Fifth Year Rebooted

by Lab12

What would happen if the mind of a 28-year-old Harry was accidentally returned to his just recently turned 15-years-old body? Lots of swearing, that is for sure. Manipulative Dumbledore. Bashing. Tropes.

3. The Rest of August

Sirius goes off to Gringotts

The next morning, Sirius, Remus, and Harry met in front of the duelling room next to the armoury and the potions lab, which had been emptied of all ingredients to keep them safe.

The twins came by to help too. So, in the end, five wizards cast the repairing spell on the floor of the duelling room and watched the resulting beautification of the room with fascination. Afterwards, they looked into the other two rooms as well. Especially the potions Lab had been improved very drastically. It was light and airy, and after Kreacher – who was lurking close by – had cleaned it, it was the twins' most favourite room in the house. They begged to be allowed to spend their last summer week in it.

"Have at it, boys," Sirius said agreeably. "But wait for an hour or so, that way Kreacher can return the ingredients."

"Thank you!"

"Come on, boys, let's go look for breakfast and leave Sirius to fend for himself," Remus declared, but Sirius decided to join them. Saying he needed to offer Molly her voice back again before he left.

And it had been the right thing to do. Molly nodded when Sirius asked her if she agreed to stop screeching. Especially in the vicinity of Remus.

Unfortunately, this didn't stop her from scolding everyone and trying to convince Harry to change rooms.

"But why?" Harry asked sullenly.

"We might need the rooms should there be a big fight and we need to house people. Now, stop arguing and listen to me. You are like my son, Harry."

Wow, manipulative much? And heavy-handed, he thought and answered, "No."

"Hey, don't talk to Mum like that! You share with me now, understood?"

"Whatever," Harry said and got up to go to his room. Remus and Sirius looked at him a little strangely because he didn't act like that when they were alone, but Harry just couldn't pretend with them. He liked them too much to rebuff them like this.

"Come back here this instant, Harry!" Molly came close to screeching, but Harry was gone and soon back in his room, where Kreacher brought him his plate. At least Molly hadn't potioned the food this morning and it was delicious like always.

Wow, that idea of using the dining room really had its merits. Was that the third or fourth time he had walked out of the kitchen now?

Hermione had also tried talking to Harry but didn't stand a chance against Molly when that woman took charge of a room. Harry wasn't really sad about that.

In the LF Hermione had taken the side of the Weasley family and had started sounding like Molly, Harry remembered. And he had made sure she hadn't been controlled by spells or potions. He had checked her after he had found the enchantments on himself in the LF.

No. He didn't want to go through that heartache again. He might be able to steer her to another path, but right now he had other things to do that seemed more important. So she needed to find that path all by herself.

Maybe she would have at a later time in their LF, but the dice had been cast anew, so thinking about the "what-ifs" would just waste his time he decided and looked around the room for something to do.

Maybe I should go to the library or look for Remus. He promised a duelling practice.

But was that a good idea? Harry wasn't sure he could hold back that much.

Damn. Better stay in my room and read one of the books from the Potter Vault.

But he couldn't concentrate. His mind always returned to Sirius (who hopefully was getting healed at Gringotts right now) and to Remus.

Should he tell them?

Could he trust them?

Would they be able to watch what they were saying at all times?

Maybe a contract or an oath was needed to protect Harry, but also them. But who could know for certain that Sirius wouldn't have to take Veritaserum if he ever had a trial, for example? Or that one of them got captured and interrogated in the future?

Everyone broke at some point.

Hm. Harry would too, now that he thought about it. He needed a way to keep his time-travelling a secret as well.

Maybe with the Fidelius? I need to ask Grobhook if he has an idea, he thought and wrote a note to the goblin right away.

The answer came immediately, and he was told that the goblins could forge an amulet for Harry (and for everyone he chose to tell his secret to) to put on their respective necklaces. That the necklace then could only be taken off by Harry and Grobhook together, and they could enchant the amulet to hide the whole necklace and its pendants.

Damn, soon I will look like a decorated Christmas tree with all the bling, Harry huffed. But Grobhook had also written that it worked just like the Fidelius charm, only without a Secret-Keeper, and asked if Harry wanted to commission any.

Harry wanted to and ordered three amulets plus two necklaces but made certain the ones for Remus didn't contain any silver.

Grobhook's' answer came quickly. He confirmed the order, said no silver would be used – the amulet would be werewolf friendly, and that Sirius Black was with the healers at the moment.

This cheered Harry up quite a bit and he was able to get into reading his book from the Potter vault he was currently working his way through.

At lunchtime, Harry had migrated to the garden on the roof and was sitting under one of the big trees in the shadow with his book, where Remus found him.

"There you are! Good hiding place. What are you reading?"

Harry pulled the now-closed book to his chest, hiding the front cover, and squeaked, "Nothing!"

Remus laughed and said, "Okay, keep it to yourself," and winked at Harry.

Harry blushed. Damn hormones. And it wasn't even a naughty book like Remus seemed to assume. Just one he shouldn't have had access to.

"I figured you had no head for duelling, am I right?"

"Yeah, sorry."

"No problem, cub. It's the summer holidays. You are allowed to relax."

"Hmm, school will start soon, I guess. I wish I could stay here."

"It's your O.W.L. year, though."

"Right... Say, do you know a good silencing charm that only dampens snoring and wanking?"

"Oh, the perils of a 5th-year boy's dorm," Remus laughed. "But I do, actually. I had the same problem at that time in my life. The spell cancels out all human noises except speech and distress. Here, let me show you."

Harry learned a few rather helpful spells and a scowling Kreacher served them lunch in between.

Apparently, a kitchen war had broken out between him and Molly. And while Harry tried to cheer the house-elf up with the fact that the woman would be gone by September, he didn't think that information helped very much.

At about two pm a loud crack sounded over the roofs of London and Sirius appeared, grinning brightly as soon as he saw his two most favourite people and bounded over to them.

"I'm back! And healed! And it didn't hurt at all! I slept through most of it. Those goblins are amazing. Just look at me! Don't I look ten years younger?"

And he did. The transformation was amazing. Sirius looked close to the pictures in Harry's photo album.

"Wow! Yes, you do look amazing!" Harry exclaimed and Remus nodded, looking quite gobsmacked.

"Now Moony looks the oldest again," Sirius crowed.

"Yes, more befitting our mental states," Remus grumbled.

"Hey!"

"Uh, how will you explain those changes to the rest?" Harry asked.

"The amazing goblins gave me a pendant on a silver chain to wear around my neck. I refuse to call it a necklace. Anyway, it has two disguise enchantments on it. Here, let me show you."

Sirius tapped something under his robe and his looks returned to the ones from this morning.

"And it will slowly wear off, so in a year or so I'll look like my true self. Actually, I better leave it active, or I'll forget about it."

"That's amazing!" Harry was once again in awe of the goblins. "And the other disguise?"

"I'll show you at a later date," Sirius hedged.

"You just want to prank us with it," Remus growled, and Sirius beamed.

Harry sniggered and asked, "Will it help you to leave the house?"

"Yes! I freely walked from Gringotts to the Apparition point of the Alley in that disguise."

"Wow. But when did you change? You arrived as young Sirius. Did anyone see you?"

"Damn, cub, you are sharp. No one saw me. I Apparated into my bedroom first and deactivated the disguise. Kreacher told me where to find you two."

"Phew."

Remus nodded and pointed to Harry, "What he said."

Sirius conjured himself a sunchair, pulled off his robes, and flopped down, relaxing in his undershirt and black trousers.

"Did anything else happen?" Harry asked.

Sirius nonchalantly waved his right hand and a ring appeared on his ring finger. "I might have taken up the Lordship for the Black family."

Remus and Harry gaped at the man speechlessly, which Sirius enjoyed the sight of quite a bit.

"Uh, so you are Lord Black now?"

"Yes. And you are my heir, cub."

"Me?" Harry squeaked. How hadn't that come up in his LF?

"You. Who else? Narcissa's child?"

"Who?" Harry pretended not to know whom Sirius meant.

"I'll need to show you the tapestry again. Narcissa is my cousin, who married Lucius Malfoy."

"He means Draco Malfoy," Remus added, and Harry sneered.

"No love lost there?" Sirius asked, chuckling.

"None. He's a spoiled brat."

"Like his father then," Sirius nodded.

Harry looked to Remus and asked, "Do you know the spell for conjuring a chair like Sirius'?"

So Remus taught Harry the delicate differences in conjuring diverse kinds of furniture to relax on. In the end, the roof garden was filled with all different kinds of couches, lawn chairs, and beds.

Harry, now laying on his own sunchair, asked, "What does that Lordship mean? Do you have any privileges or duties now?"

So, Sirius launched into an explanation that sent Harry's head spinning. There was too fucking much to learn here. But it wasn't much different than what nobility meant in the Muggle world. Noblesse oblige, power, riches, and a seat in the magical House of Lords, the Wizengamot.

"Do the Potters have a Lordship too?" Harry asked, quite worried now.

"No. I think they were offered one at one point but declined. The Potter family always tried to stay away from politics. James was a little of an outlier and we still had to convince him to join the Order."

"Uh. And now a Potter is an heir to a Black. Please make babies, Sirius!"

Sirius nearly fell off his chair, he laughed so hard, "I'll do my best, pup. At least I can leave the house under disguise and meet nice women now."

"Woah! I take it back! Don't impregnate a woman while in disguise!" Harry exclaimed much to Sirius's delight.

A minute later Kreacher came and said, "The mudblood is making a ruckus, because she can't enter the library."

"Kreacher! Don't call her that, please," Harry exclaimed. "My mother was Muggle-born, and it hurts me."

"Very well, Just Harry. Kreacher will stop saying that word."

