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Chapter Four - Harry Read the Books
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STORY TITLE: Harry Read The Books
PART: 04 of ??
AUTHOR: Red Jacobson (red.jacobson@gmail.com)
DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, Archive of Our Own, Hentai-Foundry, Questionable Questing
DISCLAIMER: None of the Characters You Recognize belong to me; they all belong to JK Rowling and her publishers.
SUMMARY: Christmas of Third Year, in addition to the Firebolt, Harry finds a series of seven books and a pamphlet titled 'And What Happens Afterward.'
FEEDBACK: Of course! It Makes Me Write Faster
RELATIONSHIPS: Harry/Susan
RATING: PG-13
WORD COUNT: <4,976>
SPOILERS: None, if you don't know how the Harry Potter story goes by now, why are you reading this story?
WARNINGS: If you've ever read any of my stories, you know what to expect: Oral, anal, Femme-slash, Dom/sub, multiple partners, and Femme-cest.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: To avoid the Underage issue, Hogwarts starts at 13 years old, so everybody is at least 16 when they start doing the nasty. There isn't any lemon planned for the first few chapters, and only when it makes sense in the story to include one after that.
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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Slytherin Dungeon, 3rd Year Boys Dormitory
Monday, December 27th, 1993
After Breakfast
Draco lay back on his bed, re-reading the letter from his mother that was delivered at breakfast. He wasn't the only student to receive letters; Greg, Vince and Theo also received mail, and from their reactions, no matter how quickly hidden, it was clear the news was bad. That, and Snape's disappearance with no warning and his own native intelligence, gave him a very good idea what his mother was going to be telling him.
He had waited until he was in private before reading the news, and, while the news was bad, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Yes, it was a shock to learn that his father was looking at life in Azkaban, if he didn't just get a Dementor's Kiss, or shoved through the Veil of Death. Draco was just glad that he had accepted Heir Potter's apology the day before, having a positive relationship with the 'hero of the light', and Harry probably had no idea about that either. What the hell was that fool Dumbledore doing? But the relationship, properly handled, could make sure that any mud that hit Lucius wouldn't hurt the family as a whole.
Sitting up, he pulled the writing table from under the bed and started putting his thoughts in order, making sure he said precisely what he wanted to say and nothing more. Using the family codes, the letter would appear completely innocuous if the owl were intercepted, but his mother would easily read the actually letter. Even then, he was careful what he wrote; there would be time to speak openly when he and his mother were behind the family wards.
Mother,
While I am unhappy with Father being arrested, and his likely sentence, this could be presented in a way to keep you and I, and more important, the Malfoy name, clean of Lucius' crimes. I've heard your comments about the obscene marriage contract you were forced into, and how it limited your actions, which would be enough to protect you if the Aurors questioned you. And, I received a letter from Heir Potter Saturday evening, apologizing for inadvertently giving offense on the Hogwarts Express before the start of Hogwarts. He actually had a reasonable explanation for his ignorance of our customs, since he was raised by, to use his expression, 'the worst sort of muggles you could imagine' and didn't know he was a wizard until his eleventh Birthday, when Hagrid delivered his Hogwarts letter.
His guardian, who would have been expected to teach him, was stuck illegally in Azkaban until earlier this summer. But now that Lord Black is free, Heir Potter should start receiving the teaching I received from the beginning.
I've already offered to teach him what I can of Traditionalist Customs, including information about the Sacred Twenty-Eight and the Potter Family's position. To aid in this, would you have Diccy, or one of the other elves, gather up duplicate copies of the books you used to teach me, and have them delivered to me?
Assuming that Lucius' trial results are what we expect, I recommend we move the family away from the Darker Traditionalist Bloc and closer to Neutral. A shift to the Light would not be believable, and those Darker families are almost without exception going to lose a great deal of their influence, not to mention their Paterfamilias, after the sentences are handed down.
