The next morning, Harry woke up, feeling a weight on his body.
Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see Daphne sleeping next to
him, with an arm and leg wrapped around him, her head on his
chest. He paused and wondered why he wasn't freaking out by the
close contact, but on a subconscious level, Harry knew that he had
become quite comfortable with Daphne. He didn't mind this at all. He
looked at her sleeping face and couldn't help but smile. She looked
so peaceful and angelic and he didn't have the heart to wake her. He
slowly stroked her dark blonde hair as he watched her sleep.
Five minutes later, Daphne stirred, feeling quite good and
rejuvenated. She cuddled closer for warmth as she enjoyed Harry's
fingers stroking her hair. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. Oh,
Merlin, she was supposed to get up before Harry regained
consciousness! She didn't know if he would be comfortable with this.
She didn't want to leave him alone last night so she had simply
climbed into bed with him. Daphne hesitantly looked up into the
smiling face of her fiancé.
"Good morning," whispered Harry as he stroked her face with his
fingers. "Comfortable?"
" Ahem – I was, you know –"
"I don't know about you, but I'm very comfortable."
"Are you really?" smiled Daphne.
"Oh, yes," Harry murmured as he nuzzled his face against hers. "I
wouldn't mind being here all day. Do you have any idea how much I
missed you?"
"You missed me?" she teased good-naturedly. "What are you saying,
Potter? Do you actually feel something? I thought you were made of
ice."
"Only for you, Greengrass," Harry chuckled, hugging her tightly. He
couldn't help but want to keep her close. Her sweet scent was
intoxicating. Daphne soon interrupted the silence.
"Why did you go down to the Chamber, Harry? You could have
gotten someone to help you and –"
But she was cut off as Harry pressed his lips to hers, kissing her
softly. Their lips brushed each other for several seconds.
"I couldn't stand the fact that you were attacked," said Harry
honestly. "I wanted revenge. I wasn't thinking straight, I admit. But it
all worked out in the end, didn't it?"
"Doesn't discount the fact that you nearly died, you idiot," Daphne
hissed angrily. "You should have –"
But she was interrupted when Harry kissed her again. "I'll keep doing
that until you stop being mad at me."
"I should be mad at you more often," said Daphne, flushing as she
buried her face in his chest.
"I'm planning on showing the memory of what happened there in the
Great Hall, in front of everyone," said Harry quietly. "I doubt the staff
will stop me, but if we encounter resistance, can you help me?"
"Of course," she smiled at him. "What are best friends for?"
"I think you are turning into something more than just a friend,
Daph."
"Why, Potter, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" asked
Daphne, her lips quirking in a teasing smirk.
Harry smirked. "Doesn't being betrothed make us skip that part?"
"Who cares? So, again – are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"
"Daphne, will you marry me?" asked Harry cheekily.
"You've already asked me that and I said yes by wearing this ring,"
Daphne sighed, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "You're so
frustrating!"
"Alright, alright! Daphne Greengrass, would you do me the honour of
being my girlfriend? Not that you have much of a choice, but still ..."
"Way to ruin the moment by your sarcastic comments. Hmm, let me
think ..."
"Think? But what do you need to think about? I'm better than anyone
in the world!"
"And why is that? I need an explanation before I consider you
worthy, Potter!"
"Well, I'm smart ... I'm a duelling champion ... the scion of the Potter
family ... the Boy-Who-Lived ... an international celebrity ..."
"Oh, quite full of yourself, aren't you, Potter? I wonder where all this
is coming from. This is quite unlike you!"
"Well, you know what they say ..."
"No, what do they say?" asked Daphne curiously.
"How should I know? I thought you might know something to finish
that sentence!"
Daphne groaned, shaking her head. Soon, laughs and squeals could
be heard as a ticking war began, leaving them laughing and
breathing hard.
"You're the best, Daphne," whispered Harry as he closed his eyes,
breathing deeply. "I'm glad that you came into my life."
"Same here," Daphne murmured as sleep claimed her too.
That night at dinner, Harry and Daphne walked into the Great Hall,
hand in hand. The entire Hall was silent as the two of them sat along
with their friends at the end of the Slytherin table.
"There have been wild theories going around the school," said Tracy.
"No one knows what to believe and the teachers are quite tightlipped
about the whole affair."
"Yeah, I thought they would say something, but I guess they don't
want to own up to their mistakes," said Theo Nott as he helped
himself to food.
