Arc 4, Chapter 1
Amelia Bones and Nymphadora Tonks floo'd into Professor McGonagall's office promptly at half seven the next morning. Already waiting for them were Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. Professor McGonagall looked perplexed but waited to hear the explanation for the presence of her two lion cubs.
After clearing the ash from the fireplace, Madam Bones looked at the two young students carefully. This plan depended on them and their ability to carry it off.
"Thank you for being so prompt this morning. I know there's not much time before the Express leaves and you still need to get breakfast. Mr. Weasley, did you bring the clothes I asked you to bring?"
Ron pulled a bundle of cloth from his robes and handed them to the Head of the DMLE. She looked at them and grimaced.
"Are you sure these are what he wears home?" she asked.
"All Harry has is hand-me-downs from his cousin who is five times his size," replied Hermione.
Tonks picked up the bundle and turned her nose up, "Well, I may make a few adjustments, but I guess these will have to do." She took the bundle and headed down the hall to an unused classroom where she changed into her 'new' clothes. First, she shifted into the form of Harry Potter so she could make sure she had the right bulk (or lack thereof) and put on the rags, er clothes. She did some minor adjustments so she didn't trip over the pants legs and rolled the sleeves up. Then she put on the Gryffindor robe that was also provided. After conjuring a mirror to confirm she had everything correct, she walked back down to Professor McGonagall's office. When she walked in, everyone looked at her.
Hermione was the first to speak up, "Harry?"
"Nope, sorry, it's me," replied Tonks before quickly changing her hair color to pink, and then back to the messy black of Harry Potter.
"Excellent work, Cadet Tonks," said Madam Bones.
"May I ask what this is all about?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"Cadet Tonks is going to take Mr. Potter's place on the train and then go to Harry's residence in case anyone is monitoring his comings and goings. When you leave here, I want you to go to the Great Hall for breakfast, then retrieve your trunks as you would usually do. You'll all ride the train as normal. When you get to Platform 9 ¾ disperse as you usually would. Ms. Granger, are his relatives waiting for him when he arrives?"
"Yes ma'am. They're always by the sign for Platform 9," Hermione replied.
"Excellent! I'll have someone watching the interaction but they will also be disguised. I want to make sure nothing happens before they get back to their home. Someone else will be waiting for them when they arrive. Meanwhile, please treat her as you would Mr. Potter so that nobody gets suspicious. He won't be leaving the Hospital Wing this morning at all. I'm sorry but you also won't be able to go by and say goodbye either. If you want to leave him a note, I'll be happy to take it to him."
Hermione exclaimed, "But I didn't bring any parchment or ink with me – they're all packed up!"
Professor McGonagall reached into her desk and pulled out the appropriate writing materials and gave them to Hermione. She quickly wrote a note to Harry, then folded it up. She gave Ron a look, but apparently, he didn't want to do the same. She handed the note to Madam Bones.
"Thank you. Cadet Tonks has been briefed about what could happen. Just pretend she's Harry. Is there anyone she should be wary about?" asked Madam Bones.
"Malfoy," spat Ron, "He always comes by our compartment and tries to pick a fight or just be annoying. He'll try something on the train for sure."
"Well, I guess I'll just have to out Slytherin my cousin then," said Tonks with a wink.
"You'd best get moving if you're going to have time for breakfast then. Thank you for your help today," said Madam Bones.
Once the three students had left, Minerva looked at Amelia and asked, "Are you sure this is wise?"
"I've got Mad-Eye watching their house and Shacklebolt will be at the station. With the threats Mr. Dursley made, I'm quite sure we'll be able to arrest him for assault before the day's over. Cadet Tonks has been told to avoid using her wand if she can, but she is to defend herself if she has to. Investigators from the Surrey police will be there within a half hour of their returning home with a search warrant. It seems Mr. Dursley has been dipping into the company's till. He was quite good at covering it up, but not good enough. It also seems that Dudley Dursley was told not to return next year to his boarding school. He was the leader in a theft ring. While we couldn't find anything on Petunia, just her treatment of Harry and allowing her husband to treat him as he did is enough for child abuse charges to be lodged against her."
Minerva pursed her lips, "Well, it couldn't happen to nicer people. I may just have to pay a visit myself this evening and watch the events."
"Well, if there happens to be an extra cat around, I'll let Mad Eye know not to hurt her," chuckled Amelia.
"I'm going to check on Harry and Sirius before heading back to the Ministry. Thank you for the use of your office, Minerva. I'll keep you posted," said Amelia as she headed to the door.
- HiFHiFHiFHiFHiF -
The three "students" boarded the train with their trunks and Crookshanks. 'Harry' had decided to leave Hedwig at Hogwarts to avoid anything happening to her. "He" had her empty cage and would say that Hedwig was flying to Little Whinging. After finding an empty carriage, the three settled in. Tonks had them give her a crash course on being Harry Potter.
"What is his usual demeanor? When I saw him in the Hospital Wing, he seemed pretty quiet and reserved. I don't know if that was just all of the strangers around and all he'd been through, or if it was normal for him," she asked.
