a/n: So many thanks to poka, LeightonWD, dennisud, and guests for leaving feedback and taking the time to review. The encouragement is appreciated. Thanks for the favorites and follows.

Chapter 11: De omnibus dubitandum ~ Be suspicious of everything

Saturday. Hermione never thought she'd be so excited for the weekend. The light from the small window in the corner peaked through the curtain. She couldn't tell how late it was, but she didn't want to sleep through her two-day reprieve. Lily hadn't cried for her breakfast yet, so it had to be early. Rolling onto her side, she watched Harry sleep. His deep breaths calmed her. Resting her hand on his chest, it rose and fell in a relaxing rhythm. She wondered if they would regret jumping right into careers. They could have spent the week enjoying each other and spending time with Lily. At least her appointment at Hogwarts would end in June. And she didn't think Harry would regret starting his training. It just would have been nice to take a breath.

Harry's arm came up and pulled her closer. "It's early," he said, without opening his eyes.

"So much for sleeping in," she agreed. Spending an entire week in the nursery left Lily over-stimulated. They'd been so exhausted when Lily finally stopped crying and gave in to sleep, they barely had enough energy to change. "What should we do today?"

His hand traced lazy circles on her arm. "I need to go to Ollivander's. Nelson wants me to have a backup wand."

Her eyes moved to the dresser. She'd put the elder wand in her beaded bag. Keeping it safe felt like her first priority. There were rumors that she had it, based on the Wizengamot questions anyway. The last thing she wanted was to be challenged to duel or attacked by someone who thought she had an unbeatable wand. Suddenly, she wondered if she should have Ollivander check it over. Training students might give a first or second year an opportunity to disarm her. If she had her vine wand, would that change the allegiance of the elder wand? She doubted it, but needed to know before starting a lesson that could affect an unsuspecting student. "Ollivander's sounds good. If Mister Ollivander is there, I'd like to see if he has time to look at the elder wand privately." She paused and her brain shifted to the dangers of Harry's job that would require him to have a back up wand. "Maybe we should duel."

Harry propped himself up with an extra pillow. "You want to duel me?" he asked with amused confusion.

"You know. With the elder wand. So it will be your wand. You should have a more powerful wand if you're going to be fighting death eaters," she explained. She didn't want the wand anyway. And she'd feel better if he had every edge he could.

"I like my wand. I just need a spare in case. The elder wand is yours."

"Are we sure? Voldemort took it from Dumbledore's grave. That hardly means he conquered the previous owner," she said.

"Well. That would mean the wand was loyal to the person who beat Professor Dumbledore," Harry reasoned.

"Snape then," Hermione said.

Harry was shaking his head, remembering that horrible night. "I don't think so… Draco disarmed Dumbledore before Snape stepped in."

"We're not giving the wand to Draco," she felt a violent reaction to the thought.

He laughed. "Technically. I disarmed Draco at Malfoy manor. So maybe the wand changed allegiance then."

Her brow creased in disbelief. "How would the elder wand know that you disarmed his hawthorn wand?" That seemed to be a stretch to her. In fact, this whole business of just disarming someone could cause their wand to be lost to them seemed farfetched. People dueled for competitions. She didn't think anyone would risk their wand for sport. "You could try to use the wand. See how it feels."

"Hm. Actually. You disarmed me, didn't you? In the chamber. So. It's still your wand," he concluded.

She wasn't as confident as he was. In her opinion, if the wand changed its allegiance based on a direct disarming spell, it still made more sense that Draco was the new master. "Voldemort was confident enough in his ability to use the elder wand he was actively using it when… at the Riddle manor. That means it was working better for him than his phoenix wand."

Harry turned onto his side to look at her. They still had not talked about her actions in depth and apart from the trauma of that day. "Why didn't you take the wand after you killed him?"

It was a question she asked herself several times. She looked into his searching green eyes. She saw the concern he had for her. They'd be foolish to think the actions they took during the war were completely behind them. "I wasn't expecting to get out alive. Then Snape convinced me he could me trusted to escape. The only thing I was thinking about was escaping. Getting back to you. I never thought about the wand. Not at any point was it a priority."

"Maybe that's the answer. The wand is best suited for a person who didn't seek it out."

She knew how important Harry thought the wand was. And obviously Voldemort believed it was the most powerful wand. "Or maybe it's meant to be the person who's master of the other two hallows. We should ask Mister Ollivander," she repeated her desire. "I know he didn't know what the hallows are, but he can examine the wand."

