Author's Note:
Reviews and Comments: To KittenWithAnAx: Thank you! I love that you stopped reading your book to read my new chapter! I'm sorry I made you cry, but thanks for loving my Colin and Theo moment! I definitely see Colin as bisexual too! Thanks for the second review! To Guest: I'm sorry that you feel Harry doesn't deserve Ginny and that she should get someone better than him because he can't admit his feelings. I completely disagree in every sense. To Blue Luver5000: Thank you! To BioHazard82: Thank you! To coloredwords: Thank you, I completely agree. I struggled writing the Colin scene because I wanted him to come off as unsure of himself and not clear if it was okay for him to fancy both boys and girls and for Theo to be like, it's totally allowed and just be who you want to, which I thought meant a lot coming from Theo, considering his own personal struggles and how much he wants to take his own advice. Ha, Harry would be very confused as I definitely picture Harry as straight lol. Thank you! And thanks for the kudos to my inner geek! To supersandman86: Thank you for saying I've brought the Potter family to life. I wanted to bring the Potter Family to life and what better way to do that than by having Sirius show Harry the memory of him being adopted into the family both initially and then officially. It's how I always imagined it went. Full trust and open arms as if he had always had a home there. I like the idea of Colin and Theo bonding a little. Thank you!
To scrappy8: Thank you! To Moony The Sheep: LOL! Thank you for saying I've made you fall in love with this story again and with history! Yes, I think Theo showed Colin just enough for him to figure things out (well enough to get started on his own journey) and I loved Theo telling him there's no rush. Thank you! To x-shadow-x-kisses-x: Thank you! Me neither! To Guest: Thanks for loving my Potter history. As to Hinny being forced, I very much disagree. To Guest: Thank you! I can't believe I'm almost at 200 chapters either! You think Ginny should walk up to Harry and kiss him? Wait and see! To Wolf's scream: I don't know who the Smothers Brothers are, but thanks. I did have that written before. I am always at least ten chapters ahead of what I'm posting. Neville is doing his best to encourage Harry a bit, yes. Yes, Harry is very much not telling Hermione the true why of he and Mandy's breakup lol. Thank you! To CF: Thanks for saying you love Crazy Little Thing Called Love and plan to go re-read it! That's so sweet of you! Thanks for saying I did my homework and that Neville rocks! Thank you! To Leaf Ranger: Smacking Harry over the head probably won't help matters lol. Thank you!
To Runningtwiceasfast: Thank you very much for enjoying my characters and the freedom I'm giving them. We'll see more of Ginny's thoughts soon, but yes, I wanted to show Harry slowly yearning towards her (low-key pining) because we've already seen her thoughts in the past. Ginny doesn't think she and Harry will ever have a chance and Hermione was trying to convince her otherwise. Thank you so much! To notthatchhavi: Thank you for loving the treehouse I put up on tumblr! Yes, I will post everything I have soon, especially the necklace Remus gave to Tonks. Thank you! To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you! To alix33: Thank you! To Steelcode: Thank you! Colin is a sweetheart and no, Ernie won't try anything for him. I loved the rain! Thank you! To Covley Hatake: Thanks for catching up! You think that mentioning of the one percent chance of pregnancy means something? We'll see. Thank you! To Saz J: Thanks for thinking the Colin and Theo bit was adorable! Definitely lots of info! Thank you! To Lost: Thank you! To Krazyasibe: That is funny! Thanks for going back and reading my old Jily story! To speedsONEandONLY: Colin is a sweetie! Sorry, there will be no Theo and Colin love story. Harry needs to make a choice, but either way, he needs to talk to Ginny. Yes, the lawyer does need to help Theo, but only if he tells him. Thank you! To MaladaptiveDaydreamer: I don't think it's fully of Hinny drama. I think Harry needs to make a choice and he needs to talk to Ginny. This is an AU so I can focus on anything I would like, but I'm sorry you feel it's turned into a romance sitcom-soap opera. I disagree. Thank you for your thoughts.
To swalker610: Thanks for reading and no promises on who I will and will not kill. Thank you! To J Jamie Dupane: Thanks for the mini novel that I love! Thanks for loving how the Potters accepted Sirius so easily into their home and into their family. I wanted Sirius and Harry to have that moment together, to share something (even if it was embarrassing for Harry). Thanks for loving my Neville and his confidence and friendship with Harry. I think the Gaunt family was so close to squalor at this point (and Merope was dead and no one really knew she had a child left at an orphanage) so it wouldn't have been something they would connect. This was published in 1931 and Riddle would only have been 5 years old at the time. Yes, Theo is hoping to get emancipation with the help of this lawyer. Yes, I wanted to show that Mandy's friends support her, but are still a bit cool towards Harry. Hannah is very sweet indeed. Thank you for such a beautiful review! To OneDocToHealThemAll: Sorry, this is my story and I will not change or reduce things you don't approve of. It is all in the warnings in chapter one. Thank you.
To odysse: I like that the nobility stuff caught you unaware! Thanks for loving my slow burn! We are only a handful of chapters away from the slow burn finale! Yes, let's all hate Macmillan! Thank you! To Jmcglynn522: Thanks! I wanted to show Harry more about the family he came from and more about Sirius' relationship with them. Theo is trying to work it out yes, and in helping Colin, we saw a hint of his old self. Ernie hasn't broken his spirit yet. Ernie will not punish Colin. We'll see the elves at Somerset soon. Thank you!
For those who followed me on tumblr at breaniebree thank you! I hope the photos and extra information make your story reading more enjoyable!
For the people claiming Hinny shouldn't happen now because it's too forced — it is coming, deal with it. For those who can't wait — it is coming, be patient, single digit chapters away…
My posting schedule: Once a week.
As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-FOUR:
The One Where Harry Finds the Tower Room
Peter looked up at the sound of the door opening to the large dining room in Selwyn Manor. He was sitting at the table eating the sandwiches prepared by the house elves. His eyes moved across Macklebee and Bulstrode as they took their seats, both looking marginally better than they had when they had arrived over two weeks ago. Prison had not been kind to them.
"Pettigrew," Macklebee said in acknowledgment, reaching for a sandwich.
"How was Azkaban without the Dementors breathing over your shoulder?" Peter asked.
Macklebee glared at him. "Still prison. Black thinks that he's the big man on the hill now and I can't wait to take him down a peg or two. That smug look on his face when our names were pointed out in that memory…"
Bulstrode placed a hand on his shoulder. "He'll get what's coming to him."
Peter took another bite of his sandwich and chose not to answer.
The three of them visibly flinched as Nagini slithered into the room, her long body sliding across the floor until she settled herself in the middle of the table as Voldemort came in behind her followed by Abraxas, Lucius, Bellatrix, Woodrow and Wendall Selwyn, Titus and Aurelius Avery, and Barty Crouch Jr. They made themselves comfortable around the table as the Dark Lord sat at the head, touching his long spindly fingertips together as he looked around the room.
"The Ministry has run scared since our breakout, but they are preparing for war," he said cooly to the room.
Peter swallowed slowly, afraid to tear his eyes away from the Dark Lord's dancing fingers.
"I've heard news of a new piece of legislation that is currently being put into action that will mobilize troops in case we attack. I find it incredibly Muggle-like and I'm not concerned. I know that we will be triumphant," he said smoothly. "We'll let them struggle with their attempts at preparation and we will concentrate on more important things."
"Anything, my Lord, anything you say," Bellatrix said, her voice almost reverent.
Voldemort gave her a cruel smile, his thin lips looking almost mocking. "Our soldiers are spread across safe houses in Eastern Europe waiting for my word. In the meantime, I have a little project that I would like to start out with. Harry Potter escaped my grasp in June."
