Fudge called his first witness, a nurse, who described the injuries that the Aurors had received.

As she finished, Harry turned, and shot an awed glance at his bodyguards, who puffed up in pride.

The second was an Auror who testified about the battle itself. Fudge didn’t call any of the people from Harry’s group to the stand.

Melissa didn’t bother to ask any questions, unless she caught a flat out lie.

Finally, it was the defence’s turn.

“I call Ludo Bagman to the stand,” Melissa said. The courtroom looked surprised, as the Director of the Tri-Wizard Tournament was called.

“Mr Bagman,” Melissa started. “You do know that you are under oath, and that I have signed statements from over a thousand people testifying as to what happened?”

“What is your point?” Fudge demanded.

“Simply that Mr Bagman has been economical with the truth in the past, and is rumoured to have problems with the goblins. I was just reminding him that if he is caught in a lie, Veritaserum can be administered.”

Luda paled, before he squared his shoulders.

“Mr Bagman,” Melissa continued. “You were at the event in question?”

“I was.”

“In your own words, would you please describe what happened?”

Ludo sighed. “As part of the second task, the loved ones of the Champions were to be placed with the Merpeople. We approached the chosen people, and requested that they accompany us. They refused.

“I then called the Aurors over, to try and get the chosen people into position. Again, they refused, and one of the Aurors suddenly threw a curse at the group. One of the brutes protecting them blocked it, and returned with a curse of his own, from there, it descended into a pitched battle.”

“So an Auror threw the first curse, at a bunch of students protecting others from an attempted kidnapping?” Melisa asked to clarify.

“Yes, the Auror threw the first curse, but it was not a kidnapping.”

“What would you call forcing students to be placed in danger at wand point?”

“Necessity,” Bagman snapped.

“As one of your so called chosen people, I was not a willing participant. I was not consulted, not was my consent given. I also note that the consent of the guardian was not sought either. Your necessity was kidnapping, plain and simple. Where were the Hogwarts Professors during this?”

“They were in the stands, as soon as the fighting started, I ordered the other Aurors to ensure that they didn’t interfere.”

“What gave you the right to attempt a public kidnapping?”

“The Tri-Wizard Tournament gave us the right,” Ludo announced, “to use any student.”

“No,” Melissa replied, “it didn’t. Ministry laws enacted in 1402 guarantee the right of any member of the public not directly entered into a competition to decline to participate. Unfortunately, that law did not extend to participants directly entered against their wishes.”

“Scribe?” Amelia asked.

Percy quickly opened the huge book again.

“Page one thousand and four, paragraph eight,” Hermione called down from the gallery, to the amused laughter of the people around her.

“Well, Scribe?” Amelia asked.

“She is correct,” Percy muttered.

“You will speak up,” Amelia roared.

“The counsel is correct,” he said.

“I’ve had enough of this,” Amelia said. “I hereby order the Wizengamot to return a verdict of Not Guilty. Mr Potter, I apologise for you incarceration over the past week. I assure you that the Ministry will launch a full and independent public inquiry into the Tri-Wizard tournament, and the action of the organisers.”

“Could you please investigate just how I was entered into this stupid tournament?” Harry asked. “And find out which of your cowards attacked an eight year old girl, as I will be challenging him to a duel!”

“We will,” Amelia agreed darkly.

“I’m free to go?”

“You certainly are. Scribe, return Mr Potter’s wand to him.”

Percy didn’t meet Harry’s eyes as he handed his wand to him. Harry smiled, and released his magic again, letting it react with his wand.

Fudge edged away, as Amelia paled slightly. Even Dumbledore, up in the stands, looked shocked at the power levels in the room.

Harry dropped his magic and grabbed Melissa, hugging her tightly. “You were amazing.”

She hugged him back. “That was the most fun I’ve ever had,” she whispered. “And my career is now set. Come on, you can meet my dad, and we’ll escape from this crowd.”

