Chapter Twenty

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat close together in the Gryffindor common room; after trying to avoid the subject for several weeks, Harry had finally gathered the courage to tell his two best friends the news that he wouldn't be coming back to Hogwarts the following year, and needless to say, the news had not been received well.

"But you HAVE to come back!" Hermione cried as tears ran down her cheeks, "You must complete your magical education!"

"Yeah, mate," Ron added, "And Hogwarts is the best school in the world! Where else are you going to go?!"

"Raven says that she'll begin looking into schools in America the moment we get back to Jump City," Harry replied in a hollow voice, "And if that fails, she plans to teach me herself with some outside help from a few of the magical heroes that the Justice League has on its payroll."

Hermione's eyes grew wide at that, while Ron looked skeptical at the thought of Harry being taught by someone other than the Hogwarts staff.

"You mean you're going to be taught by people like Zatanna and Dr. Fate?" Hermione asked in awe,

"Yeah, most likely…." Harry mumbled back; while it was true that he was excited to be taught by such amazing people, Harry also felt terribly depressed that he would not be joining his friends at Hogwarts next year.

"But why?!" Ron demanded, "Why pull you from Hogwarts at all?!"

"Raven doesn't trust Dumbledore," Harry explained, "She thinks that he's got some plan in the works for me. Add to that the fact that I've nearly died three times this year alone, and Raven thinks it would be best for me to seek my education elsewhere…."

"Doesn't trust Dumbledore?" Ron asked in bewilderment, "But Dumbledore is the leader of the light! He's…. well, he's Dumbledore!"

"Your point being?" Harry asked, making Ron stutter for an answer for a moment,

"He's the one who defeated Grindelwald!" Ron exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air to show his exasperation, "The man has been revered as the greatest wizard in the world since our parents went to school here! So how can your sister suspect him of wrongdoing?!"

"I don't know," Harry shrugged, "But she's made up her mind, so that's it…."

"But…." Hermione said softly as new tears ran down her cheeks, "But if you leave, we won't be friends anymore…."

"What?" Harry asked in bewilderment, "Where did you come up with that crazy idea?"

"Think about it, Harry," Hermione said softly as she stared at her lap. "You'll be on the other side of the planet, where you'll undoubtedly make other friends. You'll write to us at first, no doubt, but eventually, as time goes by, you'll forget about us, and then we'll stop being friends…."

Even Ron seemed sad at that, and Harry watched for a moment as his two friends sat silently, each seeming to diminish in front of him.

"Now you listen here, Hermione Granger! Ron Weasley!" Harry replied, giving his best impression of Long John Silver from Treasure Planet. "We three will NEVER stop being friends, you hear me? Never! I promise I will write you guys as often as possible, and I expect letters back! Moreover, Raven has already written to each of your families, asking if you could come to Jump City this summer, and I expect that to be a recurring event! So, no matter what, never think that we won't be friends anymore just because I'm leaving, got it?"

Both seemed to feel better after Harry's speech, and Hermione laughed at Harry's forced accent; Ron hadn't seen Treasure Planet yet and had no frame of reference for what Harry was trying to impersonate, yet he smiled the same.

"Raven asked our parents permission to come to Jump City this summer?" Finally, Hermione asked after a moment of silence, "When were you going to tell us?"

"I just did," Harry replied with a wink that made Hermione shake her head in exasperation, "And to answer your follow-up question, both of your parents said yes, though Mrs. Weasley insisted on coming as a chaperone when Raven told her that we have no adults at Titans Tower. But, honestly, what does she expect to happen? We're heroes, for crying out loud!"

"Heroes they may be," Hermione laughed, "But they're still teenagers without adult supervision. So it doesn't surprise me that Ron's mother would want to come along to ensure that you all stay out of trouble."

"Seems like everyone shares that opinion…." Harry muttered,

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, his face going slightly pink at the thought that Harry might be insulting his mother, intentionally or otherwise.

"According to Raven and Robin," Harry said in annoyance, "The Justice League is also concerned that there is no adult supervision in Jump City to keep the Titans in check."