"Maybe you can show them a memory of the event, Harry," said
Daphne casually. "That way you can stop the speculation. I'm sure
the Headmaster wouldn't mind?"
Since the Hall was silent, several people heard what Daphne said
and whispers began going around the House tables. Dumbledore's
beard twitched and his eyes began twinkling as he realised what the
two had planned. Yes, this would work perfectly.
"I don't know ... nearly the entire school, not to mention the country
branded me a Dark Lord in the making ... I'm actually thinking of not
coming back next year."
Blaise Zabini had to hold back a laugh as he caught Harry's eye. He
was playing them all!
"What?" said Blaise, acting as though he was shocked. "Y-You can't,
Harry! Don't you think it's a bit excessive?"
"Maybe," Harry shrugged as people listened to him intently. "But I've
tolerated enough hippogriff shit from the people here, Blaise. What
makes you think they'll believe me now even if I show them the
memory? They'll probably think I'm lying and I don't want to be
branded a liar as well as a Dark Lord."
"Oh, come off it," said Theo, shaking his head. "Memory tampering
to such an extent is not possible even for a very skilled Occlumens
and for your age, it's impossible to do so. There are always traces,
from what I've been told. But it's your decision."
" Ahem , Potter?" said a hesitant voice.
"Yes, Pucey?"
Adrian Pucey cleared his throat. "I may not have personally been the
cause of your misery, but I do wish to formally apologise on behalf of
all the Slytherins. Shunning you as we did, even if our House was
divided was not something which should have been done. You're a
Parselmouth and that ability should have been revered by us, not the
other way around. So, I was hoping – you know –"
"What he is trying to say is that we were hoping we could see the
memory," said Draco Malfoy's drawling voice.
"Do you all want to?" asked Harry, acting surprised. When he got
several nods from the Slytherins, he called for a house-elf which
brought him his Pensieve.
"Headmaster do I have your permission in showing everyone what
happened down in the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Of course, Mr Potter," answered Dumbledore, smiling at the young
boy. He really couldn't fault Harry for trying to get his credibility back
because it was something he would have done himself. He still
remembered his Hogwarts days when people used to point and
whisper at him when his father had been thrown in Azkaban, so if
Harry was innocent, he wouldn't stop him from letting others know.
He had to hand it to Harry; it was executed rather well. Albus had
seen the memory in his Pensieve ... finally, Voldemort's true heritage
would be released to the press. The last time he had tried that ... he
didn't even want to go there. Dorcas Meadows' death would finally
not have been in vain.
The Pensieve glowed, with three-dimensional images forming above
it. The memory began.
Everyone watched in silence as Harry talked to Myrtle and then
opened the Chamber entrance with the use of Parseltongue. They
saw him walk through the dark tunnel and enter the Chamber proper.
People gasped when they finally saw what the legendary chamber
looked like. It certainly had been preserved over the last thousand
years. They saw Harry talking to Tom Riddle and many screamed
when Harry said 'Voldemort.'
Harry mentally smirked when he saw Dumbledore's eyes narrow in
suspicion.
Memory tampering was indeed quite difficult, even for a very
advanced Occlumens, but selective memory recall was not. Harry
could not even begin to attempt memory tampering, but he could
recall part of the memory and not the rest while he extracted it, thus
not giving Dumbledore the information he didn't want him to see –
yet. People like Dumbledore and Voldemort who were natural at
Legilimency had a much easier time with memory tampering, but
Harry's natural talent at Occlumency prevented it. Either way, Harry
was quite happy with his work. The memory he had given the
headmaster did not contain most of the conversation he had with
Riddle or him claiming the Gryffindor title.
They all watched as Harry and Riddle spoke about Ginny opening
the Chamber against her will; about how Daphne had figured out
how the basilisk moved and Riddle trying to kill her but Daphne's
prudence saved her life ... they watched Riddle say how similar he
and Harry were ... there were many stunned faces when Riddle
revealed himself as a half-blood and that Voldemort was only a
made up name. It certainly debauched people's claims of him being
a pureblood when they saw the anagram. To think that the Dark
Lord, the person who spouted pureblood propaganda and even killed
for it – was the son of a Muggle!
Dumbledore grimaced when Harry's childhood was brought up.
