A.N./Disclaimer: Most of the characters and the original plot belong to J.K. Rowling. I do not own them. Neither am I profiting from this nor do I plan to commercialize it. I am writing for fun.

A.N.: I would like to thank and give a huge shout out to nljfs who has graciously accepted to be a beta. They will help me in making the story grammatically more coherent.

I know that it has been quite a while since the last update, and I apologize for it. I assure you that I won't be abandoning the story. I have recently started on a full time role; thus, the amount of time I can dedicate to the story has gone down by quite a bit. That being said, I will try to update the story as frequently as possible. Thank you for bearing with me.

A couple of quick notes. I have updated the Potter Will (specific to Peter) in the second chapter and republished the chapter to make it more realistic. Secondly, as this is my imagination, the Patronuses of a few will be different from what we have seen in the books, so please do not call me out on it.

A.N.: Thank you for all the follows, favorites and reviews.

Chapter 15

The extended family were looking forward to a joyous Christmas. The two articles that would hit the press within the week should ruin the Dumbledore's Christmas and give his reputation another hit. After the Wizengamot they spent the evening shopping for Christmas presents and were all tired, so they decided to call it an early night.

Hermione woke up the next day and freshened up. As was her habit, she headed towards her best friend's room. She knocked on the door a couple of times. When she did not hear anything from the other side, she opened the unlocked door. Peeking inside, she saw that the bed had not been slept in. Worried, she called for Dobby and asked for Harry's whereabouts. Dobby told her that Harry was outside, flying around on his broom with his familiars in tow. Hermione thanked the elf and headed downstairs to go outside.

Once she was outside, she sat down on one of the chairs and looked up to where Harry was flying. After a few minutes, Harry landed and took the chair beside Hermione.

"Good morning, Hermione," said Harry.

Hermione replied, "Morning Harry."

"You're up early," commented Harry.

"I could say the same about you," mused Hermione.

"Yeah," added Harry, "you could."

"Or I could ask why your bed looked like it hadn't been slept in," said Hermione in a matter-of-fact tone.

Harry's eyes widened and he faltered, "Er..well..you see..I mean.."

"Harry," began Hermione, "you know you can always talk to me about anything. I won't judge you. If there's anything that you need help with, I will be glad to help… You need only ask." She paused and placed her hand on his. "You are my best friend, Harry. If I don't have the answer to your problem, I will help you look for it."

Harry sighed. "T-t-thank you, Hermione, but it is not a problem." He turned away from Hermione and stared afar. "I..I don't think it is a problem."

"Then why weren't you able to sleep?", questioned Hermione.

"I did sleep," replied Harry and turned to Hermione. She had a confused expression, so Harry continued. "I-I did sleep… b-but… not in my bedroom." He looked down and added in a low voice, "I..I was in t-the..t-trunk."

Harry turned away and stared straight ahead. "I wanted to spend some time with my parents and grandparents." The silence lingered for a while. Hermione was looking at her best friend with a soft expression. He continued, "There…*sigh*...there were things… things we wanted to review. I was using the stone."

Hermione could feel from Harry's speech that he was all over the place and something told her that she wouldn't like the outcome of the discussion. She took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. He continued, "I showed them what I had seen in Snape's mind. My mum...she...she was disgusted. She couldn't believe that…that she had called that man a friend once." Harry paused for a moment and chuckled dryly, "You should have heard the beautiful words she used for the vermin." Hermione snorted beside him.

Harry exhaled and continued in a serious tone, "We viewed Riddle's memories that Dobby stole from Dumbledore's office. You know, the ones we copied and returned so the old goat wouldn't know."

Harry had paused again. The silence was longer this time. Hermione examined his expression and noticed the look of disgust and concern. Was it?, she thought. She asked in a worried voice, "What is it, Harry? What did you find?"

"I… no, we...," began Harry, "we feel that Dumbledore was… no Dumbledore might have been taking the prophecy too…literally."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione, scrunching her face.

"Remember the part that said that the Dark Lord will mark him as equal?" asked Harry. Hermione nodded. "We…we believe that Dumbledore…he was trying to ensure that I…I had a similar upbringing as Riddle." He sighed and continued, "We discovered from the memories that Riddle was also an orphan. He was bullied and ridiculed at his orphanage.

"Dumbledore had visited Riddle and told him about Hogwarts. He found solace in Hogwarts but the then headmaster wouldn't let him stay in the castle during the summer. It angered him. He hated staying in the mundane orphanage. Like me. I did not like going back to my Muggle relatives. I-I never wanted to go back to them."

Harry paused to gather himself. "I think Dumbledore changed a little bit to ensure that…that I don't turn out to be dark as Riddle, but malleable. Malleable to do Dumbledore's bidding. We already knew that Dumbledore knew of Horcruxes, because I was one and because Lady Hogwarts had warned him about the diary… However, according to the memories he knew what they were as well. Or at least he had an idea of what they were."

Hermione saw Harry's face overcome with a dark expression. "That bastard didn't do anything because he probably wanted me to do everything. He probably would have wanted me to hunt for the Horcruxes and destroy them before getting myself killed by Riddle..."

"And then Riddle could be finished once and for all, most probably by him," finished Hermione. "OH, THAT BLITHERING IDIOT!"

Harry wasn't surprised by Hermione's outburst. Slowly but surely, all respect that Harry had had for the Headmaster had been squashed. The fact that his best friend also had lost any respect she might have had for him only confirmed that he was not wrong in hating the wizard's guts.

Harry rubbed the back of Hermione's hand to calm her down. "It's alright, Hermione. I-It will never come to pass, thanks to Adrian and everyone else."

Hermione took a few deep breaths to calm down. Once she was calm, she asked, "Why do you feel that Dumbledore knows what the items were, Harry?"

"He… He had memories of the Gaunt household," began Harry. "The ring was his mother's. It can be seen in the memory." Harry turned away and told her of the other memories. Riddle's childhood, his apprenticeship at Burgin and Burke's, and how he got his hands on the Slytherin Locket and the Hufflepuff Cup. Harry also told her that even if Dumbledore might not have known about all the Horcruxes, he could have at least tried to locate and destroy the ones he already had a clue about.

