Author's Notes: The Rotten Writer, here again, gang, with another update for Soul Scars. All right, first and foremost, I'll be honest, conversations dealing with people like Fudge, I have trouble with. The pure idiocy and in ability to listen to common sense or reason just drives me nuts, so I struggle to do him justice. I really do. So I'm going to apologize now if the whole thing seems off but it's really bout the best I can do right now.

Things are finally starting to move forward and we should be seeing the end of this year coming up pretty fast, honestly. Possibly next chapter or the one after. I make no promises though. I wanted to do some more forward movement with the girls, and Harry as well, but I thought things might get a little old with the last couple chapters having some big advancements so I'm gonna save some of that for the next one.

Disclaimer: I still own nothing… that is all.

Here is chapter 39 of Soul Scars! Enjoy.

Soul Scars Part Three

The Greengrass Problem

by,

Rtnwriter

Director Croaker stood silently, carefully studying the names on the wall and silently lamenting the time lost to studying one of magic's greatest mysteries. Harry James Potter and Hermione Jean Granger. Two parts of a larger whole. Those two names, spelled out in glittering gold, gleamed brightly against the dark stone wall. He studied them for a moment, looking for any difference in their appearance from when last he'd looked and, when he found none, he turned his attention to two other names.

Daphne Annabelle Greengrass and Susan Amelia Bones. No longer did they shine the same gold as their bond mates. Instead, like an Aurora, the two names literally glowed with an ever shifting and changing mixture of green and auburn light. At no time was there even a moment where the two colors were truly separate from each other. They were mixed, blended together, likely never to be separate again.

"So, those two completed the bond first," he muttered to himself.

It likely wouldn't be much longer before the others joined and all that meant to Croaker was that the time of The Hydra was fast approaching.

He glanced down at the missive that he held in one hand from Director Bones and allowed himself to feel some small hope. Potter and his girls had agreed to a meeting after they finished school for the year. One small ray of hope in the darkness, at least.

He turned and left the room, and as the door closed behind him, green and auburn light continued to cast the empty space in a soft, ethereal glow.

Minutes ticked past when, suddenly, the empty room wasn't empty any longer. Without a sound or flash of light or any other telltale sign that might indicate the use of magic, two people appeared before the wall.

One, a male a few inches shorter than his companion looked curiously about as they appeared, light hazel eyes missing nothing as they scanned the room. He appeared to be of European descent, but, at a glance, identifying his nationality was an impossibility. His face was handsome, angular, and framed by shaggy, light brown hair that fell to his shoulders in an unkempt mop fit to put a certain raven haired wizard to shame.

His companion was a statuesque beauty. Tall and slender with alabaster skin that seemed to reflect the light dancing across her. Violet colored eyes peered out of an oval face with high cheekbones and a narrow chin. She had a pert, slightly upturned nose and deep red lips that contrasted beautifully with her hair, black as a raven's wing, that cascaded in waves down to the middle of her back.

Both were dressed quite comfortably in muggle jeans and t-shirts. The man's shirt was black with yellow lettering across his chest that read:

I hear voices…

...and they don't like you.

Her shirt was a simple emerald green item that hugged her figure enticingly and left little doubt that she was in excellent shape and stunning in her appearance.

"Oh, look!" the woman breathed in a pleasant alto. "Two of them have already completed the bond.

"Well, of course they did," the man groused, his voice a smooth tenor. "That is why we came back to this Circe be damned cesspool of a country."

"Oh, stop it," she admonished him, scowling at his irritated response. "You're just as excited as I am, you just don't want to admit it."

He grumbled something under his breath but did not respond otherwise and crossed his tanned arms over his chest, glaring at the woman.

"Susan and Daphne," she said, rolling the names slowly, as if tasting them. "Such pretty names."

He grunted. "But that Hermione, what were her parents thinking?"

"Hermione is a beautiful name," she argued.

"Bet she's a pretentious swot," he grumbled and she, none too gently, smacked his shoulder.

"Now, you stop that," she snapped. "No forming opinions before we've observed them, you know the rules."

"We wrote the rules," he tried to argue, but she would would hear none of it and, a few moments later, the room was empty again. Their departure was just as silent and sudden as their arrival had been and no one would ever know that they had ever even been there.

#####

The first week back at school had come, and gone. Classes had gotten harder than ever, but Harry and his friends were still ahead of the curve. Studying ahead certainly had its advantages and he was grateful that Hermione had talked him out of focusing only on defense during their spell practice. As a result, they already knew the majority of the spells the were supposed to learn and that made the practical portions of their wand based classes much easier, and left them a little more time to focus on other classes like Runes and Arithmancy.

Tonks had seemed to slide right back into the routine with nary a misstep, joining them for their morning workouts as well as evening spell practice and she'd actually upped the level of the workouts that Neville and Harry were doing, saying they weren't exhausted enough after each morning.

She trained with them, keeping pace with the boys while the girls were just a touch behind since they'd started much later. She attended every class with them, except for Hermione's extra courses, and had, generally, been accepted by the rest of the school a a part of the group that had previously been made up only of Harry, Neville, and the three girls. Yes, Blaise, Hannah, Tracey, and Luna joined them on occasion, but it was those five that had been thick as thieves from the beginning.

To Harry's disappointment, there had still been no sign of Sirius, something Tonks had been quick to tell him in a quiet whisper at dinner the night they returned on the Hogwarts Express. She and Kingsley had taken shifts watching the map over the break but never saw a sign of the elusive animagus.

Harry shoved every worry aside, though, when they entered the Hospital Wing on their first Sunday morning back in the school for their weekly check in with Madam Pomfrey. Susan and Daphne had both seemed increasingly nervous as the week had worn on though neither he or Hermione had questioned them on it, and he wondered if perhaps they might find out what was going on, soon.

As usual, Madam Pomfrey started her examination with Hermione, then Harry, and both were exactly as they'd been since the end of the previous year, their own soul surrounding them in a brilliant aura of light and there were three different masses of energy mashed together just over their hearts with twisting veins spreading out through their entire bodies.

It wasn't until Susan stepped forward and the spell was cast on her that they saw something different. Over her heart there were only two lights, gold and silver, with their extending veins branching out as ever before. But the aura of her own soul had changed. No longer was it a solid auburn. Instead, her soul was a mixture of her well known auburn and Daphne's easily recognizable green. It was a mesmerizing sight, a shifting, ever changing aurora with no delineation between the two. Both colors seemed to bleed and fade into each other leaving nothing to show that they supposedly belonged to two separate individuals.

When it faded, Harry, Hermione, and Madam Pomfrey were left staring in amazed wonder at Susan and Daphne.

"Well," Madam Pomfrey finally said after a few moments of awkward silence. "Lady Greengrass, if you will?"

Daphne and Susan traded places and, when the spell was cast, she appeared exactly as Susan had. The two were identical.

Sighing, Poppy conjured herself a chair at the foot of their beds and sat, studying them calmly for several long, contemplative seconds.

"So," she said. "Obviously enough, something has changed, again."

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," Susan said, almost timidly.

"Care to explain what happened?"

This was the part that had been worrying them. Susan and Daphne looked to each other, concerned over how this would be received. Before returning to the school, they had managed to get an hour to talk to Healer Gant, and he had been less than helpful with his advice, in their opinion. According to him, letting Harry know that the two girls were in love might actually slow his own growth into their relationship.

First, being raised in an abusive home and told, constantly, how worthless he was and how no one loved or cared for him, it'd taken two and a half years already, just to get him used to the idea that people actually cared about him and wanted the best for him. As well as he'd responded to Amelia's caring guardianship and the girls and the rest of their friends companionship, he was still not in the mindset of love.

