Hello Everyone, so here are four more chapters for you all! I would have done more, but for some reason, my writing program has completely taken a shit, so until I sort all of that out, I might be MIA for an unknown length of time! I will try to sort it out as soon as i possibly can.
Please enjoy these in the meantime!
Last Time on Black and White:
"Precisely, it is my belief that this is what kept the curse going. It does not infect every generations, in fact there is a 200 year gap between the last two Dark Ladies, but when it does return, the infected usually has a child before the curse takes it's full course, in order to allow it passage into the next generations." Dumbledore told Harry with a sigh. "Now I don't wish for Andrew to remain childless or without a family, so it is my desire to curb this before that time comes."
Harry nodded and agreed completely. He had always had this vision in his head of Andrew kids and his own playing out in the back and being brought up as siblings, but if this curse was real, he and Andrew would more than likely end up labelled as Dark Lords and eventually killed by their own children or grandchildren. He would never allow that to pass.
Book 4 – Chapter 25: Interview with a Potter
Harry sat in Dumbledore's office, his mind still on the topic the two had discussed the night before when he felt his side being nudged, he shook his head and turned to the interruption.
"You alright there, pup?" Sirius asked with a small frown.
Harry smiled at his godfather and nodded, "Yeah, sorry about that, I'm just... nervous is all." he answered.
"That's good, shows the crowd that despite everything, you're still a child, use it to your advantage." Mrs Li said while sitting on the other side of Harry.
"Shouldn't Andrew also be here? You know show a united front or something?"
"No, that wouldn't be a great idea, what your brother and Dumbledore have come up with here is perfect, with Andrew here, they would be asking all types of questions to get a rise out of him. You being here though, they have next to nothing to ask you that will make you explode... or at the very least they shouldn't." his attorney responded while she fiddled with her collar.
"Being in here and waiting on the Headmaster reminds me of when I was back in school." Sirius said with a nostalgic smile.
"You were in here a lot?" Harry asked with curiosity.
"Are you kidding? When weren't we? James, Remus and I were constantly up to something, hell by the time they found us out for a previous prank, we had started another three and had the first one in that sequence timed to go off while we were getting an earful from McGonagall." he responded with a laugh.
Harry smiled at that, imagining the smirks they would be holding back while getting yelled at.
He didn't get to ask any more questions as Dumbledore returned and with him arrived a few other people. Harry saw the notepads and cameras and was immediately nervous again, he hoped he wouldn't make things more difficult for Andrew.
"Now then, ladies and Gentlemen, you may all have a seat. Let the interview commence." Dumbledore said with a smile. On that note, Fawks flamed into the room and flew off his perch to where Harry sat and began rubbing his head against the boy's cheek and was rewarded with scratches under his flaming read chin.
Dumbledore blinked in surprise at the display his familiar had shown but smiled and proceeded to watch on with the ever present twinkle in his eye.
HP-AP-HP-AP-HP-AP
Andrew had found Fleur sitting beside the black lake angrily throwing rocks and watching them glide across the frozen surface of the water.
"You know, it's quite cold out here." he said as he approached the girl.
"Well, I find myself wanting some cold." Fleur responded shortly.
"Ah, well, I was thinking about going to the kitchens and getting myself some hot chocolate, want to join me and let me listen to whatever's got you so... worked up?"
Fleur turned to regard the boy for a moment before she dropped the stones and marched right past him and headed towards the castle. She turned and frowned at him again. "You are coming, no?"
Andrew blinked in confusion before jogging to catch up to her. The two of them walked together before they reached the portrait of various fruits, Andrew tickled the pear which proceeded to giggle and the present the doorknob. He turned to see Fleur's look of confusion before shrugging and answering her unasked question.
"I just assume the founders were kinda weird."
When they entered the kitchens Fleur was once again surprised by the way all the House Elves greeted Andrew as though they knew one another.
"We've worked together in the past." he answered again with an easy shrug.
Once they asked for their hot beverages Andrew waited for Fleur to speak.
"I find myself wizout a date..." she told him sourly.
"Wait, didn't you have one yesterday? What happened?" he asked with a frown.
"Oui, I did, but I was foolish to zink zat he was interested in anyzing ozzer zan my body!"
Andrew didn't know the girl well enough to know all of her quirks but he assumed that the deterioration of her accent was due to her being upset.
"So I assume you heard something? I may be new to this... but I assume you don't say that kind of stuff to a girl's face."
