Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine…yada yada yada
A/N: I'm Soooo Sorry this has taken so long to get out. I have three sons who participate in sports, two in football (American) and one in Soccer. So between practices and games and of course work and a little bit of writers block, I haven't had a lot of time to focus on the story. I will try to get at least a chapter out every other week, but no promises.
So I'm very grateful to all of you who reviewed the last chapter. You guys had some wonderful comments and I will try and respond to some of them when I can. But now, without further gilding the lily here is Chapter 23 of Watching Over Harry.
Chapter 23
The Boy-Who-Lived…Lives Again!
By Rita Skeeter
Yes dear readers you have read correctly! Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Lived was presumed dead after dark witches or wizards unknown cast the dark spell of Fiendfyre on his place of residence and burnt it to the ground. It was believed that Potter had died in the fire. It had been reported by Muggle and Ministry investigators that human remains were found in the house but only small bone fragments, not enough to positively identify the remains.
So dear readers you can understand my shock and amazement to see the young Potter heir stroll into the Will reading of the last Lord of the Black Family-Sirius Black. And on his arm and wearing the Lady Potter signet ring on her left hand was none other than the recently pardon Bellatrix Black formerly Lestrange. She was introduced to the assembled crowd as his wife and as the Lady Potter. How this happened we have not learned, needless to say many female hearts will be broken upon reading this.
Sirius Black as you may recall escaped Azkaban prison a few years ago a feat thought impossible. It was believed that the notorious mass murderer had escaped and planned to kill young Harry for having defeated the Dark Lord.
However in a strange twist it was discovered in the Will reading that Sirius Black was in fact Harry Potter's godfather and he had left him with the title of Lord Black and head of the Black Family as well as the bulk of the Black family fortune. To those who are aware of the oaths a godparent takes when assuming the role of godparent, know that the oath prevents said godparent from ever doing harm to their charge. Thus Lord Black could have never harmed Harry Potter.
After a little research, I have discovered that the late Lord Black had never received a trial for his alleged betrayal of the Potter family. We at the Daily Prophet call upon Minister Bones to launch an investigation into this matter post haste. As I looked upon the young Potter heir it was clearly evident that he had great affection for the deceased Lord Black which would suggest that they were close. It also sheds more light onto why he (Black) was fighting against other Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries Battle and was seen defending his godson. (For more on the life of Sirius Black see page seven. For more information on the Department of Mysteries Battle see page ten.)
Another interesting occurrence happened right before the reading began. A Miss Hermione Granger; known to have romantic ties to Lord Potter (See past Article "Young Love" in the Tri-Wizard Cup special edition of the Daily Prophet.) entered and was immediately attacked by Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. The young muggle-born witch showed incredible skill as she shielded and rebounded the spell that the Supreme Mugwump had cast at her knocking him unconscious and causing him to be thrown into the gallery seats of the conference room.
It is unknown at this time why the headmaster would attack Miss Granger who had been missing and presumed dead after a Death Eater attack on her home earlier this summer. To add intrigue to the tale was that Miss Granger as well as Miss Luna Lovegood the daughter of the now deceased editor of that embarrassing rag called a newspaper- The Quibbler, were both wearing the Potter Coat of Arms on their cloaks. What does this mean dear reader? Has Lord Potter taken more than one wife? Inquiring minds would like to know?
The drama does not stop there Oh readers of mine! Oh no there was drama-o-plenty at Gringots Bank. Molly Weasley the widow of former Ministry employee Artemis Weasley was nearly apoplectic when she discovered that the new Lord Potter was married. She as well as Albus too many names to mention Dumbledore tried to negate the marriage between Lord Potter and Bellatrix Black by producing a marriage contract that had been signed by the Headmaster and the Weasley Matriarch to none other than her daughter. But the roguishly handsome young lord dashed those plans when it was pointed out that because of an error in listing the correct names of the betrothed the contract was invalidated.
The plot thickens my rabid dust bunnies…Lord Potter all but accused the Weasley Matriarch of plotting to steal the Potter fortune, and alluding to an investigation by the Goblins into her repeated attempts to gain control over the Potter vaults and Potter titles. If these allegations are proved true this could spell ruin for the House of Weasley.
Of even juicer news is that the Boy-Savior seems to be at odds with the Supreme Mugwump. His most lugubriousness Albus Dumbledore attempted to exercise authority over Lord Potter and demand that he should accompany him. This act was met by at least a half a dozen wands pointed directly at the Headmaster including the wands of the former Lady Malfoy, Narcissa Black and that of our newly appointed Minister for Magic Amelia Bones.