“Harry!” Gabrielle yelled over the noise of the crowd. Crusher and Smasher lowered her down from the dais, and she sprinted toward him.

He smiled and went down on his knees, holding out his arms. Gabrielle smacked into his chest, burying her face into his neck, as she hugged him with a quiet desperation.

“I’m fine,” he whispered. “Honest.”

She looked at him, her eyes glowing, as she searched his soul. She smiled brightly and rested her head on his shoulder.

He stood, lifting her easily. “Shall we?”

Melissa nodded, and they exited the court. Outside, there was a scrum of reporters, all shouting questions at him.

Harry ignored them, as he followed Melissa through a door. They walked down the corridor and into a lift, taking it to the fourth floor.

Melissa knocked on a door that opened immediately. An older man was smiling at them. He had the same blonde hair as Melissa, only cut short. His eyes were the same colour as well.

“Melissa,” He called, “I’m so proud of you. I listened to it all on the Wireless. You made Fudge look like a complete idiot!”

“Thanks, dad,” she said. “Dad, this is Harry Potter, and the imp in his arms is Gabrielle Delacour. Harry, this is Cuthbert Mockridge, my father.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“As it is you,” Cuthbert agreed. He reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of wine and three glasses. “A toast,” he suggested. “To my daughter, for taking on Fudge and Dumbledore, and winning.”

“To Melissa,” Harry agreed warmly. They chatted for a few more minutes, before Melissa looked at her watch. “We have to get going, dad, we need to get back to Hogwarts.”

“Of course,” Cuthbert said as he hugged his daughter. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Love you,” Melissa mumbled.

“I love you, too, dear,” Cuthbert said. “Use my Floo; it’s on the restricted list, so you can get to Dumbledore’s office.”

Melissa threw the powder in, and called the name as they stepped in. Harry kept a tight hold of Gabrielle as they tumbled through the network. They appeared in Dumbledore’s empty office.

“Well, boy?” one of the portraits called.

“Total acquittal,” Melissa said, “close to two hundred thousand galleons profit, and a full public inquiry.”

The portrait looked stunned.

The Sorting Hat laughed, “told you you’d do better in Slytherin,” he chortled.

Melissa smirked, “You say that is if I should be surprised. I think most of know that Harry personifies features of all the houses, and frankly no longer cares for the house system.”

“I wish others would follow him,” the Hat muttered. “Stupid archaic system. Just because it’s tradition, doesn’t make it a good thing.”

Harry laughed, as he followed Melissa. Instead of heading for the Great Hall, she headed outside, to a large area by the Carriages. “We’ve got permission to hold a party,” she said cheerfully. “So we’ve put up weather wards, and Christophe has arranged the wine.”

All his friends were waiting, and as he approached, they cheered so loudly that the windows on the carriage shook.

Gabrielle smiled and reached across, to Melissa. Harry let her go, and a second later, he had Hermione hugging him tightly.

“That was amazing,” she squealed happily. “You and Melissa destroyed them, and no one’s going to dare come after you again, your power was showing just how annoyed you were.”

Harry hugged her tightly. “Hermione,” he said softly. She looked up. “Thank you,” he said. “I knew I could count on you to save me.”

She hugged him again, then let him go, pushing him onward. He was grabbed by Nasher, who spun him around and gave him a bone crushing hug. “Thanks, boss,” he said fervently. “You really came through for me.”

“Anytime,” Harry said, “but no more bug eating.”

Nasher nodded hard, and stepped to one side, so he could be hugged by Thrasher. Crusher and Smasher both gave him bone crushing hugs, before Lisa gave him a much more enjoyable hug. “Nice one, boss,” she whispered, before releasing him. Viktor lifted him off his feet, before passing him to Cedric. “Dad wants to meet you,” he said.

“Mine too,” Cho added, as she hugged him. “That was brilliant.”

Fred and George were next, and they threw him to the ground and pounced on him. The hugs continued, and he even got a quick hug from Fleur.

