Chapter 60 - Sirius Idiocy
November was drawing to a close after an eventful time in the Ministry when Rita Skeeter got her scandal.
She had started off by looking in the Minister's affairs, finding that other than a rare dedication to her work, she could not see anything else out of place, though the Minister's office remained beyond her reach. After that, she worked her way down the ranks, first checking Department Heads and then over to the Wizengamot.
Jackpot. Certain memos between the Wizengamot members and Ministry officials led her to the kind of corruption scandal every muckraker dreams of finding. Embezzlement, fraud, intimidation, bribery, even an illicit cross-species affair. (That poor House Elf, I mean, really, didn't the witch have standards?) This had it all!
Best of all, however, she had been able to substantiate almost every bit of it and the last could be ascribed to a 'reasonable' extension of what she did have.
The very first article was about the way five Wizengamot members were conspiring against the newly elected Minister's commendable crusade against corruption. The reaction from readers was immediate and positive towards the Minister and nearly completely negative towards those Wizengamot members. They were, after all, not the only corrupt people in the hereditary organisation, and their fellows resented the way their incompetence made it harder to everyone else to conduct 'business as usual'.
Their smarter colleagues, however, sensed that this would be far from the only blow against their interests and hunkered down against the coming storm, confident that they could weather it like so many other 'emergencies' if they kept their heads.
Katie read the paper with resignation. When she started at Hogwarts, she had been so innocent, so eager to explore her world. Now, it seemed each week brought fresh blows to the pillars of her world. First, the House rivalries had seen her pool of potential friends shrunk from nearly fifty in her year alone down to just ten, one of whom was that idiot Cormac. As the daughter of a pair of Muggleborns, she only had it barely better than one herself from the more status conscious students, which was everyone in Slytherin and many in Ravenclaw to boot.
In her second year, the Boy-Who-Lived arrived, only to get sorted into Hufflepuff of all things instead of Gryffindor like his parents had, like everyone expected of their hero. He didn't even look like the books said, lacking the glasses and scar and proving to her that the books were all lies.
Her third year, she failed to notice as one of the younger Lions was slowly taken over by a cursed object, and the school, which had seemed safe, proved to be anything but as the Monster of Slytherin roamed the castle. She also had to dodge hexes from that idiot Flint when he tried to ambush her after his team lost. She hadn't even bothered reporting it, since Snape and Dumbledore protected the bastards.
Attacks by Dementors, a Triwizard Tournament that turned deadly serious, and now fresh scandals proving that the government were no better than thugs and thieves.
"I want to get out of here." Katie said to herself, not bothering to raise her voice so her friends Alicia and Angelina could hear her. They did anyway and shrugged.
"Ok, if you want, we can grab our brooms and fly together." Angelina offered.
Katie looked up. "That wasn't what I meant. I meant-" she broke off, unsure how to say it, or even if she should. "I mean, there are times I just want to leave the Wizarding World with all its corruption and stupid arguments over blood and threats to the school and attacks on Muggleborns. And no one ever does anything about it, they just let bloody Snape get away with taking points away for breathing too loud, or giving them for being a Snake, well, they did until Professor McGonagall stood up for us at last."
She ran down at last, more from lack of breath than anything else, and her two friends stared at her. Alicia put her hand to Katie's forehead, checking for a fever, and Katie snapped "I'm not sick!"
"But leaving the Wizarding World? Where would you go?"
"I don't know! All I know is that I can't just accept this for my life. I want something better." Katie considered the rumours about Potter, especially the ones that said he also wanted to change their world, looking at it with suspicious eyes right from the start. She hoped they were right.
Alicia and Angelina were bewildered. They had no experience of regular British life beyond their visits to the Bell home. To them, this was just how things were supposed to be.
Together the pair tried to comfort her, reminding Katie that this was all she could get and that together the three of them would stand by each other.
It didn't work too well, however. Katie had had a taste of change and she liked it. She felt her noble Gryffindor spirit calling out for fixing more of the world, at least, that's what she told herself. She also felt a different part of her calling out for some strong man to come along and ravish her, and she cursed her hormones. For some reason, the only image that came to mind in these moments was a certain green-eyed Fifth Year. While she enjoyed those moments, once they were gone, she was left with a longing to find out if he was really as good as in her dreams.
Eventually, Katie was able to convince her two friends that she was fine and they left her in peace. Shortly afterwards, she wandered the castle, making her way unintentionally down to the Quidditch pitch and trudging through the mud. She saw the Hufflepuff team working hard, working well together, and for a moment she envied their teamwork, their obvious friendship, the love between Harry and the girls.
Up above, Megan felt it, too, the smooth cooperation, the harmony of the team. They had been working hard for months in preparation for next weekend's match, and she could honestly say she had never been in better shape. The previous year without Quidditch had been hectic and even fun, but she had missed the game, missed this time in the air.
She felt the same come Saturday morning. The team had drilled and worked seamlessly on their tactics. Cedric had asked Harry if he wanted to be Captain but Harry turned the title down. This was Cedric's last year and he deserved the recognition for his sterling efforts. Her whirling mind settled down as Madam Hooch blew the whistle to start the game, the Hufflepuff team darting off to their positions while the Ravenclaw team did the same at a slower pace.
With the balls already in play, zooming around, the Badgers got straight into the match while the Ravens took it more cautiously, husbanding their energy for a longer match. As a result of that lower tempo from their opponents and their own star Chasers, they started pulling ahead slowly. Unfortunately for them, that wouldn't be enough should Cho catch the Snitch before they could build up enough of a lead and she was searching frantically. Both Ravenclaw Beaters were keeping a close eye on her, one even coming over to escort her since their efforts had proved useless at stopping the Puff Chasers or slowing them down.
