That evening, Ginny Weasley came to visit him at Potter Manor. As she stepped out of the fireplace, a house elf appeared before her, "Welcome to Potter Manor. What shall I announce to my master?"

She lowered herself to the eye level of the elf, "Please tell him that Ms. Weasley has come to visit."

The elf disapparaed to appear before Harry, "Ms. Wheezy here to see master."

"Please escort her to the parlor, Missy", Harry said, "Tell her I will be along in 5 minutes."

When Harry arrived in the parlor, Ginny was sitting in one of the arm chairs and looking around in amazement at the sheer length of the house.

"Gin! What a surprise", he said giving a hug to her.

"Nice place you have got here", she said, "Father had told me that Potter Manor was huge but I had no idea that it was this huge."

"Yes, it is huge especially for a single person like me. I mean it feels like a haunted house at times because there is no one share in. I like the Burrow better."

"This place suits your station, Harry", she said, "the Burrow is a humble house and people would have turned their noses at it. Potter Manor on the other hand is simply not something that you can shrug off. This place adds to your aura and makes you feel more intimidating."

"But it does not have the warmth that the Burrow had", Harry said, "And I kind of miss the place being chaotic. This place is too quiet. That is why most of the time, I prefer to stay at the Townhouse where I still have Sirius's old bedroom."

"Are you going to give me a tour?", she asked.

"Of course", he said, "Let me show you around the place."

As she stood up, Harry took her hand in his and the tour began, "This place is the parlor where we treat our guests. Generally this is the place that people are ever able to see."

"It is very tastefully decorated, Harry", she said, "Your ancestors had some good taste and they loved extravagance."

"They sure did", Harry said, "I have been studying my family tree and it amazed me to see that my parents were Gryffindor but many of my ancestors married people from other houses. In fact the brother of my grandfather Charlus Potter had married Dorea Black."

"I have heard about her", Ginny said, "She was the sister of Cedrella Weasley nee Black, my grandmother."

"Anyway", Harry said still guiding her, "The next room is the Ball Room."

The Ball Room was massive. It was about the size of two stories, and could accommodate 300 people at once. The walls were richly decorated with tapestries, paintings as far as Ginny could see. Where the walls were visible, they were done in soft pink with creamy hue. There were massive windows in the ball room with stained glasses. The Potter Crest hung up on one of the walls. The crest was a Griffin on a red background holding a sword in one hand and a wand in another. Rich velvet curtains hung in the room and were covering the windows.

"This was the last room that we cleaned. It is amazing how much dust can gather on a house left unattended for 10 years. If it were not for the elves, I would still be cleaning."

"Its beautiful room, Harry", she said, "My father once told me that the Potters used to hold some very lavish and extravagant balls in this hall. My great grandfather however never went to any of such balls despite being invited."

"The next room is a Broom Closet but more like a Broom museum", Harry said, "I have some brooms as old as from 1900s in this room. The charms on them are wonky so I'd not try them."

When she eagerly opened the room, her mouth opened in surprise, "It's amazing, Harry. I'd never have imagined seeing such a room. "

Harry smiled and led her to a old model comet, "This was used by my father at Hogwarts."

"How do you know?", she asked him.

He pulled her along, "Come with me. I'll show you."

Next to them was a long corridor which was brightly lit. Ginny could see that rows of portraits were lined up on the wall on both sides however curtains were drawn on all of them.

"Why are curtains on all of these portraits?"

"I have got around to uncover only a few of them yet", he told her, "Every occupant of every portrait wants to talk to me when I uncover them. And then I have to tell each of them how I am related to them. You can imagine how well that goes."

She grinned, "At least we don't have the same problem. What is in the other wing?"

"Guest rooms", he told her, "Three of those rooms were claimed in the past in the name of Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail. I had fun burning Wormtail's name sign."

She snorted, "Only you would think that. What is at the end of the hall? The closed doors?"

"Come along", he said, "I will show you."

When he opened the door, she let out a loud gasp, "Harry, this is…"

"It is beautiful, isn't it?"

"I never thought that I'd call a library a beautiful place but this has astounded me", she confessed, "It is truly beautiful.