"Thanks," Harry tilted his head, "So, she noticed she can't enter? Took her long enough."

"Nearly a whole day," Sirius, who had led Harry to handle Kreacher, mused. "Strange."

"The mu… Granger has many books from the library in her rooms and her trunk. She read those," Kreacher said, sneering.

"Does she now? Well, they will not stay there for more than two weeks longer," Sirius announced, looking mysteriously over the roofs of London.

"What did you do, Pads?" Moony asked. He knew by that look that his friend planned some mischief.

"Hmm. I signed a parchment. Nothing more."

And no wheedling could make Sirius tell Remus anything else. Harry joined in a little, even though he knew what that must be about.

"Come on, let's save the books," Harry got up from his chair.

"Must we?" Sirius complained but followed Harry nonetheless, with Remus tagging along.

---

When they arrived at the 2nd floor they found Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Vance, Diggle, and Doge barraging the door to the library with offensive spells. The walls close to the entrance as well as the door itself looked much worse to wear. There were burn marks and plaster that had been blasted off littering the floor.

"Stop this instant, you fucking morons!" Sirius bellowed.

"Language!" Hermione yelped.

"Shut the fuck up! Diggle, what's going on here?"

"The door wouldn't open, and Hermione needs to go inside." The man blustered.

"And you decided to take down a wall with books on the other side? Are you fucking stupid? How did no one think to ask me but decided to destroy my home?"

"I couldn't find you," Hermione scowled. She hadn't thought about the books that might get damaged and felt a little guilty about them, but Sirius was going too far!

"So what? You all decided that destroying my house would be the next best option? Who gave you the right?"

"The books should be accessible to anyone! I was told I would have a free run of the library here. And I'm sorry for not thinking about the books on the other side, but you can't lock me out!"

"Wow, entitled much?" Harry muttered.

"Harry! Why are you so mean? These books belong to the public! All books should!"

"Hermione, this is a private library, and you are a guest in this house. You have no automatic rights to them," Remus tried to explain calmly.

"I was promised a free run of the library and I will have it!" She declared loudly.

"By whom?" Harry asked.

"Professor McGonagall! My parents didn't want to let me come here, but she promised me free access to the library in this house! So, I convinced my parents to let me come."

"Minerva has no authority to promise such a thing," Remus tried to explain.

"If you don't let me in, I'll leave and go back to my parents!" Hermione threatened.

"No one is holding you back," Sirius huffed.

"What? No! Harry! Don't you want me to stay? I came here for you!"

"Not particularly. And you just told us you came for the books."

Hermione gaped at Harry, "But we're friends!"

"Again, I find this highly debatable."

"Harry! Don't talk to her like that!" Ron yelled. He was at his wit's end. Harry didn't automatically drift toward him. All of the old camaraderie was gone. And Harry dressed strangely but in better clothes than Ron owned.

"Whatever," but this time Harry didn't leave. He didn't spare a glance for Ron either. He was staring at Hermione.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

Harry ignored Ron.

Hermione fidgeted, "Harry, I did come because of you, too."

"No, you didn't. Or you would have been there for me at least a tiny bit."

"Harry, Professor Dumbledore told us not to tell you anything of substance about the current state of affairs! For safety reasons! Owls can get intercepted."

"And that's the only way to correspond that you know?"

"There is no telephone in the wizarding world, Harry!"

"What about Muggle-mail? There are letterboxes all over London. And I'm sure you could have gotten some stamps."

Hermione shrugged, "The Headmaster told us not to tell you anything. I had to listen to him, don't you see?"

"So it was not about my safety, but about keeping me in the dark?"

"Harry, you know you do react without thinking. And with us not there keeping you in check, it was better you had no information," Hermione explained as she would to a toddler.

"So, you see yourself as my minder?"

"Well, yes!"

"And as an incentive you get access to rare wizarding books? Wow. Some 'friend' you are. Please leave me alone from now on."

"Harry! No! That's not what I meant!"

"I think that is exactly what you meant, Miss Granger. Please leave my home," Sirius said decisively. "Vance. Take her back to her parents. She is no longer welcome here. In an hour the wards will eject her."

While a shocked Emmeline Vance led the now crying Hermione to the girl's bedroom, Ron rounded on Harry again, "You can't let him do that to her!"

"You want me to react without thinking and rush in to save her?" Harry asked coldly.

"Well, yeah!" Ron looked incredulously at his (former) friend. "That's what you do!"

"Like with your sister, right?"

"Now you get it," Ron huffed.

"No."

"What?"

"Why should I rush to save someone whose main goal is to hinder me from rushing to save someone?"

"What? That doesn't make sense!"

"Exactly."

Ron stared at Harry dumbfounded but Ginny grabbed his arm and pulled him away. This was not the way to endear themselves to Harry, was it?

Meanwhile, Sirius looked to Diggle and Doge who had just watched the whole drama with great interest, and said, "And you two. If you ever think of damaging my house again, you're out too. No matter what Albus says. At this moment I am so close to recanting my invitation for the Order to use my home as a base."

The two elderly wizards looked shocked and nodded hastily.

"Now leave. There is no meeting for the rest of the month scheduled so there is no reason to be here, is there? Shoo."

Wow, Sirius is on a roll there, Harry thought and then looked to his godfather and said, "Good thinking to leave the disguise on. I would have forgotten all about it."

"Yeah, I learned that lesson the hard way during school. Back then it was necessary to always hide our Animagus-mishaps. I walked into the Great Hall with a dog's tail once. It was wagging under my robes making my butt look very strange."

Harry sniggered, "And you pretended it was a prank?"

"Naturally. But it was much too close for our taste so we swore to always wear a disguise in a building when one would be needed somewhere within."

"Like hiding that tail even in your dorm because you might forget it when you left?" Harry nodded. "Good life lesson."

"It really is. Now let's repair this damage."

And so, they did. They also did some more parts of the house and in the end at least the lower three floors and the basement were fully repaired.

Afterwards, they agreed to meet in the informal dining room later and went to their rooms to rest.

Once there, Harry found a note from Grobhook that the secrecy amulets would be ready by tomorrow morning. This cheered him up quite a bit. He wanted to be able to talk to Sirius and Remus openly.

They felt much closer to his age than his former friends did, with Harry being 28-years-old mentally and the two marauders 35. Sirius especially sometimes felt more like a brother than a parent.

---

Educational Discussions

That evening in the informal dining room that was warded against intruders, Kreacher served the leftovers from the day before with some added dishes that went well with the Indian food. The twins had gotten invited as well and the five of them had a drama-free and enjoyable dinner, much to Harry's delight.

The twins were gushing about the potions lab and were wishing they could pack it up and take it with them to Hogwarts. They had missed the scene at the library and weren't sure if they should be happy or sad about it. So, they shared their emotions between them. Fred was sad, and George was happy.

They also got into a big discussion with Remus about taking their N.E.W.T.s and in the end, Sirius offered them access to the Marauder's journal if they managed to earn 3 N.E.W.T.s each.

"But…" The two looked at each other. This was the best bribe ever. "Alright, we will do it! Damn you, Sirius Black!"

Sirius preened, "There is a second volume, too. The one that describes in detail how we made the map. But to get a copy of that one you would need two more N.E.W.T.s each…"

"But we only have three O.W.L.s!" George protested.

"In which subjects?"

"Herbology, Defence and Charms."

"Not in Potions?" Sirius asked incredulously. The two seemed to be prodigies.

"Uh, no. We botched that one."

"On purpose?"

The two nodded a little shamefaced.

"Any other O.W.L. you wilfully botched?"

"Maybe?"

Harry was astonished. He had never thought to ask George about this. And he had been his favourite Weasley in his LF.

Remus facepalmed, "Why did you do that?"

"Why bother? No one expected more of us and we have no academic aspirations. We want to be entrepreneurs and open a joke shop. What do we need that many O.W.L.s for? And Mum would force us to work at the Ministry or something."

"Boys, wizards live a long life. Your life goals might change in the next 150 years," Remus sighed.

"Huh, we didn't think of that. But it's too late now."

"No, it isn't. You can retake your O.W.L.s two times at the Ministry at any time and you can take as many new ones as you want, too. If you want to, I could make an appointment for you in a week. Just tell me which subjects you want to take the O.W.L.s in."

"Uh…" the twins looked at each other discussing this without using words.

"Alright. We will do it. I think we could both pass Potions and Transfiguration. George could do Arithmancy in his sleep and I wouldn't have a problem with Ancient Runes. That would mean we could take Enchantments and Animation workshops respectively, couldn't we?"

Remus nodded, "You could. And Alchemy and Warding if you want to."

"Wow."

"But you would need an Outstanding in Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, and Ancient Runes or Arithmancy for Alchemy. So, the question would be, how did you do for your Herbology O.W.L.?"

"Oh, we got Os for the three subjects we decided to pass."

"Wow!" Harry exclaimed, "I never knew! Wasn't your Mum happy about that?"

The twins scowled, "She doesn't know. She never asked. She just wanted to know how many O.W.L.s we passed."

"But you're brilliant!"

"Thanks, Harry. You and Bill are the only ones to see it that way."

"And now we do too," Sirius said decisively. "So, do we have a deal, boys?"

The twins nodded, excited again, and both shook Sirius and Remus's hands to make the agreement official.

"Very well, then I'll make an appointment for you on the 30th of August," Remus nodded, happy to have gotten his way.

"Thanks, Professor!" The twins singsonged and excused themselves to go study immediately.

"Wow, I wish we had a Professor at Hogwarts telling us all of this. And someone to help us decide which electives to take in 2nd year. I listened to Ron and took the easiest ones…"

"Which are?" Sirius asked.

