A/N: I've had this idea in my mind for a week or so, and just had to get it done. This one had me ROTFLOLing. Thanks, as always, for your follows, favorites, and reviews! Enjoy!

Chapter 17 - Aftermath Number Two

Harry walked and walked, covering every square inch of the interior of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - except the dungeons, which had always been a zone of questionable safety for any non-Slytherin, as far as Harry was concerned. He'd likely burned off some of his anger, but the entire time, he'd just felt deflated and intensely shocked by what he'd experienced earlier.

And why did it bug him seemingly more than Voldemort's attacks? Both were personal vendetta's against one Harry Potter. But Voldemort saw me as a threat. Thicknesse and that lot see me as prey.

That just did not sit well with him, and he didn't know what to do with the new weight it had added to his metaphorical baggage… Becoming emancipated isn't going to make it go away. I'll still be prey to bastards like Thicknesse.

So, all in all, he didn't feel a damned bit better, as he headed down the last set of stairs from his long descent from the Astronomy Tower all of the way back to the Great Hall for lunch.

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Harry did not expect to see a large crowd of strange adults in the Entrance Hall, and so tightly packed together that it was impossible to see beyond them. He scanned the faces, not recognizing anyone at first, until he spotted Mrs. Malfoy. She turned her head as if she sensed him and met his confused look. She gave him a small smile and nodded, just as a warm hand rested on the back of Harry's neck. Startled, he looked up and found Severus assessing him with an unreadable expression.

"What's happening?" Harry asked, spotting Lucius working his way through the crowd, lifting his chin as he also assessed Harry with a raised eyebrow, but continuing on until he was at his wife's side. Harry watched Lucius take Madam Malfoy's hand and kiss it. He absentmindedly watched the dynamic between them, noting it didn't seem strained at all. I guess the divorce option is off the table.

"The letters from your classmates, were received, and were apparently shared far and wide," Severus answered Harry. He'd dropped his head so that their conversation was less likely to be overheard.

"So these are all parents?" Harry asked in shock. "Are the students at the lunch tables?"

"Yes, but it looks as though lunch will be delayed," Severus said. "I believe the Headmistress will be addressing all of us. Come." He slid and arm around Harry and guided him into that corridor that led to the back end, where there was a private doorway to get to the teacher's table. "We'll bypass the riffraff."

Remus was leaning against the doorframe at the end of the passage as if he was hesitatant to enter. He saw them approaching and waited until they were next to him before commenting, "I'm heartened by this showing of support. I'm told by the fifth years that we have Hermione Granger to thank for it."

Harry grinned for a moment, but then his heaviness settled back in. He peered into the Great Hall, not at all convinced he wanted to join his housemates. But the entire student body was seated quietly, and many had seen him, and were openly waiting for him to join them.

Severus squeezed his shoulder and Remus encouraged, "Go on, Harry. I believe we'll all reconvene in Gryffindor again afterward, if you'd like to plan on that."

"Or, if you'd like privacy, remember you have options," Severus added.

Harry flashed both of them a small smile and headed over to the Gryffindor table. He was greeted with a huge round of applause by the majority of the student body, which confused him, and of course made him turn beet red. I got whipped in the corridor so badly the class could see my bum through my torn clothes! And they're clapping? Awkward and uncomfortable were the best descriptors for Harry Potter's body language as he made his way through the masses.

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"What's happening?" Harry asked Ron as he sat between him and Hermione, wishing he was invisible. The noise level was quite high, as people exchanged comments that were triggered by his appearance. For once, he didn't hear anyone suggesting that he was a show off, or a phony. Give them time, he warned himself.

Hermione tapped the Daily Prophet that she had folded and laid on the table, and all Harry had to see was the headline, Excessive Discipline? Or, "Just Reward"? and knew he'd better avert his eyes while Ron answered him, speaking in a low voice in his ear, "Those are all parents up there. Mine will be here soon, so will Bill and the twins. Lupin told us when we were up in Gryffindor earlier that we should anticipate more Ministry interference for a while. Said it would likely get worse before it gets better." Ron craned his neck to look past Harry at the large group of adults that had begun to spill into the Great Hall. "But I don't know if any of the Professors or McGonagall had any idea the parents would just show up like this. Do you know anything more?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I've just been trying to be alone with my thoughts."

Hermione took Harry's hand under the table. She clasped it in both of hers, smiling at him. "I know it's been rough, Harry. It just seems to get worse and worse, doesn't it?" Her expression shifted to a frown for a brief moment, before brightening again. "But you? You just keep getting better and better, don't you?" She smiled a wicked smile. "You handled the Liaison perfectly. And you handled what happened to you perfectly, and everyone of us who saw what happened is making sure that the rest of the school knows that."

"It shows, Hermione," Harry said without enthusiasm. "I feel like I'm in a fishbowl."

