"It appears that some cosmetic charm just failed," Harry said with a hesitant smile, as though he was embarrassed on Tonks' behalf. He knew, of course, that Tonks had just accidentally shifted a part of her body thanks to her metamorphmagus powers, but he played it off as a cosmetic charm acting up to give her an out. "Your hair just turned a delightful shade of pink."

"Ugly hair, ugly hair," V cawed while he titled his head to take a good look at Tonks' new hair colour.

Tonks opened and closed her mouth a few times as Sirius came strolling up to them. She looked from Harry to Sirius and back and then raised a trembling hand to touch her own hair. "Ah, yes, I've been using a few charms lately and some of them just will not stick." She managed an uncertain smile, probably not sure if Harry would buy such an explanation.

Harry studiously ignored the issue, not wanting to give Tonks the impression that she'd been found out. He was enjoying himself far too much, shocking her at every turn.

"Sirius Black was You Know Who's most trusted servant," Tonks whispered urgently as she leaned closer to Harry. "He betrayed your parents to their deaths."

Just as Harry made to respond to that, James came floating out of Broomstix and made a beeline for Harry. "Why don't you ask my dad who really betrayed them?" Harry gave Tonks a challenging look while he crossed his arms. By that point Sirius had reached them and Tonks lost whatever colour had been left in her face. Her sudden pallid complexion clashed horribly with her bright pink hair.

"Ask me what?" James said as he floated closer, giving Tonks a curious look. "Hello, I'm James Potter, nice to meet you."

"Er…" Tonks swallowed a few times, gaze darting back and forth between Sirius and James, who stood amicably side by side. "I'm Doreen Jones. A pleasure to meet you, too." Tonks seemed to take a few moments to gather herself, squaring her shoulders as she did so. "I was merely expression my concerns that Sirius Black is a convicted Death Eater."

Sirius got an incredibly sour look on his face while James actually laughed, throwing his head back and everything. "I can guarantee, Miss Jones, that Sirius was never a Death Eater. He also never betrayed us, because Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper. Sirius did not kill him, nor any of those muggles. They died in an explosion caused by Peter while he scurried away like the illegal rat Animagus that he is."

"Dumbledore wanted me gone so he could get at Harry's money," Sirius said while narrowing his eyes at Tonks. "So he gave me a sham of a trial, and had me convicted and executed so I was no longer in the line of people who would inherit Harry's fortune before Dumbledore."

"Wait, what?" Tonks' mouth dropped open again. It had been doing that a lot in the past ten minutes. "Is that true?"

Harry nodded, arms still crossed, hip jutted out as he waited casually for Tonks to finally understand the bigger picture. "Hence why I rescued my godfather from beyond the veil. Of course, the good news is that he served his sentence in Britain now and that he's officially a free man again."

Tonks blinked, her pink hair growing a shade brighter. "That's…actually true. He was convicted to be thrown through the veil, which he was."

"Exactly." Harry's grin was full of satisfaction. "So even if Britain gets their knickers in a twist over Sirius living here, legally there is nothing that they can do. They convicted him and carried out his sentence. Case closed."

"I suppose so, yeah," Tonks agreed in a whisper, though she still looked rather dubious about the whole thing. Harry regretted not being able to see the faces of Bones and Fudge and Dumbledore when Tonks pointed this out to them. Still, he had family members who would be witnessing those moments and they would give Harry a detailed account, he was sure.

"See you later." Sirius slapped Harry on the shoulder and then took off in the direction of the Irish Cock, James trailing after him.

"I was wondering," Tonks said as Harry resumed their tour. "Can I just apparate out of here and come back?" When Harry gave her a questioning look, Tonks quickly added. "It's just that I haven't brought all my belongings yet. I wasn't sure if I could move in right away."

Harry smiled in response. It seemed Tonks was more than eager to report back to her superiors in person. "You can apparate out of the country anytime you like. But to be able to apparate back in, you'll have to get a passport at the Ministry. It's free to do so, just takes a few moments."