"Care of Magical Creatures and Divination," Harry said, still feeling a bit ashamed about it.

"Oh pup. I take it you have no interest in either?"

"None."

They both looked at Remus in question.

Remus huffed and said, "What do you want to do when you are grown?"

Harry shrugged and answered, "No idea… Maybe curse breaking or warding?"

"Then you need to switch to Ancient Runes and Arithmancy right away."

"But I cannot take my O.W.L.s in these subjects in just one year!"

"No, but in three. People do that all the time. They just write the O.W.L. in one other elective, like Divination and Care but don't attend those classes anymore. Remember, you have three shots for each subject."

"I bet he could easily pass Muggle Studies without studying for it at all."

"Uh, but Hagrid will be sad if I don't attend."

"Hagrid is on a mission for Dumbledore and won't teach at the beginning of the school year."

"Oh! Well, then I want to switch! Could you write McGonagall, Sirius? Make it official?"

"Sure. So, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes in and Care and Divination out?"

"Yes!" Harry felt relieved. Even if he knew some of the material of the two new subjects, they would be mostly new and therefore he didn't have to repeat all of his courses.

"I'll write to her immediately. As the letters haven't gone out, there is no reason to deny the change electives, luckily."

"And the twins?"

"Good point, Remus?"

"I'll write to Minerva and ask her. And also, to keep quiet about it. They are adults and there is no need to inform the parents, after all. It's the twin's decision whether to tell anyone and I'll write just that. Ok, now I have two letters to write. Could I borrow Hedwig, Harry?"

"Gladly! She is bored out of her mind and a little annoyed about it."

"Send the request to the Ministry first and wait for Hedwig's return. That way she can take both of our letters to Minerva."

"Alright," Remus answered and went to write his letters while Sirius stayed with Harry.

---

Harry tells Sirius and Remus

The next day at breakfast they learned from Kreacher that "the Granger" had left within the hour Sirius had given her yesterday while complaining loudly, together with Mrs Weasley, who had missed the whole thing. How that could be was anybody's guess. The twins had an excuse at least, for they had silenced their lab during that time.

After they had finished eating, Harry nervously asked the two men to come to his room as he had something to tell them. The twins were curious, but wanted to go back to review the study materials and what could Harry possibly tell the two men anyway, right?

A lot, it seemed, as Remus and Sirius learned, after Harry had secured the room and they had agreed to wear the secrecy charms on their new necklaces. All three of them also thought it best to keep them invisible. That way they couldn't be seen with (artificial) mage-sight either.

Harry talked for a long time then. He had asked Remus and Sirius not to interrupt him as it was hard enough. They listened quietly, only sometimes grunting in surprise and sharing looks. Harry only shared the bullet points of his lost future life, really. There was just so much to cover.

After Harry had ended his long story the two sat there speechlessly for a while, until Sirius said haltingly, "So, you are 28 years old."

"In my mind is, yes."

"And we both were dead."

"Yes."

"And Voldemort had been defeated permanently."

"Yes."

"But at a high cost."

"Yes."

"And you returned because Ron and Ginny botched up an enslavement ritual by using time-turner sand instead of some lost ingredient."

"Yes."

"And after you returned, you went to the goblins, and they healed and helped you."

"Yes."

"And Albus is pulling all the strings in the background, controlling our fates."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Fuck."

"That was my word for it too."

Remus, who had been studying Harry's goblin-made, and therefore irrefutable scan results, looked up. He felt devastated. Even if his trust in Albus had been shaken a little, it had still existed on a fundamental level. But now? Now, it had been broken irreparably. And no one could make up such a crazy story. Especially not one who grew up in the Muggle world for half their life.

Sirius, who had already lost most of his faith in the headmaster yesterday, and the day before, asked, "So, that idiot made Horcruxes? And Reggie found out and went and tried to destroy one, not knowing the idiot had made more than one?"

Harry nodded sadly.

"That's why Kreacher changed so much!" Sirius realised.

"Yes."

"Why not tell us earlier, cub, why now?"

"Honestly, I didn't really want to tell anyone, except for my account manager. I had planned to alienate my former friends and not get close to both of you. But well…"

"You like us too much!" Sirius crowed.

"Yeah, that. I couldn't stay away as soon as I arrived here. Even my interaction with Remus at the Dursleys showed me that it would become near impossible."

Remus started laughing, "You played the indignant teenager perfectly while there. Making us jump through hoops and poking holes in our idiotic plan."

Harry grinned and nodded, "Yes, that was fun. But you have to understand that I am in a strange place right now. My mind is that of an adult, but my body is that of a teenager, hormone-ridden and all. So, it's not really hard to play the sullen teen."

Remus nodded, "So, the opposite of Sirius here. With his teenage mind and adult body."

"Hey!"

Harry laughed, "I hadn't thought of it that way. Just that I am closer in age to you two than my former friends, but you are absolutely right!"

"Hey!"

They all laughed. Even Sirius.

"I had planned to wait to tell you both at least until the Riddle problem had been solved, to be exact. But when I wanted to go find Remus yesterday to train in the duelling room, I didn't think I could dumb myself down enough not to raise any red flags with you."

"You're that good?" Remus understood the reference. (Sirius translated 'red flags' into 'red sparks'.)

"I've been a full-fledged Auror for more than six years."

"Damn!" Sirius exclaimed.

"At least I don't need to hold myself back from reining Sirius's Language in, now," Remus said.

"You're right! And I don't have to rein my language in anymore, either!" Harry said cheerfully.

They chuckled.

"The amulets make so much more sense now. Thank you for getting them for us!" Remus noted.

"Yeah. That way, even a listening charm, Veritaserum, or an eavesdropping portrait would keep us from talking about my lost future, now."

"Handy. And 'lost future' is a good way to call it." Remus commented.

"Yeah, my goblin healer, Master Yoda, called it that. I normally just call it LF in my head."

Remus choked, "Master Yoda?"

"You know Star Wars?"

"Yes! We saw the first two movies together. I went alone to watch the third part when it came out in '83. So, Sirius knows Master Yoda too.

"Yes, both of them. The goblin's name is actually Healer Yordam, but he looks like Yoda, so he allows that name as well. I think he finds it incredibly funny. I met him yesterday, actually. He – Wait! There is a third movie? I need to see it!"

"You should. It should run in a theatre somewhere in London, right? And in a few years the films will get re-released, I think. Specially edited and theeen," Harry looked to the two wizards on the edge of their seats, "… then there will be three more films in the next decade."

"Yes! Are they as good as the first two?"

"Hm, I don't think so. The special effects were amazing, but the characters weren't as fun as the ones in the old ones. And the films play before the first three, making them Episodes I-III and the old ones IV-VI. Which is confusing as hell. But they are still worth watching," Harry grinned at his excited-looking… friends? Uncles? Gah!

"So," Remus went back to Harry's time travelling, "What made you want to change your electives?"

"I don't know much about Arithmancy and Ancient Runes and always regretted not taking them at Hogwarts. So now there are at least two new subjects to look forward to."

"Makes sense."

Sirius nodded as well, "So, much more time to play pranks then!"

Harry sniggered, "True! And I want to help the twins develop their products. They are brilliant and will be very successful, let me tell you that."

"You better don't make too many predictions, pup."

"You're right. The goblins warned me against it. And it's amazing how much things have changed already. You know, I came to Grimmauld much earlier because Dolores Umbridge sent two Dementors after me in Little Whinging."

"You did? She did? Woah! And she got arrested by the goblins! Was that because of you?"

"Yup. I also told them she had three Black Quills in her possession and had tortured schoolchildren during my fifth year in Hogwarts; made them write lines with it in detention in my LF."

"Woah! Why would she even be at Hogwarts?"

"She was our Defence Professor."

"No way!"

"Way."

"Damn, Hogwarts must really be scraping at the bottom of the barrel, right?" Sirius asked, full of wonder. "Wasn't that the bitch who pressed that werewolf decree through the Wizengamot that you told me about, Moony?"

"Yes," Remus said. "So, she will stand trial at Gringotts's court?"

"She already did, actually. Got 30 years in the mines. Officially only for the quills, but also for the Dementors. The Prophet just hasn't caught up on it yet," Harry explained.

"Good. It couldn't have happened to anyone more deserving," Remus announced.

Harry nodded, "My words exactly."

"So, now what? We pretend that Harry is the 15-year-old he looks to be, and we wait for him and Gringotts to destroy the last two Horcruxes. And then what?" Sirius asked.

Harry shrugged, "Not sure. He'll try to lure me to the DoM for the prophecy at some time. Maybe I can get him there? Or someone else kills him?" Harry thought about that for a moment and then announced very officially, "Everyone in Great Britain may act as my hand when it comes to destroying Tom Marvolo Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort!"

A flash of light went off starting from Harry's chest and going outward sweeping through the whole room and probably outside as well.

"Damn, pup, what was that?"

Harry looked as amazed as Sirius and Remus and answered, "That was me working under the law of the prophecy I told you about? Hopefully, anyone can kill him now as soon as the Horcruxes are gone, but only he can kill me?"

"Wow. I wonder if the rest of the world got hit with this light, too?" Sirius said in wonderment.

"If so, Grobhook will tell me soon, I am sure!" Harry pulled out his mailing box and it started glowing right that moment.

"Aha!"

Harry pulled out the short note and started laughing, "It just says, What did you do? – Let me write back to him quickly and ask if it caused any problems and tell him what I did."

A short while later the goblin answered, No problems, just uncertainty because it was unknown magic and unexpected. We took down the alarms again. Thanks for explaining. Gringotts congratulates you on that good idea. Stay strong! Grobhook

"The Ministry is in chaos now probably too. I just hope they don't know it was caused by me, or I would get a hearing anyway," Harry scowled.

