts out of the shadows came King Ragnok, Griphook, tribal Chief Magorian, along with King Vladimir, and his son Prince Melchior emerged. All who were sporting grins on their faces. Pretty soon, pandemonium broke out as the people were asking why they were present today. That was until Marchbank released a cannon sound from her wand to quiet them down.
"King Ragnok, please explain why you and your cohorts," gesturing to the centaur and vampires next to him.
The goblin king sneered at some of the others before speaking, "we are here today because we have been chosen to be proxies for the Houses of Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw," he said as a matter of fact.
"What!" the entire chamber shouted in complete shock. The most vocal came from Delores Umbridge, Albus Dumbledore, Lucius Malfoy, and many former death eaters.
Albus was surprised because he never anticipated this happening. For as long as he could remember, no non-human proxies sat on the Wizengamot before. An idea soon formed in his head, if they were allowed to stay, he could try to maneuver them to his side. The amount of power and influence he could obtain would have been astronomical. He could even use them to regain the respect he'd lost and gain access to some very valuable and ancient artifacts. Lucius and his friends were livid as the Dark Lord would never appoint such filthy creatures to sit as his proxy. The mere thought of that repulsed them to no end. Those abominations were nothing but weapons for them to use. Delores hated anything and everything that had to do with half-breeds. She was a pureblood supremacist, despite the fact of being a half-blood. Were if she in charge, she has them all hunted down and killed.
"You five are nothing more than a bunch of filthy half-breeds and abominations," she shouted. "You have no place being here amongst us wizarding folks. Now go back to your precious bank and count the money," dismissing them. That earned a few smiles from Lucius and his friends, while a few worried looks came from Dumbledore and the members of the Light faction.
Vladimir and the others were not happy with how she spoke to them "and who might you be, little girl?"
"I am Delores Jane Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic," she said proudly.
"Really because you look exactly like an ugly toad," he replied, "I may be a few centuries old, but I'm pretty sure that your job is only to push papers and take notes. And not only that, but you are not only an ugly piece of shit who holds less worth than dragon dung. You are the weakest one in this room." The others laughed at how he described her, a few of the other members of the court who looked amused.
Delores's face twisted into a rage and became red "how dare you. I am a Ministry official, and you will show me the proper respect. You and the others have no rights sitting amongst us, let alone being proxies to respectable Houses."
"That is where you are wrong," Ragnok stepped forward. "We at Gringotts are not just accountants. Our jobs are comprised of handling many different tasks. That was your first mistake. Your second was for trying to disrupt the right of ascension." He then reached into the pocket of his robes, pulled out three envelopes containing letters, and handed it to Magorian and Melchior.
"These are forms signed by Lords Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Saying that Magorian, Melchior, and Griphook have a right to sit as proxies for the Houses."
"That is absurd," she shrieked "no respectable Lord would ever name abominations such" her tirade was cut off.
"Silence yourself, Delores," Amelia said in a harsh voice "the last thing we need is for you to spark another Goblin war. In case your position has swallowed up your commonsense skills, we have a procedure that must be addressed."
Before Delores could speak, Griselda beat her to it. "Madam Bones is quite correct," she coolly said while staring daggers at Umbridge. "You will either remain in your seat quietly, or I will have you carted from today's session." Her voice indicated that she meant it, even though she secretly wished she could curse the woman.
It took a glare from Cornelius to keep her from speaking. So she just sat down while sending death stares toward Amelia.
Griselda continued where she left off, "I trust that you three have the appropriate paperwork which proves your claims" her face was expressionless. But on the inside, she was smiling as she had an idea who was the mastermind behind this. Plus, the looks on Delores, Fudge, Lucius, and his allies were too much to pass up.
Magorian spoke, "that we do" he and the others stepped forward and gave her the letters that contained the required documents.
She accepted them and carefully went over each one of them before handing them to Fudge and Amelia so they could view them for themselves. Needless, to say Fudge was not only sweating bullets but also looked beet red. He quickly looked at Lucius and passed the documents to him. Safe to say, the Malfoy patriarch was far from happy and looked on the verge of screaming his head off. Taking a couple of breaths to regain his composure, she whispered in Cornelius' ear.