"Thanks, that's good to know. I'll go there after you've shown me my new home." Tonks asked a few more questions about the shops they passed and then about the homes as they walked into the residential areas. "So can anyone from Britain move here?" Tonks finally asked as Harry stopped in front of her new home. V flew up into the air and landed on the roof of the house so he could stare down at them with narrowed eyes.

"Anyone from the world, really. We've got something like fifteen nationalities already, and that number goes up every day." Harry leaned against the wall that surrounded Tonks' new garden. "As long as people are willing to abide by our rules they are welcome to live here. We accept all magical people, including squibs."

"That's good to know." Tonks ducked her head and then offered Harry what looked like a genuine smile. "Thanks for the tour and for answering all my questions. You've given me a lot to think about."

"It's been my pleasure." Harry tapped his finger against his temple in a little salute and then launched himself into the sky, much to Tonks' obvious surprise if her sudden shriek was any indication. Harry laughed while V flew beside him as they sped over the many homes in the direction of his castle. It really was amazing to see how far Spellbridge and Magica had come already in such a relative short amount of time. Many people were working on their homes and their gardens, or flying broomsticks across the sky. Rigel sailed overhead again, followed by lots of very loud kids. Harry waved at them as he made his own way home across the green pastures.

The ball was now in Tonks' court. Harry was sure she was going to give her superiors in the British Ministry a full report about all that she'd learned here. Which meant it was time to file all the paperwork Tom had prepared at the ICW.

There days of secrecy were now officially over. Within the next few days they'd officially announce their existence to the world and Harry couldn't help but wonder how all the other countries of earth were going to react to Magica.

Harry found Tom behind his own desk in the library. Tom had well and truly made Harry's castle his home. Not that Harry minded, because he didn't, at all. In fact, every time he saw Tom doing mundane things in Harry's home, Harry felt a warm flush of emotions rise up in his chest. Having someone you loved occupying the same space as you did turned out to be a really nice thing, as Harry had recently learned.

"How did it go?" Tom asked as Harry leaned closer to press a kiss to his lips. V pecked at Harry's ear in protest before sailing through the air to land on his perch. Tom had lots of sheets of paper spread out, full of notes on a variety of subjects. The more Harry got to know him, the more he realized Tom really was a certified genius who could easily work on any number of complicated projects simultaneously.

"As expected." Harry sat down on the edge of Tom's desk and gave him an even look. "I'm sure she'll report to the British Ministry tomorrow at the very latest, so it's time to announce our existence."

Tom gave an agreeable nod. "Then I'll send off the paperwork to the ICW first thing tomorrow." For a moment, Tom got a thoughtful look on his face before he frowned. "Dumbledore is the Supreme Mugwump and he might very well try to disappear the paperwork if he gets his hands on it first. I'll make copies and send them to various departments within the ICW to make sure this doesn't happen."

"Good idea." Harry reached for some of the papers on Tom's desk, moving them around a bit to get an idea what he was working on. "Looks like you've been busy today."

"I've been working on a magic masking potion to use for our Azkaban project." Tom fished out a few sheets with lots of formulas written on them that made little sense to Harry. "I've been trying to create a variation on an existing magic dampening potion that's used to supress magic when treating certain magical diseases. The problem with that potion is that it only lasts a few hours. We need something that lasts for days, if not weeks."

"Hm." Harry frowned as he stared at Tom, remembering that they still did not have a complete plan on who to break out of prison. "Have you decided yet what to do with the Lestranges?"

Tom leaned back in his chair and ran both hands down his face in a gesture full of frustration and exhaustion. "We can't simply let them loose in Britain and alert the Aurors to their location, as that would negate the whole plan to replace my Death Eaters with Polyjuiced muggles."

"I could kill them," Harry whispered, figuring he might as well offer to do so in case Tom had trouble killing his own followers. "It would be quick and painless. I'd just rip their souls from their bodies."

Tom seemed to ponder that option for a moment while he ran his finger across his lips a few times. "That might actually be the more humane option, instead of simply leaving them to the dementors in Azkaban. Give me some time to consider it."

"Sure." Harry stood up from the desk and stretched his arms over his head. "I need to find some muggles who we can use to replace your followers." He gave Tom a curious look. "Where would I find muggles deserving of death?"

