Posted 2/27/2014, edited 12/29/2016
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I found the general reaction in the reviews very amusing. In other news, a reader pointed out that Mundungus had stolen the Locket. While no date was given for that particular theft, it is likely he did take it after Sirius' death. I changed the last chapter to reflect that; Kreacher told about the theft, Dumbledore decided he would pay Dung a visit. Let's assume he had no time to use it as a bribe yet.
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This is a work of fiction, based on the book series by J.K. Rowling. Neither do I claim ownership nor do I intend to.
Chapter Twenty-Four – Tying up Loose Ends
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It was a cloudy Saturday that greeted the castle after the late night enjoyment, unaware of the shock the day held for them. Abruptly Harry was awoken by a sudden shift of weight on his bed. He tore his eyes open and found himself nose to nose with a very eager looking Hermione.
"Well?" she asked with her eyes shining with anticipation. "What happened last night? Tell us! Have you managed to get one of them?"
Behind her, Ron climbed onto the bed. He looked a lot less energetic, but then, Harry knew his two friends. The prospect of learning something would have brought Hermione out of her own sleep before dawn, or in fact, he wouldn't have been surprised if she had foregone sleep at all. Ron on the other hand loved to sleep in, and after the patrolling of the last night, Harry would have expected him to get up no sooner than eleven. But then, with Hermione already running around the room, she might have woken him up first just to have his support in talking to their friend.
Harry rolled his eyes. "It's, what, six? Seven?"
"Ten to eight, Harry, a very reasonable time," Hermione told him, finishing some of the privacy spells from the Book Greengrass had given him. From Ron's face, he didn't dare disagreeing with her statement, no matter how much he wanted to.
"Well, fine, I'll tell you," Harry said, sitting up. "I met with Dumbledore. We talked a bit. Get this; he wants me to work together with Snape."
"Fat chance," Ron snorted. "The day you two work alongside is the day the sun rises in the west."
Hermione glared at the redhead. "I agree with Professor Dumbledore. In this war, we have no time or energy to spare for personal quarrels."
"And I don't expect Snape to be anywhere near as willing to join forces with me as Dumbledore hopes," Harry pointed out. "I'll have to try, though, for the sake of the wizarding world. We do kind of have need for his services, if nothing else. But back to topic. We went and got the first Horcrux, the Diadem, before you ask, and destroyed it. Easiest one so far, as far as I can tell. It was exactly where it was supposed to be, Room of Requirement, didn't put up any real fight and was dealt with before the hour was up. I think Dumbledore saw it as a personal insult to have it lying around in his school. And in a way, he's right. There was loads of stuff, old and new. Someone could have stumbled upon it, and then what?"
"That's good, I guess. So, the Diadem is destroyed?"
"I guess. The Horcrux is, but I'm not sure whether the Diadem itself was destroyed as well or whether it still has some of the properties it supposedly had. We didn't have time to check it, and as long as the war is going on, we cannot really ask someone about it, but I am certain the fragment is gone. That's all that matters right now.
"After dealing with that, we left the school to go after the next. The locket in the cave," he told them. "We thought it might be the easiest of the remaining ones. The snake will have to wait if it is even one, and the Cup, well, that one is a bit out of our reach. Dumbledore doesn't fancy breaking into Gringotts; he has a plan for that one, he wants to get the goblins to give it to us. We'll see. Anyway, the Horcrux in the cave. So, we travelled there, entered the cave and found, well, we discovered the Horcrux had been moved to... my house some time ago."
Hermione stared disbelievingly at Harry; Ron on the other hand yelled loudly.
"Well, yes, that was our reaction as well. You remember when we were cleaning there? Well, there was this locket no one could open..."
"We threw it out!" Hermione screamed, pulling at her hairs.
"Kreacher stole it back," Harry told her. "And then Mundungus Fletcher searched my house and took the Locket and everything of worth."
Hermione groaned loudly. Ron cursed.
"Dumbledore wanted to pay him a visit, likely last night, so that we could hopefully destroy the Locket soon. But something came up. Dumbledore sent me to bed while he had to sort it out in his function as a member of the faculty."
Hermione frowned at him. "Something came up? It must have been something important."
"Err, Dumbledore seemed to think so. It wasn't anything dangerous, just... well, anyway, and it was getting late, I had to get to bed, and it was important that someone dealt with it." Harry fought down his blush.