While you are aware, even though I acted like Lucius, to my detriment at times, that I do not believe as he believes, or he claims to believe. There is one subject that he and I agree on, an individual I believe we have heard him referred to as 'The muggle-loving old fool!' With Lucius out of influence, and our public movement away from the 'Dark', I believe that a certain tool of yours would be interested in some interesting information, regarding the Heir Potter, Lord Black situation, don't you agree?
I will end this letter now, and will provide any more information that I learn.
Signing and sealing the letter, he was curious what his Mother's reaction would be when she received it? It was well known, between the two of them and Aunt Andromeda, that both of them privately despised Lucius and would, privately, raise a glass to him receiving the Dementor's Kiss or being sent through the Veil. They would display the proper face to the world, but there is no need between the two of them to pretend any affection for the man.
HRTB & HRTB & HRTB
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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Empty Classroom
Monday, December 27th, 1993
Early Afternoon
Harry had to admit, shopping was nowhere near as painful with Susan as following Petunia Dursley around. Of course, if Petunia flirted with him as much as Susan did, he would have been calling for someone to create 'brain bleach'! That would be a memory he would pay to get rid of.
During the visit to Brummel's, Susan found a couple of blouses that interested her, so while Harry was getting measured and fitted with the suit and robes for the Ministry Ball, she stepped into a changing room. Harry didn't know how she timed things so perfectly. Still, as he was taking his new suit and robes to try them on, Susan stepped out of the room she was using, and, giggling at his dumbstruck expression, as he realized that his girlfriend had an amazing figure!
Hearing a sound behind him, Harry shook his head with a jerk and was about to apologize when he saw the smirk on Susan's face. She moved closer. "I'm glad you like them, Harry, but looking is all you'll be doing for a few more dates. I'll let you know when I'm ready for you to touch them, okay?"
There was no way he was going to argue about that, and gave her a nod. Susan moved closer and kissed him on the cheek, but her eyes promised a lot more when the time came.
Their new clothes were delivered to their dorms, and the two of them stopped to get lunch before heading back to the carriages to the school. During the ride, Susan took his hand and said, "Just to make sure, you haven't been taught to dance, have you?"
The look on his face must have been enough, and Susan said, "That's okay, I have a solution. There's a room not far from the Sett that has a perfect floor for dancing, and a couple of phonographs charmed to work at Hogwarts so we can practice, sound good?"
"Sounds Brilliant!"
That was how the two of them spent the afternoon, and either Susan was a brilliant teacher, or he was just a quick study, because Harry was soon dancing like a finalist on 'Come Dancing' and having a great time! Happily, Susan was enjoying herself just as much, especially since they were dancing in their stocking feet to avoid crushed toes. By the time their stomachs started demanding to be fed, Susan had taught him five of the most popular dances at formal affairs and a little bit of the expected etiquette.
When they reached the Great Hall, Harry and Susan sat at the Gryffindor table, as usual, and neither of them noticed that Dumbledore was watching the entire group, and he wasn't smiling.
Finishing their Dinner, Harry said, "I'm going to have 'the conversion' with Hermione and the Weasleys, and I'm sure that Hannah is practically bouncing in her seat waiting to question you, and if she has to wait much longer, she might explode!"
Susan looked across the room and smiled. Hannah was literally bouncing in her seat, and Susan said, "Well, let's give her something to really be curious about."
Before Harry could react, Susan had turned toward him on the bench and started snogging him! This time, Harry started kissing back until they were interrupted by McGonagall's amplified voice. Whatever it was she started to say was interrupted by the laughter, cheers, and whistles from three of the four tables. Slytherin was silent, although he did happen to catch Draco's eye, and the blonde winked at him!
Reluctantly, Harry pulled back and saw that Hannah's jaw had hit the table, and the other 'Puffs were just as shocked. Standing, he helped Susan to her feet and guided her to the Hufflepuff Table, before turning back and, standing behind the twins, he said, so Ron, Ginny, and Hermione could hear him, "I need to talk to the Weasley's and Hermione for a few minutes if you can wait to go to the Library, or out to the Pitch?"
