As it turns out, investigating Karkaroff turned out to be a good idea. After asking Viktor for help on the matter, they found out that the man wasn't actually Karkaroff but Barty Crouch Sr. under a Polyjuice potion and the real Karkaroff hadn't even left his home, as he'd gone along with the plans and allowed Crouch to take his place. After trapping the delusional ex-ministry head and calling Severus Snape for help, they managed to get the man to spill his plans of putting Harry in the tournament to kill him and return his glory by capturing Karkaroff and Voldemort as the killers, returning his reputation as a result. They found out that Dumbledore had aided in the man's plan, as he'd been the one to contact Karkaroff and send Crouch to Bulgaria before the tournament. After a further questioning with Owen Ambrosius and Lucius Malfoy as witnesses, they both took the information to the Minister and Amelia Bones and managed to get the man back in Azkaban and redo the entrances to the tournament by emptying the Goblet of Fire and having those of age that want to compete re-submit their names, much to the disapproval of Albus Dumbledore. Speaking of Albus, it seemed that his last bout of trying to regain his fame backfired and was the last nail to his coffin. He was immediately dismissed from his position as Headmaster starting the next school year, so as not to cause too much hassle with the Tournament going on, to the relief of all of Hogwarts, and had a trial planned for him to reveal everything the man had done throughout the years. In his place, the school board would discuss with the professors of the school who would be best suited for the position.
"Good job everyone." Lynette said to everyone, smiling in triumph at their success.
"Thank you." Harry said in relief, as they'd saved him from being forced to compete in a deadly tournament at fourteen.
"Even if you had been forced to compete, we would have still helped you survive Potter." Draco said, giving his friend a reassuring pat on the back. Harry returned the gesture with a smile, happy that he had such supportive friends in his life after everything that had happened to him.
Everyone separated into small groups to chat, using the meeting as a time to catch up and hang out. Gavin and Lynette separated from the group to talk.
"I couldn't have done this without you." Lynette said softly, knowing her brother would understand. They'd always been close growing up and he knew her more than anyone else. And he did understand, giving her a soft smile that only his sister was privy to.
"You would have, I was just there to give you a bit of a nudge." They shared a laugh at his words, smiling in relief.
And so, there was no more 'surprises' for the rest of the tournament. Cedric was chosen as the Hogwarts Champion, with Viktor representing Durmstrang and Lynette's cousin Fleur competing for Beauxbatons. 'The Alliance' made sure to help all three champions, especially their Hogwarts Champion as they wanted to win.
While some doubted the peace that had come, even if the trials were dangerous, they still made sure to make the most of it, enjoying their time together.
"You'd think they'd start dating by now." Harry said simply, rolling his eyes at the sight in front of him.
He was in Hogsmeade with some of his friends, Theo, Blaise, Susan, Daphne and Neville, and they were staring at Draco and Hermione walking together.
"It's so obvious that they like each other, they're just so oblivious." Daphne said in exasperation.
"Who's oblivious?" They jumped slightly at the sudden voice behind them and turned to see Pansy smiling at them teasingly.
"Your friend over there." Theo said, pointing at the blonde.
"Oh. Yeah Draco's always been a little oblivious when it comes to romance." The brunette said teasingly, smirking at the two in front of them. Their hands kept brushing but they were hesitating to hold hands, it was annoying to those behind them, who could see everything going on.
"The problem isn't just Draco, Hermione's like that too." Neville said, getting groans from the others with him.
"I know." Susan said, looking like she was seconds away from face palming from annoyance.
"So we're going to have to go through this torture for how long exactly?" Blaise asked no one in particular.
"You want to bet Zabini?" Pansy said mischievously, smirking at the group of six.
"You're on Parkinson."
And that was how the betting pool on Draco and Hermione getting together started. The two wouldn't find out about it until very later in their lives, where they would laugh at their friends' actions, but for now they were as oblivious as ever.
One day, the morning after the December Wizengamot session, a week before Christmas break and subsequently the Yule Ball, the morning post arrived same as ever, but what it was carrying was what shocked everyone.
The headline on the first page read 'A NEW LORD SLYTHERIN?!' That shocked everyone, except a select few from 'The Alliance', who had already known and had even helped make it happen.
"Well that explained why Madame Longbottom was so smug yesterday during dinner." Hermione said, smiling slightly at the news before clearing her throat and reading the article aloud. To her shock, and to the shock of those at the Gryffindor table, the entire hall quietened down to hear her. So, Hermione cast a slight sonorous charm or herself before starting.