"Important enough to take precedence over the war, Harry? Out with it," she demanded.
"I... Well, we stumbled upon two students. I don't know what happened, but I have a fairly good idea as to how they ended up naked and asleep on the front lawn."
Ron grinned, Hermione blushed faintly.
"Well, Dumbledore had to take care of that, and he sent me to bed. I guess we'll destroy the Horcrux once Dumbledore has retrieved it. Assuming Fletcher hasn't sold it already, it might very well be today."
"Where does Kreacher come in, though?" Hermione wondered.
"Yeah. That little creep, how does he fit in there? I thought this business was secret stuff? How did he get that Locket?"
"How did it end up in that house of all places?" Hermione added.
"It is still secret business. Well, long story short, Voldemort borrowed Kreacher to test the defences. I don't know how, but I guess Regulus Black learned about the Horcrux and the cave. He went to fetch it, from what I understood of Kreacher's answers yesterday. Or today? Doesn't matter. It makes sense –according to Sirius, his brother Regulus had a soft spot for the elf. And with him being a Death Eater, he might have realized what was going on once Kreacher came back from his first visit to the cave. It kind of fits. But honestly? It doesn't really matter. Once we have the Locket, we'll destroy it, end of story as far as I'm concerned. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get a bit of sleep."
Ron nodded and made to leave, but Hermione grabbed his wrist. "No, we've lost a whole evening of homework last night. Come on, get up. Breakfast and then we'll dive into it. The sooner we start, the sooner we can finish - or do you want to waste the whole day sleeping away? Surely the two of you have some Quidditch practice planned or something? Well, assignments first."
"Sure," Ron replied, sighing, "sounds like a plan."
"Nonsense," Hermione told both of her friends resolutely. "If you don't get the assignments done today, well, they won't go away, will they?"
And with that, she stood guard, waiting impatiently for Harry and Ron to get dressed. But before they had left, an elf popped in.
"Messrs Potter and Weasley, and Miss Granger, now that you have woken up, the Headmaster tells me to invite you to his office asking that you come soon as possible."
They shared a look. So Dumbledore had retrieved the Horcrux already. Of course the Headmaster wouldn't waste time. They nodded shortly, Hermione thanking the elf. While Harry and Ron got dressed –Hermione had her back to them –Harry remembered something else. "I spoke to Dumbledore about something else yesterday. I might be improving very fast, but there's still the issue of the twins cores to consider. Dumbledore advised I should look through the vaults at Gringotts some time, but when we left the Room of Requirement, he also suggested I should search there as well. And you what? I think I should. There are mounds of treasures from centuries ago."
"Well," Hermione replied, "I think you should. It sounds interesting in any case. We'll help you, of course."
"Won't matter all that much, Hermione," Harry told her, laughing, "we'll still need years to dig through all of that trash."
"So we'd need an army to do it?" she asked pointedly. "Like the one you actually do have? The DA?"
Harry saw Ron adding with a shrug, "Well, she's right about that. You know Ginny'd love to help."
"Neville as well," Hermione continued. "He's still carrying the coin around in case the call goes out."
"Dumbledore's Army? Well, alright, but even with the six of us digging through all that stuff, it'd take forever," Harry argued. "And we can't exactly tell either of our friends just why we're looking for wands."
"We just don't want them lying around where anyone can pick them up," Hermione offered. "Or maybe we're curious to find out how wands were in the past, before Ollivander came around."
"And we can't have them having a look around either," Harry said, but he knew he had already lost. "We don't know whether there isn't something cursed in there."
"I'm confident I can find and learn every relevant detection spell soon enough," Hermione countered. "And since you're now all-knowing as well, we'll just form two teams. You'll check for curses for one team and I do the same for the other, assuming I can't get Ron or one of the others to learn the spells as well."
"... Fine," Harry agreed, "fine, I give up. A mission for Dumbledore's Army it is. Now let's go before Dumbledore sends another elf to come looking for us."
Soon enough, Harry and his friends knocked on the door and were allowed in. Ron and Hermione had never been in the luxurious office before Harry guessed as they stared at the many strange devices scattered around.
"Ah, I hadn't thought we would see us this early, but it is better this way, isn't it? Miss Granger, Mister Weasley, good morning. Am I right in assuming you have told them about our late night excursion, Harry?" Dumbledore looked older than he had hours previously and Harry guessed the Headmaster hadn't slept at all.
