After leaving the Minister's office, Harry went straight to St. Mungo's to get his godson Teddy checked up, just to be sure that no spells had been cast on him, despite assurances from the Ministry's lackeys. He used the Floo to get there and immediately went to the Welcome Witch.
"Good afternoon, I need someone to check up on my godson, preferably Healer Davis if she is on duty today," Harry said without wasting any time on polite small talk.
"Good afternoon, Lord Potter. Let me see if she is available today," the Welcome Witch replied with a smile, checking her schedule. "Healer Davis is actually in the hospital right now. I will send her a message that you need an urgent appointment with her. You can go to her office, she will be there soon."
"Thank you very much for your help," Harry replied graciously. He then took Teddy and went to meet with his healer. They waited for a few minutes outside her office until she arrived.
"I am here, Lord Potter. Come inside, I will check up on Teddy immediately," his healer said, wasting no time in ushering them in.
"I am sorry that you had to wait, but I was the one who treated Teddy's family when your elf brought them here."
"How are they?" Harry asked.
"Andromeda and Ted had to be sedated, otherwise they would have stormed off to the Ministry. Even the potions were not doing much, they only calmed down a bit when they heard that you came here with their grandson. As for Dora, she will need to take it very easy for a few days, but I do not anticipate any long-term complications," the healer replied, taking out her wand to check up on Teddy.
"Healer Davis, can we please call a witness here? I want the check-up to be official so I can give it to the Ministry."
"That's a very good idea. Give me a second," the healer said, taking a bit of parchment and writing a few sentences before sending a message by a house elf. It didn't take long for two people to arrive in her office.
"Lord Potter, these are Nancy Bell, Senior Healer in St. Mungo's, and Eva Lee, Director of the hospital. They will stand as witnesses to make the check-up official."
"Thank you for coming. It will help me tremendously," Harry greeted them.
"You're welcome, Lord Potter. We both owe you a debt of gratitude, so this is the least we can do to repay you," Eva Lee replied.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, surprised.
"For me, I owe you for your help with the children that are here. Without you, I would have had no idea what to do. As for Healer Bell, I believe you know her daughter very well and were the first one who tried to help her when she was cursed," Director Lee explained.
"You're Katie's mom?" Harry asked, looking at Healer Bell.
"I am, and like Eva said, I owe you a lot for helping Katie. If you hadn't reacted, she would probably have died," the older woman explained.
"Alright, let's start with the check-up," announced Healer Davis. She took out a parchment, dicta quill, and began the proceedings.
"Start the transcript. 24th of May 1998. Official medical examination of Edward Remus Lupin. People present are Healer Sara Davis, Senior Healer in St. Mungo's Hospital; Healer Nancy Bell, Senior Healer in St. Mungo's Hospital; Eva Lee, Director of St. Mungo's Hospital; Lord Harry Potter, Godfather of Edward Lupin," Healer Davis announced out loud, making her dicta quill start writing.
When the official part was done, she started the examination. She declared out loud every step of the examination and the results. After announcing the result, Healer Bell and Director Lee confirmed her readings. It was clear to Harry that it was not the first time they had worked together. They were very efficient in their job, and even though that kind of check-up usually lasted about an hour, they were done in about 45 minutes.
"With that, I declare the medical examination of Edward Lupin as completed. End of transcript," Healer Davis declared, and the dicta quill fell on her desk. She then signed the transcript and gave the quill to her colleagues so they could do the same. When it was done, she made a copy of the document and put it into her files.
"Here you are, Harry. Now they won't be able to go after Teddy again," said Healer Davis.
"Thank you, Healer Davis," Harry replied.
"Lord Potter, may I take a few more minutes of your time before you leave?" the Director asked.
"Of course, how can I help you?" Harry said, relieved to know that Teddy was alright and able to spare a few minutes.
"I want to talk to you about our problem with the kids. You see, I was contacted today by the Ministry, and they told me that they would cover 20% of the expenses. They claim that they can't afford more."
"Bullshit. I know they are hurting for money, but I am sure that they can cough up more," Harry replied, getting angry again. "But to hell with them. Like I said yesterday, I will pay for the kids' stay here myself. And in light of the Ministry's doings in the last few days, I will take it upon myself to find a permanent solution."
"Thank you, Lord Potter," the Director replied. They promised to keep each other updated, and soon they all left Healer Davis' office. Harry and Teddy went straight to meet the rest of Tonks's family.
