9. It's the end of the world as we know it
With the prophecy mentioned in The Daily Prophet, Dumbledore had reconsidered his intention of moving Harry to Divination, as it could backfire on him if the boy started to ask questions he was too young to know the answers. He will not require a change in Harry's electives any more. But he was a little worried about the downfall of the Golden Trio and the expansion of the boy's circle of friends to so many girls, not only in Gryffindor but also Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. He didn't know the real extension of Harry's circle of friends, and was already worrying with what little he knew. He chose to keep an eye on the Trio during the week and, if nothing changes, will think in a way to interfere.
While waiting for Peter's trial on Friday Harry concentrated in three main problems. First, to advance the girls to the point where they could help him advance their magic knowledge and prowess even more, as his partners instead of his pupils. Second, as the owner of the school, find ways to raise the level of the safety and education provided to the students. Third, start looking out of school to what kind of worlds, magical and normal, were out there waiting for them and what kind of life he, or better, they, wanted to live after finishing their education remembering that, for now at least, Voldemort was an important obstacle to any future they want.
His opinion was that the first point was a simple matter of a little more time. The girls were doing really well and some were already moving to that position of partners. The second point had suffered great improvement with the upgrade in the wards. More could be done in that regard, but they would need a better understanding of what they already have and what could be done before they could make any further improvements. For now, the only thing to worry seems to be the acromantula colony so close to the school. If it wasn't for Hagrid's feelings Harry was ready to exterminate them all. They could be intelligent, but they were hostile and saw students as prey. That wasn't acceptable. For the last point all they could do for now was starting to collect information to build a better view of the current state of both worlds.
Old Harry would probably procrastinate with most of that, while trying to do the rest by himself. New Harry used Tuesday night at The Room to expose the three problems to the girls who were there, and asked for suggestions.
The girls were immensely happy with his wish to have them as lifelong partners. With what the boy had already done, and what he would certain do in the future, that was a kind of insurance policy for them. And many of them would start to study wards in general and Hogwarts' wards in special, to see what they could do to improve them, as this kind of knowledge was important and could guaranty a good job in the future. But they felt the acromantulas were a serious risk that must be cared for as soon as possible, and most of them were inclined to make the government deal with them.
"That is a pity. Acromantula silk is really expensive, we would be rich if we could make a deal with them."
"And what kind of deal you think they would accept?"
"Food. There isn't anything else they have need of."
"But they can have all the food they need from the forest, right?"
"Maybe not. Maybe they had reached a point were the forest isn't supporting their numbers any more."
"They don't face any predators in the forest, do they?"
"None that would hunt them as food."
"I think the centaurs would hunt them to protect the forest. The acromantulas must have being degrading the ecosystem."
"What if we offer food in exchange of silk? I think the silk would pay for the food and maybe still get us rich!"
"That can solve part of the problem, but how to keep their numbers from growing unlimited?"
"Can we do wards to keep them restricted to a limited area?"
"But that wouldn't avoid them from reproducing..."
"They will have to solve this problem themselves if they wanted to have some space to move. Why would us be responsible to solve all their problems?"
"Maybe an incentive to those who allow to be sterilize?"
"What kind of incentive? They only care for food and sex!"
"Maybe more food, or food of better quality? They must have their preferences..."
"There is another problem. To make a deal with them we would need to go to them, and this will be dangerous. We need to have the strength to exterminate them to make them listen to us and agree, and to allow us to put the wards without exposing ourselves to be eaten."
"Well, let's started with these two then: wards and safe ways to kill them. What do you think?"
They were a great group of motivated and intelligent people. They divided the work between them, not only about acromantulas, but also, respecting the third point, to collect information both about the status of the different societies as what they would need to win a war if needed. Some started right away, asking The Room for the resources they needed. But some of the girls had a little more to talk about.
"Malfoy decided to be a pain in my ass..." started Daphne, but stopped at seeing the sole boy between them looking at that particular mentioned part of her body. "Not literally, Harry!"
They laughed at the discomfort of the boy at being caught, even while he tried to go back to the point: "Sorry… What did Malfoy?"
"He was bad-mouthing my family because of Tory being sorted in Gryffindor and wasting so much time with you and other lower people."
