Chapter 16
Kreacher is Tried and Albus is Robbed

That afternoon
Sunday, August 4
At a park in London

John and Paulina had realized yesterday that they had forgotten where Sirius Black lived. Yesterday they also had realized that there were big gaps in their memories of Sirius. For Paulina, some of these gaps in memories meant she had forgotten months of her previous life.

The newlyweds could remember using a Time-Turner to rescue Sirius from being Kissed, and riding with Sirius on Buckbeak's back. John could remember talking to Sirius in the cave. But whatever time John and Paulina had spent in—the place where Sirius lived—the young couple could not remember at all now.

Anyway, now John and Paulina were meeting with Sirius at an agreed-upon place and time (a certain London park, at 3 p.m.), to discuss Harry's visitation. John suspected that this park was within walking distance of—wherever Sirius lived.

Once John and Paulina arrived at the park, they found the new Lord Black easily enough. Now-Sirius looked much the same as Sirius in the previous 1993, except that this Sirius was cleaner, had a hairstyle, wore clean clothes—and looked optimistic for the future.

After introductions were made, Sirius kissed Paulina's hand. Paulina exaggerated her accent and said, "My, my, Sirius Black, what a charmer you are."

Sirius flashed a bedroom smile, but immediately dropped it to get—pardon the pun—serious. As Sirius gestured for John and Paulina to walk with him through the park, he said, "I'm seeing a mind-healer. I'll keep seeing the mind-healer till he tells me I'm done. Please tell me about Harry."

John said, "We took Harry to Saint Mungo's. The list of injuries went on for three pages. The last time he had been in Saint Mungo's, James or Lily brought him; Dumbledore never took Harry to Saint Mungo's even once in ten years."

Paulina said, "Right after we rescued Harry from Petunia and her family—whom Harry never considered to be his family—we brought Harry to my Cousin Emma's house, so Harry could meet Cousin Emma's daughter, who is a witch Harry's age. That night the six of us ate a huge spread of delivered Italian food—Emma's husband ordered the food, but John paid for it. Harry was the guest of honor at this gathering, obviously—but at first Harry was worried that John was angry at him because Harry hadn't gone into the Grangers' kitchen and cooked the food, which would've saved John the expense of paying for the food."

John nodded. "Harry's first day with us at Potter Manor was shocking. With every minute at the dinner table, Harry got more and more nervous—"

"Why?" confused Sirius asked.

"Because experience had taught Harry that after five minutes, ten minutes at most, Harry's fat cousin would snatch his plate away, and nobody would object."

Sirius snapped, "Dumbledore allowed this?"

Paulina replied, "Pfft. Dumbledore never once visited Harry, or sent anyone else to visit him. Somehow Wizard Child Services never visited Harry either. Dumbledore also stole from Harry's vaults—but Gringotts has dealt with that thief."

Sirius sighed. "When I got my trial, two days ago, as soon as the Wizengamot session ended, Dumbledore hurried up to me. He spoke not a word of apology for letting me rot in Azkaban for ten years. Instead, he asked me, 'What are your plans now, Sirius my boy?' I told him I planned to go to Gringotts, to claim the Lord Black ring. The wank—sorry, git tried to talk me out of that. 'Sirius my boy, I would hate to see you turn Dark.' Then he offered to cast a new Fidelius Charm on—the place where I live—with himself also becoming the Secret Keeper. The nerve of that man! I told him that I planned to hire the goblins to cast the Fidelius, I would be the Secret Keeper, and Dumbledore's name would be scratched out of the house's Wards Ledger, as soon as I could get the book in my hands."

"What was his response?" John asked.

"His 'disappointed grandfather' look, as if I were being unreasonable. Ha! No apology at all, and he thinks he can suggest 'Let me be the person who decides who knows where you live'? Bloody idiot."

Paulina said, "One of the people Dumbledore the Secret Keeper certainly would tell would be Professor Snape. After all, Dumbledore has complete confidence in Professor Snape whom, Dumbledore assures everyone, is a reformed Death Eater."

Sirius stared. "Wait, Snivellus is teaching at Hogwarts?"

Paulina nodded. "Potions. Students hate him."

John said, "Don't only scratch Dumbledore's name out of your Wards Ledger's Friends section. If your Wards Ledger has an Enemies section, definitely write Dumbledore's name in there. Casting a new Fidelius is supposed to make Dumbledore forget where you live, but I suspect he has a way to remember. Potter Manor got a new Fidelius cast on it a week or so ago, and afterward Dumbledore showed up there twice and tried to kidnap Harry."