Hermione replied, "Harry is pretty quiet and reserved unless he gets angry, then look out. When Mount Potter blows, it doesn't do to be nearby. He doesn't let his feelings out normally, but bullies will really set him off."
"How about with his relatives?"
Both Hermione and Ron looked at each other and both shrugged. Ron replied, "The only time I've seen them is when we rescued him before second year. His uncle was trying to stop Harry from leaving. Harry looked terrified that he would get dragged back in the window and have to stay there longer."
Hermione said, "I've seen them on the other side of the barrier. They never help him with his trunk. They don't even bother getting him a trolley. He's expected to drag it to the car park. They don't even call him by his name, just 'Boy'. They really aren't nice people. I think the less you say, the better off you will be."
Tonks nodded and absorbed the information. This wasn't going to be an easy assignment. She talked with the two kids for a while before they each found something else to pass the time. Hermione pulled out a book on Runes. Ron had a quidditch magazine. Tonks had brought one of her auror training manuals disguised as a history book. The twins dropped by and played a few games of Exploding Snap. They were surprised to see 'Harry' there and were quickly clued in on what was going on. The twins had a few more hints for Tonks.
The trolley witch stopped by and Tonks bought some extra treats for the group. After they settled back down, the door slammed open with Malfoy and his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, behind him.
"Well if it isn't Potty, Weasel, and the mudblood. I heard the dementors had gotten you Potty and you didn't have a soul anymore. I bet that gave the dementor real indigestion," Draco said with a laugh.
Tonks was prepared for this little twit, "Well, Draco, the rumors of my soullessness are greatly exaggerated. In fact, I managed to drive off all 100 of those soul suckers. Would you like a demonstration?" and Tonks started to pull out her wand.
Having seen Harry's patronus before at the quidditch match, he knew he was telling the truth, but still had to say something, "Well, what a shame. I guess the year's not complete without Saint Potter pulling a niffler out of his hat and stealing the House Cup from its rightful owners. We'll get you next year and the Quidditch Cup too."
"Dream on Drakeypoo, dream on," Tonks said.
Draco stomped his feet, "Don't call me that!"
Ron was sitting in his seat trying not to fall over laughing. Hermione was watching in shock.
"Whatever you say Drakeypoo," Tonks said.
"Why you …! Wait until I tell my father about this!" Draco said, then stomped out of the carriage and back to wherever he'd come from.
Ron lost it at that point and even Hermione was chuckling.
"Drakeypoo?" Ron howled! "I'm going to have to use that one again. Way to go."
"Well, Draco is my cousin so I felt a little extra teasing was what cousins would do. He doesn't think anyone will stand up to him so when someone does, he doesn't know how to react."
"You've got that right! You should have seen him run when Hermione punched him in the face right before we went down to Hagrid's hut. He cried like a toddler and ran off; probably went to complain to Snape," Ron added.
"Wow! Hermione! I didn't know you had it in you. You go,girl! Don't let scum like Malfoy get to you. He's just parroting his father who is just another Death Eater that bought their way out of Azkaban. Stand up for yourself. From what I've seen, you've got both the House of Potter and the House of Black supporting you and Malfoy can't compete with that."
Hermione was puzzled, "What do you mean 'House of Potter' and 'House of Black?"
Tonks was surprised the brightest witch of her age didn't know these things, "Haven't you read about the Wizengamot and the Houses?"
"I read about some of it with Buckbeak's appeal, but it seemed like it's just like the House of Lords in the muggle world," she said.
"In some ways, but it's more. It's both the legislative and judicial branchesll rolled into one. There are permanent seats for the Sacred 28 families as well as those families with noble titles at the time of the creation of the Wizard's Council. The Founders also have seats, but nobody's claimed them in centuries. The Blacks are part of the Sacred 28. The Potters are descended from the Peverells which had a Dukedom when the Wizard's Council was formed and it passed to the Potter line. Then you have the Order of Merlin First Class award holders who have seats, and then the Ministry department heads. The number stays around 60 – 70 give or take a few."
Hermione listened raptly to this concise explanation of the Wizengamot. She was unaware that the Potters were so highly held in esteem and wondered if Harry knew this. She suspected he didn't.
"Is there somewhere that explains all of this?" Hermione asked.
"Do you want to know more about the Wizengamot itself or the people on it?" asked Tonks.
"Both," replied Hermione.
"I'll have to find my copy of the history of the Wizengamot. Mum made me read it before I started Auror training. As for who's on it, you need to get a copy of "Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy." It's really stuffy reading, but it does tell you who's who in the wizarding world and what the pecking order is. There's probably one in the Black library once Sirius gets cleared," replied Tonks.
"Why don't they teach us this in History instead of all of those goblin wars? This is important information that everyone should know!" Hermione was working herself into a lather now.
"I think they think that everyone already knows it and forgets that they don't. In Hufflepuff, we have classes for the muggleborn and raised to orient them to the magical world. I think Ravenclaw does it too. Or else they just hand them a book to read."
Hermione sat back and thought about all she had learned in just a short time. It kept her occupied for the rest of the journey to King's Cross Station.