For their part, Megan and Leanne were paying more attention to the Chasers for the Ravens, and defending their Seeker and Chasers evenly, as Harry, Hermione and Susan scored more freely and Cedric worked to interfere with Cho's seeking of the Snitch more than trying to find it himself. Both were valid strategies for a Seeker and right now, he could do more for his team's chances at the Quidditch Cup by prolonging the game than by anything else he could do.
Cho was having none of that, though. While Cedric was good, she was better and she knew it. She had better eyesight and the training to pick up on small movements to give her a real edge so she baited the older student into going one way then broke off, flipping around in mid-air and dodging her rival. It was a mixed bag, while she was now free of Cedric trying to take the Snitch from her, the Puff Beaters were now free to target her. During the game, the Jewels put their team first and Megan seemed particularly eager to show her loyalty to the team and the House.
Dodging a tenth attack in the fifteen minutes since the game began, Cho's head whipped around, tracking a golden glint from the corner of her eye. Taking the sharpest turn she could, she dove to the deck following the Snitch. In her peripheral vision, she noted absently that Cedric had also spotted it, falling faster than her due to his greater weight.
That wasn't enough, however, her fingers curling around the Snitch just as Harry scored another goal, and the whistle blew a second later. While the Hufflepuff team was better than Ravenclaw on any normal day, short games always favoured the Ravens with their better Seeker. It was bad luck that the Snitch had revealed itself so early while Cho was close enough to take it.
Lining up, the teams managed to congratulate each other before Hooch dismissed them, Cho flying into the Puff changing rooms instead for her customary rubdown and, hopefully, an orgy.
Up in the Gryffindor stand, the Flying Foxes, Angelina, Alicia and Katie, had watched the match with eagle eyes, noticing that Harry was even better than they thought he was. Their last memories of seeing him fly were from nearly a year and a half ago and either he had improved even further or their memories were faulty. Either way, they agreed he was the best flyer they had seen. Not even Krum was at home in the air like he was. "So handsome, too," Katie added, grinning at the blushes she got from the two older girls.
They made their way slowly down towards the Hufflepuff changing rooms, having to fight against the press of hundreds of students going the other way into the castle where they would be warm. Once they were within feet of the door, they heard moans and low voices.
Inside, Cedric had taken the first turn as usual then headed up to the castle, using a Body Flicker to reduce the time exposed to the cold winter weather. Back in the changing rooms, the Jewels had enjoyed the opportunity offered by the hot showers to get in a party mood, all ready to get the party started in earnest.
The clone who was supposed to be standing watch had been snagged by Daphne, taken inside and kissed thoroughly. The centre of the party though was all Cho.
That was the scene that the Gryffindor girls nearly stumbled upon. It was only the realisation that the clone on guard had been kidnapped by one of his girls that meant Harry knew to listen out himself and he signalled to the Jewels "Company!" Bending down and kissing her, he also whispered to her to make sure she understood and didn't say anything incriminating.
Just inside the door, the intruders spied shamelessly, their eyes riveted on the sight before them. In their excitement, they didn't notice the Illusion technique put up, hiding the hurried dressing of the other girls. Likewise they missed the slight wind as Harry's clones hurried out of sight and cleared away the scents of the other girls' enjoyment. Cho wrapped her toned legs around her man, languidly caressing him before releasing him since they had visitors.
The three girls looked at Harry hungrily, eyes dropping as he donned his robes. Cho sat up, hugging Harry with one arm as the pair turned to look at their uninvited guests.
"Yes, ladies?" Harry asked exactly as if he hadn't just been caught in a compromising position.
"Uh-" Alicia uttered, mind still on what she had seen. Angelina was no better off so it was left to Katie to respond.
"Sorry, Harry, we just came down to congratulate you on superb play, you would have won if the match had gone on any longer and maybe find Cho to..." Katie trailed off.
"Well, I'm here." The girl in question prompted when the Gryffindor didn't complete her sentence.
"Congratulations, Cho, that was a great piece of flying," Katie said, meaning every word yet still her focus wasn't all there. She could feel her nipples pressing through her blouse and wondered if she was glad that the school robes covered that up just like they covered everything else, it seemed. 'Now we know why his girls are always smiling.'
Alicia and Angelina nodded mechanically before coming out of their trance, blushing at the situation.
"Sorry, we didn't know you were..." Angelina waved her hand to gesture to them. "We were kind of hoping for a massage?" Her friends nodded, Alicia with a dirty little smile at the idea.
Harry wasn't exactly happy with the girls. "After you pushed your way into the team area, spying on my girlfriend and me during a private moment, you still think you can ask for a massage?"
To their credit, Katie and Angelina looked embarrassed at that reminder and Alicia's smile slipped so what came next surprised them. "I guess I can do that for my friends, and we are friends, aren't we?' They nodded and Harry saw they understood what he had left unsaid, that they would keep his secrets and he would keep theirs.
He gestured to Katie to go first, making sure to tease each girl with ghostly touches amid the normal excellent service, and Katie nearly drew blood biting her lip to keep her pleasure silent. After they were done, much too soon for their tastes, they took off for the dorms and some much needed privacy. Harry and the Jewels looked at each other.
"That was close!" Sally-Anne said with some fervour.
"But exciting." Sophie added and grinned. She kissed both Harry and Cho, whispering "Congratulations." She fondled the older girl, leading to the rest of them clumping around in a big hug.
Daphne was sandwiched between Susan and Hermione, accepting their support as they hugged her. She knew she shouldn't have done it but she was so worked up by the idea of it that she had just grabbed the clone who was supposed to be watching out. The others knew it and didn't blame her one bit. They had all felt the excitement of the match and that carried over into their after party, and besides, she was a Hufflegirl too.
Amelia looked on proudly, then made her way over to add her own support, drawing the younger girl into a hug and surprising them both with a tender kiss for Daphne. They took things up to the castle, Amelia feeling naughty as she and Angelique snuck into the Hufflepuff Common Room and then to the girls' showers for their fun.
The following day, Harry invited the girls to accompany him into London for an errand, though he didn't explain, wanting to keep it a surprise.