Paulina smiled at John. "But my sweet husband fixed the old man's little red wagon—Dumbledore won't cause Harry any more trouble till Harry goes to Hogwarts."

John smiled at Paulina, then said to Sirius, "Keeping Harry safe from Dumbledore is the real reason that Paulina and I are going to Hogwarts too. After all, I don't care about learning NEWT-level Charms."

Paulina smacked John's arm. "Turkey."

Sirius was still a little crazy, because of ten years in Azkaban, which limited how much time Sirius should spend with Harry. John knew this, and Paulina knew this—fortunately, Sirius knew it too.

The visitation scheme that the three magical adults worked out was simple and it was cordial: Every weekend in August, Sirius would get Harry from 6:00 Friday evening till 6:30 Sunday evening. Then Sunday evening, Sirius and Harry would meet John and Paulina at the Grangers' house. There, three Grangers, three Potters and Sirius would eat delivered food and would talk; each Sunday it would change, which man paid for the food.

Sirius admitted to being nervous about this part of the plan, but John told him, "My cousin James believed in you enough to list you as Harry's first choice for guardian, and Paulina's cousin Emma and her husband are eager to meet you. Just relax, don't try too hard to be liked, and you'll be a hit."

A new visitation plan would be figured out once the three Potters and Hermione arrived at Hogwarts. Sirius told the Potters that at Hogwarts, parents did not visit their children more than rarely; Paulina did not know whether the 1938 Hogwarts Student Handbook banned parents and guardians from coming to the school, or whether Albus Dumbledore scowled at the parents and guardians, and his Scottish minion upheld a rule that was not actually a rule.

Paulina said, "I need to research this." John grinned.

All the time that John and Paulina were talking to Sirius in the park, the young couple did not tell Sirius who they really were.

Dan and Emma Granger, being dentists, had an unusual work week: they worked Wednesday through Sunday, with Mondays and Tuesdays off. So for the dental Grangers, Sunday night was everyone else's Friday night.

When John and Paulina had discussed with Dan and Emma, the topic of Sirius joining the Sunday-night dinners at the Granger house, John had mentioned that Sirius would not be told the big secret—that John and Paulina were Harry and Hermione from the future—unless Antonia the angel gave permission.

Dan Granger had asked, "But what if Harry tells Sirius the secret? Or Harry slips up and Sirius figures out part of the secret?"

Paulina had replied, "If one of those things happen, we'd rather have Antonia and Thanatos angry at Paulina and me than raise our voices to Harry. Harry has had more than enough of that."

Now Sirius led John and Paulina to the edge of the park. They stood across the street from a row of shabby townhouses.

There was a gap in the townhouses' house-numbering: 9, 10, 11—then 13, 14, 15. John was sure he had never seen those townhouses before, because he would have remembered the odd house-numbering.

Sirius lowered his voice and said to the couple, "Listen to me carefully. The Black family's London house is at Number 12, Grimmauld Place."

John watched Number 11 and Number 13 pull apart and Number 12 appear between them. More than this neat visual effect happened: Memories returned to John—of a dark, dirty, and depressing place. John hoped that Sirius did not plan to take the Potters inside Number 12; but John also knew that the universe hated him.

As soon as Sirius, John and Paulina stepped into the dark house, the shit started for Sirius. Portrait-Walburga screamed insults. Kreacher popped in and insulted Sirius some more. And Sirius—his shoulder slumped—stood there and took it.

John thought, Why have I never noticed before, that Walburga Black talks and acts like a female version of Vernon Dursley? Just substitute the word disappointment for the word freak.

John asked Sirius, "Can you get them to be quiet?"

Sirius yelled, "QUIET!" Both the portrait and the house-elf silenced themselves, but they both glared angrily at Sirius.

John said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but Sirius, you're not Scion Black anymore, you're not Heir Black anymore, you're now Lord Black, right?"

Sirius sighed. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Then why do you let these two treat you this way?"

"Because they always have, and I'm used to it."

"He has 'learned helplessness,' " Paulina said. "It's how, in a parade, a circus performer can lead a full-grown elephant around with only a kite-string tied around its neck. Because back when that elephant was a baby elephant, what was around its neck was a thick chain that was bolted to the floor. The baby elephant could neither break the chain nor escape, no matter how much it strained and pulled. So the feeling of the string around its neck is enough for the elephant to remember that feeling of helplessness caused by the thick chain; and the elephant never thinks, But am I still helpless?"