Also, raised in the muggle world, the idea of multiple partners probably wouldn't immediately occur to him and he might automatically classify them as 'off limits' in his own head, not wanting to interfere with the girls relationship.

But if they kept it from him, that could, and likely would, do even more damage in the long run. He could retreat behind his walls and stop sharing the stories of his scars with them, or worse, he could retreat even further, back to how he'd been in first year, barely letting on to anyone how he was feeling except when he was angry.

When Daphne asked if they could just tell him that all four of them could be together, he was insistent that they not do that.

"Look, I understand you want him with you, you want him to know how much you care for him, but a kid like Harry… he still doesn't understand what he feels, and he's not the type to act on feelings he doesn't really understand. He'll be more likely to pull away. It's a difficult situation, but you really have to wait for some more overt signs from him that he's ready."

Of course, he'd been unforthcoming on what kind of signs they should have been looking for and neither of them were entirely certain either, short of him pushing one of them up against a wall and snogging them silly, they weren't completely certain what to look for.

"Ladies?" Madam Pomfrey prompted and both girls shook themselves out of their thoughts, exchanging a look for a moment before Daphne got out of bed and moved over to sit beside Susan.

"Ummm… on Christmas Eve, Daphne was nearly bound to a contract with the Malfoy Family," Susan started the explanation.

"Our friends, including Blaise Zabini, from Slytherin, worked out the details to a plan that Harry came up with to stop that from happening," Daphne continued before Susan took over again.

"We found out about it a month before we came back for this year and we've been working on a way to get her away since then, which worked. Christmas Eve, Harry pulled off the plan and that's why Daphne is the Lady Greengrass, now."

"By the time we went to bed that night, I realized that I had almost lost them, and they almost lost me," Daphne said and Susan wrapped one arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "I hated that feeling, and I realized that I really do love Susan, and I didn't want to stay quiet until the next emergency came up, in case I didn't get a chance to tell her."

"And I've known since the end of first year that I loved Daphne, so when she finally admitted it to me, I told her I loved her, too, and kissed her," Susan explained, her cheeks a light pink as she took up the telling of their story. "When we opened our eyes there was this bright auburn and green light around us that faded away after a few seconds."

Hermione was almost bouncing in place on her bed, giddy with excitement for her bond mates, but she managed to refrain from launching herself at the two of them for what would have been an epic Hermione level hug while still in the presence of the mothering mediwitch. Harry had, at first, appeared a little wide eyed at the mention of the two girls kissing, but quickly recovered from his surprise.

"And have you noticed anything different about your connection since then?" Madam Pomfrey asked in his usual business-like manner, not even batting an eye at the girls intimacy.

"Well… we have noticed that not even Occlumency can keep us from feeling each other's emotions anymore," Daphne said. "Before, we could block our feelings without affecting the bond itself, like we used to, but not since that night. We're completely open books to each other, now."

"And we can feel when the other is close by, and where," Susan added. "Like, if Daphne and I were both in different parts of the Library, I could point to her without even being able to see her and I know I'd be able to find her pretty easily if I needed to. I don't think there's been anything else, that we've noticed, at least." Susan looked to the blond pressed against her side as Daphne nodded in agreement.

Poppy asked a few more questions, some of which had all four teens blushing a brilliant scarlet, but, eventually, she let them go after securing a promise from all three girls to return the next day for a meeting with her. She would have done so immediately, but already had obligations to meet that day that precluded her from any meetings other than a medical emergency. Something about the way she spoke of this meeting filled the girls with a sensation akin to dread but they knew they weren't getting out of it so they simply agreed, as calmly as they could, and took their leave the moment Madam Pomfrey said they could go.

They hadn't even stepped five feet out of the Wing before the doors closed and Hermione finally got to hug Daphne and Susan.

"Oh, this is wonderful, I'm so excited for you two," she practically squealed, babbling energetically at them both as she crushed first one girl and then the other. A hand on her shoulder calmed her, slightly, and Harry stepped forward, drawing both girls into a hug with one arm wrapped around each of them.

"I'm very happy for the both of you," he murmured, quietly. "You deserve someone to make you happy." Some of their nervousness over his reaction bled away as he hugged them. They could feel that he really was genuinely happy for them. Beneath that, however, they could feel a sense of lost confusion, apprehension, and a touch of melancholy that had them both fighting back the urge to drag him to the Room, sit him down, and explain to him in careful detail that all four of them could be together.

Their conversation with Healer Gant, and the emotions they felt from Harry stopped them, however. They knew Harry, just as well as Hermione did and the three of them knew him better than anyone in the world. He was going to have to come to some conclusions on his own, without being pressured into anything. He would understand, eventually, that he wasn't too broken to be loved, he wasn't worthless, or unworthy.

He would get there, but they needed to be patient with him and remind him and Hermione both that they were still central figures in their lives and they would not be losing any of the closeness that the four shared. That was never going to change as far as they were concerned.

He finally stepped back from them, smiling at their careful assurances and started down the corridor.
"Come on," he called back over his shoulder. "We've still got work to do and I think some of our friends might like to hear the good news."

The rest of that Sunday was spent celebrating with their closest friends, with the understanding that not a word of Susan and Daphne's relationship was to be spread anywhere. The wizarding world still had too many prejudices and while they didn't mind their friends knowing, they knew that if the general public got hold of that information they would be the recipient of more than a few howlers and disgusted looks.

Fred and George simply lamented the fact that they'd never get a chance at either of the young beauties, until Harry asked how their girlfriends, Alicia and Angelina, were doing and the twins paled and fell silent, something that had the rest of them roaring with laughter for some time.

#####

"Lord Potter?"

Harry turned from his dinner that Monday evening to look to Professor McGonagall who had come up behind him where he and his friends were sitting at the Hufflepuff table, once again.

"Professor?" he asked, politely while the girls sitting on either side of him stopped eating but didn't turn.

Wordlessly, she held out a folded piece of parchment which he unfolded and quickly read over the note, written in Dumbledore's loopy script.

Lord Potter-

I would greatly appreciate it if you would meet me this evening in my office after dinner. Of course, your bond mates are more than welcome to accompany you. Since Halloween night I have been working on a solution to a problem that concerns us both, as well as a certain canine.

Albus Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

By the way, I have recently discovered the muggle confection known as a Mars Bar, and I find myself wondering if you have ever had the pleasure?

After finishing the note, he folded it back up and tucked it into his pocket.

"Thank you, Professor. Please let the Headmaster know I'll be there."

She nodded, curtly then turned and walked back to the staff table.

They quickly fell back to finishing their food so they would be ready to go by the time the Headmaster was finished eating with his own meal.

When they saw him stand and exit through a door at the back of the Hall, they were finished and didn't feel much like waiting for dessert, so they told their friends they would see them later and started making their way to the Headmaster's Office.

"Come in," Dumbledore called, just before Harry knocked on the thick door leading into the office. He quickly pulled the door opened and the four of them filed inside, sitting in a set of chairs that were already there waiting for them before the large wooden desk.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," the Headmaster said after they were seated and his usual offer of candy was politely declined.

"Your note said that this was to help Sirius," Harry responded. "What can I do?"

"Yes, quickly to the point. The biggest problem, I'm sure we can agree, is Minister Fudge's insistence of Sirius' guilt and absolute refusal to consider any other possibility. If Madam Bones or any of her Aurors go to him with the knowledge that he was never given a trial, then their careers will be at risk, and, possibly, their freedom, as he expressly forbade any investigation and had all the records sealed. The only reason that Miss Tonks was able to access the records was because she went looking personally, and under the guise of a clerk in the records department."

"So far, what you're saying seems to indicate that it will be impossible to do anything."

"No, Lady Greengrass," he said, his twinkling blue eyes turning toward her. "Not impossible, merely difficult."

"Then what is it that you had planned, Sir?" Harry asked, trying not to sound as impatient as he felt.