Tom got a rather sinister smile on his face. "There are several wars being fought around the planet. I'm sure you'll be able to find some war criminals that have committed atrocities against their fellow man."

"That would work." Harry shrugged and gave Tom a heated look. "How about we go to the bedroom and you give me a good fucking."

"Why go to the bedroom at all when I can simply bend you over my desk," Tom murmured as he stood up and grabbed Harry's shirt to haul him in for a kiss.

"Not again, not again," V cawed from his perch. He hopped around, turning his back to Harry and Tom while he clapped his beak in annoyance.

But no matter how much V protested, Tom still fucked Harry right there in the library, much to Harry's pleasure. Afterwards, they had a lovely dinner in the kitchen where Violet served them a hearty meal of corned beef, cabbage and bacon and some mashed potatoes. Just as Harry and Tom sat down in the library again with some cups of tea, there was a knock on the door.

"Igor will let them in," Harry said when Tom made to get up from his chair. "He is perfectly capable of showing people to the library."

"Fine." Tom sat back again and stared at the library doors, eager to see who it was. Moments later, Theodorus Nott walked through the door and gave Tom a short bow.

"My Lord, I wonder if you have time for go over some plans for a new magical school I'm designing?" Theodorus asked as Tom waved him closer. "And perhaps Mr Potter will want to give his opinions on the project as well."

"Just Harry."

Theodorus nodded. "Then please call me Dorus."

"Gladly." Harry got up from his leather chair near the fireplace, picking up his cup of tea along the way and gestured at Dorus to follow him to one of the large tables. Before he sat down he rubbed his thumb across his amulet and summoned Lily, James, Fleamont, Euphemia and Charis. He knew these members of his family had strong opinions on Hogwarts and its many faults, and Harry wanted to know their ideas for a new and improved version. Back in Sildar Harry had created a magical school from scratch, thanks to his family's many ideas, but that school had been very different from what Magica needed. For one, the kids attending Magica's school of magic would already have a solid basis in magic from being around it in their everyday lives. Back in Sildar magic had been an entirely new thing for most of the early inhabitants, so their educational needs had been very different.

Dorus gave no reaction when five translucent people suddenly appeared in the library. Serving Voldemort for many years had apparently taught him to mind his own business like a pro.

"We're putting together Magica's school for magic," Harry said to his family by way of explanation while Tom and Dorus sat down at the table. "Violet, some tea for our guest."

"I have been wondering if we can keep the tradition of the Hogwarts Houses," Dorus said, barely reacting when a dead house-elf brought him a cup of tea. "Giving up Slytherin entirely seems like a huge loss somehow."

"I know what you mean," Tom said with genuine regret visible on his face.

"Those Houses have caused nothing but strife for the people of Britain," Charis said with a frown as she looked between the three men at the table. "How many children haven't been punished by their families for what a piece of enchanted headwear said about them when they were eleven."

James gave Charis a look full of disbelief. "The Houses are a part of Hogwarts and have been ever since its founding."

"That may be," Lily said, floating closer to Charis. "But just because something's been around for a long time doesn't make it right. I agree that the Houses have caused far more unneeded competition and downright animosity than necessary."

"We'll divide students by year," Harry said before a real argument could break out. "That's what we did back in Sildar as well."

Dorus frowned. "But then what will replace the students' families throughout the schoolyear? The Houses were a way to give the students a sense of belonging while away from home."

"Students won't be away from home to begin with," Harry said patiently. "Back in Sildar we gave students reusable portkeys to travel to school every day. That worked like a charm."

Dorus looked as though he'd never expected to hear such a suggestion in his entire life. "You want to take away the boarding element completely?"

"It's much better for students to spend time at their homes every day than being stuck in a large group of unruly students day in day out," Lily pointed out.

"But it'll be a lot less fun," James muttered while giving his wife a quick, dirty glare.

"We're not boarding kids when they have easy ways to travel to and from school, end of story," Harry said, giving both his parents a dark look. This wasn't the first time his family had this particular argument after all, and Harry didn't feel like a repeat performance.

