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December 5, 1998

Monday Morning

With the previous night of fun time with friends over, Harry awoke to what he imagined would be a very challenging day. If not for the numerous happenings that were already sprung upon him, then for whatever this new morning would bring — everything bad seemed to come in heaps and with Vane rousing, the Ministry going completely mad, something more had to come. It always did.

Harry tossed aside the comforter and looked over to his window, he expected an owl or two to be present with more news for him, but there wasn't. Not one letter was left outside his window, nor was there a single animal waiting for him to rise. It had been a quiet night, he figured, and so he moved to his desk to grab the clothing he'd laid out for himself the previous night. The Hogwarts uniform hadn't changed, he still wore his Gryffindor robes and that alone made being where he was insanely comforting.

Hogwarts was and would always be his home. When he moved through this new tower in the direction of the bathroom for a wash, those same words echoed throughout his mind. The Ministry wouldn't ruin his final year, or rather, the still-corrupt people in place that had avoided the purge would not be ruining Hogwarts. They wouldn't ruin the good deeds that would follow when Kingsley had finally consolidated power and most of all, Romilda Vane would cease every action she was doing or the girl would find herself expelled faster than she can brew anymore of her potions.

Harry didn't have the power to do that directly, at least not yet, but he'd not put up with her any longer; she had been warned, she ignored the warning, and now he would see to it that's finished. His plan with Tracey had been fun and more importantly, with a woman as unstable as Vane, it would have worked. All he had to do now was wait for whatever plan she had to activate, and no sooner than that would happen would he bring the girl to Professor McGonagall.

Dozens upon dozens of ideas and scenarios played through his mind as he thought of his current troubles whilst he went through his morning routine. He nearly worried himself with a few of those self-made ideas, but they were so absurd and devilish that he tossed them aside; Vane wasn't Voldemort regardless of her current state and the man's followers were most assuredly not of his quality.

No, Harry said with a shake of his head as he finished dressing and made it to the door, They're far weaker and loads more stupid.

"Hi, early bird!" Tracey greeted him as soon as he walked out, the girl lounging on the couch before the fireplace with a blanket wrapped around her. "Cold."

Harry snorted at her one-word answer after he very visibly looked her over. She wasn't wrong, it felt a bit nippy at the moment, but he suspected that was because he'd only just showered and knowing Tracey, she'd probably just done the same as him. "Any owls this morning? Any news at all, really?"

Tracey shook her head after furrowing her eyebrows and scrunching up her face. "Do I look like Daphne? I dunno anything about anything, mister Harry, and there haven't been any owls I've seen since the one tried to bite me when I went for its letter," she huffed and shook her head as she further wrapped herself up with the blanket. "It was mean."

Had he any less control, Harry would have snorted. Instead, he simply shook his head with a fond look on his face as he made his way over to the table where mail was usually waiting for those who received it should the owls be missing. Important mail was never left on the aforementioned table, but minor parcels and the like were normally present. Still, after a once-over, he had nothing.

"I would've thought I'd wake up to Vane-made treats," Harry remarked as he ran a hand through his hair before he fell beside Tracey, the couch as comfortable as it always was as he began to think.

Tracey answering his comment broke him before he could get anywhere with it.

"I didn't think she'd be that barmy. She has to know that you know that we know you know she was messing with us, you know?" Tracey asked, her voice muffled and only her eyes visible — partially — from the confines of her very heavy, warm-looking blanket.

Harry blinked in response, his brain was still fuzzy from sleep. "No… I honestly have no idea what it was that you just said, but you're probably right, I think. Regardless, I was hoping she'd be that barmy, hence why we made a bit of a show," Harry paused and looked towards the door to the girls' dorms. "Daph and Delph still asleep, or are the two of them plotting something? Make sure you take off the blanket and look me in the eyes when you answer too — we both know you can't lie convincingly when you're looking at the person instead of elsewhere."

"You spend too much time with me, it's not fair," Tracey said, pouting as she slowly removed the covers and then made to speak; a smile found its way to her face as she did so, happiness alight in her eyes. "They're asleep! Did I getcha?"

"Yeah, I guess you did," Harry conceded, not all that annoyed by Tracey's trick as he reclined further into the comfort of the couch whilst his mind began to ramp up again.

Silence didn't last as long as was needed of it, however, for Tracey would never allow such a thing to happen. "Vane's gonna do something today, we all know it. Daph and Delph said the same thing before we went to bed last night, it's just a matter of time, but she won't take long. Not when she thinks I'm stealin her favourite boy away from her."

"What would you do if you were her?" Harry asked curiously, his eyes lazily flicking over to the still uncovered Tracey.