"As I see it, there are two possible courses of action that we could take. However, each one requires that Mister Black be in our custody, or that of Madam Bones and her two trusted Aurors. Any other capture would be most unfortunate, and, most likely, would end with a Dementor's Kiss being applied before we would have time to act. So, to start, we need to get the kiss-on-sight order rescinded, and to do that we must get the public on our side by getting the word out that Sirius never received a trial."

"How are we supposed to do that? It's already been said that the Prophet would never publish an article like that and Amelia would get in trouble if the word got out."

"Yes, Madam Bones would find herself in a bit of a sticky situation if such an article were to be written without anything to deflect suspicion from her."

"And you have a way to deflect that suspicion, now, that wasn't in place before?" Susan asked, curiously.

"Indeed, I do, Miss Bones. On November 1st, I went to the Ministry and requested a copy of the arrest and trial records for Sirius Black on behalf of Lord Potter."

The twinkling in the aged wizards blue eyes had reached a new level of brilliance as the four of them blinked, bewildered by his statement.

"But… you said that the Minister had the records sealed," Harry pointed out, confused.

"True. However, the Minister's Office does not have quite the authority to do that, entirely on its own, and in a way that the seal cannot be circumvented. Without a decision by the Wizengamot to seal the records, those records can be ordered unsealed by the Chief Warlock, which, as it so happens, is me."

Dumbledore looked inordinately pleased with himself, which had the four teens smiling back at his behavior before they even realized what they were doing.

"What was that about asking for them on my behalf?" Harry asked.

"Ah, yes, I do apologize for not consulting you beforehand, but I felt, under the circumstances, that you would not object. Since one of the primary concerns is Madam Bones getting dragged under the lumos, as it were, I spun a bit of a tale of a young man, faced with the knowledge that his families betrayer had escaped and wanting to know 'why?'. Why did a man, frequently described as a brother to James Potter in all but blood, choose to betray him? Your hope was that the transcript of his interrogation and trial might provide some answers."

"And by saying that the request came from Harry," Hermione mused, "you manage to keep Amelia's name out of it entirely. That's brilliant, Sir."

"Precisely, Miss Granger. Now, imagine our surprise when it is discovered that there was no interrogation, and no trial. How could this have happened? Without a trial, there's no way to say that Sirius is actually guilty, and there is no explanation for his answers for the only surviving member of the family he helped destroy."

He winced at Harry's frown.

"I am sorry for that bit of imagery, Lord Potter, but trust me, that pageantry will play well and get public opinion on your side. I do not wish to dredge up the painful past, but in this case it can only help your eventual goal of getting Sirius the trial he never had and seeing that, if he truly is innocent, he is freed as he should be, and if he isn't, then we can be certain that the man deserved to spend his time in Azkaban."

Harry sighed and nodded. "No, I understand the value of it, Professor. I don't like it, but I do understand."

"So, getting this information to the public would help us get the masses on our side?" Hermione asked and Susan nodded.

"Right. Sirius was the Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. The general public, and the members of the Wizengamot will be in an uproar at even the possibility that he might have been sent to prison without a trial. The Blacks are one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and they'll be furious. Fudge's office will end up bombarded with so many howlers that he won't have any choice but to call off the kiss-on-sight order and see about getting him a trial."

"Well, all that sounds perfect, but you said there were two possible courses of action. This sounds like the only thing we really need to do," Harry pointed out.

"Alas, if only that were true. By getting the kiss-on-sight order removed, that should reduce the danger Sirius is under. However that would not prevent, say a 'rogue Dementor' from kissing him. Or even, once captured, him being killed in an escape attempt." Dumbledore actually made air quotes with his fingers when he said 'rogue Dementor' to indicate what he thought of that possibility.

"So what can we do?"

"We need to capture him, once again, or Madam Bones does. If he is captured by Madam Bones or either of her Aurors, you, Harry, could offer him House Protection and therefore he would become your responsibility. It would be impossible for Fudge to do anything to him without a great deal of heat coming down on his head. And if he is captured by the staff, I could, possibly, let it slip that he might ask for Sanctuary. If he requests Sanctuary, then he becomes a ward of the school, and cannot be removed by anyone save the Headmaster. Which I would only do to bring him to the court for his trial, and only on the day of said trial."

Harry shared a grin with his girls, each of them feeling much better about their chances of getting Sirius the justice he'd been denied.

"Okay, if the Prophet won't publish anything on this, though, who do we go to?"

"Don't you have a young friend who's father is the owner and editor of his own news magazine?" Dumbledore asked, a gentle smile just visible behind his beard.

They frowned at that for a moment before Hermione perked up. "Luna?" she asked. "You're talking about the Quibbler aren't you?"

"Indeed, I am."

"But…" Hermione looked helplessly at her bond mates. "I'm sorry, you know I love Luna to death, she's a sweetheart, but the Quibbler isn't very widely read, and most people don't take it seriously, at all. Most see it as a bit of a joke, to be honest."

"True, but, as you've noticed, the vast majority of our society does tend to believe what they read, without thinking too much on the facts."

Daphne, Susan, and Hermione winced at that as Harry's face darkened. When the article about their bond had come out over the summer, they had been sent a number of howlers and even several booby trapped bits of mail from incensed witches all over the country. Luckily the wards at the Boneyard wouldn't allow malicious packages or letters to be delivered and the only thing they actually received were insulting letters with no charms or enchantments on them, and those had been bad enough.

"Also, I imagine that a certain wealthy young Lord would be more than able to pay to have a copy sent to every wizarding household in the country, along with every Hogwarts student," added, looking meaningfully at Harry. "That would more than assure that the story was spread far and wide."

Harry was nodding in agreement before he even realized it. "We need to see Luna," he said, and the girls quickly agreed as Dumbledore leaned back in his seat, looking even more pleased with himself.

They spent the next twenty minutes working out how they might approach Luna and what they could say for the article before they were ready to head off to their next meeting with Professor McGonagall. Before leaving, Harry stopped and turned back to the Headmaster.

"Sir?" he asked, and Dumbledore looked up from a stack of parchment he'd placed in front of him on his desk.

"Lord Potter?"

"Thank you, Sir," he said. "I'll admit, this all goes a long way toward helping restore some of my trust in you. You didn't have to do all of this and I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate it."

"It is my honest pleasure, Lord Potter. Such a miscarriage of justice I have never seen or even heard of before. I could not, in good conscience, sit by and not do my absolute best to see this matter come to the best possible resolution for all involved. You have my word, I will continue to work on it, and I am also working on a proposal to pitch several of your suggestions for improvements to the school to the Board of Governors as well. We can do much good, working together, you and I. I hope to see us both making a positive difference in our world many decades from now."

Harry nodded. "Goodnight, Sir. And please, I think it's time you can drop the 'Lord' at least in private."

Dumbledore's smile was broad and beaming.

"Goodnight to you as well, Mister Potter."

#####

It had been two more weeks since their meeting with Dumbledore and the day after they'd tracked down Luna and went over the plan with her. She'd been thrilled for the opportunity to write an article for them and that weekend they'd sat down and worked out the entire thing. It was supposed to be a rush issue that would be delivered in the next few days and Harry, for one, was interested to see how it would be received. Hopefully, Sirius might even see it and would come to the castle to turn himself in.

The girls didn't seem to think that was too likely, but he still had his fingers crossed for a bit of good luck.

All that aside, it had been two weeks, and Harry Potter was confused.

Confused was probably putting things a little simply. In point of fact, he felt completely and utterly bewildered. To make matters worse, the source of his perplexing confusion was not one that he could avoid, even if he'd wanted to.

He growled, softly, and shoved his Runes book away as he realized that his thoughts had wandered again and he wasn't getting any of his work accomplished. He lifted his head and looked across the room toward the very reason that he was so confused.

