A/N: The next fic in the series is complete! I'll begin posting it next week (Tuesday 9th Feb 2021, at 8-10am AEST), so now's a great time to either reread the series or refresh your memory by looking over these fic summaries. New chapters will go up twice a week for 20 weeks. :)

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Summary of "Extraordinary Summer" - contains major spoilers for this fic.

It's the summer of Harry's fourth year, and Harry's holiday isn't turning out to be particularly normal even by wizarding standards. Most young wizards don't include a promotional book tour in their holiday itinerary after all! During his tour Harry meets werewolves, a hag, and other interesting characters, and visits the fascinatingly unique magical districts of Paris, and Libreville in Gabon.

His snake Storm's company on his many outings are causing Harry's denials of being the Heir of Slytherin to wear thin in many people's eyes.

Well, at least Harry can hope that the Quidditch World Cup will be relatively uneventful.


Returning to Privet Drive after his trip to London for his correspondence course exams, Harry sees signs of a wizard skulking invisibly outside his house. The Dursleys flee to Mrs. Figg's, and Harry summons Aurors to take out the supposed Death Eater. Dumbledore arrives to clear the good name of his guard, Fletcher, but is disarmed on arrival due to Harry's highly-strung nerves.

Dudley, curious about magic, sneaks out to join Harry at the Weasleys' garden party, where they meet the Weasley's bitter Squib cousin Mr. Prewett, his wife, and their daughter Mafalda who is starting at Hogwarts. The Weasley twins excitedly discover Sirius was a Marauder, later leading to financial backing for their pranks business.

As Lockhart is allegedly adventuring in Africa, over summer Harry promotes Lockhart's revised new book 'Battles with the Basilisk'. It stars not Tom Riddle but Tim Rydel, a foolish half-blood Ravenclaw whose ghost was trapped in a diary. Harry works through stage fright to do book signings in Diagon Alley, then Knockturn Alley. At that second signing while guarded by Sirius and Snape he meets darker customers including a hag, a werewolf named Hyndla, and the vampire Sanguini. Neither of the two wizards, now they've found Harry, are keen to let him return to Potter Cottage on his own for the remainder of the summer. Sirius persuades Harry to stay with him, while Snape gifts him an emergency Portkey.

Harry's next book signing is in Lutèce – the underground catacombs of magical Paris – with Tonks as a bodyguard. He meets a few fans of his and Lockhart's, including Master Potioneer Monvoisin, magical creature fan Ovid Mortalem, and the Delacour family.

Arriving afterwards at Grimmauld Place, Harry finds Kreacher has wrecked his new bedroom on the orders of Walburga Black's portrait. He panders to her bigoted worldview and she changes her tune fast when she learns Harry is a Parselmouth and the Heir of Slytherin; he is placed in Regulus' old bedroom instead. Harry is upset to learn Kreacher sleeps in a boiler cupboard and helps make up a room for him and Dobby in the attic. He wins Kreacher's eager loyalty and cements Walburga's approval when he helps Kreacher save the Black family tree tapestry, sneakily saves various Black heirlooms (to a 'bin' in the attic), and accepts Sirius' offer to make him the Heir to the House of Black. Harry reciprocates by making Sirius the Potter Heir.

At the final book signing in Gabon, Africa, Harry and Sirius fight Death Eaters who seem to be targeting Sirius, and the battle gives Sirius PTSD flashbacks.

Shopping with his friends in Diagon Alley, Hermione is offended to find the Malfoys haven't invited her to their upcoming ball. Harry runs into Theodore Nott who offers a future favour in return for a façade of friendship.

On Neville's birthday he and Harry visit his parents at St. Mungo's, and Harry recommends they be removed from their unnecessary placement in hospital to the more familiar and comfortable surrounds of Longbottom Manor, a plan which Neville's Gran eventually enacts.

Harry's own more cheerful birthday outing is, thanks to Sirius, a party at McDonald's, to the horror of his more hidebound pure-blood friends. However, many enjoy having their faces painted at the end of the party. A birthday letter from Voldemort is less fun, as the Dark Lord pushes determinedly for a formal truce.

Lughnasadh is celebrated in Snape's company on the grounds of the ruined Potter Manor.

Harry's visit to the Malfoys goes relatively smoothly, with no problems bigger than bickering amongst visiting friends over who is likely to be on the Quidditch teams in the coming year, and a spot of arguing with Draco over Hermione's continuing exclusion from social events (which Draco blames on his parents). Harry is dismayed to find himself obligated to dance at the Malfoy Ball, which has as much strategic political mingling as it does dancing. Percy attends despite the Weasley family's disapproval with Tonks seizing the opportunity to attend as his date, Madam Bones dances with Mr. Mortalem, and Minister Fudge escorts Madam Umbridge around. Macnair's chat with Harry during the showy Chinese dinner reveals to all that Harry is the newly appointed Black Heir, to the Malfoys' displeasure (as they had assumed Draco would have that honour).