"TEDDY!" Andromeda cried and hugged her grandson tightly. Ted was too busy calming Dora, who burst into tears of relief seeing her son.
"Hello everyone. Our little gentleman was checked out, and he is healthy as a horse," Harry announced.
"Thank you, Harry," Andromeda came and hugged him tightly while still holding Teddy.
"I am glad you managed to send me a Patronus. I don't even want to think about what could have happened."
"Then let's not think about that," replied Ted. "We are all here, whole and safe. We can worry about the rest later."
"When will you be allowed to leave the hospital?" Harry asked.
"Now, Harry," replied Healer Davis, who had just entered the room. "Nymphadora's condition is stable, so there is no point in keeping you here."
"You all are coming with me to Potter Manor," Harry declared to Tonks' family. "Even though I am going right now to the Ministry to give them results, I don't trust them to not try something, and you will be safe in the Manor."
"Thank you, Harry," Dora replied. They were all grateful for his invitation.
"Mimsy!"
"Yes, Master Harry?"
"First, you did a great job before by bringing them all to Healer Davis."
"Thank you."
"Second thing, prepare two more bedrooms in the Manor. Tonks will stay with us for some time."
"Of course," his elf replied and popped away to prepare everything.
"Alright, all of you, go to the Manor. I will be there soon. It should not take me long," Harry said and went back to the Ministry. He went in the direction of the Minister's office and, without even stopping, he simply entered his office. Kingsley was sitting there, deep in thought.
"Here you have Teddy's official examination. You can go and stick it up into your ass," Harry declared, gave him the document, and left without a word. Information about the Ministry's response to Mungo's problem was the last straw for him. He tried to cooperate with them so they could get more trust from society, but now he decided to focus on what was best for him. He left the Ministry and came back home, where he was greeted by a brunette missile that ran straight toward him.
"Don't you dare to leave me behind next time, Potter!" Hermione proclaimed.
"Sorry, Mione, but when I heard Andi's message, I was so blind with rage that I had not even thought about getting help."
"You are forgiven, but it better be the last time," she warned him. They all then sat down to eat dinner. The atmosphere during that meal was heavy, as today's events were still in their minds. After dinner, Harry excused himself and locked himself in his office.
The last two days had completely changed his perspective. Last week, he wanted to cooperate with the Ministry, trying to build a good healthy partnership with them. But today, his eyes had opened. He understood that the so-called "Light side" was too weak to be in control. For them, maintaining the status quo was a perfect situation. Harry knew from Muggle's history that you can't buy peace. Muggles had tried that in the mid-30s at the Munich conference, and their so-called "peace" lasted barely a few years. He had zero doubts that history would repeat itself in that case. In a few years, a new Dark Lord would rise, and the Ministry would get caught with their pants down.
"What are you thinking of, Harry?" his mother's voice took him out of his thoughts. Harry then told his family about the last day's events.
Charlus had asked his grandson, "Do you have a plan on how to respond to that?"
"I have an idea, but I am still unsure about that plan, as it will close all the bridges with the Ministry," Harry replied.
"Why do you think that?" Charlus pressed a bit.
"Because it will undermine their authority. The Ministry is facing several serious problems, and I can solve them by launching a big investment plan. After my success, public opinion about the Ministry will drop, as they would be seen as so incompetent that an 18-year-old could help the citizens more than them."
"The only thing you are wrong here is thinking that you will face problems from the Ministry. Yes, they would try to make your life uncomfortable, but they will be like an annoying mosquito, flying around your head. You are Lord Potter and Lord Black. You hold far too much power for them to ignore you, or try to fight you very much. Especially that if your plan will succeed, the public will love you even more. And the Ministry will be too afraid to go against them."
Harry looked at his family. They all looked at him proudly with encouragement visible on their faces. It gave him the last push to make the decision.
"So mote it be," Harry told them and sat behind the desk. He knew he had a lot to do. The first thing was to write letters to Cyrus, Neville, and Susan. He asked them for a meeting tomorrow afternoon in Potter Manor. Then he prepared a message to Barchoke, informing him that he would visit him tomorrow morning. When he was done with that task, he called Mimsy and asked her to deliver these letters.
After that, he started creating his "To-Do" list. He was working on it until supper time, and he was still not done. He left his office to eat, as he learned a long time ago that he couldn't work while being hungry.
