From personal experience, Minerva McGonagall could say with authority that escorting the uninitiated through Diagon Alley was more difficult than herding cats and more frustrating than the labors of Sisyphus. Even now, her current gaggle of muggle-born were living down to her expectations. Despite the aggravation, this task was a welcome break.

Something had gone horribly wrong - or horribly right. For McGonagall, the first blow had been Dumbledore's disappearance and dismissal. Without warning, she had been forced to assume the duties of Headmistress of Hogwarts, in addition to her other roles. The only saving grace was that this had happened between terms, a slack time for the professors. However, the workloads of a head of house, a full-time professor and a headmaster together were simply impossible for a single person during the school year. Furthermore, if she had read her tea leaves correctly, the board of governors would soon formally appoint her to be in charge of the school. Consequently, McGonagall had been forced to don the mask of a headhunter.

The second blow was the agonizing incapacitation of Severus Snape. Even the specialists who had been imported from abroad had no idea when or if he could leave St. Mungo's. The workload of a head of house and a full-time professor was simply impossible for an invalid. Consequently, McGonagall had been forced to don the mask of a headhunter.

The third blow was the discovery that the wizarding census had missed at least half of the population, leading to an explosion in the enrollment for the coming term. The workload for the current faculty had been barely manageable the previous term; accommodating twice the number of students was simply impossible for the group at hand. Consequently, McGonagall had been forced to don the mask of a headhunter.

McGonagall was grateful that she hadn't yet been required to break out the poison darts. Slughorn had literally jumped at the chance to become the new Professor of Potions, a position that would allow him the opportunity to add Harry Potter to his circle of influence. After that interview McGonagall had never been more grateful for the Scourgify charm, even though she still felt unclean; despite repetitively casting the spell several times. She would have also assigned him as Slytherin's head of house if she hadn't already promised that position to Prof. Sinistra. In a similar vein, Lupin, the new DADA professor, had snapped up the chance to be Gryffindor's head of house. She still had to track down a new Transfiguration professor and recruit adjunct staff, but she could pull from a pool of temporaries in the interim.

She was still coming to grips with the dramatic increase in the student population. What Filius had discovered with the Thomas children had only been the beginning. It was entirely feasible that the muggle-born would outnumber the purebloods at this year's sorting, and that was just from testing the children who had known connections with wizarding relatives. There was no telling how many potential students were still being overlooked. However, the newcomers who had already been identified needed to be prepared for the upcoming school year. With the rest of the staff canvassing the countryside for more missing magicals, McGonagall stood alone as the Hogwarts' escort for the new students, much to her dismay.

Fortunately, one of the incoming muggle-borns had brought both his upper-classman brother and their parents, and those three had been dragooned into serving as supplemental guides. The first order of business, however, was to go to Gringott's to exchange money. She scowled when she had to tell the group that their Visas were no good here.

The bank had all the cheeriness of an endodontist's office. The first student and her parents approached the exchange window with a measure of trepidation; it was clear that the teller's sharp teeth and claws were more than decoration. The goblin asked, "Name?"

McGonagall raised an eyebrow in surprise. Never before had that been asked at the exchange desk.

The girl answered, "Ashfeld, Alexia."

The goblin moved his finger down a sheet of foolscap behind the counter and stopped. Looking up, he said, "You already have a vault. Get your galleons from there."

"How?" asked Alexia.

Pointing to a vestibule, the goblin said, "Wait there." Turning to a runner, he said, "Tell Sawtooth 'the tern has wormed'." Turning back, he said, "Next!"

Aside from the introductions, the remainder of the transactions were routine until soon-to-be-first-year Dennis Creevey all but bounced up to the counter.

The goblin asked, "Name?" as he looked down at the young wizard who was staring back at him in awe.

"I'm Dennis." The boy beamed back, enjoying the exchange.

The goblin grunted as he looked down at the parchment on his desk. "Your surname?" he demanded gruffly.

"Creevey." Was said with a smile.

"Mr. Creevey." The goblin smirked. "You already have a vault. Get your galleons from there."

"I have a vault?"

"That is what I said." There was some irritation in the reply; Minerva was well aware that goblins hated repeating themselves.

"How can I have a vault, when my brother doesn't have one?"

The goblin looked down at the paper again. "What is your brother's name?"

"Colin."

"He does have a vault."

"What?" Colin asked in surprise from where he and his father were standing just behind Dennis.

The goblin glared at the boy, daring him to ask the question.

"I wasn't told last year that I had a vault." Colin answered with a statement instead.

