A/N: I finished this is a story in February this year and posted somewhere else back then at another archive. It's about 50k words long and seems well-liked, so I thought I post it here as well. I did post it in 35 chapters back then but now there will be less as I will group some together. It looks like it will be 18 chapters now.
This one ticks all my guilty pleasures. It is a fix-it first and foremost; there is bashing of Dumbledore, Molly, and Ron; Sirius and Severus get help – or better, they help themselves; it is slightly crack-ish in some instances (not that I plan for it – it just happens); and most importantly Harry doesn't need to save his world singlehandedly.
It is rated T for some swearing and the death of a minor character. If someone thinks it's the wrong rating, please tell me. I am never sure about it.
Oh, and the story starts in the middle of Harry's disciplinary hearing in front of the Wizengamot. It kind of jumps right in. But you all know what happened before.
Disclaimer: Not mine and no money is being made. Writing is a hobby for me, nothing less nothing more.
Wizengamot
„How?"
„What?"
"How do you know that a muggle was there?"
A flustered Minister Fudge looked at his Undersecretary for help. She whispered something to him.
He turned back to Harry and said, "You wouldn't understand."
"So, you don't know?"
"What? Stop these impertinent questions!"
The woman with the monocle turned to the minister and said, "I would like to know that as well. I do know for a fact, that no Auror was allowed to investigate, even if it is standard procedure when a magical child casts a defensive charm."
The whole court started muttering. Until now, they had been fully on board with taking the boy down a notch, but now they felt a little uncomfortable.
"Is that so, Cornelius? I myself would like to know this as well, now. And I would also like to know why the Potter heir cast the spell in the first place," a stern-looking old woman called out.
A shockwave went through the Wizengamot. They realized that this was no mere muggle-born here, but a future peer. What was going on?
Minister Fudge felt the whole situation slipping out of his control and tried to bluster his way through it, to regain it again, "This is inconsequential! We know the boy cast a spell in front of a muggle-"
"But how do you know that?" Harry asked again.
Minister Fudge turned red. "Be silent, boy!" He yelled, spittle flying.
Harry shrunk back clearly cowed, Fudge noticed with satisfaction. Unfortunately for him, others noticed as well. More and more brains started to engage. This was a child. He just turned 15 for Morgana's sake!
The woman with the monocle stamped her foot, since she had no gavel, and said, "This farce stops now. I will question Heir Potter in my office as planned. Come, Mr. Potter." With that, she led the relieved boy out of the chamber using a side door.
They missed Albus Dumbledore, who was sweeping in to save the day by just a few moments.
Bones' Office
When they reached the office, Harry was asked to sit in a comfortable armchair and the woman with the monocle, who had introduced herself as Madame Bones, got ready to start the interview. But he interrupted her by asking, "Is that a pensive?"
"Yes. If you know what it is, do you want to just show me the memory?"
"Yes! I just don't know how to extract it…"
"I will do it. One moment." She tapped a button with her wand and said, "Gladys? Pensive protocol, no one may enter."
"Understood, Madam Bones."
Madam Bones tapped another button, and all openings were shuttered. They closed like camera lenses. It looked really cool!
"Now we are not vulnerable, while we watch the memory."
Harry nodded, remembering how it felt when the Headmaster Dumbledore had pulled him out of the memory unexpectedly. Not nice, that was for sure.
With her instruction, the memory soon was in the stone bowl and they both stuck their fingers in the liquid. One had not to dunk one's head in, Harry learned.
As they watched, Harry noticed how bad he looked in that memory. Drawn and downtrodden. At least he wore clothes, Mrs. Weasley had organized for him, today. They were threadbare but fit so much better!
The memory ran until Mrs. Figg came along ranting about a Mundungus Fletcher for not keeping watch.
They exited the memory much more controlled than Harry had experienced before and as soon as they were out, Madam Bones started writing rapidly.
Afterward, she said, "May I take a copy of the memory? It is evidence in an investigation now. The Dementors could not have found you without help. Someone in the ministry must have had their hand in this."
Harry nodded a little shocked. He had not thought about that!
The woman duplicated the memory and returned it to Harry.
"Very good. That means, you had ample cause, to cast the spell and the so-called muggle was your cousin, someone in the know. You now only have the mark from Summer 92 in your file." She smiled at Harry.
"That wasn't me either, you know?"
"What? Then why didn't you protest it?"
"I didn't know, I could?"
"Merlin. What are they teaching you in that school of yours?"
"Nothing practical, that's for sure. But if I ever need a pincushion and have a hedgehog at hand, I am all set," Harry said cheekily.
Madame Bones was biting her lips, hard, to keep herself from grinning and then said, "You do know, why you learn that spell?"
"Not really? But Professor McGonagall never uses words I understand. She might have told us."