Beside him, he could hear Minerva gasp and glare at him. She
hadn't known about the abuse and she certainly had warned him
against them but he hadn't listened. He mentally frowned when he
listened to the next part of Harry's conversation with Riddle.
Many were stunned when Harry revealed a theory about how he
survived. Lily Potter having dabbled in the Dark Arts to save her
son's life was a monumental revelation and people didn't know what
to think about that. Snape looked smug but Dumbledore was
frowning heavily. He had thought that Harry had survived because of
the power of love, but obviously, that was not true. He would need to
get that journal and Lily's notes about the ritual. He wanted to know
more about it.
The duel between Harry and Riddle was awe-inspiring for many.
Professor McGonagall was overjoyed at Harry's Transfiguration skills
and Snape had to grudgingly admit that Harry's knowledge of the
spells which were most definitely considered dark by many was
good. Flitwick was bouncing in his seat at the outstanding
charmwork and everyone cheered when the daggers impacted
Riddle, only to gape in shock when nothing happened to him. The
fight with the basilisk was terrifying to watch and when Harry stabbed
the snake, people screamed in fright. Madam Pomfrey had buried
her face in her hands as Harry was slowly poisoned by the deadliest
venom on the planet. The entire school exploded in cheers once
Harry had destroyed the diary.
Harry had to try very hard to conceal his smirk when everyone
realised that the sword belonged to Godric Gryffindor. While it was
true that the Potters had not actively suppressed the knowledge that
they were descendants of Godric, they didn't advertise it either. It
was known only in influential circles in the nobility while the common
folk were blissfully unaware of it. So it was quite a shock when they
all heard the Sorting Hat tell them that Godric Gryffindor's only
daughter had married a Potter.
The ring appearing on his finger had Dumbledore closing his eyes in
frustration. Why did things have to get more difficult? Even the
information about the Dursleys was manageable, but not this! The
fact that Harry was the future Lord Gryffindor would get the liberal
faction of the Wizengamot flocking to him! How was Dumbledore
supposed to be their leader if they looked up to someone else? He
would have to do damage control. Sirius Black already had a grip on
the traditionalist faction, Cyrus Greengrass was the leader of the
centrists and if Harry had this level of influence over the liberals ... he
would have to think things through because this could have political
repercussions.
When Dumbledore was thinking and the rest of the teachers were
celebrating, Severus Snape was mentally scowling. Things had been
so good over the past year. He had thought that James Potter's brat
was the one attacking the Muggle-borns. He had dreamt happily
about the day the boy would finally be taken to Azkaban and he
could gloat to Sirius Black. But now, the boy had to go and do this!
"Potter, I think it is time you give the artefact back to the school," said
Snape silkily, his voice echoing throughout the Great Hall.
Dumbledore snapped out of his trance. He looked at Snape with his
eyebrows raised. Surely Severus was not that desperate to get his
revenge on the boy? He should know better! As Headmaster, he
knew of the laws surrounding the founding families and he was
positive that there was no way that sword was leaving the hands of
the Potter family. He should know – James Potter had demanded an
Unbreakable Vow just to borrow the Peverell Invisibility Cloak!
"What artefact?" asked Harry, looking at Snape with a straight face.
"The Sorting Hat has been returned to the Headmaster."
Dumbledore's beard twitched in amusement, but before he could
intervene, Snape said in a dangerous voice, "Five points from
Ravenclaw, Potter, for your cheek! I'm talking about the sword!
Gryffindor's sword! It belongs to Hogwarts, so return it!"
"And who in Merlin's name told you that Gryffindor's sword belongs
to Hogwarts?"
"It says so in Hogwarts, A History," answered Hermione Granger
imperiously. "It's the legendary artefact of Godric Gryffindor and
since he is one of the founders of Hogwarts, it belongs to the
school."
Harry's face remained impassive as he spoke, "Hogwarts, A History
is the most biased book I have ever read in my life. I'm pretty sure it
was written by a Gryffindor who looked down upon the other three
Houses. As for the founders' artefacts, let's ask Smith, shall we?
Hey, Smith, what are the laws governing the founding families and
Hogwarts?"
Zacharias Smith's eye twitched in annoyance at the Hufflepuff table.
He really did not like Potter and he did not appreciate the boy
bringing unwanted attention to him in the middle of the Great Hall,
but he would be damned if Snape were to start spouting nonsense
about seizing founders' artefacts. His family would never agree to
that and he knew that Potter wouldn't either.