He paused there, eyes moving around the room to see the reactions of those around him as they waited with bated breath for him for to continue.
"He escaped all of our grasps and as you know, I was angry. It was my opportunity to kill him once and for all and I was distracted. I allowed myself to get cocky. Potter being an Animagus took all of us by surprise and I for one would like to make sure that something like that does — not — happen — again."
As everyone only nodded at him, he continued.
"Part of the way I will do this, is to discover his weaknesses. Other than being a child, he has proven to have a natural affinity for magic, surprising considering his mother was a filthy Mudblood. Obviously Black is an obstacle that we must deal with in the future, but in the meantime, I want to hear that prophecy. I want to hear the prophecy that claimed Harry Potter would be my downfall. For he has weakened me and he has struck me down, but he has not ended me. I am immortal."
Titus Avery leaned back in his seat. "Breaking into the Ministry of Magic is not going to be an easy feat, my Lord. All of us are on the most wanted list."
Voldemort nodded. "I'm aware. But you are wrong about that, Avery, not all of us are on that list. I think it's time that we send word to Corban."
Abraxas nodded. "I know a few people who work on the ninth level of the Ministry as well, I'll see what I can discover. The Ministry has to have a copy of the prophecy somewhere like Severus said."
"As for Black," Macklebee spat, bitterly. "I want to make him suffer. That smug look when he had all of us arrested and… it's not just Potter."
Bulstrode nodded. "Everyone knows that he's been fucking that Magizoologist cunt for years now."
Voldemort smiled. "Black will pay, but he's not our first priority, Marcus. Potter is. They call him the Boy Who Lived and now he's being hailed as the Chosen One. The last thing that we need is for him to become the chanted hero."
"And Black is Potter's weakness!" Bellatrix exclaimed, her eyes gleaming in manic excitement. "Let me kill him for you, my Lord!"
Voldemort held up his hand to silence her. "Black is one of them, yes. But right now, the contents of the prophecy are more important than Black. I want to know why it was prophesied that he would defeat me; once I do, I will kill him, and he will become the Boy Who Lived No More."
Everyone only nodded as Voldemort stood up. He sailed from the room as the great snake followed him and Macklebee glared at Abraxas.
"I want Black and his bitch of a girlfriend."
Abraxas smiled. "When the time is right, I'm sure that the Dark Lord will give them to you, Aaron, until then, we follow his orders. Lucius, come with me."
Lucius stood up, nodding as he followed his father out of the room.
Peter watched them go, a lump in his throat. The fact that Harry Potter was an Animagus at fifteen years old only further reminded him of James and he swallowed slowly. What did the prophecy say? Was it true? Was Harry actually more powerful than Lord Voldemort?
The thought terrified him on many levels and he turned back to his food, his stomach churning. After he had left Snape, when the Dark Lord called him back to the graveyard, he had found himself once more in the thick of things and just like before, he wasn't sure what that meant for him.
The only thing that he did know was that the power he had watched his nephew exude fighting the Dark Lord in an attempt to escape had been amazing and the pride that had welled up inside of him, both scared and pleased him simultaneously.
And he had no idea what to do with his thoughts.
~ ASC ~
When Harry returned to Hogwarts that evening, his head was still full of the Potter Estate. He joined his friends in the common room to do his homework and filled them in on what he had gone over with Sirius. Hermione was fascinated. Ron seemed mildly interested, but Harry could see the annoyance line there as well. He knew that it bothered Ron sometimes that his parents weren't very well off, but he had been doing a good job of pretending like it didn't. Ron was exceedingly proud in a way that Harry admired.
Harry let Neville know that Sirius was excited at the prospect of giving him financial advice as well and Neville grinned at him. They worked in companionable silence for the most part, each of them complaining in turn about something homework related before heading up to bed. Harry found himself a bit restless and pulled out the folder again from his trunk. He soon found himself scribbling furiously in his journal, trying to make his brain quiet down. When he finally tucked his journal away for the night, he still lied there, eyes open and unable to shut his mind off.
When the clock read half past one, he jumped up. He pulled a tee shirt over his head and grabbed his sneakers, his invisibility cloak, and the map. He needed to find something to occupy his time since sleep clearly wasn't happening. He snuck a look back at his roommates, who were all sleeping soundly, and decided to venture down himself.
He made his way up to the tallest tower, eyes on the map, but no one was in sight. Out of general curiosity he found himself exploring everything that he could find. He looked in broom closets and abandoned rooms with a loose idea of searching for the diadem in the back of his mind. He moved towards the West Tower, thinking maybe something was there and to his surprise he did find something.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the diadem.
But there was a hidden door behind a tapestry of elves dancing around a stone circle. He almost didn't see it, but something seemed to sparkle and had caught his attention from the light of his wand. He moved closer, checking the map and grinned when he saw the little dot appear with a speech bubble that read: 'patefacio sursum.' He said the words aloud and watched in amazement as the stone wall behind the tapestry slid open revealing a large circular room at the top of the tower.
It looked almost like a common room of sorts with a warm fireplace against the wall, two big armchairs and a long love seat full of throw pillows and blankets. There were bookshelves on the walls full of novels, both Muggle and Magical works of fiction, along with history books, books on herbs and plants, potion making, and a few charms books. It was warm and inviting and when he went to the window and looked out he saw that he could see the entire Hogwarts grounds below. He found it oddly peaceful.
His watch told him that it was after three and he yawned, finally starting to feel tired. Instead of making his way back to his dorm, he made himself comfortable in the armchair, tugging one of the blankets up around him and was soon sleeping soundly in the hidden room, content with his own company.
When he woke in the morning, he forgot where he was for a moment before he remembered his exploration. He thought about showing the room to his friends at the earliest opportunity, but then he decided to wait. It was quiet here, peaceful, and he thought that it might be a good place for him to think when he needed it. He checked his watch, realizing that he had slept almost two hours and jumped to his feet.
He made it back to his dorm just as his roommates were getting out of bed and he hopped in the shower, leaving them none the wiser that he had been absent. When he moved into the dorm to dress, he saw Seamus staring at himself in the mirror, seemingly lost in thought.
"Seamus, you okay?"
Seamus looked startled for a moment before he caught himself and nodded. "Yes, fine."
Harry only raised an eyebrow and he sighed.
"Fine, really. Just thinking about something is all."
Harry nodded as he dressed in his uniform to get ready for the day, but he couldn't help but wonder what was on Seamus' mind. He waited for Ron and Neville before heading down to breakfast and his eyes searched the hall for that familiar head of bright flames before he could stop himself. He saw her sitting next to Colin and he let out a slow sigh, feeling calmer at the sight of her.
He had his own thoughts to think about and the most important one at the moment was trying to figure out if Ginny could possibly ever be interested in him in a romantic sense and what he wanted to do about it.
~ ASC ~
October brought upon a gust of fall, temperatures dropped, and the winds seemed to chill down to the bone. Seamus was bundled up warm as he sat under a tree on the edge of the Black Lake near the Forbidden Forest watching his boyfriend skip stones along the surface. They had been there for almost half an hour and had barely said anything. Seamus leaned back against the thick tree trunk as he spoke.
"Are you ever going to tell me what's going on? You keep starting and then you push it off like it's nothing."
Will hesitated a moment before he tossed another stone and watched it skip across the surface of the lake. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared out at the water in silence for a long moment before he turned and knelt in front of his boyfriend.
"I'm leaving in January."
Seamus chuckled. "In the middle of the school year? Yeah, right."
Will shook his head. "No, I am."
Seamus' eyes widened before hurt flashed across them. "What do you mean you're leaving? You can't just leave Hogwarts!"
Will leaned back on his ankles, his eyes on his boyfriend. "At the Herbology Camp this summer an opportunity came up. I signed up and applied and I heard back, officially, three days ago."