"But, aren't both Rob and Raven over eighteen? Technically, they are adults, right?" Hermione asked,

"You would think so, but nope!" Harry replied scornfully, "The League says that even though they're adults, there should still be someone with more experience keeping an eye on things. As such, the League has decided that one member will be sent to Jump City on a rotating basis to act as mentor and trainer. Black Canary volunteered to be on the first rotation."

"Black Canary?!" Hermione cried before regaining control of herself, "She's one of the Justice League's heavy hitters!"

"I'm aware," Harry replied with a grin that made Hermione blush scarlet while Ron looked confused.

"What's so special about a canary?" Ron asked in bemusement, which made Harry snort with amusement.

"She's not a REAL canary, Ronald!" Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, "That's just her name."

"Oh…" Ron said in embarrassment, "So, what's so good about her? Why is she being put in charge of the Titans?"

"Black Canary is one of the most powerful heroes of the Justice League!" Hermione said with stars in her eyes, "She has the ability to use her voice as a weapon to devastating effect!"

"Man, you really love superheroes, don't you, Hermione?" Ron asked with a smile that made Hermione blush scarlet again."

"When you don't have any friends growing up, you tend to read a lot…." Hermione mumbled so softly that Harry and Ron nearly missed it, "And Black Canary saved my mum once, so it stands to reason that she would be one of my favorites."

"You never told us that," Harry said in surprise, "What happened, if it's not too personal?"

"Not at all," Hermione said warmly, "Mum was coming home from work when Atomic Skull tried to rob a bank near her office; she ended up as a hostage when Atomic Skull tried to make a break for it, and he would have killed her if not for Black Canary showing up! That's what got me interested in superheroes in the first place."

"Well, you can thank her in person when you meet her this summer," Harry replied with a wink; as Hermione gave a truly uncharacteristic squeal of delight, Ron and Harry both stared at her in shock as Hermione realized what she had done and turned bright red before quickly hiding behind her book.

"Now!" Harry said after a moment, "Onto more important matters! Namely, how we're going to win against Slytherin in the upcoming match! If this is to be my last year at Hogwarts, then by God, I intend to leave with the Quidditch Cup!"

Thanks to Harry's expert ability in flying, Gryffindor had destroyed both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw in the last two games; unfortunately, Slytherin had done the same using some very dirty tricks that had nearly crossed the line a few times.

As such, the final match of the Quidditch season would come down to Gryffindor vs Slytherin; Harry was already nervous about the upcoming match (though he would never openly admit it), but things seemed to grow twice as bad when Slytherin house decided to use any chance they could to make sure that Harry never made it to the game.

Things had gotten so bad that Wood had ordered that Harry have somebody with him at all times, even though the last time the Slytherins had ambushed Harry, all six ambushers had ended up in the Hospital Wing.

"Got something interesting planned?" Hermione asked with a raised brow and a small smile,

"Oh Hermione, you have NO idea," Harry replied with a Cheshire cat grin that immediately made both Ron and Hermione nervous,

"Poor blokes…" Ron said in mock seriousness before the three of them laughed uncontrollably.

XXXX

"You wanted to see me?" Raven asked in the same monotone voice that she always used when she was suppressing her emotions; across from her sat Albus Dumbledore, who looked as though he had aged considerably since the last time she had seen him, and Raven couldn't help but mentally smile at how much trouble the old man had yet to face when word reached the Ministry that Harry was leaving Hogwarts.

"If this is about trying to convince me to keep Harry at Hogwarts, then I'm afraid that you're wasting your time, Headmaster," Raven said, smirking as Dumbledore glared at her for a moment before regaining control of himself.

"That is another matter, which we WILL discuss later," Dumbledore replied, clarifying that they were not finished with that particular conversation, "I called you here on another matter."

"Which is?" Raven asked, raising a brow in interest, "I don't see how you and I have anything left to talk about, seeing as how our last meeting went."

Beside her, Robin smirked, which only seemed to annoy Dumbledore more; he had asked her to come alone, but Robin had immediately said that he was going with her, to which Raven was grateful.