"Oui, I was out wiz Marie, and we 'eard some boys talking. I recognized Smith's voice... ze zings he was saying... I lost myself and slapped him, told him zat we were off and zat I would not go wiz 'im."
"Wow... that sucks... I'm sorry." Andrew responded sympathetically.
"Well, now I must find a date in tres days or else..." she sighed with frustration.
Andrew was quiet for a moment before his eyes widened. He turned to Fleur and smiled.
"I think I may have a date for you and, I know for a fact that he is a gentleman who would treat you with complete respect." he told her.
"Really?! Who?!"
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"Mr Potter, Elizabeth Voss from Teen Witch Weekly. I was wondering if you could possibly comment on the articles made from Ms Skeeter?"
Harry seemed to think for a moment before looking back at the reporter.
"I am... disappointed. To be honest her articles are very much shrouded in hearsay and speculation, and yet are taken as truth. If I'm not mistaken her last one mentioned how one of my friends; Hermione, was dating Andrew and Viktor Krum, but I know for a fact that she isn't. Hermione has been friends with Andrew, myself and another one of our close friends, Ron Weasley, since first year. So is it any wonder why they seem close? We all have our dynamics in our friendship, Hermione knows us better than we know ourselves and is one of the smartest and kindest people I know."
"So you are saying that you are disappointed in Ms Skeeter for printing those fabrications?"
Harry paused again before speaking.
"Yes and no. Yes, I am disappointed that she feels the need to drag the name of school children in the paper, but at the end of the day, as I understand it, the editor has final say, so whether it is her fault or not is not something I can attest to. But I can speak about the wizarding public who are fans of her writings, while Miss Skeeter at worst, has made some baseless accusations it was the public who decided to send letters with death threats, curses and other unsavoury contents to my friend. That is what I am truly upset about. That there are people out there who believe targeting a fourteen year old girl would win the favour of myself or my brother."
"Curses you say?" another reporter asked.
"Yes, while they were mild in nature, had there been something more damaging or permanent, I have no doubt that Andrew, myself or my Godfather here would have pressed charges against the individuals responsible and had them punished to the fullest extent of the law with the help of our attorney here, Mrs Li."
"Why didn't Ms Granger press any charges? She would be well within her rights." someone asked.
"She didn't want to blow it out of proportion. She claimed that she would be better than those who sent the letters and she would prove it by not giving them the attention they so badly crave. Although they had called her names, accused her of awful things and cursed her, Hermione chose to be the bigger person. Like I said, she is the smartest and kindest person I know."
The interview went on for a while after that, they asked all manner of questions. From where Harry was living which Sirius vetoed stating that that information was far too personal to be printed. To Andrew's origins, which Harry hadn't even hesitated in answering, saying that Andrew was his brother in everything but blood. Sirius chimed in stating that Andrew was recognized as a Potter by the Goblins and that they would have no reason to lie about that. He then followed that up by challenging them to state that they believed the Goblins to be liars, which every reporter paled at. No one would be dumb enough to challenge the word of a Goblin without irrefutable proof.
This went on for another hour before Dumbledore called it to a close and asked the reporters to leave, once they had all shaken Harry's hand and been ushered out, the teen collapsed in his seat.
"Ah, that sucked!" he moaned tiredly.
"Yeah, it did, but now it's done and you carried yourself perfectly in there." Sirius said with a proud smile while ruffling his Godson's hair.
"Thanks Sirius, but I'm just wondering if they won't change anything I've said." Harry responded.
"I doubt it, and the fact that we didn't call a reporter from the Prophet will be noticed by the others, hell we had Xenophillius Lovegood from the bloody Quibbler in here and not them, this will be the perfect message to send them." Mrs Li said with a small smile.
Harry smiled back. "So we're done with this now?" he asked tiredly.
"Not exactly, we'll have to wait to see how Skeeter and the Prophet take this... slight against them. It'll be the response from the public that we're really curious about though."
Harry nodded before a thought crossed his mind, and since he was here and Andrew wasn't he figured why not.
"So any news about the publications of those Andrew and Harry Potter books?" he asked.
"Ah, yes, they have sent a few deals and requested you get back to them." Mrs Li looked at Harry's look of confusion and smiled. She looked up at Sirius who smiled at the look of confusion as well.
"Don't worry Harry, Attorney Li has sent them my way since I have a little more training in this than you or your brother, I'll look over them tonight."
"Thanks Sirius."
It was at that moment that Dumbledore returned to the office and promptly called a House-Elf to bring Andrew. Once the little creature left the aged Headmaster smiled at Harry and took a seat in one of the chairs which had been reserved for the press.