"What kind of opportunity?"
"Seam, you know that my dream has always been to be an Herbologist. I want to work with plants and study them and discover new ones or new ways to use them. I love vegetation and I love immersing myself in that world," he said quietly, his eyes on his boyfriend. "There's an opportunity for me to further my education by taking on an apprenticeship where I can study the rainforest and the plants and the animals that live there. I will be working with other Herbologists who will be training me and assisting me in my tasks. It's a one year apprenticeship program and when I'm finished, I write my my PLANTS, you know, the Painstakingly Laborious Agriculturalist/Naturalist Trial Sets. Then I can find a job in my field."
"That's great, Will. I mean, I know that it's what you always wanted. But I still don't understand the leaving part?"
Will let out a slow sigh. "The apprenticeship program, it's in the Congo."
Seamus' mouth opened in shock before he promptly closed it again.
Will leaned in and pressed his forehead against Seamus'. "I leave the twenty-eighth of December."
Seamus bit his lip, surprised at the urge he felt to start crying. "You — Africa?"
Will kissed his cheek tenderly. "I love you and this last year has been the best of my life. But I… I want this, Seam. I want it so bad and I wasn't even sure if I was going to get it and then the letter came and… do you hate me?"
Seamus shook his head. "No! Of course, I don't… it's just… that's less than three months from now and… what am I going to do without you?"
Will smiled and moved to sit next to his boyfriend, wrapping him tightly in his arms. "You'll do great without me just like always. But I hope you'll miss me."
"Gods, Will! I'm going to miss you every fucking day," Seamus said, burying his face in his boyfriend's shoulder.
His arms tightened around Seamus as he held him for a long moment. "I don't want to leave you, but I want this so much and I —"
Seamus shook his head, tilting his head up to look into the green eyes. "No, I—I get it."
Will bent his head and kissed him softly. "I love you. I will write to you every day. I promise."
Seamus leaned into the kiss, nodding in acknowledgment, but not really taking in what Will was telling him. Instead, he let his cold fingers find their way into his curls and tugged him closer, deepening the kiss. He wasn't sure how long they sat there, wrapped in each other's arms as they kissed, but when they finally stood and made their way back to the castle, the sun had started to go down.
Will kissed him goodnight and Seamus made his way up to his empty dorm. He undressed, changing into his pyjama bottoms before he crawled into his bed, buried his face in his pillow, and let the tears fell. He clung to the pillow tightly trying to muffle his sobs and he had just managed to get himself under control when he felt the bed sink at his hip and he turned a tear-stained face to see Dean sitting there looking concerned.
"Hey," Dean said softly, pulling the bed curtains closed around them.
Seamus stared at him and then he sat up and threw his arms around Dean, hugging him tightly.
Dean seemed slightly startled by this, but he carefully brought his arms up to hold his friend.
Seamus clung tightly, the smell of Dean's cologne, that citrus flowery musk that invaded his senses and made him think of his best mate. He relaxed a little as Dean's hands ran up and down his back in comfort. He finally managed to control himself before he pulled back and sniffed.
"Sorry."
Dean shook his head, keeping his hands on Seamus' bare back. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Seamus let out a slow sigh. "Will, he's… he's moving away! To Africa!"
Dean's eyebrow rose in question as Seamus gushed about the apprenticeship program and what a wonderful opportunity it was for him. When he finished, his eyes were full of tears again.
"Seam, it sounds like a great chance for him, of course he's going to go."
"I know," Seamus said, sadly. "But I love him and I want him to stay here with me and then I feel like the worst boyfriend ever because I don't want him to not have his own dreams!"
Dean smiled sympathetically. He could see the turmoil in his friend's eyes as he tried his best to ease it. "You're not the worst boyfriend ever and besides, he didn't say that he wanted to break up, did he?"
Seamus shook his head. "No, but… long distance isn't… I mean… maybe…"
"You and Will are going to figure it out, Seam."
Seamus nodded, using his hand to wipe away his tears. "Yeah, I guess."
Dean shifted on the bed so that he was lying next to his friend. "Budge over."
"What — what are you doing?"
"Not leaving you alone to wallow. Budge up."
Seamus hesitated only a moment before he shifted and lied back down to look at his friend who was stretched out next to him. "You think that I'm overreacting."
Dean shook his head, getting comfortable on his side to look at his friend. "If I thought that you were overreacting I would tell you that. You've been with Will for over a year, of course you're sad and scared for him to leave. It doesn't mean that you aren't happy for him. It doesn't mean that you don't want him to succeed."
"Of course I'm happy for him! Of course I want him to succeed! It's his dream, Dean!"
Dean smiled. "You two will figure it out. I promise."
Seamus nodded, his eyes on Dean's dark brown ones. "Dean?"
"Hmm?"
"Could you — er, I mean, can you stay here until I fall asleep?"
A soft smile fluttered across Dean's lips. "As long as you want, Seam."
Seamus smiled at that and tugged the blankets up around him, comforted by the warm body lying next to him. He snuggled into his pillow, his eyes on Dean's dark neck before he closed his eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.
Dean watched his friend fall asleep, his breathing softening as he drifted off and he frowned. Seamus' sandy brown hair was a tousled mess on top of his head and he let his eyes drift down the soft milky white skin and the soft blond hair curling across his chest. He had a smattering of freckles across his shoulders and Dean found himself fisting his fingers tightly to stop himself from reaching out to trace them. His gaze dropped lower to the light blonde trail under his naval that drifted down into his pyjama pants and he felt his cheeks heat. Seamus needed a friend right now, not a creepy gawker he told himself.
He stayed on his side, his eyes on his friend for the longest time, watching the rise and fall of his chest until he turned, rolling over onto his side, his warm bum brushing his hip and Dean bit his lip to stifle his groan. He slid carefully out of the bed, wrapping his friend up more securely and shuffled back to his own bed.
He crawled into his own bed, trying to come to terms with what he was feeling. He had been spending the majority of his time flirting with Ginny. He was going to ask her to go to Hogsmeade with him as planned. It needed to be done at this point for many reasons and only one of them was that he wanted to get his hands on her tits, but then he glanced over at the sleeping form of his friend. But he wasn't really interested in Ginny. He wasn't doing this for himself. Or for Ginny for that matter.
Besides, his thought were too much on Seamus anyway. He knew that Seamus would be all right, but that didn't mean he couldn't keep an extra close eye on him.
His eyes moved across the freckles on Seamus' pale back and he sighed. He could find his friend good looking, it was normal. It didn't make him gay, he thought bitterly.
But Dean's eyes stayed on Seamus for a long time before he finally drifted off to sleep.
~ ASC ~
Ginny didn't find out that Harry and Mandy had broken up until almost a week after it had happened. Hermione had mentioned it in passing and Ginny had been startled to discover it, not having noticed that Harry wasn't spending time with his girlfriend. Dean was flirting with her on a daily basis and she had thought that he was going to ask her to the upcoming Hogsmeade trip, but now she wasn't so sure. She found that instead of thinking about Dean and whether or not she was interested in him, she found herself watching Harry.
And she was watching Harry in a way that she found to be very dangerous.
She noticed that he ran his fingers through his hair whenever he was frustrated with his schoolwork or did it absently when he was lost in thought. She noticed that he drummed his fingers on the table in the same rhythm as Professor Lupin, which was often to the tune of 'We Will Rock You' by Queen. She noticed that his eyes were quick to smile or laugh whenever one of his friends spoke to him in a way that made him seem lighter and more approachable than he had ever been — which she assumed was part of the Horcrux removal. She noticed that his eyes landed on countless girls as they walked by as if he was contemplating something before he would dismiss them almost instantly.
