A/N: and here i am again with another chapter with the help form HowInMadeHowie. Once again he added some details that i had overlooked to make this chapter better then i had it first.
Thanks to you readers once again for liking this story so far. Have fun and be safe
Captain Laskey was looking at the footage that the Master Chief had sent him that was recorded in the office from the Minister of Magic. He saw how Lucius was discussing with Fudge about the possibility forcing the goblin nation to tell them who the heir of an ancient and noble house was, as they always did the inheritance tests to make sure that the wizards were really who he said they were and giving access to the vault of their houses. But in the Wizengamot, until the heir wanted to take over the lordship from his house, the members did not know who the heir was. Lucius wanted to change that, as when he wanted to get some gold from the Black vault, the goblins told him that he was only eligible for the trust vault from his wife until the new head of house Black says otherwise. And for this to happen, the heir had to become of age first. Until that point, being the husband to the youngest, but still eligible as her sisters are either in prison or disowned Black sister was almost a guarantee that his son was the heir of the house of Black as well the house of Malfoy. Captain Laskey was just a bit surprised that Malfoy and the minister did not think to look out for listening devices, but Laskey knew that those magicals did not know about any of those technologies and so dismissed that something like that could even exist. At least those pureblooded ones that do make the most of their government.
Lucius, in the footage, was thinking how he could secure his position and his money, but as his wife was not the oldest child from the house Black, there was the small possibility for another older member from the Black family having a child or even blood adopt one, and that child would then become the heir of the house Black. But the goblins would not tell him who the next heir apparent for the house Black was, as this would be against the wishes of the heir himself. Of course, Lucius knew that the goblins thought that he would make sure that this heir would vanish and his son would be the heir again, but Lucius would do that only when the new heir was not a pure-blood wizard. His main plan was to get the heir to make Lucius his regent until he would be of age, and if the parents were still alive, Lucius could make a few visits to old "friends" and remove them from the equation. He just had to make sure that it could not be traced back to him, but if Bones would connect all the dots, Lucius still had enough money to bribe his way out of any accusations before the court was held. Captain Laskey could read in Lucius's face that he was thinking about something and would need to ask ONI if they had someone proficient enough in reading body language to see if they could deduce what was going on in the head from Lucius Malfoy.
Laskey then heard how Lucius and the Minister were talking with each other again. "You see Cornelius, if we can find out who the heir is, we can prepare better for the future when they will introduce themselves into the Wizengamot. Until now, when an unknown wizard or witch claimed to be the heir of a house that lay dormant for almost a century, he needed to fill out all those forms to make it legitimate, even if the goblins had already done the inheritance test. As this takes so much time, my suggestion would be to save it instead. Before the first meeting, where the new lord would introduce himself, he can afterwards take his seat and vote right then and there because we already have all the forms already filled out and given to the Wizengamoth. This way, there will be no bad blood just because another house contests the claim and the heir cannot cast their vote until this gets resolved. If the system stays the same as it was until today, the heir apparent will lose valuable time before he could cast his vote in an important discussion that could influence everything coming in the future, and that is unacceptable for everyone to be honest. Now Minister, it lies in your hands to put that motion forward and tell the Goblins that only because they have our gold, they are not above the law." Lucius was grinning when he saw that the Minister was agreeing with him, but the small pouch full of gold now on the desk helped to insure that regard.
Fudge was taking the pouch from his desk and putting it in his robes, telling Lucius that he will bring it to the next Wizengamot meeting after he thought how he should sell this notion to make sure that it will pass. Lucius thanked him for his time and then left the office, as his next meeting with his account manager was soon. When he closed the door to the office, Captain Laskey switched to the footage from the camera outside the office from the Minister, seeing how Lucius looked over to the secretary and grinned at her. He was still waiting on her answer to the invitation he had given her a few months back, ditching her husband and becoming his mistress, but seeing Mrs. Smith so concentrated on her work he decided that he would ask her another time. Captain Laskey was just a bit disgusted at how this man did behave when he thought that he was untouchable. Captain Laskey was then reading the report from Mrs. Smith and what she was thinking at that time.
Mrs. Smith felt the leering eye from the wizard leaving the office of the minister and just wished that her assignment was soon finished. All those attempts to flirt with her, even if her cover story was that of a married woman whose husband worked with that bastard, were getting on her nerves. But she was a professional and looking at her small display in lenses showed her that a Spartan was just out in the corridor in active camouflage. She had to admit, if they were not on this planet, this technology would have never been developed and helped them blend in when they would be scanned for any implants in the brain by organizations that they wanted to infiltrate in their own universe. And when there was a smart AI helping you, it could even deactivate the glasses in case someone was looking through them. But as long she would be stuck in this office, she had at least not been afraid for that to happen. Also, she was glad that they had worked out to mimic some simple spells with their technology. Captain Laskey then looked for the report about some volunteers even going through some genetic modifications so they would be able to become real wizards to fool those bigots even more. As this would only work on this planet, there was no danger that this ability would be misused when they would return.