"Stand next to Miss Ashfeld," the goblin commanded. "A runner will be by shortly to take you all to Sawtooth. I am sure he will answer any questions you may have. Next!"

Just like that, Minerva was stripped of her helpers. Still, it shouldn't be a problem to leave half of the remaining group with Madam Malkin while the other half went to Olivander's. McGonagall had no doubt that the others would be in good hands with Sawtooth.

The day continued to be an eventful one for Colin Creevey. He had expected something out of the ordinary. After all, it was his brother's turn to get supplies for the upcoming year at Hogwarts. To think, his mother had almost turned down Professor McGonagall's offer to join the rest of the first year mundane-raised. If she had done that, they wouldn't have met Alexia and her family until the train.

As things stood, Dennis had already made a friend in his year, and their father was talking with Alexia's. At some point, they had decided to take the two family cars to the address the goblin had provided. What an interesting meeting that had been. It had been obvious from the start that Sawtooth had just wanted to be done with them. He barely took the time to demand three drops of blood from all three of them to verify they were who they said they were. Then, all he would say was that there were others who had promised to explain why they each had a vault before summoning a runner to escort them out of his office with their keys and a point of contact.

The ride to their new vaults had made the day worthwhile all by itself, even if his mother had vomited before she could make her way out of the cart. Colin didn't think she would be accompanying either Dennis or him to their vaults in the future. Then, there were the vaults themselves. He didn't know why he had a vault, but Colin knew he was going to have his own broom this year, something he could only dream of before. He'd even let his younger brother borrow it; first years couldn't bring their own.

Even though they had separated from the rest of the group, they had finished their shopping. And oh, what a shopping trip it had been! With galleons in their pockets, he and his brother were able to go above and beyond what was on the list - well, as far beyond as their parents allowed. A trunk with its own flat installed would have been nice, but they had to settle for ones that had multiple compartments and could shrink on command. The acromantula silk robes also got vetoed. But Colin now had the supplies needed to recreate the potions he had been taught in his first year. With those he'd give his brother a leg up in Snape's class. On top of that, it looked like Alexia would be coming over at some point; so, she could join in as well, if she wanted.

After they had purchased everything they needed, they had climbed into their separate cars and had driven to the address provided. It hadn't been a long ride on the highway before they were pulling into the drive of a modest-looking house. Though there was enough room for four vehicles, the two they brought were the only ones present, and there was no garage to hide another car.

"Looks like no one is home," Colin's mother said.

Shaking his head, Colin spoke up. "Mum, they are wizards. It's likely they don't even own a car."

"We'll just have to ring the doorbell and see, shan't we?" said Colin's father. He was just opening his door when a blue MGB slid onto the drive behind them. There was more than a little awkward silence before Colin recognized one of the individuals getting out of the two-seater that had to be too small for all of those disembarking.

"Harry!" he exclaimed, wishing he had his camera as he undid his own belt and leapt from the car. "Harry! What are you doing here?"

"Colin?" the older boy managed when he recognized who was addressing him. "Oh, hey there." His voice seemed to be a question near the end.

While he was greeting his idol, Colin's family exited their car while Alexia and her family did the same.

"You were the one who gave us all those galleons," Colin declared. "Thank you!"

"Um, actually you should be thanking Hermione for that," Harry said, pointing at the girl.

"Hermione, you're here, too?" Colin beamed. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Hermione said with a smile.

"You gave our children that money?" Alexia's father asked. "Why?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Hermione admitted.

"You're not exactly sure?"

Hermione fidgeted as four adults stared at her, gob smacked.

"This is a conversation best had indoors, away from prying eyes and ears," a beautiful woman said as she emerged from the passenger's-side door. "Besides, I believe introductions are in order."

"As is supper," said the man who had been driving the MGB. He retrieved some familiar-looking boxes from the boot.

"We couldn't impose," Alexia's mother said, regaining her composure. "We'd just like an explanation as to why our daughter had a vault waiting for her."

"But we insist," the beautiful woman said. "The story is far from brief, and we have more than enough to go around. My name is Andromeda Tonks, but you may call me 'Andi'."

"Pleased to meet you, Andi." Colin's father stuck out his hand in greeting. "I'm Jack and this is my wife, Jenny. And yes, we've heard all of the jokes."

"Jokes?" Andi questioned as she reached out to shake Jack's hand.

"Don't be an ass, Mum," a pink-haired girl said.

Taking that as his cue, Alexia's father came forward for an introduction. "Henry Ashfeld, here," he said. "And the missus is Audrey."

"Ted is my husband," Andi said, waving at the man carrying the boxes. "Nymphadora, my daughter."