The library had two floors. On the ground floor, books were stacked in cabinets from floor to ceiling. The cabinets were made of polished woods and there were glass doors at the front. In the middle of the library, sofas and arm chairs were strewn around a massive mahogany table for people to sit in and read. In the middle of the table was a massive inkwell and there was a quill holder which contained a lot of beautiful quills. A crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the room and looked quite beautiful in. Lights burning in its sconces cast different images on the walls like a unicorn, a hippogriff etc.

There was a circular stairwell which led to the second story. As Ginny started to ascend it, Harry caught her hand, "Ginny the upstairs is restricted."

"What do you mean?", she asked.

"The upstairs is only for Potters", he said, "It is part of our family magic. I don't understand it fully yet but Daphne told me that I should not show my family magic to someone who is not a Potter because it is blood based."

"Daphne?"

"Daphne Greengrass", Harry told her, "You know how little I know about the wizarding world and its etiquettes. She offered me to teach these things. I asked Mr. Weasley too but he told me that he could not teach it to me."

"Are you seeing Daphne Greengrass?", she asked him.

"No Ginny. We are friends at best", he said, "You know I won't date anyone while I am waiting for you."

"Are you happy with how the trials have been going so far?", she asked him.

"Yes", He said, "I am happy with how Malfoy and Umbridge have got their just deserts finally."

As they were talking, one of his elves popped in, "Master, the dinner being ready."

"Ginny, please join me for dinner", Harry said, "Normally it is just me alone at the dinner table."

"But Harry…"

"Ginny, please accept", Harry said giving her the adoring eyes.

Finally she relented, "Fine."

"Everyone please rise for the Court", said the herald as the Judges entered the court room.

"Today is the second day of the death eater trials", said the Chief Judge, "The next case is of Thorfinn Rowle. Mr. Prosecutor, please proceed."

Today, Proudfoot was the prosecutor for the ministry in place of Robards, "My Lord, the accused Thorfinn Rowle was a death eater and a trusted lieutenant of Voldemort. It has been told that he served in the inner circle of Voldemort and committed various atrocities. The major of his crimes is attacking the Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry and helping in assassination of Albus Dumbledore. He was also present in the battle of Hogwarts where he injured many and killed a few of the students."

"Aurors bring the accused in", the chief said.

The Aurors brought him in shackled in chains. "Throfinn Rawle, you are being charged with murder, loot, creating mass panic and of being a death eater. How do you plead?"

"I am not shamed of my servitude to the Dark Lord", Rawle snarled, "If given the chance I'd do it again."

"Do you have anything to say in your defense?", The chief asked him.

"I am not answerable to mudbloods and filthy halfbloods", he said.

The chief's face turned puce red, "Since you are not going to answer the charges against you nor are you willing to defend yourself therefore it is assumed that you accept them. You are hereby sentenced to be thrown into the Dementor's pit when it is functional again."

The trial went that way for the rest of the day. Many death eaters were brought in and would be summarily tried because either they had nothing to say in their defense or they were spewing their ideology still. Some of them seemed to have slipped into insanity but in the end it was inconsequential. Every one of them were sentenced to Azkaban. The day went this way until the last case for the day was announced, "The next case is of Fenrir Greyback."

"My Lord, this accused has already been tried by this learned body in camera and has reached to a conclusion regarding his fate. It is therefore prayed that this learned court may pronounce its judgment."

The Chief announced, "The crimes of this accused are well known to us and it is beyond suspicion that he is responsible for all those wrongs therefore, trial in his case is waived off. We have seen all the evidence and we are of the opinion that he is guilty. Since he is a magical beast, it is dangerous to keep him in captivity for long time therefore, he is being sentenced to be executed through the veil this evening at 5:00 p.m."

After the trials were over for the day, Harry was called by Robards before he could leave, "Potter, my office in 10 minutes."

10 minutes later, Harry was in Robards office who started speaking without preamble, "Potter, I am pleased with your progress so far. You have been co-ordinating things so beautifully. How is the training with Proudfoot?"

