Sensing Magic
by Teddylonglong

Please refer to chapter 1 for my disclaimer and warnings. Thank you.


The first part of the election went smoothly, as the green votes outnumbered the red ones by far. Only ten percent of the members voted in favour of the current head of the Wizengamot.

"Mr. Dumbledore, we all thank you for your services for the Wizengamot in the past," Amelia's voice was firm, as she added, "You are free to leave."

Apparently realising that he had lost both reasons to attend the Wizengamot meeting, the leadership as well as the regency for House Potter, Albus mumbled something, before he swiftly left the room. Minerva could see that his magic was about to burst out in anger; however, she only realised it, because she had known him for five decades and was familiar with his moods. 'On the one hand, it is understandable,' she thought, 'but on the other hand, he can't control everything.' Before she could lose herself in thoughts about her old colleague, who was still her boss as the headmaster of Hogwarts, her attention was drawn to the election of a new head.

"I suggest Amelia Bones." Minerva looked at her former classmate, Augusta Longbottom, in appreciation, before she turned her attention to Amelia, an extremely competent witch.

"Thank you, Madam Longbottom; however, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is a full-time position, and I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to do both jobs simultaneously to my satisfaction." She paused for a moment, before she continued, "I suggest Minerva McGonagall for the position."

Minerva scoffed, noticing from the corners of her eyes that Severus quirked an eyebrow in apparent amusement. "Thank you, Amelia, but what makes you believe that teaching teenagers was not a full-time job?" She paused for a moment before adding, "I suggest Augusta Longbottom."

Her former classmate shook her head. "An old windbag in charge of this group of windbags? Forget it. We need someone who had their childhood in the 1960s, not in the 1930s."

The discussion went on for a few minutes, while those whom Minerva believed to be on the light side suggested each other, before one of the former Death Eaters suggested Lucius Malfoy.

The white-haired lord refused, however, and suggested Lord Prince.

"Thank you, Lucius, but which part of teaching teenagers being a full-time job was not clear?" Severus drawled. "I am certain that Remus Lupin would be perfect for the position though."

"I agree." Minerva could not refrain herself from commenting, hoping that her young colleague would indeed accept the position.

"If you deem me adequate for the position, I will accept," Remus slightly inclined his head, "although I am supposed to teach an equal number of teenagers as well, even if only every second year," he added in a quiet voice, only for Minerva to hear.

"Very well, let us vote. Please give me green sparks if you would like Mr. Lupin to take the position of the head of the Wizengamot, red sparks if you would rather elect someone else." With a flick of Amelia's wand, two boxes appeared in front of her, right before the first green sparks arrived in the box to her left.

'Ninety percent,' Minerva realised in amazement, somehow feeling very happy for her former student. 'Oh well, he is a very gentle young man, and if not for his lycanthropy, he'd surely have been made head boy at that time,' she thought.

"Mr. Lupin, do you accept the position?" Amelia asked, smiling broadly.

Remus rose from his chair. "Thank you all for your trust, and I accept; however, I ask you now to support me, as I am definitely lacking experience."

To her surprise, it was Lucius Malfoy who spoke up first. "Feel free to contact any of us if you need our assistance."

Consulting the agenda, which Albus had left on the table, Remus swiftly led through the meeting, which fortunately went well without any bigger disagreements.

'Thank Merlin. We need to prepare the Great Hall for Harry's birthday party,' Minerva thought, as she readied herself to return to Hogwarts together with Severus, while Remus was being pulled into conversations with various members.

HP

Remus felt torn between delight at his new position and anxiousness. However, by the time he had spoken with several members of the Wizengamot after the session, he felt slightly reassured. 'I will manage, especially if I have the support not only from the light side, but also from the former Death Eaters,' he thought in relief.

He looked up, when Lucius Malfoy addressed him. "Remus, please allow me one final question. Why are you not acting as regent for the Black seat in addition to the Potter seat, seeing that Sirius Black is indisposed? As his best friend, he'd surely give the regency to you."