Reasons, really.

Three of them.

Daphne, Hermione, and Susan.

To be fair, Hermione was less a source of confusion for him than the other two, but she was still confusing to him in her own right, and thus he included her as one of his problems, for the moment.

First, his mind kept casting back to the day before that meeting with the Headmaster. The day they discovered that Daphne and Susan had completed their portion of the bond. They'd said that they admitted they loved each other on Christmas Eve, but Daphne had kissed him just over a week later, on New Years Eve.

As if that wasn't confusing enough. Daphne had actually kissed him! He still couldn't wrap his brain around it. Why? Why would she kiss him, of all people? He was broken and in no way worth anything more than the friendship they'd already shown him. Did Susan know? If she didn't, didn't that mean that Daphne had cheated on her by kissing him? Or were they not actually together, as in, in a relationship?

On the one hand, he wasn't sure that it was any of his business and maybe he should just stay out of it. On the other hand, though, he didn't know if he should talk to Susan and tell her what'd happened. He didn't want to hurt Susan if she didn't know about it, but he also didn't want to keep something like this from her. And he still couldn't convince himself that Daphne would ever intentionally do anything to harm any of them, so there had to be something else going on, but what?

And then there was Hermione, who added her own bit of confusion to the chaos that was already rampaging its way through his skull. Hermione was acting differently around him since their return to the school.

Actually, all three girls were acting differently. Not a significant departure, but enough of one that he noticed. For quite a while, all three girls would hug him, or kiss his cheek for one reason or another, and he'd long come to appreciate and even greatly enjoy this affection from his bond mates. But lately, he'd noticed some differences in how they went about it. The hugs seemed to be lasting longer than they used to. They felt more intimate, somehow, in a way he couldn't quite describe. And the kisses on his cheeks seemed to be getting closer to his lips each time they did it, sometimes just barely missing the corner of his mouth by mere millimeters.

Honestly, it was starting to drive him to distraction and he just didn't know what to do about it.

He started a moment later when a rolled up bit of parchment bounced off the side of his head and he turned, glaring at the brown haired boy sitting at the table with him.

"What?" he almost snapped, but kept his voice down so as not to draw the girl's, or Tonks' attention, where they were working on something on the other side of the Room of Requirement. Whatever it was seemed to include a fair amount of giggling and whispering and he wasn't really sure he wanted to know what they were talking about.

"Mate, you've been off in your own little world for a while now. I spent five minutes trying to get your attention."

Harry flushed slightly and hunched his shoulders without realizing it.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Don't be sorry," Neville said. "What's wrong? You never get like that."

Harry peered at Neville, studying his friend, carefully. Should he unload his concerns on him?

Neville had said, on more than one occasion, that Harry could talk to him about anything, and that Neville's lips would be sealed. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk to someone, since trying to figure things out on his own was driving him 'round the twist. And besides, everyone did keep telling him that he needed to talk to people more.

Abruptly, he stood and started packing his supplies into his bag.

"Everything all right, there, Harry?" Tonks asked from her spot by the girls.

"Fine," he said. "Just can't concentrate, so Neville and I were gonna go for a walk."

"We were?" Neville asked, an amused look on his face.

"Yeah, Nev," Harry practically growled, "we were."

"Just checking." With that, Neville started packing away his own books and parchments.

"I'll let Shack know, so he can keep watch on you with the map." Tonks pressed the tip of her wand to her throat and muttered a few words before she turned and cast her patronus at the nearest wall. "Well, have fun, boys."

The two of them waved to the four girls and quickly stopped by the dorms to drop off their bags before heading out onto the grounds. Neville was bundled up against the January cold in his heaviest winter cloak, scarf, gloves, and a thick jumper under his robes and still looked a little cold.

Harry had his dragon hide boots, a pair of worn, comfortable jeans, and one of his black long sleeved shirts under a simple jacket.

"Aren't you cold?" Neville asked as they crunched their way across the grounds through the ankle deep snow toward the lake and Harry shrugged.

"Not really. Madam Pomfrey thinks it's because of the feather in my arm. Phoenixes are creatures of fire, so I guess the cold just isn't as bad to me as it is to other people."

After walking silently for about five minutes, Neville finally had enough and turned to his best friend.

"All right, Harry, the mystery is fascinating and all, but I can't even try to help you if you don't start talking, he pointed out, reasonably.

Harry's shoulders hunched beneath his jacket and he frowned.

"I don't know, Nev," he sighed. "I'm just… confused, I guess."

"Okay… confused about what?"

Harry muttered something, his cheeks reddening more than Neville thought the cold air would account for and cocked his head to the sighed, staring intently at his friend.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Nothing. This was stupid, let's just head back inside, Nev."

"Harry," Neville said in a sharp tone he'd rarely used. "Look, I don't know what's eating you, and maybe I won't be any help at all, but we're here, and I'm offering. So just spit it out already."

Looking extremely nervous, Harry shifted uncomfortably for a few moments before hissing out in a low voice, "Daphne kissed me."

Neville blinked. Of all the possible things he might have thought could be bothering his friend, getting kissed by a beautiful girl would likely never have made the list.

"Okay, now I'm confused. How is a pretty girl kissing you causing all this trouble?"

Harry gaped at the other boy for a minute.

"Did you forget us telling you and our other friends that Daphne and Susan are in love?"

Neville shook his head. "No, my memory is pretty rotten at times, but it's not that bad."

"Well that was Christmas Eve when they told each other that. Daphne kissed me on New Years Eve, right at midnight."

Neville quirked a brow in Harry's direction.
"I'm still not seeing the problem here. Give me a little more to work with, would ya, Harry?"

The dark haired teen groaned in frustration. "Neville, come on. Daphne kissed me a week after telling Susan she loved her. If she loves Susan, what's she doing kissing me? Doesn't that mean she cheated by kissing me? And why in the hell would she want to with me, anyway? And on top of that all three of them have been acting weird lately…"

As Harry continued to ramble, Neville's mouth dropped open. By the time his friend was finished voicing his concerns he'd started cursing quietly under his breath. "Well, fuck," he finally said and turned his attention back to Harry, who was staring at him as if he'd just grown a second head. "All right, I think there's still a few aspects of wizarding culture that we've missed…"

He trailed off, frowning in thought and Harry did his level best to hold his tongue and simply wait for Neville to get his thoughts in order.

When he finally did, he turned fully to face his friend and gestured to a large rock nearby and the two of them took a seat.

"Okay, look, you realize there's a really, really simple solution to this whole thing, right?" Neville asked and held back a groan when Harry gave him a blank stare back. "Mate, just talk to the girls."

Harry shook his head. "I don't think I can do that. Not yet, at least," he muttered and Neville chuckled quietly.

"Just like last year. Man faces Dark Lords and basilisks and giant three headed dogs, but a girl has you running for the hills."

Neville either didn't notice, or didn't mind the punch to the arm that Harry gave him but reigned in his amusement to try to help.

"You could try talking to Amelia, you know? She is your guardian."

"And one of the girls involved is her niece, her only family. I don't want to cause trouble."

"Have you considered the possibility that maybe they like you?"

Harry blinked at that. "Well, yeah I know they like me. We're friends. Probably closer than most people could say about their friends."

Neville sighed. "Look, Mate, I really think that you just need to talk to them. I could offer suggestions or theories all day, but until you actually talk to them you'll never know what's going on. Anything we might come up with could be completely off the mark. You want to vent, rant, just let out the worries on your mind, I'm here for you. But I really think you've only got one thing you can do, at this point, to clear this all up."

With another groan, Harry flopped back on the rock, staring up at the grey sky above them as Neville sympathetically patted his shoulder.

#####

"Harry!"

"Oof!"