Dumbledore gripped the arms of his chair tightly, and for a moment, the wood creaked as though it would break as Dumbledore went over all the trouble that Raven, the Titans, and the Justice League had caused him over the last few weeks.

Nicholas Flamel had been livid that Dumbledore had allowed his stone to be stolen; Flamel's belligerence had been exacerbated when he was forced to pay the Justice League a visit to recover his lost property.

Dumbledore didn't know what went happened during the meeting between his friend Nicholas and the Justice League; all Dumbledore knew was that upon recovering his stone, Nicholas had sent a scathing letter to Dumbledore for his role in using the stone in such a disgusting and reprehensible way, with the promise that Nicholas would no longer be considering Dumbledore, a trusted friend as he had before.

Somehow, the outside world had discovered Dumbledore's part in the attempted theft of the stone, and now Dumbledore was being swarmed by owls from several different country leaders who demanded to know just what Dumbledore had been thinking; it was only due to Dumbledore's influence at the Daily Prophet that Britain hadn't found out about what had happened.

"Perhaps, your friend would be so good as to leave us alone," Dumbledore said softly, "We have much to discuss, and some of it is of a private nature."

"I'm not leaving Raven here alone with you, Dumbledore," Robin replied, smiling as a vein began to pulse in Dumbledore's temple.

"Might I ask why?" Dumbledore replied tensely,

"There are several reasons I could give," Robin replied with a grin, "But the most important one is that I don't trust you."

"I called you here, Ms. Potter," Dumbledore said in a weary tone after a moment of silence, "Because someone else asked me to."

"And who might this 'someone' be?" Raven asked, crossing her arms over her chest irritably; before Dumbledore could answer, his fireplace roared green flames and out stepped a Goblin in a very expensive-looking suit, followed immediately by two more who looked like guards.

"Ah, Ms. Potter, here already? Excellent." The Goblin growled before reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a large book that looked older than Dumbledore; careful not to drop it, the Goblin gently placed the book on Dumbledore's desk before turning back to Robin.

"And who might you be, sir?"

"This is Robin," Raven replied before Robin could, "He's a member of my team and a trusted friend. I would like him to be present for whatever you came to say."

For a moment, the Goblin glared at Robin before shrugging as though he couldn't care less,

"Very well, then. Ms. Potter, my name is Ranrok," the Goblin began before being cut off by Raven,

"Are you by any chance related to the original Ranrok," Raven asked in surprise, "The Goblin lord who led the anti-wizard rebellion in the early 19th century?"

Ranrok's face showed surprise for a moment before a wicked grin took its place,

"You are well informed of our people," Ranrok replied, "Indeed, he is my ancestor, and I am named in his honor."

"I've always found the history of your people fascinating," Raven replied, "What happened to your ancestor was appalling, and I apologize for my people's disrespect toward yours if it matters at all to you."

Dumbledore's jaw dropped in shock at Raven's words, and for a moment, it seemed as though Ranrok's would do the same; no wizard or witch had ever apologized for the treatment that the Goblins had suffered throughout the generations, and to have Raven Potter do so was simply astounding.

"That's…. very kind of you, Ms. Potter," Ranrok replied as though he didn't know what else to say; after a moment of awkward silence, the Goblin seemed to regain control of himself and opened the old book before quickly flipping through the yellow pages as though looking for something.

"Ah! Here it is!" Ranrok said suddenly before he ran his claw down the page, hurriedly reading the words written there; after a moment of silence, Ranrok turned back to Raven,

"You are the child of Lily and James Potter, correct?" Ranrok asked,

"Adopted child, but yes," Raven replied, "Why?"

"Did the Potters ever perform a ritual with you?" Ranrok asked, "One that involved blood?"

"Not that I'm aware…." Raven began before trailing off as the memory of such a ritual returned to her; it had been a little over a year after the Potters had taken her in when Lily came to Raven's room asking for a little of her blood.

Raven had asked why Lily needed it, to which Raven's adopted mother had replied that it was a secret but a good one that would ensure that Raven would always be a Potter, no matter what; Raven had immediately acquiesced upon hearing that but had soon forgotten the incident when Lily had released the wonderful news that she was pregnant with Harry.