Cornelius composed himself the best he could "the documents you three have provided are indeed valid," he admitted, and the wizengamot looked on the verge of exploding again. But he quickly said, "however, Lord Malfoy has reminded me that no-nonhumans have ever sat on the Wizengamot before. So, we will have to refuse to let either of you taking the responsibilities for three Most Ancient Houses."
Lucius momentarily smiled, but it didn't last as Griphook spoke, "be that as it may. There is no law prohibiting us from acting as the proxies."
Next came Ragnok "not only that, but my people will also constitute this as a grave insult. Because we just handed you letters of approval from the Lords, who, by the way, have voiced their desires to allow us to be proxies. And by refusing them, means that Lord Malfoy is insinuating that the House of Slytherin is weak and has no right to sit on the Wizengamot. I'm sure Melchior would be more than happy enough to go and tell the Lord of the House of Slytherin what he said."
"Also, by denying Griphook the right to sit amongst you would consist as an act of war with the Goblin Nation. This means that the other leaders and I will be forced to stop managing the currencies all around the magical world and seize all the golds and other assets."
Then Melchior spoke, "keep in mind that if there is to be another war, then the vampires will side with the goblins as the arrogance of Magical Britain is far too much for our people to handle."
Magorian grunted in agreement, siding with them as well.
Now the members of the Wizengamot were scared. Some even pissed themselves at what they said. If the other magical communities got wind that the global banking system was being threatened, things would end badly for them. Going to war with the goblins, vampires, and centaurs was one thing, but the rest of the magical world would tear them apart. As it was, they couldn't risk upsetting the other nations as Magical Britain was not very popular at the moment. The last thing they needed was for the other nations to start attacking them.
Now Cornelius looked on the verge of fainting, judging by how much he paled. Lucius looked crossed between either being angry or following suit. Even Dumbledore was heavily sweating as he needed their support. They were caught between a rock and a hard place.
Griselda cleared her throat "there is no need for that," she said in a reassuring voice. "Though, as our laws are clear, we have to put it to a vote first. All in favor of letting them stay on as the proxies, show of hands."
It was unanimous as everyone raised their hands. No, one wanted to risk the money in their vaults; not even the supremacist would risk that. While some liked looking down on the commoners, they would never endanger their wealth.
She counted all the hands raised, verifying that it was unanimous; she turned her attention back to their guest. "As we are all agreed, the ones who were chosen as proxies may stay to fulfill their duties," she banged her gavel.
Melchior, Griphook, and Magorian went to the back of the chamber where their seats were. The others went to sit in the visitors' section. The members from the dark faction were not happy save for Arcturus, who was laughing on the inside. The other factions have a mixture of emotions.
After another hour of discussing politics, followed by the three proxies' recent appointments, Cornelius decided to close the session for the day. Some practically raced out of the chamber, though Dumbledore asked to speak with the three new representatives when they were alone.
As soon as everyone was out of the room, Dumbledore wasted no time trying to convince them to align with him and the Light faction. Luckily, they were prepared for this as they had been warned by Lord black and the others that he would try something. They flat out told him no. Dumbledore insisted that his side was the proper choice spending the next two hours explaining why they should convert to his side. Their answer was still the same.
Albus mentally groaned and tried to use passive legilimency to see who the Lords of Gryffindor were: Ravenclaw and Slytherin. It ever proved useless as he got nothing. The others just walked out of the chamber to go back to their homes for the day. Leaving an irritated Albus Dumbledore behind, the aged wizard left the chamber to take the elevator back to the Ministry entrance. Silently, walking through the atrium, he eventually made it to the apparition point and apparated to his office. He immediately pulled out a bottle of Firewhiskey and conjured a glass for himself. Pouring the contents, he immediately drank all of it and poured another.
(0^0)
The next day the Daily Prophet went all out when it wrote about what happened at the Wizengamot when the proxies to the Houses of Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw were given the goblins, vampires, and centaurs. That shocked the entire student body and even the teachers, as none thought this was possible. At the Slytherin table, Draco and his gang were openly disgusted with what they read in the paper. However, at the Ravenclaw table, things were more mellow. Harry and the others were silent, chatting about the Wizengamot session. Though he just remained quiet with an expressionless mask on, though on the inside, he was happy. Another goal had been accomplished.
"I never would have seen this coming," Parvati said with astonishment.