"I did, yes. I didn't overstep any boundaries, did I?"
"Not mine, at least, no. But we have business to finish and since your friends have stood by your side until now," Ron blushed at these words, but the Headmaster continued, "I thought they might like to witness the destruction of a Horcrux themselves. I'm talking about the Locket, naturally, as I think we shouldn't waste any time. I paid our dear friend Mundungus a visit a few hours ago, and I was able to convince him to part with his ill-gotten possessions, among them the Locket. I arranged for the rest and any gold Mundungus made off of his sales to be put in the Black vaults at Gringotts, but I pocketed the item I had originally come for. Now, Harry, if I remember correctly, you wanted Kreacher to witness the destruction as well. If you would be so kind to call for your house-elf?"
"Only so he'd see it destroyed. He went with Regulus Black to the cave to fetch it. Two went in, one is still here. Not that difficult to figure out, I think. Whatever his faults might be, Kreacher liked his Master Regulus. Kreacher, come here!"
The gnarled creature appeared, cutting off any further discussion. He sneered at Hermione and Ron.
"Kreacher has come to filthy master. He didn't know the Mudblood and the blood traitor would be there as well, Kreacher wonders, oh yes, he does."
Harry snapped his fingers. "I didn't call you here to listen to your insults, Kreacher. I'm doing you a favour here, so you'd best stay silent." The elf did as he was told, glaring at Harry all the while. It looked as if their meeting from the last night had changed the elf's opinion for the worse.
Dumbledore pulled the Locket from the folds of his robes and dropped it on the desk. It certainly looked like the Horcrux. Testing it with his hand, Harry could also feel the presence in it moving around. It had awoken.
"Well, no doubt about it, I think. This is the one," he concluded.
"Yes, yes. But I don't think we should try destroying it when it is closed," Dumbledore told him. "I'm sure you agree."
Harry thought about it. "I guess so, yes. You think the protections won't let the sword anywhere near it?"
"Something like that, yes."
"Kreacher, answer me honestly, do you know how to open it?"
The elf tore his eyes away from the Locket. Amazement was replaced with contempt, but he answered. "No. Kreacher tried, but he couldn't open it. No magic he did left any traces upon it."
Dumbledore nodded. "So you thought you had to open it? Were you told how to destroy it?" With a glare, he added, "Don't forget our last private meeting, Kreacher."
Harry assumed the Headmaster meant the night of Sirius' death. Yes, that would have left an impression on the elf.
"Kreacher was certain it needed to be open to be destroyed. Kreacher wasn't told how to do it."
Harry rolled his eyes, but it fit with his theory. Turning back to Dumbledore, he said, "So we agree? Then, the logical conclusion would be... let me think. To open it, to open it..." He searched his memories for the little detail he had missed the last time. It had seemed so natural to do so he hadn't paid any attention to it. He saw himself, or rather, Voldemort standing over the lifeless body of that tramp, yes, and then, he had created it, but first, he had opened it. He had told it to open. A code phrase? He replayed the memory in his mind. No, he had simply told it to, using...
"Parseltongue," he told the room.
"Makes sense, doesn't it?" Ron replied with a shrug.
Harry looked at the Headmaster. "All right, so I'll open it. Who wants to deal the finishing blow?"
The Headmaster threw him an inquisitive glance. "Well, I think it should be you, in fact. You are the one to open it, it is ultimately your war and unless I'm mistaken, it is a task for the Black family. Maybe it is the solution, a way to redeem the Blacks?" he suggested.
Ron and Hermione looked a little lost at the two of them, but Dumbledore pulled the sword of Gryffindor from his robes and stepped back.
Harry looked at the locket. In the right light, it was actually quite beautiful. And it also held powerful magic, it felt odd to destroy what he remembered working so hard to get and create in the first place. He raised the blade above his head, ready to stab. Then, without any trouble at all, just like a part of him had always been able to, he hissed the command.
The locket opened, revealing a red eye behind the glass. For most, it was just that, an eye, but Harry immediately recognized it as both his own and Voldemort's. Was it strange that he thought of it as his own? It wasn't, not really, but then, he distinctly remembered seeing it in the mirror.
Smoke rose from the glass. The Horcrux began to fight back, and Harry felt the pressure on his mind. The soul fragment wanted to gain control over him, even a little. And that neither Harry nor Tom would have willingly allowed. He was his own person, wasn't he? Nobody, not even a Horcrux, even one of his own, told him what to do.
