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Chapter 15

"Welcome to Hogsmeade," said Amelia. "I hope your trip wasn't too bad, floo travel tends to be a little rough." She waved her wand and the soot disappeared from their clothing. She was impressed by the pair of women. Their first time through and they both kept their feet coming out of the fireplace, a task still difficult for many after using the floo for years. "I'm Amelia Bones, head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. This is Sirius Black, Harry's Godfather. You've met Remus Lupin." She ushered them toward the door.

Amelia looked them over with an appraising eye as they stepped outside while she held the door. Both were beautiful and the family resemblance was strong, sisters perhaps? The dark haired one stood slightly in front as if protecting the red head, older sister she thought to herself. While they both projected confidence, the redhead seemed to exhibit an almost regal air.

The dark haired woman spoke. "I'm Shar, this is my mother…"

Sirius's eyes widened and he looked at Remus, and mouthed, "Mother?" Remus shrugged as they began their walk through Hogsmeade.

"…the Lady Ako," Shar said gesturing to the woman with bright red hair.

Sirius looked back at them. "Amazing, if I didn't know better I'd swear I was looking at Lily's family. You look more like her than her sister Petunia did, any day."

Shar looked at him, anger evident. "You know, Petunia?" she spat.

Sirius unconsciously took a small step away. "I met her once, at Lily and James's wedding. I think she was there only because Lily's parents forced her and Vernon to come."

"You're the one that went to prison?" Shar asked her eyes accusing.

Sirius looked down unwilling to meet her gaze. "I did… I failed Harry and the best friends a man could ever have that night." He took a deep breath. "The only explanation I can offer is the same one I told Harry, I was young and stupid." He looked up at her. "I was grieving the people I thought of as family… and chose vengeance. I thought Harry would be safe, he was being taken to a man we all trusted with our lives. Then everything went pear shaped."

Amelia continued, "We all thought that it was Sirius that had betrayed the Potters. When he was found he was in the middle of the remains of a neighborhood, the gas lines were destroyed along with most of the homes. Thirteen people were killed, he was incoherent and babbling that it was his fault." She looked at Sirius sadly. "He was thrown into Azkaban, our prison, that night. No interrogation. No Trial. Nothing."

She looked back at the women. "You need to understand, we were at war, and the Potters were… special. Highly thought of in the community." She smiled softly. "Friends to almost everyone, they had become a symbol… Heroes. And after their deaths… No one thought twice as their betrayer was locked away."

Sirius continued, "With me locked away, and with Voldie gone… Our world wanted to put it all behind them. So I sat there… for twelve years." He looked away. "I regretted my choice everyday."

Shar looked hard at the man, then nodded, then her eyes narrowed. "Do any thing to hurt Harry, and I'll make that prison look like a summer vacation spot."

Somehow Sirius knew that was not a threat but a promise.

She then looked at Amelia. "What I want to know is how Harry fell through the cracks. When he came to us he was barely thirty pounds, and he had been habitually abused. He didn't even know his own name till he started school, and that only happened because he had been seen working in their yard. It took us years to get to where we are now." She was working herself into a good lather, when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Do not do this to yourself, daughter. It does no good. Mistakes were made, but steps have been taken to correct the problems." Lady Ako released her arm as Shar took a deep calming breath. "Although I would like to know how Harry came to be in that place. The Dursley's were never very clear on the subject." She looked at the head of the DMLE expectantly.

Amelia took a deep breath then said, "Albus Dumbledore. He is the headmaster of Hogwarts." She could see the anger flash across Shar's face - "He is also head of our governmental congress, the Wizengamot. He… He put Harry there. When Sirius was released, he immediately began looking for him, and as Harry's godfather he was able to pursue the matter as the presumed legal guardian. According to our laws he was the only person that could do so as Harry is the last surviving Potter, his father's family had all passed by that time, Lily has no other surviving family, so without the will guardianship passed first to remaining family."

Sirius spoke up. "Lily loved her sister, but did not agree with some of her choices. One of those choices was when she married Vernon. Lily despised the man, she always said he was the worst kind of person, angry, vindictive, and outright mean. She was afraid that Petunia would not be able to stand up to him, or leave if it came to that." He shrugged. "Seems she was right about that."

Shar was incensed. "So this Dumbledore person is a high powered government official, and headmaster of a school?" They nodded.

Amelia replied, "He is also the head of the International Wizards Council, a cooperative union between European nations."

Shar shook her head. "Ok, that is just stupid. Who does this guy think he is? Superman? Unbelievable! He has all of those responsibilities and was entrusted with the placement of a child? Does your 'world' even have something like Child Protective Services?"