Hermione could now understand her best friend's need for a soothing fly. She said, "The more I get to know of his actions or lack of, the sooner I want him thrown into Azkaban."

"I know, right?" chuckled Harry dryly. "I think the bastard deserves a prank or two, don't you think?"

Hermione could see the cold look in Harry's eyes. She asked, "What are you planning, Harry?"

"Have you ever wondered how the fool knows about everything that goes on in the castle?" asked Harry. "Things he shouldn't know. Things that he has no business knowing."

Hermione seemed thoughtful for a while. She finally blurted, "Lady Hogwarts?"

Harry shook his head. "She will only tell him of things that are a threat to the school's safety."

Hermione seemed to think harder now. Her nose was scrunched, and she was biting on her lower lip. Harry looked at his best friend in amazement. She looked cute. (Cute?, he thought).

She added, "The portraits?"

"Right you are, Heiress Dagworth-Granger," said Harry. "Lady Hogwarts told me that if there was something I didn't want the bearded fool to know, I should make sure the portraits don't hear me."

"Don't the portraits realize that you are the Lord of the four houses? Why would they report on you? Shouldn't they answer to the Lord? This is so wrong; he shouldn't be spying on students. Isn't privacy a thing in the magical world? Can we even stop the portraits from spying? Harry, this…," Hermione rambled.

Hermione came to an abrupt halt as she saw Harry break into a fit of laughter. "What are you laughing about, Harry Potter?"

Harry held up a hand and tried to get himself under control. Once he was quiet, he said, "To answer your questions in the order they were asked: yes, the portraits recognize me as their Lord. They would report on me because the Headmaster has asked them to do so. They will answer to me if I ask them to; however, if there is a matter of school's safety, they will have to alert the headmaster.

"Yes, it is wrong but when has that stopped the old coot? Privacy is a thing, but some people don't respect it. Can we stop them from spying? Of course, we can. That is what I am going to do. The portraits will go back to reporting him only on matters related to school safety; however, I am going to teach him a lesson about spying on others. I will ask the portraits to feed the fool wrong information about me. But he can't talk to me without Aunt Min or Dadfoot present, nor can he bring up the accusations in front of them without proper evidence."

"Merlin," exclaimed Hermione, "this sounds exciting. And nor will he able to cite portraits as his evidence."

"Yep," added Harry, "it will be hilarious to watch him squirm." Hermione and Harry broke into fits of laughter. Dobby appeared and informed them that the others were now up. The pair of best friends thanked the elf and entered the mansion to join the rest.

As the group sat down for breakfast, the post owls brought in the day's paper. Picking up Mind the Twinkle, Harry read:

DMLE BEGINS INVESTIGATION INTO DUMBLEDORE, OUSTS HIM FROM THE OFFICE OF CHIEF WARLOCK;

MADAM MARCHBANKS THE NEW CHIEF WITCH, LORD CYRUS GREENGRASS CHOSEN AS THE DEPUTY

In the annual Winter Solstice session held by the Wizengamot yesterday, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was dismissed from the post of Chief Warlock after Lady Regent Amelia Susan Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement declared that Mr. Dumbledore was being investigated by her department. This is Mr. Dumbledore's second dismissal from a body within a month. He was recently replaced as the British representative to the ICW and thus, removed from the office of Supreme Mugwump.

Madam Bones declared in front the of Wizengamot that Mr. Dumbledore is being investigated for his involvement in illegal incarceration of Lord Sirius Orion Black, sealing of the Potter Wills despite being the executor, and kidnapping and illegally placing Heir Potter with his Muggle relatives. This reporter would like to remind the readers that Mr. Dumbledore was the Chief Warlock when Lord Black was sentenced without a trial in November, 1981. In the historic trial that took place in June 1993, Mr. Dumbledore had been asked to recuse himself from his post of Chief Warlock and his house seat in order to give Lord Black a fair trial.

This reporter would like to point out certain facts that were uncovered in the trial in June 1993. First, if the Potter Wills were not sealed, it would have been known that Lord Black was not the Potters' Secret Keeper, but the now fugitive Peter Pettigrew was. Second, Mr. Dumbledore was the one who cast the Fidelius charm on Potters' hideout. He knew who the Secret Keeper was. Why did he then not force the ministry and the Wizengamot to offer Lord Black a trial? It must also be noted that when Lord Black asked about his son, Heir Potter's whereabouts, Mr. Dumbledore interrupted the proceedings and did not want the Potter Wills to be unsealed. This reporter is of the belief that had Lord Black and the members of the now Paragon Alliance (then called the Potter-Longbottom-Bones alliance) had not threatened to pull out all their resources from Magical Britain, the Wizengamot would not have unsealed the Wills.

Madam Bones was available for a comment. "These are just the initial charges that have been brought up against Mr. Dumbledore. The DMLE will investigate this further and bring up more charges as and when discovered. If I were Mr. Dumbledore, I would prepare myself for a a trial that has been long overdue."

This reporter agrees with Madam Bones' statement and urges the readers to wonder how many more laws Mr. Dumbledore and other ministry officials could have broken before. The hard stance that the Wizengamot has taken shows that nobody is above justice. This is a welcome news (and perhaps a nice Christmas present) to the citizens of Magical Britain. This reporter's sources within the ministry revealed that cases are being built against quite a few ministry personnel. Alas, the names of these personnel are confidential, and my sources are tight-lipped.

Read the proceedings of the 1993 Winter Solstice Wizengamot session in detail in pages 3-6

Read about the trials of Lord Black and Peter Pettigrew in pages 7-8

Read about the Paragon Alliance in pages 9-10

Harry put the paper down and picked up the Daily Prophet. As per their discussion, the reporters at the newspaper agency had only put out a brief summary. It did not contain any information regarding the facts from Sirius' trial nor did it contain anything about the other cases being built by the DMLE. However, Rita Skeeter, the notorious star journalist, had taken up on herself to slander Dumbledore's image by what he thought were cooked up stories. The group had a hearty laugh discussing the articles.

Neville chuckled, "I wonder where Rita gets these stories from."

"Surely, these are cooked up?" asked Hermione. "I-I mean they…they don't even seem believable."