"Nah. The goblins didn't either. Your account manager just made an educated guess. The wards on this house will have scrambled your signature, even with magic this strong. Trust the warding done by the Black family. – But you are lucky you did it here. Everywhere else and the Ministry would have come down on you like a ton of boulders."

"It's 'bricks' in the Muggle world."

"What?"

"Uh. Not important. I just know the saying as 'coming down like a ton of bricks'."

"Ah!"

They were silent for a minute until Sirius said, "Well, good that we talked about that," and Harry sniggered.

He felt much better and less alone now that Sirius and Remus knew about his time-travelling. And he was really glad they had taken it so well and hadn't insisted on telling Dumbledore.

"So, what do we do now?" Sirius asked.

"Let's go duel," Remus suggested and they all three jumped up. They all felt the need to move.

---

Minerva's Reaction

At lunch, Remus received a short note via Hedwig from Minerva, saying that she would come by this evening.

The three decided to hang out on the roof again and Harry reminded Sirius of Buckbeak and so the Hippogriff, who had been housed in Walburga's old room, was brought to the roof garden as well, much to the creature's delight.

"Can't he stay up here?" Harry asked while they watched the creature prance about. Luckily, the practice furniture had dissolved by now as they hadn't made most of it permanent.

"I think so. Let's build him some kind of shelter should it rain, though."

"Won't the Muggles see him when he inadvertently takes flight?"

"Harry! Every magical creature we get our hands on gets a collar, ring, or something that grows with them and that has a notice-me-not charm on them targeted at Muggles and their technology. Don't you know that?"

"Uh, I forgot. When we flew on that dragon from Gringotts, everyone could see us. I am still wary of repeating that. Apropos repeating. Don't ever tell the goblins about that!"

"Hell no! They like you now. They wouldn't if they learned of this, right Moony?"

Remus mimicked sewing his mouth shut.

Relieved, Harry started planning Buckbeak's shelter and the three wizards spent an enjoyable afternoon building it. The Hippogriff was incredibly happy to be back in some form of nature, at last.

---

That evening, Sirius, Remus, and Harry collected the twins to join forces and went down to the kitchen for dinner as they were expecting Minerva McGonagall to go there straight away and didn't want Molly to poison her.

They found Arthur, as well as Ron and Ginny, sitting at the table waiting, while Molly was busy at the stove, with Kreacher standing a few feet away, scowling.

"Sirius! There you are! Tell your elf to leave my kitchen!"

"Good evening to you, too. Kreacher, you can be in my kitchen whenever you want to."

"Sirius Orion Black! You listen to me!–"

"Mollywobbles, please! We talked about this," Arthur tried to placate his wife. "This is Sirius' home and–"

"Albus soon will set him right, Arthur, you will see! Now sit down and I'll serve dinner. At least you won't eat in that informal dining room again! So pretentious! Where is it anyway?" she asked while ladling food on plates.

No one answered her.

She turned around and asked, "Well?" and set a plate in front of Harry and Sirius each.

That action rang some alarm bells for Harry and Sirius as she normally first served Arthur and then Ron. So, while no one answered Molly's question, Harry asked quietly, "What was that spell again?"

And Sirius showed Harry by clearly pronouncing the incantation and exaggerating the wand movements.

The food in front of Sirius lit up in different colours.

Arthur asked, "Molly?" and Harry copied Sirius to a T with the same results.

"Are there spells that can detect what potions were used, too?"

"There certainly are, pup, it goes like this–"

"Sirius Black! Who do you think you are, teaching Harry magic at my table? Stop this instance!"

"Molly! Will you stop being so boorish!" Arthur exclaimed. "What did you put in their food?"

"Nothing. Just eat and shut up."

But as Sirius proceeded to explain the specialised detection charm to Harry, Molly once again vanished the food she had put on the table and just put the rest of it in big bowls and on platters.

"If you don't want my help, you will eat what the rest is eating."

"How is that a bad thing?" George asked his twin.

"Be quiet, Fred!"

"I am George!"

"No, you aren't. Now eat."

Arthur was looking at his wife like seeing her for the first time. Who was this woman?

Much to Molly's displeasure, now everyone was checking the food for hidden potions. But they found none. As if she would do that to her children!

They ate in silence. The food was amazing as always and Remus told Molly so. She just huffed and went to start on Harry again about his clothes and room when the door opened and Minerva arrived.

"Good evening, all! Great decoration in the front hall! How did you get rid of the portrait?"

"We didn't. We just nailed the flag over it and cast a silencing and bulge-flattening charm," Sirius told her.

Minerva gaped for a second and said, "How did you think of that?"

"It was Harry's idea," Sirius said proudly.

"Well done, Mr Potter. Now, I wish to talk to the twins first. Is there a place to do that?"

"What did they do now?"

"Nothing, Molly. They have a question about the courses they are taking. They want to–"

"– talk to you about it in private," Remus injected.

"Right. I am sorry, Messrs. Weasley."

"It's okay. Remus? Can you come, too?"

"Sure. I know a room where we can talk. Follow me."

Molly tried to follow and was rebuffed by Fred.

"I am your mother!"

"That you are, but we are 17 and we don't want your advice at this point. Sorry, Mum." Fred quickly left after the others.

Molly didn't know whether to cry or scream so Arthur, who knew his wife, led her to the table and tried to console her, "Molly, they are academically challenged, you know that. Maybe they don't want to talk about their courses because they are ashamed."

Sirius and Harry scowled and got up to leave. They didn't want to listen to this.

"Where do you think you are going!"

"Molly…"

"No! They can't just eat and disappear again! I need to talk to Harry about his clothes! And his room!"

"Thanks for dinner, Mrs Weasley, but I don't want to get lectured for pudding," Harry all but ran out of the room.

The last thing he heard was, "what do I do with that boy?"

As soon as they were outside, they walked to the drawing room and knocked, and Remus led them in.

"So, you allow Mr Potter and Black to listen in, but not your mother, and want me to believe this is not a prank?"

"Yes, Minerva," Remus said in exasperation. "Why is it so hard to believe that they are geniuses in their own right? They just didn't see the sense to have more than 3 O.W.L.s, because no one believes in them anyway? You are an educator; don't you want them to succeed?"

"I do, but I cannot see any way for them to accomplish this. The courses they wish to add are hard and they just cannot manage them in just one year. I am sorry boys."

"So, no Alchemy, Enchanting, or Animation workshops?" George asked mournfully.

"I am sorry."

The twins slumped.

"I'll tell you what. If you actually manage to get an E or O in your Transfiguration O.W.L. I'll let you attend my class. But I will not mark any homework you do."

Harry had a hard time trying not to laugh at the oh-so-sad faces the twins were making for not being allowed to hand in homework.

"Thank you, Professor," Fred said meekly with George nodding along earnestly.

"If you manage to pass the other O.W.L.s you plan on doing, you may ask the teachers of that subject to do the same, yourself. So, if you are participating in the appropriate classes, you will be allowed to join the workshops," Minerva decided. She just had a heart for pranksters, it seemed.

"Thank you, Professor! We'll try not to disappoint you! Promise!"

Minerva nodded tiredly and said, "Now to you Mr Potter. I don't think Albus will let you change electives. So, your request is being denied."

Sirius frowned, "That wasn't a request, Minerva. It is what will happen. Albus has no say in it."

"What do you mean? Albus is Mr Potter's magical guardian."

"Show me the legal paperwork for that, Minerva. I never received a trial and was never convicted. I am still Harry's legal guardian. Albus may have said that he is, but that is false."

"That cannot be. He decided all of Mr Potter's life. Where he grew up, what electives he was to take, and so on."

"Well, that was certainly not legal. He basically kidnapped Harry back then."

Minerva gaped, "But… but…"

Harry on the other hand had heard something else, "What do you mean, he selected my electives?"

"He said he called in Mr Weasley and told him. I thought you knew."

"No. Ron sold it as his idea and I had no idea what to select, so I followed along."

"Didn't you hold an introduction class at the end of 2nd year as you did for us?" Remus asked. He had wondered about that since yesterday.

"No. That has fallen to the wayside sometime in the last decade…"

"Couldn't we have that class with the Hufflepuffs if you were busy?" Harry frowned.

"I didn't think of that. It's just so much to do, you must understand. There is my teacher's job, the Head of House duties, my tasks as the Deputy Headmistress, and the things I do to help Albus."

Harry looked at her and asked, "Why did you agree to take them then? Do you need the money so badly?"

Minerva huffed, "What money? No. It is an honour to do these jobs."

"I think you've been duped. It's like with the House Points."

"What do you mean?" George asked.

"I mean that winning the house cup doesn't give us anything but bragging rights, like all the jobs Professor McGonagall does."

Minerva sputtered.

The other wizards frowned thoughtfully.

"Why does it exist then?" Fred asked thoughtfully.

"Come on. To keep us in line. Remember how the house treated me when I lost us 50 points in 1st year?"

"Wasn't that 150 points?"

"Nah, Hermione, Neville, and I lost 50, each."

"But we only shunned you."

"Yeah. But that's not what I am trying to say. The point system makes us regulate ourselves."

"Oh!"

Sirius listened with disbelief, "How did you manage to lose 50 points in 1st year all at once?"

"Professor McGonagall caught us out of bed after curfew."

"And?"

"Nothing. That was it."

"What?" the twins, Remus and Sirius yelped and looked at McGonagall in question, who blushed at the sight of all the disbelieving faces.

"Well, Albus told me not to let them start doing any mischief."

"We were trying to save Hagrid from getting arrested for hatching a baby dragon in his wooden hut. There was no mischief-making."

"But… Why didn't you say so?"

"In front of Malfoy? And you wouldn't let us defend ourselves, anyway. You just took the points and sent us off."

