London

With the winter holidays over, it was time to return to school. Arcturus didn't want to deal with any last minute rush, so he ordered the house elves to pack everybody's trunks the night before. Percy however insisted that he could pack his own trunk. Since he was the most disciplined of the bunch, Arcturus left him to it.

Remus made sure that Harry had packed his trunk. He also made sure that no contraband made its way in during the packing. Sirius winked at Harry and told him out of Moony's hearing that whatever Remus confiscated Sirius would personally deliver to him in the castle. Harry was not one to say no to that.

They all used the floo to get to platform 9 ¾ well before the scheduled departure time. The platform was a mass of confusion with the steam from the scarlet engine, parents seeing their children off to school and friends asking each other about their holidays.

The twins took off to reserve a compartment for their friends. Percy disappeared into the cloud of steam around the Prefects car just behind the coal tender. Harry and his friends climbed aboard the coach at the back end of the train. There were already a lot of first year students there. When he dragged his trunk into the last compartment, he found Ernie, Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones already there.

"Hi Harry", they greeted him. He returned their greetings while Remus helped him and Ron hoist their trunks up to the luggage rack. Then they waited outside the train for others. Neville came about 10 minutes later with Augusta. Remus helped him to get his trunk on the train too.

When the train was about to leave, Sirius told them, "remember you lot, study but have fun. There are things that you can do at this age only. And personally I am waiting for you to do more pranks this term."

The train ride back to Hogwarts passed without incident except for Malfoy of course. He entered their compartment about halfway through the journey. When he took in the people in the compartment, he decided that maybe today was not a good day to make trouble and retreated quickly. Even with Crabbe and Goyle to back him up, he was not ready to go against so many at once. When the train arrived at the Station, they took the carriages since it was not a good idea to go boating in the middle of winter anyway.

The school provided carriages for Students 2nd year and up to make the trip from the station at the start of the year. To most, the black carriages with their oil head-lamps appeared to move by magic. But, for the few students who had seen death, they could see that there were nearly skeletal, leather-winged, roughly horse-shaped creatures with dragon-like heads between the traces. They were Thestrals, the largest herd in the world, bred by Hagrid. In spite of their generally gentle and shy demeanor, they had a bad name because of their horrific appearance, carnivorous diet and their association with death. In other words, they were ideal pets for the games keeper of Hogwarts. Harry had heard about the creatures from Moony, but not yet having seen death himself, he could not see them.

During inclement weather, hoods were attached to the carriages but in fair weather, tops were left down. Today, with all the snow and chilly winds, the tops were up. Harry spotted a carriage convenient to the last coach of the train. Rushing over to secure it with Neville and Ernie in tow, Ron, Hermione, Susan and Hannah followed them at a more leisurely pace. They left their trunks on the train. The Hogwarts house elves would take care of transporting their luggage to their dorms. As soon as everyone was on board, the carriage started moving toward the gates of the castle.

Most of them had visited a lot during the holidays so they didn't have much to catch up on. Hermione, on the other hand, had been in France for the holidays. She had found the magical community of the city in Paris and she was in awe of it. She kept chattering about things that she had seen there or heard and learned. She had also bought a lot of books from there which she could not find in Flourish and Blotts or Obscurus Books. Harry said nothing but kept listening to her describing the places she had been to. He of course knew all of those places having visited them many times.

Forbidden Forest

Quirrell had to read through a lot of books before he found a temporary solution to his predicament. One of the books on dark magic contained a brief account of Unicorn Blood and its properties. Unicorns are supposed to be creatures of light and killing one is a sin but its blood is rumoured to give half life to someone who was desperate enough to drink it. However killing such a sacred animal does not come without costs and the half life which it gave is cursed meaning the drinker would perish soon unless he could find another way to remain alive.

Tom thought it fit to drink the unicorn blood to try and gain some strength while he figured out how to get to the stone. When he got his hands on the stone, he would be immortal. Until then he had to kill Unicorns.

Today, he was going to make the first attempt at it. He was in the Forbidden forest under cover of the trees. He was trying to find a Unicorn. Hagrid had told him that there were many in the forest so it should not be hard to find one. The difficult thing was to subdue it. They were light and fast and would not fall for any trap. He would have to use all of his strength and cunning to bring one down. To make things harder grown up Unicorns tended to shy away from adult wizards so he would have to be completely concealed. He also remembered reading in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them" by Newt Scamander that they liked sugar cubes the most. He had laid out heaps of them at the edge of a clearing that he could watch. Climbing high into a tree, he waited. He spent three hours in the tree but none of the beasts ever came. What came instead of them were the Centaurs who removed the sugar cubes he had piled up. He was angry at them for this but he could not reveal himself to them. They were very close to the old fool. And besides, they would fill Quirrell's body full of arrows faster than he could take them out with dark curses.