Augusta added, "Skeeter doesn't want to make all the readers believe everything she writes. She, however, has a group of readers who will believe everything. This helps in creating an air of doubt around the person's image who she is trying to slander."

Amelia sighed and shook her head. "That witch knows how to captivate her readers."

Ted chuckled, "As much as I hate that witch, she is actually helpful in tarnishing Dumbledore's image, which is what we want anyway." The group agreed with Ted's statement. As long as the devil that was Skeeter had her poisoned quill slandering the old fool, the family did not have an issue with her.

However, the same couldn't be said of an old wizard sitting in his office in a castle in the Scottish Highlands. Albus Dumbledore had subscribed to Mind the Twinkle after their articles on his late friend, Severus Snape and the execution of other Death Eaters. At first, he did not want to but after borrowing copies from Minerva he had found that the new newspaper had been publishing things in more detail. It was as if someone from the news agency was working within the ministry ranks. They seemed to know things that even he, the great Albus Dumbledore, did not know. Take for example, they had put out about cases against other ministry personnel. He had not heard a word about this from his network of spies. How was he supposed to guide Magical Britain for the Greater Good if he did not know everything?

However, that wasn't his main concern at the moment. No, the other personnel can wait. He had to do something about his post, er, former post. He knew that Riddle wasn't dead. He knew that Riddle would return, which is why he had been trying to shape the Potter brat to be a willing weapon for sacrifice. He had always counted on using his status as the Chief Warlock to guide Magical Britain during the war that he knew was coming, but now he found himself in a big quandary. Not only had he been removed from his office like a common wizard, the DMLE was now investigating him. HIM!

They were investigating him for things he had done for the Greater Good. He knew what was right and what was wrong better than anyone. He was the Leader of Light, after all. Couldn't the wizards and witches of the Wizengamot understand that he did what was necessary? If that wasn't enough, the Bones witch had warned him to prepare for a trial. Him! For a trial! He wasn't even a criminal. Why couldn't the people of Magical Britain understand this!

And then there was the Skeeter article. Sure, her words were usually taken with a pinch of salt. However, if one read both Mind the Twinkle and the Daily Prophet, which he was sure that quite a lot of wizards and witches did, it wouldn't be too difficult for them to believe Skeeter's article. The way Mind the Twinkle had provided facts would have already tarnished his reputation and Skeeter's article would have just added the proverbial erumpent horn to the potion. He had to find out what else Amelia knew. Did she know about what he had done with the Potter accounts? He would have to be very careful. If his actions and inactions in the castle for the past two years were discovered, he would lose his position as headmaster as well. Now that he thought about it, it seemed that ever since Sirius' trial all he could do was be careful and he hated it. His plans were all over the place and his Greater Good seemed a distant dream. Life was unfair!

On Christmas, the group had their breakfast before they sat down to exchange presents. Harry found out that he had been sent gifts from Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore as well; however, they had two notes from Gringotts attached to them instead of one that was attached to the ones received from the twins and his Quidditch teammates. Harry opened the ones from the Weasley matriarch and his headmaster last.

One of the notes said that their presents and letters had traces of charms and potions which had now been removed. The other note detailed the charms and potions, who had placed them, and whom they were keyed to. Harry handed them to his Uncle Ted, who made multiple copies of it. One set was returned to Gringotts to be stored with the other evidence. One set was sent to his firm and the last set was handed to Harry's personal elf, Dobby, who stored them in Potter Manor. The family had been contemplating whether to go after Dumbledore with a second article after Skeeter's article; however, with this transgression, their minds were now made up.

After a couple of days, another article hit Mind the Twinkle. It started with how 15-month old baby Harry had been wrapped in a thin blanket and left at his relatives' door at midnight during November winter in a basket by Dumbledore. It went on to describe in brief how Harry Potter had been treated by his Muggle relatives. Harry had not been comfortable in sharing the more gruesome incidents. Therefore, only a few were mentioned, enough to tarnish Dumbledore's image further.

Dumbledore sat in his office staring at the newspaper in front of him in horror. He had been doing quite a bit of running since the last article. This one took it a step further. He knew how fickle the Magical British populace were. Dumbledore had been enduring bad press for a while and this article about Harry's treatment at the hands of his Muggle relatives would have only strengthened the public's negative opinion of him. It didn't help him a bit that Harry Potter was currently the public's favorite. All he could hope for was no more nasty surprises. And when it seemed it couldn't get any worse, he received a ministry owl. Unfolding the note, he read:

Albus P.W.B. Dumbledore, Order of Merlin, First Class,

Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

With new information coming into light regarding Heir Potter's living conditions when you were his magical guardian, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would like to notify that you're also being investigated for charges that may include child abuse, accessory to child abuse and neglecting your duties towards your ward, should it be found that you had not checked upon your ward after illegally placing him with his Muggle relatives. The DMLE expects your cooperation during the investigation.

The office of Madam Amelia Bones,

Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

He crushed the letter and threw it at the wall. He was cursing under his breath. He couldn't believe his bad luck. If the DMLE got to the Potter child before he could, he knew he would be done for. He wanted to get his hands on Harry as soon as possible but he did not know where Black had been keeping him. He looked at Fawkes and thought of sending him a note; however, all thoughts of it disappeared in flames with the magical bird's disappearance in similar manner. Life was unfair to the old soul! Sighing, he decided to head to the ministry and find out what in the name of Merlin was going on, and how he could prevent any further fall from grace.

In all his haste, he did not notice the fact that he had received the letter within minutes of the newspaper. Adrian, however, noticed it and realized that the family had slipped up and gotten away with it only because of Dumbledore's desperation to save his image. He decided to let his lord know and called for Tony to pass on the message.

Dumbledore returned to his office after a couple of hours. He was tired but seething with anger. His outing had not been successful. None of his spies had any idea about where young Harry was. Apparently, the ministry had tried sending him letters but the owls could not find him. Questioning further, he discovered that the Bones witch was personally handling the case. Albus wanted to use Legilimency on an Auror to see what they knew; however, with everything that was happening around him, he decided against it, lest it give the damned Bones witch a reason to arrest him.

January 2, 1994

Lily's Keep

8:00 A.M.