The seemingly new allies to House Potter and other Ancient Houses closely associated with House Potter could have far reaching implications in the political halls of the Ministry. Are we seeing the emergence of a new political power block? How will the other Ancient and Noble Houses view this new alliance? Not to fear my fellow seekers of truth. Your humble servant will continue to thrust herself down on the rising powerhouse that is Lord Potter and discover what motivates and stirs him…
oooOOOooo
It had been one week since the Will reading of Sirius Black and the press conference of the Boy-Who-Lived-…Again, and the Wizarding world was still reeling over the revelations surrounding the life of Harry Potter and the orchestrator of said life - Albus Dumbledore. The Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly, the Wizard Wireless Network (WWN) as well as other magical forms of media throughout Europe had caught the story and had instantly become the topic on everyone's lips.
The community as a whole was sharply divided on what to feel about the defeater of the Dark Lord Grindelwald. In many minds, their suspicions about the mental state of the ancient wizard were confirmed. After all, no sane wizard would place the savior of the Wizarding world in an environment where he was hated and abused for being magical?
On the other side were those who had absolute, albeit blind faith in the old headmaster. Their rhetoric was that it must have been for the greater good that the Potter heir was placed with his muggle relatives. After all he is a far wiser and more powerful wizard than anyone alive so his actions must have been appropriate and should not be questioned.
Many chose to believe that the abuse that Lord Potter received under the care of his muggle relatives was exaggerated, though still others saw it as an opportunity to illustrate the barbarity of muggles in general and why their influence should not be allowed into the magical community.
But the one point that no one seemed to be able to defend was that of the attempts by Molly Weasley to lay claim on the Potter fortune and title. Although not all of the details were released to the press enough was learned that the Weasley matriarch who was rebuffed by Lord Potter after the will reading was accused of attempting to take control of House Potter through clandestine if not illegal means.
With the increased scrutiny and hostility that was now being heaped upon House Weasley from the other established houses, Bill Weasley, the new head of House Weasley since the death of his father had no other choice but to cast his mother from the house in an effort to save what was left of the Weasley name.
The screeching voice of the now disowned Molly Prewitt was heard throughout the village of Ottery St. Catchpole the day she was cast from the family. Ronald Weasley of course decided to stay with his mother while Ginny elected to stay with her brother Bill. Ginny had come to the conclusion that her mother was bad for her continued well being. Unlike her brother, Ginny felt remorse and shame for her part in her mother's plan's to claim the Potter fortune and reestablish House Prewitt as a wealthy and Ancient House.
Molly and Ron were forced out of the Burrow, the home and the land surrounding it was owned by House Weasley and she would no longer be welcomed there. The parting was far from amicable as the older redheaded woman unleashed a verbal diatribe that would put any sailor to shame. It had not been an easy decision for Bill, he had warned his mother time and again to let go of her fixation on the Potter fortune. Even after the will reading she was still trying to come up with ways to take possession of it. It was this determination in Molly that finally woke Bill up to the greedy and manipulative nature of his mother. She would singlehandedly destroy the Weasley name forever if she were allowed to continue on this path.
In counsel with Charlie and the twins -Percy refusing to acknowledge the invite to the Weasley counsel -, had all agreed that though they were loath to do it they had no choice but to remove Molly from House Weasley. The future of the remaining family depended on an intact house reputation. To the old house's the removal of Molly who was seen by many as the author of an attempted takeover of an Ancient and Noble House would satisfy honor and would no longer look upon House Weasley as a culpable party to her machinations.
Molly however was not deterred from her end goal at all. Grabbing her youngest son she apparated away to a forgotten location to many…the old Prewitt Manor. Having been destroyed during the first war, Molly had been secretly rebuilding the manor with funds that she had been slowly removing from Harry's trust vault for years. Although far from its former splendor it was habitable and had a few creature comforts that would afford her and Ron some measure of hominess.
What Molly needed now though were allies. There were not many Prewitt's left only some distant cousin's but she was sure that she could sway them to her goal of the destruction of House Potter and to the reclaiming of the Prewitt wealth. There were also other's who would not shed a tear if House Potter were to fall. With the promise of fortunes to gain there would be several lesser houses that would come to her banner.
No, Molly Prewitt was far from being defeated, she would have the revenge her family had dreamed of for generations and she would rain down hell upon those so called son's of hers that had betrayed her. Molly Prewitt was a force of nature and with or without the help from Dumbledore she would soon unleash the fury that was building inside her.
Little would she realize that her efforts to recruit others to her cause would catch the attention of another that would use her vitriolic enthusiasm in ways that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
oooOOOooo
The occupants of Black Manor were enjoying a slow and blissfully quiet day as they avoided reading anything from the cacophony of media outlets that were still in an informational feeding frenzy since the surprise press conference of the Boy-Who-Lived.