"Thank you so much. Father said this is going to be the best run for the Quibbler ever! Why didn't you tell me you paid to have so many issues sent out?"

"Urghh…"

"Luna, honey, maybe you should get off of him and he might be able to answer you?" Hermione suggested, doing her best to hold back her laughter while beside her, Daphne and Susan were openly giggling, leaning on each other for support at the sight of their bond mate, lying on the floor in the entrance hall beneath a wildly excited Luna Lovegood.

As they'd approached, Harry had been talking about the new runic sequences they were expecting to see in class that day. Aside from Defense, Runes was rapidly becoming one of his favorite classes. It wasn't quite as useful in a pinch as Charms and Transfiguration, but with some advanced planning, Runes could do things that most other branches of magic couldn't hold a candle to and he was quite enjoying himself.

As such, he hadn't been paying attention when a tiny blond missile had slammed into his midsection at significant speed, sending both tumbling to the stone floor under their feet.

"Hi… Luna…" he groaned as the excitable blond climbed off of him.

"Come," she said, grabbing his hand as soon as his feet were under him and started dragging him into the Great Hall. "The issues were just delivered and Hedwig is waiting for you to come collect yours." She paused for a moment, staring absently up at the enchanted ceiling in thought. "I wonder how she managed to get it away from the delivery owl," she muttered before shrugging and continued to drag Harry toward the Ravenclaw table. Pushing him down onto the bench she waited, impatiently, for him to turn as his girls and Neville found their seats, bouncing happily on her toes.

"You guys mind?" Harry asked, arching a brow at his snickering and giggling friends and bond mates.

"No, Harry," Neville choked out. "We don't mind at all."

Rolling his eyes he turned his attention to the beautiful snowy owl standing on the table in front of him and gently stroked her feathers.

"Morning, Hedwig," he murmured and she let out a soft bark, leaning into his hand for a moment before she straightened up and held out one leg to drop the rolled up magazine she was clutching in her talons into his outstretched hand. Harry thanked her, handed her a few pieces of bacon, and unrolled the magazine.

On the cover were two pictures, one of Sirius from his early days as an Auror, just before the end of the war, and the other was his wanted poster. The difference between the two images, when placed side by side like that, were truly startling. The one showed a man of vitality. He was healthy, fit, cheerful, if the mischievous grin on his face was anything to go by. His dark eyes sparkled with mirth and even Harry could tell that he looked good in his dress uniform. The second picture with his emaciated frame, wild eyes, and unkempt, filthy appearance was as night was to day from the first image.

Quickly, he opened up the issue, found the article, and started reading.

Sirius Black. Mad Man? Or Victim?

By,

Luna Lovegood

Much has been said in recent months about recent Azkaban Escapee Sirius Orion Black. It has been said that he betrayed James and Lily Potter and their son, Harry Potter, to You-Know-Who. It has been said that he led the Dark Lord to their hidden home to have them murdered. It has even been said that he was the right hand of the Dark Lord, a mad dog, a killer, a mad man.

What has not been spoken of is what he took from a young man that many in our society consider a hero and a savior for that night just over twelve years ago when James and Lily Potter lost their lives and left their fifteen-month-old son behind. With Black's escape from Azkaban, Lord Potter found he had questions. Questions he had previously had no recourse to address.

At his request, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore traveled to the Ministry Records Department in search of the transcripts of both the interrogation and criminal trial of one Sirius Black. Imagine, readers, the Headmasters surprise when he found no record of any trial. No record means that no trial was ever conducted. More than that, no official charges were ever filed in Black's case.

Ministry law allows them to hold a suspect for a maximum of 30 days without charges. If no charges are filed then the suspect must be set free. It is clear, that in this instance, whether Black is guilty or not, his incarceration was an illegal act on the part of the Ministry. The Heir of a Most Ancient and Noble House, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight has spent twelve years in the worst prison in the world and it was done against the very laws of our country.

And now, Minister Fudge has a kiss-on-sight order out for Black. This can only be seen as a deliberate act of attempted murder of the Scion of one of our societies founding families and I for one hope that Minister Fudge will act in all due diligence, rescind the order, and get Sirius Black the trial that he was denied twelve years ago. Obviously, Minister Fudge was not in office when this gross miscarriage of justice occurred and cannot be held responsible, himself. Now that he knows, I hope to see him act to correct this tragedy.

The article went on to detail the information that Harry had gleaned from his mother's journals and the letters left for him from both of his parents as well as details about Sirius' brief Auror career, the multiple battles he participated in and listed the names of more than a dozen criminal wizards that he had either arrested himself, or assisted in their capture as part of a team.

"Luna, this is fantastic," he said, drawing the little blond into an enthusiastic hug.

Flushing to the roots of her hair, but smiling widely, Luna skipped her way around the table to take a seat next to Cedrella who was grinning knowingly at Harry as he skimmed through the article again. She cast knowing looks in the other girl's directions and Daphne, Susan, and Hermione could only roll their eyes at their oblivious bond mate before turning their attention back to their own read through of the article.

"Any guesses on how the Ministry is going to react?" Harry asked after they had all finished reading.

"From what Auntie has said, I'd bet we'll see Fudge showing up here and making threats at some point.," Susan muttered.

"Harry, you're going to have to be Lord Potter, if and when he demands to speak to you," Daphne pointed out and Harry made a disgusted face at the thought.

"I really hate all of that crap," he groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

"But you're getting very good at it, at least," Neville pointed out, ignoring how Harry, very maturely, stuck his tongue out at him before turning his attention to his breakfast.

Around the, and throughout the Hall, conversation was flying fast and thick as most of the student population could barely concentrate on eating in favor of discussing the Quibbler article. Harry could feel the many eyes on him and ignored them as best he could.

One thing he absolutely could not ignore, however, was the looks he received from Professor Lupin in class that day. Nor could he ignore the request to stay after the rest of them were dismissed. A quick look sent his friends on instead of waiting for him and, as the door closed behind the last student, Harry slung his back over his shoulder and walked down to stand in front of the teachers desk.

"Moony?" he asked when the seated professor failed to look up from the magazine spread out on his desk.

"Is it true?" the man finally asked, raising pain filled brown eyes to peer into Harry's glowing green irises. "You found some letters, and your mum's journals?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Mum left a chest with my Aunt Petunia, her sister. I collected it summer before second year and spent the year reading through them. In her seventh year and in some letters that she and my dad left… well it just made the story about what Black supposedly did not make any sense to me. Right when we got home at the end of last year I asked Amelia about it and she said she'd look into it but Fudge insisted there was nothing to investigate and had the records sealed so I went to the Headmaster to see if he could help." He shrugged.

"I don't know. He could be guilty, it's possible. But there's enough holes in the story, enough things don't add up that I'm not sure we know what actually happened that night, or who was responsible. If he's innocent, I want to know. If he's guilty, I want to know why. Why would he betray the people that always talked about him as if he was family?"

"Dumbledore said that he was in the castle on Halloween, and you and your friends got mixed up in it somehow. How'd that happen?"

Harry winced, still smarting from the telling off he'd received and a little ashamed of his own actions, but he told the story anyway, dropping into a chair he pulled in front of the desk. He explained how he got his hands on the map and saw Black on the grounds and the letter he wrote to Amelia all the way up to the confrontation with Black in the corridor outside the entrance into Gryffindor Tower. "It was really a shock to find out that he was the dog that Neville found in Hogsmeade. I checked, Black never registered as an animagus."

"No," Remus said, a small smile on his face. "No, they never did register."

"They?"

Moony blinked, focusing on Harry for a moment before cursing under his breath.

"I must be getting old," he muttered. "I never should have said that but… well, I guess they can't get in trouble for it anymore. Sirius, Peter, and your dad all became Animagi in our fifth year in order to… well… they thought it would be a laugh."