Finally when he gained nothing, he decided to come back another night when the Centaurs would be asleep. It would not be so much trouble to him to find the Unicorns then. And once he did, he would get some power into him.

Time was running out. He did not know how long he could possess Quirrell before the old fool would realise something was amiss. He needed some leverage when it came to the cerberus. He needed a way around it. There just had to be something that could help him. If he cast the Killing Curse, the castle's war wards would let Dumbledore know almost instantly. Then despite killing the beast, he would be left empty handed. Besides, he did not know if a cerberus was impervious to magic. If it turned out to be the case, Quirrell would die a gruesome death, becoming the next meal for the three-headed monster. He would have to find a way around the beast before others realised what he was up to.

Head Master's office

Dumbledore was watching one of the memories that he had gathered while trying to document Tom's life and taking notes. There were things that he needed to do and places to visit to find the Horcruxes. If they succeeded in finding them, they would have no problem bringing him down if he returned to a body. Thanks to Arcturus Orion Black he knew there were at least six of them. He also regretted that Arcturus did not contact him even once during the last decade to tell this little secret to him. They could have put all their resources together to find them. Perhaps they could have found and destroyed them already. Now however Albus's duties had increased. He already knew that Tom was trying to get to the Sorcerer's stone. It was clear that he was active once more. It was just a matter of time before he found a way to gain a body. All Albus could do was frustrate Tom and slow him down while trying to find the horcruxes.

He again made a list of those items in his mind and compared it with the list of items that he had prepared. The first thing was Slytherin's locket. The goblins had destroyed it under Arcturus' orders. The second was Helga Hufflepuff's cup which had been found in the vault of Bellatrix No Name. It had met the same fate as the locket. The third had been a piece of soul which had attached itself to Harry When the ancient magic that his dying mother had invoked caused the killing curse to rebound on Tom. It had been removed by a mage at Arcturus's request. There were at least 3 more out there. Out of them, he had a fair idea that at least one of them was related to the founders. Since Tom was obsessed with everything that he considered special and liked to collect trophies, it stood to reason that he would have tried to find something of the founders. With the locket and the cup destroyed, the only two well-known founder artifacts remaining were the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw and the sword of Gryffindor. He had no idea where the diadem was. It had not been seen for centuries. The sword was safely secured right here in his office. There was no sign of such a foul taint as a horcrux about it. He had heard legends about the sword. It was enchanted to present itself to someone who was a Gryffindor through and through in the hour of their dire need. That meant that the Lost Diadem was almost certainly a horcrux. The puzzle of locating it after centuries… No, a few decades because Tom had found it, corrupted it and hidden it again, would be challenging, but not impossible.

Still, there were at least two unknown horcruxes. Given Tom's fondness for powerful artifacts, it was likely that at least one of them was such an item. Dumbledore believed that looking more into the Gaunt family history might give him a clue as to what it was. And the final horcrux to be identified was likely the first one he made. It would have been a totally new magic to him for his first attempt. Perhaps it was an item of convenience that was close at hand? There would be one more but he had no idea what it could be.

Looking into the House of Gaunt would mean leaving the castle, visiting places and meeting people. He could not take the chance of leaving the castle with Tom on the move and the stone being housed in the school. May be, after he had seen the stone being destroyed for good or being kept at such a place where Tom could not reach it, then he would go after the remaining Horcruxes.

He also had time to think about how this year had turned out so far. When the term started, he had been apprehensive for Hadrian Potter-Black who was raised by the house of Black but the young boy had turned out to be a fine child and Albus knew that he was more than he let on. The lad had all of them wrapped around his little finger. Minerva was all praises for the boy. He also knew the boy was a master of misdirection. Nobody could guess what he would do next and he was fond of keeping his cards close to his chest. Neville Longbottom seemed to be the only one who could get a sneak peek into what was going on in his mind or what he would do next. Neville was another young child who had amazed Albus. Unlike Frank who was a disciplinarian and did not mock authority, Neville was a prankster. To see that the two boys had bonded so well made Albus think that perhaps Neville and Harry had known each other for years already, which might have been possible. Arcturus Orion Black was called crafty for a reason.

He was also seeing wizarding Britain change every day under the leadership of Minister Bones. As a former Auror, she knew the importance of Aurors in Wizarding Britain and that there were not enough of them. She was considering relaxing the entry requirements a little so that there could be enough Aurors. Merlin forbid, if Tom made a comeback, they would be hard pressed to fight him. Therefore she had decided to err on the side of caution.