They looked surprised at the serious tone, but all of them nodded, and Hermione told Luna that she would meet her in the Library as soon as she could. Luna just nodded, a wisp of a smile crossing her face.
Harry deliberately did not look at the staff table, but he could feel Dumbledore's eyes on the back of his head, and Harry knew that if he looked at the old man, he would see a disappointed expression on his face. Not that Harry particularly cared if the Headmaster was unhappy, after reading the books and thinking about the last couple of years. A bit of unhappiness was just the beginning of what Harry was hoping to cause Dumbledore.
HRTB & HRTB & HRTB
#
Empty Classroom
Monday, December 27th, 1993
After Dinner
When Hermione and the others were seated at, or on, the desks, Harry looked at each of them and said, "This is going to upset the Weasleys the most, but I'm sure Hermione will have her own reasons to be unhappy. To start things off, I discovered just Saturday afternoon, that the major reason Draco has been a prat to us, trying to get us in trouble, is because I refused to shake his hand when we were on the Hogwarts Express, and, muggle raised, and basically treated like a mushroom, I had no idea what a faux pas I was committing."
Fred and George turned to look at Ron incredulously, "You were sitting there, and didn't tell him? What were you thinking? That's one of the things that Dad made sure we knew, even if we don't always follow the old ways."
Ron just looked embarrassed, but for a change, it wasn't followed by his temper flaring. "I just didn't think about it, and Malfoy started by insulting the family, so I was getting angry, and the last thing on my mind was not insulting the blonde arse!"
Harry put his hand up to stop the twins from continuing to berate their younger brother. "What's done is done, and can't be changed. But I wrote Draco an apology letter, in the hopes of being, at worst, neutral to each other and our friends. Draco approached me when Susan and I were heading to Breakfast yesterday. The short of it is, Draco and I are calling a halt to the constant hostility, and he will sit on Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson, and I said I would talk to you about cutting back on singling Slytherin out for your pranks. Draco has also offered to teach me about the Potters and their role in our society.
"And, Hermione, I know that you think all the answers to life, the universe, and everything can be found in a book, but not all books are easy to find. I know that you don't intend to offend people, but you can't just assume that if something is different from the way it's done in Crawley, that it's wrong. If you are willing to try at least to listen before speaking, you will probably find people are more willing to listen to what you have to say."
Harry braced himself, expecting his best friend to go into a lecture about why his wrong, but Hermione actually surprised him, saying, "You're a couple of days too late with the advice, Harry, but thanks anyway. Luna has been teaching me a lot of things about the magical world, and I've been listening. Although if you would assure Draco that I'm willing to listen, would he be willing to include me in the lessons?"
With a smile, he said, "I'll ask him, and see if he would ask Pansy as well, because there are differences in the magic of Wizards and Witches, and Pansy would be a good source for information Draco doesn't know. But that's all I have for tonight. Is there anything you want to bring up while we are here?"
Other than Fred and George trying to take the mickey out of him for Susan kissing him, the others had nothing to bring up. He was glad that they all seemed to take it well, but he could only hope it would last.
He was the last person to leave the room, and he hadn't checked for paintings or sculptures, so he missed the portrait of a wizard from several hundred years ago, who had been watching and listening since Harry led the others into the room.
HRTB & HRTB & HRTB
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Headmaster's Office
Monday, December 27th, 1993
Later that Evening
It had taken nearly an hour to clear his office of Minerva and Pomona, who were arguing, quite loudly, about what, if any, punishment Harry and Miss Bones would receive for, in Minerva's words, 'that disgusting display during Dinner,' and Pomona was pleased, seeing inter-house relations improving and wanting to give both Harry and Miss Bones points.
Albus managed to maintain his genial grandfather persona when he really just wanted to banish the two harpies from his office so he could think! Eventually, the argument slowed, and both witches looked at him for a decision, and he said,
"Since the Term hadn't actually started, the two students didn't violate any rules. Nobody had thought to create a rule covering this situation. Both of you can speak quietly and privately with both students, letting them know that if it happens again, he wouldn't be lenient."