There were a couple of grumbles from the girls at having to get out of bed early on a Sunday but they died down at the clear excitement Harry was displaying, an unusual sight from their normally calmer love. Whatever they were expecting, it wasn't to be taken around London, looking at empty stores up for rent.
Curious, Nym asked the question they all were wanting to know. "Harry, love, why are we looking at some dusty empty shops?"
"Well, we will need somewhere to sell the clothes that you girls will be modelling for the Foxy Lady line, won't we?"
They perked up at that information, clearly reconsidering the various places they had seen though most of them had problems like poor location or too high rental. Harry had been leading them to the worst ones on the list that he had prepared with the Clan until they broke down and asked. He knew they wouldn't be able to give a proper consideration without that understanding, after all.
Eventually, they had seen all fifteen properties on the serious list, taking a late lunch at a nearby café and chatting excitedly about the shops and their prices, locations, condition and appeal. When the dessert came out, Jennifer glanced sharply at a grinning Harry and the cake was served.
She blew out the candles and they sung Happy Birthday to her, before she cut the cake, taking refuge behind that as she got used to the idea. Harry sitting next to her leaned in and kissed her cheek whispering, "I thought you might like to co-sign the lease agreement. My present to you, Jennifer, I want to help make your dream come true."
Jennifer squealed and hugged him close, kissing until she managed to calm herself. They were still in public after all.
Retaking his seat, Harry explained to the others. "...And we plan to get started in a small way using some of Jennifer's contacts as well as some good old fashioned advertising in magazines, taking pre-orders and mostly just generating interest for the spring shows. I tried but there was no way we could get ready any earlier. This way, we have a couple of months to get everything ready, including for any of you to get some more practice modelling if Jennifer says you need it."
They beamed at him and Amelia asked a question that had occurred to her as they were talking. "But what about our club, I am sure we don't want to leave them out of this news."
Harry agreed, "I am glad you asked. It seems that among the interests and options that I inherited was a shop in Diagon Alley, number 93 I believe. I was thinking we could call it something like Wicked Witches, carrying the lines we have all been working on."
"I'm not sure about that name," Sophie said thoughtfully, "how about 'Wicked World of Witches'?"
Harry sat back for a few minutes, smiling and an arm around Jennifer's waist, letting them brainstorm the name for the shop and the lines of clothing it would carry, before asking Amelia if she would be prepared to wear some of their more professional clothes to work. "After all, if Fudge could get away with that horrible green hat, I figure you can wear something stylish and comfortable." Harry added with a grin.
Amelia grinned back automatically then her mind started to process the idea. She nodded after a few seconds, smiling more naturally at her young lover. "I think it will work well, Harry. It will help separate me in people's minds from previous Ministers and perhaps help to bring in new fashions and awareness of the good in the regular world." She looked closely at him. "It should even help with your long-term goal."
Harry flushed and nodded. "Best of all, it will look great on you."
She looked quickly and then moved over, kissing Harry tenderly. Astoria tapped her shoulder after a minute and smiled at them when they came up for air. "Let's go home." Astoria suggested, her expression telling them just what she wanted to do when they got there.
Lucius Malfoy was a satisfied wizard for once.
True, he still had to share his home with the Dark Lord, who made him at best a trusted servant rather than ruler of all he surveyed, and true, his home had become the headquarters of an illegal organization with all the risk that entailed to his fortune and freedom.
But right then, he felt that all was right with his world. It was always that way with him when he managed to attain one of his ambitions and lately, that had been to extend his reach into the Ministry after that Bones bitch had taken over and started cleaning house.
The usual techniques of bribery and intimidation were too risky with MacNair having lost his job for the latter - attempting to intimidate Amelia Bones while she had Auror escorts was a particularly bad idea for one's career prospects - and the Wizengamot were feeling the pinch for the former. Their crimes were being aired in public by Rita Skeeter in the Daily Prophet and it had proved impossible for the moment to find her when she wasn't at work and in the presence of witnesses. Plus, attacking Skeeter's home would be useless, the witch was never there. 'At least Bones is having trouble putting them on trial,' he thought to himself. After all, the Wizengamot was their court and who would be fit to judge their judges?
No, Lucius had used something else to bring his newest acquisition under his thumb. The little bint had 'lost' her husband some years before, killed or fled during the last glorious months of the Dark Lord's ascension before he visited the Potter family. Since then, Kelly Williams had been working hard at the Ministry, using whatever she could get to get ahead, including the advances of her boss. Normally, Lucius wouldn't care but his target's boss was another witch, someone who had married into a rather powerful family and was placed off-limits by the Dark Lord himself.
The underling Williams had no such protection, and she understood immediately that she had a new owner, something that gratified the Lord Malfoy immensely. For now, all she was doing was passing along information, and publicly available stuff at that, something that he would escalate later into her doing more and more incriminating things for him. Lucius was already planning her first crimes for her. Copying private memos would be perfect, he decided. It would be easy to argue that it was a harmless escalation, making the enchantment on his tongue work more effectively to put her under his spell, and it would create its own blackmail material should she try to back out later.
The bonus for Lucius on this cold December day was that on his way out of her department, the Improper Use of Magic Office, he spied a wizard acting guilty. On a hunch, Lucius followed him, using Silencing and Disillusionment spells to good effect. As the man left the Ministry Atrium, Lucius heard his destination and took the other exit, heading to the Disapparation Point and leaving with a Pop! On arrival in the outskirts of Hogsmeade, Lucius reapplied his charms to make certain they wouldn't fail him and Apparated to the edge of the small mixed village where his target lived and stole silently into the man's 'secret' house.
Following the grunts and squeals, Lucius was disgusted to see the pale, flabby flesh of the wizard as he rutted with some piece of Muggle filth. Worse yet, the wizard wasn't even dominating the Muggle, thoroughly distorting the natural order of things as he lay down and allowed her on top of him. He barely kept his lunch down and hurried out of the room, only taking the time to note the names and details to better blackmail the blood traitor later.
