Chap. 6: Harry reminisces, The Prophet, Weasleys, Tonks, and apparation training begins.

Harry woke early on the morning of the 3rd, at 5:30 AM, so he decided to lie there and think about the events of the day before, and before he got himself up and went about his morning ablutions. First, and with a yawn as he placed both his forearms as support behind his head, he thought back about Godric's Hollow:

Harry had entered the King Johns Hunting Lodge, where he found a small table in the Tea Room, and had a bowl of Spring English Lamb Stew with fresh rolls. There were a few locals inside the tea room whom he had spoken to, and he had found out that just across the street from the Carpenters Arms, and at the intersection of Church St. and East St., which didn't lead east at all, was a stone cottage to let by the very person he was speaking to, a Mr. Jones, and it was at five hundred pounds per month.

Harry explained that he wished to start a small printing business there, using computer printing, where he was informed that all the local services were available and that the electricity was already on, and was included in the rent.

Harry jumped at the chance, and wrote a cheque for the first month's rent and deposit, and told Mr. Jones that he would have the equipment for his office delivered shortly. Harry also lied and stated that he would live upstairs over the shop. Mr. Jones also recommended traveling to Bath or Bristol to purchase the equipment he needed. He also told Harry of a few businesses that sold everything, which Harry jotted down on a small notepad that he was carrying with him.

Once he was finished with lunch, he asked Mr. Jones if he knew where Bathilda Bagshot lived and found that she lived just around the corner from Church St. on Nethercote Hill Lane in the corner cottage, which was just across from the church, and close to his old home. Mr. Jones forewarned him that she was elderly and that her mind was starting to slip a little.

Mr. Jones wanted to know why Harry was interested in the elderly woman, so Harry then explained that he had once lived in the village, when young, and told Jones of his parents. That was when the name on the cheque hit Mr. Jones, and he started calling him "Little Harry Potter."

Needless to say, Mr. Jones had known both James and Lily and spoke about the tragic gas leak that caused it all, leading to the explosion that blew part of the roof off the house. James had succumbed to the gas in the sitting room, Jones said, and Lily was caught in the explosion upstairs, leaving only Harry alive. This, of course, informed Harry that Jones was a muggle. Finally, Jones' mood switched from morbid thoughts to welcoming "Little Harry" back, where the man instantly warmed up to him, and began reintroducing Harry to several of the local residents.

Last, Mr. Jones gave Harry a tour of the cottage and handed him the keys. With that, Harry made his way up Church St..

Here, Harry let out a sigh, and he wondered what their old cottage looked like.

As Harry made his way past the churchyard on his right, where he knew his parents were buried, he spotted their old home at the end of the street. It looked like any normal cottage in the village, that is until he walked closer. The air seemed to shimmer, which Harry thought was a ward, and he could now see the damaged roof, which was overgrown with ivy.

As he walked up to the small picketed gate, he noticed that the entire fence was overgrown, but the lawn seemed to still be okay. Here, he reached out and touched the gate, but something shot up from the green growth covering the fence and startled him. It was a sign to commemorate that night, which had been placed by the MoM, and he noticed that many wizards and witches had scrawled their names all over it, with most adding well wishes to Harry.

Here, Harry sighed and turned to head back down Church St.. He didn't go far when he came to the kissing gate at the church, where he entered the churchyard. Mr. Jones had told him that his parents were at the rear, and close to the fence separating the cemetery from the community garden.

As Harry made his way back, he noticed several surnames that he knew, such as the Abbot family, and he saw the Dumbledores off to his left. Finally, Harry found his parents' headstone, where he kneeled down, and closed his eyes to pay his respects.

When he was finished, he stood and withdrew his wand, where he conjured two bunches of flowers; white carnations for his father, and white lilies for his mother. He stood there in silence for a moment, and before he could turn, someone cleared their throat from behind him, startling him to his core. Had he just cast magic in front of a muggle, he thought?

"Such a sorry tale about what befell the young Potter couple," a man's voice said, making Harry turn around.