"They wanted to help you on the full moon?" Harry asked with a knowing smirk and Remus started, almost violently, in his seat. "One of my closest friends is considered the smartest witch of her generation, and the rest of us aren't exactly stupid. When Snape assigned that Werewolf essay a while back, we figured it out. I had a little help though, mum's later journals mention you had a 'furry little problem' but didn't give any details. Honestly, until we did the research for the essay I thought you had an overly aggressive pet rabbit, or something."

As he'd spoken, surprise had given way to amusement and Remus couldn't hold back a few chuckles. "We had a classmate that said almost exactly the same thing," he admitted before giving Harry a wary look. "And you're not bothered…"

Harry shook his head. "Not in the slightest. Maybe because I didn't grow up hearing about werewolves as dark creatures or whatever other crap the Ministry spouts. As far as I'm concerned you're sick, and it flares up once in a while and people shouldn't be around you when it does. That's not the end of the world by any stretch and it doesn't change who you are at all."

"And again, nearly exactly what James said to me when they figured it out."

"So… Moony, on the map… that's cause of the werewolf thing, right?"

Moony nodded, a small grin on his lips. "Yeah, Sirius thought he was being clever with that."

"And Sirius, he's a big dog. So I imagine that explains Padfoot. What about Wormtail and Prongs? I know those were Pettigrew's and my dad's nicknames, but what were their forms?"

This time, Remus' smile was wider, and held a touch of pride and nostalgia. "Your dad, James was a stag. Twelve point set of antlers, tall and powerful. Between him and Sirius, they were able to control me when I would transform. And Peter, his form was a common brown rat. He was small enough that he could get close to the Whomping Willow and press the knot on the trunk that would stop the branches from swaying. The secret tunnel there leads to the Shrieking Shack in the village and that's where I would stay on the full moon. Until they learned to transform, then we started exploring the forest on those nights. We'd run through the forest and play around and they helped makes my last few years here as a student some of the best of my life."

While Remus reminisced, Harry frowned thoughtfully. The man's explanation twigged something at the back of Harry's mind. Something that he knew, immediately, was important, but he couldn't quite place a mental finger on exactly what it was.

"Harry?"

He blinked, startled from his thoughts and focused his attention back on his professor.

"Huh?"

"You were a million miles away."

"Oh… sorry, just something…" Harry sighed.

"Something in what you said is bugging me and I can't quite figure it out."

Remus arched a brow at him. "Did you want to try to work it out?"

"How?"

Turning, Remus picked up a piece of chalk and threw it to him before gesturing to the blackboard.
"Write out your thoughts and we'll see what we come up with."

Harry hesitated for a moment before he shrugged and walked over to the board, staring thoughtfully at it for a moment before he started writing.

Toward the bottom he wrote Dog. Stag. Rat, then, higher up, he started building a timeline.

Oct 31st '81 Riddle attacks – Nov 3rd Black arrested, Pettigrew killed – Summer '93 Black escapes after reading Daily Prophet – Oct 2nd '93 Neville finds Snuffles in village – Oct 31st '93 Black attempts to break into Gryffin

Harry suddenly stopped and stared at the words he was writing. Black tried to break into the tower. Why would he try to get into Gryffindor Tower when the place would be empty with every student being present at the Feast?

His eyes widened, mind spinning dizzyingly for a moment before grinding to a halt as a single, mad idea popped into his head.

"It would make sense," he muttered, staring blankly at the chalkboard. "It would be absolutely barmy… but… if they didn't even question Sirius, did they even investigate? Did they even try?"

He suddenly dropped the chalk and bolted from the room, snagging his bag on the run as he passed, completely ignoring the professor calling out for him as he threw the door open and burst out into the hall. A glance at his watch told him that Dinner was going to be served in just a few minutes and he turned a quick right and ran down two flights of stairs before hurrying down a side corridor, down another flight of stairs and through three hidden passages that lead him right to the entrance hall.

He slowed to a walk and glanced into the Great Hall from the doors but, seeing no signs of his friends, he waited at the door for them to arrive, tapping his foot impatiently. Students made their way past him, many giving him a strange look as they went, but he ignored them, his eyes fixed on the Grand Staircase, waiting for any sign of his friends, who finally appeared, with Professor Lupin in company after nearly ten minutes of waiting. They all looked as if they'd rushed their way there, and he waved them over, still scanning the growing stream of students that were making their way into the Hall.

"We need to go to the Room," he said, as soon as they reached him. "But we need the twins. Can anyone go to the Kitchens and bring back something for all of us to eat?"

"What's going on?" Daphne asked, voicing the question on all their minds.

"I think I figured something out but I want to see if you guys come to the same conclusion. If I'm right… well, if I'm right it could be huge and we'll need to talk to Shack, Amelia, Tonks, and the Headmaster as well."

"It might not be a good idea for us to disappear right now," Susan pointed out in a low murmur and the group turned to follow her line of sight. Outside the open door leading onto the grounds they could see a small parade of people making their way toward the castle. Even from that distance Harry easily was able to recognize the red hair and Auror robes belong to Amelia and in front of her, the lime green bowler hat that belonged to the Minister of Magic and he let out a groan.

"Merlin's bloody beard," he muttered, ignoring the swat on the shoulder that he received from Hermione for his language and took a moment to calm himself and think, finally coming to a new decision. "All right. Change of plans. This Saturday, after dinner, we'll get everyone in the Room. It'll be all of us, plus Blaise, the Headmaster, Amelia, and her Aurors. Moony, you're more than welcome to join us… actually, I'd insist on it, if possible. I think you'll have some information that'll help. Actually, that'll give me time to do some research too."

He nodded, and without any further word they entered the Great Hall and took their seats, waiting for the fireworks. Just as they sat, a thought occurred to Harry and he spun to face Luna.

"Luna," he hissed, getting her attention. "Can't they cause trouble for you since you wrote the article?"

Luna's head bobbed several times.

"Quite probably. But it's worth it if it helps you, Harry," she said in her usual breezy tones.

Harry violently shook his head.

"No, that's crap." He drew himself up straight in his spot on the bench. "Luna Celeste Lovegood, I, Lord Harry James Potter, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, offer you the protection of my House, to act as your guardian when your current guardian is either absent or unavailable and as your champion in matters of honor. Do you accept this offer?"

Silence descended over their portion of the table, a silence that spread as word was passed along until the entire Gryffindor table was staring at them, waiting for Luna's response.

Luna, for her part, was staring, open mouthed, in shock at Harry. He returned an even gaze of his own, though mentally he was pleading for her to hurry before the Minister arrived. A moment later she seemed to shake herself and sat up straighter in her own seat.

"I, Luna Celeste Lovegood, Heiress Presumptive of the Minor House of Lovegood, do accept the offer of Protection from Lord Harry James Potter, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter."

A flash of light lit their corner of the Hall and the Potter Crest appeared on the left shoulder of Luna's school robes as the vast majority of eyes turned from the staff table and the other three house tables toward them as people began to wonder what had just happened.

Before anyone else could question, the sound of footsteps echoed into the Great Hall through the large, open doors, and moments later the crowd from the Ministry arrived. At the front was Minister Fudge, his lime green bowler hat making him simple to identify and at his right elbow walked, or rather, waddled, a squat, ugly looking woman dressed entirely in a shocking shade of pink that honestly hurt Harry's eyes and next to him Susan hissed angrily at the sight of the woman.

"Umbridge," she growled, making the name sound like a curse and Harry arched a brow at the back of her head but chose not to question her about it, yet. It was very likely that he was going to be meeting this woman in the not too distant future so he decided he'd ask if there was a chance.