Amelia looked confused. "What is that?"

Shar's anger jumped by a rank, and she growled. "It's a joint department within the law enforcement and social work departments, they specialize in situations dealing with children. Abuse. Neglect. Orphans. Anything that could damage the development of a child. In this situation, they would have visited the home on a regular but unannounced schedule to hopefully keep something like this from happening!" Lady Ako's hand returned to her daughter's arm.

Lady Ako then addressed Amelia. "My daughter is most protective of Harry. I imagine she is also wondering if there are other situations out in your community that are similar."

Amelia stopped walking. 'Could there be?' she questioned herself. "I don't….I don't know. After the war… there were orphans…" Tears filled her eyes as she thought, 'that could have happened to Susan… He is the hero of our world and it happened to him… How many have suffered so?'

Lady Ako nodded. "Something for you to look into I'm sure."

Amelia parroted back, still lost in thought. "I'm sure." She shook herself, thinking, 'definitely!'

They stopped at a set of wrought iron gates. "These are the gates to the grounds, the castle is up there," Remus said pointing. "I'm sorry you can only see ruins, but the muggle-repelling charms won't allow anyone non-magical to see it till we are inside the wards themselves. I also feel I should warn you it will be very uncomfortable for you to enter the grounds. Not painful mind but you will feel badly disoriented and wish to be anyplace but here."

Shar looked at her mother and raised a single eyebrow, they had assumed they were non-magical. What a laugh! It was amazing the amount of hubris in these people! She shrugged after getting no response from her mother, and then looked over the 'school' they thought so highly of.

The wards were quite strong, and some of them were incredibly old. Probably as old as the castle, but they were also brittle. Tannim or she would make quick work of them, and as for Keighvin and his people… She didn't think they would even slow them down.

They stood at the gate a few moments till a man standing over seven feet with long unkempt black hair and a beard to match arrived at the gate. "Hi ya there, Mr. Black, Professor Lupin, Madam Bones. It's good to see ya."

"Hagrid, I am not a professor here anymore," said the werewolf. "You can go back to calling me Remus. Ladies this is Rubeus Hagrid; he is the Gamekeeper, and Keeper of the Keys here at Hogwarts. Hagrid this is Lady Ako, and her daughter Shar."

"Pleased to be meetin ya." said the giant of a man. "Dumbledore will be right down, he's the only one that can lead a muggle through the wards. I'm sorry you'll haf ter wait on him, he's a busy man."

"I'm sure he will not keep us waiting long," said Amelia, looking more than a little embarrassed by his absence.

Lady Ako lifted her bag, and rummaged inside. "I think while we wait we should talk about another piece of business. Mr. Silverhair, the owner of Fairgrove, prepared an invoice for Harry's Mustang. This," she said, handing a copy of the first page, "is the actual cost of the vehicle. It has been converted to British Pounds Sterling a total of 439,194 pounds; additional racing setup and preparations were 35,561 pounds, for a total of 474,755. This does not include the cost of Harry's lost days of training, that will be fully assessed and an invoice sent once we are home. It does include, however, the cost of the purchased practice track time. As you are the head of law enforcement, I expect that this will be needed for the report on the willful destruction of property. Mr. Silverhair has also requested contact information be sent to him as soon as possible so his lawyers can begin proceedings if necessary."

Amelia took the pages then looked at Remus, as the ends of his lips curled into a small smile. "It's around 95,000 Galleons."

"95-" Her eyes widened. "For a muggle vehicle?"

Shar spoke then. "A highly specialized vehicle, one built specifically for Harry. Racing is big business, a lot of those parts are built to order. That Mustang was brand new and it will take months for another to be made, it also had one of the five new aluminum engines. If Keighvin even suspects that technology has made it to a competitor… well let me put it like this, he expects those engines to make Fairgrove millions. Enough to more than justify the investment in a couple of vehicles and the teams to go with them."

Amelia's mind was racing, it would take her over twenty years to pay that if she gave them her entire salary! The Bones family, while they weren't one of the richest families, were well off, but even if she sold half the family's holdings she could only just cover it… Oh , Albus… what have you done? "Will Mr. Silverhair be looking for full restitution? It was damaged."

Lady Ako nodded slightly. "He will, any damage the vehicle may or may not have sustained is immaterial. As the vehicle was destroyed by Mr. Dumbledore, without any proper identification or assessment of said damage. It was his decision to destroy the vehicle in his care, therefore his responsibility. If he or the school has some form of insurance that will cover the loss, Mr. Silverhair will need all information necessary and the contact information. Mr. Silverhair also requests copies of the incident report Harry filed with your department, for his records."