"You handled yourself brilliantly there, Harry. I am very proud of you." he said with a large smile.
"Thank you, sir. I just hope this goes the way we want it to." he answered with a smile of his own.
The door to the office opened and Andrew walked in looking impatient.
"So?" he asked watching everyone around him.
"Couldn't have gone better." Sirius informed him, to which Andrew sighed in relief.
"See, told you you could do it."
"Well, we just have to hope that Harry's words resonate with the public and cause Rita's followers to think twice about taking her words as truth." Mrs Li said with a thoughtful look.
"When do you suppose they will print the interview?" Harry asked curiously.
"Well, seeing as Christmas is in a few days, probably then." Dumbledore responded while rubbing his beard thoughtfully.
"Ah yes, speaking of Yule! I'll be right back." Sirius said quickly, as he rushed over to the floo and grabbed a handful of powder. When he disappeared in the typical green flames Andrew and Harry shared a look of confusion before the flames roared again and Sirius stepped out holding two Garment bags.
He handed the boys one each and smiled at them expectantly. "Well, go on, open them." he told them with excitement.
Harry shrugged and pulled the zip of his bag open, revealing a deep green robe with black pants, crisp white dress shirt and a tie which matched the robe. He ran his fingers over the forest green robes and watched as they shimmered slightly looking positively mesmerizing.
"I asked Madam Malkin for some suggestions for dress robes for you. She suggested this, said it would look regal while bringing out your eyes, honestly I'm pants at any type of fashion type stuff so, I just took her word for it." Sirius told him with a small shrug.
"This looks amazing, thanks Sirius!" Harry said with a wide smile.
The shaggy haired man smiled at his Godson. "Well, it's my job to make sure you're a lady-killer." he answered with a grin.
"And how would James and Lily feel about you trying to corrupt their son?" Dumbledore asked with an amused grin. Sirius didn't even hesitate with his response.
"Oh, James would love it, he'd probably say this isn't enough and get a whole bunch of colognes ready for the two of you, followed by a full pack of condoms. Then Lily would hex and curse the both of us and kick us out before saying we wouldn't be allowed back inside for another 6 hours."
Dumbledore and Mrs Li chuckled at that while the two boys flushed at the thought of needing... protection for the night. Despite their little to no knowledge on women in general it was hard (pun not intended) to miss the billboards advertising the... product. They at least knew what they were used for.
"Andrew why don't you open yours?" Mrs Li said getting the adults back on topic.
The braided boy pulled the zip open and was met with a wine red coat, waistcoat and pants, crisp black dress shirt and a white tie. He looked at the suit and had to admit it looked, really good. He looked up at Sirius who looked nervous.
"Ah, well, I had to ask Tonks to help me out with this one, you see, there aren't many robe stores that sell muggle styled suits, so I asked if she could help me out. We checked out a few places but Tonks couldn't pick something until she saw this in a store window, and well long story short; we thought you would like this style.
Andrew looked back to the suit and thought for a second, it was true he figured going classic black would be great but this was amazing, it was both a stand out and subtle.
"I love it. Thanks Sirius."
"So have the two of you found dates for the dance yet?" Mrs Li asked with a small grin.
"No, I haven't yet, and yes I know that's it's literally two days away." Harry responded with a tired sigh.
"Actually I may have someone for you, we'll talk about it more after this though." Andrew told his brother with a smile, Harry frowned and turned to his brother in shock. "And to answer your question, I got myself a date already."
"Really? Who?"
Andrew looked at Mrs Li and felt a few hairs on his neck stand. The look on her face was... knowing...
"You already know, don't you?" he asked.
"Of course I do. My daughter tells me everything."
"You're going with Mrs Li daughter? Is she the one I met last time I was here?" Sirius asked as a small grin started appearing on his face.
"We don't need to make this a big deal." Andrew said hoping to change the subject.
"Oh, I think we all know that we do." Harry responded with a grin matching Sirius'. "I mean it's not everyday your young man dances with the daughter of his lawyer. I think this should be discussed at length."
"Hmm, I find myself agreeing with you, Harry." said lawyer said with a smirk. "Now Andrew, tell me, what are your intentions with my daughter?"
Dumbledore watched the interaction between the four with a small smile of his own, he had assumed Andrew or maybe even Harry would have attended the ball with young Miss Granger, but perhaps Mr Weasley had approached her first? Nevertheless this was a moment of purity that the aged Headmaster was happy to be a part of, even as a bystander. He just prayed these moments wouldn't be too far and few between them.