Just as the face of a horse began to appear in the mist, Harry stabbed with as much force as he could muster. The sword pierced the glass and then the table as if they were nothing but air. The smoke and the half-formed horse-face exploded in a puff, and a terrible scream rose from the locket.
Disgusted, Harry pulled the sword back. "And that was that one." He turned to the others. "If you don't mind, I'd really like breakfast now." To the elf, he said, "Return to the kitchen and do not speak to anyone about what happened here or the locket. Do not inform anyone by speech, writing or gesture about it." Kreacher blinked. Then he nodded curtly and popped away. Harry asked Dumbledore, "Do you need us for anything else, Professor?"
After a quick good-bye, they were on their way to the Great Hall, each lost in their own thoughts.
"You could have been nicer, Harry," Hermione pointed out as they descended the marble stairs to the deserted Entrance Hall. "Didn't you see how much it distressed Kreacher?"
"Honestly? No, I didn't. And I didn't punish him, I merely forbade him from talking about it. You do realize I cannot allow him to run around telling everyone he wants about what I do, don't you? He is a security risk, and just to be honest, any pureblood would have done the same."
"That's not exactly the standard you should go for," she reminded him.
"But the standard he understands now," Harry told her as they made for the door. "What I'll do in a few years, well, I don't know, but..."
"Mr. Potter, how nice of you to show your face," Professor McGonagall interrupted him. "Since you were not in your bed last night..."
"I was, Professor!" he protested.
"Not at half past eleven, and neither were you in Gryffindor tower." She made room for a group of Slytherin girls. "As such, I have to assume you were running around the school somewhere. I will not take house points, but you will serve a detention. Madam Pomfrey asked for a little help. With your constant visits, you will find your way there, I hope?"
Harry battled with himself. She made it sound as if he had been running wild! He hadn't been, he had been in the cave, trying to get the Horcrux. He had been busy with the war, not some girl! But then, as much as McGonagall was trustworthy, he had no intention of telling her about his whereabouts. And he had a strange feeling she had a hunch where he had been.
"Fine, I'll be there. When?"
"Two o'clock, Mr. Potter. It should leave you enough time to sort out your affairs. That should teach you that nothing gets past me." She threw him a stern look and left them standing at the entrance.
"That isn't really fair," he said, once they had settled into their seats. "How are the students supposed to get away with anything if she just checks the beds?"
"They aren't supposed to in the first place, Harry. I like the idea, maybe next year we won't have to patrol the corridors. My feet are still aching; we've been all over the castle until sometime around one in the morning."
"Yeah, that's when we were allowed to go to bed," Ron added. "Not, that I mind being up that late, but doing rounds? And every time we had to scare some of the kids away, I felt awful. I mean, why is it our business to keep them in check? Shouldn't they be allowed to do what they want? I wouldn't have minded..."
"Yes?" Harry asked, smirking.
At the same moment, Hermione yelled, "Ron! Prefects!"
"Well, at least it's only once a year," Ron tried. "One evening each year isn't so bad. Granted, I would have preferred staying in the Common Room. Hey, did you know? We caught..."
"Ron! We're meant to keep quiet about our findings," Hermione argued.
"As if Malfoy would do that."
"As a matter of fact, I think he would nowadays. And if he didn't, he wouldn't be the standard for proper behaviour for Prefects," Hermione countered. "Maybe that is the problem; you only try to follow his example."
"As if I'd want to be anything like that git!"
"So if he were lazing around, you'd still look as if you're..."
Just then, the post owls descended upon the hall, effectively interrupting their argument. Harry was happy about it. They were his friends, yes, but he had better things to do than listen to them bicker about unimportant matters. He grabbed a slice of bread and the honey.
It was then that he noticed the silence around him and looked up, only to find the few occupants of the room staring back at him. Even Hermione and Ron had joined in.
He had spent many mornings in the Great Hall, but it had been a while since it had been quiet the last time. A quiet hall with everyone staring at him wasn't something he was unused to, but still didn't enjoy. Of course he should have guessed something would happen –it had been far too long since he had been gawked at. Now all he had to learn was why they found him extraordinarily interesting this time.
"Err, is something the matter?" he asked his friends in a quiet voice.