Sirius looked hopeful now, but did not say anything.

John glared at Kreacher. "You would insult and degrade your House's lord in front of him?"

"Kreacher not have to answer you!" the house-elf snarled. "You is not Black!"

John looked at Paulina. "Shit, shit, shit. I don't like what I'm about to do."

John then said to Sirius, "I know we had an agreement in the park, when and how Harry would visit here. But I'm either going to have to break the agreement and never let Harry come here, or now I'll have to do something that your portrait-mother won't like, your house-elf won't like, and that might make you as Lord Black feel insulted. What should I do, Sirius?"

Sirius asked, "Why won't you allow Harry to come here?"

John looked Sirius in the eyes. "Harry just escaped ten years in an abusive home. I'm not sending him here if it means being insulted by a portrait and insulted by your house-elf. Harry wouldn't insult them back, he'd quietly stand there and he'd believe all the insults were true. I'm sorry, but your house, as it is now, is a complete deal-breaker."

Sirius looked like his Quidditch team had lost the championship. "I want to spend time with Harry. Do what you think you need to, even if"—now Sirius puffed up and looked pompous—"I as Lord Black feel insulted."

"It'll royally piss off Kreacher," John warned.

"I don't care sod-all if Kreacher feels insulted. Do it."

John said to the air, "All Potter Manor house-elves come here!"

Pop-p-p-pop. Four house-elves appeared, each with the Potter crest on his or her clothes' left breast. Greyclay said to Sirius, "Master Jamie's friend Sirrie, it be great to see you again!"

John asked Sirius, "Do you want your mother's portrait to remain where it is, to be somewhere else in the house where it never can bother Harry, or to be destroyed?"

Kreacher yelled, "Portrait will stay where it be till Mistress decide portrait be moved!"

Sirius scowled at Kreacher, then said to John, "I want her gone, and sod all if this upsets my worthless house-elf!"

All this time, the Potter house-elves had been glaring in outrage at Kreacher, but otherwise had said or done nothing. Now John looked at his house-elves and said, "Potter elves, listen up. We're in the Black-family London house, which belongs to this wizard, Lord Sirius Black. Harry will be staying here for two days a week, beginning Friday at six, every week till September first. Kreacher here is old, he's disrespectful, and I think he's a bad elf, but I'll let you four be the judge of that. Your job is to get this house ready for Harry's visit this Friday, as much as you can in the time you have; Greyclay, you're in charge of scheduling. Understand?"

The four Potter house-elves stood straighter, having just been given important work. All four nodded.

John said, "Your first order of business: Get rid of that loudmouth portrait!"

Kreacher dropped into a fighting stance. "You invader elves not be harms Mistress!"

Pop. Greyclay now was standing right in front of Kreacher, and mere inches away. "And who be stops us? You? You brings shame to Ancient and Noble House of Black! Even Elder House Dumbledore not deserves bad elf like you!"

By the time Greyclay finished his speech, Walburga Black's portrait was on the floor, brought down by two Potter elves working together. Sirius personally destroyed his mother's portrait with the Incendio charm.

Kreacher screamed, and looked about to attack Sirius.

Angry Sirius said, "Oh please, Kreacher, give me an excuse to kill you."

Meanwhile, the Potter elves had begun cleaning Black Manor. John pulled Greyclay aside and gave him instructions about a green locket—instructions that John wanted neither Sirius nor Kreacher to overhear.

The next day: Monday, August 5
Still at Number 12, Grimmauld Place

Kreacher was gone—either dead or in house-elf prison. Greyclay had called for a house-elf trial overnight, Kreacher had been the accused, a Hogwarts kitchen elf had been the judge, and the judge had ruled Kreacher guilty. The charge against Kreacher, if John understood what Greyclay was telling him, had been First-Degree Bad-Elfness.

The house-elf judge offered Sirius three never-bonded adolescent house-elves to replace Kreacher, stating the hope that Sirius would bond with at least one of them. Sirius bonded with brother and sister house-elves Lenny and Penny.

Meanwhile, the Potter house-elves continued to clean Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Monday morning, Potter house-elf Daisy "just happened to find" a locket in the house that reeked of evil magic.