Lavender soon added, "agreed! I don't even know how this happened," pausing for a moment. "However, I would like to meet the three Lords. I wonder what they are like."
"Hard to say," Padma came in, "it could be anyone. Grandfather sent a letter telling us that the person didn't give a name, but the Houses have indeed been activated."
The bubbly Gryffindor girl turned to a certain raven-haired boy, and a grin formed on her face. "So, Harry, how are things going with you and Shiba? It can't be easy having a long-distance relationship."
They all turned to Harry as he was reading over his notes for his project.
Not getting a response, she tried again. "Harry, I asked how your relationship with Miyuki Shiba is going." The only thing he did was turn the page and made some notes.
Growing irritated, she reached over and tried to grab his shoulder, only to be caught by his hand and received a cold glare from him "do you mind! I'm busy working on something important" he then released her hand.
"I was just asking about your relationship with Shiba," she earnestly said while batting her eyelashes.
Harry finally closed his journal "one: there is no relationship between her and me. Second: even if there was one. I wouldn't tell someone who's a gossiper. If you haven't realized it, my personal life is not for you to go spreading. Third: get a life and stay out of mine." He then got up to leave, ignoring the put-out girl.
"What's his problem?" she asked in confusion.
Daphne, Tracey, Blaise, and Emily shook their heads at her. The latter spoke, "the problem is you, Brown" she glared at the confused girl. "Harry is a private person and doesn't like having his privacy exposed. And knowing you, you go off and blab to everyone like that cow Skeeter."
Lavender was a bit insulted at being compared to Skeeter. "That's a lie. I would not have said anything."
"Yes, you would have" Parvati came in, rebuking her. "Face it, Lavender, you can't keep quiet to save your life. You talk just as much as some of the other Hufflepuffs. Besides, no matter what you do, you'll never get anything out of him. Simple, the fact is that he doesn't trust you not to say anything."
Lavender grumbled that she could keep a secret.
Parvati turned back to the others "something just occurred to me," she said, bringing the attention to her. "Harry has only one more year left, then he graduates. What do you think he will do once he leaves? Will he go back to Japan or stay in Britain?"
That question struck Daphne a little; it was true that he only had one more year left then he was officially done with his education. She remembered that he said he wanted to try and obtain some masteries and work as an agent of the I.C.W. But she also knew that he hated Dumbledore with a passion and wanted to be as far away from him as possible. Those thoughts in mind, she remembered that he was now the Lord to several old and powerful Houses and had responsibilities to ensure they prosper. He also mentioned that while he loved Japan, he would not make a home over there. As it was not only a place to get away from Dumbledore and Magical Britain as a whole, but it was also a vacation spot for him. Among other things.
She turned her attention back to Patil "it's hard to say he may or may not go back to Japan," responding with a neutral voice. "But you can't blame him for wanting to leave Magical Britain."
They all murmured in agreement as it was true Magical Britain has not been so kind to him in recent years. There is also the fact that he hated Dumbledore for what he did to him and his family. How the old goat escaped, the punishment was a mystery to them. They suspected that he had to use many political favors owed to him to escape justice. The ones who were not on his side always suspected that he had a hidden agenda, which he often hid from the public. That seemed to change when Harry revealed what happened that night his parents were killed, and now people were questioning the old goat.
Eventually, lunch came to an end, and everyone started leaving for their next class for the day. Blaise and others went to Ancient Runes for the day, while Daphne went to charms, and Nicole went straight to transfiguration. Charms with Professor Flitwick was always nice, and it was Daphne's best subject. She had quickly risen to the top of her class, and Flitwick always acknowledged her prodigious skills when it came to his class.
In Ancient Runes, Emily and the others continued to work diligently on their assignments. When Professor Babbling occasionally asked questions, Granger always put her hand up to answer them and often smirk at Emily, Tracey, Aaron, Blaise. How anyone could be so arrogant was beyond them. Emily finally grew tired of the girl and started answering questions along with Tracey, much to Granger's annoyance. Professor Babbling asked Emily to perform talismans and to explain the use of runic clusters. She performed much to the surprise of the other students as they've only seen it done once by Hadrian.
She then explained the runic clusters and matrixes so they could learn about them. That had earned her 50 points from her teacher. During the last five minutes of class, Babbling called time and gave them their homework assignments. After that, they were free to leave and attend their remaining classes for the day.