Albus also knew that he would have to train Hadrian Potter-Black after some time when he deemed the boy to be ready. For one thing, he needed the boy to be versed in Occlumancy. For another he had a proclivity for learning arcane magics. Tom had not left any stone unturned to obtain knowledge when he had been a student. May be in a year or two when the boy had proved that he was worthy, Albus would start teaching him. He had committed every bit of information to Arcturus which was related to Harry and now it was upon Arcturus to tell him or not.

Great Hall

When Harry arrived in the Great Hall, he noticed that Snape was not there but all the other teachers were present. He thought that perhaps Snape was taking the opportunity to gain entry into the trap door on the third floor while the students feasted. His suspicions however were ended when Snape arrived before the feast started. He was slightly out of breath. He looked like he had been running a few moments ago. His robes too looked a little dishevelled. When Harry looked carefully, he could see that Snape was wincing and not using his right hand much. This looked strange to Harry. Snape was right handed. So, as Harry supposed, he had hurt it somehow.

He turned to Neville who was sitting beside him, "Mate, do you think that something is the matter with Snape's hand? He is trying not to use that hand as if he had hurt it recently?"

Neville watched Snape for a few seconds before nodding, "It does look like it. I can also see a rip in his robes. I can't think what it's about."

Hermione said to them in a low whisper, "Do you two think that he's trying to go after whatever is there on the third floor?"

Harry nodded, "That's exactly what I think, Hermione. He must have been trying to get past the three headed beast and it mangled him in the process."

Ronald asked, "So what should we do about it? I mean do we tell the teachers?"

Harry shook his head, "No. I mean, what would we even tell them? We're not supposed to know anything about the stone. … and we have no evidence. Until we know more, we can't say anything. Besides, if we said anything and it got back to Snape, he will take it out on us."

Their classes with Snape had not been ideal but most of the time Harry had got the edge on him. He had not stopped taking points off Gryffindor on every pretence but McGonagall was giving the points back to them for answering questions in her class or for any example of good behavior. She had told him not to rise to the bait in Snape's class. Pursuing a relentless fight against Snape was a worthless adventure. Dumbledore would not fire him for some reasons known only to him. Every time would be a meaningless clash and nothing more. True Harry could get Arcturus to use his influence and get him fired from the job but such a weak use of power was beneath him.

Snape, for his part, did not say anything which could have been insulting to either the late James Potter or to any of the Marauders. He kept his taunts and insults focused on Harry only. He tried to find fault with everything he did or said. Harry wasn't innocent either. He deliberately egged the potions master into anger just because he could. That just gave the students more reason to hate him.

"Harry mate, what have you planned for this term?", George's voice brought him out of his musings.

Harry responded with a self-satisfied grin, "That's a work in progress. You'll find out when everyone else does. After all, the surprise is half the fun."

Fred asked, "Is it a prank or something else?"

Harry grinned, "Oh, it's something else alright. You'll love it. Think of it as a stage to show your talents to the school."

Duelling class room

"Good evening Mr. Potter-Black and Mr. Longbottom", said Flitwick as they entered the dueling room. After being seated, he turned to them, "So how was your vacation? Did you keep up with your practice?"

Harry answered, "Professor, I'm surprised you would ask such a thing. You know better than we do that, as under-aged wizards, we are forbidden to use magic outside of school."

Flitwick snorted, "Pull the other one. If you two haven't found a way around that restriction years ago, I'll eat my hat. And if you couldn't do that on your own, Remus or Sirius are more than able to show you the way."

Harry shook his head and said earnestly, "Professor, do you mean to say that there's a way around the law? Can you explain it to us?"

Flitwick let the topic drop. He knew that these two would know that the trace could not work in a wizarding home and yet they were feigning innocence so he would play along. He turned to them, "Since you have finished the spells I wanted you to learn now I will teach you the etiquette of dueling."

They both started listening with rapt attention. It was a subject which they enjoyed the most.

Flitwick said, "Before you are to start a duel, you have your wand in hand poised in front of your face. You bow to your opponent before you begin to cast. Now there is a little manoeuvre that you can try. As soon as your opponent answers your bow with one of his, start casting before he can get into defensive position."

With that he asked them to stand facing each other. When they were in position, he said, "Now that you both know all the basic spells, I want you to practice dueling. You will duel to disarm and will not cast after your opponent is disarmed. Is that clear?"

They both nodded and he said further, "Bow to each other."

They both bowed to each other. Without wasting a second, Harry sent a stunner at Neville. He seemed to have sensed that Harry was about to pull this trick on him. He had already put up a shield which blocked the stunner. Not wanting to lose the momentum, Harry fired a rapid series of stunners. Neville kept taking them on the shield without breaking a sweat. Finally after about 5 minutes when Harry relented for a second, Neville started sending petrification hexes at him. Harry didn't bother with a shield. He dodged them. He kept dodging them until Neville started sending spells in the direction he was going to be. Still not wanting to raise a shield, Harry sent a tripping hex at Neville which made him stumble. In that moment, Harry collapsed him with a stunner.