"Mum!"

"Hush!" Turning back, she continued, "You know Harry and Hermione, that just leaves our lovely Luna here."

"Hello."

"Alexia." Henry gestured at his daughter.

Jack copied his motion. "Dennis and Colin."

"Won't you please join us inside?" With those words, Andi made her way to the front door, which clicked open at her approach. The witch seemed to be expecting that; what she wasn't expecting was the black cloud of smoke that escaped once she opened the obstacle.

"What in the world?" she exclaimed, drawing her wand before rushing in to find the source of the disturbance.

It was in the kitchen where they found the culprit. "Hello, welcome back," a pretty blonde woman said with a sheepish grin as thick black smoke continued to pour from the pot sitting on the stove. "I haven't gotten used to these muggle things yet," she said as way of explanation.

"Obviously," Andi said, reaching under the stove hood to turn on the fan.

"I thought I'd have dinner ready," the blonde said.

"Well, we can have whatever you were cooking as a supplement to the pizza we've brought," Andi said, smiling at the blonde woman. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Gloria."

"Yeah, no," Nymphadora said, looking at the smoldering pot. "I'll just ring the restaurant and have them send over some more pies. Any requests?"

"Bark!"

"Do they have bacon on pizza?" Harry asked, looking at his white owl perched on the back of a chair. Colin noticed an enormous black dog and large ginger cat also observing with amusement.

"Yes, they actually do," Nymphadora said.

"We'll have one with, then," Harry said.

"Hedwig eats more bacon than mice." Hermione sighed, going over to pet the bird.

"She knows what she likes," Harry replied with a shrug.

"I'm surprised Paddy didn't maul us once the door was opened," Andi said, looking at the dog. "I guess he's waiting to see if he gets whatever is left over from Gloria's attempts."

"Is that a big dog or a small bear?" Jenny asked, eyeing Paddy warily.

"He may be half and half," Andi admitted, turning off the burner under the pot. "Either that, or James had fun with an Engorgio charm."

"He's harmless." Ted had put down the pizzas he had been carrying and was banishing the remaining smoke with his wand.

"Won't you all take a seat?" Andi gestured to the kitchen table as Nymphadora wandered over toward the phone.

"Is this where we get an explanation as to why you've been so generous?" Audrey asked as she led her husband and daughter over to find seating.

"Pretty much." Ted waved his wand and spoke the words to expand the table and conjure some extra chairs. "Though we are about to enter the realm of the unbelievable."

"Says the man who just made chairs out of thin air," Jack grumbled, sitting down next to his wife before turning to look at Colin. "Can you do that?"

"Not yet," Colin admitted.

"I can't wait to learn that," Alexia piped up.

"Not now, dear," Audrey admonished her child. "First, we need to find out why you were given money and what, if any, obligations are expected of you."

"No obligations," Hermione said, taking a seat next to Harry. "I didn't go into details, but I assume Alexia was instrumental in sending our plans back in time and is therefore entitled to a portion of the spoils."

A predictable silence met that statement, giving Andi ample time to wander over, levitating a stack of plates. She flicked her wand so that they landed, individually, at their appointed placements. With another flick of her wand, she raised the lid of the topmost box of pizza. "Who wants cheese? It looks like it's first up."

"Woof!"

"You're not fooling anyone. I know you want a slice covered with meat."

"Meow."

"That goes for you too."

"Bark!"

"Don't tell me you're not going to wait for the bacon covered one."

"I'll have a slice, please," Luna said politely.

"Same here," Ted said, taking his seat at the head of the table.

"Very well," Andi said, levitating them each a slice before continuing to the next box.

"Wait a minute," Henry finally said. "You… You're… Time travel?"

Harry smiled. "Hermione is brilliant. She will have has… She has already will… She would have will… You know what, I'm not sure how to frame that sentence, especially since we are talking about something that happened that won't be happening now."

Audrey addressed Ted. "You were right, we have reached a new level of 'what the fill in the blank'?"

"Huh?" Ted returned with a tilt of his head.

"Audrey is originally from the colonies," Henry explained. "She has brought some idiosyncrasies with her."

"So, you are saying that the boys will have done something to make themselves independently wealthy?" Jack interjected.

"I'm sure they will have been very helpful in the coming war." Hermione nodded.

"War!?" said four of the adults in the room.

"I think the possibility of that still happening has been laid to rest when Madam Bones asked Lucius if it were feasible to take the dark mark without explicitly wanting it," Andi said opening the next box. "Pepperoni and sausage anyone?"