He came into the dining room, where everyone was waiting for him.
"Are you okay, Harry? You had closed yourself in the office and had not left even once. I was worried about you," asked Hermione.
"I am fine, Mione. I just had to think for a while. The last two days had changed my views on a few matters, and I had to organize my thoughts."
"Remember, Harry, we are here if you will need us," Andromeda said.
"Thanks, Andi. I appreciate that."
"So what are you going to do now?" asked Ted.
"I am still working on my plans. Though there is one thing I am sure about," he then turned to Dora, who was feeding Teddy. "I would like to adopt Teddy before the Wizengamot meeting."
"Of course, Harry, we can do this on the weekend," replied Dora. In light of recent events, she was even happier that Harry would blood-adopt her son.
"Then you can plan the ceremony for Saturday. If you want to invite someone, feel free."
"The only people I would like to have here are Connie Hammer and Charlie Weasley, as they are my closest friends."
"Send an invitation to Connie, and leave Charlie to me, as I will invite the whole Weasley clan," Harry suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Dora said, and soon she was making plans with all the ladies present, as they readily offered their help. Changing the topic to an upcoming ceremony improved everyone's mood there. When the meal was done, Harry left for his office, as he wanted to carry on with his work. He sat behind his desk and wrote. His list became longer and longer as he decided to go all in. He wanted to fully take advantage of the Ministry's idiocy. He wrote about all their wrongdoing and constructed an early plan on how to not only turn this against them but also how it could bring him some kind of benefits, whether they were monetary or even if it would bring him just good PR. He worked all night on that, with his only breaks being to make himself coffee and bathroom breaks. He was in a trance, simply allowing himself to get carried away by his flow. Portraits of his family had watched him silently, with pride on their faces.
When he finally put his quill down, he realized it was already 7 A.M. He decided to take a shower and survive this day by using Pepperup Potion. When he came back downstairs, ready for the day, everyone was already there.
"Why do you look like you hadn't slept at all?" asked Dora.
"Because I didn't," Harry simply replied.
"Could not sleep?" asked a worried Hermione.
"Nope, spent the whole night working. I had been so focused that I had not realized it was already morning, so I decided to simply not sleep at all and take Pepperup," he explained.
"I feel a strong urge to scold you for that, but I will limit myself to just asking you to be careful," said Andi.
"I'll go to sleep early tonight, don't worry." They talked for a little while longer before Harry left the Manor. His first stop for the day was the Burrow.
"Harry dear, it's great to see you! Did you have breakfast?" Molly welcomed him warmly and took him to the kitchen where the rest of the Weasley family was.
"Good morning, everyone. Thank you, Molly, but I have already eaten."
"What brings you here?" asked Bill.
"I came here to invite you all to the adoption ceremony this Saturday," he explained.
"Of course, we'll be there, Harry, but what's the rush? I thought you wanted to wait a few more weeks for that," Molly inquired.
Harry gave them a quick summary of yesterday's events. He looked at Arthur and Percy, confident that they knew what happened yesterday, and he was surprised that the rest of the Weasleys were not aware.
"So as you can imagine, I want to adopt him before the Wizengamot meeting, so no one will try to do something stupid."
"Of course, Harry, we will all be there," replied Molly, giving her husband a sidelong glance. She knew that Arthur had to be aware of the situation and was very unhappy that he hadn't told her about something that significant. She silently swore to speak with him privately.
"Glad to hear that. Unfortunately, I've got to go. I have a lot of work to do today," he said goodbye and left for Diagon Alley. However, before meeting with Barchoke, he went to the Magical Menagerie. It was time to find a new owl companion. He missed Hedwig very much, but he couldn't wait any longer to buy a new owl. He didn't want to use Mimsy for that. He entered the shop and went straight to the room filled with owls of various species. He took a good look at them, not knowing which one to choose. But then, in the corner of the room, his eyes spotted a majestic-looking bird. Unlike the other owls, she did not try to get his attention. She sat there, looking at Harry. He could feel that this owl was judging him. After a moment, she flew to him and landed on his shoulder. Harry took her to the counter and paid for her, owl treats, and a new perch. When he left the shop, he packed his purchases and sent his new friend on her way.
"Go to Potter Manor. I'll be back in the evening when we choose an appropriate name for you," he said to her, to which she bobbed her head and flew away. Harry watched her until she disappeared from his sight and then went in the direction of Gringotts.