When the wizard strolled back into work, he found Malfoy sitting in his chair with a very impressive sneer on his face, cane in hand. Lucius cut off his angry tirade with two words, the name of his lover, and he nearly collapsed. Pale and shaking, he nodded at Lucius. His independence was over.
Ronald Weasley wasn't the sharpest quill around. Even he would admit that these days, and he would correctly attribute the improvement in his temper to his steady girlfriend, Romilda. However, he still had a long way to go before he could get it fully under control, much like any other teenager, and he had his sore spots. One big one was his family's relative poverty compared to other Purebloods and nobody liked being called a traitor.
At breakfast, he and his girlfriend had had a minor row, by Weasley standards anyway. To most other people, the row would be called rather serious. Ron had inadvertently insulted Romilda's cooking by implication, saying that Hogwarts' and Molly's cooking were the best in the world. Romilda was in a sensitive mood already after a bad dream and turned on her boyfriend, yelling back that she was glad he was so lucky because he would never eat hers if that was how he felt about it.
Poor Ron was clueless about what he had done to set her off but he knew the only thing he could do was to apologise. That was hard enough for the proud young man, but what made it worse was he had no idea why he was apologising beyond trying to stop Romilda's anger and, in her anger, she didn't want to accept that as good enough. They managed to make up but it took so long that Ron was running late to Potions class.
He spied the door closing and sped up, entering with a crash as the door bounced off his shoulder and he darted to his seat as quickly as he could, hoping to slip in unnoticed.
His hopes were all in vain. That crash wasn't just the door meeting student. It was Professor Snape holding said door and getting it bashed back in his crotch by the red-haired missile. Snape gave the dunderhead an extra strength glare and when that failed to produce the requisite apology quickly enough (instantly), he yelled "Fifty points from Gryffindor and two weeks' detention, Weasley!"
"For being late to class? Hang on," Ron said, fishing for a watch. "I'm early!"
"For assault on a Professor, you moron!"
"But I didn't do it! I ran in because the door was closing and going to lock me out of class. I couldn't even see you to assault you." Ron knew he shouldn't yell back but he couldn't help it. Snape was just so unfair!
"That will be another fifty points for disrespecting a Professor, Weasley!" Snape snapped back.
"Bloody hell! Not tonight, please! I just made up with-"
"Silence, you little worm! Trash like you shouldn't even be here. Your fragile little mind cannot handle the subtleties and complexities of the art of potion making." Snape sneered.
"I can't wait until I can drop this bloody class! If I want a potion, I'll just go to the shops anyway. It's only cooking with weird ingredients, not like anyone needs to know it to fly for the Cannons..." Ron knew even at the time that he shouldn't have run his mouth like that at any teacher, let alone at Snape. However, none of the students expected the man to reach for his wand and draw it, already firing a sickly yellow curse in Ron's general direction. Luckily for Ron, he was used to dodging thanks to his brothers on the Quidditch team beating the Bludger at him in practice and he leaned to the side before he remembered that his mate Seamus was behind him. Seamus had been just as surprised as anyone else but ducked under the curse, only losing some of his hair to the spell.
"Get out! All of you out!" Snape yelled, a hair's breadth away from throwing other curses at the infuriating dunderhead who had denigrated his noble profession. The teens raced for the door, emptying the classroom in seconds, Ron was the first out since he was the closest, afraid if he slowed down he might get trampled by the mob behind him.
Once they were all gone, Snape finally gave in to the pain he was feeling, curling around his injured groin and moaning, ignoring the world and any consequences of his attack on his students.
Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, however, could not ignore the event. Her morals wouldn't let her, and it was the perfect reason to fire the man and get in his replacement, now that the contract negotiations were completed with the new (and old) Professor Horace Slughorn. She stalked down to the dungeons and the Potions classroom within, finding dear Severus sitting at his desk, legs wide apart and leaning back, a book over his face to keep out the light.
"That was your last chance you threw away, Mr Snape. You are to gather your belongings and begone from Hogwarts within ten minutes. If you manage that, I may be willing to give you that head start before I call in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for your assault on a student before nearly a score of witnesses."
"But that little-!"
"I have already heard what happened. A student was coming into class early only to find you were going to lock him out and unfairly deny him the education his family pays for. He hurried inside, making it inside but colliding with the door. You were standing on the other side of the door, quite unnecessarily as I know you have mastered the Banishing Hex, and caught up in the accident. Then you proceeded to deduct points and assign detentions for assaulting you when even a moment's thought would have told you the student was innocent of such. Even when the student pointed this out, you refused to see reason and increased his punishment.
"Presented with your unfair punishment, the student asked for it to be shifted, not cancelled as it ought to be and you dismissed his mild request and insult him in front of his peers. Not satisfied with this, you also pulled your wand and attacked a student.
"Is anything I have said in error, Mr Snape?"
"Yes, he-"
Minerva interrupted him. "Remember, Mr Snape, that you will have to be prepared to testify under Veritaserum to this effect. I am certain Mr Weasley and others will be willing to do so. You have not made yourself loved by the students and this is the result. Now, I will ask again. Was there anything about my summary that was incorrect? You were doing the wrong thing by closing the door early, and doing it the wrong way by standing there, leading to your injury. You blamed the innocent student for your injury and when he didn't bow down quickly enough, you attacked him! Is that correct or not?"
"No, he can't be innocent, he's a Weasley! You know what those damnable twins are like!" Snape shot back.
Minerva paused, manifestly unwilling but finding a part of her agreeing with his characterisation of Fred and George Weasley. "Nevertheless," she replied, "Mr Ronald Weasley is not the same as his brothers and it is unprofessional to treat him as such. Do you have any evidence that he was guilty for any of this? Do you have anything to say in your own defence?"