When the students were finally done with their classes for the day, they decided to relax by going into the wreck room and blow off some steam. Together they found Harry playing blackjack against a couple of fifth and seventh years while some R&B music was playing. The stakes were high as there was a large pile of money in the middle. One by one, they all said they were in, and they revealed their cards.
The only two left were Cedric vs. Harry. The two were keeping a close eye on one another and were competing "let's see what you got, Potter," Cedric joked.
Harry chuckled a bit "bring it, Diggory," he retorted. "Just don't go crying when you lose."
"Someone seems confident," commenting as he eyed Harry, "well then lets up the ante then. I raise twenty galleons," pushing more money into the pile. "Your move!"
Everyone looked at Harry, wondering what he does, while at the same time asking about how much money was in the pile. "I'll match it," pushing twenty galleons in, "that brings the total up to 89 gallons, 49 sickles, and 22 knuts. You sure you want this Diggory?"
"Bring it, Potter" Cedric then revealed a seventeen. "Beat that," placing a hand on the money.
Harry smirked at him "we have a saying in Japan. Read them and weep" he revealed that he had twenty, much to Diggory's shock.
"Ah man," he groaned as Harry removed his hand and pulled the money toward him.
"Later, boys," he collected his winning and deposited them in his wallet before getting up. "That's how I roll!"
Blaise took his seat while he and the others went by the wall.
While some of the students were dancing or playing card games at the different tables, Harry and Daphne talked about the festival in Japan this year.
"It's going to be amazing" the smile on her face showed that she was looking forward to the fireworks festival. "I even know the yukata I want to wear."
"Can I get a hint?" offering a smile. He briefly imagined what yukata she might have chosen and couldn't help but admit that she would look beautiful in one.
Daphne clicked her tongue "patience Harry. You will just have to think about it," she teased.
"Oh, playing hard to get, huh," he replied in the same tone of voice. "Though, I bet you would look beautiful in any yukata."
She blushed a bit at what he said "nice try, Mr. Potter. But you won't be getting it out of me that easily. Besides, weren't you the one who told me patience is a virtue? Try to keep your charm under wraps."
"I didn't know that my magnetic charm was so compelling," he jokingly said. "Do you think you can handle it?"
Daphne's cheek grew redder but whispered in his ear, "do you think you can handle my womanly charm, Mr. Potter? I wonder what the press would say if they found out you were such a flirt."
She batted her eyelashes as she backed away while trying to stifle a laugh when his face got beet red.
So many things were going through Harry's mind at the moment as he was trying to think. He couldn't tell if she was flirting with him or just trying to give him a hard time.
Daphne enjoyed the shocked expression on his face, but it was soon ruined when they all heard a pop, and Terry Boot appeared in the middle of the room, completely naked. Everyone pointed at him and burst out laughing; the younger years were completely shocked at what they were seeing. The dark blonde Ravenclaw boy was red with embarrassment and ran out of the room as fast as possible. While everyone was busy laughing, rolling around, laughing their arses off, Harry just scowled as whoever did that went too far.
Then he heard, "ladies and gentlemen, we give you today's entertainment" the unison voices of Fred and George were heard. The two were so happy with their prank they didn't notice that some of the other students were scowling at them.
"Are you two insane?" one of the scowling students shouted at them.
Everyone looked at Emily, who was staring daggers at them. Fred and George stopped laughing as she approached them "you two think your real funny, don't you?"
"It was just a little prank," Fred started.
"He said that we were too childish and immature" George followed up.
"Then said we'd never amount to anything," they said in unison
"So that gives you the right to humiliate him like that" she fixed a cold murderous glare at them. "The only thing you two did was show that you are a bunch of bullies who have nothing better to do than prank people."
The twins were taken back with what she said. "We're not bullies," they said together. Sure they liked to pull pranks, often mainly on the Slytherins, but they weren't bullies. It was all harmless fun.
"Oh no," Nicole stepped forward, "in the time you bastards have been here. You have played pranks on the Slytherins and the other Houses. You may think it all fun and games, but you two have proven to be a bunch of weak-willed bastards with nothing better to do."
"That's not true," George denied.
"We only try to have fun," Fred finished.