There stood the vicar, who had a smile on his face, and he had his hand extended. "I'm Vicar Swain, and who may you be young man?"

Harry was still nervous, but he shook the vicar's hand. "Er, um, I'm Harry Potter, sir."

"No need to be nervous, Mr. Potter, as some of the residents know that magicals live here. I take it that you are the Potters' son?"

"Er, uh, yes, Vicar," Harry muttered. "I've just come to pay my respects."

"I wasn't the vicar when that unfortunate event occurred, Mr. Potter," Swain said as he turned to walk back toward the church, where Harry followed, "but was told about it by my predecessor. He said that they had left behind a child just over a year old.

"I also know about what truly happened, Mr. Potter; about how that vile wizard found your home that Halloween night. Such a sad tale it is."

"Thank you, Vicar Swain," Harry said. "You know, he's still around, and he didn't die that night, so I ask you to keep an eye out for him since he could show up here, again."

"I was afraid of that," Vicar Swain said. "There was no body, only a shredded black cloak, it was claimed."

Here, Swain sighed and looked around at the cemetery when they were almost back to the path that led to the church doors. Here, though, he stopped and pointed out an ancient-looking sandstone tomb toward the front.

"That is your ancestor, Mr. Potter," Vicar Swain said. "One of the first to settle this village, named Ignotus Peverell. His daughter, Iolanthe, married Hardwin Potter, the first to carry the Potter surname. You might wish to give him a visit before you leave?" Here, the vicar patted Harry on the shoulder and made his way back to the church.

Harry sighed, but made his way over to the tomb, where he read the barely-readable carved script on the flat capstone. However, what was weird was the strange symbol below the name, which he could have sworn that he'd seen somewhere before, and that was when it hit him, The Quibbler.

Harry sat down on his many-times great-grandfather's tomb and thought back about the article, which was penned by Luna's father. It was a story about three brothers, a children's fairytale that Mr. Lovegood thought held some truth, and that there were those that had searched for the family's magical relics for centuries. However, Harry just couldn't remember what they were.

Harry sighed, again, and while being as discreet as possible, he withdrew his wand and conjured a handful of white roses, which he lay on his ancestor's tomb.

Finally, Harry stood and made his way to the kissing gate, which he passed through, and that was when he caught sight of a very elderly woman in a black dress, who was also wearing a black sweater over that, and was holding a cane, who beckoned him over with a slight wave of her hand. She was standing on the narrow sidewalk at the corner just down from him.

Here, Harry looked around before making his way over to the elderly woman that was humped over in her old age, with almost white hair. When he walked up to her, she simply stared at him for a bit, before she held up a shaky hand and cupped his cheek. "Young Harry?"

Harry had almost pulled away, but he finally answered her. "Yes, mam, I'm Harry Potter."

"My, how you've grown," she said as she noticed the scar on his forehead. "You look so much like your father, but you have young Lily's eyes."

When Harry started to reply, the old woman turned around with a hobble, and said, "Follow me, lad," before starting to walk slowly back around the corner using her cane. That was when it hit Harry about where they were heading.

"Mrs. Bagshot?" Harry questioned.

"Ay, that's me, deary," Bathilda said, "and I live just up here and would enjoy some company today."

As they slowly made their way to her door, Bathilda said, "I used to help Lily tend to you, you know, and you were such a bright child. I was one of the only few that knew the secret. Oh, how she said that I used to spoil you when I would bring you fresh chocolate biscuits. Not digestives, mind you," Bathilda said in a weak chortle.

"Here we are, lad," Bathilda said, as she opened the door with a shaky hand. "Come, we'll have a spot of tea, and you can tell me how you've been."

Harry remembered following the old witch inside her cluttered cottage, which was filled with books, everywhere, including stacks of them placed here and there that he had to maneuver around.

They spoke of his life after that night, and she told him about how she wished that she could have reared him.