"They... they know, Harry," Hermione told him worriedly. She had theDaily Prophet in her hand. Never a good sign. He grabbed her copy and didn't have to look very hard. On the front page, the headline proclaimed:
Boy-Who-Lived is Boy-Who's-Hitched
By Samantha Cross
After careful research, we can report to our dear readers that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and fabled Chosen One, has indeed found the witch for life. Shocking as it may be, the hero of the wizarding world has...
Harry put the paper down. "Well, that's not ideal, no. Not the way I would have wanted the news to reach the public, but so what? It was bound to come out sooner or later. Granted, I'd have preferred later, but there were too many people who knew. I guess someone couldn't keep the secret as well as they should have. Doesn't matter, really."
"But..."
"It doesn't matter," he told Hermione who had started to voice her worries. Glancing at the article, he gathered the important parts. "They did a good job, though. The contract is there, even the names are correct. A first, I think, for this rag, even if the pictures are wrong. I'm not that broad-shouldered and she's not a redhead. Oh, and they included an article about the finer parts of contracts, how thoughtful. Let's see... Oh, and my best friend seems to be Robert Wheatley. Sorry, Ron, Hermione, not the way I wanted you to learn about it." He read a bit more. "Well, it's nice to know they keep track of my private life to that extent. Did you know the death of my parents might have kept me from falling in love? A nice biography of myself, I must say. Very informative. Can't say for sure about Greengrass', but perhaps it's halfway decent. They got her name right, that's more than I'd have expected from them."
Ron frowned. "It'll still cause trouble, don't you think? I mean, what with the rumour mill and stuff? The students will know more than you by this time tomorrow."
"What about it? The article is about as close to the truth as you can expect from those idiots. I don't worry about it. I'm a Gryffindor. I'm Harry Potter, I'm used to being at the centre of attention. And sooner or later they'll find something else to talk about. Hey, have you heard about Snape's obsession with combs? He collects them, you see, but only those that are missing some of their teeth. He has a feeling they remind him of himself, but he can't think why."
The noise had picked up and some people were quite eager to leave the Great Hall, newspaper in hand. Well, their loss, Harry reasoned. He liked eating a bit too much to skip it over unimportant gossip like that.
The news did spread very fast, though. By the time they returned to the Common Room, they found it filled with people eagerly discussing the latest development, but they fell silent once Harry entered the room. Katie sat with her friends and looked very put out. Neville, Dean and Seamus glared at everyone in their vicinity. It wasn't difficult to guess their position in the matter.
Lavender stepped forward, glaring at Harry. "Is it true?" she asked forcefully. A murmur ran through the room. Apparently, she had asked what the others were too cowardly to voice.
"What are you talking about? Is what true? You will have to explain what you mean," Harry told her with a shrug. Yes, he didn't really care the story being public, but he still disliked her tone.
Her glare intensified. "About this marriage, Harry, about this marriage! Is it true what the Prophet says?" She waved the paper in question, and the people in the picture grabbed each other to stay on their feet even though they wouldn't feel any of the movement.
Harry peered at it. "It's the Prophet, Lavender." She blushed, but didn't back down.
"You're not denying it," Parvati observed, jumping to her friend's side.
"Shut it," Ron grumbled and Hermione made to intervene.
Harry rolled his eyes. "You've obviously made up your mind already and just want to have confirmation one way or the other. I doubt anything I say will stop you from gossiping." He raised his eyebrow, and she blushed brilliantly. "Has anyone seen Robert? I'd like to talk with my best friend, and well..."
Some chuckled. Hermione smiled at the comment.
"So you're not marrying that... Greengrass?" Lavender asked.
"Yeah!" someone with a deep voice shouted. "There're lots of decent girls here, anyone's better than a Slytherin!" Quite a few of the girls from younger years blushed. Ginny wasn't one, but she looked very unhappy. Colin Creevey looked at Harry curiously. "Is that why you weren't in your dorm or the Common Room last night?" More people shouted.
Thanks, Colin, Harry thought wryly.
"Where were you?" Lavender threw in.
"Well," Katie spoke up with a calculating look before Harry could speak up, "I don't think it's any of our business."
Some yelled at her, but she just glared back. Harry decided to avert the potential fight he felt looming. "Ignoring for a second that, as some of our teachers are living proof of, being in Slytherin does not necessarily make someone a bad person –and yes, Snape is about as bad as one can be –I have very little interest in marrying a Slytherin." Some cheered, but he wasn't finished. "Or a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. I'm sixteen, going on seventeen. Despite what some of you girls might think or, I fear, hope, I have very little interest in marrying at all and certainly not one of you."