Hermione squeezed his hand. He looked around at his peers and noted that the fifth years were all sitting together, right here in this section. They didn't typically do this. The fourth years were more blended with the others. He caught Ginny's eye and found that she'd been waiting for him to notice her so that she could send him a reassuring smile. It was nice to feel cared about by his friends. But it didn't do much to bolster that heavy feeling of still being in shock.

The room grew quiet, so Harry turned to look at the teacher's end of the room, expecting to see McGonagall at the podium, but she'd stopped halfway there, and was staring at the broad, arched doorway, where the crowd of parents was gathered. Harry snapped his head back around.

Minister Fudge stood in the center of a parting of the crowd, with about ten aurors at his heels.

Bugger.

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Stay right where… you are, Mr. Potter,… and do not speak,… no matter what is said… or how outrageous… the discord becomes. This was from Snape, on the coin, and sent to every coin holder.

Harry turned back to look at him now, and realized that Lucius had made his way to the table as well, so all three mentors were present... Actually, all three mentors were standing and had also palmed their wands. Then all of the other teachers stood. Flitwick stood on his chair. Then all of those teachers made a show palming their wands.

Shocked, Harry snapped his head back to see what Fudge thought of that.

Fudge wrinkled his nose in an unpleasant sneer. "Madam Headmistress, I am here to seize control of Hogwarts, as you seem to think that you can allow your students to behave in a manner that is delinquent, and out of accord with the bylaws of this Institution-"

"You are seizing nothing, Minister," Narcissa Malfoy said with cold disdain, stepping in front of the bulk of the gathered parents, and coming around to confront him. Another, more elderly woman joined Mrs. Malfoy. Harry recognized her as Neville's grandmother.

No one seemed to know what to do. Until, in an apparent show of force, the ten aurors comprising Fudge's entourage all came forward, wands out and ready to be used. Fudge's rodenty face twitched with nervous tension as he attempted once again to seize control. "You will stand down, witch," he declared. "You are interfering with official Ministry business!"

Harry shot a look up at Lucius, expecting him to already be halfway to his wife's side to defend her, but he was casually sipping from his goblet, eyes riveted on the exchange. Harry looked over at the Slytherin table, at Draco, and got a wobbly-eyebrowed smirk from his former arch rival. "Oh boy," Harry breathed as he craned his neck back around to watch Fudge and Madam Malfoy.

"It's not official if it's not legal, Minister Fudge," Narcissa Malfoy said with disdain, completely unperturbed by the show of force by the aurors. "You are an elected official, elected to an office which oversees the domain of the taxpayer funded infrastructure of Wizarding Britain. You have no direct authority in this school, and if you've altered legislation to claim that you have, then you are going to find yourself accused of criminal acts of fraudulent manipulation of the reach of the powers of your office."

Fudge's face scrunched up in rage and he opened his mouth to retort…

…just as a flash of whispery, bluish-white, filmy magic raced up the row between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables.

…and suddenly Fudge had the arse-end of a familiar looking wolf Patronus backed up right into Fudge's face, effectively shutting him up and evoking an annoyed sputter.

A split second later, a loud chorus of "Expecto patronum!" sounded and literally every DA member from Gryffindor who was able to produce one, quickly sent his or her corporeal Patronus up to show its back end to the face of one of the aurors. Right after that, the rest of the DA caught on, and several teachers as well, and an entire herd of Patroni were all running down the lanes between the tables, launching into the etherial mob, dancing around, trading places, and butting their back ends, with tails lifted, right up under the noses of the Ministry officials.

Harry was laughing so hard he literally had to lie down on the table. The entire room had erupted into raucous laughter that went on for several minutes. Harry slowly pulled himself together and sat up as things finally calmed down. He looked to the front entry and saw that Fudge and his goons had left. That made him laugh all over again. Narcissa Malfoy caught his eye and gave him a small smile, then waved goodbye to her son and husband, and headed off.

In the meantime, an official looking woman whom Harry knew he'd seen at the Ministry at some point, (Where was it? where was it…. oh yeah, she was part of the Wizengamot) came walking down the aisle. She looked Harry over with an unreadable expression, but she was not threatening in her manner. Even still, Harry stood up, and watched her head to the podium, where she gave a nod to Headmistress McGonagall.

"Good afternoon, students," the witch formally greeted, "and Hogwarts teachers and staff." She paused, because it was still only just registering to some of the students that someone was talking and that they should stop laughing and cavorting. When it was silent, she continued. "I am Amelia Bones, and I hold a position on the Wizengamot. I am also the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the Ministry of Magic, and am responsible for the aurors, and their conduct. I am the highest ranking official, under the Minister, and I have the authority to oversee programs designed to enforce Wizarding Law. There has been a great deal of confusion recently within the Ministry of Magic, and here in this school, as to where the authority over this school resides. I stand with Madam Malfoy, and at the moment, the majority of the Wizengamot concurs as well, that your Headmistress and the Board of Governors hold utmost authority here. But we must retract, and possibly revise, recent legislation that enabled Dolores Umbridge's reign of terror, and the ugly scene that occurred today with Pius Thicknesse-"

"Is he going to Azkaban?" Seamus yelled out. He was really worked up, standing in the aisle with his fists clenched and red faced, as he continued, "I'm sorry to interrupt ma'am, but what happened today was horrible for all of us. And it was downright criminal against Harry!"