"He is a hard task master", Harry said, "I mean he calls us at 6 in the morning and then drills us for 2 hours. He wants us to practice lethal curses and likes to punish if we are using simple spells and hexes."

"Is he teaching you anything other than casting?". Robards asked.

"No, for now it is this. However privately he has told me a little about tracking", Harry said, "It is amazing to see what you can do with a handful of spells."

"Potter, I want you to learn Occlumency", he said.

Memories of Occlumancy sessions flashed in Harry's mind, "That would be a bad idea, Gawain."

"Why?"

"I have had bad experience with learning Occlumancy as I have told you", Harry said, "I couldn't get to clear my mind."

"Potter, the way that Severus was teaching you was not the proper way. It is effective sure, but dangerous. I am going to take a easy way with you."

"How?"

Robards produced a book for him, "This book contains some tricks to meditate and to clear your mind. Mind is always full of thoughts running around in your mind and it is not very easy to clear it of thoughts. Severus Snape should have known this and planned accordingly. Take it easy for a few days, learn these exercises and once you have succeeded, I will teach you further."

"I will", Harry said, "Can I know why it is important for me to learn Occlumancy?"

"It will help you learn wandless casting", said Robards, "Now there is an assignment for you if you want it."

"What is the assignment?"

The minister gave orders this morning to assemble a team of Auror to go and apprehend Cornelius Fudge. The former Minister of Magic has a lot to answer for and he will be tried by the full Wizengamot."

"Who is going to be on the team?"

"Since it is supposed to be an easy job, I am planning to send most of the new Aurors. So far Susan Bones, Ernie Macmillan, Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Deam Thomas's names have been proposed to me."

"And you have made up your mind?", Harry asked.

"Yes, I have. I am sending Auror Savage as the team captain and you, Weasley, Bones and Thomas will be on the team. Apprehend Fudge and bring him back. He will finally answer for all his sins."

"Harry, are you going to the Macmillan Ball?", Hermione asked him.

Hermione and Ron were visiting the Potter Manor after the events of the day. It was a long and tiring day indeed but everyone was in high spirits at the end of the day because they had sent many more death eaters to their doom. There were still trials left to be completed but as far as Harry was concerned, his involvement as a witness in the trials was at an end. There was no one else at whose trial he would be required to give a statement. As he was leaving, he had given the floo address to Ron and told him to come over with Hermione in the evening.

"Yes, I got an invite for the ball", he said, "I don't like these social events much but there is no harm in going. Are you going to the ball?"

She nodded, "Yes. I received an invite from Ernie Macmillan today. He told me that he has invited everyone of those remaining from the D.A. Are you taking Ginny with you?"

He sighed, "It's the fourth year again, Hermione. I asked her this time to come with me to the McMillan ball but Neville Longbottom beat me to it. I guess I will get Luna to come with me again."

"And have you talked to Luna about it?", she asked.

"Why? You think she will refuse?"

"Ofcourse she will refuse", Hermione said, "She is a good girl but she doesn't do well with social gatherings. Anyhow, she is going to the ball with Justin Finch Fletchley. I have asked her."

"Hermione, why don't you come with me to the Macmillan ball?"

Ron, who had been content sipping butterbeer, sprang into action, "Your hands off this one, Potter. She is already spoken for."

"I am joking mate", said Harry.

"Harry, Ginny told me that she visited you here yesterday", Hermione said, "So what happened?"

"Nothing happened", Harry said, "We had dinner and good time together and that was it. we are not rushing things but I am very hopeful for things to end in my favour."

"Talking of dinner", Ron said, "Ginny told us that your elves cook very tasty food."

"Yes and that's why I want you both to join me for dinner or I'd get bored."

"Lord Potter, Welcome to Greengrass Manor", said Astoria Greengrass, bowing to him.

"Ms. Greengrass, a real pleasure to meet you. Will you please use Harry when you are talking to me?"

She grinned, "I see Daphne is being bad influence on you. The guy who trash-talked with people he never liked is being civil all of a sudden."

Harry frowned, "I trash talked with whom?"