Dorus glanced to the side, clearly waiting to see what Tom would say about the whole matter.

"For some students the boarding option at Hogwarts was a necessity, to keep them away from unsuitable homes," Tom finally said, eyes hooded as he gazed around the table. "But I suppose that the new Ministry in Magica is going to make sure that such children have appropriate homes to start with, so there won't be a need for boarding at the school."

"Very well." Dorus made some notes in a leather notebook. "No Houses, no boarding. What do you want to see added to the school?"

"Core classes, such as English and Math," Lily said at once before anyone else could react. "I've never understood why they aren't taught at Hogwarts."

"And all the magical classes that Hogwarts offers, naturally," Tom said while Dorus kept taking notes. "Plus perhaps a few more advanced classes for the older years. Things like warding or healing."

"That is a good idea." Fleamont gave Tom a tentative smile and only now did Harry realize that his family really hadn't spent all that much time around Tom over the past few weeks. Harry had, subconsciously or not, kept his family plenty busy with their spying missions and therefore away from Tom in the first place. "They could be extra electives, perhaps for NEWT students," Fleamont added, much to Tom's obvious approval.

"I'd also love to see more options for sports," Euphemia said as she floated a bit closer to the table. "I know lots of people love Quidditch, but for those of us who aren't inclined to spend all their spare time on a broom there were never any good options at Hogwarts."

"It shouldn't be too hard to create a magical assortment of sports kids can play," James mused with a thoughtful frown. "You could enchant balls to be chased or you could transfigure an obstacle course or something like that."

"All good ideas," Tom said, much to James' obvious surprise. He gave Tom a bit of a dubious look before he seemed to let the matter drop. Yeah, it was clear that Harry's family still wasn't completely sure what to make of Tom, especially now that he obviously didn't act like Voldemort anymore.

Dorus kept taking notes with an agreeable smile on his face. "What should the school look like?"

"I built a castle back in Sildar to house the school," Harry said while a wave of nostalgia washed through him. It had been a massive undertaking, young as he'd been at the time, to create such a huge structure by himself with magic. But ultimately it had worked out and the kids loved going to school in such a massive and majestic building. "I can draw up the designs I used back then and send them to you."

"That would be welcome." Dorus looked up from his notebook as though he'd suddenly realized something. "Having only day students would make staffing much easier. For one, we wouldn't need a small army of house-elves to cook and clean."

"I have plenty of house-elf inferi," Harry offered, ignoring Dorus' brief look full of distaste. "I could spare a few to keep the school clean and to cook up a lunch for the students every day."

Tom bit his lip as though to keep himself from laughing outright while Lily and James got very constipated looks on their faces.

"What?" Harry demanded, looking between everyone with wide eyes. "They're perfectly good servants, I'll have you know."

"I'm sure they are, dear," Euphemia said delicately as she hovered a little closer to Harry. "But not everyone will be happy to have a bunch of corpses cook for their kids on a daily basis."

Harry leaned back in his seat with huff, crossing his arms while he glared at his family with a mulish frown.

"Just buy some living house-elves," Charis snapped, not at all impressed with her great-grandson's attitude. "And keep the dead ones to work the land where they won't need to interact with the public directly."

"Fine." Harry gestured at Dorus. "Add buying some living house-elves to the list. We can always use some of the dead ones to look after the landscaping."

"That would work." Dorus sounded much happier, much to Harry's chagrin. There was nothing wrong with inferi and he truly wished people would stop being so uptight about them.

Tom gave Harry a smirk, that absolute pillock, probably more than a little happy to see others denouncing Harry's undead servants. Harry studiously ignored him.

"I believe I've got enough to get started on designing the school." Dorus finished his tea and pushed his chair back. "How about we have another meeting in a few weeks?"

"That's fine." Harry turned around in his seat. "Igor! Come see our guest out!"

"Eurgh!"

Harry was damned if he was going to accommodate the people around him more than he was already forced to do when it came to his favourite servants. Igor shuffled into the library, grey face a blank mask.