"Are you ready to go out with Lily?" he asked cautiously.

She appreciated his concern. The students caught wind of a baby in the nursery on her second day at the school. It was a matter of hours before the amateur detectives figured out whose child it was and then spread word to what felt like the entire school. Her classes the next day were again the sixth and seventh years which led to whispers and a very put out Ron who was clearly not the father. Hermione tried to ignore the situation and reprimand the classes when the gossip was obviously disrupting the lesson. It hadn't worked and she finally had to tell the seventh year class that Lily was her daughter with Harry. The whole ordeal made her more protective of their daughter and even more sympathetic toward Ron. Despite the power imbalance between them at the school, she didn't have a choice. She had pulled him aside to apologize profusely and to emphasize how important it was that he not tell anyone what he knew. He was even more put out that she reminded him how important it was to confirm the story. "I think we should ask Ron if he wants to be obliviated," she blurted out after spiraling in silence.

"What? I mean… what?" Harry asked, trying to jump on the fast moving train that was her thought process.

"We told him Lily wasn't our biological daughter. I'm worried he's going to get too embarrassed by the entire situation and tell someone," she explained.

Harry rolled toward his side of the bed and sat up. Pulling on a hoodie, he put his glasses on.

Hermione watched nervously as he paced.

"Just asking him that will push him further away," he said, not wanting to lose his friend for good.

It was a likely outcome. As much as she hated the idea, Hermione was more concerned with word getting around that Lily was adopted which would lead to the next obvious questions. Who were her parents and why was it so secret. But trusting Ron when he was in such a volatile emotional state was like trusting Hagrid with… well any secret. "If we don't address it now, he'll eventually lash out. And then he'll regret what he's done, which will have the same effect. If we give him a choice maybe it will lessen the damage."

He nodded while aggressively rummaging through his dresser drawers.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought this up," she relented.

"No. You're fine. I hate that this is an issue. I'll send him an owl," he offered. "How did Ginny take the news?"

This had Hermione standing up. "Ginny? You told me you didn't want to tell her."

Harry held a hand up in an attempt to stop an argument from erupting. "I just wondered if she was surprised. If Ron was going to tell someone by now, he'd tell her."

"I don't know how she took it. She didn't stand out either way. Most of the girls just whispered through class when news got out." This was dumb. They barely had Lily for a full week and the truth was hanging by a string.

"You said he understood. When you talked to him," Harry said, sitting in a chair by the door. He looked defeated.

"He does. He said he does," she clarified. "I think he might even be enjoying the extra attention he was getting from the people who feel sorry for him. That's going to end eventually and if everyone is still pestering him for details, he's more likely to give in."

"I should have gone to him on Sunday after he left. I thought giving him space was what he needed. I should have anticipated this."

"What should we have done? Sent an owl to every student? Asked Minerva to include our baby announcement in her speech to the school? Ron deserved to know, I want him to know we weren't cheating on him while he thought I wanted a relationship with him," Hermione tried to ease Harry's guilt. "No one asked to be in this position."

He stood, rubbed his hands up and down her arms to reassure her, "You're right. Ron will come around. I'll still send him an owl. See if he'll meet me next weekend in Hogsmeade." The telltale noises of Lily waking up ended the discussion. "I'll go get her bottle going."

Hermione grabbed a flannel and put it on over her t-shirt. She'd wait to see what kind of mood Lily was in before deciding if she'd have time to shower and padded into the nursery. Lily was squirming on her back, clearly getting herself wound up for a full blown meltdown. "Hey, hey, it's okay," she whispered, lifting the baby into her arms. Holding her, Hermione knew, that if it came down to protecting Lily and appeasing Ron, it wouldn't be a choice. She'd use a memory charm on anyone she needed to.

~~/~~

The walk through Diagon Alley to Ollivander's felt surreal. Harry couldn't believe how quickly people felt safe to go out and conduct personal business. He was forced to admit that his viewpoint might be skewed. Not everyone had been in hiding as long as he and Hermione had been. And, his job made it clear the danger wasn't completely over. Death eaters and snatchers were on the run. That didn't mean they wouldn't attack if it benefitted themselves in some way. He kept his wand out the entire walk down the cobblestone road.

Glancing periodically at Hermione, her hands were firmly attached to the stroller, eyes scanning the crowd. They could probably both benefit from talking to someone. To process the past year living in constant fear of being found and attacked. As they approached Ollivander's Harry groaned. The line was out the door. The ministry confiscated wands from everyone they decided were muggleborn. Of course they didn't have a process to return them. He was certain the wands would be somewhere in the ministry. Dolores would have made sure such a commodity was kept for witches and wizards "deserving" of the privilege. As she deemed worthy.