With Neville down, he dutifully stood aside while Flitwick enervated Neville. After he had climbed atop his stack of books, he turned to them, "It was a good duel, interesting to watch. Neville, your shielding technique was excellent. I must caution you that there is a simple spell that breaks shields. It is unwise to rely on shields exclusively. Harry, Excellent dodging. Not only will that help keep you fit, but it is also effective against just about everything except a wide-area stunner. You will need a shield to counteract that. You both have learned everything thoroughly well. I must say I am impressed. Now the second rule of dueling is that you never attack your opponent after he is incapacitated or disarmed. Doing so would mean expulsion. From the next session, I will teach you both to chain spells together. It is not widely known. Generally we do not see students as young as you using them in a duel. If you can master them, you can be assured that there will be little competition on that front."

With that he let them practice again trying to duel each other. They were evenly matched right now but a little use of brains and impulse reaction could make all the difference between them. Also whoever cast the first spell between them would have the better chance of coming out on top.

Wizengamot

The last 10 days had passed very quickly with Arcturus meeting with his new allies. He was securing their assent to ending some practices which he felt were not conducive to his plans. He had met with all of them one by one. He persuaded them to his line of thought. He also sent letters to many from the Dark Faction asking them to agree to whatever was on the agenda of the Wizengamot in the next session. For the next session, he was taking the seat of House of Potter while Sirius would act as Regent for House Black.

When time for the session arrived, everybody was buzzing with anticipation for it. There had been some very hot headed debates about the topic before everyone agreed that they would do as he wanted. It was all part of the grand plan to deny any foothold in Wizarding Britain to Voldemort if he managed to obtain a body. They were slowly chipping away at his support base, cutting off every source which could have augmented his strength.

His word was respected among his new allies for a lot of reasons. By marriage, the Blacks were related to almost all of the families. Arcturus had also been instrumental in getting the Great Alliance together after so many years. With so many deaths, it had not been easy for them to get all the lords of the Great Alliance together but he had done it so he was treated as the de facto leader of their faction. His leverage on several houses of the Dark Faction was just an added bonus.

On the designated day after the members had arrived for their daily business, Dumbledore strode to his seat at his usual 2 minutes before 10:00 a.m. and rapped his gavel, "Let the session of Wizengamot for January 1992 begin."

After the preliminary business was conducted, it was time for motions. Albus rapped his gavel, "Do any of the members wish to present a motion before we move to administrative matters?"

Arcturus stood, "I would like the opportunity to address the Wizengamot, Chief Warlock."

Dumbledore was surprised when Arcturus stood to present a motion. Lord Black had not told him anything about this motion so he was not in the know but he really wondered if he was losing his edge and grasp on the Wizengamot. Nothing ever happened in the light faction without Dumbledore knowing about it however there was nothing for it now but to allow him to present the motion. He nodded, "The floor is yours, Lord Black."

Arcturus turned to the Wizengamot, "Members of this sacred body, I would like the opportunity to remind you of certain laws which were passed during the regime of the previous administration which declare Werewolves as dark creatures. We treat them as beast unworthy of our compassion or dignity. It is a slant for those whose parents and family members fought for our liberty, our freedom. They paid the price by being turned into Werewolves. These draconian laws mean that we treat them as creatures of below human intelligence and we even rob them of their dignity while we do not really give anything to them in return. I say that this shall not stand. Would we despise the sacrifice people made for our liberty? Would we ostracize them because they turn into a raving mindless beast for 13 nights a year which is not their fault in the first place? I present a motion to repeal all the anti-werewolf legislation which was enacted during the previous administration and advocate for them to be given equal opportunity as anyone else provided they are taking their potion."

When Arcturus sat down, Dumbledore asked the Wizengamot in general, "Does anybody second the motion?"

As agreed, Dowager Lady Longbottom stood, "I second the motion, Chief Warlock."

They had deliberated over who would present the motion and who would second it. Arcturus presenting it meant that it would pass and with his impassioned plea, it struck a chord with many who had lived through the brutality of war and were old enough to understand its repercussions. Having Augusta second it was a wise move because she was the mother of Frank Longbottom who was treated as a hero by everyone. If she seconded it then it would make them consider it more keenly since she would not have seconded a motion if it were against the interests of the wizarding public.

Dumbledore spoke again, "Is there anyone to speak against the motion?"

Lord Lestrange stood, "I would like to address the Wizengamot, Chief Warlock."