Later on, she spoke of the Dumbledores, and how Aberforth had an illegitimate child. It all came out, then, about how Albus was struck upon her nephew, Gellert Grindelwald, but that Gellert wasn't really of that persuasion. Then, she spoke of their grand plans, and how both were very interested in obtaining the Deathly Hallows. Worse, though, came the sorry tale about the fight, and Ariana's death. What shocked Harry was hearing about her "condition." A similar thing had happened to Aberforth's son, she said.

Harry was both dumbfounded and horrified by the tale, but when the Hallows were mentioned, and when he asked what they were, he was floored, as she informed him that he held one of them, his invisibility cloak, which was ancient if the rumors were true. She then told him that Albus had the wand, which was taken from her nephew at the end of WWII, and that the stone had made its way to the Gaunts, where their history came out as well!

Harry's mind was overloaded with information when he left her that afternoon, and he still couldn't stop thinking about it. He had also found his historian for his new paper, and he promised to pay her, which she really needed, it seemed, and she agreed. Oh, the scandal, Harry thought!

Here, Harry looked over at the clock, and it was now 6:30, so he rose, and made his way to take a quick shower before Vernon took up the loo.

Harry ate with the Dursleys that morning, which dug at Vernon, and especially when Harry had used his wand to help set the table, which, Harry thought, almost made Vernon have a coronary. However, the man never opened his mouth, but that could have been due to the glares he was receiving from his aunt, and Dudley didn't seem bothered at all. As soon as Vernon finished, he stood with a huff and quickly left for work.

After breakfast, Harry made his way to his room, where he opened the window, and penned a letter to Cyrus Greengrass asking for a meeting between himself, Cyrus, and Daphne. Once finished, he gave Hedwig some leftover bacon, along with an owl treat, and gave her the letter to deliver.

Before he could leave, though, another ministry owl delivered another letter from the minister. This time, it was from Rufus, directly.

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The Ministry Of Magic

No. 1-UG Whitehall Pl., London SW1A 2HN, United Kingdom

Wednesday, July 3rd, 1996

Mr. Potter,

Our operation at Azkaban was completed last night, and the inmates are none the wiser. I have given the package to Auror Tonks to deliver to you, today.

Let me know your ideas about what to do with our so-called guards, and how we shall replace them.

The trap has been set for the pink one, and we are looking into her about what occurred in Little Whinging last year.

Last, I will be on a fact-finding mission at Hogwarts, today, to question the headmaster about the history of our foe. I will schedule a meeting between us afterward.

Sincerely,

Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister for Magic, OOM

.

Harry sighed, and thought that he should have waited before sending Hedwig out, as the ministry owl had fled as soon as the letter was delivered. He would need to pen a letter of thanks, later on, and try to come up with a suggestion about what to do with the Dementors. Both were already planning for them to side with Tom.

The minister's fact-finding mission might run into a roadblock, though, Harry thought. It was according to the headmaster, and if he was willing to part with his secrets. However, Rufus was a former Head Auror, and he was the minister, who also held a lot of clout and power.

Before Harry could stand, another owl arrived, and this one was carrying the Daily Prophet. He paid the owl, which then quickly left in a frenzy of feathers.

Harry looked at the headline, along with his front-page photo, and he thought, well, it took them long enough!

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The Daily Prophet

Wednesday, July 3rd, 1996

Harry Potter Emancipated!

That's right, dear readers, Harry James Potter was emancipated, and he is now, by law, a full-fledged wizard with all privileges, and is now seen as a man in the eyes of our wizarding government!

How did this come about, you may ask? It was due to Mr. Potter's Godfather, Sirius Black's, Last Will, where young Mr. Potter was made the executor of the Black estate, and he was also named as the heir to The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black!

I have tried to contact The Ancient House of Malfoy about their opinion, but have yet to receive any form of response. It seems that they are keeping their lips closed tight.

However, you have read this correctly, dear reader. Harry Potter was emancipated so that the magically binding Will could proceed, and it was done by the Minister of Magic, himself, Rufus Scrimgeour. When this reporter questioned the minister about the Will's contents, Minister Scrimgeour gruffly replied that "It's none of your business," and "Leave the young man be!"