And most of all, she noticed that he never looked at Mandy.
She wanted to ask him how he was doing with the breakup and if he was feeling all right, but Hermione's words had made her suddenly nervous to do so. Harry had been acting very strangely around her lately, she could admit that. He seemed hesitant to show her the same affection that they had always shared, like hugs. Merlin, she missed his hugs sometimes more than she could express. He was always there, his arm touching hers or his hip bumping hers and each time it sent a little thrill through her.
His black hair, always so unruly, stuck up in every direction giving him a careless bedhead look that was incredibly sexy. He was one hundred and eighty three centimetres if he was an inch and his lanky form was all lean muscle from Quidditch. She ignored Theo's teasing for the most part, but she did have to admit that Harry's bum had definitely gotten better looking (if that was even at all possible). He hadn't said anything to her about Dean, but she had seen a strange look in his eye whenever Dean approached her. It looked oddly like anger, which made her wonder why he would be angry that Dean was harmlessly flirting.
But she had never once saw him watching her.
Harry was Harry and the thought that he could possibly like her as someone more than a friend was thrilling and terrifying in equal measure. The terror was because she was too afraid to get her hopes up. The thrill was because whenever he did look at her and her brown eyes locked on those green ones, her stomach would do a full backflip.
But he had told her… they would only ever be friends and she hated herself for allowing her hopes to rise that they could possibly be more. But she was lying to herself if she hadn't also replayed his words in her mind over and over again. The words he had said to her before the AH was removed: that it was better for both of them if she hadn't gone to Greece with him.
Those words had bothered her the moment that he had said them, but she hadn't known what to make of them. And if she was being honest with herself, she still didn't know what to make of them.
She looked up, smiling brightly at Colin as he walked towards her and blocked her view of Harry.
"Hi, Colin, how goes the paper?"
Colin shrugged and sat down. "It goes."
Ginny tucked her long hair behind her ear and smiled brightly at him. "Talk."
He shrugged again. "Don't you have Quidditch practice?"
"Not for another hour," she said, smiling at him. "Now stop stalling. What's wrong?"
"Nothings wrong," he said slowly. "I'm just… I have a lot of thoughts."
"Knut for your thoughts?"
He smiled sheepishly and leaned in closer to her. "My thoughts are worth Galleons, Ginny, how dare you."
She chuckled. "I apologize. Is the paper giving you trouble? Are you not being given good enough photograph opportunities?"
Colin shook his head. "No, it's fine. It's not that. Dennis was just telling me that he finally had a class with an official inspection in it."
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Really? I wondered when they would start on that. It's the first week of October and I haven't heard anything."
He nodded. "Apparently they've been spending their time holed up in the staffroom and reviewing the course syllabus for each class and comparing it to the Ministry curriculum. Dennis said that he had Madam Umbridge sit in during Frog Choir. He said that she didn't say much, but sat in the corner scribbling all sorts of notes. But towards the end of the session, she went over to Flitwick to ask him questions and mid question, she used her wand to measure his height."
Ginny's mouth dropped open. "How dare she! That horrid cow!"
Colin nodded. "Flitwick chuckled about it and told her not to worry, that he used his desk when he needed to see over the classroom. But you know how Flitwick is, I just think that he didn't know how to react."
Ginny shook her head, shooting a glance towards the head table where Umbridge was sitting between Raffigan and Sinistra. "I don't trust her being here. After all the trouble she caused two years ago with Professor Lupin and her so called Undesirable Bill, she is trouble. Not to mention that she's nothing but a bigot. She's afraid of anyone who is different."
Colin snuck a glance at the head table as well before turning his attention back to Ginny. "I agree, but like Dumbledore said, she's here on orders of the Ministry of Magic. There's nothing that we can do and technically she hasn't done anything wrong."
Ginny took a sip of her orange juice and scowled as the word yet crossed her mind.
That didn't mean that she had to like it.
~ ASC ~
Theo was surprised to see the regular barn owl land in front of him. He hardly ever got mail unless it was from Narcissa Malfoy. He stroked the bird in thanks and took the letter in interest; his name was on the front, but not much else.
Blaise nodded at him. "Who's that from?"
"Dunno," Theo told him, carefully slicing the envelope open. He pulled out the parchment and read quietly to himself.
Dear Mr Nott,
After speaking with Lord Black about your situation, it has come to my attention that as of the 21st of October 1995, you will be turning sixteen years old. Sixteen is the legal age of majority meaning that even though seventeen is the year we are considered to be adults, sixteen is the age that one is legally in control over their own actions and decisions, and parents can be classified as being no longer responsible for them. It is also the age of consent, which means that you, the heir to the Nott Estate and the future Marquess of Norfolk, have every legal right to your title and name and can technically fight for the claim to inherit at the age of majority under certain circumstances.
I would like to meet with you to discuss this further if you would be so inclined. I would be honoured to help in any way I can.
Sincerely,
Franklin M. Smith
Smith and Davis Magical Office of Law
Diagon Alley, London
Theo stared at the letter in his hand in surprise. Potter's godfather had come through, he realized, and he had chosen someone who wasn't directly associated with the Ministry of Magic which was interesting. Theo tucked the letter away in his robes and smiled at Blaise.
"Potentially good things, Zabini."
Blaise only shrugged and dug into his berry oatmeal. "Whatever you say, Theo."
But Theo couldn't stop the grin from forming on his face.
~ ASC~
Sirius spent his morning running drills under Auror Rufus Scrimgeour the new Commander of the Terra Troops Force. He was still taking volunteers of witches and wizards for the new unit and Sirius was happy to tryout, but he had no worries about not getting in. He knew that he had the skill to be on the force, but the difficulty of the obstacles themselves were proving quite challenging and he was thoroughly enjoying himself. He and Kingsley had discussed the Terra Troops Force more the other day, the plans for it, and what they were generally looking for in their new recruits.
They wanted witches and wizards who were powerful duellists and who had the ability to spend lots of time on their feet. Scrimgeour wasn't messing around and he was running them through drills and physical Auror examinations and obstacles in an attempt to get them ready. Outside of himself, Kingsley had also signed up, along with Bill and Percy Weasley, Remus and Tonks, and a handful of Aurors that Tonks insisted were in excellent form. The others were part of the general public. Maintenance men and women, healers and office workers; people were showing up from out of the blue to try to help.
Everyone wanted to play a part and Sirius thought that it was fantastic.
It meant that this could actually work. It meant that the magical world was actually taking the threat of Voldemort and his Death Eaters seriously and that this time around, no one was willing to stand back and let him take power. It was a good thing and he felt pride rush through him that he had helped push it forward.
He wiped sweat off his brow as he dodged two curses, swung himself up over a pipe and threw himself into the tunnel to escape his opponent. The course was tricky, but worth it, he thought as he waded through the thick mud. It was made for Aurors and he was determined to come out on top.
Scrimgeour had ordered all volunteers to run the course twice a day for the next three weeks. The trick was that course changed every time you re-signed up. Things were higher to climb or backwards, new tunnels and holes appeared, and each time was against a different opponent. Scrimgeour wanted his team in peak physical condition. He set up individuals against Aurors to practice duelling to keep the energy high and to see what people were actually capable of without formal training. Much to Sirius' chagrin, Augusta Longbottom and Griselda Marchbanks had both shown up to try out of the force.
After nearly two days of arguing and threats, Scrimgeour finally caved to the women that they could be part of the unit, but he insisted that they were only to work on their duelling and when both women took down his prized Aurors in under ten minutes, he sighed in defeat. Marchbanks and Longbottom were moved to be part of the Terra Troops Command Force as opposed to directly in the thick of things and they seemed somewhat satisfied with his decision. But Sirius had a feeling that when the moment of a real battle came about, the two women would most definitely find their way into the thick of things.