"The founding families are different and separate entities from
Hogwarts," said Smith imperiously. "The descendants of the
founders cannot own the castle and similarly, any money and
artefacts of the founding families have nothing to do with Hogwarts.
This is a school, not a museum."
"And would you be willing to return any artefacts that you have that
belong to Helga Hufflepuff?" asked Harry casually.
Smith scowled. "No. Didn't you hear what I just said, Potter? These
laws are something that should have been taught to you considering
our unique position. You should know them."
"Oh, I certainly know them, but I was asking you to explain it to
Professor Snape and Miss Granger here. Long story short – the
sword is Potter family property and no one can take it away from us.
If you have any doubts about the veracity of that claim, Professor
Snape, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore or Lord Smith would be more
than happy to explain it to you. I would explain it to you as well, but
you never believe anything I say, so it is counterproductive."
Snape's lip curled but he didn't say anything. He thought for sure that
he would be able to embarrass Potter by doing this publicly, but it
didn't turn out that way. Well, the brat wasn't going anywhere. He
would get an opportunity in the future to take that boy down a peg or
two. He was a Slytherin; he was nothing if not patient.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore was not the only one who was panicking
about Harry's new title; word had quickly gotten to the heads of
several families of nobility, not to mention the Ministry of Magic as
well and someone in the Ministry, who went by the title of Senior
Undersecretary to the Minister, had decided to do something about it
even before the Chief Warlock attempted to do anything.
Rita Skeeter quickly re-read the letter in her hand. It said quite
clearly that Harry Potter was lying about what had happened to
bolster his own fame after the disastrous article which revealed him
to be a Parselmouth. The anonymous person had promised to give
her five hundred Galleons if she could make a bad article appear in
the Daily Prophet about Potter's involvement in the Chamber of
Secrets and his refusal in giving back a priceless artefact such as
Gryffindor's sword back to the Ministry where it belonged, not to
mention line-theft in saying that he was the future Lord Gryffindor.
Humph ; as if a twelve-year-old boy could defeat a basilisk! Now,
what would be the most catching headline? She chuckled.
"Boy-Who-Lived turns Boy-Who-Lied," Rita murmured to herself
happily as she looked through the information she had. "Harry Potter
– The next Dark Lord? Yes, that's a good secondary headline, or
should it be first? Hmm ..."
Just as Rita touched the quill, it glowed blue and started spinning.
She shrieked; how was there a Portkey in her office? She went to
great lengths to ensure that she was not tracked or kidnapped.
Merlin knows she had a lot of enemies, especially powerful people
so it was essential. When Rita landed, she saw that she was sitting
in a very regal looking study. Rich wooden slabs adorning the walls
with gold-framed paintings, floor to ceiling windows, and a thick
carpet on the marble flooring with a large, richly decorated
mahogany desk in front of her – all this made her realise that
whoever kidnapped her was very, very wealthy. She was also
magically bound and gagged. What was going on here?
"Hello, Rita," said a voice. The dim lighting charms became brighter
and she felt her chair turn in the opposite direction. There were two
armchairs in front of the large fireplace where she saw, much to her
shock, Lord Sirius Black and Harry Potter.
"Nice headline you were going for," said Harry wryly looking at the
sheet of parchment. "The Boy-Who-Lies? Catchy."
"Tsk, tsk, you really do play with the big fish, don't you, Rita?" Sirius
smirked. "You have written a few articles that I really didn't like.
Questioning my sanity, Harry's Parselmouth status, the article about
the Potter-Greengrass betrothal ..."
"Looks like she is angry, godfather … shall we make her talk?"
Sirius flicked his wand at her and the gag disappeared. "Let go of
me!" Rita cried hysterically.
"Hello Rita, welcome to my family's ancestral castle," Harry greeted
her with a small smile, though his eyes were an angry shade of
blackish-green.
"What do you want? Why did you kidnap me?" snarled Rita. She
tried to shift in her seat but screamed painfully.
"That is a darker version of the anti-Animagus ward created by the
Black family," said Sirius, sipping from a glass of firewhisky. "We
don't want you turning into a water-beetle to escape, do we?"
Rita's face turned pale. How did they know? She swallowed in fear
when she realised who Sirius Black was married to.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm not calling my wife here," said Sirius as he
smirked darkly at her. "But I will call her if the negotiations fail."
"What negotiations?" the reporter asked shakily.