Faced with her unyielding gaze, Snape found the lie caught in his throat. "Only that I had suffered from a restless night that left me less able to tolerate the dunderheads in my classroom. I have already caught a pair of students in a broom closet right near my office. When I remonstrated with them, they made some sign with their hands and ran off laughing at me! It didn't stop when I got to class. Finnegan and Longbottom were conspiring away to ruin another cauldron up in the back row. Weasley's reckless behaviour was the last straw. The height of the door handle on that classroom meant it hit me in a- very sensitive spot, Minerva."
Despite herself, she winced. No one wanted to be hit there and worse, Severus had made her think of his 'equipment'. "I believe I understand the situation. None of that, however, excuses your abuse of Mr Weasley. It was your own fault that the situation arose due to you trying to lock him out when the class had not even started. Even if he had been late, that would not have made attacking him the correct response, however much you might have felt like returning the pain."
Minerva took a breath. "Mr Snape, it is with profound feelings that I hereby terminate your contract of employment here for conduct unbecoming a teacher at Hogwarts. You will be allowed ten minutes to retrieve your belongings and vacate the premises. The Floo from your office will remain in operation until that time expires. Should you remain in Hogwarts beyond that time, you will be removed forthwith. I will be making a report to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement regarding your assault. Do you understand?"
Snape nodded, barely keeping his temper leashed and not trusting his voice. He noticed Minerva hadn't mentioned just what those profound feelings were.
"Then you had best get started." Softening her demeanour slightly, she added, "Goodbye, Severus. Perhaps in your next employment you will remember not to take out your emotions on others now that you see what it costs you. I hope you will learn from this experience." She suddenly hardened her features and tone. "Whatever you do, however, it will not be at Hogwarts. There is no place here for teachers that try to kill their students."
Snape swallowed in fear at her hardened voice and expression. Rather than waste time, he turned, cloak billowing, and repaired to his rooms, a single spell gathering his belongings, and twenty others taking down the protections he had placed and allowing him to remove them from his suite. With a last look of disgust and bitter regret, he stepped through the Floo and quickly sent a message spell off to the old fool.
He had some plotting to do and a counter-agent to Veritaserum to take, preferably before he answered the Auror's questions.
By the end of the hour, the rumour mill had carried the news to just about every student and member of staff. When lunchtime came at last and the Potions Master failed to show, there was a spontaneous party, amply aided by those raconteurs Fred and George Weasley. Later the pair admitted they had been setting aside snacks and party items just in case this glorious day arrived, right from their first year.
During the impromptu party, which Minerva had no intention of stopping given the petty man's actions for fifteen years, Colin Creevey spotted a lovely girl smiling and laughing with her yearmates. The fact that she had silver and green on her clothes did not deter his interest. If Slytherin girls were good enough for their hero, the Boy-Who-Lived, then the Creevey brothers wouldn't turn them down either. Putting on his most charming expression, practised every time he got a private moment, the Fourth Year boy unobtrusively slipped through the crowd, approaching the redhead from behind and admiring the view.
He got up to her and put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her around to face him. "Hi there! Want to dance?"
Astoria looked up at the eager face of one of Harry's more rabid fans in the school and shook her head. "No, thank you. We haven't been introduced and I don't dance with strange boys."
"Hey! I'm not strange!" Colin protested, producing a chorus of coughs from the people around them. Ignoring them, he continued. "I'm Colin Creevey. Who are you?"
Rolling her eyes at the boy's enthusiasm and rudeness, putting it down to different standards, she replied calmly. "My name is Astoria Greengrass." At the lack of recognition in his eyes, she added, "I'm the younger sister of Daphne Greengrass." At least he knew that name. She started to turn back to talk to Luna when Colin took her hand.
"Come on, let's dance!"
"I already told you no, Mr Creevey. I am enjoying my conversation with my friend and I do not wish to dance with you."
"Please!" Colin added puppy dog eyes. Unfortunately, they did absolutely nothing for Astoria.
"No, Mr Creevey. Please leave us in peace."
"But!" Colin got no further as suddenly his hero was right there between him and the girl though Colin had no idea how the Harry Potter got there that fast. The hand on his shoulder had a firm grip on him, one that Colin didn't think he could break.
"Why are you bothering Astoria?" Harry asked, carefully restraining his strength when all he wanted was to throw the annoyance away.
"I just wanted to ask her to dance with me."
"You asked her. She said no. Please move on, Mr Creevey."
"But what is it to do with you?" Colin was curious as ever.
Astoria grinned and moved in, kissing Harry passionately. Colin's eyes widened and his face fell. "Oh. Ok. I'll go away now." Colin moped for a second until he spotted other pretty girls in the crowd. It was his dream to have a harem just like his hero and he was tenaciously pursuing his dream.
When Colin left, Astoria giggled and let Luna have a turn with Harry. "Thanks, Harry, I wanted to get rid of him badly so I can only imagine how hard it was for you." She gave him another kiss and a brilliant smile.
The party was fun and as it wound down mid-afternoon, Minerva took the opportunity to announce that a replacement Potions Master had already been secured and would be presented at dinner. "Classes shall resume tomorrow as normal. Hogwarts will not allow this change to hurt your education."
While the other three Houses were celebrating the removal of the Greasy Git, Slytherin was more restrained in general. The split within the House between the junior Death Eater faction, the neutrals and those in the Potter Alliance made things complicated. In order to keep a measure of peace, they had to keep a lid on the expression of their emotions.
Even with that, however, it was obvious that only the junior Death Eater faction were unhappy with the change. The rest of the House saw it as an opportunity for the Headship to pass to someone who could open them up more to the rest of the school, increasing their influence.
That evening, Horace Slughorn, former Potions Master and Head of Slytherin retook his place in the school. He also welcomed the promise of an assistant who would also take over his Head of House duties. It made less onerous the prohibition against holding Slug Club meetings in the school.