"Right. Anyway, do you want to protest the mark in your file?"
"Yes! Want to see the memory as well? It's short."
"Yes, please."
Soon they watched Dobby snapping his fingers and Harry getting the warning via owl in a muggle household, scaring a visiting muggle and causing much chaos.
After they exited, she said, "I am really starting to feel ashamed now, by the impression we are making. Can I have a copy as well?"
"Sure!"
"Anything else I need to see?"
"Oh yes!"
"Oh, dear. How many?
Harry thought about it and said, "Two and an additional one each with the Minister's reaction to it?"
"All right. Give me the earliest one. Let's go chronically."
They then watched the meeting in the Shrieking Shack. She learned about Sirius' innocence for betraying the Potters and killing the muggles and Pettigrew's confessions.
Harry was just happy while watching the memory, that Sirius was better now and didn't attack Harry's friends and hurt them!
Madam Bones was speechless, so the memory was copied and returned like all the ones before and all the ones that would follow and they watched the one, where Fudge denied the report, the children gave him.
She had decided to refrain from taking notes after watching a memory. There was too much to unpack in each and Heir Potter allowed her to copy them thus far, so she could rewatch them anyway.
The next memory was the hardest and Harry asked if he had to watch it again. Fortunately, he could sit that one out. As Madame Bones watched the end of the third task, the murder of Cedric Diggory, the resurrection of Lord Voldemort with the help of the same rat from before, the appearance of all the Death Eaters, and Harry's escape. But it didn't stop there, Harry was dragged into an office and Barty Crouch Jr. made an appearance!
When she came back, she just sat down and stared. Her brain was on pause it seemed.
After a few minutes and the copy/return spiel, she said weakly, "Let's see the last one, first."
"Ok."
Harry watched this one as well. It was just the short scene in the Hospital Wing about Fudge having let his Dementor lose on Barty Crouch jr. and denying the resurrection.
Afterward, Madam Bones exclaimed emphatically, "What a clusterfuck!"
Harry barked out a surprised laugh.
"Sorry, I usually do not swear like this. Now, I really hope that that's all!"
"These are the important things, where something still can be done, I think. All the other stuff is over and done with."
"All right. Thank you. When this mess is solved, and I had a long vacation I really would like to see the rest. I heard crazy stories!"
"Yeah, take them with a grain of salt, please, if they were told by Susan and Hannah. They both hate me."
"I see." The woman looked shocked, but Harry didn't care. The girls had been vicious. Starting after the dueling club meeting in 2nd- year and getting worse last year.
"Now, your slate is clear again. I have marked the instances in your file as investigated and resolved. I am wondering that there are no instances of accidental magic noted in this file. Did you never cause any?"
Harry barked out a surprised laugh again, "You are kidding, right? There were quite a few instances with muggles involved as well. I even turned the wig of one of my teachers blue. In front of the whole muggle class!"
"What? That should have gotten a major response! But there is nothing! Not even redacted!"
"That is strange because someone clearly intervened when a teacher reported my living conditions," Harry said without thinking. He then waved his hands and cried out, "Please forget what I said!"
"Mr. Potter, this is incredibly serious. I need to investigate this, and I will. Please don't feel bad! But I will do my best to get to the bottom of this. Quietly. But more importantly, even, I will start investigating and acting on the last four memories you shared with me. Even more quietly but as quickly as I can! – Now, I will lock up all of these memories and my memory of this meeting, as well. Something is really wrong here!"
Harry nodded, he thought so, too.
After all the memories had been secured, the lockdown on the room was retracted and as soon as everything clicked in its usual hidden place the door burst open and Albus Dumbledore stood there, fuming. "What is the meaning of this?" he called out in a booming voice.
Madam Bones looked rather taken aback and said, "I could ask the same?"
The old wizard started and took in the shocked faces of the boy and the Head of the DMLE and quite obviously tried to get a hold of himself. He smiled, but his eyes stayed hard as blue pebbles, Harry noticed. Quite a few people were standing in the doorway behind the powerful wizard, watching.
"I am sorry my dear, I didn't know what was happening in here and was worried."
Amelia Bones raised an eyebrow, "Of what?"
"Well, the door didn't open, you know how easily one worries for people close to one's heart."
'Close to one's heart?' What is he on about? Harry thought.
"Didn't Gladys tell you that I just had the pensive protocol running?"
People started muttering to each other, if that was all there was, why did the headmaster raise such a stink?
"Yes, she did but it took so long!"
"You made a scene from the get-go," a clearly annoyed woman said. That's probably Gladys, Harry thought. What was Dumbledore so worked up about?
"I want to know what you did in here!"
If he stamps his foot now, he really will resemble a toddler, Harry thought unkindly. Is the stress getting to him?