Harry waved his hand and a sheet of parchment floated in front of
her. "My godfather and I are now the owners of the Daily Prophet ,"
he explained. "Tomorrow, the Daily Prophet is going to be dissolved
to form the new Magical Daily Press. All the employees of the Daily
Prophet are going to be assimilated into the new company. Of
course, we were wondering what to do with you. If you are willing to
work for us, then you'll get all the perks of the job. If you don't, then
we could always hand you over to the D.M.L.E."
"Trust me, you have made a lot of enemies in the Wizengamot," said
Sirius dangerously. "You have been actively using your Animagus
form to spy on people. Let me tell you now that you would get no
less than five years in Azkaban for the number of laws that you've
broken. Take it from a person who spent ten years in a high-security
cell, it's not paradise. I will never recover from my ordeal. It has
scarred me forever, changing me as I had to spend ten years reliving
my worst memories day after day. You'll probably go insane within a
few months of being there. We are giving you a better alternative."
"Which is what?" asked Rita nervously.
"Glad you asked," said Sirius, smiling widely. "This is the contract we
want you to sign."
Rita read through the contact and her eyes bulged out of its sockets.
"NO! This contact gives me no escape clause! I'll be a lifetime
employee and it gives you too much control over me! I can never
write what I want and I cannot divulge your secrets."
"Rita, Rita, Rita," purred Harry, coming closer to her, his green eyes
glinting dangerously. "Don't think we are not capable of forcing you
to do this. We're being nice, you know. Your salary will increase and
you get all the perks of the job. Trust me, one way or another we're
getting rid of the threat that is you. Don't be an idiot. You can go back
to your life without any problems. If you piss us off today, you'll end
up next to a Dementor. You have five minutes to make a decision."
Five minutes later, Rita sighed. She knew it was her fault for playing
with the big fish. She had forgotten the first rule of nature – there is
always someone more powerful than you.
"Where do I sign?"
HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP
Once Rita was gone, Sirius smirked as he looked at the contract.
Duplicating it, he gave one to his godson and kept handed the
original copy to his house-elf so that it could be kept safe in his
study. They now controlled the biggest and most popular media
outlet in Magical Britain.
"How was the meeting with Lucius Malfoy?" asked Harry, raising an
eyebrow.
Sirius' face turned an angry red. "That fool didn't even know that
there was a basilisk at Hogwarts. Can you believe that? Once he
realised that his own son had been in danger because of his actions,
he was literally white as a sheet! It wasn't until I threatened him with
delicate information did he bow down to my demands and trust me, it
was not easy negotiating with him and still keep my temper in check!
I felt like killing him then and there!"
"So, what did you get out of him?"
"I snatched his seat on the Board of Governors. Combined with your
seat as Lord Gryffindor, I will have two with one of them being
permanent, so I can make myself the chairman if I'm interested. The
majority of the Board is actually filled with traditionalists now after the
last reshuffle, so I have a majority. I also got a few very profitable
businesses that I wanted, one of them being a potions ingredients
farm in Northern France. Finally, I caused a bit of trouble for him with
the French Ministry of Magic by leaking some of his shadier deals,
so he's currently bribing his way out of there. Also, Dobby!"
The elf popped in front of them. "Lord Black sir," said the elf, his face
lighting up. "What can Dobby do for Lord Black?"
"Nothing for me, Dobby, but my godson was the one who wanted
you freed from Lucius Malfoy," said Sirius, pointing at Harry.
"Harry Potter sir wanted to free Dobby?" asked the elf tearfully.
"Harry Potter is greater than Dobby knew!"
Harry smiled slightly. "You may not have gone about it the right way,
but I can't forget the fact that you risked your life to warn me about
your master's plot. So I couldn't, with a good conscience, leave you
there. So, Dobby, would you like to be my elf?"
Dobby began crying loudly. "It is Dobby's greatest dream to be Harry
Potter's elf! Dobby accepts!"
"Good. Go to Potter Castle; Tippy will give you fresh clothes and tell
you what you need to do."
"That is all, Dobby," said Sirius, dismissing the elf. Dobby bowed to
them and disappeared with a crack . The two of them were silent for
a while until Sirius looked at his godson with narrowed eyes.
"Don't think you're getting off easy, Harry," he said quietly. "You're in
big trouble. I never thought you were this reckless and stupid. Going
into the Chamber of Secrets alone, without an adult to help you,
knowing that there was a basilisk inside was short-sighted and
foolish. Would you mind telling me what you were thinking?"