"Sirius gave Lily and James away to Voldemort," Remus replied. It almost came out as a growl.

"No, that is not true," Lucius contradicted. "I know for a fact that it was Peter Pettigrew who gave them away to the Dark Lord, as I was together with the Dark Lord, when Pettigrew showed up."

"What?" Remus stared at the blonde wizard in disbelief. However, before he could get his hopes for an innocent Sirius up, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Be that as it may, he killed Peter and thirteen muggles. As a murderer, he won't be able to keep the lordship over House Black, and his mother disowned him anyway."

Lucius shook his head. "He is head of House Black. I am certain, because otherwise, the lordship would have gone to my son Draco, which it definitely has not. I suggest speaking with Madam Bones and perhaps even the goblins to shed some light into the matter about Sirius Black. As far as I know, he did not even have a trial at that time, although I am not certain, because I was preoccupied with my own problems."

"Thank you, Lucius. I will try to find out more." Feeling happier than he had felt ever since his best friends had died, Remus decided to speak with Amelia right away.

HP

Harry was so excited that he just could not sleep. 'Stop turning around every now and then,' Lucy finally told him. 'I want to sleep without being kicked all the time.'

'Oh sorry,' Harry thought back and got up to fetch his Suikan from where he had placed it onto his desk earlier that evening. 'Is it all right if I play for a while?'

'Always.'

Harry hesitantly began to play, glad that by now he had figured out how to adjust the volume of his music to a very low volume. He played until he drifted off to sleep, the Suikan rolling from his hands onto his pillow.

HP

Harry woke up, when Severus strode into his room. "Good morning, Harry, and Happy Birthday."

'Thank you,' Harry thought back, smiling, when Lucy lazily stretched her limbs, before she began to give him a thorough face washing.

"While Lucy is doing a fantastic job, I suggest that you go and take a shower. We're supposed to be in the Great Hall for breakfast in thirty minutes," Severus informed him. "I am certain that my meddling colleagues all want to wish you a happy birthday and shower you with presents."

'I never get presents,' Harry automatically replied, inwardly sighing.

"Harry, you should know by now that at Hogwarts everything is different to what you experienced at your relatives' house. As you know, my godson, Draco Malfoy, is going to come over right after breakfast. He is as fond of flying as you, so I believe that you can entertain each other effortlessly. He is supposed to return home before lunch, but if you like him and wish to spend more time with him, I am certain that he will be able to remain longer. In the afternoon, Nymphadora Tonks and the Weasley children will visit."

'Will you be with me the whole time?' Harry did not know why he felt so uncertain in spite of the fact that he already knew Charlie and Tonks quite well, and he was looking forward to getting to know Draco, who was his adoptive father's godson and of the same age as himself.

"One of us, Minerva, Remus, Miranda, Poppy or I will always be nearby," Severus promised, "as will Lucy of course."

Suddenly, a faint voice penetrated his mind. 'Happy Birthday, Harry. It's Ginny. I look forward to seeing you this afternoon.'

Smiling happily, Harry thought back, 'Hi Ginny, thank you so much for the birthday wishes. I see you in the afternoon then.'

HP

Thirty minutes later, Harry was sitting at the breakfast table, where all the teachers who had remained at Hogwarts during the holidays wished him a happy birthday and even sang the birthday song for him. 'My first real birthday,' Harry thought, somehow feeling very happy.

'Everyone here loves you,' Lucy thought to him, as she sent images of the Great Hall, which was transformed into what seemed to be a huge playground with trees to climb and spots to fly through a mountain landscape towering over a small lake. 'That looks like much fun,' he thought to his familiar, who let out a small woof of apparent excitement. She then turned to the side, revealing a table next to the breakfast table, which was loaded with colourfully wrapped presents. 'Are they all for me?' Harry wondered in disbelief, before he was brought back to reality, when Minerva lightly admonished him to eat his breakfast.

Suddenly noticing that he felt famished, he eagerly began to eat with one or the other strawberry wandering into Lucy's snout that was perched on his lap in apparent expectation.