"I'll see you out, Dorus," Tom said when Dorus seemed reluctant to follow Igor.

"Traitor," Harry whispered as Tom strolled past him to see Dorus to the door. "Fine, then. Igor, bring me some wine!"

"Eurgh!"

Harry said goodbye to his family and dismissed them back to their spying job. He poured two glasses of wine and pointed one of them out to Tom when he returned to the library.

"It's funny," Tom said once they were again seated in their leather chairs in front of the fireplace. "How little attachment you have to Hogwarts and all the things that make it unique."

Harry shrugged and sipped more wine. "I never went there. I know it from my family's stories, of course, but I don't feel any nostalgia for it that I can clearly see in you and Dorus."

"For many of us, Hogwarts was a second home. A place where we grew up, where we made friends, and where we created the foundation of the people we ultimately became," Tom said, his gaze distant as he stared at some point past Harry's shoulder.

"I get that," Harry said, recognizing that sentiment from his family whenever they spoke about their old school. "But for me it's always just been a school in the end."

"And perhaps that's for the best." Tom's gaze became sharp again as he looked at Harry. "Perhaps that's exactly what we need while making a new school, since it seems that our own sentiments towards our old school have made most of us blind to its many faults."

Harry took a few moments to consider that. It would certainly explain why the people of Britain refused to change certain aspects that obviously weren't doing the students any good in the long run, like the House system. "At least now we know," he finally said. "And now we can build something better."

Severus was just done with the last class of the day when Dumbledore's phoenix Patronus came flying into the classroom, urging him to come to his office at once. It didn't give a reason but Severus was certain it had something to do with Potter or with the Dark Lord. Of course, Dumbledore still had no evidence the Dark Lord was back at all, but ever since Potter had taken the Dark Lord to the Yule Ball and passed him off as Voldemort's illegitimate spawn, Dumbledore had been obsessed with this Marvolo Gaunt.

The Dark Lord had wrapped Severus up in so many Unbreakable Vows that there was no opportunity for him to hint at Dumbledore that Marvolo Gaunt was in fact the Dark Lord and thus Severus was forced to play along with the charade that there was a bastard child sired by the Dark Lord on the loose, making friends with their saviour.

Thankfully, the collapse of the castle had kept Dumbledore plenty distracted and the old man had yet to figure out that Severus simply wasn't able to say as much as he otherwise would. Severus had no desire to find out what Dumbledore would do to him once he found out his spy was pretty much useless those days. Severus well remembered how easily Dumbledore had done away with Sirius Black. And while Severus had no love lost for Black, he had to admit that Black had always been a loyal follower of Dumbledore, and yet the old man had discarded Black like a mouldy slice of bread. Just tossed him right out.

Severus hurried through the castle, taking a few points from some unsuspecting Hufflepuffs who dared not move aside quickly enough. The moment he stood on the spiral staircase that brought him up to Dumbledore's office, he heard raised voices coming from above. The door to the office stood open and Severus quickly closed it as the stepped inside the office.

Dumbledore was seated behind his desk, with Minerva standing to his right. Amelia Bones stood near a frowning Moody, with a pink-haired witch named Tonks standing between them. Severus well remembered Nymphadora Tonks from his classes and if she had as much talent as an Auror as she did as a Potions student the wizarding world was in serious trouble. Fudge was wearing his customary green bowler hat. Severus had yet to decide if Fudge truly had no idea how much that hat made him look like a buffoon, or if that was all part of Fudge's clever plan to make the people around him underestimate him. Then again, the kind of regard the average person had for Fudge couldn't sink much lower or else it would hit rock bottom, so perhaps the first option was the most likeliest and Fudge truly was a buffoon.

Beside the Minister for Magic stood a witch who radiated unpleasantness. Dressed in a pink cardigan, she gave everyone in the room a smile that somehow conveyed nothing but menace. She also had one of the most unfortunate faces Severus had ever seen on any living being, and that included any goblin Severus had ever met.

"Ah, Severus." Dumbledore gestured around the room. "You know most of my guests, but allow me to introduce Madam Dolores Umbridge, Minister Fudge's Undersecretary."