Lord Lestrange was father of Rudolphus and Rabbastan Lestrange. His sons had been death-eaters in the war. Arcturus's grand-daughter Bellatrix No Name was Lestrange's daughter-in-law before Arcturus had dissolved her marriage and cast her out of the Black family. When Bellatrix's vault was confiscated, a horcrux was discovered in her vault. The goblins had sent him a notice and seized half the Lestrange fortune as reparations for breaking rules of deposit with the Bank. They had not told Lord Lestrange expressly what was kept in the locker but just that it was an infraction of the Bank's rules. In additions to the fortune seized by the Goblins, Arcturus had demanded Bellatrix's dowry back with interest. That had given a substantial blow to the Lestrange fortune. In short, Lord Lestrange hated Arcturus Orion Black with fervour but he knew he was powerless before him. Arcturus was like a giant who could tread upon him anytime and Lestrange would not be able to do anything about it.

Dumbledore said, "You have the floor, Lord Lestrange."

He started to speak after taking a few moments, "In the war, the Dark Lord had used werewolves as creatures to do his bidding. They spread terror, forced witches and wizards into his doing and were his tools of intimidation or extortion. While I would agree with Lord Black that some of them paid the price for defiance of their families of the dark lord and his ways but their numbers are so few that they can be counted on one's fingers. The balance of convenience says that we cannot repeal the laws just because a few of them are good. That would be a catastrophe that would jeopardise all our lives.".

There was mild applause to his statement.

When he sat down, Bartemius Crouch Senior stood, "Chief Warlock, I would like the opportunity to address the Wizengamot."

Dumbledore nodded, "Leave so granted, Lord Crouch."

Crouch turned to the Wizengamot, "As Lord Lestrange pointed out there were only a few werewolves who stood against He Who Must Not Be Named. What he conveniently forgot to mention is that we never gave them any real choice. Whenever someone was turned, we banished them from our midst, treating them as diseased. With the treatment that we meted out to them, they flocked to the one who claimed that he would give them some form of dignity and respect even if it was a lie. Besides, what he said about convenience stands true only in war like conditions where we have to make snap judgements about something. When these laws were written, we were at war. We knew that they were a threat to us so we acted accordingly. Now however, when I look back in retrospect I wonder if things would have been different if we gave them some dignity and respect as one of our own rather than scorning them. If we had not been turning them away from us, they would not have gone over to You-know-who in such great numbers. I say that this is the opportune moment to correct this wrong by supporting this motion. I further would advocate for equal opportunities for them with the ministry taking care of any of them who are living in the wilderness without or as such and provide for them."

As everyone knew Crouch was a strict man who had made some very tough decisions during the war. He had advocated for and given permission to the Aurors to use lethal force during the war. He had been the sort of leader that people needed in time of war. Many had thought that he would become the next minister of magic without any trouble whatsoever. He evidently had not lost his edge still because when he sat, the applause kept going for a few minutes.

When the applause finally settled, Dumbledore rapped his gavel again, "Is there anyone else who wishes to speak to this motion before we move to vote on it?"

Lord Shafiq, who was a very old wizard stood up, "Chief Warlock, I have some reservations of my own in respect to this law and I wish to ask some questions of our esteemed minister before we move to vote on the issue."

Amelia stood at her place, "Ask your questions, Lord Shafiq. I will try to answer them to the best of my ability."

He turned to her, "First question is, what will be the far reaching effects of repealing those laws? Second question is, whether we will dispense with the Werewolf registry if we repeal the laws? Third question is, what does the ministry intend to do for their rehabilitation provided that we give them rights like other members of our society?"

Amelia took her time to give answers to his questions, "Lord Shafiq, we have given considerable thought to addressing these very concerns. The over-arching objective to these changes is to give these people every opportunity to re-enter our society while protecting public safety. When we repeal those laws, it will give them status as any other ordinary member of our society. They would be allowed every such perk and emolument as any ordinary member can enjoy including education provided that they are capable of wielding wands. I am sure that the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry can ensure that they would not pose a threat to the other students. The ministry also intends to engage one of the potion making companies in purchasing wolfsbane from them to be distributed to the werewolves who do not have the means to buy it for themselves. The ministry will provide wolfsbane for them until they can acquire some sort of employment for themselves. The ministry will also take steps to ensure that they are treated with dignity. We would also make some laws regarding their employment. As to your second question, the werewolf registry is in bad shape. It will take some effort to make it effectively functional. That has been in the ministry's agenda for some time now. Here I would like to say that every werewolf has to register themselves with the registry. We will not track them but their magical signatures will be recorded so that they can be apprehended in case they commit a crime. If they are found to be involved in a crime they would be tried like anyone else in compliance with due process except those cases where they turn somebody which is a crime punishable by the Dementor's kiss. The Ministry also intends to raise a task force to deal with the criminal werewolves and bring them to justice, most notably Fenrir Greyback who has much to answer for. Thirdly, we will provide them employment, give them dignity they deserve and the ministry will work towards making them feel like they are a part of our society."