Pomona and Minerva stood, and Albus said, "Minerva, please stay for a moment, I have something else I need to discuss with you."
Once Professor Sprout had left, Albus gestured his deputy to her seat. "I'm curious. Young Harry has changed a great deal in just a few days, and I'm concerned about what may have caused it. Do you have any idea what prompted the change?"
Minerva sat up straight in the chair and fixed him with a steely glare, "Yes, I know why he has changed, discovering that he has a family member that his parents approved of, and would provide him a home during the holidays, meaning that he would never have to see those disgusting creatures you left him with, ever again was enough to trigger the changes. Were you aware that those decrepit rags Potter wears are the only clothing he owns, because those creatures would destroy anything decent that he owns? He was heard to say, since he wouldn't have to see the Dursleys again, there was no reason not to have clothes that fit."
Albus grimaced. Harry would not be willing to return to his family now that he had other choices, but he still needed the protection the wards provided. Just because Tom's marked followers were arrested doesn't mean that someone who wasn't marked could attempt to end the young man's life.
He didn't mean to seem distracted, but Minerva's voice, sounding even firmer than before, added "And I can tell you are already planning to disregard the boy's wishes, but I'm putting you on notice, that if you even try, not only will Sirius, Lord Black fight you, so will Amelia Bones, and Pomona and myself, and I'm certain Filius would be happy to join us, especially the way that Mister Potter and Miss Granger have befriended Miss Lovegood. I'm expecting to see an improvement in her classwork and essays when the term begins."
Dumbledore sat silently. There were good reasons why he was convinced Harry needed to be under the protection of the wards. No one but him knew that Harry was carrying a piece of Tom's soul in his scar and needed to be kept safe until it was time to send the boy out to die. It was a sad thing, but it was for the good of the many.
"One other thing," she said, and Albus was really getting tired of her voice, "The new term starts sooner than you realize, and we are going to need a Potions Professor, and also a Head of Slytherin. Even if, by some stroke of luck, Severus escapes Azkaban without having his soul sucked out, just the accusations and whatever comes out at his trial will prevent him from taking any position here in the Castle. If he's so important to you, set him up with an apothecary in Hogsmeade with an attached flat, so you can go visit in the evenings."
The Headmaster sat quietly for a long moment. "I'll consider your thoughts, Minerva, but I have more confidence in Severus than you do, so I'm going to wait until the trials are complete to make a decision. Now, if you will excuse me, it's been a very long day, and the next several days are likely to be just as exhausting, so I will retire for the evening."
Taking the hint, Minerva left, but Albus stayed at his desk, questions that he couldn't answer pounding at him. He was extremely worried about the conversation with the Weasleys and Miss Granger; the approach to the Malfoy scion was out of character, to put it mildly. The Slytherin had been groomed from the beginning to serve as a foil for Harry and his friends, and without Severus, Albus had no way of finding out what prompted young Draco to accept the olive branch.
This relationship with Miss Bones was also worrying. Unfortunately, he had absolutely zero influence on Amelia Bones, and, especially with the arrests of so many members of the Wizengamot, her position was stronger than his at the moment. And, no matter how confident he seemed, he knew there were many crimes in Severus' past that, while not bad enough to earn the severest punishment, would prevent him from returning to Hogwarts.
Still thinking, Albus went to his rooms, but even Fawkes' song wasn't enough to soothe him enough to sleep.
HRTB & HRTB & HRTB
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Ministry of Magic
Department, Magical Law Enforcement
Tuesday, December 28th, 1993
11:00 AM
Amelia looked across the conference table at Alastor Moody, Auror Trainee Nymphadora Tonks, and Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour, and nodded at Alastor.
"Okay, Master Auror Moody, you're the lead investigator for this. What have you got so far?"