Minerva was speechless. How could she have blundered so much? Unfortunately for her, Harry was on a roll.

"And do you know what the punishment was for being out after curfew?" he told the others. "Having detention in the Forbidden Forest looking for a Unicorn-killer – after curfew."

"WHAT?" All four adult wizards yelled and stared at Minerva incredulously.

"You sent… you… what? Why?" Sirius was actually speechless.

Minerva squared her shoulders and huffed, "Albus decided that." As if that would make it right.

"Wow, are you his lapdog, or what?" Sirius asked viciously and then went on. "Never mind that, now. I will file an official complaint with the governors as soon as I am free. Harry will take 3rd-year Arithmancy and Ancient Runes and that is that."

"Or what?" Minerva pursed her lips.

"Or I'll take him out of Hogwarts. That might not be a bad idea anyway, with Riddle running around."

"What? No! Who is Riddle? And Hogwarts is the safest place in magical Britain, Mr Potter has to come to stay safe."

Harry started to list a few unsafe things he had encountered, "What about the troll, the baby dragon, the Cerberus, the Unicorn-killing monster, Voldemort possessing Quirrell just to name a few encounters in my 1st year? In my 2nd year there was a Dark artefact possessing a 1st-year student, rough bludgers, a colony of Acromantula – some as big as cars, and a 1000-year-old Basilisk. Does that sound like the safest place to you? In 3rd year we discovered a Death Eater had slept in our dorm for years and we – sorry Remus – encountered a transformed werewolf and about 100 Dementors. Do you want me to go on?"

"None of this is true, Mr Potter, what are you talking about?"

"The troll is not true?"

"Well, yes. But the rest –"

"Fluffy, Hagrid's Cerberus?"

"Well, yes. But –"

"The Acromantula colony in the Forbidden Forest?"

"That one is pure fiction!"

Sirius shook his head, "No. Albus knows about them. We told him in the seventies."

"We told him, too. And you, Professor, but you didn't believe us." Fred said.

Minerva just sat there shaking her head.

"You know, pup. Listening to all of that, I don't think you should go back to Hogwarts."

"But I need to go, Sirius," Harry looked imploringly at his very reluctant godfather, "Tell you what. I'll try it until Christmas and if it looks like it is dangerous once more, I'll stay home."

Sirius frowned and then remembered that Harry needed to get the Horcrux out of Hogwarts and sighed. "Very well, pup. As long as you can choose the electives. Glad you see Grimmauld as your home, though," he beamed.

Minerva, who was horrified at the thought of telling Albus that Harry had left Hogwarts, nodded and said, "Very well. You can change your electives. Any idea which ones you will try to pass in your O.W.L.s without attending class?"

"Yep. Care and Muggle Studies."

"Not Divination?" she looked pleased with that at least.

"Heavens, no!"

"Very well," Minerva sighed again.

"Did you find a Defence teacher, Minerva?" Remus asked.

"No!" Minerva snapped and got up. "Good night," and she rushed out of the room with George yelling after her, "Remember, this was a private conversation!"

bang

"The poor door," Harry said dryly.

"You really must tell us of your time at Hogwarts in greater detail, cub," Remus said, and the others nodded emphatically. Even the twins.

"Uh, ok. But not this evening, ok?"

"Alright, pup. – Wow, this was a strange conversation. Minnie really has too many jobs. You were right with your remark about bragging rights, Harry. Even though I think she only brags to herself. She needs to learn to say no. This can't be healthy."

"Yeah, but she is kind of a victim of Dumbledore, right? Of his cult?"

The twins started sniggering, "The cult of Dumbledore, haha. But you are right. Mum is a high priestess, too."

"And Hermione. Why are women drawn into it so badly?" Harry asked.

"Uh, not only women. I was a member, too, until recently," Remus said.

"And Diggle and Doge and many other men think the sun shines out of his arse," Sirius said, scowling.

"Ok, you are right. Maybe it's a coincidence that the women surrounding me are the most vocal about him," Harry said agreeably.

"They do tend to have the shrillest voices, that's for sure," Remus frowned. "Well, not Minerva."

"Oh, remember when we made her screech with that prank we played in third year, Moony?"

The rest of the evening was spent with great tales of pranks. It was like a prank war in story format, Harry thought. With the twins and Marauders trying to one-up each other's tales.

It was amazing, fun and no one interrupted.

(Unbeknownst to them, Kreacher had hidden the door to the drawing-room so Molly just couldn't find them.)

---

24/8/1995 - 29/8/1995

Harry spent the next week duelling the Marauders, relaxing on the roof, and repairing the rest of the house with Sirius and Remus while the twins buckled down.

Harry also drew Sirius and Remus into his meditation and started them working on their Occlumency. Both men promised to keep practising after Harry had left for Hogwarts. Mainly because they started feeling an improvement. It was mostly on an emotional level for Sirius. Remus on the other hand said he and Moony seemed to get closer in a good way, now.

Together with the twins, they had stopped going to the kitchen altogether and had gotten better and better at dodging Molly, Ron, and Ginny.

Just Kreacher braved the kitchen and he apparently got good at claiming the kitchen for himself.

The rooms Harry and his lot spent their time in were all set to private or hidden by Kreacher so the other inhabitants had little chance in finding them.

Harry, Sirius and Remus discussed whether they should catch Molly in the act and kick her out. It would be an easy thing to do, as she wasn't very sneaky. But Harry shrugged and said, "Hmpf, I have better things to do. She is just a minor nuisance and will leave the house in a week, right? And she is the Mum of the twins. Let's not force them to choose between us."

Sirius and Remus nodded agreeably as they had alternatives regarding food and places to be, they had no problem with taking the easiest path.

"But I will never invite her into my home ever again," Sirius said with some force.

---

During the evenings the five met up in the informal living room and Harry told the others about his four eventful years at Hogwarts. It was hard to believe sometimes, but they didn't doubt him. It also became quite clear that Harry was being led along some path, even to the twins.

Harry also asked the twins where their mother kept disappearing to each day and they answered that she still took care of the Burrow's livestock and gardens. Which made sense, Harry decided. The twins also added that as she didn't know about the potions lab in Grimmauld Place she returned to her home to brew some. At least that was what they thought she did. – Well, the less she is here the better, Harry decided laconically.

One more thing Harry did sometimes, was practising to learn to understand the mage-sight enchantments on his glasses. Trying to learn to discern the different colours and forms it showed him. Luckily, he found a book about it in the library. And he also kept on learning the vanishing spell wand- and wordless.

On the 26th of August, the Prophet must have gotten wind of Umbridge's fate and plastered it all over the front page:

Senior Undersecretary – 30 years in the Mines

And an article telling everyone that she had been in the possession of three Black Quills, which was illegal by itself, because it was a major point in the treaties with the goblins, and she had planned on torturing children with them. Additionally, she had tried to kill a goblin and there was some last undisclosed crime that also added to her sentence. The article once again tried to neither make the Ministry look bad, nor Gringotts.

Remus and Harry were very cheerful that day. Even if they had known all of this beforehand.

That evening they all snuck out and went to see the first Star Wars film. Sirius and Harry even revealed their secret disguises for that. It was incredible fun and no one at Grimmauld Place was any the wiser. People had gotten used to the five spending their time somewhere else in the house after all.

The next day, the papers tried showing Fudge in a good light again. He was probably trying to distance himself from his undersecretary.

And then, on the 29th, Shacklebolt arrived at Grimmauld and asked for Sirius. He told his amazed audience, which included all inhabitants of Grimmauld Place, that Madame Bones had received a request from Gringotts to provide the trial records and proof of conviction and hadn't been able to find any, much to her dismay. The only thing they had in evidence was Sirius's wand, and the Reverse Spell had only provided a Stunning Spell, Apparitions, spells searching for a person, and a specialised healing charm for toddlers.

This led to everything getting questioned. Who had cast the fatal blasting curse then? Why would Sirius Black heal baby Harry (an assumption) when he was You-Know-Who's right-hand man? They remembered the tales Hagrid told everyone when inebriated. Sirius Black had handed the child to him carefully and had given him his flying motorcycle because that form of transportation was safer for the baby and he had then gone off to chase Pettigrew. Kingsley had really poked the ant's nest when he asked innocently how could they know for sure that Black had been the Secret Keeper? Maybe they had switched, and Black had only been the decoy? Another Auror then had said that they couldn't know, as there had been no trial.

So, Sirius was asked to come to the Ministry at his earliest convenience. There would be an ad in the Prophet tomorrow, much to Fudge's disgust.

"Hm. I'll send a nondescript owl with a letter, telling them that I refuse to enter the Ministry. I don't trust them. Especially not Fudge. He might hide a Dementor somewhere and get me kissed as soon as I arrive. Like he did with Barty Crouch Junior. I will propose a neutral meeting point. Like Gringotts. Or the ICW. That will show them that I believe I am innocent. I'll even agree to Veritaserum," Sirius said decisively.

Shacklebolt nodded. He had expected as much, "If you want to head off the ad, you could write now, and I'll give it to her in private. I might get a warning when she realises we have been in contact, but I really should have told her a long time ago. I can't put Albus' orders above my job."

Molly opened her mouth to defend Albus, but Shacklebolt said, "No Molly. I know you think he hung the moon. But he didn't and it was not right of him to order me to keep quiet about it. It just wasn't."

"But it was for the Greater Good!"

"Do you even know whose motto that is?"

"Well, it's Albus' motto."

"No Molly. It is Gellert Grindelwald's. No idea why Albus likes to use it so much."

That shut her up quite effectively and made the rest wonder about it, too. (Except for Harry.)

"Ok, I'll go write something up. Want to help, Harry?"

"Sure."

