AN: I still do not own Harry Potter.
Did the letters have anything to do with the plot? Actually, yes. Also, Cedric Diggory is once more vital to the plot.
The Corrections of Misconceptions
Cedric Diggory wasn't the best of pen pals. He hardly wrote a letter; if the person was important enough, they would be lucky to be sent a letter every two months, if that. Otherwise, he was willing and able to renew friendships the next time he saw them. Currently, he was working a part time job in the filing room of the Ministry for Magic building during the Quidditch off season. He was a reserve for Scotland, one of the lesser known national teams during the on season. However, he was currently trying to write a letter to meet up with Harry. Harry was one of the more important ones.
The Ministry, like most large businesses, had a very large archive room, and more than one. Besides the filing rooms for each department, the archive of all the departments' old files, the archive of every Wizengamot decision on everything they made a decision on (law and court), and the archive room that received all the old files/papers once they were not needed, there was also an archive room that received a copy of every contract, will, contract or will draft, birth certificates, marriage certificates, emancipation records, records of employment, records of debts and of debts paid whether acknowledged by magic or in writing, records of magical vows, and guardianships whether written or agreed verbally. There was overlap definitely, and so each of the files in which there was overlapping content had to have a copy. This made sure that there was at least one or more copies of each item. He was not in the last often, as it was a way to make sure that what the person had was not forged.
The reason that he was writing Harry was because of some important information that he wasn't sure that Harry had. First off, he had found the paper that had Albus Dumbledore magical guardian of the younger boy. He frowned when he thought of the clauses of guardianship that he had found on the lawbooks:
(a) That the undersigned guardian meet with the ward a minimum of one hour every year beside any needed appointments if they are to occur within the workplace of the guardian, whether business, hospital, ministry, or school.
(b) That the undersigned guardian be sure that the ward is within a safe place of dwelling.
(c) That the undersigned guardian must be aware of the character of any substitute guardians and that he/she/they will take care of the ward in food, clothing, and schooling until the age that magical schooling can be undertaken, usually eleven or twelve.
(d) That the undersigned knows that if the ward is to be dwelling in the muggle world, that the undersigned must have the ward within the muggle world one month per summer so that the leave taking for school will not bring attention to the muggle neighbours.
(e) That any substitute guardians are to be made known that the ward is magical/may be magical, and that any magic outburst is to be explained away to muggle authorities in a way that doesn't point to magic.
(f) That the undersigned guardian will provide appropriate muggle documentation if living in a muggle area, whether living with the ward or giving over to substitute guardians.
(g) That the undersigned guardian should meet with the ward within the ward being emancipated if doing so before the age of fifteen to ensure safety and the ability to provide self care.
(h) That the undersigned guardian will provide appropriate additional schooling/access to additional schooling if there is any status of any importance that the ward will receive upon entering the wizarding world/upon obtaining his/her majority and knowledge of what that status is.
The problem with these clauses was that only the age that magical schooling was defined, leaving basically everything else to be subjective is the extreme. Except for the age of magical schooling, nothing was defined. Because of that, there was nothing indicating that blackmail was not a way to get the substitutionary family to keep the child with them and feed them, nothing to indicate what was safe, nothing to indicate what taking care of the ward meant.
How did this apply to Harry? Technically, except for the first and last point, Albus Dumbledore had provided all that a magical guardian should have provided. The first one could be argued with meeting polyjuiced or glamoured, and Harry hadn't recognized the Headmaster. The last was definitely not provided. Even if this was not good news, Harry should know these clauses so that he knows what and where his guardian gypped him.
Draco walked into the Room of Requirement, where the group of Gryffindors plus Crabbe, Goyle, and he were meeting. They had switched from the other room they had found. It looked like normal for them, a couple of random chairs of random designs, a couple of desks, with the four Gryffindors already there and books spread over the table. There were the typical trio of Potter, Granger, and Ron Weasley, and sometimes Ginny. Today it was Ginny. Occasionally they included Nott and Longbottom, but it wasn't typical, or not anymore. This had become a normal sight, but the conversation that the three Slytherins were interrupting was both an indication of the amount of trust that the Gryffindors had with each other, their comfort in their surroundings and maybe, hopefully, their ability to trust their Slytherin friends. Draco stepped forward as Greg closed the door behind them.
"...It just doesn't make sense. His latest decisions just seem so manic. Where is the mind that made the last tactical decisions of the first war he started?"
"I know. I understand that he is in the school and somehow making it hard on the students, but there's... Oh, hi, Draco, Vincent, Greg."
Draco touched the letter he had just received that day before saying, "That's because the person actually doing strategy for the Dark Lord was my Father by then, even before my grandfather died."
Harry looked up from the papers that they were making notes on and asked, "Can you tell us more? Because this is new information for us. You know the slight detour we went on how to properly care for a darkly warded house, but this has been in the backburner for a while."
The heads of the other three Gryffindors poked up and looked at the newcomers.
Draco took a deep breath as his two fellow Slytherins looked at each other.
"Well, I don't know much, but from what I've been told..."
It was going to be a long evening.
It seemed like the perfect escape. Technically, he could do this thing and escape so many of the consequences of even getting a Dark Mark in the last war. All the boxes had been checked off. Even this out of the ordinary type of defeat that Potter had done had opened this option for him. However, the last things he had to do were let Harry Potter know it was an option, get another two people in his type of situation who would like to change sides, and switch allegiance.
Severus Snape didn't want to be interrupted, but he was. He had been enjoying an hour or so away from the brats or any other socializing, but he had just been summoned up to the Headmistress's office. As she had lately been in more of a mood than he was, he wasn't looking forward to it, even if her usual dislike of the brats had made her somewhat tolerable if only she hadn't been jeopardizing the ability of the brats' learning to such an extent.
Upon reaching her office, he was unsurprised by the door closing behind him.
"Severus Snape, I've heard you are still the holder of a Mastery in Potions?"
"Yes."
"I am in need of something special, beyond what Madame Pomphrey has in her cabinet. I need a special potion to help against degeneration. Can I ask your help in this?"
Severus Snape was slightly frustrated at this, and asked, "Is there a reason you came specifically to me?"
"As you are the one who makes much of the potions, and as you are skilled, I think you can."
"I would like to be paid. Depending on which one you have in mind, I would also like a contract of silence to prevent you from going to the aurors after getting it."
"Deal."