John asked for a meeting with Sirius, telling him, "It seems to me that the locket has a piece of Voldemort's soul, just like the piece of Voldemort's soul that was in Harry's scar."

By afternoon, Sirius and John had elf-mailed the locket to Director Ragnok. John had written a note—

.

Director Ragnok,

This is the locket of Salazar Slytherin. It also is, we suspect, another of Voldemort's horcruxes. We would prefer, even though this is the more expensive option, to remove the horcrux from the locket without damaging the locket itself, or damaging whatever Founder magic that Salazar Slytherin placed on the locket; then we prefer you place the locket in the Black family heirloom vault. If this request cannot be fulfilled, then destroy both locket and horcrux utterly. Charge half of whatever you think is a fair price to the Black family coinage vault, and the other half to the Potter family coinage vault.

Sirius O Black
Lord Black

John G. Potter
Potter Regent

.

As Daisy elf-popped to Gringotts with the locket-horcrux (which was contained in a conjured lead box), John thought, Now the only horcrux still in play is the diadem. Which Paulina and I can fetch as soon as we get to Hogwarts. Surprise, surprise, Quirrellmort!

The only thing that John regretted with how the problem of the locket-horcrux had been resolved was, he could figure out no way to let Sirius know that the locket had wound up here in Grimmauld Place because Regulus Black had had a change of heart as a Death Eater, and had stolen the locket-horcrux from Voldemort (and had been killed for it).

By the time John had thought up the idea of a Potter house-elf "finding" a "lost letter" in Regulus's bedroom, Lenny and Penny had thoroughly cleaned that bedroom.

Late that evening, at Potter Manor

Paulina asked John, "How tired are you? Do you feel like staying up a half-hour more?"

John's voice was husky: "What do you have in mind?"

She slapped his arm. "Not that." Then she smiled saucily. "Well, not that now. Are you up for us to make a quick visit to the Burrow, using your new Parseltongue spell, then to make a quick Apparation to Grimmauld Place?"

By now, Paulina was grinning evilly. Paulina told John her plan, then John grinned evilly too.

The next morning (Tuesday, 6 August)
At Number 12, Grimmauld Place

Sirius came down to breakfast to discover that both of his new house-elves were upset.

On the kitchen table was a small cage, a rat in the cage, and a paper note by the cage. Sirius got excited—and the rat got frightened—when Sirius saw that the rat was missing a toe on its front paw. The note, which was written with a Muggle machine, was missing any hint of a magical signature.

The new house-elves, Lenny and Penny, were worried because they could not explain how the cage, the rat and the note got into the house without the house-elves noticing.

The note read—

.

The cage is unbreakable. The rat is who you think it is. Peter is a Death Eater, if you didn't know.

If you turn Peter over to the Aurors, he'll likely escape from his holding cell. If he is tried and convicted of his many crimes, he'll likely escape Azkaban. (Azkaban has a hard time holding an animagus.) The people I took Peter from, don't know he's human and won't report he's missing.

I know what I would do, in your place. But I leave the final choice up to you.

(signed) The Slythy-Gryff Avenger

.

Sirius looked at the rat in the cage, and confirmed again that the rat was missing a toe on a front paw. Then Sirius smiled cruelly.

"Oh my, Peter, you and I will have fun today. Or at least, I will have fun."

Ten minutes later, at Gringotts

Gringotts owled to Paul and Leona Pettigrew a letter in a black envelope. The letter informed the Pettigrews that their son Peter was dead. Gringotts apologised for not being able to state how Peter Pettigrew had died, or where his body was; however, Gringotts was sure he was dead.

Three days later
Friday, 9 August
The weekly session of the Wizengamot

Twenty-four more arrested Death Eaters were put on trial. All twenty-four, when questioned under Veritaserum, named Purebloods and half-bloods whom they had killed; all twenty-four were found guilty; all twenty-four were Kissed.

None of the Death Eaters on trial was Peter Pettigrew; Sirius clearly had not turned the rat-man over to the DMLE.

John and Paulina made a list of all the Death Eaters they had known in the previous timeline. After August 9, 1991 in this timeline, the only Death Eaters who John and Paulina believed were alive were Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, and the other eight Death Eaters who had been sentenced to Azkaban for life—and Karkaroff and Snape. Peter Pettigrew's status was unknown, but neither John nor Paulina believed that Sirius had let Pettigrew live.