"We can stand in line and see how quickly it moves," Hermione said. "Lily seems content."

"I can't imagine this will go fast. And it seems selfish to take up a spot when I still have a wand."

"Let's get a look inside and see how many people are in the shop," she said, pushing the stroller passed the end of the line toward the store front.

"We could go to Carkitt Market. Gregorovich has a shop…" he started and had no reason to believe the line wasn't as long there.

"Harry Potter not carrying an Ollivander wand?" A voice said near the alley. The wizard looked vaguely familiar as he leaned against the brick wall. "My grandfather would never hear of it."

"Your grandfather? Mister Ollivander?" Harry asked, putting the pieces together.

"Aye. Gavin," he said, sticking out his hand. "Come through the back."

"I don't want to skip the line," Harry protested as he shook the younger Ollivander's hand. "I'm not here for a replacement. I can come back."

"Nah. We owe you my grandfather's life. Come on back. I'm keeping the inventory stocked today. You won't keep me from another customer. I just came out for a break," he explained and held a creaking door open for Hermione, helping her with the front of the stroller.

"How is your grandfather?" she asked, stepping through.

"Still weak. He insisted coming in for the returning student only hours last weekend. He takes a lot of pride in helping students find their first wands. He's home resting today," Gavin explained, leading them toward a back room that was full of wands in racks on the wall and laid out on work benches. "We managed to secure most of our stock before the death eaters attacked the store, but it's been an inventory nightmare. We took the wands and left the boxes. I've been working to identify each wand and re-boxing them."

"I'm was hoping to get a backup wand. Something reliable," Harry explained. He was disappointed he couldn't talk to elder Ollivander, but was glad the wizard was able to take more time off.

Gavin nodded, pulled a chair out for Hermione to take a seat, "It's a common request these days. Everyone took their wand for granted until it was gone. Between that and those who had their wands taken, I suspect it will take months before business slows down."

Scanning the lines of wands on the bench, Harry wondered what sort of wand would choose him now that his connection to Voldemort was gone. "Will matching with another wand change how my current wand works for me?" he asked, suddenly concerned the holly wand would consider it a betrayal of some kind.

"You're interested in wandlore?" he asked with a small smile.

Harry looked at Hermione. He was. For more than one reason. "Mister Ollivander explained some of the basics to us. We had some wands that weren't ours and we needed to know if they were safe to use."

"Are you still carrying your holly wand?"

Harry pulled it out to show him. "It was broken. But we managed to repair it."

His eyes opened wide in surprise. "It must not have been a terrible break," he said, taking the offered wand and studying it.

"Actually. It was snapped in two. There was just a bit of feather holding it together," Harry explained.

"That's not possible. Who repaired it?"

Harry motioned to Hermione.

She pulled the elder wand out of her bag. "Are you familiar with the wand of destiny?" she asked.

Harry noted her decision to not mention the deathly hallows. Her resistance to the thought that Death made the wand was crystal clear. He didn't disagree with her. It was more likely that the Peverell brothers had crafted the items and told their children a bedtime story about their achievements.

"Of course. Every wandmaker knows the legends of an unbeatable wand. They're just stories."

"I used this wand to repair Harry's," Hermione said simply.

Gavin returned Harry's wand and studied the elder wand. "It's not just a story?" he asked.

Hermione shrugged. "I can't say what's true and what's not. This wand. We have reason to believe it's the one from the stories you're heard. We wanted to ask Mister Ollivander if he could tell us who the wand is loyal to."

The wandmaker took it from her hand, turned it around. "If you used it to repair an irreparable wand, I think you have your answer."

Harry wasn't surprised. He knew the wand was hers.

"Elder wood. Not a wood I've ever worked with. It's thought to be unlucky. The core, hm…" he squinted his eyes and whispered an unintelligible word, then his eyes widened. "Thestral hair. Very unusual. Wandmaking isn't a dangerous profession. Not usually anyway. Not many would be able to even see thestral hair to work with it. Sadly, that might not be the case anymore. Why are you doubting its allegiance?"

Hermione shared a glance at Harry. She wasn't sure how much to say. They could trust Mister Ollivander, but his grandson was an unknown to them. Everyone knew what Hermione had done at the Riddle house. The Daily Prophet had seen to that the day after her hearing. "Well," Harry started. "Voldemort had the wand. He took it without disarming the previous owner. He possessed it after they were already killed. We weren't sure if he was the rightful master when Hermione… when Voldemort was killed." There were so many details left unsaid in the explanation.