Contemplation settled on her face as she paused, her eyes rapidly moving around the room before they settled back onto him, a pleased look on her face as she beamed at him. "I'd polyjuice as Daphne and th—"

"That's good," Harry said rapidly, holding his hands up as he looked around. "I think I know where you were headed with that and if I don't… never mind, I'm pretty sure I know what you were thinking about. I don't think I'll have to worry about Vane doing that, love potions are far and away from the Polyjuice potion. Even if they weren't, she's never close enough to Daphne to get a hair or something off of her."

"Wouldn't be bad to have a word or phrase we know, just in case. Mine will be cake-pie-couch-chips," Tracey turned to her right when the door to the girls' dorms opened up, revealing a tired-looking Daphne with her hair cascading down her back. "What about you, Daph?"

Daphne blinked at her, saw Harry, her eyes went ever-so-slightly wider, and finally, she turned around to head back whence she came with a quickness she seldom used.

Harry would wait for her, he'd wait for Delphini too. After what Tracey had just said about Polyjuice potions, he didn't want to separate from them unless it was strictly necessary, not until Vane was actually done in.

Merlin, he thought to himself while Tracey died of laughter beside him. I really hope Vane isn't that level of stupid… Polyjuicing as a person or using other means to captivate them are beyond insane.

December 6, 1998

Tuesday Afternoon

Vane hadn't acted yesterday. During the three meals Harry and his friends had gone to the Great Hall for, Vane had been sat with her typical friend group… more or less. There were a few who seemed to come and go, but that was fairly normal for the small hand full of them that there were. He felt vaguely bad for her as most people simply ignored or disregarded her presence while a dozen or so seemed to enjoy tossing remarks at her; he would've interceded had she not potioned Ron and a few other blokes by now.

"Fay? Mind if I steal you for a minute?" Harry asked the girl, smiling at Susan and Hannah as he did so. "Susan, Hannah, lovely as ever."

Susan shook her head with a small smile on her face as she shooed Fay towards him. "I bet I am," she said, "Steal away another witch in our year, you've already taken three and left poor little Hannah and I here by ourselves."

"Oh quit your whining, he's a bit nervous of redheads by now," Hannah said with a wink at Harry before she tossed her own hair over her shoulder. "Blondes are better in every way, we've even got a soul."

Fay crossed her arms as she reached Harry's side and turned on the other two girls. "You're both horrible — they enjoy teasing you, Harry, but they're not nearly as good at it as some of the others are, I'd say. Let's go and talk now before you make me miss the rest of lunch, no time for replies so wave to the pretty witches so they're happy."

There were a few indignant sounds from Hannah and Susan, but Harry waved at the two anyhow as Fay dragged him away, the girl leading him by his hand until they were loitering a good dozen or so meters from the entrance.

"Vane. Has she done anything, have you heard anything? Everything helps, I'm hoping to get this situation dealt with for good," Harry asked, straight to the point as he spoke to Fay. He sincerely hoped she'd heard something too, because if she hadn't, then Vane hadn't reacted half as much as he'd hoped she had… or she was hiding it expertly, which also didn't bode well.

"She sticks to herself more than she did a few days ago," Fay said to him, her hands on her hips until one of them lifted to point accusingly at him. "You or the Slytherin girls did something, I know that now if you're coming to see me about her — she hides away, stays with her friends and they never talk loudly anymore. Something's definitely coming, but I don't know what. If you want, I could take a look. They're pretty nervous around me, just like the new Quidditch teammates we've got ourselves. It's really funny."

Harry could understand them all too well, Fay could be very forward and bold when she wanted to be. It was one of the things he enjoyed about her personality, especially with so many people in favour of simply sitting on the sidelines when stuff happened. That would never and could never be Fay.

"Please, if it wouldn't be too much trouble and be careful too. I really don't know what Vane's limit is short of murder or the like, she could try to stun you if you catch her doing something," Harry said, smiling at Fay as the two started slowly moving back towards the Great Hall.

"I'll be fine, I always am. I had a good teacher, don't forget that," Fay said back to him, confident as ever before she patted him on the shoulder and started back at a much faster pace than he'd used in the direction of the Great Hall, food indefinitely on her mind.

"So she's grown shyer and seldom speaks above a whisper," Daphne repeated, one eyebrow raised, her legs crossed and her hands folded together to make the perfect picture of a by-the-book young woman.

Seriously, Harry reckoned she could pass as the picture of the word formal right then.

"Yeah, that's all that Fay said. She told me she stays alone more often, doesn't talk to as many people and when she does, they all only whisper — she also told me something was coming, but that she didn't know what or anything else. Fay said she'd look in though, so there's that going for us," Harry answered as he joined Daphne on the couch; Tracey was seated on his other side and Delphini was sat directly across from him, their knees touching due to her pulling up the seat with a flick of her wand.