During the rest of August

Cornelius Oscar Fudge was sentenced to Azkaban, convicted of many (many, many) counts of corruption.

The good news for Cornelius was that he was sentenced to the minimum-security wing at Azkaban. Minimum-security Azkaban was like a nonmagical Queen's Prison, except that the inmates trash-talked each other by threatening to Lust-Potion each other's wives and girlfriends.

The bad news for Cornelius? He was sentenced to fifty years, with no "concurrent sentencing" codswallop—Minister Bones had insisted on this.

Young Hermione had many playdates with young Harry at Potter Manor. It was a win for everyone.

For the Granger parents, Hermione at Potter Manor meant that they did not need to leave Hermione alone at home when they were at work.

For Hermione, she at Potter Manor meant much time in the Potter Library. (Hermione was overjoyed when she realised that the Potter Library had a complete set of Hogwarts textbooks from the 1930s, covering first year through fifth year.) For Hermione, time at Potter Manor also meant spending time with Harry, whom she really liked.

For Harry, Hermione visiting the Manor meant hours with a fun magical girl his age, whom he really liked.

For John and Paulina, the playdates meant opportunities to mentor their younger selves.

For the four Potter house-elves, Hermione visiting meant more work—which was something to make house-elves happy.

The two eleven-year-olds were taught how to play Exploding Snap, gobstones and Wizard Chess. Hermione always beat Harry at Wizard Chess; but she found the game to be boring, despite the fact that the chess pieces moved on their own and said cheeky things.

So the two children started playing Muggle games at Potter Manor—card games and board games. Paulina introduced the other three magicals to the British version of the American board game Monopoly™. The dental Grangers soon were shocked when John told them that their sweet daughter acted Voldemort-ruthless when she played Monopoly. John then added the comment that, since he was married to Hermione's older self, he was not surprised.

After mid-August, every time Harry and Hermione got together, at the Granger house or at Potter Manor, the children said goodbye by Harry hugging Hermione, and Hermione hugging Harry and kissing him on the cheek.

One day when Hermione was visiting Potter Manor, she and Harry were speaking to Portrait-James and Portrait-Lily. John and Paulina walked into the Portraits Room to tell the children that lunch would start late that day, because the elder Potters had to "run an errand."

Hearing this, both Portrait-James and Portrait-Lily smirked; they know what "errand" the newlyweds were planning. (And no, it wasn't that.)

Once John and Paulina were away from the children, they killed time (by passionately kissing) till 12:20. Then John cast the "Not sensed within all the world" Parseltongue spell on himself and Paulina.

The couple apparated to inside Hogwarts, knowing that One, the Hogwarts wards would not detect their entrances; and Two, Dumbledore was eating in the Great Hall, so would be away from the headmaster's office for a while.

In no time at all, the newlyweds were inside the headmaster's office. (Paulina took a moment to write down the Apparation coordinates for the headmaster's office, for future reference.)

John cast a Potter-family-magic spell that created a floating white arrow that pointed to any item of Potter family property. One second later, John and Paulina saw nineteen floating white arrows.

Eighteen arrows pointed to eighteen books in the headmaster's office that had "Ex Libris Potter" bookplates on the front-cover inside. The nineteenth arrow pointed to Dumbledore's pensieve—which turned out to have a small version of the Potter crest on it. Paulina theorized that when previous-timeline Harry had viewed memories in the pensieve, Dumbledore either had Disillusioned the Potter crest or had put a Notice-Me-Not Charm on the crest, so that previous-timeline Harry would not realise that the pensieve belonged to his family.

Anyway, less than ten minutes after John and Paulina had sneaked into Dumbledore's office, they left. All nineteen Dumbledore-stolen Potter items left with the Potters, thoroughly de-stolen.

John wondered whom Dumbledore would suspect of the "crime."

The de-stolen books each had a white P or a red P on its spine; but somehow Dumbledore had removed the "Potters only" family-magic on the book. Now, with the help of the Potter grimoire and the Elder Wand, John put that protection back on each de-stolen book (after John and Paulina first ate lunch with two hungry children).

Young Harry and young Hermione were delighted with what the pensieve could do. They happily watched their older selves' first meeting, on the firstie train. After watching the incident with the troll in the previous 1991, Hermione hugged John, hugged Paulina, and hugged Harry—and kissed both John and Harry on the cheek.