The extended family were having breakfast when Sirius cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention to himself. "Augusta, Amelia and I have an announcement to make." This had everyone stop eating and look at them. "We had a discussion with Remus and Minerva last night. We agreed that it will be beneficial if you five were taught the Patronus charm. Remus has agreed to spend Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends teaching you the charm."

Amelia added, "As it is a complex charm, you will need more time."

Hermione, who looked like Christmas had come again, gushed, "Patronus is a post-NEWT level charm. Oh, I am so excited." Everyone chuckled at her reaction.

Harry, though, had a question. "Why do we need to learn the Patronus right away if the Dementors are going to be removed?" Looking at everyone's puzzled expression, he faltered, "I-I mean… I don't mind learning a new charm, just curious."

"It is okay, Harry," replied Augusta. "Yes, the Dementors might be removed from Azkaban but not vanished from existence. If Riddle or his followers somehow manage to get the Dementors on their side, we don't want you kids to be defenseless."

"If that's the case," added Neville, "wouldn't it be better to let the Dementors to guard Azkaban? In that way, we would at least know when they defect to Riddle's side?"

It was Ted who had a reply to it. "Well, the ICW is still looking for a place to relocate them to. If they can find a safe place, it will be good for everyone. However, if they are not removed from Azkaban at all, I don't think it will be too difficult for Riddle to gain their support."

"So, in reality," added Susan, "we are just minimizing the chances of Riddle gaining their support?"

"Yes," replied Amelia. "It is very difficult to ensure that they don't join Riddle; all we can do is minimize the odds."

"It may not be ideal," said Luna, "but we understand."

Hermione nodded and added, "Besides, we are being trained anyway."

Sirius added, "We have made it optional to everyone in fourth year and above. You won't be attending it with others though."

"Figured," said Hermione, rolling her eyes. "We aren't fourth years after all."

The group got back to idle chatter as they finished their breakfast. After which, the kids headed to finish the last bit of packing before heading to King's Cross.

The kids bade the adults a farewell and had taken a compartment at the back of the train. They had wanted to lock the door and ward it against any disturbance, but Harry had stopped them. He badly wanted the blond ferret to pay them a visit.

Sirius had recently nullified Narcissa's marriage with Lucius and given her an ultimatum. If she chose to keep the Black name, she would have to stop any form of communication between herself and Lucius. Her son, Draco, had two options. If he could be reformed and denounce his father's teachings, he would be able to become Draco Black and have a trust fund in his name. Should he not accept the stated terms, he would either be Draco Malfoy or Draco No-Name, depending on Lucius' decision. However, he would not be able to contact his mother should she accept Sirius' ultimatum.

Harry's wish was fulfilled twenty minutes into the ride when the said ferret paid them a visit with his bodyguard baboons. Malfoy sneered, "Potty, I see you are still hanging out with these riff raff. If only you had taken up my offer of friendship before."

Harry gave a fake smile and replied in a voice as formal as possible. "And why would I want to do that, Draco? Let's see. You are an inbred bigot born to a man who used to kiss the feet of a half-blood bastard spewing pureblood supremacy. And I thought that Malfoys bowed to no one." Harry snorted, "Clearly, your father and head of house Malfoy believes otherwise."

He added with a disgusting look, "Then there are your manners. I was told you were taught the Olde Ways while growing up. Either you don't remember a thing, or you don't believe in them. Or perhaps the Death Eater father of yours didn't teach you well."

With a wide smile, he continued, "I heard that Lord Black nullified your parents' marriage. Apparently, quite a few terms were not fulfilled and now, house of Malfoy has lost more than half of its wealth. Lord Black also gave an ultimatum to Cousin Narcissa and her son, you."

Shaking his head, Harry added, "Tch, tch, Draco. Seems like you never learn, do you? Your options have been reduced by quite a lot, haven't they? Daddy's massive wealth has been halved and influence is as good as gone. Should your mother accept Lord Black's ultimatum, you will either have to denounce your father and his teachings or hope that your bigoted father lets you keep the Malfoy name. And if your mother decides to be cast out of the Black family, she will become nameless and so will you if your father doesn't want you. Lord Black doesn't want anything to do with you."

Neville chuckled, "Damn, that is a tough position." Everyone in the compartment started to snicker.

Draco's face was now red with embarrassment and anger. He had just reached for his wand when he found himself and his guards at the opposite end of five wands aimed at him. The wands were lit with one hex or other.

Harry's eyes were glowing with magic. He threatened in an icy tone, "Reach for your wand and that would be the last thing you ever do. And might I remind you that your bastard godfather is no longer around to protect you within the castle. If I were you, I would stay the hell away from us." He narrowed his eyes and snarled, "NOW, GET OUT!"

The ferret and his baboons beat a hasty retreat. Hermione silently locked the compartment door while Luna warded it. Susan and Neville were helping the elves set out some snacks for them while Harry extracted the memory and sent it to Sirius with Dobby. The kids laughed while discussing the encounter.

Unknown to the group, the last member of the former Golden Trio and his little sister spent a good chunk of time looking for them in vain.

Harry had had a conversation with Lady Hogwarts on his way to the Great Hall for the start of term feast. He informed her about his plan to stop the Headmaster's spying through the network of portraits. Lady Hogwarts promptly agreed to his plan. The portraits would only report correctly to the Headmaster if there was an emergency or a matter of castle's security.

As it was the start of the term feast, Harry and his friends were sitting with their respective house mates. Harry, Hermione and Neville were seated together and a bit farther from their batchmates to avoid the redhead.

Dumbledore had introduced the returning Potions Master Horace Slughorn after the feast, as was expected. He was also named the new Head of Slytherin house. Harry and his friends were told by the adults about Slughorn's tendency to form a club called 'The Slug Club' consisting of his well-liked students. Each of them was a prime candidate, not just for their academic prowess but also for their fame and/or political power.

Harry, besides being the known heir to five of the most influential houses, was the Boy-Who-Lived. His fame carried a lot of political clout. Hermione was not only the brightest witch of her age but also the heiress to the House of Dagworth-Granger, a house known for its contribution to the society of potioneers. Susan was the niece of the head of DMLE and the heiress to House of Bones. Neville was the heir to House of Longbottom. Luna was one of their closest friends and the heiress to the House of Lovegood. The Lovegood name might not be as famous as the others, but it was still an Ancient and Most Noble House.