That grin did not leave her face, "Well, Draco Malfoy comes to mind and so does Crabbe and Goyle and that Pansy Parkinson."

"Draco was a nut case", Harry said, "He was a moron who didn't knew better."

"Anyway, why are you here, Harry?"

"Daphne had sent an owl to me asking for a meeting", he replied.

Astoria chuckled, "How naïve you are Lord Potter."

"What do you mean?", Harry asked suspiciously.

"Oh nothing", she said airily, "I won't put my foot in my mouth."

Before Harry could say anything, Daphne came out, saw Harry and smiled brightly, "Harry, great to see that you are on time."

Astoria piped in, "She froze a guy once who was 5 minutes late to a meeting."

Daphne turned to her sister, "If you are done sharing my exploits with Lord Potter, why don't you make yourself scarce?"

Astoria was still grinning, "Why don't you ask him to take you out Daph? Go out and enjoy the new swanky restaurant 'The Horntail' in Horizont Alley? I hear that their treacle tart is heavily recommended."

Daphne glared at her, "Why don't you shut your mouth, Tori?"

Harry sensed the tensions rising, "What is the Horntail?"

"It is nice restaurant in Horizont Alley, one of those little alleys which branch off from Diagon Alley", Astoria explained, "Rumor is that the owner is a fan and named the restaurant after the dragon you defeated."

"Is it any good?", Harry asked her.

"It is supposed to be the newest favorite place", Astoria explained.

Harry then turned to Daphne, "What do you say about a dinner at 'the horntail' and we can talk about work?"

Daphne raised an eye-brow, "Do you understand the implications of such dinner, Lord Potter?"

"What implications?"

"Well, you are currently single as everyone knows and if you are seen with a girl in the newest restaurant on a dinner, people would assume that you are courting that girl. Did I fail to explain that to you?"

"I guess you haven't even talked about it yet", Harry said, "Does this place offer a private booth or something and do they ensure your privacy?"

Daphne nodded, "The owners certainly know the value of silence and he definitely wouldn't want to be on your bad side. But I am curious if you are asking me out on a date?"

"Umm... I. I. do. don't know. I mean I never asked anyone on a date except Cho Chang and that ended horribly. So, I have no idea."

Daphne laughed, "Relax Harry. I am just yanking your wand."

The Horntail was a new establishment and that showed in its façade. The architecture of the place was fairly modern mostly with concrete and glass however, there was a hum in the air which could only be attributed to magic.

Unlike the Leaky Cauldron which was looked like a tavern it had the resembling of a modern restaurant. The doors of the restaurant were glass framed and the walls were wallpapered. Inside as opposed to the usual dark interiors that he had come to expect with wizarding inns.

There were private booths in the restaurant and a open sitting area for the patrons and when they entered, it was almost empty of people.

A man dressed in pristine robes, his hair cut to the shoulders, and a twirled mustache came rushing to them, "Lord Potter, it's an honour to have you in this establishment. Welcome to the Horntail."

"Thank you, Mr…", Harry stumbled because he didn't knew his name.

"Oh, I am Joyce Cunningham", said the man, "Welcome to the Horntail and you too, Lady Greengrass."

"Would it be possible for us to get a private parlour, Mr. Cunningham?", Daphne asked him.

"Yes Lady Greengrass", he said bowing, "And please accept my condolences on your loss."

After he left them in a parlour with a small mountain of appetizers while they decided what to eat, Harry asked her, "What was that?"

She took her time to reply to his question, "He was offering his condolences for my father who was murdered by death eaters."

Harry didn't know what to say, "Daphne! I had no idea. When did this happen?"

"Voldemort had been trying to recruit him since he was resurrected but my father was nothing if not stubborn. He refused every such advancement from them and was successful at keeping them at bay till Dumbledore was alive. When Dumbledore died and it became certain that there will be open war, he sent all of us away to Greece where my maternal grandparents live. I and Astoria had to return because attendance was made mandatory at Hogwarts but he forbade my mother from returning. After Tracy was killed, he told me that they were pressurizing him to join and the only way that he could refuse them was to go into hiding. He told us that he will be hiding in France and a week later, the Daily Prophet published the news that he was found dead in Diagon Alley. I couldn't see him for the last time but what others tell me, they tortured him before killing him. His skin was damaged, his flesh was burnt at places and the damage of Cruciactus curse was plain for everyone to see."