Five minutes into the meal, however, he became distracted, when he heard the doors to the Great Hall open and sensed the magic of two unknown witches approach their table.

'Lucy, who's that?' he queried, trusting that she would relay an image soon.

'The one on the left is Minister Bagnold, the Minister of Magic, and the younger witch with the monocle is Amelia Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,' Severus swiftly informed him.

Dumbledore rose from his seat. "Minister Bagnold, Madam Bones, shall we retire to my office?"

"Thank you, Albus, but we did not come to speak with you today." Madam Bones' voice was friendly but firm, and the headmaster quietly sat down again.

"Good morning, everyone," the Minister of Magic greeted them, "and a very happy birthday to you, Harry."

"Happy Birthday, Harry," Madam Bones echoed.

"Thank you," Harry replied, aloud but in a quiet voice, receiving huge smiles from the witches.

"In fact, we did not only come to wish Hogwarts' youngest member a happy birthday," the Minister continued. "We also want to award Harry and Professor Snape-Prince the Order of Merlin first class for your invention of the Wolvescure potion."

While she held out a small box for Harry to take, Madam Bones handed a similar box to Severus. Harry gratefully accepted the gift and echoed Severus' "Thank you, Minister" in a small voice.

'That was well done, Harry,' his adoptive father commended him, causing him to smile.

"Go on, open it," Minerva said, reassuringly, and Harry hesitantly complied. He found what felt like a coin; however, when Lucy relayed the image, he saw that it was a small, copper-plate broach with the inscription

'Order of Merlin first class
Harry Potter-Prince'

On the back, it said 'British Ministry of Magic, 1989'.

"You can pin it to your robe," Minerva informed him and gently took the broach from him and fastened to the upper left part of his robe.

"Many much older wizards will envy you for this," Poppy said, looking at them in apparent appreciation. "Well done, Severus and Harry."

"Well, Harry is the youngest wizard to have ever received the Order of Merlin first class," Minister Bagnold added, smiling. "Lord Prince is the second youngest recipient. You can change your name if you decide that you wish only one of your names to be displayed."

"Perhaps for the time being, we should simply have it show the Prince name." Minerva sounded thoughtful, and Harry quickly nodded his agreement.

'Otherwise, everyone who sees it will know my other name,' he thought.

With a flick of Madam Bones' wand, the inscription was changed to show 'Harry Prince'.

"There is one more reason why we came here this morning," Madam Bones spoke up and handed Remus a parchment. "On the information you gave us yesterday, Minister Bagnold and I paid a visit to Azkaban and met with Sirius Black. Apparently, and this matches the information I could find at the Aurors' Office, he never had a trial, and he pretends to be innocent. He told us that Peter Pettigrew was a rat Animagus. Can you confirm this?"

"Yes." Remus' voice was firm and laced with what seemed to be hope. "My friends all became Animagi during our time at Hogwarts to keep me company during the full moon." He took the parchment from Madam Bones and silently read the text.

"He told me to ask you for a trial for him."

Madam Bones nodded in apparent approval. "He will get his trial, and I shall see to it that he will be questioned under Veritaserum to prove his innocence," she promised, grimly. "He is already on his way to a holding cell at the ministry. I will inform you, when his trial is going to be. Hopefully during the next couple of days," she added, giving Remus a smile that did not reach her eyes.

'Something is strange,' Harry thought in surprise. He had the impression as if Amelia Bones was a very strict but at the same time kind lady.

'I am not certain, but I believe that Madam Bones and Sirius Black were together before his imprisonment,' Severus quietly informed him. 'Don't tell them I said so though.'

'I won't,' Harry replied, indignantly.

'Sorry Harry, I know you wouldn't.'

'It's fine. Thanks for telling me. I was wondering why Madam Bones' reaction was so strange.'

HP

The adults were still having tea together with their two visitors from the Ministry of Magic, when the door to the Great Hall opened again. Lucy showed Harry the image of a tall man with long, blonde hair and a boy of about his own age, who entered the Great Hall together.