What we have been able to find out, is that the estate was given to Mr. Black's heir, Mr. Potter, and something was left to his cousin, Andromeda Tonks, a sister of Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. It seems to have been only a small amount of galleons, from what our sources can tell us.

Lastly, by being Mr. Black's heir, who we found was never disowned as his mother claimed, Mr. Potter has now become Lord Black! On top of this, gentle witches and wizards, Mr. Potter has retaken the seat of the Ancient House of Potter in the Wizengamot as well. What this will do to our politics is unknown, but we look for the young wizard to really stir the cauldron after his installation at the Wizengamot. He will be controlling two ancient houses' votes after his sixteenth birthday at the end of this month.

If anyone has any other information about this, please inform the Daily Prophet at once, dear reader, as we want to hear from you.

Lead Reporter: Rita Skeeter

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Here, Harry scoffed, as ten thousand galleons was not a trifling amount, but he soldiered on and opened the paper to page three to look for the legal notices. There it was, as Thicknesse had promised.

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Civil Suit:

Mr. Harry James Potter, Lord Black, vs House of Lestrange.

Suit to recoup losses suffered by the murder of the Black Head of House, Lord Sirius Orion Black, by Bellatrix Lestrange. Suit filed by Odius Thicknesse, solicitor for the Plaintiff. Date to be scheduled. Case to be tried by the Council of Magical Law, Civil Division.

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Molly Weasley had also read the front page story of the Prophet as everyone was having breakfast at the Burrow before Arthur left for work.

"Harry's just a child," Molly complained, "and he should not be saddled with these responsibilities at his age!"

"Molly," Arthur replied before Hermione, Ron, or Ginny could comment, "In extenuating circumstances, such as these, when one is the last heir, and especially of two ancient houses, it is allowed. There is nothing that we can do about it but wish him our best."

Before Molly could disagree, Arthur held up his hand, wiped his mouth, took the last sip of his tea, and stood. There, he kissed Molly on the cheek and began making his way toward the living room.

"I have to be at work," Arthur remarked, "so I shall see everyone this afternoon."

As Arthur left, Hermione pulled the paper over to her, and opened it, beginning to read. It wasn't long until she let out a loud and startling gasp.

"Listen to this!" Hermione exclaimed. "This is under the legal notices."

"Mr. Harry James Potter, Lord Black, vs House of Lestrange."

"Suit to recoup losses suffered by the murder of the Black Head of House, Lord Sirius Orion Black, by Bellatrix Lestrange. Suit filed by Odius Thicknesse, solicitor for the Plaintiff. Date to be scheduled. Case to be tried by the Council of Magical Law, Civil Division."

"Oh my!" Molly exclaimed and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, this will be bad!"

"What's it mean," Ron said while still chewing his bangers and eggs.

"Essentially," Molly explained, "Harry is suing Bellatrix's house, which includes her husband, Rodolphus, and by extension, Rabastan, for Sirius' death. Most likely, it would be over trying to extinguish an ancient family line, and line theft by another house. The Lestranges could lose everything, and that solicitor that Harry has hired is known to be the most ruthless one in our courts. Arthur has said that Odius has no morals or feelings of guilt about those he takes to the cleaners."

"I'll bet that Odius is charging Harry a lot of galleons to file this case," Ron said, "but where is he getting all that money?"

Here, Molly looked embarrassed, and Hermione clinched her lips shut.

"Well," Molly said as her face reddened, "the Potters were very wealthy, Ronald. Harry's grandfather, Fleamont, invented Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and Scalp Treatment, and the family has been known as competent potioneers for centuries. It's said that their family even invented the original Pepperup and Skele-Grow potions."

At Hermione, Ron, and Ginny's shocked looks, Molly continued, though she was still embarrassed.

"Then, there is the wealth of the House of Black, which Harry just inherited. I don't know how much they were worth, but at one time, they were known to be one of the wealthiest wizarding families in Britain."