Sirius had also added that though it was unlikely that Slughorn was part of Dumbledore's agenda, the group still had to be wary of him. Dumbledore had been happy to bring Slughorn back and fulfill his salary and other demands. The man was a good potions master according to Sirius, though Harry and his friends were sure that even a troll would be a step up from Snape.

After having introduced Slughorn, Dumbledore continued with his eyes now twinkling, "Now, the Board of Governors would like to bring back the dueling and defense club. It is optional and open to fourth years and above. Students in fourth year and above who have maintained a minimum average of Acceptables across all their coursework and EEs in Charms and DADA are eligible to be part of the club. The club will hold sessions on Friday evenings at 5 P.M. in the room next to the Great Hall." There was a loud cheer. Dumbledore held up his hand to quieten the cheers and continued, "It will be run by Professors Flitwick and Lupin. Interested eligible students may give their names to their respective Head of House on or before this Thursday, the sixth of January. I am told that the professors will first be teaching the Patronus charm. It is quite a remarkable charm, if I say so myself."

There was a loud applause to Dumbledore's announcement. He held up his hand to silence the students and bade them all a good night before dismissing them. The students were very excited as they exited the Great Hall. Though the lower years were a bit disappointed that they couldn't be a part of the new club, they now had an extra motivation to perform better in all their classes. The older students were very much looking forward to Flitwick's dueling lessons; the half-goblin was a renowned dueling master.

January 21, 1994

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

5:45 P.M.

Three weeks into the term and things had been fairly quiet for Harry and his friends. Slughorn had been very excited to have Harry and his friends in the first couple of classes, but the excitement had gradually died down. The group had learned from Minerva and Remus that most of the eligible students had enrolled for the club.

The group had also begun their Patronus lessons with Remus. Harry had gotten the furthest. He had been able to produce a simple shielding Patronus, which was a sign of encouragement and motivation to them all. The group had begun to have their lunch either in the Tower or in the grounds after a week to avoid potions about which the elves had alerted them. They would have done the same for all their meals, but they couldn't come up with a good enough excuse for missing all the three meals.

Harry was now heading towards the Headmaster's office. He had received a summons from the Headmaster after lunch when he was heading for his last class of the day. He didn't know what it was about, but he had sent a note to Sirius asking him to accompany him. The stone gargoyle stepped aside as soon as it saw Harry approach it. Harry gave it a slight nod and ascended the stairs.

He could hear two voices from the other side of the door. Sirius and Dumbledore were caught up in a conversation. He knocked at the door and waited to be called in. Once Dumbledore had given him the permission, Harry entered the office.

"Ah, good evening, Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "Your godfather, Lord Black, and I were just catching up while waiting for you."

"Hello, my heir," said Sirius, looking every bit the pureblood aristocrat that he was.

Harry turned to Sirius and replied, "Hello, father. It is good to see you."

"It is good to see you as well, son," said Sirius and hugged Harry.

Dumbledore looked a bit miffed that he had been ignored by Harry. He cleared his throat to draw the attention of his visitors and greeted Harry again.

"Good evening, Headmaster," replied Harry. "I apologize to keep you waiting but I heard you the first time. However, as Lord Black here is my father and the lord of my House, he outranks you. It wouldn't do me any good to keep him waiting."

"Though I understand your point, Mr. Potter," began Dumbledore, "you are currently in my school, and despite Lord Black being on the Board of Governors, since this isn't a meeting that involves the Board of Governors, he doesn't outrank me."

Harry was baffled at Dumbledore's statement. He was speechless. Sirius, however, asked, "Headmaster, is this an academic counsel?"

"No, Lord Black, it isn't," replied Dumbledore.

"Then, my heir did nothing wrong. Since this meeting isn't related to academic matters, he was right to address his father before addressing you."

"But…"

Sirius immediately cut him off, "Headmaster, if there is nothing you would like to discuss besides the order my son greeted us in, I believe we are done here."

Dumbledore sighed, "No, I apologize. We have much to discuss, much to discuss indeed." He turned to Harry and said, "Please take a seat, Mr. Potter."

Harry obliged and took a seat beside Sirius, and Dumbledore continued, "Care for some lemon drops, Mr. Potter?"

Harry shook his head and replied, "No, thank you, Professor."

"Very well," replied Dumbledore. "How are you doing this term, Mr. Potter?"

"It has just been three weeks," began Harry, "but it is very much like the last term." He paused for a moment and added, "Well, without the constant complaining of Mr. Weasley that is."

Dumbledore schooled his anger at Harry's comment and added in a grandfatherly tone, "Mr. Potter, I implore you to try and forgive Mr. Weasley for whatever it is that he did wrong. If you live as long as I, you will realize that forgiveness is the only way to lead a peaceful life."

"Professor," Harry began, "why should I forgive him? Why is it that you are going on and on about me forgiving him? Why does it matter so much?"

"Besides Mr. Weasley being your first friend?" Dumbledore asked. Harry nodded his head. Dumbledore sighed and continued, "Well, you see, I have reasons to believe that the Dark Lord is still alive. Barely, but still alive." Here he paused to comprehend the visitors' expressions. While it was expected that Harry wasn't surprised given his incident with Riddle-possessed-Quirrell, he was surprised to see that Sirius didn't seem astonished at his revelation.

"Figured," deadpanned Harry. Sirius nodded his approval.

"I am surprised that you don't seem taken aback by my revelation, Lord Black," replied Dumbledore.

Sirius gathered his thoughts and replied, "I am surprised that many think Riddle to be dead when his body was never found." He paused and stared at Dumbledore before continuing, "And how do you think Mr. Weasley comes into play?"

"I will get to it in a minute," replied Dumbledore. Dumbledore paused here and seemed to think for a moment. Over the past couple of weeks, Dumbledore had given the circumstances a think over and decided to reveal a few things about the Potter Heir's destiny. Not all, mind you, for nobody besides him should be trusted with such important information.