Back in Hogwarts, the day was halfway through so the students were getting their lunch into their bellies. Ron was surprised at how much Hermione seemed to eat today, as her plate was almost as full as his was. "Honestly Hermione, it is not like you to eat that much. Was it that hard today to sit in class and listen to Professor Binns? You should do the same as I do and just nap a bit." After he told the girl that, he wolfed his meal down as the others were now used to.
Hermione looked at him in disbelief, asking herself if after all this time he still did not notice just how lazy he was. Somehow, he just scraped by with his grades so he had not to repeat a year, even when she was helping him with his homework together with Harry. She would talk with Harry later if they should continue helping him this much or if they should make him take some tests unprepared in the hope he would get off his arse and study harder. And as they had no more classes this afternoon, she wanted to work a bit ahead so she would have more time later for repeats. She then looked over to where Harry was sitting, noticing that he looked over to the entrance to the Great Hall. Turning around, Hermione also looked over there and saw that Daphne was discussing something with Crabbe and Goyle while Tracey stood beside her. And if the angry face was any indication, it was not something Daphne wanted to talk about.
Harry concentrated on his hearing to be sure that he could intervene if one of the Slytherin boys tried to hurt his friends.
"...and I told you already, I will not spy on Potter, for any of you be it Malfoy or Salazar Slytherin himself, only because I am friends with Harry Potter. He is not the one who attacked the others last term. And if you have not noticed, there was no attack since the first year Gryffindor was petrified. And please explain to me the logic why Potter would attack someone from his own house in the first place. Now, if that is all, I want to eat lunch." Daphne tried to go past Crabbe, but the boy stood in her way and flexed his muscles. It was the unspoken signal that she should think about the proposition again and answer how they liked it. Just as Daphne grabbed her wand in her sleeve, Tracey casted a push-back jinx and Crabbe was thrown a few meters back.
"Stay away from her you brute. Did your parents not tell you what would happen if you attack a member from a higher standing house, not to mention hurting her. Even when you claim that you did it on an order from another house, YOU will be prosecuted. And as you are not of age yet, your parents will have to pay the fine or sit in prison for the sentences you receive if the family from the victim presses charges. So, stand aside." Tracy still had her wand pointed towards the boys to keep them from getting the wrong idea.
Snape saw what happened at the entrance and quickly walked over to clear the situation and give the appropriate punishment for Tracey because she used magic to attack another student outside of the class or the dueling club. "Ms. Davis, put your wand away and then tell me why you have taken it out in the first place." He glared at all the students in front of him, listening closely for any lies. While Crabbe and Goyle both tried to get out of a punishment by not telling the whole truth, Tracey and Daphne explained what the two boys had told them, including the threats if they would not comply. Of course Crabbe and Goyle took a different view, telling their head of house that they had not issued any threats, but Snape was not convinced that Daphne and Tracey were lying about that. He then noticed out of the corner of his eye that Potter was looking over to them with a stern gaze. But the boy was too far away as if had heard anything from this conversation on this side of the Great Hall, so Snape was thinking that he just wanted to make sure that his friends were safe.
"Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle, you both will serve detention with me tonight for threatening a fellow student. Ms. Greengrass, Ms. Davis please be on your way to lunch." Snape turned around and walked back to the staff table, reporting what happened to the headmaster.
Daphne and Tracey were unsure if they really should sit down with the other Slytherins, but they were not alone as some others from their year looked at Crabbe and Goyle with unmasked disgust at the behavior from those two. Daphne and Tracey then sat down between some second and third years, not noticing how Malfoy was watching them walking by. He would write his father about this, as Draco hoped telling him would bring himself back into the good graces from his father after the last letter he had received, telling him that he would remain in Hogwarts over Christmas for not telling him what really happened during the dueling club. Draco was still a bit angry about this, but his father was very clear about what would happen if he would come home over Christmas and not obey him.
Harry saw that the situation was resolved for now and turned back to his lunch, but while he ate it Ron was watching him. Harry thought that Ron's dislike towards any Slytherin was getting ridiculous and asked him if something was on his face to get Ron off his case so to speak. But Ron did not drop it because he asked Harry why was so interested in the well-being of a Slytherin.