Nicole slapped them both hard across their faces leaving red handprints. They both screamed in pain as she marched out of the room. Harry and the others followed behind and left the room while sending death glares at the Weasley twins. Catching up to Nicole, who was angrily marching down the hall, "those two have gone too far this time."
"As opposed to when?" Adrian asked, only to be met with a cold glare from her, making him recoil.
"Let's go check on Neville," Blaise said. "Emily, Harry, Aaron, you guys get Professor McGonagall. The rest of us will go find Professor Flitwick and explain the situation."
The three nodded and immediately went to get their Head of House. She should be in her office at the moment grading essays. Dashing toward McGonagall's office, they found her sitting at her desk grading papers.
"Professor, we got a problem," Harry stated, making her look up from the fourth-year essays she'd been grading.
McGonagall eyed the two for a moment, then responded, "what seems to be the problem?"
"The Weasley twins have gone too far with their latest prank" his face showed that he was serious and indicated that this was no game."
Minerva massaged her temples "what did they do this time?" thinning her lips and wondering what the twins did.
Emily answered, "when we in the wreck room, Boot appeared wet and completely naked" she explained how Boot called the twins immature, childish and said that they never amount to anything. They then claimed that it was just a little joke that they played.
Aaron came in "then we left to catch up with Nicole and agreed to split up. The others went to speak with Professor Flitwick since Boot is a member of his House. While we came here as the twins belong to yours."
By now, McGonagall was livid at what she heard and immediately on her feet, "thank you three for telling me this. Rest assured, I will deal with those two." Minerva was outraged at hearing what the two Weasley twins have done. This went way beyond their normal pranks, and if she could be honest. She had grown quite annoyed with their constant pranks, Albus may be lenient with their punishments, but she is damned if they didn't get a sufficient punishment. "You three may leave now."
The teenagers left the room with McGonagall following behind with her nostrils flaring. She was now on the warpath in search of her two lions.
(0^0)
The next day things for the House of brave were less than Happy as McGonagall tore into the Weasley twins for what they did to Mr. Boot. They not only cost their House 300 points, but they also had detentions for two months with Filch, were banned from Hogsmeade for a month, and had to write a satisfactory apology letter to the boy. She warned them that if the letters were not sincere enough, then they would write them again until they were. Needless, to say the other Gryffindors were not happy with them, and neither were the members from Ravenclaw.
While the ravens were pissed at them, they were more ticked at the fact that two of the members from their nest helped them pull off the prank. That cost them the same amount of points.
Dumbledore tried to argue that she and Filius were too hard on the twins. But it failed as they didn't budge and said that the twins had gone too far this time. Minerva berated Albus for being too lenient with her punishment of the twins and made her stance clear. She even sent a letter to Arthur about what his sons did. An hour later, Albus received a floo call from an angry Molly who demanded to know why her children were punished so hard.
Dumbledore had to massage his temples as he watched his transfiguration professor and Molly argue over the topic. Molly tried to vouch for her kids, but Minerva was having none of it and denied changing their punishments. She then tried asking Albus for help but was met with an answer she didn't want to hear. As the twins were members of Minerva's House, she had the final say when dealing out the punishments and explained that his hands were officially tied.
The Weasley matriarch was so mad that her face rivaled the color of her hair and went off on a tirade before leaving in a huff.
Meanwhile, Harry put the finishing touches on his potion in the room of requirement, finding the mistakes he corrected and making the potion more powerful. Finally, when the potion turned lime green, showing that it was complete. He called one of his elves and had her deliver it to the Japanese Minister's office with a letter.
A/N: The Daily Prophet paid the price for writing about Harry's personal life like it was supposed to be common knowledge. Daphne and Harry made up and are okay again. As promised, I showed the Wizengamot session where Magorian, Griphook, and Melchior are now Harr's proxies. This, of course, made some people mad, and Dumbledore will now try to convert them to his side. Little does he know; this is only the start of what is to come. Now, he will be forced to divert his attention to the non-human races rather than focus on Hadrian and his family.
The twins have gone too far with their pranks. For you all that are George and Fred fans, then this chapter is not for you. Those two have a real problem when it comes to pranking, in my opinion, and sometimes they often make things worse. I mean, come on now, pumpkin juice spraying out of toilets, dropping garlic powder on people's heads, and making people appear in front of a crowd naked. What kind of sick people thinks that's funny?
Next Chapter: They're back!