"Is he still alive, sister?"
"Yes, but in some pain. But the point is, expect some ill-cooked revenge."
"Can I put him in the care of our good nurse if he tries?"
"Do any of you know what kind of damage is hardest to heal? A broken foot and nose were too fast to mend. We need to know what to do to have him at least passing the night in the infirmary..."
"Oh, I have some ideas!"
.o0o.
By Wednesday Dumbledore was getting worried with the lack of contact with Sirius Black. He had tried many ways to contact the fugitive, and he knew the Marauder had received at least one of his missives, but he hadn't returned yet. Sirius was the legitimate guardian of Harry, and Albus wanted to seal some deal with him over that point in exchange of his support for a fair trial to the Black heir.
What he didn't know was that Harry had established contact with his godfather still on Sunday, and had told him enough about his life and the part of Dumbledore in it to put the dog animagus on alert against the machinations of the headmaster. They started writing each other daily and had made many plans, with the help of madam Bones, to try and get Sirius a trial on Friday soon after Peter's trial ended. After a visit of Sirius to his old home, they improved their communication with an amazing pair of mirrors that worked like videophones! They would keep the trial a secret until the last moment, to not alert any of those who could have interest in deny justice in this case. And the name Dumbledore was on that list, making company to Fudge, Malfoy and Crouch.
But Albus did know that he need to be prepared to all possibilities, so, against his will, he started some planning involving the Minister, in case his guardianship over Harry was jeopardized. There wasn't much time. He had received the summon to the Wizengamot's extraordinary session scheduled for Friday morning. At this same meeting Amelia will give a chance to those accused of being Death Eaters to make a vow stating their innocence. What a waste of time! He knew for sure that the dark mark could only be provided to willing participants, and none of them would be able to give an oath in contrary. She wouldn't gain anything more than the opportunity to throw some mud on their names, mud that they would easily wash with bribes or treats. Nothing good would came of it, and Amelia was painting a target in her back for that little and short pleasure.
.o0o.
The first result of the group's search for new uses of Harry's magic came just a little over half a day of their reunion, during their morning training. Luna, that amazing girl, completely destroyed a dummy attacking her by transforming their nails in incredible strong claws that reduced the poor equipment to shambles, Wolverine's style. Su, who was teaching them some Shaolin Kempo, soon adapted the discovered to transform her pointing finger into a long, sharp and thin blade which she used to trespass the skull of another dummy. That class finished in a total different way than what it have started as.
.o0o.
Harry was preparing to go sleep on Wednesday when he felt his bed space invaded. It was one of the ghosts, the Grey Lady. He was surprised, as the Ravenclaw ghost was one of the most reclusive of them.
"Congratulations, Gryffindor's heir, for your rise as the new owner of Hogwarts" she said in little more than a whisper.
Harry immediately put a silencing ward so they could talk without disturbing the other students in his dorm.
"Thank you, milady. Can I help you in any way?" he offered.
"Yes, indeed you can. May I ask you to follow me under that amazing cloak of yours?"
Harry prepared himself and followed the ghost, who was now barely visible. It was a novelty to him to see a ghost that way. He knew they can be visible or invisible at will, but he never had saw they could attain middle values of visibility between the extremes.
After they reach the corridors outside Gryffindor common rooms the Grey Lady became talkative. She asked him if he knew the true meaning of his invisibility cloak, and told him about the tale of the Three Brothers and the Deathly Hallows. She had recognized Dumbledore's wand as one of them, but didn't know where the last one, the Resurrection Stone, was. But she knew, and told Harry, how to use the cloak to reach for the others, something only someone of Peverell descent could do. He tested it and found two lines of light coming from the cloak to different directions. The stronger pointed to where he knew was Dumbledore's quarters, while the other was pointing away from Hogwarts, probably a great distance away by how much paler it was.
They were approaching The Room when the ghost revealed her true identity: Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of Rowena, the founder. She was reluctant in revealing too many personal details, she only told him that their quest for the night was to retrieve an artefact created by her mother and corrupted by one Tom Marvolo Riddle to be one of his soul's containers. They easily found it in the Room of Lost Things' configuration of The Room. Harry then called for his elf Gemma, who was able to clean the precious artefact from its taint. They saw a black smoke leaving the diadem and starting to coalesce in a humanoid figure until Gemma intervened again, making it dissipates while screaming in agony.