"Daphne, I had no idea and I rude talked to you that day. I am sorry."

"It's not your fault Harry. How could you know? And you have suffered more than all of us combined. You lost your parents, your godfather, Dumbledore and Teddy's parents."

"If I could, I'd have prevented their deaths from happening. I still can see Sirius falling through the veil, the lifeless bodies of Remus and Tonks. I hear cries of everyone who died in the battle of Hogwarts in my dreams."

"Harry, why you never said anything? How are you coping with it? It is not healthy to keep it all pent up inside you."

Harry smiled ruefully, "Whom can I tell? All of my friends and family were there with me in the battle. Everyone has lost some family in the battle and I am sure they have the same problems that I do."

"You can talk to me Harry", she said, "I may not be able to help much but I can listen to your worries."

"That is a very kind offer Daphne but what do you do when your feelings threaten to overwhelm you? I have seen you wearing a mask in public as if these things don't affect you but I have also seen the real you."

"It may sound cliché to you but I drown my sorrows in firewhiskey. My father liked to collect wines from across the world and there is a very decent collection in my manor."

"Sirius was also like that. He kept a huge stash in Grimmauld Place which I have transferred to Potter Manor since I started living there. Not to mention, the cellars of Potter Manor were already stocked. These days, I am trying different wines."

"Tell me about Sirius Black", Daphne said, "I have heard a lot of things about him over the years and he is as much of a legend as you. I'd like to separate the facts from fiction."

"There is a lot about him that I don't know. I mean I had no idea that there is man called Sirius Black until he escaped from Azkaban in our third year. And I didn't find out about his innocence until the end of that year. I helped him escape from Hogwarts before the dementors could kiss him. Then he remained on the run from the ministry. As far as I know, he went someone tropical region because he had sent me letter through some tropical birds which wouldn't fit my window. He returned to London when my name was entered in the tournament. He lived in Hogsmead eating rats for sustenance so that he could be near me. When Voldemort arose from the dead, he went on to meet the members of the order and to raise them against Voldemort. He was confined to London townhouse for the entire fifth year and only went out when it looked like I was in mortal peril. I didn't get much time with him but what little time we had, we rejoiced all those times. He was the closest thing to a father that I knew."

"I can't imagine the pain that you'd be going through", she said sympathetically, "Do you miss him?"

"I miss him still", he said. "He gave up his life for me. I should have known that it could be a ploy."

Daphne could see that the boy was in pain from the loss of Sirius. They both must have been pretty close if Sirius Black lived on eating rats just so he could be near his godson in times of his need."

"Harry, no one ever came to know but who entered your name in the goblet of fire?"

"It became clear the night when Voldemort rose from the dead. Barty Crouch Junior, son of the former DMLE Chief and head of the department of International Magical Co-operation Barty Crouch Senior had a son who was a death eater and sent to Azkaban for torturing the Longbottoms to insanity. Everyone knows that son had died in Azkaban but the truth is that he was alive and Barty Crouch was hiding him in his house. Later, Voldemort rescued him with the help of Peter Pettigrew. They subdued Alastor Moody and Barty kept Moody imprisoned in his own trunk. It was him who bewitched the goblet into thinking that there were four schools in the tournament and I was the only contestant from that school."

"What happened to him?", she asked, "no one ever heard about this."

"Fudge when confronted with him had him kissed by Dementors. In his desperation and idiocy and to prove everyone wrong, he destroyed the only evidence", Harry said, still feeling anger towards the former Minister.

"He should have been punished for his acts", Daphne snarled, "It is due to that incompetent blithering idiot that we lost so many people."

Harry actually grinned, "Good thing that Robards has tasked me with bringing him in, eh?"

"What? When did that happen?", she asked

"This afternoon, Robards called me and told me that I will head the squad responsible for bringing him in."

"Where is he hiding?", she asked.