"To put it simply, we've got a can of worms that I'm not sure should be opened in public. From what Bartemius Senior wrote, he had switched his dying wife for his son at Azkaban, and kept Barty Junior under the Imperious since that time. The old man blamed his son for his wife's illness and death, because the trial broke her health, and she refused treatment from the Healers. It was apparently her idea to make the switch, and Barty couldn't refuse her.
"He knew that his son would be discovered when he was arrested, so he left the office before he could be taken, and, after killing the family elf, slaughtered his son. The boy had dozens of wounds from the cutting curse, 75 in all, and none of them was enough to kill him. He died from blood loss, and from the evidence, the kid died in agony. Once the boy was dead, Bartemius wrote another letter explaining what he had done in helping his son escape. That's when he came back to the Ministry and took the long drop; he was dead by the time Shacklebolt and Proudfoot broke through the locked door."
Amelia shook her head sadly, "Okay, so we know the who, the how, and most of the why, but why do you think this should be kept sealed?"
Moody shook his head, "Not all of it, but the Azkaban part, we don't want to give anybody ideas, do we? The fact that Black was an Animagus and that helped avoid the worst of the Dementors is enough of a headache, and how many people are able to manage the transformation? Nowhere near as many who can use Polyjuice, and, if they can't brew it, it's not a restricted potion, so anybody from Cornelius Fudge all the way to Dung Fletcher can buy it, no questions asked."
Amelia nodded thoughtfully before turning to the Head Auror, "Rufus, any comment?"
The man answered immediately, "No, other than I agree with Alastor, and we should add checks for Polyjuice and the Animagus ability for all staff and prisoners at Azkaban. One escape we can smooth over if it comes out, by showing we've made changes to prevent it happening again, but more than once, and we'd all be out on our arses."
"Something all of us would prefer to avoid," Amelia said dryly, before looking at the third person in the room. "Trainee Tonks, do you have anything to add?"
Surprised to be the focus of the Director's attention, Tonks said, "Other than the fact that Barty Senior must have hated his son, the way he was killed. I'm wondering if anybody discovered Junior and was forced to forget by Senior? It doesn't make sense that, in all the years since he helped Barty to escape, nobody stopped by his house when they weren't expected, does it?"
Nymphadora relaxed at Moody's approving smile and Scrimgeour's nod, but what gave her a warm fuzzy feeling was when the Director looked at her and said, "Good theory on a motive for the method of death, but I think you're correct. We need to know if anyone else has been obliviated and what they may have seen."
With that, the meeting broke up, with the Director tasking the head auror with putting together an investigation to find anyone who may have seen something and been made to forget about it.
When the conference room was cleared, Amelia went back to her office and removed her Pensieve and the memories from Harry. She had an appointment with Lucius Malfoy that she was looking forward to a great deal! She doubted Lucius would enjoy it quite so much, but that was his problem.
HRTB & HRTB & HRTB
#
Ministry of Magic
Wizengamot Chamber
Courtroom Ten
Wednesday, December 29th, 1993
Late Afternoon
The Courtroom was quiet, the last of the Death Eaters had been given to the Dementors, and the fines assessed against their vaults. The few family members that were in attendance sat stoically while the sentence was pronounced, but that was only a small portion of the families who had a family member on trial. Amelia had used Pettigrew's memories and the defendant's own Veritiserum testimony to convict them. Several of them seemed to want to fight the charges, but when they looked at Lucius Malfoy, who they seemed to expect would lead them, the fight drained out of them, so broken did Malfoy look.
When Amelia brought the former head of the Malfoy family to the Interview Room, he was his usual arrogant self. His arrogance ended when she showed him Harry's memory of the interrupted casting of the Killing Curse and explained to the man exactly what that diary was, courtesy of the Unspeakables, who had examined the memories of the incident.