Behind the Minister was Amelia, her monocle firmly in place over her left eye and the sternest look on her face that Harry had ever seen as she glared at the back of the Ministers head and she was flanked by Auror Robards and Scrimgeour, both of whom they knew from previous years. Kingsley approached from the side and fell into step next to Amelia, murmuring quietly into her ear, and across the table, next to Neville, Cedrella shifted nervously in her seat, unsure if she should join them or not.

As the group passed them, Amelia glanced in their direction and gave a barely perceptible shake of her head to the disguised Auror, causing Tonks to settle back into her persona and simply observe with an expression of polite curiosity on her face.

The group reached the staff table and quiet words were exchanged with the Headmaster who nodded and stood, leading the entire group from the Great Hall and out one of the doors at the back, likely heading to the Headmaster's office. At the same time, Professor Flitwick jumped down from his seat and made his way down the length of the Gryffindor table, stopping behind Luna.

"Miss Lovegood? Your presence is required in the Headmaster's office."

She nodded, and when she stood, Harry followed.

"Lord Potter, only Miss Lovegood has been requested."

"I'm sorry, Professor, but that's just too damn bad. I have offered, and Miss Lovegood has accepted the Protection of House Potter. As her father is not present, and until he is present, I will represent her and there is absolutely nothing anyone can do about it, unless the Ministry would like to ignore even more of their own laws in order to try and stop me," Harry said, drawing himself up to his full height as he looked down at the diminutive professor.

Professor Flitwick's lips twitched, but he didn't smile, and instead offered only a nod. "I trust you know the way, or is my presence also required?"

"As Luna's Head of House here at school, it would probably be beneficial for you to be present as well."

"Then let us away, Lord Potter, Miss Lovegood."

Harry nodded to the rest of his friends and gave a brief squeeze back when Hermione grabbed his hand. Letting go, he and Luna followed the Professor, Harry spending the entire walk on his Occlumency shields and exercises, making sure that he would have the best possible chance of keeping his temper during the meeting. He didn't have high hopes that it was all going to be calm and reasonable, not with what he'd heard and seen of Cornelius Fudge.

"Come in."

Harry blinked, coming back to reality to note that the three of them had already reached the Headmasters office and, apparently, Professor Flitwick had either knocked, or the Headmaster had otherwise known they were there and called out from inside the office.

The door swung open and the three of them entered to find the already crowded office feeling only more so with the number of people crammed into it. Amelia and her Aurors stood to the left of the door while the Minister and the pink clad witch beside him occupied chairs set slightly to the right. As the door closed behind them, Luna and Harry stood in between, with Flitwick just behind and to the right of where Luna stood on Harry's right side.

The chatter of conversation came to an abrupt halt when they stopped, and Harry glanced at Amelia, who took one look at the crest on Luna's shoulder before giving him a small smile and a nod.

"You asked to see us Headmaster?" Harry asked, politely.

"We only wanted to talk to the Lovegood girl, Potter," Fudge snapped, glaring at Luna. "What do you think you're doing here?"

For a moment, Harry was sorely tempted to ignore the blustering fool of a politician, and from the amused twinkle in the Headmaster's eyes, the old man knew it. But, instead, Harry decided to be the better man.

"I don't see Mister Lovegood here," he commented, looking around the room.

"What the devil does that have todo with anything?"

"You are attempting to speak to a minor child, in the presence of the Head of the DMLE, three Aurors, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, the Minister of Magic and…" Here Harry trailed off as he reached the squat, ugly, pink witch as he really didn't know what she was, much less who. "I'm sorry… who exactly are you? I'm fairly certain you can't actually be a toad in a pink cardigan…" Internally he winced as Fudge and the toad both turned an interesting shade of puce and he mentally started cursing himself for letting his mouth get away from him. That was not the way to keep control of the discussion.

"I am Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, little boy-"

"And I am Lord Harry James Potter," Harry interrupted her simpering, high-pitched speech, "not a little boy. Remember who you are talking to before you speak."

He turned away from her with an almost dismissive wave of one hand to face the Headmaster, again. "Anyway, all of those people I mentioned, plus a Senior Undersecretary… whatever that is, are all attempting to speak to a minor without the presence of her legal guardian. That is why I am here. The question now is, why are you here?" he asked, looking back to the Minister.

"That does nothing to explain why you think you have any right to be here and I have no obligation to explain myself to a child," Fudge snarled.

Harry blinked and glanced at Luna.

"Lord Potter, perhaps the Minister and Madame Umbridge did not notice the crest on Miss Lovegood's robes?" Amelia offered, carefully hiding her amusement. As much as Harry professed to hate his title, he was getting damn good at being the Lord Potter, when it was required.

Harry nodded at the suggestion and turned more fully toward the Minister and his croney, the sword hanging from his left hip coming more fully into view as he did so.

Before he could say anything, Umbridge let out a piercing shriek and leapt to her feet.

"Arrest him!" she bellowed. "Arrest him. Potter is threatening the Minister!"

Everyone in the room, even the Minister looked at her as if she'd just started speaking in tongues while she continued to screech and fumble to draw her wand.

"Madam Umbridge, what are you shrieking about?" Amelia demanded. "Lord Potter has done absolutely nothing-"

"He is carrying a weapon in a clearly threatening manner in the Minister's presence!" Umbridge burst out, pointing an accusing finger at the sword.

They all looked down at the weapon, then back up at Umbridge, who was still screaming at the Aurors to arrest him.

"Are you stupid?"

Luna's soft, breezy voice cut through the noise like a hot knife through butter and Umbridge quickly began to turn a startling shade of purple as she glared at the tiny blond standing next to Harry.

"The Ministry has already been shown to have violated their own laws, as well as the rights of one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and now you want to do it again?" Luna asked. "Right in front of the Chief Warlock and the Head of the DMLE?"

"What are you blathering about?"

"It is Ministry law that a Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House may where a sword wherever they like, even in the Ministry itself, or before the Minister," Harry explained, irritated with the noisy woman. "That aside, every single person here is carrying a weapon, yourself and the Minister included."

He received a pair of blank looks and had to resist the urge to slap a hand over his face in exasperation.

"Are you kidding me? Almost every witch and wizard in this country over the age of eleven carries a deadly weapon on their person, almost, at all times. Anyone with a wand is armed and could be dangerous," he explained as calmly as he could, then kept talking over their spluttering protests.

"As to your continued confusion as to why I am here, the crest on Miss Lovegood's shoulder should be explanation enough, however, as you have already shown an appalling lack of understanding of your own laws I will make it simple for you. Miss Lovegood is under the protection of House Potter. Since Miss Lovegood's legal guardian is not present, I will be standing in to represent her until he arrives." He paused and peered at the two Ministry officials. "You did contact her Father and let him know that his presence was required, right?"

"How dare you talk to me like that, you little brat," Fudge Bellowed, surgingto his feet in what he must have felt was an intimidating manner. "I am the Minister of Magic-"

"And I am a titled Lord, Order of Merlin, First Class recipient, Friend to the Goblin Nation and I have been named a Blooded Warrior by Ragnok VII, himself. Now that we are aware of each others credentials, can we please get on with this? Luna and I have homework to do, still, tonight."

"Indeed, Lord Potter is correct," the Headmaster said, leaning forward in his seat. "We are wasting valuable time that could easily be put to better use. I will assume that Lord Potter's presence here is no longer in question and we can proceed?"

The Minister and Madame Umbridge didn't appear to be too convinced on that matter but they didn't protest as Amelia turned to Harry and Luna.

"Before we start, I wanted to point out, these two Aurors are here as part of the Ministers guard detail, and not as a threat of arrest against Miss Lovegood. I am here as an interested party. and Auror Kingsley, I'm sure you know, is assigned here at the school in regards to the escaped prisoner, Sirius Black."