Cizzy and Luna were in the Ritual House where the older blonde was teaching her new protégé the fine art of ritual and blood magic. Luna proved to be an adept student giving credence to her placement into Ravenclaw House.
Luna had found an intriguing piece of battle magic that was ritual based within the Potter family grimoire. Most battle magic was based on lengthy rituals and blood magics that usually took from minutes to hours to perform and were generally used only in large scale battles or while laying siege to a castle or other fortifications and strongholds.
The use of Battle Magic had fallen from recent practice since the decline of the feudal systems of old, where multiple clans formed alliances one with another against other clans who were doing the same. Large scale battles were fought over territory and the wealth of rival houses. House Potter during those times was one of the most successful Houses and had conquered all who came against it. Many of the great houses of the age were wiped-out or absorbed into House Potter.
From what Luna had read, the success of her adopted house was due in large part to Potter Battle magic. All though not practiced in hundreds of years Luna saw what an advantage this ancient magic could be against Voldemort and his ilk. If he could be maneuvered into a large scale attack in a predetermined area, Harry could bring a swift end to the war or at the very least cripple Voldemort so badly as to cast serious doubt in the minds of Voldemort's sympathizers in his ability to win the war.
Cissy and Luna were immersing themselves in the ancient Potter text where the ritual was found. It was a borderline dark ritual that required a sacrifice of the caster's own blood and magical power. Five powerful witches were needed to perform the ritual which was apocalyptically called 'The End of Days'. Though the ritual took a heavy toll on the casters it was not known to kill…at least they hope it didn't, there was a warning that if a caster was not powerful enough it would drain their life force leaving them as an empty shell.
Cissy knew that this time she had to be perfect in performing the ritual; nothing could be overlooked or forgotten. Too many lives would be at stake should something go wrong. The other issues were to find the five powerful witches they needed and then begin the process which included ward stones, runic placement and of course blood and magical power. The entire process would take up to six months to prepare and finalize.
oooOOOooo
While Cissy and Luna were preparing for the physical battle to come, Amelia Bones and Augusta Longbottom were planning the political battle. It is common knowledge that you need capital to wage a war. Without money for bribes, housing, food, medical supplies, etc. you cannot hope to fight a war of any sustained length.
The two politically savvy women had begun to garner support from the light side families and remarkably many of the gray who sensed a change in the wind of fortune. It did not hurt that many of the gray sided families had varying oaths and pledges of loyalty to the Black family and others to the Potter family and still more from the Bones and Longbottom camps.
With a little over a third of the Wizengamot representatives solidly in the Potter camp, they were confident that they would be able to introduce new legislation that would freeze the assets of any family who is found to be conspiring or aiding those who are found to be conspiring to over throw the rightful government. A new Hate Crime bill would also be introduced with heavy fines and time in Azkaban for any violent crime perpetrated against muggleborns, half-bloods, and/or muggles.
This would be a slap in the face to the blood purist who look upon those not of pureblood as little more than livestock. Although true purebloods only made up about five percent of the current wizarding population in Great Britain, however, they controlled much of the economy and therefore a strangle hold on the government. Money talked and the pureblood elites had it. That is until the new Lord Potter had taken his title.
Many of the elite families who owed their fortunes to their various business interest also were subsidized by Potter money and much of the land theses business were on were held by the Potter trust. With the death of James Potter many of the tenants of Potter properties stop paying the rents and monies owed to the Potter trust that held stock and in some cases controlling interest in the various companies.
If the new Lord Potter were to discover this, he could call in all debts. These debts of course had not been paid over the course of the past fifteen years. With interest and penalties he could bankrupt the majority of the great houses in one quick stroke of a Goblin quill. And the Goblins were known to take great pleasure in ruining elite houses…legally of course.
No, they only way to prevent financial and social ruin was to either join with the whelp or have him killed. The problem they saw was that the Dark Lord himself had failed to kill him at least twice before which nobody had ever managed to do before. And now with added support from several Ancient and Noble Houses he was quickly becoming almost untouchable. Decisions needed to be made and made soon.
oooOOOooo
The Ministry had been flooded with requests from media sources around the globe for press passes to the August 1st Wizengamot session where Albus Dumbledore would face an inquiry into his culpability of child endangerment, not only of Lord Potter but the entire student body of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, also for forgery and possible collusion in an attempt to illegally gain control of the fortune of an Ancient and Noble House.
The press smelled blood in the water, while the other Wizarding Ministries around the world were interested in the new political shifting within the Ministry of the UK. With Dumbledore suspended from his duties from the Wizengamot, and his recall from the ICW, the once infallible Dumbledore saw his popularity taking a nose dive within the international community.