"You heard it right, my dearest readers. A new Lord has claimed the Slytherin Family seat yesterday in the December session of the Wizengamot. Lord Thomas Slytherin made his first appearance yesterday in front of our esteemed council, taking his vows into the Wizengamot and taking his seat, confirming that he is magically the new Lord Slytherin. As soon as Lord Slytherin -a handsome man who looks about thirty with sharp cheekbones and jawline, light brunette hair and forest green eyes- entered the chamber, Mr Dumbledore, who had been under fire for his hand in imprisoning Lord Sirius Black without a trial and subsequently losing his seat as Chief Warlock to Madame Griselda Marchbanks, stood from his seat as headmaster of Hogwarts and shouted 'That's Voldemort, arrest him, fast.' Lord Slytherin looked taken aback by the accusation and quickly cleared the situation. "You-Know-Who was, unfortunately, a distant relative of mine, but I assure you I am not him. As everyone knows, he died thirteen years ago, and I do not believe magic is capable of bringing back the dead, is it. If that were the case, dead people would be appearing everywhere." His comment managed to incite laughter from the chamber, and assure everyone that you-know-who was dead. This caused a lot of people to start doubting Mr. Dumbledore's sanity and spread rumours around Britain that the man may be going senile, as Lord Slytherin looked nothing like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. While Lord Thomas Slytherin looks like a handsome brunette man in his thirties, You-Know-Who was known for his bald head, snake like features, and his iconic, if feared, blood red eyes, which Lord Slytherin obviously does not have.
Throughout the meeting, the headmaster of Hogwarts could be seen glaring hatefully at Lord Slytherin, even though it was the man's first time on British soil, as he said he was from a line of the family that originated in Spain, and had attended Durmstrang Institute in his youth. This has all been confirmed by the papers Lord Slytherin had given to the members of the Wizengamot as proof of his innocence and honesty. He has been welcomed warmly by the members of the Wizengamot except Albus Dumbledore, who needed to be reminded of his manners in acting around Lords of Ancient and Noble Houses throughout the meeting by Chief Witch Marchbanks, as he repeatedly 'forgot' to address people by their titles when he stood to make any statements, and called Lord Slytherin 'Tom' repeatedly even though the man had never given him permission to do so and had even expressed a distaste for the shortening of his name, obviously uncomfortable by being addressed in that way.
Regardless of Headmaster Dumbledore's attitude the day before, we at the Daily Prophet would like to welcome Lord Slytherin onto British soil and to the Wizengamot, and hope he helps our country develop as a member of our governing council.
This has been Rita Skeeter, signing off with a promise of an exclusive interview with the new Lord in tomorrow's issue."
Everyone began discussing the article as soon as Hermione was done and had sat down.
"Is it actually Voldemort?" Harry asked his friend quietly, to which he got a shake of the head.
"Voldemort had been an insane killer Harry, this man seems very sane and against all violence." Reassured Hermione, getting a doubtful look in return.
"How do you know?"
"I met him and my father also said the same thing." A voice behind the two said, making them jump slightly in surprise. They turned to see Lynette smiling softly in a comforting manner.
"I trust you then." And Harry surprisingly meant it, after everything, Lynette was the one to help him find a home and a family, so of course he trusted her.
What had actually happened was that, with the help of the Malfoys, Regulus, and the Ambrosius family, they had managed to track down the Dark lord's hocruxes and pieced his soul back together, which returned him back to being mortal but also gave him a body of what he'd looked like before the hocruxes had changed his appearance when he was around thirty. He had then legally and magically changed his name to Thomas Slytherin, honouring his mother's choice of first name, which was the least he could do for her when she'd given her life to bring him into the world, even if he loathed sharing a name with the man that had abandoned him and his mother before he was even born. He had then forged a Durmstrang certificate and a Spanish birth certificate, and had re-entered the British Wizarding World with a new plan and as a new man.
He then began inducting himself into the political world, and planed on using his influence and position to slowly reshape the wizarding world to what he had wanted. His previously insane plans were replaced with more peaceful ones, where he aimed for the early introduction of the muggle-born and muggle-raised magicians into the magical world, with magical families taking them in and teaching them the culture of their world. He also wanted to create a magical orphanage for those that lost their parents and had no other living relatives, so that they weren't forced to stay at muggle orphanages where they'd never feel like they belonged, like he had. He also wanted to reintroduce the idea of magical equality, where dark magic wasn't outlawed like it was now, and give equal rights to magical beings, like werewolves, vampires and goblins.
Unlike the war, he had support from very powerful politicians on all sides, so that his changes were more assured to pass. Due to his insanity, he had forgotten that these were his goals, not killing all half-bloods and muggle-borns (which was very hypocritical of him, being a half-blood himself).
Now, Thomas Slytherin was the new Lord Slytherin, and he was determined to fix the world he loved so much so that everyone could feel how beautiful it was, and not only see the prejudice it was filled with.
And who would have guessed, that this change would cause him to gain support from the unlikeliest of places, as he now had the support of a lot of people including Lord Black, Regent Potter, and Lord Ambrosius, who were the heads the three factions in the Wizengamot, Dark, Light and Grey respectively.
It was time for Thomas to take responsibility for his actions and help fix the world.