"Germany", he said, "He has got a mansion there. How he got it is beyond anyone's comprehension though."

"When do you go?"

"Right after the trials."

"They are working you hard, aren't they?", she asked.

"Yes and I like doing it", Harry said, "It is lot better than making reports and filling forms. Besides Robards confided in me that he is grooming me to be his successor."

"That is amazing, Harry", she said excitedly, "You will perhaps be the youngest head of Aurors in history."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Great! Another moniker to me."

As they apparently ran out of things to talk about,Harry asked her, "Tell me about the last year at Hogwarts."

"You must have known about it from your friends", she said, "Why do you ask me?"

"None of my friends have got around to talk about it", he said, "it's like we have decided to move past all the torment that we have gone through and that is it."

She reluctantly said, "Only you Grffindors can be so hard headed that you'd forget months of torture so soon. The last year at Hogwarts was a living nightmare. Initially my father had advised me to keep my head down and don't do anything to provoke their ire. When we went back, I realized that no muggle born student had returned to Hogwarts and only those who were half bloods or purebloods had come back. The Carrows started teaching Dark Arts to the students forcing them to practice those curses on other students. I wanted to interfere but the question of my family's safety tied my hands. When I received the news that my father was killed and Tracy's family had been murdered, I couldn't hold myself back. I started opposing them at every turn, I would go release students from their chains in the dungeons and treat them if I could. When the Carrows decided to turn their ire on me, Professor Snape intervened and kept them in line. I sent Astoria to Neville Longbottom to take her out of Hogwarts and stayed there counting days. I was waiting for you to come back because somewhere I felt that you were not one to turn tail and run. When I saw you in the Great Hall that day, I realized it was time for vengeance. Many of the students in Slytherin didn't wanted to take part in it but they did it because the other option was putting their families in danger. There were however a few students who did it willingly."

"Who were they?", Harry asked with a bit of steel in his voice.

"Parkinson, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle and Bulstrode from our year were the chief ones and Crabbe died in Hogwarts. Rest of them claimed that they were only following orders."

"This didn't come to my attention", Harry said, "When did this happen?"

"I have heard tell that some Aurors were sent to interrogat them and they said that they were only following orders and therefore they were given clean chit."

A storm brewed up in Harry's mind. How could this happen? What was Kingsley doing? He will have to meet the minister and see to it that they were punished for their crimes.

"I will ask Kingsley why this happened. And while I am at it, I will also ask the DMLE Head Arthur Weasley if it was brought to his attention."

She nodded, "I know you will do what is best for everyone, Harry. Can I ask you a question though?"

"Yes Daphne."

"Don't mind my words but since the war ended I have seen you in the same clothes every now and then. You don't like to buy clothes?"

Harry felt his face redden, "It is not that I don't like that. Actually since the war ended, I have tried to go to buy some clothes for me but I have never shopped for clothes and I am sure I'd be lost in a clothing store."

"Well, Lord Potter, we are going to buy some new clothes for you tomorrow", she said, "Today you have told me a lot of things today that I didn't know otherwise. It feels like I am a step closer to know Harry Potter, the boy who studied with me at Hogwarts."

He nodded, "So what is good on the menu here?"

"This place is famous for all of its dishes, Lord Potter", said Joyce Cunnigham coming into the parlour, "This place particularly specializes in dishes which are apparently your favorite."

Harry leafed through the menu and found that most of the dishes on the menu were indeed his favorite.

"How do you know my favorite dishes?", Harry asked him.

Daphne began giggling and Joyce Cunningham looked uncomfortable, "My son, Wallace, who will be in 5th year at Hogwarts this year is your fan. He became a fan when he saw you outflying the Horntail and thus the name of this establishment. He also tried to drum up support for you during last year and faced cruciactus curse from the Carrows for his deeds."

Harry was wordless. He could not even imagine that a Slytherin would have dared to get support for him when anyone standing with him was tortured brutishly.

"Please extend my thanks for your son", Harry said, "And please tell him to drop me a letter. I'd like to meet him and thank him."

"Thank you is not needed Lord Potter but nevertheless I will get him to write a letter to you."