"But shouldn't we wait for Albus?"

But Molly's protest went unheard as Sirius and Harry had already left and 15 minutes later, Shacklebolt left with the letter.

---

In the informal dining room, Sirius stared into space.

It was just him, Harry, and Remus at the moment.

"Did you know this would happen," Remus asked Sirius.

"The goblins made some noises that they had issued a formal request for those documents. But nothing definitive. And I didn't expect the Ministry to connect the dots. It was a good thing Kinsley was able to throw in the idea about the change in Secret-Keepers."

Harry and Remus nodded, but Harry kept quiet for now. He wanted them to be able to react naturally when shit really hit the fan in a few days.

---

Later that evening, Shacklebolt returned with an answer. It invited Sirius to come to Gringotts at ten the next morning to get officially questioned by the DMLE under the watch of the goblins, who had readily agreed to host that meeting (for a price, naturally).

"Wow! I might be a free man by this time, tomorrow!"

They all grinned at one another.

It's just lucky Dumbledore is still in Italy at that retreat or conference or whatever where no owl can reach him, Harry thought. Why would he go there, though, at such uncertain times? Well, at least he cannot interfere, and Fudge can't either, as the meeting is at a neutral place. I'd like to see him try getting a Dementor into Gringotts.

"Did you get in trouble?" Remus asked Shacklebolt.

"It was good I came forward myself. That way, I received a strong warning, but nothing else."

They were all very relieved for Shacklebolt. Harry knew Bones could have suspended him without pay for this.

"And she will keep it to herself, which I am very thankful for. So, please don't spread it around."

They nodded and went to bed.

Not that Sirius or Harry slept much.

---

Sirius Gets His Trial

In the morning, there was a huge discussion between the three of them about who would go with Sirius. Harry really wanted to come, and Remus did, too. But in the end, it was decided that only Remus would escort Sirius to the hidden backdoor with Sirius under Harry's cloak.

As the twins had already left for the Ministry to take their O.W.L.s (telling their Mum they were going to visit Lee for the day), Harry hid on the roof with Buckbeak and Hedwig, who had declared one of the trees her own sometime during the last week. Kreacher brought him refreshments and told Harry, the Banshee and her litter were looking for him. And that Kreacher had told them he was in the house, but not where.

"Thank you, Kreacher."

"Just Harry is welcome."

"Hehe, at least you don't call me Harry the Just. That would sound like a comic superhero or a king of old."

Kreacher looked at Harry like he was considering changing to "Harry the Just" and Harry facepalmed, "Please don't!"

"Very well, Just Harry."

"Phew."

At twelve there was a crack, and a ginning Sirius appeared at the space they had designated as the Apparition spot on the roof.

"I'm free!" Sirius cheered. Throwing his arms in the air. He was wearing the 'old Sirius disguise as he always did and beamed over his whole face, which made him look younger anyway.

"Hurray!" Harry cheered and beamed back. "So, how did it go?"

"Let's wait for Remus. I still haven't looked if I can side-along someone from outside, so he's taking the normal way in."

"Okay."

It didn't take long at all for an equally beaming Remus to arrive and Kreacher appearing as well to serve Lunch.

"Now tell me!"

"Well, the goblins did an amazing job. I didn't meet anyone until I was led into a huge room, where the questioning was to take place. A few Wizengamot members and the Minister had come as the Judges, but everyone who wanted to take part in the show, or watch it, had to hand over their wands outside the room. There were some reporters, too. No normal citizens, though. The whole shebang hadn't been announced, it had been at very short notice. But a few human and goblin Gringotts employees were there, like Bill, for example.

"I was led to a normal chair and the Ministry's Potions Master gave me some Veritaserum after the goblins checked the stuff and declared it legit. That man is much too correct to get corrupted, I think. Anyway, they also cast something like a one-way silencing ward around my chair only Amelia Bones could enter. Everyone could hear us, but no one could call out a question from outside of it to force me to answer, as I couldn't hear them."

"That is a relief. Maybe the Ministry should implement that."

"Amelia was talking to the goblins about it when I left. Anyway, without any preliminary explanation to the folks listening in, she started questioning me. Making me retell the days from hell, from the point on where I started to get suspicious of Peter to the showdown on that street the next day and what happened right after. I was just lucky I had been potioned, so it wasn't hard telling all of it like it normally would have been.

"She then asked how I escaped. So now my Animagus form is known, unfortunately. She then wanted to know why I did target Hogwarts then if not for you, pup, and why I had left again at the end of that school year. I told her about Peter escaping and Fudge denying listening to anything outside his preconceived opinion. But I couldn't tell her where I was hiding at the moment.

"She then asked if I was the Secret-Keeper of the Potters or a follower of Riddle and I said no, Peter was. And then she asked if I knew where Pettigrew was now, and I said, with Voldemort, aka Tom Marvolo Riddle. She stopped there and I was given the antidote."

"Wow! There must have been a riot outside your bubble!"

Remus chuckled, "There was. Luckily that ward did increase the volume of the people talking inside to always be louder than the outside, so we heard everything, even if Fudge was yelling to stop the questions at one point. The goblins threatened to throw him out of the room after a while, so he stopped and was just sitting there, fuming. – The rest were just exclaiming in disbelief and gasping at the right moments."

Sirius took up the thread of the story again and said, "The silencing ward was taken down then, and Bones told everyone what they had found at the Ministry, or rather, had not found. No records of a trial, no conviction notice, just the form that sent me to Azkaban, signed by Bagnold, Crouch, and Dumbledore, and my wand. She showed them the results of the Prior Incantato and said those made the Auror force question the known narrative. She didn't tell them how she got in contact with me, but I think people will assume it was through Gringotts."

Remus nodded, "They do."

"I was led into an antechamber and the officials into another room where they could discuss my case. It didn't take long. There was absolutely no evidence of any misconduct except for my unregistered Animagus form. But even that didn't hold, as everyone agreed that it would have been idiotic to register during wartime. And I had been at Azkaban for much longer than this offence warranted. So in the end, I was let go. No charges. But an official apology will get issued and if I want to, I can sue the Ministry now."

"Wow! That is awesome!" Harry beamed so much that his face started to hurt. "Did you talk to anyone?"

"No. Amelia advised me to lay low for a few days until people have gotten used to the fact that Sirius Black isn't a mass-murdering Death Eater."

"Sounds reasonable. I hope the Prophet doesn't spin that whole story, though."

"Oh, I heard the reporter complain to their photographer that they had to sign a form to only report the truth without innuendo or Gringotts would extract horrible penalties," Remus remembered.

"Good. They did think of everything, it looks like. Did you talk to anyone except Bones, Sirius?" Harry said.

"No, I left immediately through another exit after I agreed to talk to Amelia again. About the whole Riddle-dung-bomb I dropped. Let's wait and see."

Remus added, "I think Fudge is in trouble now. His conduct didn't show him in a favourable light, at all. No wonder he tried to stop the whole thing."

"He did?"

"Yes. Even in the hall outside the room, where Sirius was questioned later. For all to hear."

"Not the smartest move, in retrospect," Harry chuckled.

They all grinned.

"Cheers to the goblins!" Sirius raised his glass of lemonade into the balmy summer air.

"Cheers!" The other two answered.

"We are lucky there is so much sun this summer," Harry commented while relaxing in his sun chair.

"Very true. So, how do you guys think Albus will react when he returns tomorrow? Do you think he'll come by?"

"Most certainly," Harry nodded. "He will be disappointed and mournful that you didn't trust him to handle your case."

Sirius snorted, "Yes, I'm sure. And there never would have been time, right?"

"Yes. So sad."

Remus shook his head at their antics, as the two had exaggeratedly sad faces now, "Goofs. Did you receive the Hogwarts letter at last, Harry?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"So, Minerva didn't find anyone."

"I am just curious if the Ministry will jump in again with Umbridge gone and Fudge in such deep shit," Harry wondered.

"They are still trying to defame you and Albus, so it's a strong possibility."

"Ugh, who would they send as a teacher, then? There are so many bad players at that institution."

"Time will tell," Remus said.

"Yeah, I'll know at the welcoming feast, at the latest I hope."

"You must contact me immediately as soon as you know," Sirius injected.

"I will. By the way, do you have access to those mirrors Dad and you had?"

An annoyed "B'rk!" could be heard coming out of one of the trees.

"I think so. But you will write too, right?" Sirius looked worriedly at the rustling leaves.

"Sure! Letters are the best!" Harry quickly agreed. "I need to remember to write to Dudley, too. I promised, and I want to know what the Dursleys agreed on with the goblins yesterday.

The tree stayed silent, and Harry hoped they had appeased Hedwig.

"So, Harry, did you finish your summer homework?" Remus asked.

"Yes. At the Dursleys after I returned. It was hard dumbing myself down to that level. I was a rather lacklustre student at that time."

"Not in Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"True. That subject is incredibly easy. Even with the decreased intellect Dumbledore cursed me with."

The men scowled.

"You must be a prodigy at Defence Against the Dark Arts now," Remus said.

"Well, not really, right? I have much more experience than anyone else at School now. But I probably would have been, without the curse. Like dad was a prodigy at Transfiguration and Mum at Potions and Charms."

"True."

"Apropos Potions, why didn't Snape ever come by?"

"He did often enough," Sirius scowled. "But that was before you arrived. We didn't have an Order meeting, remember?"

"Right. I've only been here for about ten days. It feels so much longer!"

"It really does. So much changed in that time."

The other two nodded and relaxed again, listening to the buzzing of the insects living in the roof garden.

---

That evening they met the incredibly exhausted twins in the informal dining room.

"How did it go?" Harry asked.