He turned to Harry and continued, "I am unsure if you know this, Mr. Potter, but there was a reason Riddle went after the Potters. A reason that then lay and still lies beyond my control."

Without missing a beat, Harry questioned Dumbledore, "And what reason might that be, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore flicked his gaze towards Sirius for a moment before turning to Harry and replying, "There was a prophecy. A prophecy that concerns you and Riddle."

It was Sirius who questioned the Headmaster. "And what did this prophecy say?"

"I admit I don't remember the exact wording," he replied with twinkling eyes. "However, I do remember the gist of it."

Harry asked impatiently, "And that is?"

"That you will have the power to defeat the Dark Lord. It is a power that he doesn't know," replied Dumbledore with his eyes pale and an expression of sorrow.

Harry was surprised. Not because of the prophecy but because the old bastard had actually shared something important with him. The Slytherin in him started to analyze the situation. Why would Mr. Twinkly-eyes here would reveal this to me now? What is he playing at? Does he think I will trust him because of this?

Sirius was in a similar state, though, he concluded the same faster than his son.

When neither of his visitors spoke, Dumbledore continued, "I know it is a grave destiny for one so young, and I didn't want to burden you with this so soon; however, due to change in circumstances I believed it would be better to have this discussion now."

"Hold up," replied Harry. "Are you saying that should things have been the same, you'd not have brought it up now?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore. "That is what I am saying."

Clearly, that was the wrong thing to say. Sirius immediately exploded, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR BLOODY MIND? WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU THE BLOODY RIGHT TO DECIDE WHAT IS THE RIGHT TIME TO TELL HIM ABOUT THE PROPHECY?"

Harry though had another question. "How did you know about this prophecy?"

"It was made to me," admitted Dumbledore.

"And you, the greatest wizard since Merlin, doesn't recall the actual wording?" asked an irate Sirius.

"And how is that Riddle came to know about the prophecy?" asked Harry, looking at Dumbledore with disgust.

"I was told that a Death Eater overheard part of the it and informed his master," replied Dumbledore.

"And what happened of this Death Eater?" asked Harry. He knew it was Snape and he had ensured that the greasy git had gotten what he deserved. He just wanted to know what the meddling fool would reveal about him.

"How did you know that the Dark Lord was going to attack the Potters?" asked Sirius.

Dumbledore took a deep breath and replied, "I don't know who this Death Eater was, but I assure you he is quite dead. Riddle made sure of that." He paused and added, "Apparently, Riddle didn't like that one of his followers believed that a baby could defeat him. Bellatrix Lestrange was muttering this during the trial." It was half-true after all. Snape had informed the Dark Lord and he had been executed by the ICW recently. May Mother Magic bless his poor soul.

He turned to Sirius and added, "I didn't know that he was going to attack the Potters. The prophecy was worded in such a way that only two families fit the description. The Potters and the Longbottoms. I had hidden them both, but alas, my efforts were in vain."

Harry and Sirius were now quiet. They didn't trust Dumbledore nor will they ever, but they had to give the man credit for his acting skills. Harry had asked his parents why they had forsaken the protection of the Manor's war wards and chosen Fidelius. They couldn't come up with a plausible answer which only indicated that it was probably due to Dumbledore's interference. The property in Godric's Hollow had become available around Harry's birth and James had bought it. He didn't know whom it had belonged to. The then Potters' account manager had alerted James of the small cottage and he had bought it. When Harry had mentioned this to Ragnok, they did some digging and discovered that the property had once belonged to the House of Dumbledore. This had angered him a bit more. Harry had told this to everyone in the extended family too.

Harry asked, "What do you think the power is?"

"I believe the power is friendship and compassion, Mr. Potter," replied Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling again. He held up his hand and continued, "I don't believe that you need to be friends with Riddle. No, what I believe is that your friendship with all kinds of magicals and the shared compassion is what will help you to beat Riddle."

"And might I ask, oh great Dumbledore, how is that going to happen?" asked a bemused Sirius.

"How does Mr. Weasley come into play?", asked Harry.

"Mr. Potter," began Dumbledore, "the Weasleys are a family staunchly devoted to Light and were a part of my paramilitary group, the Order of the Phoenix. When Riddle returns, I will reform the Order, naturally. It wouldn't do our bid to remove Riddle any good if we had differences within our camp."

"I see," muttered Harry. "Well, in that case, we will cross that bridge when we get to it."

Dumbledore's inner-self was doing a mad, happy dance; however, Sirius' next words brought it to an abrupt halt. "Headmaster, if that was all you wanted to discuss, we do have a few questions we would like answers to."

This was something Dumbledore didn't like. Giving answers! Why couldn't people understand that he was always right. It was for the Greater Good after all. He gazed at his visitors, as if he was weighing them up, and added, "Very well, there is just one more thing I would like to address before the questions."

Dumbledore continued when the visitors didn't respond. "It has recently come into my attention that Mr. Potter here has caused quite extensive damage to the castle's plumbing during the lunch hours. I cannot…"

Harry cut him off saying, "Excuse me, Headmaster, but what evidence do you have that I have done any such thing?"

"I know you've done it," replied Dumbledore. "The second floor was flooded with water, and one of the castle residents reported that they had seen you doing it."

"For the past three weeks," began Harry, "my friends and I have had lunch either in the castle grounds or in the kitchen. You can always question my friends, provided you disclose the name of this resident and let my father question them."

"Are you questioning the integrity and honesty of this resident, Mr. Potter?" asked Dumbledore in an offended tone. "You do realize that you're also questioning my integrity, don't you?"

Sirius put a hand on Harry's shoulders and replied in his stead. "Mr. Dumbledore, are you questioning Heir Potter's honesty? Because if you are, then I must insist that you disclose the name of this resident and allow the Board of Governors to investigate into the matter. After all, if Heir Potter did indeed cause damage to castle's plumbing, the Board will have to approve appropriate budget to cover the repairs."

Dumbledore looked like he was going to object but Sirius pushed on, "And the alleged accusation along with the results of this investigation will be made public to the students of Hogwarts and the citizens of Magical Britain."

"Lord Black," began Dumbledore, "surely, you don't believe that I am accusing Mr. Potter without having verified the resident's accusation?"