Personally, he wouldn't want to come up against either one of them.
Sirius finished his training that day and made his way down into one of the far dungeons of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures where the large room had been transformed into a menagerie of sorts full of animals that needed to be tended to or needed to be sorted before being set free or returned to their homes. A group of magizoologists were working with some of the creatures in the menagerie space as part of their training for the new Aqua Protectors Force.
He leaned against the arched stone doorway and watched his woman gently play with Kelpie in the water. She was stroking his neck as she spoke to him and Sirius thought that the Kelpie was staring at in her adoration. He watched Lady Godiva spot him and move away from her spot by the wall where she was obviously doing everything possible to avoid getting hit by the water. He stroked the panther's head when she came to his side, his eyes still on Zee as she laughed when the great sea creature splashed her.
One of the other magizoologists said something to her and she smiled and responded in kind before they both climbed onto the backs of the two kelpies. The sea creatures trusted them and it made Sirius smile to see it. This could really work, he thought. Things were coming together.
He looked up when the man approached him and he tried not to grimace when he recognized that it was Tripp Forrester.
"Hello, Lord Black. Come to see how we're doing down here?"
"Partly," he said, his eyes on Tripp. "Mostly I came to see my woman in action."
"Yeah, she's something else, eh? Honestly, I've learned a ton from her. We're heading to France next week to see about recruiting some more magical creatures and to deal with the Melusines, you know the French Merpeople. There are more kelpies there and Zacarias thinks that she can help barter a new deal. She's very optimistic."
Sirius nodded, only partially listening to what he was saying, his eyes on Zee. He bent down to give Lady Godiva more attention as she head-butted him and when Tripp made a motion to pet the panther, she growled at him.
He looked uneasy as he took a step back. "That panther is something else."
"She knows who she likes and who she doesn't," Sirius said simply.
Forrester only nodded.
"Are you going to be part of the Aqua Protector Force?" Sirius asked him.
Forrester shook his head. "Yaxley needs me in the department. But I'm helping bring in some creatures and to recruit people for the unit. I think that it sounds amazing."
"Yaxley can't stop you from volunteering," Sirius told him.
"I know. It's on my mind." He shoved his hands into his pockets and grinned. "Well, I'm off for the day. Tell her to stop for the day as well, she's been working herself too hard with those kelpies today, been at it over four hours already on top of her nine hour work day."
Sirius nodded his thanks as Forrester took off and he thought maybe, just maybe the git was okay. He kept his attention on Zee, grinning as her laugh echoed around the room. After almost thirty minutes, she finally said goodbye to the kelpie, pulling her shirt over her head to reveal a black vest, just as wet as her shirt had been.
Someone whistled at her and she shot them a rude hand gesture right before she spotted Sirius. She hurried over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes to kiss him deeply.
"Hi, how long have you been here?"
"A while," he admitted, his hand sliding up her back. Her nipples were poking through her wet shirt and bra. "No taking off your clothes in public."
Zee grinned cheekily up at him. "I'm hardly stripping down." She kissed him again. "Did you see Tripp?"
Sirius nodded. "I did and he ordered me to take you home. He said that you've worked hard enough today."
She sighed and stretched her arms up over her head. "I need a massage."
"I can provide that."
"A real massage," she said, her eyes on his.
Sirius blew his hair out of his eyes. "I can do that. Come home."
Zee smiled and nodded. She knelt down to stroke her panther behind the ears as the large cat purred at her. "Let me just grab my things."
Ten minutes later, the two of them were walking through the front doors of their home and Lady Godiva moved to stretch in front of the fire. Zee stretched her arms up over her head again as Sirius closed the front door behind them.
"Merlin, I forgot how wild Kelpies can be and riding them is like being back on a horse, oddly more intense on your own muscles than you'd think."
Sirius smiled. "You looked bloody sexy on that Kelpie. Only way it would have been better is if you'd been wearing some skimpy little thing or even better, nothing at all, and holding a spear or something like some warrior goddess."
Zee rolled her eyes. "Why am I always naked or mostly naked in these fantasies of yours?"
He grinned and slid his hands up to cup her breasts. "Because you're fucking gorgeous."
She grinned back. "Flatterer."
He bent his head to kiss her softly. "How about I go run you a hot bath and make good on that massage?"
Zee practically purred in his ear. "A hot bath sounds so good right now."
Sirius pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Good, we can share."
Her mouth dropped open as he hurried up the stairs and she grinned. She should have known he would have an ulterior motive. She moved into the kitchen to make sure that Lady Godiva had fresh water and she filled up her food bowl before she moved upstairs to the master bathroom. Sirius had filled the tub with her favourite rainbow bath bomb and lit the bathroom in candlelight. She pinned her curls up in a messy bun before she undressed and climbed into the large tub, sighing in contentment as Sirius slid in behind her.
She leaned back against him, her head nestling under his chin and slipping his arms around her waist.
"This is nice."
Sirius kissed the top of her head and nodded. "It is."
"How'd your training go?"
"Good. It was rather exhausting, but in a good way. I always keep in shape, but I haven't done a course like that in eons. It was nice to keep busy, it felt like I was doing something for once. Scrimgeour is going to be a great commander. He's tough, but firm. I think that he will run the unit well."
"It's the Auror training course, right?"
Sirius nodded. "The physical exam, yeah. It's an obstacle with lots of physical activity that changes every time you go through it. We rolled logs and ran laps and waded through mud, climbed up a fence, all while maintaining a safe hold on our wands. They stress getting through the physical activity without using your wand to see how well we perform without magic in case Aurors are forced to pursue in front of Muggles. Scrimgeour thinks it will help us keep up in case we find ourselves in a long battle."
"He's right," Zee told him, running her fingertips over each one of his knuckles. "Using too much magic can be just as physically draining. Pacing yourself is the right way to go."
"We want a hundred people for the unit and so far we only have about thirty-five, but it's a start and more people can always come later on. Scrimgeour is the commander, but he's agreed to make his second in command Daimon, one of the wolf Alphas. He's going to be running a separate unit within the Terra Force of just the wolves, the natural born wolves."
Zee nodded, her eyes closed in contentment as her fingers moved up his forearms to trace his tattoos. "It always amazes me that the wolves are treated the same as werewolves. I mean, at least with werewolves you can see where the prejudice came from. A wolf passed on their affliction through the saliva and blood of a bite during the full moon. They were then considered dangerous and the one they bit is then forced to painfully transform into a werewolf. But the wolves… they are simply witches and wizards with the ability to shape-shift into wolves. They were born with the ability. They are incredible hunters. They see well at night. They have amazing hearing and unprecedented strength and speed. They don't go out with the intention to hunt and to kill and to maim. The wolf is part of them."
"I know and it took Rem a long time to accept that part of himself. He only sees the wolf part as the affliction. The disease given to him by a wolf. The problem is that the wolves are born that way, but those who are bitten, who are forced to become wolves against their will, their transformations are full of pain and they often don't remember what happens once they change. They lose themselves in the wolf. Those who are born as wolves don't have that problem."
"So, will it be werewolves or wolves helping us?"
"Both," he told her. "Daimon is organizing the wolves who can change at any time to be part of his unit, the werewolves interested in helping are being trained by Scrimgeour, with the help of Adrian and Maia. He's a wolf and she's a werewolf. They think that the Auror training will be very beneficial in helping them get a unit ready. Adrian has a theory that all wolves can transform on will even when it's not the full moon. He thinks that with the right focus on the mind and body that you can will the wolf forward even those who were bitten not born. I don't know if I believe that or not, but he is considering it and claims that it's entirely possible."