"Thank you, milady, for helping me in my quest to destroy these abominations."
"No, milord, thank you for helping me returning this artefact to its normal condition and returning it to its rightful place in the school my mother helped establish. I'm now a great step closer to finish my unresolved business in this plane. Thank you! If you need anything from me, just ask and I'll grant you if I can."
"Ah… you see… there is something that you could help me with… I have a group… a group of study and, well, we have been working on various projects, and one of them is a true history of Hogwarts. We even tried to find portraits of the founders, to take the facts from the source, you know, but we discovered that portraits only became common in the magical world from the late 16th century onwards, after a revolution in the techniques allowed better representation of the human figure. We even saw what they were before, and they were no more than childish drawings..."
"You want me to tell this group of yours about the life of the Founders and the establishment of Hogwarts, is it?"
"Well, if possible it would be amazing. I mean, you lived this history, didn't you? So little survived these times, at least so little that wasn't altered by political agendas or wishful dreams..."
"I understand. I usually don't like to deal with the living, but I think I can endure some occasional short sessions with your group. I'll contact them soon, you have my word."
"Thank you, milady! This will be an amazing help to us!"
As soon as the ghost left, Gemma asked Harry: "Great Harry sir would like Gemma to store the diadem for now? It isn't good for Great Harry sir reveals it while Big Bad Tommy Boy still around."
"Good idea! Please, do it, Gemma."
.o0o.
"Harry, have you thought a little more about my problem?"
"Lilith? How are you? Is the curse affecting you?"
"Yes. It has got stronger these last days. I'm barely keeping anything I eat on me. I'm getting weak with this, just now that I need to be stronger to keep with everything we're doing. It's so frustrating!"
"I… I think I know how to cancel the curse. Maybe… hum..."
"Harry, don't! Just tell me what I can do to help you!"
"Would you mind to strip to your underwear and lay down there for a moment? I need to check you in depth and..."
And the girl was already to it before he could end his request, which was a good thing, as he was having difficult to finish. He was getting better, but he was still a timid boy just now getting some experience in being accepted and respected by others. His self-esteem was growing, but he still was amazed that these wonderful girls around him treat him with kindness and even… was it love? It must be, because it feels so good! He wasn't a freak! He had friends, partners, people who care for him and help him with every problem he brings to them! An idea came to his mind and he smiled at it: he had a kind of family now, they were his family!
"Harry?"
"Oh, sorry! I just realised something… It was amazing! I… I felt you, all of you I mean, you are with me, like a family of sorts. I'm not alone any more. I… I think I love you all, as friends or relatives or… whatever. It's so good!"
He was on his knees at the side of the sofa she was using. She raised her hand to gently care his face and smiled. "Believe it, Harry. We do love you. In some way, all of us do love you. You're not alone any more."
"Well, let's see what I can do for you then, my love."
They both liked the sound of it. He did his best to help her, and found that his magic, working together with hers, was able to remove the curse from each point it was attached to her. The problem was that the curse was behaving like the Hydra of Lerna. For each head they extracted, two more came to life. They would need more help, and even so the battle will still be hard. But at least now they know it was possible to remove the curse, and how to. They will try again at Friday night, with more help and the weekend to recover.
.o0o.
"Lav, did you note our estimated headmaster's looks?"
"Yes, Parv, hardly something we could call subtle, is it?"
"It seems he is on a new machination to reform the Golden Trio, the way he keeps looking to our Harry and his two former best friends."
"Well, fat chance of that happening. But what can we do to easy things for our Harry?"
"He'll probably wait for the weekend before doing anything, so we have some time to plan. And we have a lot of information about the two annoying Griffs to use, haven't we?"
"You mean how Granger is blowing up at everybody and disappearing in broom closets to do whatever she is doing to keep taking all her classes, Parv?"
"Sure! Whatever she is doing couldn't be good to her health. You can see it just looking at her."
"And what Ron, Seamus and Dean are trying to do soon will be bad to their healths too. There are many ways to deal with sexual tension, but trying to see what we want to hide from their view isn't acceptable. Their idea of create a peep hole from their showers to ours almost worked!"