One day in August, while John and Paulina were exploring the Potter family heirloom vault, they found a betrothal contract for Harry James Potter and Ginevra Molly Weasley, dated 3 November 1981. The betrothal contract was signed by Arthur Weasley (signature transparent) and Albus Dumbledore (signature transparent).

John's Potter Regent ring told him that a shiny, transparent-glass signature on a betrothal or marriage contract meant that Magic decided that the signature was invalid in some way.

John suspected that to get Arthur Weasley to sign the betrothal contract, either Dumbledore or Molly had mind-whammied Arthur.

John's Regent ring already had told John that only a Potter Head of House could sign a betrothal contract or marriage contract that obligated a Potter Head of House or a Potter Heir Primary. This was why Dumbledore's signature was transparent—Dumbledore as Harry's magical guardian did not have the authority to betroth Harry to anyone.

John tore up the Harry-Ginny betrothal contract. Paulina kissed John like she meant it.

Then Paulina said, "Let's hope that you don't find a marriage contract in this vault that's signed by James Potter or Fleamont Potter, which obligates Harry to marry, say, Daphne Greengrass. Or Susan Bones, or Fleur Delacour."

"Or all three," John said, grinning.

Paulina smacked his arm. "Turkey."

On the Potter Manor Quidditch pitch, John taught Hermione how to fly a broom.

(John likewise taught Harry how to fly a broom, but Harry went from newbie to expert within a single lesson.)

Paulina never had become comfortable flying on a broom, because she had the fear of heights that all nomagic-borns came to Hogwarts with, and because the school brooms at Hogwarts were almost worthless. But in this, John did not want young Hermione to follow in older Hermione's footprints.

Hermione learned how to fly while using a Potter Manor broom, which, while old, was in good shape. John gave Hermione one-on-one instruction, while always beside her on his own broom, which was help that Madam Hooch had not been able to give to previous-lifetime Hermione.

The big difference between this Hermione learning how to fly a broom, and previous-lifetime Hermione learning how to fly a broom, was what Paulina did. Paulina conjured a giant airbag, like what Hollywood stuntmen would use when they jumped out of a high window; and this big airbag moved hither and thither on the Quidditch pitch, always underneath Hermione on the broom.

This-lifetime Hermione soon stopped acting scared on her broom, even when she moved up high, because she knew the airbag would save her if she fell—and because she learned to trust the runes-based sticking charms that her broom invoked whenever it moved. (Paulina had not spent enough time on a broom to learn to trust the sticking-charm runes.)

Hermione mounted a flying broom for the first time, with John floating alongside her, on a Wednesday. Seconds later, Paulina had conjured the airbag underneath Hermione. By Friday, thanks to both John's calm coaching and the airbag, Hermione was flying higher than Potter Manor (which was 81 feet tall).

Once Hermione became truly comfortable with flying on a broom, her competitiveness kicked in. She and Harry started racing—which John was glad to see, but which frightened Paulina.

Since it was a Potter Manor rule that the children were not permitted to fly brooms unless both John and Paulina were supervising, Paulina worried a lot by the end of August.

Hermione surprised everyone—Paulina especially—when she asked to see John's memory of the Quidditch World Cup final match between Bulgaria and Ireland in August 1994. The girl explained that she wanted to see a Quidditch match played right.

After the four magicals emerged from the memory, John said, "Did you two notice the hero of the game, Bulgaria's Viktor Krum? Four months later, he, not I, asked this woman to the Yule Ball, because I didn't realize what my heart was telling me. Harry, let this be a lesson to you."

Meanwhile at Hogwarts, in the headmaster's office

Dumbledore had many stolen books in his office, from many different families. He had stolen books from so many different families that while he realised within a day of the Potters' burglary that he had books missing from his office, he never realised that the missing books all were Potter books.

What really sent Dumbledore into a rage was when he discovered that "his" pensieve was missing too.

Dumbledore blamed Peeves for his missing books and pensieve.

Dumbledore press-ganged McGonagall, Flitwick and Snape into joining Dumbledore in a ritual to exorcise Peeves. The ritual worked—finally, after centuries of Peeves annoying students and professors alike, the poltergeist permanently was blocked from the castle.

The same ritual, with the same participants, if repeated, would exorcise Professor Binns too—but Dumbledore decided not to bother.

Next chapter: After 63,800 (boring?) words of setup—
—three Potters and a Granger ride the Hogwarts Express