When she sat there was a roaring applause for her. After it lasted for a good 5 minutes, Dumbledore rapped his gavel, "Does anyone else want to address the Wizengamot before we move to a vote?"

When nobody stood up for two minutes, he rapped his gavel again, "Now we will vote on the matter. Those in favour please raise your wands with tips lighted green."

About 50 hands went up and after a quick count, he said, "Now those in oppose please raise your wands tip lighted red."

30 wands went up. Dumbledore rapped his gavel, "The motion is passed with 50 for and 30 against. As per her own statement, Minister Bones will form a plan of action for werewolf integration into our society and other related matters as she stated before the Wizengamot. We expect for her to table a detailed plan of action in the next meeting of the Wizengamot."

With that the meeting turned to daily matters which were swiftly tended to and then the session was adjourned sine die.

When Arcturus left, he went straight to Gringotts to meet with his account manager. He did not even need to send for him. He just walked towards the chamber assigned to his house. After he was comfortably seated before his account manager, Arcturus asked him, "Do you know of any potion businesses which deal completely or in large part with wolfsbane?"

The goblin nodded, "There are a few small businesses, Lord Black. Most of them are in constant requirement of funds since they do not make much by way of profit. Is something on your mind, a profitable venture perhaps?"

Arcturus smirked, "You will have to see the Daily Prophet for the story tomorrow. I want to know because I am willing to buy one such brewing facility. I have known Barnabas Cuffe for years and I am willing to obtain a business in a partnership with him where he would get 20% of the profits in return for his services. Since I intend to produce, package and deliver my products I am sure I can substantially cut down the costs of production which will increase my profits. I want you to find some international liaisons too if you can manage it. I will pay a handsome fee to you personally apart from the standard brokerage charges applicable by the Bank for negotiating this deal."

The goblin nodded, "Who will be the owner of the company, Lord Black?"

He smiled, "My heir, Hadrian Potter-Black will be the owner though the daily affairs will be tended to by Remus Lupin until he comes of age. I want you to write an agreement for Mr. Lupin appointing him as Regent on a salary of 100,000 Galleons a year in addition to other bonuses as payable. He will look after its administration. Also the matter is of some urgency therefore I would bid you to hasten it."

The goblin nodded, "I will do the needful, Lord Black."

Forbidden forest

Voldemort was frustrated. He had combed the forest but he did not get any indication of unicorn in it. Not too surprising since he was a dark wizard, not a tracker. He was surprised that he could find none but he was sure that not all were dead because if they were then it would be just a catastrophe.

He had been scouring the forest every night to find any trace of them but it was like they stayed away from his scent. The problem with possessing Quirrell was two-fold. First, it took a constant effort to maintain his hold on the hapless fool. Second, the possession of any living thing drastically shortened its life-span. He could already feel Quirrell's body weakening under the strain. He had to drink a unicorn's blood very soon or return to his ethereal, wraith-like existence until he could gain the strength and find the opportunity to possess another body. It took him ten years last time and his patience was running out. What's worse, that brat, the child of prophesy, Harry Potter, was growing up fast. It would not be long before the child would prove a real threat to him. The problem with working this way was that there was no one he could rely upon to support him. His ethereal existence would not be a deterrent to his followers from abandoning him.

He decided to get some help in trapping Unicorns because there was no other way that he could help himself. He also needed something to get past the three headed beast because it was all standing between him and his goal. Once he had the stone within his grasp, he would be invincible. He knew he would have to get to Hagrid to loosen up about the beast because he was pretty sure that Hagrid owned it. May be, he would have to cash in on Hagrid's feelings towards beasts to get a way past the cerberus. Hagrid was physically formidable and magically resistant because of his giant blood, but he was no mental giant. He would find a way to get around Hagrid.

Hogwarts

The headlines in The Daily Prophet were the subject of talk at breakfast.

"Ministry repeals anti-werewolf legislation

In the meeting of the Wizengamot for this month, Lord Arcturus Black presented a motion for repeal of the Anti-werewolf legislation which was written during the last war that treated them as an inferior species and a public menace.

Lord Black while speaking in favour of the motion, attracted attention towards those cases where you-know-who used to send them to do his bidding. Many of our own were turned as a result. He emphasised the importance of making them a part of our society stressing that they deserve some dignity because they have no control over their transformations.