Gavin handed the elder wand back to Hermione. "There aren't any hard and fast rules to the transfer of loyalty. It depends on the wand wood, how the wand exchanged hands, and how long the wand was in the previous owner's possession."

"If a different wand is taken from someone by force, would that change the loyalty of all other wands owned by that person?" Harry asked, hearing how irrational the question was. It was ascribing sentience and omniscience to the wand. How would it know?

"Unlikely," Gavin answered. "But as I said, the conditions can vary. I'd say if the wand is performing powerful magic for Miss Granger with little effort, it's the best sign that it recognizes her as its rightful owner." Glancing nervously from the wand to Hermione, he rubbed his neck. "Given that wand's history, I wouldn't tell many people what you have. I certainly won't tell anyone."

Harry agreed. There was speculation but nothing confirmed. The number of people who knew for sure had gone from three to four. He didn't see a reason to increase that circle.

Hermione didn't look satisfied. "I'm teaching at Hogwarts this term," she explained. "If a student disarms me, does that mean I could lose my wand? Or that there's a slim possibility that the loyalty of the elder wand would be transferred?"

"It's rare that a friendly duel results in the loss of a wand. There would have to be real animosity between the duelers. I know students can see their professors as adversaries, but I can't imagine they'd have the intentions needed for your primary wand to change allegiance. Let alone a secondary wand," Gavin said. "In all the years, I can't remember a single record of a professor or teacher shopping for a replacement wand because theirs stopped working for them after a lesson."

There could be at least one person who could currently cast a spell with harmful intentions, Harry decided. He'd ask Hermione to avoid dueling Ron until they had time to talk. Harry looked at her questioningly. She seemed uneasy but satisfied. Everything Gavin had said sounded rational. She nodded.

The wandmaker clapped his hands together, "Right then. A wand for you Mister Potter? How about…" he surveyed the rows of wands. "A cypress wand?" he asked, picking up a handsomely carved wand with a twisting handle.

It seemed nice enough. Harry accepted the wand. Nothing happened.

"Wave it around," Gavin instructed.

Transported back to the day he got his first wand, he didn't know any spells back then. Mister Ollivander was relying solely on the wand to make itself known. "Lumos," Harry said. The tip of the wand blinked and then went dark.

"Hm. Not ideal," Gavin said, taking the cypress wand back and picked up another. "Redwood. Special stock from the States."

Harry liked the rich color of the stalk. It was barely in his hand before Gavin was taking it back.

"Nope. No good," he said, put his hands on his hips studying his inventory. "Sycamore wouldn't be good as a back up wand. How about aspen?"

Not sure what Gavin was observing as he held the last wand, Harry took it hesitantly. Gavin waved his finger. Apparently this one hadn't rejected him outright. "Lumos," Harry repeated. The light stayed steady, but would barely light up a dark room. He handed it back before Gavin could declare the failure.

"A difficult customer," he said, clearly enjoying himself. "Try this beech wand."

As soon as the handle touched the palm of his hand, Harry felt a warm. His eyes went wide. Gavin smiled.

"Phoenix feather. Made that one myself. I did the charm work on the handle there," he said.

Harry looked closer. The handle was carved with decorative flames with an inset red material. Turning the wand around, he followed the flames which ended with an intricate phoenix. The wand tip glowed briefly with a bright yellow light. "It's amazing."

"The red is redwood. Thought I'd make use of some shavings while we had the wood in stock," he pointed out. "Eleven and three quarters. Supple. I think it will make an excellent second wand for you."

Digging in his pockets for his galleons, Gavin stopped Harry.

"You're gold is no good here. We owe you."

"That's not necessary—"

"—it is," the wandmaker interrupted.

"Alright, thank you," Harry said, shook the wizard's hand and let Gavin box and wrap the wand.

Hermione stood and adjusted Lily's blanket. She had managed to sleep through the entire visit. Moving the stroller toward the exit, Harry accepted the parcel. "Please tell Mister Ollivander we're glad he's going to be okay," he said and held the door open for Hermione to maneuver Lily back outside.

"A beech wand," Hermione said with a smile, took the package and slipped it into the secured pocket in the front of the stroller..

A small bit of guilt shot through Harry. He loved his holly wand and it could never be replaced. "I wonder why he didn't have me try another holly wand?"