"There was such an incident…." Raven said softly, making Robin look at her with surprise, "Lily took my blood for something, but I forgot about it."

Dumbledore seemed to go as pale as a ghost at the words, suddenly understanding why the Goblins were here and that he must stop it at all costs; before he could open his mouth to speak, however, Ranrok smiled and began to speak.

"That is why I am here, Ms. Potter. Or should I call you Lady Potter?"

As Ranrok finished speaking, he pulled from his pocket a large golden ring covered in tiny jewels; but the thing that caught Raven's eye was not the jewels, but rather, the Potter insignia that was emblazoned on the front of it.

"What…?" Raven and Robin asked simultaneously in shock; Raven couldn't help but let her mask of indifference slip as she took in the words.

"Raven Potter," Ranrok said in a loud and important voice, "It is my honorable task to inform you that as the eldest blood child of James Potter, you have inherited his title of Lady of House Potter. In addition, you also have inherited your father's seat on the Wizengamot as well as any assets, both monetary and otherwise, that may have belonged to your father."

"Now, wait just one moment!" Dumbledore thundered, rising from his seat as Raven stared at the Goblin in shock, "Harry is supposed to inherit his father's titles! It is his birthright! Raven is not James Potter's natural child!"

"According to this book, she most certainly is!" Ranrok growled back, jabbing a pointed claw at where Raven's name was connected to James Potter's, next to Harry's."

"Then the book is wrong!" Dumbledore sneered back; he simply could not allow Raven to take James Potter's seat in the Wizengamot. Regardless of the fact that the seat should belong to Harry, should Raven take her father's seat, she might discover how much of the Potter fortune Dumbledore had pilfered over the years to fund his own pet projects, all for the greater good, of course.

"This book has documented the life of every Potter since Robert Potter, more than eleven hundred years ago!" Ranrok growled angrily, "It has been enchanted with both Goblin and Wizard magic to ensure only one thing, Dumbledore."

"And what is that?!" Dumbledore growled back,

"It does not lie," Ranrok said in a voice that promised murder should Dumbledore continue to besmirch the honor of Ranrok's people, "It was made that way to ensure that only legitimate blood relatives could claim the title of Head of House.

Dumbledore mumbled darkly under his breath as he slowly sat back down; even he wasn't fool enough to challenge the Goblin nation, loathe though he was to admit such an embarrassing fact.

"I'm the head of House Potter?" Raven whispered in shock, "But…. But Harry! Harry should be the one to inherit it, not me!"

"Perhaps," Ranrok said thoughtfully as he ran his claw under his chin, "And you are well within your rights to abdicate your seat in favor of your little brother when the child reaches the age of seventeen; however, until that time, you are the head of House Potter. I'm simply here to legitimize that fact with your signature if you would be so kind."

As Raven tried to wrap her head around what was happening, Ranrok suddenly pulled a vial of ink and a quill from his other coat pocket before placing both on the desk next to the book.

"Ms. Potter, perhaps we could discuss this privately before you make any rash decisions!" Dumbledore tried to interject before Ranrok snapped his fingers, and Dumbledore's voice simply ceased.

"This does not concern you, Dumbledore!" Ranrok snarled, "You are here only as an observer, so kindly sit there and shut up!"

Dumbledore turned red with fury and opened his mouth to say something before realizing that he still couldn't speak; drawing his wand, Dumbledore waved it over himself as he tried to undo the charm that was keeping him quiet, only to stare at Ranrok with shock when nothing happened.

"Only a Goblin can undo a spell by a Goblin," Ranrok sneered nastily, "So, unless you want to be mute for the rest of your life, sit down and keep quiet, old man."

Fury emblazoned across his features, Dumbledore slowly lowered himself back into his chair before grabbing the arms in a death grip as Raven and the Goblins watched with amusement; satisfied that there would be no further interruptions, Ranrok turned back to Raven with a far more warm expression on his face than the one that Dumbledore had been given.