"Unclear. We'll know by tomorrow morning. They grade quickly," Fred answered while George started snoring. "They didn't stop testing me in Potions and George in Arithmancy. No idea what that was about, but they asked much more complicated stuff than is O.W.L.-level."

Remus had an idea but kept quiet.

"Maybe you will get an Outstanding Outstanding or something? An OO?" Harry offered.

The others (except George) chuckled.

"Maybe. But never, ever sit three tests in one day, Harry! It's horrible! And those old geezers from the Department of Education didn't get tired, at all!" Fred huffed. "Oh, we asked them to keep the results private for the time being. McGonagall needs to be informed, but no one else. They agreed. We are adults and have that right."

"Perfect! Congratulations, boys!" Remus called out a little too loudly and George fell off his chair.

They spent a relaxed and cheerful evening eating and later relaxing in the informal living room, telling about the hearing and the exams respectively. Harry just sat there and listened mostly, feeling incredibly happy.

---

Last day of Summer - Day

The next morning, Harry and the twins received their Hogwarts letters and the twins the results of their exams.

They opened the Hogwarts letters first.

"They left the book for Defence Against the Dark Arts off the list. They haven't found anyone yet. Wow, there is a note at the bottom, that the Defence Against the Dark Arts books will be handed out at Hogwarts and to expect to receive an invoice later. So, she went with Remus' idea at the last possible moment," Harry said astonished. "How stubborn must one be?"

The others nodded.

"So, there is no badge, pup?" Sirius asked.

"Huh? Oh, you mean a prefect's badge? Nope. I was lucky."

"You were! Remus was our prefect, the poor sod. He had to do so many boring things! You really are lucky!"

The twins nodded emphatically and Remus facepalmed once again, "You probably are the only parent who is proud that their offspring didn't receive a prefect badge."

"Shows how stupid most parents are."

They all sniggered.

"Well, open your exam results!" Harry all but ordered.

The twins did so carefully, and both their mouths dropped open. They exchanged the letters and their mouths dropped open again.

"Wow."

"Wow."

The other three waited until Harry huffed and snatched the parchment out of George's unresisting hand with Remus doing the same with Fred's and Sirius reading over Remus's shoulder.

"Wow!"

"Wow!"

"Wow! – Congratulations, George. This is amazing! How did Fred do?"

Harry answered, "Two Os in Transfiguration and Ancient Runes and an O in Potions, but at N.E.W.T.-level!"

"Incredible! So, like George, but with N.E.W.T.-level O in Arithmancy and Os in Transfiguration and Potions."

"Wow, again! You are amazing!" Harry exclaimed and the twins actually blushed. It was nice to hear that, for once.

"Well, you know what that means?" Sirius asked.

"Huh?" George asked back.

"That means you will get a third of the Marauders Journal tomorrow! I just need to copy it."

The twins cheered. That was the best present they could receive, in their minds.

"And from me, you get an empty journal to collect your own pranks and recipes!" Remus handed a handsome, leatherbound journal to Fred, who took it with a wide grin.

"There will be colouring charms for all materials in the part of our journal I'll give you, so you can personalise this Journal of yours a bit," Sirius suggested, and they all laughed. Dark brown wasn't a colour that fit the twins, at all.

"Thank you! This is great! We really need to sort through our loose parchments and bring some order to them."

"We had the same problem, which caused us to use the Journal. It's like a grimoire but for pranks," Remus explained.

"And you gave up its contents to us. This is so amazing!"

"Sure. The pranking must go on! And the first third is mostly from our fourth year and lower. So, the best parts are yet to come," Sirius told them.

"And you really don't want your parents to know about your exams?" Harry asked.

"Nah, they don't care. They have many smart children, with Bill, Charlie, and Percy, so it would just be another non-amazing accomplishment. But you do care, so that's great," the twins said.

None of the other three had problems understanding twin-speak. To them, it was as if one person was talking.

"Even Ron is smart," Harry said thoughtfully. "Just lazy."

"Yup. He has it even harder, being the second youngest and the 6th boy. We're twins. So, that makes us unique, at least."

"You are more than unique! I think you're awesome."

"Thanks, Harry!"

Harry grinned at them and then said, "Hmm, we need to go shopping though. The Alley will be horrible today. If everyone got their letters at the last possible time and has to go today. Uh, what did they do about the firsties, anyway? They can't ferry them through the Alley on the last day to get their wands and stuff," Harry wondered.

"I didn't think of them. Good question. But I could get your things if you want me to. Now that my affliction is known, people make space. Just give me your lists."

They handed them over, thanking Remus.

"Does anyone need new robes?"

The twins shook their heads, no, but Harry nodded. He had grown like a weed after he had been healed and he wasn't quite finished, he was sure. It was lucky that he did part of that growing up in Grimmauld so people wouldn't be too suspicious when meeting him again.

"Stand in front of me, cub. I'll do the measuring charm."

Soon the measuring tape was dancing over Harry, and a quill wrote down the numbers.

"Uh, can you buy a few resizing ones? They can send them to me at Hogwarts and one that fits now to wear tomorrow?"

"Sure, Harry. I'll go to Malkin's, first."

"Do measure the twins, too. I want to gift a set of robes to each of them," Sirius decided and pushed the protesting Fred in front of Remus.

"Hm, maybe I could make you part of the Black family somehow. Your Grandmother was a Black, right?"

"She was?"

"I'll find out later. This has time. But I am thinking about sponsoring you, so a set of robes is the least I can give you."

"Uh, ok," Fred let himself get measured and Remus took off to get the things for the three teens after Sirius had handed him a purse full of Galleons.

"Now what? Gred and Forge don't have to study and–" Harry got interrupted by Kreacher, who brought the Prophet.

Sirius had his own subscription (under a false name) now that they didn't eat breakfast in the kitchen anymore.

SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT!

With a headline like that, everyone would buy a paper today. The article described yesterday's events at Gringotts in detail and truthfully. The paper also printed a word-for-word recount of everything that was said at the meeting, so there was little wiggle room for Fudge & Co.

But a few pages later, Rita Skeeter had published a much different article. It questioned everything. The integrity of the goblins, the identity of the man being questioned, if the people present had all been actors, and so on. Even if it was written as an opinion piece, Harry was sure the goblins wouldn't let that stand. The Daily Prophet was in deep shit, now.

"We forgot about our idea about enchanting the printing press of the prophet, didn't we?" Harry asked.

"We did. But they so courteously reminded us again, didn't they?" Sirius asked, grinning viciously.

---

Last day of Summer - Library

The four decided to go to the library, having a task for the day now.

On their way there, Molly caught up with them. And the woman was beaming. Huh?

"There you are, dears! Ronnie got the most amazing news! He was made Prefect! That's all of my children, now!"

"And who are we? The next-door neighbours?" The twins huffed but were ignored.

"Harry, Fred, and George, you got your letters, right? Give them to me, I'll buy your things together with Ron's and Ginny's. And Ron's present. Oh, and I called all the Order members to celebrate. We will meet in the drawing room this evening."

"Yes, we got our letter, Mum, but Remus already went to get our things. So, you only have to buy the stuff for Ron and Ginny. And shouldn't you ask the homeowner first, before planning a party in his house?"

"Balderdash. But why did you let Remus go to buy your things? That isn't right! Now we need to pay him back and he will buy new things."

"Don't worry, Molly. I'll pay for them, this time," Sirius tried to appease her.

"No. That isn't right. We don't need your charity!"

"Molly, this isn't charity. I had to celebrate something too, and I decided to get the school things for the boys."

"But not for my children," she huffed again.

"Again, are we the next-door neighbours, or what?"

"And what do you have to celebrate anyway?"

All four gaped at her.

"What? It's a reasonable question."

"I was declared innocent yesterday. It is all over the Prophet, didn't you see?"

"And you went to help him? Is that why you were gone the whole day?"

"No, we didn't help him."

"You lie!"

"Damn it, Molly. Cut them some slack and go buy the books for your underage children."

"Don't speak to me like that, Sirius Black!" she yelled.

"If you say one more word, I'll throw you out of the house. Even if it's the last day you're here anyway. Go." Sirius said coolly, making it much more impressive and authoritative than her loud voice.

She huffed and stomped away.

They all were silent for a moment and then wordlessly walked on to reach the safety of the library where they fell into the armchairs they had grouped in one corner days ago.

"Woah," was all that Harry said.

"Sometimes I wonder if she adopted us, or something," Fred huffed.

"You certainly look like her and a bit like your uncles. So, probably not."

"You knew them?" George asked.

"Did I know them, he asks. Yes! Let me tell you the story of our first meeting…"

The enchantment for the printing press was forgotten, once again.

---

At lunchtime, Remus returned with their books and equipment for school, looking exhausted. He flopped down on his chair in the dining room and said, "The Alley was packed! I was so glad I didn't have to go to visit Gringotts. There was a queue long enough to reach the third shop next to the bank. But I got everything on the lists. I also saw Molly going into the used broom shop, for some reason, but she looked thunderous, so I let her be.

The others told of their encounter with Molly and Remus sighed. "So, she hadn't seen the papers?"

"Nope," Harry answered, "What was the word on the street, though?"

"People were confused. First, the mass murderer is innocent, and then Skeeter questions everything. So, one of the authors must have lied. And that would be against the law, right? So, they started to question what was happening with the paper."

"Impressive how ignorant people can be," Harry muttered.

But I saw three very well-dressed goblins and their guards march to the office of the Daily Prophet. They didn't look happy."

"Uh oh," Sirius said. "Let's see what the paper says tomorrow."

"Oh, the Quibbler did a recount of the trial too. Saying exactly what the first article in the Prophet said and that they had to agree only to tell the hard facts. No lies, no innuendo, no metaphysical stuff. The few who had read that started to turn the overall opinion against Skeeter, I noticed. People started questioning everything she ever wrote."