Sirius looked at her stunned. "You're a solicitor?"

Lady Ako's face remained neutral. "I am licensed to practice law, but my specialty is in international and standard contract law, negotiation and arbitration. I am doing this as a courtesy to Mr. Silverhair, as I was on my way here at Harry's request."

Sirius now thought he understood the situation. "So you work for Harry.'

Lady Ako's eyes narrowed. "No, he is my most able student."

Amelia turned the pages quickly. "I- I will need to see how to go about doing this. Normally a replacement would be purchased and the owner's memory modified to accept the changes if magic could not repair the damage, to protect us under the Statutes of Secrecy."

Shar's eyes narrowed at the statement 'memories modified'. Did they even realize the damage they could do? Never mind actual injury, but missing time, information, and any of a number of things that could go wrong!

"I will have an answer before you return home." Amelia tucked the papers away, as they heard someone walking down the gravel path.

They all turned to face the gate as a man with a long white beard, and dressed in purple robes covered with gold stars approached. "Good morning to you all, I am sorry to keep you waiting, but alas such is the life of a dedicated headmaster." He looked over his half moon glasses at the group, his eyes settled on the two newcomers. "You must be the people young Harry is so anxious to see."

Shar clenched her left fist, at war with her emotions. Her mother's hand had found its way back to her arm. "I am The Lady Ako. This is my daughter, Shar. Please show us the way to my student."

Dumbledore stepped forward, and extended his hand. Shar stepped in front of her mother, and took his hand in hers. "Can we get on with this, we wish to see Harry as soon as possible. We have a long way to go yet today." She reached behind her and clasped hands with her mother.

Dumbledore's eyes widened, the woman's grip was threatening to break his hand. He winced, but continued. "Yes I am sure that you do. Shall we then?" He turned and led the way, his hand still grasped firmly, onto the grounds.

Once they traveled a few feet Albus released Shar's hand. "We are now within the Castle grounds proper, please do not wander far from the castle as once you are outside the wards you will lose your bearings quickly. Also please be aware that the forest can be quite dangerous, hence its name the Forbidden Forest, it is home to more than a few magical animals."

Shar looked at him like he had lost his senses. "You mean to tell me that within a few feet of a SCHOOL you have a forest that is full of dangerous animals? Are you insane? Couldn't you move the animals? At least put up a fence!"

Dumbledore smiled, "I assure you, it is perfectly safe as long as you do not wander into the woods. The creatures inside the forest rarely wander outside its protection, and Hagrid is an excellent Gamekeeper."

He turned his attention to Lady Ako. "You said that young Harry is your student? So you are a teacher? What is he studying with you?"

"He is my student," she replied, "I am his sensei. I teach him many things including. Contract law, Negotiation, Public Relations, Advertising, Personal Finance, Corporate Finance, Tax law, other things as well. He needs an understanding in a broad range of subjects otherwise he will always be at the mercy of others wanting to control his future."

She reached into her case again. "Mr. Silverhair asked me to bring these to you," she said handing him the same documents. "This is your responsibility, after your destruction of his vehicle. He asks that you please make arrangements for prompt compensation, otherwise he will seek legal recourse, and he will also then be asking for the recovery of any legal fees he has accrued."

Dumbledore almost lost his temper at the cool demeanor of the woman, how dare this… Silverhair! He now realized what he had done may have been hasty, and had upset the boy, but it was just some muggle vehicle! It couldn't be worth all this much! He looked at the now partially crumpled page in his hand, and absently rubbed his left arm.

The group had kept walking up the hill, even after Albus had stopped in his tracks, his eyes glued to the papers in his hand. Sirius clapped him on the shoulder as they walked past with a "Good show, Albus. I'm sure you will work something out with Harry's employer." He knew this pulled the noose tighter, especially if he was going to try and salvage any form of relationship with Harry. Even it was only so Harry was not openly hostile toward him.

They crossed into the castle courtyard, and were greeted with a voice, "Finally!" Harry jumped down off the low wall he had been sitting on and walked quickly to meet them.

He bowed deeply to Lady Ako, and spoke in fluent Japanese. "Sensei! I hope this morning finds you well. My apologies for missing our appointment, I was unavoidably detained." He straightened. "I also apologize for asking you to travel here, I know you are a busy woman." He bowed again.

"You are excused for missing your lessons, as the situation was quite out of your control," she answered in her native language.

As he straightened he felt Shar wrap her arms around him, as she gathered him into a hug. "Not a word for me?" she said loosening her grip for a moment to look at him. "You're not hurt?" He shook his head. "Good!" She pulled him in again and he let himself settle into her arms. He was going to relish this for the moment, because he knew once he told her about the tournament… As Luna had so aptly put it, it would be unpleasant.