Harry and Luna nodded their acknowledgement and then turned back when Madame Umbridge started up in, what Harry was beginning to understand, was her usual girlish way of speaking with a high pitched, sweet tone of voice that did little to convince them there was anything nice about the woman.

"What do you think you were doing, writing that article, little girl?" she asked Luna, who gave the woman a wide eyed stare.

"What article?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the right as the regarded the pink clad witch

"You know damn well what article, you little-"

"Minister, are you actually going to insult my protectee?" Harry asked, cutting the man off, calmly. "Miss Lovegood has written multiple articles over the last few years, so I'm told, so perhaps you could be more specific in your questions?"

"The article about Sirius Black in the Quibbler," Umbridge said. "By what right do presume to write such an article?"

"Was anything I said wrong?" Luna asked. "Lord Potter asked the Headmaster about the trial and interrogation of Black and discovered that no trial ever took place."

"Black was at the scene and witnesses heard Pettigrew say that Black betrayed the Potters."

"So that means he doesn't warrant a trial?" Harry asked. "You realize Ministry law means you have to declare Sirius a free man because the Ministry violated its own laws by not holding a trial and not even filing any charges in the first place."

"He's a known Death Eater-"

"He is not a known Death Eater," Harry interrupted again. "Did Black have the Dark Mark on his arm? Did anyone even check? Was his wand checked at the scene? He was never questioned so there's no reason, no explanation. My friend, Hermione, has a ginger colored Half-kneazle cat. One of my dorm mates has a pet rat that has disappeared recently. He came up to her a few weeks ago accusing her cat of eating his pet because he found some ginger hairs on his bed and some blood on his pillow. Does that immediately mean the cat is guilty?"

"Seems like a fairly obvious case to me."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "No, it's not at all obvious. It's just the most obvious conclusion. However, the cat, Crookshanks, seems to enjoy waking me in the morning, or sleeping on me, for some reason. So he's been in the dorm many times, that could explain the presence of the hairs. There are other cats in this school and even owls, any of whom could have attacked a rat which is a prey animal to both. Just because there are ginger hairs around doesn't mean, absolutely, that Crookshanks did it. Yes, it's possible, but not a sure thing.

"Just because Black was there, doesn't mean that he absolutely was guilty, especially if no one questioned him and he was never given a trial to figure out what exactly happened. Witness statements are not always the most accurate thing in the world. Whether Black is guilty or not, he should have been questioned, he should have been given a trial, and since neither of those things were done the Ministry should declare him a free man and call off the Dementors. But that isn't what I want done."

Nearly everyone in the room blinked in surprise and gaped at Harry. Everyone except for Luna and the Headmaster, the latter of which was twinkling even more brightly as Harry controlled the room.

"You don't? Then what was the point of the article if not to force the Ministry to let Black go?"

"To get your attention, and to get the public's attention." Harry sighed again and raked one hand back through his hair. "Look, Minister, can I be plain here? I really don't like all this Lord stuff and I just want to be clear."

Cornelius Fudge was many things. Corrupt, easily manipulated, afraid of losing power, but he was also a savvy politician, and it was obvious enough to him that Harry had something in mind so he waved one hand for the teen to continue.

"Thank you. You've been completely against the idea of looking into this case since I showed Madame Bones the letters and journal entries I found from my parents. Why? I don't know. And right now I don't particularly care to know. Whether you really thought he was guilty or you were worried about looking bad in front of the public, I don't care. But if you're willing to work with me a bit, I think I have a way that you can come out of this whole thing smelling like roses, and maybe even with a couple of grateful Lords to call on as friends."

Harry honestly had to fight not to gag on those words. The very idea of pandering to the idiot in front of him turned his stomach but he forced them out, keeping a tight grip on his Occlumency just so he could keep from showing just how disgusted he was by the entire ordeal.

"How so?"

"The records showed that all of this happened before you came into office. It was the previous Minister that signed off on Black going directly to Azkaban, and it was Barty Crouch who gave the original order. You have the opportunity here to correct a great wrong perpetrated against the only living member of one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. You could be the Minister to save an innocent man from an injustice that was perpetrated by an already stepped down minister and a disgraced department head who resigned after his own son was found to be a follower of Voldemort-"

Harry had to stop when the Minister and Umbridge both cringed and let out startled squeaks at the name and fought not to roll his eyes.

"Sorry. My point stands. If you just declare Sirius a free man, people will still always wonder. The Public will never trust him, he'll be a pariah. What I ask, is that you call off the Dementors, and release a statement that if Black is captured or if he turns himself in he will get the fair trial that he was denied and the chance to prove his innocence. And personally, I want to know too. I would love to know, for sure, what happened that night, and right now he's the only one that knows. If you need to, use my name when you talk to the press. Present it as finally getting the answers I have never been able to get about what happened to my parents, why I had to grow up an orphan. Because I do want to know, Minister. You can help me get those answers."

Feeling like he was starting to repeat himself, Harry left it at that, and fell silent, letting Fudge consider the information he'd been given.

"You're right, Po- Lord Potter," Fudge finally said. "This was all before I became Minister, and I can see exactly how I can present this to the press to keep the Ministry from looking bad…" He trailed off, muttering to himself.

"Minister are you actually going to let a child dictate-"

"He isn't dictating anything Dolores," Fudge cut her off. "We'll discuss this in my office." He stood and turned to Dumbledore. "Headmaster, thank you for the use of your office. If we might prevail upon you to use your Floo, we'll be leaving."

"Of course, Cornelius, of course. I looked forward to hearing how you wish to proceed, soon."

Over Umbridge's continued protests they left the office in a flare of green fire leaving Amelia, Kingsley, Harry, Professor Flitwick, and Luna in the office with the Headmaster.

"That was well done, Harry," Amelia congratulated him, moving forward to pull him into a hug.

"I think I want to be sick," he muttered, but returned the hug, nonetheless.

"I often feel that way after dealing with him, but you did a great job and got him on your side, at least for now."

"He's still gonna be trouble in the future, isn't he?"

She shrugged and stepped back as Flitwick came forward and reached for Harry's hand.

"I don't know why you thought I needed to be here, Lord Potter," he chuckled. "But I'm glad you invited me. I haven't been so entertained in some time." He shook Harry's hand, then turned to Luna. "Miss Lovegood, allow me to escort you back to the dorms."

"Thank you, Professor. Bye Harry," she called back over her shoulder as the two of them left with Kingsley behind them to return to his duties.

When the door closed, Harry flopped down into the chair just vacated by the Minister, a pensive look on his face.

"What is it, Harry?" Amelia asked, recognizing the look on his face.

"I think I might have figured something out. I was just about to get all my friends together in the Room to go over it all when you guys showed up. I told them we'll meet this Saturday since, thinking about it, I really need to do some research first. Do you think you could be here, with Kingsley and Tonks?"

"As long as the Headmaster allows it, I'll be here."

They turned to look at Dumbledore, who smiled and nodded.

"By all means, what time did you want to give your presentation, Mister Potter?" he asked and Amelia arched a brow at Harry, noting the lack of 'Lord' in the address.

"After Lunch?" Harry asked. "I figure it gives us enough time for me to go over everything and for everyone to offer their input if I still need to puzzle anything out.

"May I ask what this is in regards to."

"It relates to Black but I'd rather not say more than that until I get that research done."

Dumbledore nodded again, looking thoughtful now.

"I would like to be present as well, if that's not an imposition."

"I was actually going to ask if you could, Sir. We haven't always gotten along, but I think things are better, now, and you are well known to be rather brilliant. I think your thoughts on the issue would be very welcome."

"Then I shall be there, however, what is this Room that you are referring to."

At that, Harry grinned. "You're going to love it, Sir. Just meet us on the seventh floor, directly across from the tapestry of the wizard trying to teach trolls how to dance ballet..."