"Remus and Tonks are both signed up for the Terra Troops?"
Sirius nodded. "Yes, and no, as far as I know, Rem is only fighting as himself and not as a wolf. Along with Augusta Longbottom and Griselda Marchbanks," he said with a grin. "Scrimgeour tried to convince them that they were too old to be in the ground troops, but to no avail. Those women are tough old birds and I wouldn't want to be forced to duel them."
"Are they doing the physical training, too?"
"Merlin no, though I wouldn't put it past them to do it," he admitted. "They are helping the wolves dip into their magical cores and use their powers. Unlike Rem, most of them never had any formal magical training and they don't know how to use their powers like they should. Griselda says that she can whip them into shape in no time. Some of them are using wands, but most of them are learning wandlessly as after so many years, the magic they do know is focused that way for them."
"And it's coming along?"
"Aye, I think it is," he said with a smile. "We're not even close to being ready, but it's a start. Forrester said that the Aqua Protectors are coming along as well."
She nodded, closing her eyes again, her fingers still tracing his knuckles and forearms under the warm bubbles. "I think so. We have six Kelpies already willing to help and I have friends on the reserve in New Zealand who deal with magical creatures of all kinds coming and going. Plus my department has been talking to more magizoologists from all over the world, anyone who may be interested in helping. We have fifty great agents in our department, but of those fifty, only about thirty are going to be physically able to fight based on age and experience. I want to speak to Princess Sapphira again and maybe a few more Merpeople and see if we can bring them on board. I know that they originally said neutrality, but if the fight comes to them… I think that they'll be on board especially once we explain how the Ministry is looking to protect them. Each agent has their own creatures that we can use as well and convincing the sea creatures to join is harder than you think. They have minds of their own as well and we won't force them to help us fight."
Sirius bent his head to kiss her earlobe. "That's what I love about you, that soft gooey heart that won't make anyone, not even a magical creature, do anything that they don't want to do. Except me for some reason."
She grinned and turned her head to kiss him softly. "Sometimes I know what's best for you, that's why."
"Hmm," he said, making her laugh.
"I think it's coming along, Sirius, I really do. Have you checked in with the Wing Guards Force?"
He nodded. "Just briefly. The Department of Magical Games and Sports actually received a huge influx of volunteers from our Quidditch teams and reserve players. Oliver Wood is actually leading one of the units. He came to see me during training this morning to tell me that anything Harry Potter's godfather needed he would be willing to help. He loves me for putting a Firebolt on his team at Hogwarts. He has an incredible mind for strategy, which I devise from his love of Quidditch, and for one so young, he knows what he's doing. If even half the volunteers are anything like him, I think it's looking good."
Zee nodded. "That just leaves the Spook Squad."
Sirius' hands wrapped around hers in the water as his legs intertwined with hers. "That one is going to be tricky and I know that Amelia wants to run that unit herself, but in all honesty, I don't know if she'll have the time. I was thinking about suggesting Moody."
"Really? Do you think that he'd be interested? I mean, he is retired after all."
"He is, but he's great at that kind of stuff. I think having him in charge would be beneficial, but I don't know, there might be someone else obvious that we've overlooked."
Zee turned to kiss his neck. "You've done your part, baby. Now, we have to trust our teams and the CBC to help us make these plans into a reality. It's only been three weeks and I think that we've progressed really well."
"But if he attacks tomorrow we won't be ready."
"No, but we're more ready today than we were yesterday and that's all that matters."
Sirius kissed her softly, his hand sliding up through the bubbles to fondle her breast. "Harry's first Quidditch match is in a little over three weeks."
"I know, I hope to be back in time."
Sirius raised his eyebrow. "Going somewhere?"
"Yes, didn't I tell you?" At his look, she sighed. "I'm sorry, it must have slipped my mind. I just found out this morning. Yaxley wants Forrester and I to head to France to speak with the Merpeople in the village Marseille Fond de L'Océan about not only potentially aiding the Aqua Protectors, but he said that one of Melusine is supposed to be living on land somewhere. That they've been protecting something. It all sounds rather mysterious and he wants me to look into it. There's only three in our department who can speak Mermish well enough to go and after my discussion with Princess Sapphira, Yaxley thinks that I have the best relationship with the Merpeople to try to find out."
"A Melusine has been living on land for a long period of time? I thought that was impossible?"
Zee shook her head. "Not impossible. They need contact with water every week or so, but they can maintain a normal life on land. How else do you think that they can have affairs with humans?"
Sirius made a face and she laughed.
"Oh come on, like you've never imagined a beautiful mermaid seducing you."
His fingers circled her nipple. "If they looked anything like you maybe."
"Oh come off it, I'm sure that you've had some wild fantasy about a gorgeous mermaid, topless, seducing you on the beach…"
Sirius grinned at her. "Does she have your tits?" At her look, he grinned wider. "Doesn't mean I'd want it to actually happen, Zee."
She smiled. "Well, sometimes you can't help who you fall in love with. I don't know for sure, but if the Melusine has been living on land for this long, I feel like they may or may not be a full Merperson. Maybe a parent was one, I don't know. Yaxley says that they have important information and that we need to find them. He thinks that the only way we will be able to do so is by going to the village and speaking directly with the Chief. The last I heard this village was by the Vieux-Port in Marseille, but the underwater cities are always being moved or warded to appear to be moved. Depending on how long it takes me to find it and then to speak with the Chieftain and then to potentially find the Melusine living on land… it could be a few weeks. Tripp and I are heading out in two days."
Sirius kissed her shoulder gently. "Will you have a place to stay?"
"I have a tent that I carry around. I'll be heading out in two days and I'll take Lady G and my bike. It will be easier for me to travel and speak with people both Muggle and magical. I'll kip down where I can. Tripp will meet me where I ask him too."
"I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I want him with you at all times."
Zee smiled and turned her head to kiss him. "I'll have Lady G. I'll be careful. I always carry around an emergency portkey."
"We know that there are a lot of them in France, Zee, and I —"
"— potentially," she interrupted with a smile. "We don't know for sure. They may also be in Croatia at the Selwyn Manor."
"Yes, but —"
"— but I will be careful," she told him, kissing him again. "You'll do the same here?"
He kissed her deeply, long, and hard enough to bruise. When he finally pulled back the emotion in his eyes made her cup his cheek.
"I love you."
Sirius nodded and rested his cheek against her hair. "I'll be careful here, too."
The water was starting to get cold so Zee climbed out of the tub, wrapping herself in a large fluffy towel. She dried off carefully and then picked up her body lotion.
"You owe me a massage, Mr Black. Perhaps you could apply this as you rub?"
He grinned as he stood up from the tub, grabbing his own towel to dry off. He took the lotion from her and kissed her softly as he followed her into their bedroom. Zee dropped the towel on the bedroom floor and crawled onto the bed, snuggling into the pillow as she lay on her stomach.
Sirius let his own towel fall before he straddled her hips and poured a generous dollop of lotion into his hands and started at the base of her spine. Zee let out a loud purr of contentment and he smiled, kneading his hands into her muscles.
"Merlin, babe, you're so tight."
She nodded, burying her face into the pillow. "I know."
He massaged her spine, her hips, her shoulders, rubbing in her lotion as the tension slowly melted from her body. He used it on her arms and down over her bum and onto her calves, relieving the tension there. Then he flipped her over and continued his way up her legs, over her ribs and breasts, and back onto her shoulders. She sighed in pleasure.
"Do my back again, please?"
He smiled as he rolled her back over and began to massage her lower back and up to her shoulders and back down and it was only moments before he heard her soft breathing that told him she had fallen asleep. He kissed the niffler on the back of her neck before he made his way into the bathroom to clean up the tub and the towels and then he crawled back into bed next to Zee and wrapped his arms around her to tug her close, pulling the blankets up. She sighed as he snuggled her into his embrace, but didn't wake up, and soon he too, was fast asleep.