Harry swallowed slightly as he saw the furious expression on his
godfather's face. This was a lot more difficult than explaining it to
Daphne. "Sirius, I did want to tell someone," he began, "but I guess I
got carried away. I was angry and after I read the information
Daphne had found out, I decided to see if her theory was right. When
the entrance opened, I decided to go for it. What else could I have
done?"
"What else could I have done?" repeated Sirius angrily. "I'll tell you
what you should have done. You should have contacted me
immediately! This was a bloody thousand-year-old basilisk which
turned out to be seventy feet long! No snake in history has been this
large and deadly. It could have killed you with one stare alone, and
you nearly died there! You were bitten by a basilisk , whose venom is
considered the deadliest in the world. If Fawkes had not followed
you, I don't even want to think of the consequences. This should
have been handled by Ministry experts, not a twelve-year-old boy!"
"I'm nearly thirteen," said Harry quietly.
Sirius snorted at the typical teenage response. Taking a deep breath,
he said, "I'm very disappointed in you, Harry. I expected better from
you. I know that you're an exceptional boy and I'm very proud of the
way you defeated the basilisk, but can't you see from my
perspective? You nearly died, son, and I can't ignore that!"
The butterflies in his stomach returned when Harry heard Sirius refer
to him as his son once again. His voice was caught in his throat as
he tried to say something, but he couldn't. He was feeling emotions
he couldn't identify and that confused him more than anything.
"Right," Sirius nodded to himself. "Your punishment is to clean the
stables and dungeons at Black Castle this summer for two weeks –
without magic. I've done the same during my childhood and I know
how hard it was and how much I hated it. It will give you time to
reflect on your actions."
"Two weeks?" asked Harry incredulously. "Without magic?"
"I can always make it three."
Harry opened his mouth but closed it immediately. No, it was futile to
argue with Sirius; he knew that from past experience when he had
forced Harry to go to a Mind Healer after the Lockhart incident.
Sirius sighed softly as he extended his arms. "Come here, Harry," he
said softly.
Harry hesitated, but he sat down next to his godfather who wrapped
his arms around him tightly. Having now being used to it, he stiffened
only an instant before melting into the embrace.
"I'm not doing this because I enjoy punishing you, Harry," said Sirius
quietly. "You should realise what you did wrong and ensure that you
learn from your mistakes. Your parents would not have wanted you
so unnecessarily risking your life when your future is looking bright.
You want to make James and Lily proud, don't you?"
"Of course!"
"Then don't do something this reckless again. You nearly died ,
Harry, and I can't believe I came this close to losing you. I hope you
won't be doing something like this again, son, because I would be
severely disappointed if you do."
"Do you really consider me your son?" asked Harry, looking up at his
godfather, his voice very soft. He honestly sounded like a small child.
Harry may be a nearly thirteen-year-old boy who was quite mature
for his age, but he was also quite abused during his childhood.
Those scars had never quite faded from his mind, even if those on
his body had disappeared. He still remembered the time he had
pined for his parents or anyone else who would take care of him and
be a father figure to him that he could look up to. Even as he grew
up, he subconsciously still pined for a parental figure who cared
about him. Growing up, he had watched as Dudley was constantly
showered with attention from his parents. He had seen Aunt Petunia
give Dudley loving hugs while he got nothing but scorn and disdain.
He could see the proud look in Uncle Vernon's eyes when he saw
Dudley, but nothing but anger and hate when he looked at Harry.
The dreams concocted by the then four-year-old boy had never truly
vanished in Harry's heart, who still longed to have parents. From
reading their journals, he knew that James and Lily Potter had loved
him with every inch of their hearts, but it didn't discount the fact that
his godfather, Sirius Black, had done everything possible to provide
for him over the past year and a half. He had constantly showered
Harry with attention and affection, something which Amelia had done
as well, both of them coming to the Shrieking Shack nearly every
alternate day to teach Harry more magic and spend time with him.
The way Sirius had done his best to protect him from the press and
the general public, and the affection shining in those haunted grey
eyes still moved Harry deeply.