"But your idea to call McGonagall to see it worked much better! Hope they learned their lesson!"
"No way! I'm sure they are planning some different, probably against the Snakes, to try to defend their actions as fruit of mere rivalry between the houses."
"Oh, can you imagine what Daphne and Tracey would do to them if they get caught?"
"They are doomed! They only don't know it yet!"
"What if we alert them in exchange of their help in protecting our Harry from the Old Goat?"
.o0o.
Morag sensed that Harry was too tense and invited him for a walk after lunch at Thursday. She really wanted to help the boy, but she also wanted to help herself. During summer she had been the first girl to really reach to him, building a strong friendship, even if only through letters. Now at Hogwarts there were so many matters to deal and so many others girls to share his time that she felt a little abandoned, and wish to regain some of the rapport back.
They walked hand-in-hand to the lake in silence, but she started conversation when they reached the shore: "Too much in your head, Harry?"
Smiling to her, he agreed: "Yes, so much happening so fast. At least most of it are good things, or I'd be stressed by now. But my godfather's situation is really worrying me. Dumbledore has been pestering Sirius about a compromise over my guardianship. The headmaster wanted Sirius to granted him the guardianship in exchange of his support for a fair trial. Sirius has been trying to sell the idea of focusing in one thing at a time: first his trial, then a review of the guardianship. He even hinted that giving him a trial was the right thing to do, as it was his right by law. But the headmaster has been adamant to obtain my guardianship, even to the point of threaten to deny an innocent man his right… At least Dumbledore's insistence proved to Sirius how little of the headmaster's fame as Leader of Light is deserved."
"I knew of the plans to give Sirius a trial tomorrow, but have you also planned for what to do if the trial wasn't possible?"
"Yes, even if I totally dislike the idea, we have also some plans for this possibility."
She then tried to change the subject of the talk to put the boy more at easy: "What about here at Hogwarts? Things are going better, aren't them? I'm learning so much so fast! It's amazing what we are being able to do!"
"Yeah! It is really amazing how much more we can do as a group than as isolated individuals. In the beginning I was a little worried of telling you all about my discoveries. I'm sorry, but I really felt bad giving you all access to my secrets, as if I'd lose something sharing them with you instead of keeping everything just to my exclusive use. Like I was giving away an advantage from what I could profit a lot keeping it to myself only. But I'm happy I shared, because now it is so much more! Together we have advanced so further than I could have done alone! And it is much more than the magic. You all are helping me with so many other things! I'm really grateful to you all."
Morag made them stop, hugged the boy and, cheek-to-cheek, told him: "I'm so happy to be part of this! I was so bored before! Magic is great, sure, but the way it is taught here is so… academic! This sense that each magical feature needs its own spell with a specific incantation and exact wand movements… it is so restricted! I'm so happy you found a way to explore magic in a direct form!"
For the boy's surprise Morag kissed him. It was gentle, her lips just softly touching his. It wasn't an action of passion, but it was full of happiness and kindness. It last for a long moment. After it finished Morag was so happy she left him and, opening her arms, started to spin around.
"I feel so happy I could fly!" she said still spinning, and then "I CAN FLY!" made Harry takes a better look at her. Yes, she was really flying! Without a broom or a spell, the girl just leave the ground, and was now floating in the air, still spinning.
"What?! How?"
"Just wish for it, Harry, and let your magic do the rest!"
Yes, it was that simple. And Harry soon left the ground too. Reaching the flying girl, he hugged her and they passed the next half hour dancing above the calm waters of the Black Lake to a music only they could hear.
.o0o.
The special session of the Wizengamot had just started, and only one person had used the opportunity to swear his innocence before the court. But even that only case was one too much for Amelia, it could ruin her accusation of the whole group if that man was successful. That was why she had prepared for that kind of attempt. And the first spell she had tried, gracefully obtained from the Unspeakables, had revealed the plot: Anthony Rosier, the third, was polyjuiced as his father, Anthony Rosier Junior. Well, polyjuice only last an hour.
"First, I would like to ask the honoured members of this Assembly if all have had the time to examine the transcripts of the interrogation under veritaserum of Peter Peregrine Pettigrew and if are there any objection to it."