His motion was seconded by Dowager Lady Longbottom which comes as a surprise since these two houses have always been considered polar opposites to each other since the establishment of the Wizengamot but sources suggest that the heir of Potter and Black and the Heir of Longbottom are closest bosom friends at Hogwarts where they are in their first year of education.

Speaking in opposition to the motion, Lord Lestrange said that the legislation was suitably drafted because werewolves were criminals who do not belong to this society. They should be kept at arm's length from us civilised people. (See p. 10 for a history of House Lestrange).

Bartemius Crouch Senior, Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation said that the legislation was a hold-over from an era when it was relevant however in the times of peace, we should aspire to include everyone in the grand scheme of things rather than leaving them out, That the legislation discriminated against even those werewolves who never involved themselves in any wrong doing. (See p. 14 for a history of Bartemius Crouch Junior and his incarceration in Azkaban).

Lord Shafiq asked some questions of the Ministry who answered them in detail including her plans for werewolves. One worrying aspect of the measures is that she intends to send werewolf children to take education alongside others at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is a troubling thought considering what would be the repercussions if some of them failed to take their potions. (See p. 15 for a transcript of the session).

This was the news on the front page of the Daily Prophet with Arcturus's photo splashed upon it. Harry who was sitting this morning at the Ravenclaw table for breakfast took a deep sigh.

Isobel who was sitting beside him asked, "That was some sigh. Any worrying news?"

He shook his head, "No, Isobel. It's just that these news papers can't write a piece of news without causing some controversy. I had nothing to do with this news splashed on the front page but they had to drag me into it anyway."

Neville thumped him on the shoulder, "You're a newsworthy person to them, mate. They can't resist the temptation to put your name in and make some money."

Isobel said, "Don't worry much about it, Harry. I'm sure that you're used to it by now. Besides you can't escape it unless you're wearing a glamour charm every time you go out."

He grimaced, "I suppose you're right, Isobel."

She asked him, "What are you doing after class tomorrow?"

He replied, "Since I'm finished with my homework, I don't have any plans. Why?"

She asked coyly, "Maybe, we can go out to the village tomorrow? I have been meaning to do some shopping and I can't open the secret entrance."

He grinned, "Sure thing. I'm already low on dungbombs and stink-pellets."

Neville asked him, "Oi, we just restocked our stores of dungbombs and stink pellets during the holidays. How could you run out of them in two weeks?"

Harry smirked, "leaving two dungbombs a day in Snape's office would do that, mate."

Isobel frowned, "So that's why he has been extra nasty the last few days?"

Harry asked her, "What do you mean?"

She told him, "For the last two classes, he has been docking points off us for making a mess and making the dungeons stink of dungbombs. I should have known you were doing it."

In the first class this term, Snape was teaching them the pompion potion which turned the drinker's head into a pumpkin. This potion required them to crush a Flitterby moth into pulp and add it to the cauldron, then stirr the mixture clockwise until it turned green. The next step was to add bouncing bulb to the mixture which had been thoroughly ground up. Then the mixture had to be stirred anti-clockwise until it turned green before adding sliced foxglove to the mixture. Thereafter it was to be stirred clockwise until it turned Orange.

He had been hovering near Harry's table far too many times, creating a distraction. Harry did not notice until he drawled, "if you have brewed it correctly, then the results should be most interesting. That was worth all the effort. However if you have failed then it will be another P for you all. Now step away from your cauldrons and let me check how you have fared."

Harry, to his horror discovered that his potion was not the colour it was supposed to be. Instead it was an off-shade of Purple. He rifled through his mind to recall what step he had missed. That was when he noticed the Flitterby moth still intact at his workstation. He had forgotten to add it! Neville's was a feeble shade of orange though. That meant he would not be given the Snape treatment which Harry knew was coming for him. He noticed him inspecting Slytherin's and wrinkling his nose in disgust at Crabbe's and Goyle's attempts at brewing the Pompion potion, then passed on. He gave an appreciative nod to Daphne's and Tracy's perfect potions and to Malfoy who smirked. He barely gave a second look to Hermione's who had brewed the perfect potion. Ron's was a shade of red that matched his hair.

When he came to Harry's, he drawled, "What do we have here? What have you brewed for me Potter?"

Harry gritted his teeth, "Professor, my name is Potter-Black. I failed to add the Flitterby moth as per one of your instructions. This is not the pompion potion as you wanted us to brew."

He sneered, "That will be five points from Gryffindor for talking back to a teacher. Five more for a failed potion. You are just like your father, flouting authority and breaking rules.". He pulled out his wand and vanished his potion smirking, "That will be a D for this lesson."

Harry's blood boiled but he clamped down hard on his occlumency shields and controlled his rage. It would do no good to get angry. Anger is a power if properly tamed and seldom used. Getting angry at the slightest provocation would get one nowhere.