"Really Ron, have you forgotten that just last school year we all studied together? Maybe Neville must drag you with him again, so you remember things. On a side note, how long should Hermione and I let you copy our homework so you can just scrape by? Because I want you to answer this one question honestly, do you know that your sister has better grades than you had in the last year? So, get off your lazy behind and put in the work yourself. I am now off to the library. I have an essay to finish." Harry finished his lunch while Ron looked at him with an open mouth. Harry then stood up and walked out of the Great Hall and just as he was about to climb up the stairs, he heard his name being called. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that Hermione and Daphne walked up to him, having met in the Great Hall when they ran after him. Going to the library together, they were also joined soon after by the Patiltwins, Lavender and Tracey, so they could study together like they were now used to.
The rest of the week flew by with the only noticeable happening being that Harry was becoming the most challenged duelist in the dueling club. He did not know why this was happening, but some of his challengers did that in the hope he would introduce Ms. Palmer to them, most of them were the older students. Harry asked himself why they all thought that he would know Palmer, but when he saw her patrol the corridors in her armor just like John used to, he guessed that the other students just assumed that she had to come from the same place like Chief and that Harry had to know her because he knew John. He was almost laughing when he took their wands with the disarming charm and won their duel. But he had to be honest, he also had some good duels with his friends. Especially when he dueled Susan, who had teached him the stunning charm after he asked her what spell she had used in their first duel and showed him just how good she could use her wand. After one of those close duels that she had won by stunning him, he had to help her with the potions essay that Snape had given them. Harry was glad that it seemed that Snape improved his teaching methods and now explained the potion they would make in the next class in every detail, also showing that some parts in the books could be improved on to make a better potion.
Susan sat next to Harry in the library, reading the book he had recommended her. It explained some herbs used in the potion for this essay.
"Thank you Harry, you are really helping me with this." Susan noted some things down she wanted to use in the essay.
"No problem Susan, but you know you could just ask me instead of beating me in the dueling club, I have a reputation to protect." Harry's tone betrayed this statement to be a sarcastic one, but still getting a small punch to his shoulder from the Hufflepuff witch next to him. Opposite from them sat Hermione and Daphne, completing their little study group. Those two were watching this exchange with great interest and just a small bit of jealousy over the fact that puberty seemed to start early in the Bones family. Harry seemed to be the gentleman he always was and did not stare at the growing breasts on Susan's chest.
While they did read about the different ingredients for that potion, Snape was walking through the castle on a patrol route before curfew was due. When he opened the door to the library, he heard the usual murmuring from the students still in there studying and walked through the shelves of books, telling the students in his usual dry tone that they should finish for the night and head to their common rooms. Soon he was at the place where Potter and his friends were sitting and reading. Snape looked over the books on the table and saw that they all contained information about the essay he had given them as homework. Satisfied that at least a few students took his class seriously, he coughed to catch their attention and told them that they should get those books back to their place or borrow them from the library in case they wanted to work more in their common rooms.
Harry thanked the Professor and told the others that they can work on this essay tomorrow again while he put his things in his bag. Just as he had put his last quill in his bag, Callie had a message for him that Professor Dumbledore and Commander Palmer would be waiting tomorrow morning after breakfast, so he had to get an excuse to leave his friends behind. Luckily there was no training this Saturday for his team, as Slytherin had placed the whole pitch into lockdown so they could train without anyone seeing how they were training. As Gryffindor had their next match against Ravenclaw, Oliver was not as worried as he would have been normally when it was against them. So, Harry didn't need to think of an excuse for his team, but his friends were another story. He decided to just tell them that he had to talk with the headmaster if they would ask him tomorrow and that he would come over to study later.
Daphne said good night and walked down the stairs to the dungeons. She was thinking about some things that occurred to her while they had studied in the library, namely that Susan would be another rival for the attention of the golden boy, as some wizards were calling Harry. Even at her young age, she had to admit that her feelings for Harry are becoming harder to ignore anymore. But she also knew that Harry was the heir of multiple houses, Harry would really need more than one wife. So, she would have to share if she liked it or not. She would ask her parents about this, as they had more experience in life than she had. As she arrived at the hidden door from their common room, she just hoped that it would be empty enough so she could go to their dorm as she said the password to enter. As soon as it had opened, she could hear the snide remarks from Malfoy, telling what his thoughts were about all the teachers in this school.
"...If my father could finally convince the rest of the school board to sack Dumbledore and some other teachers, this school would be so much better. Dumbledore is just a stupid mudblood lover and needs to be put in his place!" Malfoy spoke loud enough so everyone could hear him, even if the only people listening to him were Crabbe, Goyle and his "Girlfriend", Pansy Parkinson. Daphne was just glad that after what happened last year, she was removed from the dorm room she and Tracey shared with her, even if it meant that Pansy had now a room with Millicent Bulstrode similar to them. Daphne just walked through the common room and walked down to the dorm, entering the one she had and then sat down on her bed, groaning.