"Question of Order! Madam Bones, we have here one of our own ready to give you the vow of innocence you so callously asked from some of our most esteemed citizens. Shouldn't you begin with this matter?"
"Perhaps, Lord Malfoy, but I feel obliged to give some extra time to the others 'esteemed citizens' listed to come here offer the same, so we could deal with all of them at once. While we wait for these others 'esteemed citizens', I will just use the time to speed up some administrative matters before the start of the trial properly. Maybe you would like to join your friend Rosier here, offering a vow yourself?"
Oh, there were objections against this procedure, and more objections when Gawain vanished the vial that Rosier tried to drink during his wait, but it was all for nothing when the guy changed back to his own form in front of all the Wizengamot, revealing the farce to all of them. When it was time for the vows, there wasn't anyone to take them, but a lot protested against the mere notion of its necessity and validity.
In a fair and unbiased environment, madam Bones was sure to obtain many victories that day. But the Wizengamot was a snake pit. Few of them could be called honest. Corruption was generalized; bribes and exchange of favours a constant. And she was alone. Well, maybe Ogden, Longbottom and a few others would support her, but they weren't enough by a long margin. Even Dumbledore's block was against her today, as she feared would be the case.
She tried to charge Rosier with several offences. None was accepted. Between Dumbledore's appeal for forgiveness for a son trying to help his father and Fudge's request for the non-criminalization of what was just a misconceived prank gone wrong, the young Rosier just received a 100 galleons fine.
That was followed by Peter's trial. They have accept the transcriptions, but in retrospect she must have asked for more questioning. The man deserved the veil, or a dementor's kiss. She was pleading for life at Azkaban. They imputed Peter with only 8 years at Azkaban, 5 for being a Death Eater and just 3 for the murder of 12 muggles. Telling someone an address, even if you were the secret keeper for that address, wasn't considered a crime in their laws, specially under torture or threat. There wasn't proof of Peter killing any witch or wizard, which would grant him at least 20 years per case, nor any proof of the use of any unforgivables to grant him life in prison. He was a despicable coward traitor, and he will escape his just punishment because important people decided she was a better victim than him, as she had put many of them under scrutiny disclosing the list of Death Eaters and asking them for an oath of innocence. It was clear what would happen to Sirius if he comes to trial under this jury.
After the trial of Pettigrew was over, the traditionalists were smiling, and some, like Lucius Malfoy, were looking at her with disdain and contempt. It was clear they were seconds from asking for her head. But the worst was to see Dumbledore and his faction helping them openly. It was easy to see the motives behind the traditionalists, but why would the so-called 'Leader of the Light' sided with them? What was in it for Dumbledore and his mysterious agenda? Was it just because he wanted to avoid Sirius Black taking guardianship over the Boy-Who-Lived? She couldn't accept it. Yes, Albus wanted to keep his illegal guardianship over the boy, but at the cost of so many more lives? That would destroy the Wizarding society!
At this point a very weird and dangerous idea came to her. He was hated by the traditionalists for being a 'muggle-lover'. What if he wishes all pureblood gone so that he could establish a new society with more equality? It was a crazy idea, but the only one that could explain Dumbledore's behaviour, even the Boy-Who-Lived not receiving any special training so far, because he would be needed only in the end, after Voldemort came back and have the time to practically extinguish their society. It didn't matter to him that lots of muggleborns would also die in the future war. They will be replaced eventually, by new ones coming from the muggle population. They will be the martyrs who will win the future generations the freedom and social justice they need to build a new and improved society. By Merlin, the 'Leader of Light' was a hidden genocide!
Suddenly feeling sick with all that thoughts, she made her decision, asked for permission and made her statement: "I'm shocked. I'm no seer, but what happened here today made it clear to me what is to come in the next few years, and I refuse to be part of it in the way I'm being led to be. It is time for me to go. It is a good day to do so, due to its importance. Future generations will look back to this day and say 'it was the beginning of the end of the world as we knew it'. I have much to do, and not as a part of this government any more. I surrender my office, and resign from all duties in the magical government. I'll clean my office. In less than an hour my successor will be free to take possession of it. His or her appointment must be your next order of business. Good bye."