Madame Bones answered calmly, "I did my job. I investigated the accusation the Minister raised, that Heir Potter here did magic in the presence of a muggle."
"What is all this about this 'heir' stuff? Why do you keep calling me that?"
"Harry my boy, it is really time to go now, come on, you need to get back to safety."
Harry smelled a rat and dug his heels in, literally, "No! Why do people call me Heir Potter?"
The people were talking quite loudly now. Things like, "What is going on?", "How does he not know?", "Why is the headmaster trying to keep him in the dark?" could be heard.
"Enough!" The now angry man bellowed and grabbed Harry's shoulder painfully and marched the struggling boy out.
The last thing everyone heard was, "You are hurting me!"
Grimmauld Place
At Grimmauld Place, Harry was marched into the kitchen and the headmaster said angrily for all to hear, "Do you know how much damage control I will have to do now?"
"What did he do?" A flustered Mrs. Weasley asked appalled.
"He talked to Amelia Bones without me! Who knows what she now knows."
"Professor Dumbledore, wasn't Harry supposed to talk to her? Why are you so angry about it now?" Hermione asked timidly.
The headmaster only now seemed to realize that he had quite the audience. Again. He really pulled himself together.
"Never mind, my dear. I was angry because the hearing was rescheduled to an earlier time and was to be held in front of the whole Wizengamot. And when I had gotten wind of it and rushed there, Harry had been taken somewhere else and when I got there the doors wouldn't open and I got really worried. Irrationally so. I am sorry, my boy."
Harry, who was still rubbing his shoulder, scowled, and looked at the man as if seeing him for the first time and said, "But you got really angry when I asked, why everyone called me 'Heir Potter'. And then you hurt me."
Silence.
"You don't know that you are Heir Potter?" Ron scoffed, "Come off it!"
Silence.
"Harry my boy, you don't need to bother yourself with this old-fashioned, dark stuff. Just forget about it for the moment, we have bigger things to worry about, all right?"
"If it is so inconsequential, why are you so hung up on keeping the knowledge from me?"
"Now Harry, don't speak to the headmaster like that. Come on tell us. Can you keep your wand now?" Mrs. Weasley tried to calm down the situation.
Harry nodded smiling, "Yes! Madam Bones was amazing!"
"Well, that is great! I baked a cake to celebrate this! Come on, sit down all of you! Albus, where are you going? You can't leave now when so much anger is in the air!" Mrs. Weasley ushered the reluctant Headmaster to the kitchen table.
It was quite an uncomfortable tea. Harry felt locked in, like in his cupboard. Well without the hunger, at least.
Sirius sat at the table with a very strange look on his face. He didn't fool around like he usually did, trying to lighten the mood. No, he looked serious, alert, and thoughtful. At one point he glanced sharply at the headmaster and said harshly, "Get out of my head."
The old man chuckled and said, "Forgive me, my boy, old habit."
"Is that so?"
"What is happening?" Hermione asked.
"The headmaster just told us, that it was an old habit for his to enter other people's minds."
"You can do that?"
"I can't, But Albus here and Snivellus are very good at it."
"Snape reads people's minds?" Ron yelped.
"Yes."
"Isn't that forbidden?" Hermione asked anxiously, thinking of her thievery of boomslang skin.
"It sure is, but how would you prove it?"
"Sirius, please don't frighten the children!" Mrs. Weasley tried to intervene.
"So, you have no problem, with people invading children's minds, but with me warning them about it?"
"It's Albus!"
"And Snape, mum!" Ginny exclaimed. She hated the thought of someone in her mind. Again. She shuddered.
Mrs. Weasley obviously didn't know how to answer that. She turned to Albus, just to notice, he had stolen away. She felt conflicted. Her admiration for Dumbledore and her need to keep her children safe at war with each other. So, she turned on Sirius as an easy target for her ire, "This is all your fault!"
But it was not Sirius who jumped to defend himself, showing his irresponsibility. No, it was Harry, who just asked, "How?"
"What?"
"Wow, déjà vu! How is it all Sirius' fault?"
"Why déjà vu?"
"Don't distract me, Hermione. Mrs. Weasley, please answer."
Hermione huffed and Mrs. Weasley was at a loss. She had no good answer, so she did what mothers did when in a conundrum like this, she said, "Never mind that, dear, you wouldn't understand. More cake?"
"No thank you. Sirius, can we talk? In private?"
"Sure, pup. Come!"
"No, you can't!"
"Why?" Harry asked.
"I... Albus said... You need to tell us of your hearing!"
"Later. Sirius?"
Mrs. Weasley watched helplessly, as the two left for parts of the house unknown, just as Hermione asked, "Now, what does the heir stuff mean?"
