The door to the transfiguration classroom slammed open with enough force to shake a spider from the chandelier and Harry stormed through furiously.

'Mr Potter!' McGonagall exclaimed, looking up from her desk with her hand clutched over her chest.

'What's wrong, Harry?' Neville asked, taking the Boy-Who-lived's bag before he could hurl it to the floor and break the ink bottles inside.

'Dumbledore confiscated my broom.' Harry dropped down into the seat, fuming.

'What?' Hermione demanded, 'Why?'

'How did he even know you had it? I thought you were trying to keep it a secret until the match?' Theo threw in his two cents, looking even more put out that Ginny. The trio had been planning to test fly it that evening after Harry's quidditch practice.

'Apparently Ron Weasley saw it and told his brother, who decided that it would be a good look for the custody battle if his family alerted the headmaster that I'd received a suspicious present.' Harry was so furious that magic crackled alarmingly from his fingers, zapping the spider that had fallen earlier.

'You received a new broomstick?' McGonagall asked; the head of Gryffindor had been pestering him almost as much as his team captain, eager to win the cup.

'A firebolt.' Theo bragged for him.

'Yeah, but now Dumbledore's got it. He said that there's only two people who could reasonably afford it; Grindelwald and Black, and both are dangerous criminals that are likely to jinx it to harm me.'

'Dumbledore clearly doesn't understand just how wealthy most old families are, or how desperate some of them are to win custody over you.' Theo snorted, folding his arms. Harry rolled his eyes.

'I know. Malfoy was there when I went to get it back, and he said that it wasn't allowed and he took it away.'

'Malfoy?' Neville demanded.

'His dad, Lucius Malfoy.'

'Probably just wanted to make sure his son still had the best broom on the pitch.' Ginny scoffed.

'Oh, that's ridiculous.' Scoffed Hermione, 'I'm starting to understand why Dumbledore wanted you to live with muggles.'

'This whole custody fight is ridiculous.' Ginny agreed, 'I mean, Mum and Dad already have too many kids and not enough money, you hate Malfoy, Dumbledore is a manipulative old coot who's already neglected you and Grindelwald is a dark wizard in prison.'

'And the Diggorys.' Harry added petulantly. 'And the McLaggens and the Parkinsons. They've all got better pitches than either of the two I might want to win.'

'True.' Theo acknowledged. 'Malfoy's such a peacock, and you can guarantee he's tossing his gold around already too.'

'Not on a firebolt though.' Ginny snickered. 'I bet he's just angry that he didn't think of that first.'

'Why can't you apply, Hermione?' Neville eventually asked. 'I mean, as head of the Gorlois family.'

'Oh yes please!' Harry enthused, his anger dissolving into excitement. 'Oh please do. The Wizengamot love you.'

'Well...' Hermione began awkwardly.

'That's a great idea, Hermione.' Theo chipped in. 'The wizengamot love you, you've got a massive castle with loads of room, vaults. Grindelwald could be both of your legal representatives until you come of age.'

'But that's what they're fighting about.' Hermione huffed, 'about who will be Harry's legal representative. They're not going to actually let Grindelwald do it. They hate it enough that he can come and represent me.'

'No, they're fighting about who will raise him. You've got muggle parents who can do that bit.'

'Why can't you just take me as a ward?' Harry asked, breaking into the eager discussion. 'I mean, you're a ritual ward of House Grindelwald, which makes him your magical guardian. Why can't you do the same to me? Become my magical guardian, then you'd be my legal guardian too.'

The room fell into shocked silence as everyone present processed that suggestion.

'Because I'm not of age either.' Hermione pointed out.

'That doesn't matter.' Harry pointed out, leaning forwards eagerly. 'You said so yourself, magical guardianship, family magic... they don't care about age, just ritual and blood. The ministry can't contest it, and you'd be responsible for everything.'

'It is legally viable.' Theo agreed after a further moment of silent contemplation. 'I mean, you're the first blood ward in the country in centuries so nobody knows how to do it, but if you did have the materials, we could.'