"On the contrary," began Sirius, "I know that you haven't verified the authenticity of the accusation. Because if you did, why are you so hesitant to let the Board in into the investigation? I understand that it might be a conflict of interest should I investigate but the Board can always hire someone from the Auror corps to investigate it."

"Very well," began Dumbledore, "seeing that I cannot change your stance, I will drop this matter for now; however, should there be any more alarming complaints, I will not be so lenient."

Sirius snorted at Dumbledore's statement, though the Headmaster continued, "Now, what were your questions, Lord Black?"

Instead, it was Harry who replied. "Well, you can always start with why you let Lord Black rot in Azkaban when you knew he was innocent?"

"Mr. Potter," replied Dumbledore with a sorrowful look, "Lord Black was charged with the murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles. I knew he wasn't the Secret Keeper, but I didn't know that he was innocent of the other accused crimes."

"And so, you didn't see it fit to hold a trial for Lord Black?" questioned Harry. "You, the then Chief Warlock, were completely fine with the then Heir of a Most Ancient and Most Noble House to be thrown into Azkaban without a trial? You, the then Chief Warlock, were alright that the worst of Death Eaters were given a trial but not him? You, the then Chief Warlock, didn't object the others and demand his trial, a man who was part of your paramilitary group? You, the then Chief Warlock, kept a known Death Eater, Severus Snape from being incarcerated and offered the bastard a professorship at Hogwarts, but couldn't demand a trial for my father?"

Harry snorted and spat in a colder voice. "Care to tell me why you, the then Chief Warlock, decided to seal the Will of my parents? The Will of two of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses, which, might I add, were supposed to be executed by you because of a law that was passed during your tenure as the Chief Warlock! Had you not sealed that Will, I wouldn't have grown up with the Dursleys. My father would have been free, and I would have grown up knowing the love of a family."

Dumbledore was staring at Harry with horror. He hadn't expected the young Potter to confront him so quickly and coldly. It seemed that the boy was ready to burn all the bridges. He saw the young mage's eyes grow colder and glow with magic as he continued.

"Why don't you tell me why you had my family cloak in your possession far longer than necessary? You borrowed it from my father with the promise to return it to him, but you didn't. You held onto it for eleven years of my life instead of returning it to my account manager to place into my vault for safe keeping.

"I wish I could charge you with theft since you didn't return it to me as soon as I stepped into the magical world. And then there's my family wand. A wand, that might I add, you tried using on me, a Peverell. Why didn't you return it to my grandfather when he had asked for it, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore looked at Harry with steely eyes and replied, "Like I said to your grandfather all those years ago, I had won its allegiance. It wouldn't work for him."

"That's a load of hippogriff dung," snarled Harry. "You didn't know if he wanted to use it or not. He was Lord Peverell and he asked you to return our stolen Family Heirloom which you should have, but you didn't.

"You know what I think? I think you were chasing the Three Deathly Hallows. You knew for a fact that the wand belonged to the Peverells. You didn't return the wand because you didn't know if the wand would still work for you after a Peverell had touched it, and you did not defeat or kill the said Peverell. Since you already had the wand, when you saw the Cloak, you couldn't just let it go; however, the Cloak wouldn't work for you. Not at least how it works for me. Not how it worked for my father and generations of Peverell before him. So, you returned it to me, that too on Christmas. You were hoping to get into my good books, perhaps wanted me to trust you implicitly. Well, news flash Headmaster, that is never going to happen. Not after what you tried to pull anyway."

Harry was panting and breathing heavily. Dumbledore put on his disappointed grandfather expression and spoke, "I am sorry that you feel I have wronged you and your family, Mr. Potter, but I hope you will see reason some day and realize that I did nothing wrong. I did what was best given the circumstances. I did what I had to for the Greater Good." He paused and said with glistening eyes, "I am, after all, a human, and humans are not immune to making mistakes, Mr. Potter. I hope you will have the strength to forgive me someday soon."

Harry simply stared at the Headmaster as Sirius replied, "Whether what you did was wrong or not will be out in the open soon. The DMLE is investigating you and the circumstances, as you put it. If you're truly innocent, there may as well still be hope for us to reconcile. However, until such a time comes, I sincerely request you to stay the hell away from my son and the rest of us. If you fail to do so, I will be very displeased and take up the matter with the Wizengamot."

"Though I am not happy with the behavior," began Dumbledore, "I must reluctantly agree." He paused to look at both his visitors and added, "That will be all, gentlemen. Have a good evening!"

Harry and Sirius just stared at the old fool and decided to leave. As Harry was leaving, he sent a message to Adrian, 'Adrian, my friend, keep me informed of the goat's meddling, will you? And thank the portraits for their good work. Oh, I am going to prank and humiliate the bastard today. Make sure he eats those blasted lemon drops before leaving for dinner.'

Adrian chuckled, 'It shall be done, my Lord. I will have to ask Lady Hogwarts to show me what happens during the dinner.'

Harry laughed, 'Make sure you do, my friend.'

Lady Hogwarts decided to butt in, 'I will make sure that Adrian and I have special seats for the show, my Lord.'

Harry chuckled and relayed to Sirius his plans after they exited the office.

After dinner, Dumbledore rose from his seat and drew everyone's attention to himself. He was about to announce about the dueling tournament for the fourth-years and sixth-years. He opened his mouth to speak. Though he was speaking in English, all everyone around him could hear was the sound of a goat. The students and the staff were guffawing with laughter, but the Headmaster couldn't understand why.

He turned to his deputy and said, "bah bah bah bah bah bah?"

Minerva couldn't hold her laughter in. When Albus' expression grew a bit serious and he snarled in goat voices, Minerva said in between her laughs, "Albus…hahahahah…you…haha...you are making…hahaha…goat sounds…hahahah…"

Dumbledore had a puzzled expression; everything he said sounded like perfect English to his ears. He tried to inform Minerva the same but ended up making more goat sounds. Minerva laughed again. She silenced the Headmaster and made the announcement that Albus was going to make.

Albus thought that everyone had gone mad until he had peeked into Ronald Weasley's mind the next day. He was furious when he realized that he had been pranked, and in front of the entire school. This wasn't good. He didn't even know who had pranked him or when. Nor did he know that in a mansion miles away, the events of the previous evening were being played on repeat, and he was being laughed at by the residents, including house-elves.