"A knut for your thoughts, or would that be too cheap?" Tracey came shortly after Daphne into the room, looking at her with curiosity. Daphne lifted her head up to look at her friend, contemplating if she really should admit to Tracey that she had been right about the crush Daphne had developed last year. But she had not to say anything, at least there had to be a reason why Tracey was grinning as she was.
Daphne groaned again and laid down on her bed. "What should I do Tracey? I mean while I could handle Hermione, I just noticed why Susan Bones was challenging Harry so many times in the last week in the dueling club. It seems that she also has a crush on Harry and as her body is developing so nicely, I am sure that Harry will sooner rather than later notice what some older creeps already are looking at. And it does not help when Harry grins as he does while talking with us, to be honest I think that in a few years he will have to keep all the admirers away from him with a stick and check everything he wants to consume for any traces of love potion." Daphne was turning around in her bed so she could look at Tracey and ask her for her opinion.
Tracey suppressed a laugh at this image, but she knew that Daphne needed her help tonight as giving Harry some love potion herself was not at the level of decency they stayed at. While they planned for a possible future, sleepiness caught them soon and they turned the key in the door from their dorm so they could sleep without any unwanted visitors.
The next morning, Harry was up as early as he was used to, making himself ready for another run before breakfast. He wondered if Hermione really wanted to accompany him again this time, as she had done just that the last few days, even if she was almost falling asleep on the breakfast table until she had two cups of coffee in her system. He still wondered how she could drink this stuff, as it was too bitter for him until he had put so much sugar in it that an older student had asked him if he wanted some coffee with his cup of sugar. When he opened the door from the dorm to the stairs that led down to the common room, he saw that Neville was just waking up so Harry showed him that he had left a note in case the others would ask where he was so early on a Saturday in this cold weather. Neville just nodded and was going to the small bathroom in their dorm.
Harry soon arrived in the common room where he saw Hermione reading one of her school books about herbology. Harry guessed that she was looking at some ingredients for the essay they wanted to finish today. "Good morning, Hermione. Are you ready for another run with me and Ms. Palmer?" Harry saw with satisfaction that Hermione did not flinch this time, so she had heard him coming down the stairs, not that he tried to be silent in the first place.
Hermione closed her book and stood up from the chair she was sitting in. Nodding to Harry, they both walked out of the portrait hole and down the stairs to reach the entrance hall and leave the castle for the meeting with Palmer.
Just as they both walked through the entrance, Harry saw someone coming up from the gate to the grounds of the school, a duffle bag over his shoulders. Harry told Callie to zoom in to see if it was John, but it was not the Master Chief even if the build was similar. Harry looked over his body again, hoping to find something to identify him, when he saw a medallion on his chest that looked like a snake. 'The School of the Viper? What does Letho want here?'
Callie scanned the man coming up to the castle in case he would pose a threat, but she could see that this man would not attack them and then got the idea that Harry now had an excuse to speak with the headmaster. "Harry, go over to Letho and ask him if he needs to see the headmaster. Then you can both go up to his office and you will have an excuse to look for the entrance with them." Callie urged Harry to go over to the big man. Harry just shrugged mentaly, as he would not look a gifted horse into his mouth.
Hermione was also looking at the muscular man, asking herself where she had seen someone like him. As the man got closer to them, she saw the medallion around his neck and how similar it looked to the one Geralt wore, so this man also had to be a Witcher. "Harry, wait! Do you know this man? Is he also one of Mr. Geralt's 'friends'?" Hermione grabbed Harry's arm, causing Harry to look at her and contemplating the question, he nodded.
"Yes Hermione, this is Letho, a Witcher from the school of the viper. Uncle Geralt had invited him once to eat with us when we were on the path and that was also the last time I had seen him. I do not know why he is here now, but I think I will bring him to the headmaster as Professor Dumbledore would need to know that a Witcher is here. Well, one beside me that is." Harry walked down to greet the older Witcher, while Hermione was not sure if she should accompany Harry or go to train with Ms. Palmer. She thought that Ms. Palmer would need to know that Harry was not coming this morning, so Hermione decided to go tell Ms. Palmer that Harry would be absent for this morning's training. Maybe she could even ask the older woman why she was wearing the same kind of armor like the Chief. She had only seen men wearing it until now after all.
Soon, Letho stood before Harry, looking down on him. "I see you have grown boy. Geralt told me what is under this castle and hoped that I knew some things about this kind of snake that could help you fight it. Luckily I do, even if I could never had fought one myself, but we trained to fight it with our eyes closed, so I will teach you this technique later today. If you need more time to learn it, I will train you harder, as i have another contract the day after tomorrow and have to be on my way by then. Now, bring me to the headmaster, so we can organize this lesson for you." Letho's gruff voice and mannerism was all business and to the point. Harry nodded mutely and turned around and led the kingslayer to Dumbledore's office.