He instead said, "Professor, I assume that you will be taking points off Crabbe and Goyle for their failed attempts to brew the perfect potion? Not to mention I expect they will be given D's too?"

Snape angrily turned his back on them and hissed, "5 more points from Gryffindor."

Harry was beyond caring now. He knew that Snape would not be fair to him anytime soon. He had talked to Lord Black about Snape and Arcturus had said, "Lad, I can intervene and bring that death eater in line but what would it prove? Power should not be used blatantly but used with discretion. Besides you are at an age where you have to prove your mettle. If you cannot handle a potions teacher, how can you hope to become a leader of Wizarding Britain?"

He had later met McGonagall and told her about it. She had given 10 points back to him which had been deducted without reason. She however told him in stern words that the 5 points that he lost for talking back to a teacher would remain deducted. For good or bad, Snape was a teacher and by the virtue of his position, he deserved some respect.

The last two potions classes, Harry had clamped down hard on his occlumancy shields and maintained his concentration, no matter how Snape attempted to provoke him. His potions had been perfect, but Snape never gave him anything better than an A while handing out O's to Daphne, Tracy and Malfoy. Harry dropped a dungbomb in his class whenever he got the chance. When he could not do it in person, he asked Kreacher to do it for him. Hearing Isobel telling about his reaction felt extremely satisfying.

"Harry! Harry!", she was shaking his shoulder bringing him out of his musings, "Where did you just go off to?".

He gave her his best lop-sided grin, "Sorry Isobel, I didn't hear what you were saying."

Neville said, "She wants you to stop dung-bombing the dungeons."

Harry looked earnestly at Isobel, "I'll try but it's just so much fun."

She nodded, "Are we still on for the shopping trip later tomorrow?"

He nodded, "Of course. I have to restock my supplies, don't I?"

Lisa who was sitting near-by put her two knuts in, "Please see to it, Potter-Black if you can stop dropping Dungbombs in the dungeons. He seems to be trying to deduct all the lead which other houses have on Slytherin in the quest for the House Cup."

Hermione said, "Except Gryffindor. Professor McGonagall is always giving us bonus points to keep the tally up knowing Professor Snape can take points off for anything."

Library, Hogwarts

Harry and Neville took a table to themselves with the ward device erected and waited for Daphne. She had been away for most of the winter vacation and they had missed her. When she arrived, she had two small packets with her.

She passed the packets to them, "Since I was on a holiday and I could not grab an owl to ask, I did some gift shopping for you two by myself. I hope that you like them."

They immediately tore through the packing to find their gifts. Harry's present was an enchanted mirror. When Harry held it up to see himself, it said, "Your hair is a bird's nest." Harry snorted then reached for a comb. By the time he finished his antics and gave up trying to tame his Potter mane as a bad job, Daphne and Neville were both helpless with laughter.

Neville's was a book on herbology.

Harry frowned, "Why do I get a mirror and Mr. Green thumbs gets a book?"

She smirked, "Well, I have heard that you are too proud of your looks so I thought I would rather get you a mirror which can tell you the bitter truth. I could not find an identical mirror for Mr. Green thumbs so he gets the book."

Harry said to her haughtily, "I will have you know Daph that I am ruggedly handsome."

Daphne snorted but chose to let it go. She instead asked, "So what have you two louts got for me?"

Neville produced a tiny box exquisitely wrapped in gold foil paper with a green satin ribbon, topped with a bow from his bag. He gave it to her, "I got this for you."

There was a pair of beautiful golden rings in the said gift which she accepted happily. She turned to Harry expectantly who was trying to hide his face and said in a surprised tone, "What? You have nothing for me?"

He said, "Actually I wanted to get something for you but Mr. Green thumbs here told me to ask you before buying anything for you." He glared at Neville, "How could you do this to me, minion?

Neville grinned, "To each his own, Harry. You should not have asked me for advice."

Harry turned to Daphne, "My apologies for trusting the advice of a minion, Daphne. May I offer to take you shopping in the village tomorrow to make it up to you? Then I will happily buy a gift as you desire."

She raised an eyebrow, "A shopping trip? When did you even plan it?"

He shrugged, "Isobel wanted to go so I agreed."

She sounded incredulous, "What? Do you want me to be a third wheel between you and her?"

He immediately tried to dispel the tension, "Of course not. My minion here has agreed to be your escort for the day."

She grinned and rubbed her hands gleefully, "Excellent! Your minion can carry all the bags for me."

A/N- hi guys. I know this was very late but I am in mental tension these days due to my mother's ailment. Most of the times, my mind is caught upon her condition so I can't write as frequently as I would like yet I would try to be more frequent.