The next day Harry and his friends made a significant progress during their Patronus lesson. Neville, Hermione, Luna and Susan were now able to cast a simple shielding Patronus charm. Harry, who had achieved it before, was very happy about his friends' progress. He had been reading about the Patronus charm in his parents' and ancestors' journals. He noticed that the explanations in the journals and the one that Remus had shown them in the books were different.

He remembered reading it in his mother's journal that though the books on charms described the Patronus drew strength from happy memories, it wasn't the complete explanation. He recalled his mom's exact words.

Let's take the Dementors for an example. They feed on one's happy memories and turn the surroundings into one of misery and sorrow. The Patronus is supposed to be the only charm that is effective against the Dementors. What was a wizard or a witch to do when facing Dementors if they fed on their happy memories and you needed them to cast a Patronus?

In my research of the charm, I read quite a lot of books which are a part of the Potter, Peverell, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw libraries. I was a bit surprised to find that the contrary to the popular belief, the Patronus charm, when based upon one's happy memories is not as strong as when based on happy memories, love and desire to protect.

His mother had also noted down the books she had referred to during her research in her journal. Harry had read through the referred books. He hadn't shared it with the others yet since he wanted to make sure that his mother's research was correct.

After having seen his friends cast the shielding Patronus, he looked at their smiles and their happy expressions. He could see they were relieved as they chatted. He felt a strong desire to protect them and their smiles. He recalled his interactions with his parents using the stone and how they had sacrificed themselves. He recalled their love for him and how his parents had been proud of the wizard he had become. He could feel all his Family Magics coursing through him. He could feel that he would be able to produce a corporeal one.

He pointed his familiar wand thinking about the charm. His wand produced a white mist that slowly took the shape of a winged, skeletal horse. A Thestral. Harry had had an inkling that his corporeal form would be a thestral. He looked at his Patronus, which bowed to him. There was a pin-drop silence as Harry admired his Patronus and finally muttered, "Labhrainn!"

The Patronus simply nodded to Harry and turned around to look for any threat. Finding none, it bowed to Harry and galloped away. That seemed to have done the trick to break the silence.

His friends all came up to him and hugged him before firing a barrage of questions at him. Harry held up his hand to calm his friends down. Once they were quiet, Harry said, "I know you have questions; however, let me first tell you something about the Patronus charm that I read in my ancestors' journals, including my mum's." And so he did.

After he had told them about what he had read, Remus was the first to question. "If that's the case, why don't they have them in the books?" He paused for a moment before adding, "And let me just be clear, I could feel the power radiating off your Patronus. Casting such a powerful corporeal Patronus is rare."

The kids looked at him expectantly. Harry gathered his thoughts before answering, "I can't say why the books aren't updated, nor do I have a clue about why this isn't well-known; however, what I can say is when I saw everyone smiling and happy, I had this desire to protect everyone and their smiles."

He looked down at his wand, twirling in between his fingers and added, "I spoke with my parents using the stone. There was a question that was bugging me. My father had a phoenix and a thunderbird for familiars, why did they not take me and run away?"

He stopped twirling the wand and looked ahead, unfocused. "My father said, and I quote, 'Run away? Son, we don't run. No, scratch that, we shouldn't run. Our family lines have been blessed extensively by Mother Magic. Had we run away from whatever was coming our way, we would have used these blessings for our benefits and not for that of Magical World.'

"When I couldn't understand his words, my mother explained it to me in a different way. And I think I get it now." He looked at his friends and the adults present in the room and continued, "Think about it this way. Had the events on the fateful Halloween not gone down the way they did, Riddle and his band of merry men would still be terrorizing the streets. A lot of good wizards and witches would have lost their lives due to Dumbledore's unlimited second chances and stunners only rule."

He took a heavy breath and turned to Hermione, "I am not sure if Hermione would have been able to attend Hogwarts or be alive for that matter; let alone discover her heritage." He turned away and had that faraway look again as he continued, "I know that my parents sacrificed themselves without knowing that this would have happened; however, now that we have this chance, we need to make the most of it. We need to protect the world for our future generations, just like the generations before us did."

"Is that why your Patronus was so powerful, Harry?" asked a puzzled Neville.

"And just so you know, a Thestral Patronus has never been recorded," added Hermione.

"To answer your question, Neville," began Harry, "I guess yes." He turned to Hermione and added, "I know that I am the first to produce a Thestral Patronus; however, I also know the reasons behind it. It is because of the Peverell Family Magic and due to my family's acceptance of Death as our friend." He paused for a second and added, "The fact that Labhrainn's magic gave me a way to interact with my parents and grandparents is also perhaps one of the reasons."

He had a gentle smile on his face as he continued, "Now that raises another question: why didn't any of my other ancestors have thestral Patronus? They also accepted Death like I did. They also had Peverell Family Magic." He saw the looks on everyone's faces, expecting the answer to the question. He continued, "Besides giving me happy memories of interacting with my parents, Labhrainn's magic is present in four of my possessions: the Cloak, the Elder Wand, the Stone and my familiar wand. A part of my magic is resonating with his, which is why I was able to produce him as my Patronus."

His friends accepted the answer and tried to picture their loved ones, and their desire to protect them. They then tried to perform the spell. Hermione went the first out of the four and produced a corporeal Patronus. Her Patronus took the form of a regal thunderbird that resembled Godric. Luna and Susan produced their corporeal Patronuses next. Luna's took the shape of a unicorn whereas Susan's was a buzzard. Neville was the next to try. Having seen his friends cast a corporeal one, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his feelings. He was able to produce a corporeal one too, and it took the form of a hippogriff.

The kids and the adults had been very excited by the progress. Harry had sent a note with Rowena to the adults at Lily's Keep asking them to meet everyone at the Tower. Once the entire extended family apart from Remus and Minerva were gathered, the kids performed the spell. The adults looked very proud. They were ecstatic and gushing after they had viewed the memories of that morning when the kids had produced the Patronus for the first time. This was certainly a big leap in the kids' defense lessons and magical education as a whole.