Severus gave her a stiff nod, which she returned with equal enthusiasm, which is to say none at all. It was good to see she at least didn't expect any false platitudes.

Dumbledore waved his wand around and conjured enough chairs for everyone. As the rest sat down, Severus remained standing, back to the windows. It was easier to draw his wand this way, as he'd learned from bitter experience during his days as a genuine Death Eater.

"The reason we're here is because Auror Tonks is in the middle of an undercover mission and she has some urgent news to give us," Dumbledore said before leaning back in his seat and gesturing at the young witch.

Tonks scooted forward in her seat until she almost fell off her chair, face flushed in a way that made her look rather blotchy. "Yesterday I managed to procure a portkey to Magica and Harry Potter himself gave me a tour of his new country."

"Excuse me," Minerva said, blinking her eyes rapidly. "Did you say 'a new country?"

"Yes!" Tonks really was millimetres away from making an utter fool of herself. Well, more so than what she could accomplish by that atrocious hair colour alone. "Harry Potter is a Necromancer and he didn't like all the restrictions on magic here in Britain so he made his own country where all magic is legal." Tonks managed to get that out in a single breath.

"Harry Potter is a what?" Minerva gasped, clutching a hand to her chest in shock. "Lily and James' child is a Necromancer? Are you sure?"

"A new country?" Fudge demanded. "Preposterous! There is nothing wrong with the country we already have!"

Umbridge narrowed her eyes, which shone with the same kind of malicious glint Severus had often seen in Bellatrix Lestrange. "If Potter is breaking the law by using illegal magic he should be arrested at once."

"Weren't you listening," Amelia Bones all but snarled as she glared at Umbridge. "Potter created his own country. We have no jurisdiction there."

"Where is this country located?" Dumbledore's bushy eyebrows were drawn down in a heavy frown.

"Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean," Tonks said, looking between all the people around her with wide, eager eyes. "In international waters. Potter mentioned they were going to file for independence with the ICW."

"How many inhabitants are there?" Bones asked as she sat with a stiff back, glaring at Fudge and his dramatics.

"At least a few hundred, I believe. Mostly werewolves and muggleborns," Tonks whispered. She might have said more, but Fudge cut her off.

"That boy can't just make a country as he pleases!" Fudge sputtered, face reddening with obvious anger. "He has to obey our rules, just like everyone else."

"That's not even the worst," Tonks whispered, face almost contrite. "Sirius Black is alive and living in Magica. Somehow Potter saved him from beyond the veil."

The resulting reaction was loud and panicked and full of very real anger from just about everyone. If Severus wasn't already aware of Black's survival thanks to his few visits to Magica, he'd have probably become apoplectic with rage at learning that bit of information. Now he merely put on his darkest glower as he glared at Tonks as though this was all her fault.

"These are very worrying developments," Dumbledore muttered, ignoring the cacophony around him. "Harry Potter is apparently a Dark Wizard without us having realized."

Severus almost snorted at that. Anyone with eyes would have sussed out that Potter used dark magic on the regular five minutes after meeting him. But Dumbledore had apparently been so blinded by the whole Saviour Mythos, which Dumbledore had mostly been responsible for, that he'd refused to see the truth right before his eyes.

Potter was Dark and not at all concerned with the well-being of Britain. Potter also had a close relationship with the Dark Lord, though how close exactly Severus didn't care to know. Potter would sooner kill Dumbledore than the Dark Lord, Severus was sure of it. He just couldn't say that to Dumbledore.

"This won't stand!" Fudge jumped up from his seat. "I want him arrested."

"How?" Moody asked with a clear challenge in his voice. Of course, Severus now knew that was really Barty Crouch Jr, but that sort of recalcitrant reaction was not out of place for the old Auror at all. "Do you know how to get to this new country, Fudge? And if they're filing for independence with the ICW you can't just send Aurors there to arrest one of their citizens or you'll cause an international incident."

Fudge's small eyes narrowed and he got a shrewd look on his face. "Potter will be here at the end of the month for the Second Task. We'll arrest him then and throw him in Azkaban where he belongs!"