Many were wondering who would step forward on the international stage to represent Great Britain and take up the mantel of the Light against the growing darkness. Many began to place their hopes and their prayers on the new Lord Potter. He had stopped the Dark Lord more than once if the stories were to be believed and as such has had as much or more experience in fighting the Dark Lord than anyone save Dumbledore himself. The international community held its collective breath as they waited for any sign from Harry Potter.
oooOOOooo
Harry Potter was stretched out on the couch in the parlor of Black Manor with his head resting in the lap of his beautiful wife, as she lovingly stroked his dark locks. Bella was seated with her legs tucked underneath her but a bit to the side. She wore red tartan patterned soft flannel bed shorts that barely reached mid thigh and one of Harry's oversized gray sweatshirts that fell off of one shoulder showing the flawless ivory skin of her shoulder and a hint of her ample breasts .
'My God she looks so gorgeous!' Harry mused to himself getting a loving smirk from Bella who had heard his thoughts through their bond. "House is it that you can look so hot in such ordinary clothes as a sweatshirt and flannel shorts?" Harry asked bemusedly!
"You just have to get in touch with your inner hotness love." Bella stated haughtily throwing her hair back over her shoulder then letting it fall framing her face perfectly and then pursing her lips into a seductive pout as she failed to hold back a full belly laugh.
"Oh you!" Harry said laughing. He then spun suddenly in Bella's lap his fingers attacking her ribs in a merciless tickle attack.
Bella screamed in breathless gasps as Harry's nimble fingers continued their assault. An all out wrestling match then ensued as Bella tried to counter attack by throwing Harry off of her and on to the floor. She launched herself on top of him, and just as she thought she had the upper hand he grabbed a hold of her waist and spun with her they began to roll around on the floor trying to get control.
"Ouch!" Bella moaned as she held her arm. Harry immediately stopped, his body hovered over Bella's who was on her back and panting heavily.
"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly looking into her eyes and then glancing down at her arm. Then in one quick motion Bella hooked his right elbow with her left hand and then kicked her right leg out pushing it into Harry's left hip. The pulling of the elbow and the pushing out of the hip caused Harry to pivot quickly to his right, his momentum carrying Bella up and over him until she straddle her bond mate's upper chest her knees on either side of Harry's neck his arms pinned beneath her legs.
Harry found this position…incredibly… distracting as all previous thought evaporated as he took in the sight in front of his eyes. The loss of blood that made its way south away from higher brain functions didn't help his situation either.
Bella seductively rolled her hips in her position of dominance over him. "Do you surrender My Lord?" Bella whispered lustily to Harry. All Harry could do in his stupor of thought was nod goofily.
"Oh my God you two!" A voice from the doorway yelled. Without moving from the delicious position she was in Bella looked over her shoulder to see Hermione and Tonks. Hermione's face was beat red, the embarrassment was evident and she struggled but failed miserably to keep herself from continuing to stare at the compromising position that Harry and Bella found themselves.
Tonks, on the other hand seemed to enjoy the sight in front of her biting down hungrily on her bottom lip. Any chance of needing any help there with Harry auntie?" Tonks grinned mischievously.
"Oh I think I have him right where I want him Nymphadora." Bella smirked giving her niece a mischievous wink of her own.
"As much as I find this Not embarrassing in the least, do you think I could get up now." Harry asked sweetly a dark blush cover his face.
"Hmmmm…I don't know…I kinda like you in this position." Bella said tapping her lips with her index finger as if in deep contemplation.
"Oh my goodness…will you two keep that kind of activity to your bedroom!... Hello! Sex starved witch here. If you can't share with the class Bella don't bring it to class!" Narcissa groused in exasperation but had a quivering smile on her lips. This had set Bella and the other girls off into uncontrollable giggles including Luna who had entered with her mentor.
With Bella distracted by her own fit of giggles it was enough for Harry to get his arms free and give her finely toned backside a pinch which caused her to launch forward and over Harry's head. She landed in a heap but continued to laugh even harder; her arms wrapped around her stomach tightly her abdominals beginning to hurt from the belly laughs.
Bella, Hermione, Tonks, and Luna were still in this state when Susan and Amelia arrived by floo into the parlor.
"I hate to break up the giggle fest but we have a problem. Three hours ago Azkaban Prison was attacked by Death Eaters with Voldemort at the lead…" An instant silence fell upon the house as they tried to absorb the grave news.
oooOOOooo
A/N2: So basically a filler chapter, but there is a little foreshadowing of things to come. I hope you will take some time to review. Any comments or ideas of what you would like to see in the story please let me know. I read every review and they truly inspire me to do my best. Thanks again for reading and please Read and Review.