"Fay will be very helpful so long as she learns everything that she needs to. If she tips Vane off, then I imagine whatever she's planning will change or she'll go through with it before it's ready. We'll have to stress the importance of her being unseen or uninterested," Daphne said to him as she slowly began to nod. "It should come from you, Fay's not overly fond of serpents."

Tracey nodded. "It's true, we slithered into her life too often."

Delphini giggled at Tracey's wordplay while Daphne blinked and took in a deep breath, one hand moving to her head. She wasn't very impressed and while Harry sort of was, he also recognised that they should be taking this more seriously as a group than they currently were. If they didn't, Vane may very well surprise them, which would be the epitome of embarrassing.

"What do you think we should do, Daphne? Delphini?" Harry asked as he leaned back, his eyes flickering between the two girls while Tracey started reaching into her satchel, likely for candy or chocolates that she tended to keep in… her… bag…

Without thinking, Harry took her bag from her hands and the sweet she'd grasped. "No," he said, cutting her off and the other two girls as well before they could say anything. "Tracey, you leave your bag unattended all the time in classes or in the hallway when you go to use the loo. Vane could slip something inside and you'd be none the wiser. We should look through it, at the very least, you lot should check everything over with spells if it's more personal."

"You're right," Daphne said, cutting Tracey's indignant response off. "You leave your belongings around for anybody to find, it wouldn't do if Vane added a chocolate or candy to your bag; I'm beyond certain you wouldn't notice it until it was halfway down your throat."

Delphini patted Harry on the thigh a few times, smiling at him when he looked up at her face. "That was smart. You'd make a great Auror, a handsome one too," after Delphini said those words, she silently began going through the various objects that were brought into the tower.

He hadn't thought of the goods, foods or other items that would find themselves up here, but it was a smart idea. Delphini and Daphne implemented it with ease and quickness, but it was Delphini who seemed to know a different spell than the others that truly saved the day when they went through Tracey's candy.

Daphne found one tampered item and Delphini, well, she found seven.

All of them had effects they couldn't be certain of and none of them could directly tie Vane to any wrong-doing. Not until they caught her or one of her friends putting them in the bag; they would stay with them until they gathered concrete evidence, and then they'd only act as support in their case to McGonagall.

It was working. Slowly.

December 8, 1998

Thursday Evening

Their trip to Diagon Alle was coming up before too much longer. Harry had made some decent preparations for it, especially by reserving a few businesses for an hour here and an hour there, but he hadn't truly gotten everything sorted for the month — he intended on giving each of the girls a gift before the Christmas break, just in case he didn't see them during it.

Maybe he was sentimental now that the war was over and his time at Hogwarts would soon be over, but it felt like the right thing to do. Almost as if it was a tradition after all the time he'd spent with the Weasley Clan. Merlin did he hope that he'd be back with them before too much longer… probably without the Slytherin girls to avoid tension, but he figured they wouldn't want to spend time with the Weasleys anymore than the Weasleys would want to spend time with them.

That winter break would be wicked for those two reasons alone and the Diagon trip would be brilliant too, but there was one piece of news that'd only arrived yesterday that would definitely ruin one day, at the very least; politics.

As it often did, Politics would get in the way. The faction that wanted to remove Kingsley had lost a fair number of their supporters, delaying their actions, but they weren't finished quite yet. Only when the vote was called and failed would they be done, and Harry promised them that, they would be finished halting the progress the wizarding world needed.

"You look like you're thinking about something serious," Came the voice of Delphini from his left, the girl dressed warmly and looking as fond of him as she always did. "You don't seem like you're ever relaxing… I could rub your shoulders if you want. I know you're still thinking about Daphne or I too, but we could kiss — it's how you'll decide, isn't it?"

"Who told you kissing is how I'd decide?" Harry asked with a chuckle as he beckoned Delphini over to him, a small transfigured blanket on the ground that expanded when she drew closer to it; that was one bit of magic he could do wandless, as minor as it was.

She plopped down beside him in the all but empty eighth-year tower, their other friends and dormmates elsewhere as they went through various work; Daphne stayed alongside Tracey whenever the latter girl was in Hogwarts now, that action a direct result of the candies that were placed in her bag.

"I read it in a very informative magazine," Delphini answered as she settled in beside him, her body pressed up against his. "You probably wouldn't be very fond of it… thank you, by the way."

Harry nearly asked for what, but Delphini continued speaking, stopping him from doing so.