'I want to.' Harry said decisively. 'I'm fed up with adults using me in some kind of political game.'

'Mr. Potter?' McGonagall interrupted sharply, the group of students all jumped. They'd forgotten that she was there. 'Have you thought this through properly?'

Harry straightened in his chair, lifting his chin defiantly.

'Yes, Professor. I'm not going to let them fight over who gets to control the Boy-Who-Lived. Hermione's been more of a family to me than anyone else has ever been.'

For a moment, McGonagall regarded the students through her glasses, her lips pinched tightly.

'You are aware that this will be taken as a political statement too?' McGonagall checked and Harry nodded.

'Yeah, I'll be saying that they don't get to make decisions for me.'

'You will also be giving Miss Gorlois the support of the Potter family and the influence of your not insignificant status as the Boy-Who-Lived.'

'That's fine.' Harry glanced over at Hermione. 'I mean, she already has it.'

McGonagall gave a resigned sigh, then turned to Hermione.

'Do you have everything you require to perform the ritual, Miss Gorlois?'

Hermione blinked at the elderly teacher, shocked.

'You're letting us do it?' She asked,

'I have never known a friendship as close as that of James Potter and Sirius Black. I doubted that Black was guilty at the time, but the headmaster was the one to cast the Fidelius Charm so I pushed my doubts aside. However, I cannot ignore that you released him.'

'I didn't' Hermione replied automatically.

'I don't doubt that is true.' McGonagall looked skyward for a moment. 'But I also don't doubt that you engineered the breakout, although every theory I have as to how you did it is as unlikely as the next.'

'Oh.' Hermione looked away quickly.

'I have no doubt that if you can engineer the first ever Azkaban breakout without getting caught...'

'I was pulled in for questioning and the wizangamot released me.' Hermione pointed out.

'I was under the impression that that was intentional. It did allow you to prove your claims that you are related to Grindelwald.'

Hermione narrowed her eyes, wondering how many other people were following her plans and just how much McGonagall had figured out. Did she knew about the slaved wards in Nurmengard? Or the ritual that they'd performed over Yule?

'So why would you help us?' She demanded.

'When you first came to this school, Albus tried to convince me that you were a dark witch in the making. He wished to limit your learning, prevent you gaining influence. He drew my attention to the similarities between yourself and Riddle, which are numerous. I offered you this room for your studies so that I could keep an eye on what you were doing. However, the longer I watched you, the more I noticed differences between you and Riddle; as many differences as similarities.'

Hermione nodded in thanks as the elderly witch took a deep and fortifying breath.

'Albus Dumbledore has plans for Mr. Potter, and I am beginning to doubt that they are in his best interest. If nothing else, I can be certain that you have your friend's best interests at heart, Miss Gorlois.'

'So you don't support him anymore?' Theo asked suspiciously, shifting almost imperceptibly as if he wanted to take the spot at Hermione's shoulder, like Mordred often did.

'I said no such thing! However, I also believe that in this instance, as his head of house, I am the closest thing Mr. Potter currently has to a responsible adult and I believe it is in his best interests to not go to any of the conflicting parties. The suggestion offered here is, perhaps, the best. As I said earlier, if there is one thing that I am sure of, Miss Gorlois has Mr. Potter's best interests at heart. Now, we do not have all day; what will this "ritual" require?'

'Just Harry and I at my family stronghold for an hour or two.' Hermione answered, glancing up at McGonagall.

'Stronghold, not Avalon?' McGonagall demanded sharply.

'It is quite common for ancient families to not have their home in the same location as their family heart.' Neville put in quietly.

'It's accessible from Avalon, which is accessible by floo.' Hermione explained.

'Very well.' McGonagall pursed her lips. 'I want to see a letter from your parents - your muggle parents, that is, approving this and I do not want it to be tied back to me. Then I shall make arrangements.'

'I can do that.' Hermione grinned, glancing at her soon-to-be third brother. Harry grinned back in return.