His arrival was greeted with applause from the majority of the school, more than ordinary politeness would create due to the vile man he replaced. They soon discovered that the man was a true Slytherin. While he was always out for himself he was willing to help others both as part of his job and a chance to build bridges. As slimy as old Sluggy was, he was a decent teacher and he slipped back into the groove smoothly.
Outside Hogwarts, Snape moved his belongings to his rather crappy little place on Spinner's End in Cokeworth, setting things out with a desultory wave of his wand. No sooner had he finished than there was a head poking out of his fireplace. Another wave and his guest was coming through.
"Severus! Good to see you again." Albus said as he stepped out, dusting off his lurid orange and purple robes.
"Albus." Snape inclined his head in the barest of nods as his guest conjured a chair for himself and took a seat without waiting for an invitation.
"Thank you for letting me know of your difficulty, Severus. I came as quickly as I could. Short of regaining my position in Hogwarts, however, I fear there is little I can do to see you retake your rightful place."
Severus glared then nodded tightly. "I had already assumed as much. While I don't care for the dunderheads or their bleating, I have no wish to let this insult stand."
"Surely it was not as bad as all that, Severus."
"Not that bad? The woman treated me like I needed her help and advice! The cheek!"
Albus sat back, letting the insults flow unimpeded about the witch he had called friend for half a century until Severus wound down as he always did.
"Now, why did you come, Albus?" Severus asked as his brain was able to engage once again.
"You called me, Severus."
"I did but you would not have come without a reason of your own." Snape returned.
"Well, there were a couple of other things I have been meaning to ask you to do for me."
Snape would have groaned if that had been his way. Instead he merely allowed his gaze to harden and waited.
"First of all, I am hoping you will continue to do your duties as a Death Eater. The Order needs your information now more than ever." Snape nodded after a few seconds. "Next, I may call upon you from time to time for your expertise and assistance in brewing certain difficult potions." The younger man nodded impatiently. "And last, there may be certain missions that come up from time to time where it would be most helpful to have a trusted ally's help."
"You can't use Moody for that?" Snape enquired calmly.
"Alas, the fewer that know of certain things the better, and Alastor would insist on such ridiculous precautions that I would never get anything done."
Snape's head tipped to the side slightly as he pondered the response briefly.
"Very well, I can understand your desire for competent help. Merlin knows I had it every day I taught the little malingerers."
Albus ignored that just as he had ignored every other sign that the younger man was unsuitable for any position in contact with the general public. After all, he had been picked by the then Headmaster to become a full Professor of Transfiguration before leaving his teens. Naturally Albus' hand-picked Potions Master would likewise have the potential for greatness if he could stay in the Light.
"However," Snape added, "I will have certain delicate experiments to look after, now that I have the time. I am looking to perfect a number of recipes that will shock the Wizarding World." Severus boasted.
Albus nodded tolerantly. "I will be sure to provide adequate warning. Indeed, I would like to get the first little outing done before the bells ring in the new year."
Snape demurred, "I doubt I will have the time so soon, but we shall see. Perhaps with your aid I may be settled into the new routine in time for it?"
Albus bit back a sigh. Always looking for something extra, these Slytherins. Still, Severus was worth it.
Over the next two hours, Albus explained the scope and something of the nature of the mission ahead though he kept to himself the knowledge that they were to be hunting for a Horcrux, instead referring to an item of Dark Magic. The fact that it belonged to the self-styled Voldemort and its loss would help bring down the Dark Lord, and most certainly spite him, was enough to get Severus on board.
Winter had settled in fully at Hogwarts and down south in Cranleigh. Snow made its appearance as it was wont to do, and the colder weather had many people spending practically all their time indoors.
Among them was Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, though he had more on his mind than most, he was sure.
'I have checked and rechecked Poppy's findings from so long ago. There was no mistake in her conclusion. The only way I can have a family is by getting someone else with Black blood to be the father, then adopting him or her as my own. Adopting some stranger's child will not work and there is no cure to be found in any potion known, however illegal. I will have to talk to him, to ask Harry if he will help out Mary and I.' Sirius grimaced. The animal instincts inside him were howling over this decision, demanding that this was too far, but he shoved them back into their box again. He had grown better at ignoring its calls, knowing that it was those instincts that had seen him hunting down a traitor rather than seeing personally to Harry's welfare.
He refused to let it dominate his life again.
The winter exams came and went with the usual stresses, protests, last minute studying and anxious waiting, but soon enough the Hogwarts Express was pulling into the station at King's Cross. It disgorged hundreds of students all bundled up against the cold, layering extra clothes under their robes or over more 'Muggle' attire for the more progressive ones.
Chief among this group were Harry and his friends, comfortably warm in modern fabrics and thick woollen socks. They made their way through the barrier to be greeted by parents and relatives and friends, taking a quick dinner at a restaurant before heading off to their homes.
Back at the Kitsune Compound at last, Harry and the Jewels were looking forward to settling in, converting a living room into a place fit for all of them to sleep over in a group but Sirius asked to have a word with the real Harry. Curious but not all that wary since Sirius lacked the signs of engaging in a prank, he gave his godfather a nod and got up, his clones already taking his place cuddling with the ladies.
Sirius led his godson to the bedroom set aside for him and his wife Mary when they visited, a place they used fairly often to catch up with Harry and eat the Clan's cooking. Tonight, however, Sirius had a very different purpose in mind.
Once all three were seated comfortably, Sirius raised his wand and cast a number of spells on the door and walls. "Now that we're secure in here," he started, "well, secure from wizardry, there is something I want to talk to you both about."
Mary sighed and nodded. Harry just waited calmly.
"I want to raise a family, Harry. A family of my own with Mary. I love my job working behind the bar at the Cranley Hotel. It keeps me in touch with people and I get some laughs out of it, and knowing how it would horrify my family to own something so Muggle is a nice bonus. Unfortunately, back in Hogwarts, I was the victim of a particularly nasty hex from Snivellus, one that left me sterile. I'm sure the bastard did it on purpose, no matter what he told the teachers. However, it has left me in a bind. If I adopt strangers, I can't use the Black family money to raise them, and I can't have kids of my own, though Mary is fine. The money we get from owning and running the hotel would be enough but I don't our kids to be forced to miss out on what's rightfully theirs."