~ ASC ~
As the second week of October came underway, Harry had his first introduction to the Ministry-involved examination of his classes. He was thankful to see that it wasn't Umbridge and he was curious as to what Mary Raffigan was going to have to say considering that she was sitting in on a lesson with Professor Binns.
As usual, Binns' dull voice droned on and on and he found himself drifting and losing focus, attempting to suck on his sugar quill to keep his sanity to no avail. Binns had mentioned something about Oliver Cromwell before he yawned, his eyes closing slightly.
The sound of heels echoing on the stone floor interrupted his stupor and his eyes widened as he watched Raffigan march up to the front of the class.
"Professor Binns, look at your students!"
Binns looked startled and stared at her blearily as if he didn't fully comprehend her statement. "I beg your pardon?"
"Your students!" Raffigan demanded. "They are a breath away from being comatose! How do you expect them to learn anything if you can barely keep their attention for a full minute! The history of our magical world is of vital importance not only to understand our past, but to help us improve upon our future! King Charles I is an incredibly important monarch for both Muggle and magical history and yet you've grossly glossed over the importance of it! I bet not a single student in this classroom even comprehended a single word that you just said!"
If it was possible for a ghost to look flustered, Binns had managed it.
"I am the professor here, Madam, not you, and I demand that you leave my classroom at once!"
Madam Raffigan only stared at him. "Class, can any of you please tell me what Professor Binns was talking about?"
Everyone only stared at her until Anthony Goldstein raised his hand. "Er, the Glorious Revolution?"
Madam Raffigan shook her head. "That would be almost fifty years later when William of Orange comes to England in 1688. This was the English Civil War which took place when King Charles I ruled England and there were a series of political moves and civil struggles from 1642 to 1651. Does anyone know why King Charles I is so important to us as witches and wizards?"
Everyone only stared at her.
Finally, Hermione's hand tentatively waved into the air.
"Yes, Miss —?"
"Hermione Granger," she said with a smile. "Because Oliver Cromwell was a wizard."
Raffigan smiled brightly at her. "Five points to Gryffindor." She turned back to Binns. "One student out of twenty-one understood, that's pitiful."
Binns stared at her before he huffed indignantly, turned, and disappeared through the blackboard.
Raffigan let out a huff of annoyance. "I apologize for that students, but I love history and to hear someone like that trying to teach it to you and seeing that none of you are even gaining a single piece of insight is just…" She shook her head, tucking a stray blonde hair behind her ear. "You still have two hours left of this class so if it's all right with you, I'd like to tell you all about the King of England and Oliver Cromwell."
Harry leaned back in his chair in surprise, a small grin on his face. This was by far the most interesting thing to happen in Binns' class since Hermione had convinced him to tell them about the Chamber of Secrets myth back in second year.
Raffigan sat on the top of Binns' desk and nodded. "Now, as I was saying, King Charles I is a very important monarch to our magical history. Now old Charlie was a bit full of himself in the way that he believed very strongly in an ancient doctrine called the Divine Right of Kings. This doctrine, which most monarchs believed to be true at this time, claimed that monarchs were not subject to any earthly authority, meaning that they were basically gods themselves or considered to be God's representative on earth and could do whatever they wanted as they were the chosen ones fit to rule. He used this to his advantage and when he married a Roman Catholic, well, people were a little worried that he would be lenient towards Catholics again in England. At this time, Protestantism was the sole religion of England. Our dear Charlie decided that as the god-like king he was, he could do as he wished and he soon became embossed in some difficult fights with Parliament. Can anyone tell me what some of those fights were about?"
Mandy raised her hand, surprising the class. "According to the textbook, one of the main ones was that the Duke of Buckingham had led a naval expedition against Spain that was a huge failure. Parliament spoke out against him and the king ignored their claims about Buckingham being a bad influence. Then there was the whole situation with the Five Knights' Case, which found that the king could imprison anyone without a trial if they refused to pay the forced loan and when Parliament fought him on this, claiming that the king didn't have the power to do this without parliamentary consent, he essentially ignored them."
"Correct, ten points to Ravenclaw," Raffigan said with a smile. "Buckingham was eventually assassinated and the king became distressed. Now this was all at the beginning of his reign and his fighting with Parliament was a big part of what he is known for, but I am going to skip ahead a little bit now, you can find his trials in more detail in your textbook. In 1642, a Civil War broke out in England between our dear Charlie and Parliament and in January of 1647, the Scots accepted £100,000 to deliver the king to the commissioners, which they did. He was kept under house arrest before being moved to Windsor Castle. In January of 1649, the Rump House of Commons indicted him on a formal charge of treason and King Charles I was beheaded. Now I can see you all wondering, why is this important to the history of magic? It's just law and English monarchy stuff. Well, you're right, however as Miss Granger stated — Oliver Cromwell was a wizard."
She smiled as she looked around the room, full of students who were all staring at her in mild interest, none of the same sleepy, drooling faces that the history class had previously contained.
"When Charlie was killed, England became a commonwealth and the House of Lords was abolished by the Rump Commons. Cromwell, a successful military leader from the British campaigns against the Irish opposition to British rule, forced the Rump Parliament to disband in 1653 and proclaimed himself Lord Protector," Raffigan said quietly. "This was a big deal. He claimed that as Lord Protector he wanted to heal and settle the country, to bring spiritual and moral reform, and to restore liberty of conscience, promoting godliness throughout England. As a wizard, his role as head of state over the Muggles was something to definitely be concerned about. Cromwell had been a sublime military leader, leading Muggle and magical troops alike through military conquests in Ireland, but now he was trying to lead the Muggles by leading the country, something else entirely. The Wizard's Council did not approve of his new title."
She hopped off the desk and walked between the rows as she spoke.
"The Wizard's Council immediately called him forth to answer for his actions, claiming that by his signing for the king to be executed, he was a traitor and had committed treason against the Wizard's Council as well as his king for trying to rule over the Muggles. Cromwell argued that the Muggles needed to be ruled; that the Muggles were incapable of ruling themselves as the king had proven. Many of the high lords and ladies in the council supported him, but most of them rallied against him including Lord Ralston Potter, Lord Tiberius Nott, and Lady Almira Bones, all fighting to keep him out of the power of Muggle politics. The argument was that we were to observe, to assist and to work alongside the Muggle government, but it was not our job to rule over them. Cromwell disagreed with this statement. He claimed that as witches and wizards, we were superior to Muggles, therefore him ruling as Lord Protector was in the best interest of their society."
Anthony Goldstein raised his hand and Raffigan smiled, nodding in his direction. "Did the Wizard's Council remove him from power?"
"Excellent question, Mr —?"
"Goldstein," Anthony said with a smile.
"Mr Goldstein, excellent question. The Wizard's Council did eventually remove him from power. The problem was doing so in a way that would remain a secret from the Muggles. The Council wasn't willing to obliviate an entire parliament so they had to work in secret. He was ultimately executed by someone slipping a large portion of foxglove into his tea. The plant caused him to go into heart failure and the Muggles believed him to have died of a common Muggle ailment. Unfortunately, he tried to have his son take his place as Lord Protector and the Wizard's Council stepped in. With the help of important witches and wizards, King Charles II was elected as monarch, and the monarchy was restored to England."
The bell rang and she smiled warmly.
"I'd like you all to write ten inches on the intervention of the Wizard's Council and why it was important that they intervened, why did they believe Cromwell wrong, and do you think that the King would have been executed if Cromwell hadn't been a wizard? Due next class."