"Cor, blimey!" Ron exclaimed. Harry was loaded, Ron thought.

Hermione, though, was thinking about what this could entail with Harry marrying into the Greengrass family; a family that Lavender had said was also very wealthy. Evidently, the family members were merchants, and into shipping, besides working for the ministry. Their house was known to be politically neutral, and they called themselves Independents. Lavender had said that they led a political block of like-minded houses.

Could Harry control the vote of that house as well, over his betrothal? If so, what political faction would Harry support? Surely, it would be Dumbledore's faction, wouldn't it?

Worse, though, Hermione thought, was why hadn't Harry mentioned this court case the other day? How many secrets was he keeping to himself? Well, she decided, she wanted to know, and she was going to demand answers!

Harry had just come downstairs and had handed the Prophet to his aunt to read before taking a seat on the sofa. He looked at his watch and was wondering when Tonks would show up.

"Aunt Petunia," Harry said, causing his aunt to look up from the paper, "Tonks will be here, today, to deliver something to me. I'm not sure about her plans after that."

"The one with the pink hair?" Petunia asked, and when Harry nodded, she scowled. "That young lady should be ashamed of herself for dressing like that. I'm sure the neighbors have already been speaking about her."

"Well," Harry said, "I'll try to have her out of your hair as quickly as I can."

Harry hadn't a bit more said this when there was a knock at the door.

"I'll bet that's her," Harry muttered as he stood and made his way to the door.

Sure enough, there the young auror stood, with bright pink hair and all, but she wasn't wearing leather, today, only worn-out jeans, and a royal blue tee shirt. Her wand was in her back pocket.

"Wotcher, Harry!"

"Come in, Tonks, and have a seat," Harry said, as he directed her to the sitting room, and closed the door. He heard Tonks greet his aunt before he stepped into the room.

"The minister said that you had a package for me?" Harry questioned.

"Fresh from Azkaban," Tonks said, making Petunia let out a gasp, and watch what was taking place.

Tonks opened her hand, and she was holding what looked to be a wooden ring box, which she sat on the table. With a quick flick of her wand, it expanded into the size of a small travel case, and it had a foldable handle on the top.

Harry flipped the latches open and lifted the lid. What he saw inside brought a huge shark-toothed smile to his face, for inside held thirteen corked phials containing hair samples, with each phial holding several hairs. They belonged to, according to the labels, Lucius Malfoy, along with Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange, as well as Crabbe, Mulciber, Dolohov, Jugson, Macnair, Avery, Rookwood, Nott, and finally, Travers.

Here, Harry let out a wicked laugh as he closed the case, and latched it up.

"Let me take these upstairs," Harry said. "I'll only be a mo'."

Harry quickly took the case upstairs, where he placed the case under the foot of his bed, and then made his way back to the sitting room. Petunia was still reading the Prophet, and Tonks was busy watching the telly.

When Harry sat down on the sofa, he glanced over at the young auror.

"So, Tonks, what are we to be doing today?"

Tonks pulled herself away from the program on the telly and smirked at Harry.

"The minister has assigned me to you for the remainder of the day, and he tells me that you're in need of apparation training. I'm your instructor!"

"WHAT?"

"That's right, Harry, and close your yap before you draw flies." Here, she pushed his chin up with her index finger, closing his mouth.

"The best way to learn is by side-along, first, so, get up, and we'll apparate over to Mum and Da's. Mum is dying to meet you!"

Tonks stood, along with Harry, but she didn't lead him outside. No, she held out her right arm.

"Hold on tight, Harry!" Harry took hold of Tonk's forearm, where she turned on the spot, and disapparated with a slight pop, which spooked Petunia, causing her to swear. That would force her to have to take another Diazepam, for sure.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! The next chapter will have Harry visiting the Greengrass family home.

If you're wondering how they obtained some of the hairs from people such as Bellatrix, Azkaban had collected them from before, where they had been once incarcerated. Some are new, and some are old. All will work with a certain potion.