"You already have one of those," she said as they stepped out into Diagon Alley again. "We could see if Flourish and Blotts has a book on wandlore. Since we're out."

"It's never bad time to buy a book," he said, amused. "We need to get that safe for the contract."

"We'll need to go to The Harpy's Bazaar for that. They might have books there," she said, pointing in the direction of the multistoried market.

Harry took the lead to clear a path for the stroller. The crowds had increased during their short time in the wand shop. He considered recommending they try shopping another day, but after a year of conflict and uncertainty, it wasn't likely to improve in the near future. Especially on the weekends when he and Hermione were free.

Approaching the market, Hermione led them to a board listing the different vendors and their locations on a small map. She pointed to Edmond's Securities: Safes, Vaults, and Home Protection. "I bet they're either really busy or their inventory is sold out," she said skeptically.

"We can go and special order something if we need to."

"Oh, there's a bookshop right next to it," she said with excitement.

"We'll divide and conquer," he offered, not wanting to split up completely, but the shops were right next to each other. And she could take hours in a bookstore. This would give her a little more time. Thankfully, the shops there were interested in were on the first floor. "Do you want me to take Lily?" he asked, not sure if she wanted to immerse herself in the titles or if she'd feel better keeping an eye on their daughter.

"I've got her," Hermione said and waved as she pushed forward.

Harry turned toward the securities shop. It was very busy. That was likely a good sign they'd have what he needed. He'd love to get in and get out. He wasn't trying to protect a whole house, just some parchment. The most important pieces of parchment in his life. The front of the store was lined with glass counters. Inside the displays were amulets, daggers, larger blades, and potion bottles. It seemed the inventory wasn't a problem. Harry wondered who Edmond was and if they fought against Voldemort or exploited the war. The shop wasn't on Tonks' list of priorities to interview. Either the owners were above board or kept their activities secret.

Reading the signs over the sections, he made his way to the personal safes. There were display models. Some with extension charms, others with complex locking mechanisms. They ranged in size from an intimidating, free-standing safe he could get inside to small boxes that would fit inside drawers. Scanning the tags on the smaller units, they were all for display only. It looked like they were special order.

"Can I help you find something?" a voice asked.

Harry turned and saw a skinny man with pale skin and red curly hair. He looked like a Malfoy and a Weasley had a child. Judging him to be in his twenties, Harry looked for a name tag. "Uh, yeah, Connor. I just want a small safe. Something really secure. With flesh memories if you have one."

"Hm. We can make one. Those enchantments need some time sensitive components. We make them to order and schedule a time for you to come in and teach it to recognize you," the wizard explained. "You can pick any of these base models."

The shelf Connor was pointing to had several that seemed to be the best size. Harry imagined there might be other documents he'd want to eventually store away in the future. He pointed to a model that was about the size of a typewriter. "That should do it," he said, flipped the tag over. The base rate was listed along with the price for additional protections. Harry didn't think he needed all of them since it would be in his vault at Gringotts. All the options were the price of several firebolts. "Just the safe, the flesh memories, and the unbreakable locks," he said, doing the math. Just one firebolt worth. Would he regret not getting everything? He wished Hermione came in with him, he didn't know there were so many different ways to secure something.

Connor took the tag off and nodded, "Come to the front. I'll check the calendar and ring you up. You pay half today and half when you pick it up."

Harry was trying to listen. He'd caught a flash of blonde hair and a silhouette he'd recognize anywhere. Draco. Swallowing hard, he wanted to know why Malfoy was permitted to walk free with no consequences for his actions. "Got it," Harry finally agreed, focusing on the clerk.

Connor led Harry directly toward Draco. Harry patted his pocket where his wand was stowed. He suddenly wished that he had tried a spell with it just to be sure it would work properly now that he had the beech wand.

"Let me write this up," Connor said, slipping behind the counter.

Forced to step up right beside Draco, Harry kept an eye on his old nemesis. It didn't appear he knew Harry was there. Now shoulder to shoulder, Draco's head turned sensing the proximity of a person.

He looked like he was ready to fight until he realized who was next to him. His hands came up instinctually as he took a step away, trying to get some distance. "Potter."

"Doing some shopping?" Harry asked flatly.

He lowered his hands, and squared his shoulders, trying to recover some dignity. "Selling some things. Actually." Draco looked around Harry, searching for Hermione. "Out alone?"

Harry knew Draco was aware of the situation. Narcissa's letter had confirmed as much. Harry was glad Hermione decided to look for books. He wanted Draco as far from Lily as possible. "I'm surprised you're permitted to be out alone," he said, changing the subject.