"What? You want us to eat after dropping that at our feet?" Jenny snapped. "It may only be three letters long, but 'war' is a big word."

"As I said," Andi levitated a slice onto Dora's plate. "The children have already, most likely, taken care of the problem. They've knocked out the financial backing while removing a large number of the major players. And before you think of having your children forgo the magical world; remember the first time around the enemy's initial targets were those who had opted to have their magics bound and memories removed."

"I'm going to need a beer - or something stronger, if it wouldn't be too much of a bother," Henry said. "I get the feeling; we are not going to like a lot of what you have to tell us."

Amelia Bones let out a sigh as she sat down behind her new desk. It had been a real whirlwind of a day. Not that she hadn't expected it to be, but there had turned out to be a lot more fuel for the fire than originally anticipated. The resulting inferno had been a lot more cleansing than her wildest dreams had allowed.

In a sense, she had been standing at the top of a hill and had dropped a pebble with the intention of creating an avalanche capable of burying a foe or three. She may even have been anticipating the added benefit of knocking some related obstacles off their feet. Then Harry Potter had shown up and seen what she was doing. He had then done the equivalent of saying "That's nice, but hold my beer" right before producing a boulder out of nowhere and dropping it, thus showing her what a real landslide looked like. The resulting chaos had been the absolute ruin of the dark faction, who would be occupied for the next generation digging themselves out enough just to have the room needed to wave a white flag.

To be fair, his attack had been nothing more than an accidental backhand swipe at the house of cards upon which the dark faction had been building its power base. With the Imperius defense no longer in play, the Wizengamot had been forced to uphold their own laws. Thus, many warrants were issued, and the promise of veritaserum was in the future for all those who had sided with the traitorous faction. Without the former Minister running interference, several wealthy individuals would soon be paying for their crimes. For that matter, they couldn't count on the indirect yet effective help from the Head Warlock either. With Madam Marchbanks now officially holding that position, they would be finding forgiveness in short supply. The Malfoy holdings wouldn't be the only estate under attack for reparations.

It was, therefore, anticlimactic having Fudge's trial as the second to last order of business. True, there had been the foreseeable legal babble, but excerpts from Madam Marchbanks' portion of the dialogue summed it up nicely.

"Minister Fudge, soon to be former Minister Fudge, you have been accepting bribes from the Death Eater Lucius Malfoy as well as others. It is time for you to face the consequences of your actions."

"Yes, you are entitled to defend yourself before judgment is passed; I'd just like to note that you are standing here today partially because of your calculated effort to deny another that right."

"Please spare us your feigned innocence. You speak as if we don't have your confession under veritaserum, nor Lucius Malfoy's as well. That says nothing of the financial records your benefactor was more than willing to leave laying around."

"Nice speech; we can all clearly see that you are, after all, a politician at heart. A lot of words to invoke the desired emotions in your audience yet glaringly void of content, specifically, content that should make us consider absolving you of your crimes."

"Mr. Fudge, we have had a long day and your word games grow tiresome. You have nothing constructive to add; thus, I am putting an end to your delaying tactics. You have said your piece, ad nauseam. It has come time to review the evidence; starting with your own testimony under truth serum."

"Protections you forfeited when you engaged in treason. Something Director Bones has already explained to you as well as this body."

"Please, Mr. Fudge. It is unsightly to see a grown man cry. Have you no care for your remaining dignity?"

"As you can all see from the summary of bribes; the man before you is looking at at least two consecutive life sentences in Azkaban. However, it would be wasted effort to do more than note these crimes since accessory to line theft on the level presented comes with a mandatory vacation through the veil."

"Yes, I cannot deny that I am growing weary after all of the events of the day. Which is why I propose that the disposition of former Minister Fudge's estate…"

"You are correct, we haven't yet voted on his guilt. I propose we do so now for his most glaring crime. I care little for allotting time on matters that become moot after one vote is taken, which is why I was going to suggest that the disposition of former Minister Fudge's estate be taken up by committee."

"Thank you very much for seconding the proposal, Regent Longbottom. Now, all those who wish to vote on the guilt of assisting in the attempted line theft of a Noble and Most Ancient House please light your wand. Those of you wishing for more discourse before taking the vote may leave yours unlit."

"Now that that is finished, we can go about the business of electing a new Minister."

"Sigh… This is the second time today you have interrupted these proceedings with your insistence that we make such an awarding. Do you take some kind of perverse glee in treating women like chattel? I cannot imagine that former Minister Fudge's wife has wronged you on the same level Narcissa Malfoy may have."

"Does anyone wish to second the proposal of making the former Minister's wife the property of Harry James Potter?"