Harry nodded, forcing down his embarrassment at the discussion. He knew if he waited, Sirius would tell him on his own and it wasn't like he was that pressed for time when his clones were taking care of everything else.
"Harry, there is only one way for Mary and I to raise children without having to forego their inheritance, and that is for another of Black blood to be the father. My brother is dead, my only cousins female or Draco, and you are the closest to the direct line available anyway. Please, Harry, I don't trust anyone else for this but you."
Harry hated the way his godfather was laying it on. Worst of all, it was working, somewhat. "Sirius Black, I will ask you this in all honesty. Are you out of your mind?"
Whatever reaction he expected from the inveterate prankster, depression wasn't it. "But Harry, please?"
"Sirius, there are other options and I don't know if I can do it, even if I wanted to."
"Are you saying Mary isn't good enough for you?"
Harry shook his head angrily before Mary could take any offence. "Fuck no, I'm not saying that! I'm saying that I am already in a committed relationship and sleeping with your wife is morally repugnant to me because she is your wife. I will not sleep with a lady who is in love with another man. Hell, I haven't heard what Mary thinks yet."
Mary shrugged. "The same as you, Harry. I made my vows to Sirius and I fully intended to keep him. However, he's a stubborn man at times, even if he has grown up a bit since we met. You're a good looking young man, Harry, but that's not enough to do this. I would feel wrong, especially if I ended up enjoying the sex."
"Thank you, Mary. Sorry, Sirius, I think there's a better way-"
"I've tried, Harry. For years after the incident, until I got locked up, I tried to track down new treatments or inventive Healers. None of it worked." He let out a sigh then straightened up. "Harry, will you wait here? I have to go get something."
"Sure." Harry replied, settling in.
Sirius smiled and walked out the door, closing it and locking it with a silent spell, patting his pocket and finding Harry's wands right where he put them. He would check on them in the morning. He had given them both permission and he knew that Harry had a healthy appreciation of the opposite sex, as well as being honourable enough not to take things any further than necessary. He would do the right thing, and Sirius would get to raise a family. 'And it's even got a prank involved. Truly a plan worthy of a Marauder.'
Inside the room, Harry felt the change in the air as the room was sealed.
"Just great," he snarked. "He's locked us in, Mary. I bet he is thinking we will go along with his idea if he leaves us in here long enough. The loveable fool is pitting his skills against the Angels' training. We can get out of here any time you like."
"That idiot." Mary replied fondly. "It's just like him, too. Stubborn, loyal and devious all packaged in a prank."
"Of course, there's nothing to say how we react to all this. Are you ready to leave, Mrs Black?" Harry offered his arm with a lopsided smile.
"Not so fast, Mister Potter." Mary responded with a feral grin. "Sirius isn't the only one who likes to play jokes, is he?"
"Not at all, Mary, what did you have in mind?"
"Well, we could spend the night together. I'm sure that's what my darling husband has planned."
In the morning, Harry stepped out of the room with a big grin on his face, Mary flushed and holding his arm to her as she walked a little gingerly, almost glowing in pleasure. He sent a clone out in stealth to warn the Jewels of the news and headed out to the breakfast table.
Seating Mary first, noting that her wince as she sat down was perfect, he turned to look at his godfather who was by turns proud and worried. The pair said nothing until they had finished their meal then Harry asked if Sirius could accompany them back to their room. He nodded and set down his napkin, standing hurriedly and leading the way.
Inside, Harry was the one to make sure the doors were closed and their privacy assured while Mary guided her husband to sit on the bed, a nervous expression on her face.
"Sirius, Harry and I were talking this morning and-" she broke off, drawing out the moment before ending his torment, "and we're agreed. You're a stubborn fool, sometimes!" She laughed at the expression on his face. "Oh, Merlin, as you like to say. You actually thought we did it? No, he gave me a massage."
"But, but, my plan, I mean, I-"
"Yes, we know what your cunning plan was, dear. Trap Harry and I together for a night and let nature take its course."
"What you forgot, Padfoot, was that didn't mean we would have to end up having sex." Harry's smile was supreme. "You also didn't let me explain last night."
"Explain what?"
"Your other options, for a start. The state of British reproductive technology has leapt forward in the last twenty years since you checked. Just a couple of years before I was born, doctors helped a couple conceive, bringing together their donations in a Petri dish before implanting the fertilised embryo into... Are you following any of this, Sirius?"
"Not really." Sirius readily admitted.
"Ok, the short version is that the regular world's doctors might be able to help you and Mary, or if they can't today, they may very well be able to in a few years with how much progress they're making."
Sirius looked as shocked as he felt. "Merlin, I'm an idiot!"
"I said that last night," his wife chuckled and Sirius looked very sheepish.
"There is another option, one that should work even better than that. The Kitsune Clan are accomplished doctors in their own right. They can make a patient regrow body parts. About the only one they can't fix that way is the brain, but that's because the patient is dead when that's gone."
"You mean?!"
"Yes, Sirius, I do mean. Merlin," he grinned, "they can transfer bloodlines, Padfoot! If nothing else, they could make any kids you adopt into full Blacks."
Sirius was crestfallen. "I never thought of that!"
"Don't beat yourself up over that, Padfoot. Just remember that you do have people willing to help you and there's no shame in not thinking of everything. I'm sure if we asked the others, we could get more ideas, too."
"No, no, regaining that for myself would be the best," Sirius grinned, "I'm just glad you two weren't as stupid as I was being. I'm sorry, both of you. I shouldn't have tried to force you, most of all, and I shouldn't have ignored what you were saying. I could have saved myself those fears when Mary came out glowing this morning."
"That's why it's important to listen, dear husband." Mary said sweetly. "But I suppose I can forgive you this time."