Her temper was one thing both he and Tannim avoided, and if they did earn her ire they took their lumps like men and got it over with. As for this mess, it was not his fault! So he refused to take the blame! He was determined to move the target to those that so richly deserved it, Doumbledip and his merry band of idiots, the Tri-Wizard Judges.

Harry smiled at her, "I hope that bag is for me, I've been in this suit for two days. It may have been cleaned but…" He trailed off as Shar shrugged off the bag and handed it to him.

"Yes, I figured you'd want out of that," she said.

Harry grabbed the bag and began leading the group inside. "We'll meet you in the Great Hall for lunch," Harry said. "I need a quick shower, and a little time to speak with The Lady Ako and Shar in private." He looked at Amelia, "I hope you will join us for lunch Amelia, you and Sue both."

She nodded. "Of course."

The walk upstairs was going quickly when he heard a raised voice that included his name. "-think you were doing near Harry Potter? You that couldn't hack it in Gryffindor! How dare you think you are good enough to even talk to him?"

Harry spun on his heel, and thrust the bag at Shar. "Hold this, please." Then he stormed toward the open door the voice was coming from.

As he entered the room the sight before him made him even angrier. Luna was being held at wand point by a few other girls keeping her away from her best friend, who was lying on the floor being attacked by some form of green-slime-dripping bats. In front of her was a redheaded girl, wand pointed down towards her. "You were right to get out of Gryffindor! You are nothing but a pathetic bookworm! How you were sorted into the house of Lions I'll never know! My brother was right about you! A FRIENDLESS KNOW-IT-ALL FREAK! STAY AWAY FROM HARRY! HE DESERVES SOMEONE BETTER THAN YOU!"

Harry, now standing behind the girl reached forward and snatched the wand from her hand. "And who are you to decide who I can speak with?" The other girls turned to face Harry, he looked down at Hermione to see the green bats were gone. "You OK?"

"I'll live," she said.

"I didn't ask that, are you hurt?"

"A few bruises." She sighed. "That hex is more gross than painful though." She looked at the girl. "What kind of hex makes bats from…bogies then beats you with them?"

Harry couldn't help it, he snorted but kept it under control. "Ok, that is disgusting. You're alright then?"

"I will be, thanks Harry."

He nodded. "You lot," he said toward Luna's captors. "I think that's enough. Luna, you ok?"

She walked to Hermione, and helped her to her feet. "I am well Harry Potter."

He smiled at her. "Then can you please walk with Hermione, up to see Ms. Pomfrey?" Hermione began to protest. "Please go see her, I want to have a... talk with them." He indicated the attackers. "And could you ask one of your teachers to join us?" Luna led Hermione outside.

He turned back to the girls in question. "Who are you all to decide things for me?"

The girls looked sheepish, other than the redhead. "You're a hero! Everyone knows now that you are coming to Hogwarts and you'll be in Gryffindor, the home of the Brave! Your bed has been in the same dorm room as my brother's from first year! You don't need a coward like that buck-toothed bookworm around!"

Harry shook his head. "I am NOT, a member of this school! I have no interest in coming here, and if I did I would never associate with the likes of you! You are nothing more than bullies! You think that because she gets good grades and works hard she's the loser? She told me about what happened here her first year, and you don't think she is brave? I doubt any of you would set foot in this castle again if that were to happen to you! You need to rethink things!"

He took a deep breath, and looked at the other girls. "Brave, what a joke! Three to one odds." He scoffed, "Even worse, you were holding her best friend hostage! Just like any other gang of bullies, you all disgust me."

A female voice, from behind him, continued. "I quite agree, Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall entered. "You will all go directly to my office and wait for me there."

The girls other than the redhead fled the room. "Ms. Weasley? What are you waiting for?"

"He has my wand, Professor," she said quietly.

"I will collect your wand, Ms. Weasley. On your way." The girl turned and left.

Harry handed the wand to the professor. "What will their punishment be?"

The Professor smiled softly. "Loss of house points, and a few nights detention, probably helping our caretaker Mr. Filch clean, with no magical help of course, and I will be speaking with their parents as well."

Harry thought about it for a few moments, it was probably fair seeing that this was a boarding school, they couldn't just suspend the students like they would at home.

"Hermione has it tough here," he said.

"Aye, she does," said the professor. "It has been difficult for her here, I was sad to lose her as one of my lions, it was the first re-sorting in over a hundred years. She seems happier now. She is quite brilliant and, I think, will do well after she has completed her NEWTS."

Harry knew better. "I'd better get changed, I don't want to keep people waiting."