"Ms. Potter, if you would please sign here," Ranrok said, "We'll be all done here."

Feeling like her body was moving on auto-pilot, Raven slowly walked forward and picked up the quill as Dumbledore glared with naked fury; as Raven signed her name in the appropriate places, she couldn't help but feel numb.

She was the head of House Potter? It was absurd! She didn't know anything about leading a house or how to vote in the Wizengamot; unable to stop herself, Raven began to panic when she felt Robin's hand slip into hers.

"Breath, Raven," Robin said slowly, "It'll all be alright. Just breathe."

"If there's nothing else," Ranrok said, closing the book and returning it to his pocket, "Then I will bid you all a good day."

Without another word, Ranrok and his entourage strode back to the fireplace and were gone a moment later, leaving the office dead silent from the implications of what had just happened; Dumbledore immediately jumped to his feet and tried to speak, only to discover that he was still mute.

"Well, since you can't speak, and our business here is finished, I think we'll be going," Robin laughed as he led Raven out of the office; Dumbledore looked as though he were trying to stop them, but no matter how he waved his wand, nothing seemed to happen, which only seemed to anger him further.

Casting one last amused glance at the clearly enraged Headmaster, Robin and Raven turned and exited the office, coming to a stop at the bottom of the stairs,

"Oh, Gods of Azarath, what am I going to do?!" Raven said in a scared voice as she leaned against the wall and stared at the ring clutched tightly between her fingers, "I don't know the first thing about being the Head of a House! How do I vote in the Wizengamot? What am I supposed to do if there's an emergency session?!"

"The first thing is to breathe," Robin replied soothingly, "Everything else can come later. For now, just concentrate on breathing."

"But…" Raven began, only to be cut off by Robin,

"Breathe!" Robin retorted sternly, "That's all for now! The rest we can figure out as we go, okay? I'm sure that Batman or one of the League will be able to help you learn what you need to."

Slowly, Raven nodded before regaining control of herself; after a few minutes of this, she nodded gratefully at Robin and slid the ring onto her index finger. As if by magic, the ring instantly shifted size until it fit her finger perfectly; as Raven stared at the ring, she felt something from it that felt eerily like acceptance, as if the ring were sentient and had deemed her worthy to wear it.

"Thanks, Dick," Raven said softly, tearing her eyes from the ring and turning to face Robin, making her friend smile in genuine warmth at her; she was the only one who knew his real name, having discovered it when she was forced to enter his head during a hallucination where Robin believed that he was fighting an enemy who wasn't really there.

"Anytime, Raven. Now let's go get some food; I'm starving!"

As the two made their way to the Great Hall, up in his office, Dumbledore was wrecking his office in silence as the Goblin magic was still keeping his voice from returning; as he picked up a priceless golden orb and hurled it against the wall, Dumbledore's mind was going a mile-a-minute.

Nothing seemed to have gone right from the moment that Raven Potter had taken young Harry from him, and no matter what machinations he tried to do, it always seemed as though the girl and her allies were one step ahead of him.

This latest debacle would no doubt compound Dumbledore's already heavy workload as he tried to find some way to wrestle Harry from Raven's clutches; as Dumbledore finally collapsed exhausted into his chair, his thoughts turned to what he had seen a week prior during Harry's 'performance.'

Harry's eyes had flashed blood-red during the storm, only for a moment, but Dumbledore had seen it; now that he knew that Harry and Raven shared blood, Dumbledore knew that there must be some connection and that if he could discover it, he could finally win in the war between himself and the so-called 'hero's' who had stolen his weapon from him.

XXXX

Author's note:

Okay, I lied; there's going to be one more chapter before Harry's last year; the reason for this is that there are over 340 PMs that I need to sort through to see who voted which way as to Harry's future and I need to sort through them before deciding what happens to Harry.

Part of me is impressed that so many people messaged me; the other part hates it so much, as so far, "Harry stays at Hogwarts is winning by a measly 3 votes," lol.

The next chapter will wrap up Harry's final year, and then we can start on what comes next, which I hope you all will enjoy.