When the trials commenced, the defendants were called in alphabetical order and read the charges against them. All of them, some more confident than others, claimed they were not guilty until they reached Lucius Malfoy, who quietly pled guilty to all the charges. The rest all continued with their not guilty pleas, except for Severus Snape, who, surprising to many, had not participated in the vast majority of the Death Eaters' crimes, being valued for his potion skills rather than his ability with his wand. The former Potions Professor was guilty of several minor charges, and Snape didn't dispute them, earning a much lighter sentence than he could have expected.
When the trials finished, Severus Snape was sentenced to work in the potions laboratory at Saint Mungo's for the next 6 years, returning to a Ministry Holding Cell when not working. He was given incentives, that if he developed new spells that were useful to treating and or curing patients, time would be removed from his sentence. The disease specifically mentioned was Lycanthropy, and Snape actually looked eager to start working immediately.
Albus was in the Chamber, but had to recuse himself from taking the Chief Warlock seat because it was his testimony that cleared Snape after the fall of Voldemort. He was visibly relieved at the sentence Snape was given, making Amelia curious just what sort of connection there was between the two men. Not that she really cared all that much, but it was an interesting area for speculation.
Amelia did take a moment to have a word with the Headmaster, being well aware of his usual games, that if he made any attempt to stop Harry or Susan attending the Ministry Ball, or, since she had arranged to get Sirius' approval, Harry would be staying overnight at the Ossuary, and returning to Hogwarts by the midday meal.
She reminded Dumbledore that, no matter what position he may have claimed in the past, Sirius Black was now the young man's physical and magical guardian, and Albus was his school Headmaster, nothing more. She finished by warning him that, if he tried to overstep his bounds, Black already has his solicitors preparing a lawsuit charging Dumbledore with multiple incidents where he either assumed powers he wasn't entitled to, or, if he held the powers legitimately, where he failed to perform the duties, specifically ensuring that Heir Potter was educated about his family and place in society, and how to interact with other wizards and wizards.
After waving away the old man's bluster, Amelia got his acknowledgment that he understood what she told him and would follow the instructions. He appeared shocked when she said, "Oh, and in case you forget, I've had this entire conversation transcribed onto an evidence kit, so we don't have to worry about you getting forgetful at your advanced age."
With that, she turned her back and gave the order to bring Dolores Umbridge in. The hateful woman was charged with multiple instances of taking bribes, as well as numerous other offenses, so she wasn't looking at getting her first kiss from a Dementor, unfortunately.
She would end up in Azkaban for at least 10 years, if not longer; her own words guaranteed that, and Amelia would ensure that her vaults were fined the amount of the bribes she had taken, along with the punitive fines. The woman was going to be beggared if she survived her time in prison. Amelia knew she was being vindictive, but the woman had spent the last several years throwing her weight around, interfering in official Auror investigations, and pushing through cuts in the Auror Department budget, as well as other needed funds. It was almost amusing to see how many people came forward once Umbridge was arrested, volunteering to testify against her, especially when Amelia told the toad-woman exactly how many witnesses were eager to pound another nail in her coffin!
She had hoped to see Narcissa Malfoy, but she had diplomatically remained at the family home in Wiltshire. Amelia was slightly disappointed because she wanted to discover her feelings about the move to end the hostility with Harry Potter on the part of Draco. She had to read Susan's letter three times to make sure she was reading it correctly, because if it lasted, it could signal a seismic change in the political landscape. That partnership would bear watching as they got older, between the two of them; if they announced the alliance, it would have families from all across the spectrum flocking to them, and they could control the entire Wizengamot.
Well, that was something to watch for in the future. Right now, Amelia wanted to wrap up the last of her paperwork and head for home. Smidgen would have the meal cooking, and Amelia was looking forward to a real meal, not a sandwich and a cuppa grabbed at the Ministry canteen.
HRTB & HRTB & HRTB
<<<<>>>>
Comments
Alun Lewis
Lots of changes in play and on the horizon...and "good" ol' Dumbledore is fighting his scrawny arse off to stop them because they upset his apple cart. Same shite, different day...or AU, in this case...but an actual better world is edging into sight.