"Harry, Lucy, please come with me," Severus instructed them, and Harry and Lucy quickly followed the older wizard to meet their two visitors near the door.

"Lucius, Draco," Severus greeted them. "These are my adoptive son Harry and his familiar Lucy."

"Uncle Severus, Harry," Draco was the first to greet them, and Harry hesitantly accepted the other boy's hand. Draco then handed Harry a present, which he had not even noticed before – much to his surprise, as it was quite big.

"Go on, open it." Draco seemed enthusiastic, and Harry carefully opened the wrapping paper.

'Thank Merlin Lucy has become proficient at showing me everything just when it is needed,' Harry thought, feeling very grateful towards his thoughtful familiar. He pulled out a box labelled 'Lego – Hogwarts Express.'

"You don't have it already, do you?" Draco asked in apparent concern, and Harry quickly shook his head. "All right, shall we play?" Seeing Harry nod with enthusiasm, he explained that they had to put together the rails. They're not complete though. There are a few passages, where we need to move the train using the play wand. It works on our magic."

Feeling intrigued, Harry eagerly helped Draco to set up the rails, before they eagerly began to build the train itself.

"Thank you, Draco. This is very cool," he whispered to the other boy, uncertain why he felt safe to speak with him. 'He's really nice,' he thought, thinking that if he could play the Suikan now, the output would probably be a very delightful melody.

"May I ask something?" Draco enquired, giving Harry a questioning nod. When Harry nodded, he asked, "Is it true that you're blind?"

Harry sighed. 'Severus, can you help me and explain to Draco why I can't see please?'

He inwardly sighed in relief, when Severus immediately rose from his chair at the table, where the adults were still enjoying tea and biscuits, and came over to them.

"Draco, Harry has the Epiales disease, due to which he can't see. He can only manoeuvre so well with the help of images that Lucy sends to him."

'Now, he probably realises that I'm a freak and won't play with me anymore,' Harry thought, feeling devastated, when Draco completely shocked him with his response.

"Wow Harry, then you're doing extremely well. If Father hadn't told me, I'd never have noticed that you're having problems at all." He held out his hand. "Friends?"

Harry almost gasped in shock, before he hesitantly shook Draco's hand. "Friends."

Too soon for Harry's liking, the morning passed, as the two boys had much fun playing with the Hogwarts Express, especially after Remus conjured a whole lot of animals for them and taught them a first-year spell to make the animals board the train at King's Cross and get off at Hogsmeade using their children's wands.

Suddenly, Draco's father approached them. "Draco, it's time to go home."

Draco looked at his father in apparent shock. "Father, may I please remain here and continue playing with Harry for a few more hours?"

Turning to Harry, Mr. Malfoy enquired, "Harry, do you also still want to play with Draco? Your father told me that your friends would come to visit after lunch."

Harry shrugged, not willing to speak with the older wizard, whom he had only met for the first time.

'Severus, may Draco stay please?'

Smirking, Severus informed Draco and his father that Harry would like Draco to remain and promised to send his godson home through the fireplace at six o'clock in the evening.

HP

After lunch, Harry and Draco explored the playground, which the professors had built for Harry's birthday in the Great Hall. With Lucy's assistance, Harry climbed up and down behind Draco, and they had much fun that only intensified, when Tonks joined them.

"Is Charlie not here yet?" she asked in surprise, only to add, "Oh well, he's always a bit late." Her eyes narrowed, as she took a close look at Harry. "Are you a metamorphmagus, too?"

Harry had no idea what a metamorphmagus was and inwardly sighed in relief, when Minerva explained to the girl that Severus had blood adopted him, which had caused the slight change in his features.

"Oh, all right. Well, they're really subtle, but leave it to a metamorphmagus to notice every little detail. I guess Charlie won't even notice that something is different."

'I hope so,' Harry thought and turned to the door in expectation, when he heard it open again, only to inwardly groan, when more children than expected entered the Great Hall.

tbc...

Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please tell me what you liked or disliked in this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas are welcome, and my muse appreciates any constructive feedback.