Back at Grimmauld Place, Neville visits to help Harry tame the garden full of poisonous purple flowers and vicious magical plants. The flowering Wolf's Bane keeps Lupin out of the garden, but Sirius assists a little and gets on well with Neville.

Harry is delighted to see all his friends at the Quidditch World Cup but is disturbed by the entrancing Veela. After Ireland's narrow win, the night is disrupted by rampaging werewolves, and Death Eaters burning tents. Greg pushily escorts Hermione to Harry's tent and formally requests Sanctuary for her. Meanwhile, Sirius has run off to fight 'Lord' Pettigrew and Death Eaters. Other passers-by are offered shelter in the Black tent too for mutual security and aid, including the Lovegoods who also formally accept Sanctuary. Harry and Hermione work together to defeat a werewolf with a rain of transfigured silver needles, summoned snakes, and good spellcasting. However, a Death Eater skilled at duelling rescues the werewolf while abstaining from attacking Harry, and Stuns Hermione before leaving. In the aftermath of the fight Harry focuses on healing and his blazoned pseudo-Healer's tent attracts many seeking aid. The most badly injured that he heals are Sirius and Mr. Weasley. The former has lost the use of his right arm to a Mummification Curse, and the later lost his left eye to a werewolf's claws and is infected with lycanthropy, as is his son Bill.

The next morning Snape is furious to find Harry still at the World Cup site, berates him for not using his emergency Portkey, and delivers him to Lupin at Grimmauld Place. In the morning's paper Pettigrew (semi-correctly) and Lupin (falsely) are blamed for the previous evening's attack, which injured many and cost the lives of a good handful. The death toll includes: Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, Unspeakable Saul Croaker (missing presumed dead), Cuthbert Mockridge of the Goblin Liaison Office, Percy's boss Bartemius Crouch, Order member Hestia Jones, and Cedric's father Amos Diggory. Amelia Bones' niece Susan survives but is reportedly infected with lycanthropy. Harry gets a lot of letters checking he's okay, even from Lord Voldemort.

Harry continues to ponder the proffered truce, and despite a lot of fretting and thinking all the options are bad ones he decides to accept the truce for the sake of his friends' safety (with the recent attack a stark example of what may happen to his friends if left unprotected). Negotiated terms include no attempts to kill or capture the other (which includes not ordering others to do so), no destroying the other's properties, regular correspondence, and the opportunity for Harry to request immunity to attacks for one non-combatant per month. Self-defence is permitted by both sides should they or a follower initiate hostilities. The details of their truce and correspondence must remain confidential.

Harry meets various Order of the Phoenix members at a meeting, including his soon-to-be DADA teacher Professor Moody, and Snape who is officially revealed to be a spy for the Order. They discuss Harry's coded letter and the sad fate of Lockhart – found wandering badly injured in Ghana, his looks badly marred and his mind affected (speculated to be Tom's terrible revenge that he presumably thought worse than death). Harry retells the story of the fight in the Chamber of Secrets with more accuracy than previous recounting, and admits that Lockhart threatened him, and that the diary wasn't destroyed as claimed. (He still leaves out the bit where the Basilisk survived.) Harry is warned that Pettigrew – or the spirit possessing him – wants him dead. Snape and Harry chat about potions after the meeting, and Snape warns Harry about the taboo on Voldemort's name. There is a natural sixth sense that people – especially wizards and witches – have about knowing when someone speaks of them, but it is elevated far beyond the norm in Voldemort's case.

On Harry's orders Kreacher delivers some books on curses to Bill Weasley, to help research a possible cure for Sirius' desiccated arm.

On the train back to Hogwarts Hermione excitedly announces that her and Greg's book on wizarding culture has been accepted for publication, and thanks to Luna's explanation she, Harry, and Neville learn the secret of The Quibbler: the news that the Ministry doesn't want you to hear about is reported in code like a cryptic crossword. (For instance, Rotfang = decay teeth = Death Eaters). Hermione also declares that she will no longer associate with Draco, as the Wolf's Bane outside his tent at the Quidditch World Cup is the final bit of evidence she needs to be sure that his family supports Voldemort (his followers wore flowering sprigs that evening, and handed them out to other supporters who laughed at a spot of Muggle-baiting).

Draco stops by their train compartment to share the latest gossip: the Triwizard Tournament is coming to Hogwarts!