Harry gathered up his bag, his eyes on his friends. "That was actually kind of interesting."
Hermione beamed at him. "It was way more than simply interesting! She seems very knowledgeable about history and you can sense her passion for it. I mean, the English Civil War is kind of cut and dried, but she made me rather curious. Of course, it does go to show that there has always been those select few who believe that their magical blood puts them above others."
Ron nodded, scratching his chin. "It was definitely a nice change from Binns that's for sure, but I can't believe she gave us homework!"
Neville chuckled. "That's the part Ron worries about."
Hermione grinned at them. "Well, I thought that it was rather wonderful. Do you think that means that she might be lecturing next week as well? I'd love to see her thoughts on the progression of the Wizard's Council along with the British Parliament."
Harry shrugged. "Who knows. But I imagine her not so favourable review of Binns is definitely going to be taken into consideration."
Neville nodded. "Definitely. Hey, Harry, was that your ancestor that she was talking about?"
"Yeah, it was," he said with a grin, remembering the name from the folder Sirius had given him. "It's kind of brilliant to learn that my ancestors did something worthwhile."
Ron grinned. "It is brilliant, I agree. My great-great-great-grandfather was part of the original Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Dad always says that they named me after Ronald Weasley who was one of the early Hit Wizards in the Ministry."
Neville chuckled. "Wish that I was named after someone cool like that."
Ron's stomach let out a loud grumble.
Harry laughed. "Guess we should head to lunch."
Ron just grinned in response.
~ ASC ~
Tonks yawned as she stepped into her home. It had been a long couple of days. She had been working steadily with Higgins to hunt down the escaped Death Eaters; working with their families, to learn everything that they had been accused of. But despite the hard work that the Aurors had been putting in, too many of them were still on the loose.
She kicked off her boots, pressing her fingers to eyes as she rolled her shoulders. She had been putting in fourteen hour days and it was catching up with her. She was thankful to have the weekend coming up off as it not only meant rest, but it also meant that she would be able to spend some quality time with her husband, who she felt like as of late, she had seen only in passing. Her stomach grumbled and she stood there a moment debating whether to choose shower or food and decided the shower felt more important.
She undressed in the bathroom, tossing her clothes into the hamper before she turned on all six jets, standing under the spray heads happily as the jets of hot water beat on her skin. She gloried in the feel of the water pressure for a moment before she washed up and shaved her legs and under her arms. She used her lotion bar before she tossed on a bathrobe and made her way into the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat.
To her delight, Remus had left her a covered plate in the fridge. She used her wand to heat it up before she ate standing up at the kitchen counter. She had just finished when Remus came through the front door.
"Hi, love," she said with a smile.
Remus smiled back at her. He took off his shoes and put his battered briefcase on the floor before moving into the kitchen to kiss her. "You just get home?"
She nodded. "About an hour ago. Actually got off early today."
Remus only raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the clock. It was almost eight already. "You've been working too hard. Any progress?"
Tonks shook her head. "Not as much as we'd like."
He led her into the living room and to the chesterfield where she snuggled into his warm embrace happily.
"We've found more bodies. Three of them elderly and the other four showed signs of torture. We think that they are the ones who refused to join him."
"It's nice to know that some of the people in Azkaban had morals, not that it did them any good," Remus said simply.
Tonks danced her fingers along the arms wrapped around her as she spoke. "I agree, but it's the ones who are missing that's still the problem. He has too many safe houses, Remus. His followers all have homes and manors under protection and we don't have access to them. King got a warrant to check out Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire the other day along with the Macklebee Estate in York, but their families don't know where they are."
"You're doing the best that you can, Dora. Voldemort is smart and he's keeping them safe and somewhere he wants them to be for the time being. I think that when he's ready for people to know his location, we're going to know."
Tonks nodded. "I know. I spent my lunch training with the Terra Troops as well. Scrimgeour is really training hard. I felt like I was back in Auror training."
Remus chuckled. "I noticed that myself. Not to mention that the training course also told me that I'm not in great shape."
She grinned tilting her head back to kiss his neck. "Don't listen to him, you're in great shape."
"No, I need to pull myself out a bit so that I can keep up with the rest of them. I was a little winded, I admit. But it was nice running through the course, dodging spells and keeping up with what was happening. He's made the courses like a potential battlefield and I found it fascinating. I might even copy some of it for my Advanced Seniors Defence Club."
"How is Defence Club this year?"
"It's going slowly. I have my younger students organized and set up, but I'm still working on Harry's group. He will be in the Advanced Class again for sure. He's been so busy with Quidditch training lately and trying to get his team better. Every time I see him, he just tells me a day count until the match on the fourth of November."
Tonks grinned. "I'm looking forward to the match, I admit."
"Me too. It will be a welcome distraction."
"And Ginny?"
Remus smiled. "I don't know. They've been sitting very close lately at all meals, but he hasn't said anything about them dating."
Tonks grinned. "He cares for her a great deal, I hope that he asks her out soon."
Remus nodded, absently running his hands over her arms.
"Umbitch?"
"You've adopted Sirius' name for her now as well?"
Tonks shrugged. "You have to admit, it does fit."
He snorted in amusement. It did, but he didn't want to give Sirius the satisfaction of being right. "She's been quiet. Raffigan took over teaching History of Magic."
Tonks' eyebrow rose and she turned to look back at him. "What? Where's Binns?"
"Apparently she was insulted that he had put his entire class to sleep and lectured him on it. He took offence and left. No one has seen him. Raffigan has taken over all of his classes. She's doing pretty great too, from what I've heard. The students seem to like her. However, it means that she has stopped doing inspections and I think that they have all fallen to Umbitch's responsibility."
Tonks pursed her lips. "Did they get through very many?"
Remus shook his head. "No. They spent most of the first month viewing the syllabus for every class and the textbooks we provided. Raffigan had made it through my class, Snape's, and Binns. Umbitch handled Magical Theory, Xylomancy, and Frog Choir. Fil told me that she took out a tape measure and actually checked out his height while he was talking to her."
Tonks' mouth dropped open. "The nerve of her!"
Remus nodded. "She's taken away some house points from a few students who were misbehaving, but she hasn't done much else. I don't know if the Department of Education is going to send anyone else to help her or what, but I guess we'll see."
"Has she said anything to you?"
"No," he said. "Not a word, but she does stare at me as if she is puzzled and there's always a great deal of dislike in her gaze."
Tonks made a huffing sound. "Well, no one likes that toad anyway!"
He dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "True. Zee left this morning for France, right?"
Tonks nodded. "Sirius said that she seems pretty positive about bringing the Merpeople on board with the Aqua Protectors. But it all depends on what she brings to the table. Her partner was meeting her there this afternoon by portkey as she was riding her motorbike."
"How long is she going to be gone?"
"A few days, up to a week, maybe two. Sirius said something about her having to find the village as it moves around a lot. He was having dinner with McGonagall tonight."
Remus smiled. "Good."
Tonks turned in his lap, her bathrobe opening at the shoulder. "Can we go to bed now?"
Remus' hand pulled the robe fully open, his eyes darkening in desire as they looked their fill of her body. "I hope you don't mean to sleep because I have missed you, Nymphadora."
He bent his head to suckle her breast and her head tilted back in pleasure.
"Mmm," she moaned. "Not to sleep, no."
He kissed her breast and pulled away. "Then, yes, we can definitely go to bed now."
Tonks laughed as he took her hand and tugged her to the bedroom, her robe falling to the floor.
Yeah, she had definitely missed her husband.
End Author's Notes:
patefacio sursum = open up (spell by me)
Thanks to Dusk for helping me word this one: PLANTS, Painstakingly Laborious Agriculturalist/Naturalist Trial Sets.
Thanks for reading and please review!