"Heir Potter, such profanity shall not be tolerated in these chambers. A simple 'no, I decline' would have sufficed. Your outburst was most unbecoming and if I am not mistaken, your younger wife wishes to talk to you about your behavior. You shall be given a moment, under privacy charms to rethink your actions."

"Yes, Heir Potter, it is indeed evident that Lord Black has suffered most grievously as a result of this man's actions."

"Does anyone wish to take up the proposal of awarding Lord Black, Mr. Fudge's former wife?"

"Now that that is out of the way, Heir Potter, I must admit I am curious as to why you believe the words 'turnabout is fair play' are relevant to this discussion. As stated earlier, Mr. Fudge's former wife is arguably going to be an innocent victim of some of our most archaic laws."

Knowing exactly why young Harry Potter thought that particular outcome was turnabout, Amelia had been hard-pressed to keep her composure. In retrospect, it may have been preferable if she had let her amusement show in the form of uncontrollable laughter. That may have dissuaded the Wizengamot from moving on to the final agenda of the day. She was still not exactly sure how they talked her into taking on the responsibilities of the Minister of Magic; at least she had gotten a new desk out of the deal.

Harry was content - squished, yet very much content. On one side of him was Dora in her normal pink-haired form holding him tightly. On his other side Hermione also clutched him possessively. This left Luna snuggling in his lap, obviously grateful to be included with the others piled on the couch. All in all, it was a far cry from the smallest bedroom in number four Privet Drive.

"For a while there, I was sure that Mr. Ashfeld was going to take his family and do a runner," Dora commented after an indeterminable amount of time.

"He still might," Hermione said. "You have to admit, this isn't the most favorable introduction to the wizarding world."

"I think they were impressed by what magic is capable of," Luna said. "Once he realized that his adult daughter will have been able to do those things while providing for her past self and family, his discomfort lessened."

"We are going to need a new dictionary if we are going to keep talking about time travel," Harry said.

"I think we've had our fill of time travel," Dora pointedly said. "Isn't that right, Hermione?"

"Maybe?" Hermione admitted. "So, when do you think Sirius will come out of hiding?" she added to change the subject.

"Soon, I hope." Harry said. "I can't wait to give him his present."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Luna said dreamily.

"Don't let your hopes get too high," Dora said. "Mrs. Fudge's family is going to offer to pay a ransom to get her out of that commitment. I wouldn't be surprised if Sirius sets it at two sickles per tradition."

"Two sickles?" Hermione asked.

"Woof," Paddy said from the floor.

"It basically means that Sirius isn't holding his prize or her family responsible for the trespasses committed by her former husband," Dora said. "If he's feeling generous, he can bestow her a portion of Fudge's estates, thus declaring her a blameless victim."

"So, basically, he's off the hook." Harry grumbled.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll think of something," Hermione said. "From what I understand, he loves pranks and will appreciate one being pulled on him."

"Maybe, you shouldn't hold a grudge." Luna said. "Everything he has done has been for your benefit."

"I'm not holding a grudge," Harry protested. "But he deserves to be a bit uncomfortable after what he put Dora's mother through."

"No, Mum deserved that," Dora countered. "Besides, it turned out he was just trying to help her. It boils down to the whole incident being a failure to communicate."

"It did work out in the end," Luna said. "Mrs. Tonks has been smiling a lot lately."

"Those are satisfied smirks," Dora corrected. "Sirius gave her something she needed, even though she didn't know she needed it."

"I can honestly say I didn't see that coming," Harry said. "I would have been willing to place money on how many bones your mother was going to break once she caught up with Sirius."

"Only broken bones?" Hermione asked. "You need to work on your imagination."

Harry gave Hermione a startled look. "Ron was right, you are scary."

"And don't you forget it," Hermione huffed.

"Well, she did rip time apart to win a war that will never happen now," Dora said. "And she did it in a way that none of her enemies will ever realize what happened."

"You are giving me too much credit," Hermione said. "I'm sure I had a lot of help. All we really know is that I cast the spell."

"I repeat, you ripped up time to win a war." Dora said.

"And win a family," Luna purred, snuggling closer to Harry. "I think that was the more important thing."

"What she said." Dora hugged her three partners as emphasis. "Of course, that only proves you are a pervert."

"I am not! Besides, I'll remind you, the twins weren't my fault."

"You aren't discouraging their addition." Dora frowned at the younger girl. "Don't tell me you aren't happy to have them."

"Lucky accident or not, they aren't my fault."

Listening to the recurring argument, Harry was squished, but content.