Rolling his eyes, Draco appeared to find his typical disdain. "You'd know more about the conditions of my probation than I do."

Clearly Draco was aware he was an auror. He wasn't going to admit he didn't have a clue what sort of punishments were given to any of the Malfoy family. Kingsley's willingness to help Delphi gave the impression that the actions at the end of the war were enough to absolve Lucius and Narcissa of consequences. Apparently that assumption was wrong. Whatever sentencing was given had been done in secret or the Daily Prophet would have printed every salacious detail. "I'm not a probation officer. I'll let them know I ran into you though."

"Here's the invoice," Connor interrupted the conversation. He set the parchment down and then looked between Harry and Draco, suddenly aware he'd interrupted something. "Ah, we can have it ready for you next Saturday."

With great effort, Harry turned away from Draco, looked the charges over. "Next Saturday is good," he said, signed the bottom of the invoice. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out the required galleons and made a point to flash the gold coins packed into the change pouch. He imagined if Draco was out selling things, that was a good sign money was tight. Their vault might even be frozen by the ministry. The goblins weren't allowing the ministry access to any vault, but were cooperating enough to limit access to the families who were fined reparations for their actions. "Stay out of trouble, Malfoy," Harry said without looking at him and headed for the exit. Stepping out into the bazaar, he took a breath. It wouldn't be the last time he'd have to accept an injustice.

Turning toward the book store, Harry saw Hermione heading his way. He smiled until he saw the tension in her face. Closing the distance between them as quickly as he could, he looked around for any threat. "What happened?" he asked, his voice low.

Hermione shook her head. "I'll show you when we get home. Let's just go."

"Alright," he agreed cautiously and took out his wand. "We can just apparition from outside.

"Let me hold Lily. We can put the stroller in my bag," she said, handing the familiar beaded bag to him.

Once their daughter was safely in her arms, Harry folded the stroller and pushed it into the impossibly small opening. Securing the bag in his pocket, he led her toward the exit, shielding her from view of the shoppers in the safe shop in case Draco was watching. In seconds they were outside and then turning on the spot. Appearing on the top step of Grimmauld place. Harry desperately wanted to know what happened but didn't want to pressure her. Instead, he opened the door and let Hermione inside. Lily was crying, unhappy about the apparition.

Closing the door behind them, he looked at her questioningly.

Hermione was bouncing Lily up and down as she pulled a newspaper out of her front pocket with her free hand. "A late edition," she explained.

Harry unfolded it and read the headline. The Ends Don't Justify the Means. Vigilantly Justice isn't Justice. A picture of Hermione at the hearing punctuated the headline. He skimmed the story.

"They're questioning my decision to go to the Riddle Manor. They suggest it might even be a war crime for a civilian to have infiltrated Voldemort's headquarters to kill an unarmed wizard," she explained.

"How did they get this picture?" Harry asked, knowing it was the least important question.

"There was a court reporter. I assume she took it. How the paper got it is another question. Likely from whatever member of the Wizengamot that provided the hearing transcripts." Lily had calmed down allowing Hermione to put her in the bouncy seat still on the table from the night before. "I should go to the school and tell Professor McGonagall. This might change her mind about me."

"Hermione that's ridiculous. It's a hit piece. People will see through this."

"Some people will. There are bound to be some parents who won't."

Harry shook his head. "The minister will clear this up."

"Turn the page. He's got his own problems," she said.

Setting the paper down on the table, he opened it. They were taking shots at his programs to help muggleborn witches and wizards return to the wizarding world, accusing him of deprioritizing others. It was madness. "This is just the Daily Prophet trying to sell papers."

"People are desperate for news. They're already buying the paper. Everyone is going to read this story. On top of that, it's doubtful any muggleborn is currently working for the paper. Certainly none on the board of directors. They're going to lean into this narrative."

His own personal experience with the paper told him she was right. He assumed most of the propaganda was manufactured within the ministry. If that was still the case, it was coming from internal opposition to Kingsley. Another sign that Hermione was right. The new minister had his own problems. "Let's wait and see then?" he asked, not entirely liking the idea, but didn't really know what they could do. Responding to the story publicly would likely just through fuel on the fire.

"Yeah," she said without a sign of confidence. "I'll talk to the headmistress. And maybe Lupin has some advice."

Harry rubbed her neck and he felt the tension. The school was isolated. It might be the best place for her to be while it all blew over.