"Perfect!" Harry grinned.

"Oh, and there were no firsties there that I could see. Minerva must have contacted them before. But still. Six years of students all at once…"

"Amazing what one decision of one single person can mean for so many people, right?"

"Wow, pup, you're getting philosophical."

Harry stuck his tongue out.

"That's better."

---

They returned to the library to tackle the Prophet problem and Harry sighed, "I wish there was a spell we could cast on the name 'Daily Prophet' that would fact-check all current and past editions. Like making every lie blink red and every innuendo orange, or something."

"Woah, pup, this is a totally different idea from what we are chasing at the moment. But I love it! It's like a taboo but for written things. Wait a moment. I think I have a book on taboos," and off he went to find it in the depths of the huge library.

Harry sighed and went to the inventory which Sirius seemed to forget about each and every time. Harry suspected Sirius just liked to hunt something down. Even if it was only a book. Harry asked for "taboo" and only the relevant books were listed. He tapped them, to make them light up on the shelves and looked for "linking spells to written texts" and found two books that he highlighted.

Remus and the twins watched, grinning, and waited for the yell of excitement from Sirius, who "found" the first book.

"There are four more," Harry called out and got an, "Okay!"

Soon Sirius came and they started to research Harry's new idea because it was awesome.

At five they had a feasible plan. It was still a little rough around the edges, but it should work after some polishing. And the best thing was that they wouldn't need to enchant the printing press at all.

Harry sat back and looked at the piles of books surrounding them. He had never worked with so many creative minds before this month and he loved it.

"The only problem I see is that we need the Ministry's resources to pull this off," Remus sighed.

"Do we?" Harry asked. "Who else has the means and, in opposition to the Ministry, has an interest in this?"

"Gringotts!" the others yelled.

"Should we ask them? We must protect our idea first, though."

This led to another hour of research, where they learned a lot about intellectual properties and patents and such.

"Wow! We really need to know this," George exclaimed.

"Yes! I must spell all our prank ideas now and allow you four to use them before you get that copy."

The rest nodded.

Kreacher entered the library and said scowling, "The party is starting in the drawing room. There are many people. Even the bee."

"Fuck," Harry and Sirius exclaimed, much to the twin's delight and Remus' sorrow.

---

Last day of Summer - The Party

They got ready in their respective rooms and met up to enter the drawing room together.

Sirius went in first with much drama and fanfare and the twins flanking him who yelled, "Behold, the most innocent of all innocent members of the Black family!"

Remus and Harry slipped in unnoticed and went to Tonks and Shacklebolt in one corner, watching the three pranksters working the crowd.

"Wotcher, Harry, and Remus," Tonks greeted them, and her formerly turquoise hair turned pink.

Aha! Harry thought. Mood ring indeed! He grinned at Remus, whom he hadn't told he had been married in his LF. 'Just' that he had died.

Harry saw Dumbledore who was talked to by a wildly gesticulating Molly, with a resigned Arthur standing next to her. He saw Ron talking excitedly to Vance and Bill, who must have come without Fleur, and a harried-looking Minerva standing somewhere alone and watching the twins with disbelieving eyes. And, in a far-off corner, Harry even saw Snape leaning against the wall, sneering at Sirius. The man's eyes went over the room then and widened slightly when they caught Harry`s.

Sirius had told Harry that he looked a bit less like a copy of his dad now as his facial structure was more resembling his Mum's. Even if he still had the glasses and the black hair from his father. But the hair had grown and didn't look like an exact copy of his dad's head.

Harry liked the idea that he looked like a mash-up of his parents, rather than a copy of his dad with his Mum's eyes.

Snape seemed to have noticed that, as well.

Harry blinked, nodded, and looked somewhere else again.

Some people had noticed him and were watching him now, Harry sighed.

"What is it cub?"

"The staring has started again," Harry sneered at them, and they looked away quickly, but not for long.

"Sorry, Harry. You are like a celebrity to them and their figurehead, I think," Tonks said. "Oh, by the way, I retrieved the little cat and the last picture and sent them back to your relatives via Muggle mail. Hope that was okay. I even checked them for any magic but they were clean."

"Thanks, I guess. Oh, look. Dumbledore is walking up to Sirius. Wanna listen in, Remus?"

"Sure, cub."

The two drifted toward Sirius and the headmaster and caught the end of Dumbledor's starting argument.

"- have waited, my dear boy."

"I bet. Did you have a nice vacation, Albus?"

Unfortunately for them (yes, even for Dumbledore) Molly had the same idea as Harry had and had listened in. But in contrast to Harry, she decided to 'help', "Don't disregard the Headmaster's words, Sirius! Who knows what plans you disturbed!"

Sirius turned his full attention to Molly, much to Dumbledore's dismay. Not that he showed it. Harry just noted a small twitch in his left eye.

"How exactly did I disrespect the Headmaster, Molly?"

"Don't play stupid with me, Sirius. You know exactly how you disrespected him."

Albus started to say, "Thank you, Molly –"

"And he will set you right now, with you taking away my right to cook and clean my house."

"You have every right to cook and clean at the Burrow, Molly. When did I ever say you couldn't?"

"I meant headquarters!"

Albus tried again, "Thank you, M –"

"And you think that's your house?"

"Yes! Albus said it was mine to do as I please!"

"I see. And how did he come into possession of my house?"

"You gave it to him!"

"I did? Albus?"

Sirius turned to Albus, whose eyes weren't twinkling anymore. And Molly turned red, noticing the spectacle she had made of herself and Albus.

Dumbledore answered kindly, "Only to use as headquarters. Molly must have misunderstood me slightly."

"What? But Albus, you said –"

"THANK YOU, MOLLY," Dumbledore thundered with much power in his voice. Making everyone flinch back. And then, with a slightly less overwhelming voice, "Please see to something else that needs your experienced hand, and let me talk to Sirius now, why don't you?"

Molly turned, grabbed Ginny, and thrust her toward Harry, snarling, "Talk to each other!" And stomped off. Ginny, who was quite taken aback at first, blushed bright red and ran out of the room.

"Experienced hand, my ass," Harry muttered quietly.

But as everyone had watched the drama unfold everyone heard him, and so he huffed and stalked off to sulk in one of the armchairs.

He didn't hear what Sirius and Dumbledore were talking about now as other people had started chattering, but he could see it wasn't going well for Dumbledore. Sirius had his hackles up now and looked very standoffish. Giving Dumbledore no crack in his wall to sink his hooks in. Molly had made that impossible.

"Trouble in paradise?" A silky voice sounded next to Harry.

"It sure looks like it, doesn't it?" Harry pointed to the two men.

"And between Miss Weasley and you?" the man asked, after a slight pause.

"Ugh. Just no. I don't want a girlfriend that looks a bit like my mum and what if she becomes like her own mum?" Harry shivered.

"I was led to believe something else..."

"Wishful thinking? – Er, sorry. That sounded arrogant."

"It did. But it just might have been wishful thinking in this case."

Harry nodded.

"You changed."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Hormones?"

Snape snorted.

Harry grinned fleetingly.

They watched the people milling about for a while, strangely at peace.

Harry then asked, "Did… no."

"Ask."

"You won't answer, but okay. Did Vol… he… take you back?"

"Yes." With that, the man turned and walked off.

"Huh."

Moody came by, giving Harry the photography of the Order of the Phoenix from the end of the seventies/beginning of the eighties, which he could appreciate much more now. Back in his LF, it had been very disheartening to get handed a picture full of people who had died while fighting Voldemort.

He asked the man questions about every person in it, and Moody seemed glad to be able to talk about his lost friends. And they deserved to get remembered, Harry realised.

"Where are the uncles of Fred and George? Fabian and Gideon? They died after the picture was taken, right?"

Moody twitched strangely and answered, "They did. I think they were babysitting Molly's brood.

"Oh! That's right! She must have had the Burrow full of children back then! But she isn't in this picture either, is she?"

"I don't remember," Moody barked and stamped off, much to Harry's surprise.

Harry looked for Fred and George but saw them in deep discussion with Fletcher and let them be. Ron was now animatedly talking to someone else. Must be about his new broom, Harry guessed. It was interesting that Ron still had gotten the prefect job, even if he and Harry were estranged. But either Dumbledore didn't know about that, or the whole thing was more a treat for Molly. Harry grinned internally. That woman had rained on Dumbledore's parade like a pro today. She had been so happy that Sirius would be taken down a notch at last that she had jumped in much too early for Dumbledore to effectively scold Sirius and pull the disappointment card.

This is boring, Harry thought after a few minutes. And they were staring again. Gah.

Well, he needed a bathroom break. At least, that was what he would tell people if they tried to stop him from leaving.

Harry got up and walked to the door without getting challenged. He looked like he was on a mission and not like he tried to sneak off.

As soon as he was in his room, he breathed out in relief and called Kreacher for some food. He hadn't taken any of the finger food on the side table because it had always been crowded with the staring ones and he hadn't wanted to brave them. Had they lain in wait, perhaps?

After he finished, he packed his trunk and cast a few charms on the old thing.

He had forgotten to search for a better one in the Potter's vault, but he carried his treasures in his wallet, anyway. So, the old thing would do. Just when he had finished, Harry huffed and unpacked everything again, and cast the best Reparo Maxima on the trunk he could manage by himself. It seemed to be quite a lot. The trunk looked much better now. Not new, but close and he wondered how the trunk hadn't been repaired with the repair spell on their floor. Strange.

He packed everything a second time.

---

A/N: I hope Dumbledore doesn't come off as bumbling too much, but like a powerful wizard that is caught wrong-footed. (That's where this A/N was supposed to be, not after the last chapter.)