"My family wrote to me and mentioned how we were invited to your residence by your relative Andromeda. I'm aware that you have a god-son and while I'm not his god-mother in-law yet, not until you agree to my advances, I'd like to get him something," Delphini said, smiling at Harry as beautifully as she ever did, one hand working itself more firmly into his shoulder than the other as it dipped down to trace at his collarbone. "Is there anything you'd like for Yule this year? It could be anything that you'd like."

Harry swallowed at her suggestive tone and focused briefly on the tension that her massage released. It felt wonderful, better than most things had ever felt and still, he couldn't help that very small voice in the back of his head.

This is Voldemort and Bellatrix's daughter, it said treasonously to him, hoping for discourse or revenge. You shouldn't, it'd be an insult to all of them. All of them!

"Whatever you think is best," Harry finally decided on, leaving whatever she got him up to chance as he looked up at her with the fondest expression on his face that he could give. "I trust you."

Delphini beamed at him in response before she moved around to his front, her legs folding under her body as she sat half in his lap and half out of it, enough so that she could claim some level of propriety — actually, he doubted that was the case, he wasn't truly sure why she didn't opt to sit fully in his lap.

"I'm glad you trust me and I'm glad you've been so nice to me. I was worried that I came on too strong, that I still do, but I've tried to temper myself. Demands for Hogwarts dates and spontaneous kissing isn't very effective if I want to date you with the end goal of marriage in sight," Delphini said teasingly at him, her hands coming around to massage his shoulders from the front as she wiggled ever-so-slightly closer to him. "I meant what I said about you being a very talented, handsome Auror, by the way."

"I'm glad you think so, but I don't think I'll be able to get an Auror position. Kingsley wants me far higher than that and I think I should take it… I think you should come with me too. All of you; Daphne, Tracey, my friends Ron and Hermione that you didn't meet with, working together as a group, we could do everything," Harry said truthfully as his arms came up to settle on Delphini's hips.

When she leaned in and no other presence made itself known, Harry did the same and finally, they snogged. It was as perfect as he thought it'd be and far more relaxing than any massage could ever hope to beat.

December 10, 1998

Saturday Morning

'Harry,

Hey mate! It's Ron, no surprise there though, yeah? Hermione couldn't get around to writing to you this month so I did it. She wanted me to tell you that she misses you and she's happy that you're doing better. Oh, right, reckon I should tell you that we heard from Nev and Luna, they said you were in a bit of a rough way and we nearly came back for you, but then they mentioned that you were doing better. I don't know what to think, it was Luna that wrote, but you're the ablest bloke around and now that Volde's gone, I don't see anything stopping you.

Well, except for the three Slytherin birds I hear you have following you around, but I can't say anything too bad about them since I don't recall how they acted. Hermione's influenced me, I guess, but you should see her eat before we get back to searching! You thought I was bad.

Anyways mate, I have to get going, we're right on her parents' trails! I'll write to you again soon!

With love from Ron and Hermione.

p.s.

I nearly wrote haha, but it'd be stupid, innit?'

Harry set down the letter he'd gotten that morning with a laugh, a genuine, deep laugh. Ron was always so very Ron even if what he said about Hermione influencing him was true. He was glad to see they were doing alright and happier still that they would find her parents soon — he hoped to throw a party for her when that happened, amongst other things, as Hermione really did deserve the world after all she'd sacrificed.

Ron, the Weasleys, the Tonks', all of them deserved more than he could ever give them for all they had done to help Harry and the people as a whole. Some of them would never even learn their names whilst they benefitted from the safety provided by those few people who had been brave enough to take a stand.

"Right," Harry said aloud, focusing on the other letter he'd received now that Ron's was finished; Andromeda had written to him too, likely to alert him about the invitation she'd extended. He didn't mind, he'd told her his house was hers and Teddy's, now he was just interestest as to what she had planned.

Maybe she wants to meet her niece in person and take a measure of her. I wouldn't doubt it, Andi's deadly clever.

Harry figured he was right on the money or close enough, so without hesitation, he ripped open the envelope so that he could read the small letter within.

'Dear Harry,

Teddy thrives as always, though I believe he misses you being readily available whenever he wanted. That'll be remedied soon when you finish Hogwarts and return home to us, but in the meantime, fret not about him.

As you've undoubtedly discovered, I invited over Delphini as well as her adoptive family. I've done the same with others of note that we should mingle with for the sake of your life Post-Hogwarts and whilst I recognise that as overstepping, I do hope you don't get too angry with me for seeking to do what's best for your political, adult-oriented life.

Lest I drag on, please remember to pick up the gift I've ordered for Teddy and something for those closest to you that you'll be having over. Don't be a stranger with your letters home either, they're very enjoyable.

Love, Andromeda.'