"YEAH!" A loud chorus of agreement rang out.

"YEAH, we want to know what you're going to DO about it!" That was Ron. But he wasn't done, and he jumped to his feet as well. "Why hasn't the public been fully notified about- ...Voldemort being taken down? Why haven't the people who were there - who risked their lives for our sake - been hailed as heroes?"

Harry gave Ron a grateful look, but this whole confrontation was making him shake.

"Please be seated Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Finnegan," McGonagall said. It was quite clear that she wasn't upset with them. She turned her attention back to Madam Bones.

"I intend to do quite a lot about it," Amelia Bones declared calmly. "And I guarantee you all, that at the earliest feasible time, I will inform a credible journalist of the full details of what has been in play since Monday's incident. And I will review it for truth in content before I see that it is published. In the meantime, I want each of you to continue on with your studies and try to resume the good times to be had here at Hogwarts. Every Decree that was made under Madam Umbridge's deployment is hereby officially declared null and void. There will be no more brutalization of students." She paused and looked at Harry again, and this time her regret was plainly displayed on her face. "I will leave you in the capable hands of Headmistress McGonagall."

"Enjoy your lunch, students, and then please return to your respective Common areas for the remainder of the afternoon. We will resume normal class scheduling tomorrow," McGonagall advised.

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Lunch appeared on the tables as Madam Bones made her exit. Harry watched her wave hello to Susan as she left, and confirmed for himself that they were indeed related. His coin warmed and vibrated.

Eat your lunch,… and then come back here… to join us. Another missive from Severus.

Harry smiled a small smile and loaded his plate with a slice of shepard's pie and poured himself some pumpkin juice. Ron had gone to speak to his parents who had appeared with Bill, Fred and George at some point during that production. Hermione watched Harry with her knowing eyes.

"It was funny, and felt incredibly justified, but it still doesn't change that it seems like Fudge and Thicknesse are still getting away with an awful lot," she summarized as she took a bite of her lunch. "I think things will eventually be okay, Harry. We all will just have to really be careful."

"Right," Harry said. He looked over at her, knowing she could see he was struggling, but also knowing she had no idea what it was like to be walking around with the burdens he currently had. Just in the last few minutes, as a matter of fact, a nagging voice had been creeping into his awareness, reminding him that he still had a piece of Voldemort residing on his forehead, and that there were untold other pieces of that bastard that had to be found and destroyed. "Right."

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"I hope you don't mind my borrowing your idea, Harry," Remus said with his deceptively wan smile.

"I can't believe you figured out how to do it, and you've already used it in the perfect scenario," Harry let Remus see how impressed he was as he came closer to the three wizards, who were still lingering around the teacher's table.

A few other professors were also toiling, but they were keeping their distance, so Remus responded to Harry, "I couldn't resist, and in fact gave an impromptu lesson in the Common Room while you were on your walk. It was a test to see if I could use my Patronus to disrupt, or deter as it were, a verbal attack." Now he laughed because Harry had started to laugh again. "Your DA students were more than happy to experiment with me, and we quickly established that there are likely many, many creative uses for a corporeal Patronus. We were quite surprised, but well prepared, to respond to today's aggressions."

"I'll say," Harry agreed, still chuckling. This kind of enthusiasm was probably what he liked best about the way Remus taught. Then he griped, "I still haven't gotten to have class with you yet." A wave of mental exhaustion hit him, and he grew solemn again quite quickly. He took a deep breath as he looked up at Severus, and as he expected, found his potions professor watching him with concern. A quick glance at Lucius suggested that whatever Severus was about to propose had the blond Slytherin's full backing.

"Come, we will take a walk down to my quarters," Severus suggested. "See if you can be comfortable there, and if you can, you should take advantage of the extra bedroom and get some rest. If not, we'll find some other place for you to have a private space of your own for the unforeseeable future, while so much continues to be in turmoil in your world. Alright?"

"I wasn't thinking I'd likely ever return to the dungeons, actually," Harry said tiredly, but he was already being turned and escorted by Severus. Something tells me, this is part of a largely agreed upon plan.

"You must simply desensitize, Harry," Lucius advised. "The sooner, the better."

"I'll see you later, Harry," Remus called after them.

Harry suspected that Severus wanted to monitor him, and he supposed he might actually do well with a little adult monitoring. As long as it didn't turn into a power struggle.

Give it time, Harry.