Seamus grinned, fortunate enough to not being seen by any girl.
"That being said," Harry told the room, "I fail to see where your life would be affected by mine, Lavender. I fail to see why you feel entitled to butt into my private affairs in front of what looks to be the majority of the house."
"We're your family!" she spat at him. "We have a right to know!"
"No. Ron's my brother. Neville has earned himself that right as well, even before last June. Hermione's my sister. Katie is my sister. Ginny as well. Some I might see as cousins. You, Lavender, are nothing of the sort. You're my house mate. You may ask me, but you have no right to demand answers from me, least of all about something you read in the pitiful excuse that is the Daily Prophet. If our places were switched, would I be entitled to answers from you? Ignoring for the moment, of course, that there is no secrecy to speak of in your case and that it's more keeping track of your relationships without elaborate charts." She stumbled backwards, and Parvati threw him a nasty glare. "The main reason you are furious with me and yearn to learn now is probably because you didn't have the chance to gossip about it beforehand. You're furious because you couldn't partake in your favourite pastime." Both girls blushed, being caught by him. Why had he never told them off like that, Harry wondered. They certainly had it coming for a while. But then, in the past, he had been an average teenager. The ongoing war had changed him, it seemed.
"So it's not true?" someone asked in a high voice. Harry turned, ready to chew the next person out, but came face to face with air. Looking down, he saw a first-year, clutching a heavy book to her chest.
He couldn't be mad at her, especially since he saw a bit of Hermione in her. Instead, he let his eyes wander around the room. He was met with silence, but an uneasy one. It seemed his speech had opened their eyes. And really, he had no reason to lie even if he would have been fine without the confrontation.
Ron stepped forward. "Come on; move along, breakfast is waiting!" But as usual, no one listened to him.
Harry made up his mind about it and turned back to the first-year. "You mean this stuff about the contract, obliging me to marry or facing the dire consequences?" She took a step back, but whether because she realized her mistake or because she began to fear Harry he wasn't sure. With a shrug, he told her, "Well, it's the Prophet, you should always assume the exact opposite of whatever they're writing, but... they're mostly right this time."
A gasp rang through the room, and Harry used the opportunity to address the assembled people. "I accidentally triggered a contract I wasn't aware of, simple as that. I fell through a loophole. No secret love affair, no coercion from anyone. As such, there is no bad blood and neither I nor the Greengrasses are all that happy about it. Bad luck, nothing more. I wasn't even on speaking terms with the Greengrass girls before this trouble and apart from the odd class here and there, we spend next to no time in the same room."
"The meals, Harry," Hermione threw in.
"Ah, yes, of course. The meals, I guess we are in the same room then." Some chuckled and relaxed. Others tensed, but they kept quiet. He continued. "I know I can't keep you from talking about it with the other houses, but please try to stick to the facts, the last thing we need is for the issue to be blown out of proportion."
"But this is huge!" a girl screamed.
"Congratulations, Harry," Seamus spoke up, grinning widely. "I remember the first time a girl said those words to me." He received some well-placed jinxes, but some of the boys struggled to hide smiles.
Harry raised his hand. "I disagree. It's unusual for a contract to become active in our time, but..."
"Harry Potter marrying is big news!" the same girl told him.
"Sit down, Romilda," Ginny spat, and finally Harry could recognize the girl as the pushy potential ploughing into the ground.
"It's the accidental triggering that might cause some waves. I expect some purebloods are scrambling to close this loophole. I fail to see why I should be any more news-worthy than you," Harry countered.
Ginny went for the kill. "In your case though, Vane, it's more that you are less news-worthy than most, and the only time I can see people talking about you will be less than flattering. After seeing you handle a broomstick in September, I pity any boy you can nag into letting you touch them."
Vane fell back into the crowd, but Harry noticed how difficult it was for the girl to actually accomplish it as she repeatedly stepped into gaps in the ranks of students, somehow. How exceedingly peculiar.
Hermione stepped forward, throwing Ginny a stern look. "That'll be five points, Ginny, you shouldn't talk about others like that."
The redhead shrugged. "Worth it," she replied.
Katie nodded, and Demelza Robins said, "Especially since it's true. Well, who's up for breakfast?" Some joined her, and in the general clamour, Harry had no trouble moving over to the stairs. Halfway there, Katie beckoned him over and he gladly joined her.