"Of course I consider you my son," said Sirius patiently. "I know that
you are James and Lily's son, and I have my own son who is to be
born in a few months, but it doesn't discount the fact that I promised
your parents and myself that I would take care of you the moment
your father placed you in my arms the day you were born. I swore an
oath on my magic to always be there for you, Harry, and I will honour
that promise till my death. I know that I'm not James or Lily, but I am
always here for you when you need me and if that requires me to be
strict with you and hand out punishments, that's what I'm going to
do."
Harry swallowed thickly as his eyes grew misty. Sirius hugged the
teary boy sitting next to him and rubbed his back soothingly.
Harry hugged Sirius tightly as silent tears rolled down his cheeks,
long buried emotions resurfacing as he finally reconciled with his
childhood, accepting it for what it was, something he had never been
able to do. He felt as though a massive weight had been lifted off his
shoulders as he put the issue of the Dursleys behind him. The scars
would never disappear, but he now had the strength to wear them
without hating that part of himself.
"Thanks, Sirius," said Harry softly, wiping his tears away.
"You're welcome, Harry."
Even though Dumbledore had cancelled the exams for the rest of the
school, the fifth and seventh-year students still had to finish theirs.
Harry was busy studying for his incoming O.W.L.s, so he didn't
bother with what was going on outside. The news about the Daily
Prophet changing ownership and its shift to the Magical Daily
created a storm in Magical Britain. Many were wondering what the
hell had happened as they all had vested interest in the largest
media outlet in the country. Any and all information pertaining to
Frank Olive was accessed by several people, but none of them could
find him. Dumbledore was sure that the man was an alias, but he
didn't know who actually owned the paper.
The reactions to the headline later were also entertaining to watch.
The fact that the Boy-Who-Lived had wielded the Sword of Godric
Gryffindor in defence of the school to kill a basilisk caused people to
flock to him again, but Harry now knew that fame was fickle. The
Gryffindor Lordship had also been announced and once the
Department of Mysteries verified his claim, Sirius was made the
regent and another vote made its way to the Wizengamot. Many
were now feeling ashamed that they had doubted Harry after this
revelation and he did receive several letters of apology. Not that he
cared anyway.
The news about the abuse Harry suffered at the hands of his Muggle
relatives brought massive outrage from the wizarding public. They
were all under the impression that he had been living in a magical
home and raised happily, but this was not what they had expected.
Dumbledore tried his best to talk his way out of it, but his popularity
was on the decline. He had suffered setbacks one by one in the
course of two years and he didn't have time to regain the trust of the
people and this was certainly a massive backlash.
Sirius and Harry were happy about that because from what Blaise
Zabini told Harry who had heard from his mother, the news about
him had travelled internationally as well. Harry had become more
famous for his defeat of a basilisk and Dumbledore's job had
become more difficult at the I.C.W. due to it. Child abuse was
something the magical world didn't tolerate at all. Children were
considered as the sacred blessing of Mother Magic herself and for
them to be tortured to such an extent was not something they could
accept.
But the biggest reaction yet was the revelation about Voldemort's
ancestry. The entire country was spluttering in disbelief about the
fact that a man who had torn their country into pieces and killed
innumerable witches and wizards who were purebloods, half-bloods
or Muggle-born was actually the son of a Muggle!
It didn't have the impact Harry, Sirius and Dumbledore were hoping
for, though. Even though Voldemort was a half-blood, the
supremacists would still flock to him if he returned to power because
Voldemort had just that – power. He had the power to achieve their
goals, not to mention they were all terrified of the Dark Lord.
The same could be said about the common public. They were not
cowards; far from it. But the last war had been brutal. Anyone caught
saying something vocal against the Dark Lord had ended up dead or
had disappeared. Anyone trying to fight the Death Eaters would
come home and find their entire family dead. So many families had
become extinct because of him. Wizengamot members were terrified
to vote because they knew they were a major target. By 1991, the
death toll had risen to more than two thousand witches and wizards
and no one was willing to breathe a word for fear that their families
and loved ones would end up dead.
That was how Voldemort had nearly conquered Magical Britain –
until he was stopped by the young Harry Potter.
Sirius had also demanded that an Order of Merlin, First Class, be
given to James and Lily Potter and another one to Harry Potter for
his defeat of the basilisk. If Cornelius Fudge can give himself one, if
Peter Pettigrew had been awarded one, if Gilderoy Lockhart was
given one (both of which had been rescinded, of course), why not
give it to people who actually deserve it?
The awards had been handed to Harry within a week.
HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP