Chapter 34: Bye, Dolores

Thanks for all the reviews.

Give me a bad guy that can be talked around. I want someone who can have tea with Ivy. I was thinking of Doom since I've mentioned both Spiderman and the Fantastic Four. But I'm open to suggestions. I'd have to research them, but that's okay.

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Harry's week improved, in that he was happier to be at Hogwarts. The lessons were still stupidly easy, but he had made a ton of friends. How could he not, he was in Hufflepuff. When they said this was the House of the Loyal and Hardworking, they weren't kidding. They did everything together and with a lot of encouragement. There were motivational speeches every night and posters everywhere. They weren't going to let anyone flounder if they could help it. No one got left behind.

Snape left him alone, correctly thinking that the tentacle monster was directly related to him. He couldn't prove it, but… The man did cut him a lot of telling glances in the Great Hall and in the classroom. He felt a mind brush against his once, but his shields that Loki set up were formidable. That must have given Snape the mother of all headaches because he collapsed and canceled the class for the day.

Neville had been a godsend for Harry's peace of mind. The boy had grown so much since he first started talking to him as a seven-year-old. Back then Neville had been a stuttering mess. He was scared of his own shadow and was terrified that his family was out to kill him. He had only just bounced and showed his magic, but that was such a simple feat that he was still worried.

Now though, Neville was a powerhouse of a wizard. He took to Hufflepuff like a winner. The fact that Sprout was a herbologist helped. Neville's connection with plants shone through. Those two would spend hours over the shaping of the plants in the dorms. He was one of those that gave motivational speeches to the first years. He would tell of his time at his grandmother's and how he persevered. The other kids ate it up.

Harry made friends with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott. They were first years, like him. He also was pals with Cedric Diggory, who was the House's head jock. There were others, but those three were who he was tightest with. They just seemed to click with him more than the rest.

He spent twice a day on the phone with Ivy, who was sort of regretting not coming. In a she was missing meeting people manner, not that she wanted to be in England manner. She told him about Laurie and how she had reached out to the girl. So far, the girl had not called her, but she was hopeful. She just got the feeling that it would be soon.

It was the first weekend and Saturday, and they were all sitting at lunch when Sprout came up to their group. "Mr. Potter, the headmaster would like to see you after lunch," she said in her sweet voice.

Harry turned on the cuteness and said, "Are you going to be there?" Little hearts showed around his eyes. He didn't want to be alone with the man, or whomever the old man had invited along. He knew that his Head of House could be there, but they usually needed to be reminded.

"Of course, dear," she said, patting her curls under her cap. She did so admire this adorable young man. He was the sweetest boy in her House. He kept the other kids in line with his gentleness and reminders to be kind.

"Thank you," Harry chirped and went back to his food. His friends rolled their eyes. Well, Neville did. Susan and Hannah were still under Harry's cuteness thrall. They loved it when he made his anime eyes.

Pomona Sprout patted him on the head and went back to the Teachers' Table. She wanted to finish her lunch before they went to find out what the old man wanted. She was not under the impression that Harry had done anything wrong, so she was at a loss as to what it could be.

"Why do you think the headmaster wants to see you?" Neville asked, taking a bite of his thick roast beef sandwich.

"Don't know. Maybe to ask about Ivy?" Harry suggested. It was the only thing he could think of. And boy was he glad that Loki had fixed him up so that he couldn't be mind-whammied.

"Take your phone," the other boy said, after swallowing. If nothing else Harry could call his mum if he got into trouble.

"I'll call Mum now," Harry said, whipping out his phone and dialing Siri. After his slipup the other day, he started calling her 'Mum' in his head. So, she was now 'Mum' all the time. "Mum? Yeah, Dumbledore wants to talk to me after lunch. Really? Okay. Are you sure? Okay. I'll see you then," he said and hung up. "She'll be here in five." This was a load off his mind.

There were a great deal of children staring at him and his phone. They had seen him use it, but they didn't understand how he was using it here. How did he get it to work, and keep it running? Well, he solar charged it for one, and Tony had a satellite for the service for two. It wasn't that hard, just time consuming.

"I'm coming too," Star said, walking up to him from… somewhere. She had been scouting to make sure there weren't any more animals that were really people skulking about. Only the one professor, and she was not an enemy. She thought she caught a glimpse of a bug, but it got away. She was going to have to keep an eye out for that one.

"I wouldn't think of going without you," Harry said, picking her up and putting her on his lap. Now all he had to do was wait for his mum. She would make it here and she'd be ready to take the place by storm.

He was right, five minutes later Siri walked through the door. She was wearing a bitch suit to kill. Something one would wear to a corporate takeover board meeting. She stalked into the Hall, like someone who owned the place. Many of the older boys looked at her with admiration. They might not have ever seen a woman wear such a tight-fitting suit before, or they liked her attitude, either way, she turned heads.

"Harry," she said, going to the boy and hugging him. "Are you ready?" she asked when she released him.

"Yeah," he said, taking a napkin and wiping his face. Not that he was a messy eater, but the elves were generous with the mayonnaise. He then picked up Star and carried her in his arms.

Sprout came down from the Teachers' Table and introduced herself to Siri. "I did not know you were coming. How did you know to be here?" she asked as they made their way to the headmaster's office. Her shoes made a soft sound compared to the clipping noises of the high heels Siriusly was wearing.

"Harry called me," Siri said as if it were completely normal. To them it was.

"How?" was the question. "There is no outgoing floo available for students," she said, looking at the boy who could do no wrong.

"On his cellphone," was the answer.

"But, but, they don't work here at Hogwarts," Sprout sputtered. She, of course, had heard of them. She introduced muggleborns to magic. It was a common question these days.

"I beg to differ, but that is how he called me," Siriusly said, holding up her phone and calling Harry's. When his phone rang, he answered it. He hung it up right away, not wanting to hear the feedback echo.

"I never thought…" the flabbergasted woman said, her eyes going glassy. She felt she'd been lied to lately. Was it a conspiracy? She would need to look further into this.

"I'll talk with you later. We need to see what the headmaster wants," Siri said, putting her phone away. They were approaching the gargoyles.

Pomona gave the password, some ridiculous candy, and they went up the automatic rotating staircase. They were bid to enter before they knocked, so they did. The office was large and overly cluttered. There were gadgets and trinkets galore. The large desk in the middle of the circular office was occupied by the headmaster, who was flanked by Snape and McGonagall. There were three other people in the office.

"Ah, Harry, and I see Pomona and Ms. Black are also here. What brings you to my office, Ms. Black?" he asked, as if it weren't obvious. His eyes were twinkling, and Siri had to wonder if he too had taken the potion that made one smart. Naughty, naughty headmaster. That might just be his quirk. It was a wonder no one had put it together before.

"You asked to see Harry. He is my ward. What do you think I'm here for?" she said snidely. She pointedly sat in a chair and nodded for Harry to do the same.

He did, putting Star in his lap. He got a few queer looks for having his cat with him, but he just gave him his cute look and they smiled at him. Well, not Snape or the woman in pink.

Pomona joined the other teachers, though she had no idea why they were there. Harry was not their student. Then again, Snape was always there, and Minerva was the Deputy Headmistress.

"We will address how Harry got a message to you at a later date," Dumbledore said, giving Harry a disappointed grandfather look, that was ignored. "Let me introduce the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, his undersecretary, Madam Umbridge, and the head of the DMLE, Madam Bones," Albus said, indicating each person as he spoke their name.

They each nodded as their names were called. Well, the toad sniffed.

Fudge was a portly fellow, wearing lime green of all things.

Umbridge was a fat woman, who resembled a toad, wearing pink.

Bones was a stately woman, with a monocle, who looked formidable but kind.

"Why are we here?" Siri asked, knowing full well they were going to try and intimidate Harry for news on Ivy. She was here to prevent them from making too much of a fuss. If they wanted to harass someone it was going to be an adult that could stand up for themselves and sue the hell out of them for their efforts. She had Waters on speed dial.

"We wanted to know what Harry knew of Ivy Potter," Bones said, kindly. She wasn't going to push. She was there to keep the other two in line. "Now that you are here, we can cast two spells with one wand," she added, taking out a notebook and pen. She ignored the looks Umbridge was giving her.

"I know very little of her. She's a nice girl, who lives in the States," Harry said, looking innocent and cute. It worked on everyone there, bar Umbridge and Snape. "I've only met her in person twice," he said, telling mostly the truth. Twice a year, during the summer break and during the winter break. That counted, right?

"I can tell you the same," Siriusly said, glaring at them for trying this without her. "I don't appreciate you trying to intimidate my godson," she stated, her eyes narrowing on Umbridge. That woman she knew from the Wizengamot. She hated her on sight, and from the laws she tried to pass. They clashed many times.

"I know the little urchin knows more," the toad said, her beady eyes narrowing at the boy. "He's lying," she added as if she had a built-in lie detector.

"Prove it," Siriusly said, leaning forward threateningly.

"I will," Umbridge said in a simper.

"I'm innocent," Harry said, turning up the wattage of his cuteness. Little hearts started appearing around his eyes and every woman in the room melted, except Umbridge. She just glared harder.

"Leave the boy alone, Dolores," Fudge said, not wanting to upset the child, who was obviously innocent. He was just too sweet to be lying. There wasn't a malicious bone in that child's body. Couldn't his undersecretary see that. What was wrong with that woman?

"But, Cornelius," Dolores said, turning to her boss and seeing that he was swayed by what the child was doing. "You stop what you're doing, you hateful brat!" she shrieked. She pulled her wand and pointed it at him.

"I'm not doing anything," Harry protested, holding up his empty hands. He ducked down in his chair but was ready to defend himself.

Star was standing up on his lap, hackles raised and hissing.

Siriusly got up and stood in front of Harry, her own wand in her hands. "What the fuck do you think you're doing pointing a wand at a child?" she yelled, making everyone point their wands at Umbridge.

"He's controlling you," Dolores screeched. "Can't you see? He's got powers to control all of you?" She was hysterical. She was doing her best to get around the woman, but Siriusly was far stronger than her.

"You're barmy," Harry said, toning down his cute factor. He had to think about that. He didn't want to control people, not really. Just nudge them a bit.

"I don't care what you say, I'm eating her," Star said from his lap. She was hissing mad.

"Just don't do it where anyone sees you," Harry replied, petting her silky fur. He was trying to keep her from eating the woman now.

Dumbledore shot some ropes from his wand and subdued the woman, and she was tied to a chair. She was foaming at the mouth by now. Snape poured a calming draught down the woman's throat. Bones and Fudge apologized, and the meeting went on. They asked Harry and Siriusly a few more questions, and Dolores was glaring at Harry the whole time, but she kept her piece.

Harry and Siri stuck to their story and didn't deviate. Ivy was a sweet girl they met a few times. She lived in the States and was happy where she was.

An hour later, they left, the ministry was none too happy with them, but there was little they could do. It wasn't like they could force Veritaserum down their throats. They hadn't broken any laws. They had to accept their words as the truth and move on.

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"So, I think Star ate a government official," Harry told Ivy when they were having their nightly chat. She was in hologram form. He was dressed for bed and doing his homework.

"Why?" Ivy asked, knowing the Flerken wouldn't have done it for no reason. Not even Goose ate humans without provocation.

"Well, she was a nasty piece of work," the boy said, going over his transfiguration homework. Unlike Ivy, he had homework every night on magical subjects. He also had her send him things to work on for his regular lessons as well, so he didn't fall too far behind. He was going to go to summer school, if he could find one that catered to his level. "She kept calling me a liar," he offered.

"Were you lying?" Ivy wondered. She had taught him to do so, if need be. Their cover story was nothing but lies, and he would have to tell it to government officials. His cuteness factor was not quite as strong as hers, so he needed to level it up more than she. It made it more noticeable.

"Well, yes, but that's beside the point. I had my cute factor on, and she was immune. You know what that means," he said, pointing out that only those that thought horribly of them, or were vile people, or that were pure of heart were immune. "And she was no angel," he added with a grimace. "No matter how much pink she wore. I mean you wear that much pink at times, but on her it looked wrong." He shivered at the memory.

It was late in the evening where he was, and he was burning the midnight oil getting his homework done. He had put it off so he could call Ivy and do it at the same time. She liked to help him, not that he needed it, but it made her feel helpful.

"Ah," Ivy said, sipping her warm milk. It was not quite bedtime for her, but she liked to get settled down early so she didn't have to wind down later. A cozy blanket, a warm glass of milk and a nice book were just the trick. When she finished this phone call, she would snuggle down with Gandr and they would read for an hour or so, and then he'd go to his room, and she'd go to sleep. Fenrir wasn't a snuggler, or he'd join them.

"Yeah, now Star has a belly ache," Harry said, looking at the groaning non-cat, who was curled up on her bed near the door. He wondered if he should take her to the Hospital Wing. She was an alien though and they might not be able to help her. That and it might expose her.

"I don't know what to do for her," Ivy said, looking to Goose. "Can she be helped?" she asked her pet.

"It'll just have to work its way out," the Flerken said, sagely. "It'll get better in a week," he added, licking his paw like a real cat. He had eaten an evil human once. It wasn't a pleasant experience. Not that Ivy needed to know that.

"I guess I'll just be extra nice to her for the week," Harry said, then turned back to his twin cousin. "How goes your quest with Laurie?" he really wanted to know. She seemed determined to make this friend.

"She called me today," Ivy said, bouncing in place. "We talked for a while. She wants to meet, and I'll have to talk someone into taking me. However, I think we'll be great friends," she added, excited in meeting a female friend. She didn't have anyone she could share girl secrets with, that was her own age. Like whom she thought was cute, or the modern fashions, and whatnots. Well, not that was near her.

"I hope it works out for you. I've got Neville, and I know Luna would love to be your best girl friend, but she's here, and all," Harry said, putting the finishing touches on his homework and drying the ink with a spell. "I'll keep an eye on her when she gets here next year," he added with a sage nod. "I heard from her this evening. She's lonely. You should call her tomorrow," he said, trying not to sound accusatory. He knew it wasn't any of their fault that they were busier right now.

"I will," she stated, feeling that maybe she had neglected the younger girl a bit. Poor Luna didn't have school like the rest of them and now that Neville did, she had no one to talk to all day. Not unless she went over to the Weasleys and talked to that Ginny girl. Not that there was anything wrong with Ginny, per se, but she was… simpler than the rest of them, for lack of a better word.

That and she just didn't understand Luna's special disposition.

"Anyway, the reason we met that government official was because they interrogated me about you today," Harry said, bringing the subject back to the main topic.

"Oh dear," Ivy said, sipping her milk. "Siriusly was there?" she asked, hoping the woman was.

"Oh yeah. She tore them a new one too," he stated with a wide grin. "We stuck to the cover story. You're good."

"Good," Ivy said, a smile on her lips as well.

"Well, I'm for bed. I'm going to be dead tired tomorrow. I'll call earlier," Harry said, giving her a time that she would be out of lessons. He would just be finishing his dinner.

"Alright," she said, not at all put out for the earlier time. "I'll have tea ready," she stated. Gandr came into the room ready for reading time. "Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Ivy," Harry said, hanging up the phone. He could hear the other boys in his dorm snoring softly. He sighed and put his things away. He fell asleep satisfied that the day went well.

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The next morning Pomona Sprout received a package from Siriusly Black. It was a cellphone, a solar charger, and instructions on how to use them. She would have to figure out why she was lied to on her own, but now she would have proof that she was. It was up to her what to do with that information.

Siriusly also told her that Gringotts was also modernized and had been for years. Maybe she should talk to Flitwick.