"Tough luck, Harry," she told him. "Not just being stuck in that contract, but also them finding out."
"It was bound to happen. I told Hermione and Ron at breakfast; too many people knew about it for it to stay a secret. It irks me more that people will know about that Black inheritance."
"Any idea who blabbed?" the older girl asked.
"Well, I have some ideas, yeah. It could be the Malfoys. They're from Black blood as well and knew about it before today. But it could also be that bloke from the Ministry. I doubt they are paid well."
"With how it's conveniently after Valentine's Day, I guess it will be the former," Hermione added, having sat down next to Harry. "Even if we ignore Draco, his parents might think it to be a hilarious joke. I bet you in a few hours, everyone in school will know about your secret date in the light of the full moon with your destined, the one true love, with dozens of people swearing to have seen you."
"Probably, yes. Idiots, the whole lot of them," Harry agreed.
Katie smiled at him. "That sounds about right, yes. A good way to cause trouble for you, not that you'd need any more. You know, Harry, I didn't agree with them..."
"Yes, I know," he told her.
"... a sister?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow.
Harry shrugged. "Well, I've spent over five years on the same Quidditch team with you, haven't I? So you are one of the first girls I've been friends with."
"I get what you mean. So you'd be a brother, then?" She pursed her lips. "A cute step-brother, maybe," she judged finally. "I could live with that."
Gryffindor House wasn't the only place that the news had reached before long. The head table had usually been a place of gossip, even if the students didn't know it. In the light of recent revelations, a wild discussion had broken out about the legality, the consequences and of course the affected parties. Both Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore were missing, but Professor Snape glared more furiously than ever, deducted ten points from a first-year Gryffindor on the way out for excessive blinking and gave a detention to a Hufflepuff for wasting time and food by speaking to his neighbour.
Whatever the Ravenclaws were planning or doing, they seemed more concerned with the ramifications and the laws and traditions behind it. The Hufflepuffs were of course badgering every Gryffindor they could corner about the news, and they got their answers. Much like the house of the brave, the girls were either highly curious or sad about their lost opportunity. Yes, a lot of them had been against Potter one time or another, but they still acknowledged he was relatively decent looking and a nice boy whenever the wasn't ostracised for being evil. The Hufflepuff boys were equally divided, but along a different line. Some were hesitant to accept Daphne Greengrass as a new, prominent person in the school-wide game of politics, others tried to figure out whether to congratulate or pity Potter.
Shortly after the newspaper had arrived, the first Slytherins arrived back in their Common Room. Within a few minutes, small groups had gathered and were discussing the implications. Enough purebloods were milling around, and knowledge about contracts was soon commonplace. Still they argued about the necessary actions. Had it been someone else, it might not have been that much of a problem. But a Slytherin, and a pureblood even, having to marry Potter? Very worrying. Others argued differently. A Slytherin marrying a Gryffindor was unusual, but not unheard of. Blood mattered more in some circles, after all. But Greengrass marrying a Gryffindor?
It was a tired Draco Malfoy who ended most discussions. "Well, does it matter?" he told the room. "There's nothing we can do to put a stop to it – short of killing either, of course. If it's a contract like the Prophet says, neither had a choice in the matter. Unless you think they should have disrespected the traditions we uphold? Now then, if you're done wasting everyone's time with a pointless discussion, breakfast is waiting for me. I've got better things to do than clean up any mess you make." Yawning, he left the room and headed towards the Great Hall.
In the ensuing silence, Millicent and Tracey sneaked to their dormitory. Once out of earshot, the smaller girl pursed her lips. "Bad news, especially after Valentine's Day." They entered their room and found the curtains around Daphne's bed still closed.
Tracey wasted no time and tore them open. Lying at an odd angle was their friend, her hair spread on the pillow, and wearing her uniform. Perhaps it was the sudden light, or the feeling of someone's presence nearby, but Daphne woke up with a groan.
"Slept well?" Tracey asked with a raised eyebrow, taking in their friend's appearance. "Must have been one hell of a night if you didn't have time to undress."
Millicent chuckled humourlessly.
"What do you... ?" Daphne stopped with a frown. "Headache," she told her friends with a grimace, "what time is it?"
"Quarter past nine," Tracey replied. "But that's not important right now. Someone blabbed; they know. The Prophet ran an article about you."
"You know I like to sleep in, I... Wait, an article? About me?" Daphne sat up and rubbed her eyes groggily.