"Thank you, love," he replied, taking her left hand in both of his. "I can laugh about it now, the way you turned my own prank back on me, but I'm curious. How did you manage it?"
"Well, what Harry did really hit the spot." Mary said about the glow. "Harry is a master masseur."
"And the walking gingerly?"
"Oh, you old dog, do you really think I can't fake it?"
"Oh."
"Actually, Harry did that, too. One of his ninja techniques made me limp for a minute, just long enough to fool you."
Sirius chuckled. "Ok, dear. Besides, if you two had done that, I would only have myself to blame. However can I make it up to you?"
"Oh, I have an idea on how you could do that, Sirius. Harry, be a dear, would you?" Mary smiled at the young man but she had been dealing with her arousal since Harry's amazing work and wasn't going to wait any longer.
"Yes, Mary." The young man cheerfully replied, already getting up and leaving as Mary pushed Sirius down the bed, saying something about getting more practice in.
Harry chuckled to himself, shaking his head. He caught Mary praising her husband for catching on quickly and admitting the truth and saying this would make things right between them. Sadly, the silencing techniques came too late to stop the "Woohoo!" from escaping their room.
As soon as he left, Harry made his way to the Jewels' Wing, as it had been dubbed, and gulped as he saw all the eyes on him.
"Hello, Harry," Daphne said somewhat coolly. "Mind explaining just what was going on between you and Mary? Why did you spend the night in her room?"
"Not at all. She wanted help playing a prank on Sirius after he did something silly. You see," Harry began and explained the situation, adding that he hoped they wouldn't be too hard on Padfoot. "He's not perfect, but he's the only godfather I've got."
"And you didn't touch her?" Diana asked with a little trepidation.
"Not in that way. I gave her a massage as part of setting up the prank, but I slept on the floor while she took the bed. Sirius has apologised to Mary and me, and as long as each of you are ok, then I'm ok with him. I expect that when Mary releases him, he'll be ready to apologise to all of you, too," Harry stated confidently, though he added mentally, 'He'd better if he knows what's good for him.'
Sally-Anne got a mischievous look in her eyes. "Well, I suppose we can forgive you for making us think that, Harry, if . . ."
"If what?" Harry asked warily.
"If you give us massages now, too!" She giggled at the look on his face. "So far today you've given another girl more hands-on time than any of us!"
"Yes, definitely zat, 'Arry." Yvette added.
"And Diana should be first since you worried her the most," Hannah put in, giving the older woman a smile.
Harry smiled and relaxed as he and his clones got to work and he and the Jewels were not seen until lunchtime.
At lunch, Sirius and Mary left their room slightly ahead of Harry and his ladies. Mary was just about to kick him to remind him when Sirius proved why he was smart enough to be a Marauder. With a deep bow, Sirius looked at the Jewels and spoke in the formal tones drummed into him as a child.
"If I could have a moment of your time, ladies. I beg leave to apologise for how I have wronged all of you. I ought never have tried to force anyone like that much less two people I love. For my abominable behaviour, I crave your forgiveness and would make amends if you will allow it."
Daphne and the others raised in the Wizarding World recognised the language he used and the debt he implied he owed them. He was basically saying that he would do almost anything within reason to repay them. His posture and movement, as well as his expression, told of his sincerity and Amelia was pleasantly surprised by how serious he was taking it.
After looking between them, Hermione, Susan and Daphne stepped forward and seizing his attention.
"In the understanding that nothing like this will be repeated, we accept your apology." Hermione stated.
"As for making amends-" Susan said.
"I have no need for them." Daphne finished. "We are still friends, and friends forgive each other for honest mistakes."
Sirius let out the breath he had been holding. "You have my Oath that no harm was intended and further that I will do better in future to think things through."
"And that he will ask his lovely wife for advice." Mary added with a smile.
"I will, indeed."
"Good." Leanne put in. "You work better as a team." Parvati rolled her eyes at such a Hufflepuff comment but her smile said otherwise.
"And I won't forget it." Sirius claimed.
In the end, after pranking Sirius' hair green and silver and a couple of other minor things, the Jewels declared the matter over. It was a good thing, too, as Christmas was only days away and no one wanted that hanging over them.
The Clan came through as always with a fun day for all, and Harry took the rare step of taking the day off training, not a single clone doing anything remotely like 'work'. The party they threw was a great success though there was an amusing incident earlier in the day.
Everyone was gathered around, swapping presents, and the Clan left Harry's godfather until last, giving Sirius only a card for Christmas.
"It's really from Harry." Naruto explained with a grin as Sirius opened it up curious, finding the usual kind of card and inside it was a voucher.
"This voucher entitles the bearer to one op-" He stopped in surprise.
"Merry Christmas, Padfoot."
"It certainly is!" He showed the voucher to Mary and she hugged him tight, sending smiles to the special young man before Sirius dragged her into dancing with him, explaining to the curious audience that "My wonderful godson found the perfect present!" and letting the others see the voucher for themselves.
The following day, Naruto took Mary to have the full day spa treatment normally reserved for his wives while Tsunade and Shizune guided a nervous Sirius to the operating theatre. A quick use of one of their pleasure Illusions and Sirius was nicely relaxed and even volunteered to knock himself out. Tsunade smiled sweetly and laid him out instead.
A second later, it seemed, he was waking up and in his own bed, Mary reading a book next to him. "Mary?"
"Ah, great, you're awake!" She gave him a passionate kiss. "They told me you came through the surgery just fine and that they would want test results as soon as possible. After all, you're the first wizard they've tried this on and they want to make sure there weren't any ill effects."
Scared, Sirius quickly checked and his eyes widened slightly before he relaxed. Everything down there was just fine, better than ever, and he grinned before getting onto the first test. Later, they would both pronounce it a success.
Thank you for reading and for your feedback. Thanks as always go to my betas Cloud Zen and Daisy Duck.