"About the contract," Millicent said, keeping back. "The one with Potter."
That got Daphne moving. "How did they learn about it? I didn't tell anyone."
"Neither did we," Tracey assured her. "Someone else must have, though. It's very close to the real story, they got the families right and everything. Someone must have told the Prophet."
"It's very close to the truth," Millicent added.
"Right," Tracey agreed. "And with St. Valentine's Day just yesterday..."
"Mum," Daphne concluded. "Or Astoria, but I think it's Mum. The little pest might tell everyone, but she'd gloat about it. No, I think it was Mum. Probably wanted to save her neck. Yes, that it, isn't it? This way, she can gripe about the injustice of losing her daughter. 'Oh, how terrible, isn't it, my dear purebloods?' That's it." Daphne groaned. "Ouch."
"What did you do last night?" Tracey laughed at her friend's misfortune.
Daphne glared at her, but then frowned. "What did I do last night? For that matter, how did I end up in bed?" She looked to her friends, but both shrugged.
"When I left the Common Room, neither of you had returned," Millicent told them.
Tracey scratched her head. "Well, I was out a while, at least until I got caught by Dumbledore. He wasn't that bad, but he told Snape. He was... not amused, no." She swallowed. "I have detention for the rest of the school year." Seeing Daphne's look, she blushed. "Well, me and Bryce, we had a dare, and... we were daring, I guess, and let me tell you, the Black Lake is freezing this time of the year.
"Anyway, after Professor Snape chewed me out, I went to bed. You weren't there, but when I woke up you were. I guess you must have walked in sometime last night, right?"
"I didn't!" Daphne yelled, jumping to her feet. "The last that I remember, I was walking through the school."
Tracey snorted. "Yeah, I guessed so. That's where you were? Must have been a really good hiding place if no one found you two."
"What are you talking about?" Daphne asked her, glaring.
"Well, you were out, obviously," Tracey began. "McGonagall gave Potter a detention about it; I heard it when I walked past them this morning before breakfast. She didn't find him last night, but knew he'd been out. So were you –out, I mean –without being found. Did you two have a date or something?"
"We were not! You know I don't like him!" Daphne yelled. Then she flinched and grabbed her head.
"You still have to marry him so you might have decided to get to know him better," Tracey pointed out, quirking an eyebrow. "It might be a good idea, actually, just so you can understand each other. You will have to stand each other for a few years, after all."
"Until the Dark Lord kills him," Daphne corrected. She righted herself on her bed. "So where was I?"
"That is easily answered," a new voice interrupted. Margaret Copper stepped into the room. "I found you very late up on the seventh floor. You were sitting in a nook by a window looking outside and asleep. It was really difficult to get you to wake up. I followed the orders from Professor Snape and brought you down here. You have a detention with him for completely unrelated reasons."
"I woke up?" Daphne asked.
"You did, yes. But I'm not sure whether you really noticed anything going on. Frankly speaking, I was dead on my feet as well, it was sometime after three. So, don't forget, detention with Professor Snape."
"He knows about my absence?"
Copper rolled her eyes. "What do you think? He had Slytherin Prefects keep an eye out for wayward students from his own house to have them guided back without too much of a fuss. He doesn't like us making his house appear in a bad light."
"That's true," Tracey winced.
"Well," Copper spoke up, "you were lucky, Greengrass, but it might be wise not to anger Professor Snape any more." She left.
"Well, there you go. You must have fallen asleep or something." Tracey said with a wave of her hand.
"And slept through the searches? For hours?" Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow. "Last I know, it hadn't been three in the morning."
"Not impossible," her friend replied. "But more importantly, are you ready to face the school? That's what you should be worrying about."
"It can't be that bad. I'm a Slytherin, the other houses already don't like me that much. And my friends will stay by my side. You will, won't you?"
Millicent smiled weakly. "I will, yes." Tracey nodded.
Daphne thanked them and quickly got to work. If she was to be at the centre of attention, then she needed to look the part. It took surprisingly little time to get her things in order, and the headache receded as well.
"Well then," she announced finally, "time to face the school." She grabbed her wand. Only then did she notice the slight tremor of her hand.
The news got out. And for once, the Daily Prophet didn't have to make up too much of the story. That might be first. Lastly, bossy Hermione as always.
.
After it was pointed out to me, I had Harry claim Neville as his brother as well. It's true.