“Speech,” Christophe yelled. “Speech!”

Harry climbed up on table, a glass in his hand, and looked out at everyone.

“Thank you,” he said. “A week ago, I made the decision to go to jail. I knew it would be bad, but I knew that we would get far more out of it. I made this decision not based on my abilities, but on yours.

“I knew that Hermione would be in the Library before anyone could blink. I knew that Melissa would fight tooth and nail to represent me, and I knew that every single one of you would do everything you could for me.” There was a roar of agreement. “And when I was in jail, it was that thought that kept me going. I knew that you were actually having it worse than me.

“I was sitting there, bored, with plenty of time to catch up on my sleep, while you were all out here, working, getting frustrated, missing sleep.” There was some laughter and teasing jeers from the crowd.

“You are my friends, and my friends are everything to me. I will never forget this, I will never forget the effort you have put in for me, and I promise that if you ever need anything, I will be there for you.”

There was another loud cheer.

Harry smiled. “Now, despite everything that happened, we completed the Second Task, so let’s party!”

“Wait,” Gabrielle shouted. “Don’t you want to know what your score was?”

“Not really,” Harry replied cheerfully.

Fleur sniggered. “We all got forty five points. You got a perfect score.”

Harry blinked. “Despite punching out Bagman?”

“That wasn’t part of the competition,” Cedric explained. “What you did do was be the focus of the quickest rescue imaginable. No one else has a clue how you did it.” He paused, “actually, we have one question. How did you walk on water?”

Harry smiled. “It was a simple water repellent charm. I had to practise in the bathtub for ages to get used to it.”

Cedric sniggered.

“Do we know what the last task is?”

“A giant maze,” Fleur said. “We go in order of how many points scored, and whoever gets the trophy first, wins.”

Harry sighed. “So, how about we go through together, and then take the trophy together?”

“Yeah,” Cedric said. “That’s the best way, as we can’t pull out of this stupid competition.”

“I’m in,” Viktor said agreeably.

“I will join in,” Fleur said.

Harry dropped down so he was no longer on the table, and sat on the edge. Gabrielle scampered over and sat next to him.

“Has anything happened with Snape?”

“Yeah, he’s back,” Nasher said, “and he really hates Squisher now.”

“I got him in the groin with my knife,” Lisa said proudly. “But he does blame you for what happened.”

“Good,” Harry said cheerfully. “He’s going to be investigated, and I think we’ll make sure they know all sorts of things about him.”

There was a pop, and Dobby appeared, he latched on to Harry and hugged him tightly. “Harry Potter sir did it,” Dobby cried. “I was knowing you coulds be doing it.”

Harry smiled at him.

Dobby straightened up. “Dinner is being served,” he said. “Elves are cooking feast just for yous. After Christmas, when Harry Potter brought back the present giving days, all elves are now agreeing with Dobby, and were wantings to help.”

“Please say thank you on my behalf.”

Dobby glowed in pleasure, and a series of circular tables appeared. Harry moved to one, and Gabrielle stole the seat next to him. Melissa and Christophe, Viktor and Hermione, Cedric and Cho, Fred and George, quickly joined them. The remaining two seats were taken by Fleur and Adrienne – who gave her boyfriend an apologetic look.

The meal that followed was one that every person there would remember for the rest of their lives. The elves outdid themselves, and everyone was seduced into over eating by the tastes. It was the best meal he’d ever had in the Wizarding World, he just kept to himself that he’d had several better meals in the restaurant.

“Tilly,” Harry called, as the final plates were removed.

The female house-elf appeared with a pop, looking nervous.

“I just want to say that this is the single greatest meal I have ever eaten in the Wizarding World,” he said. “And if you ever get bored of working for Hogwarts, I would love to have you work for me.”

Tilly’s eyes went impossibly wide. “Harry Potter would hire Tilly, like Dobby?” she asked, “even though Tilly is castle elf, and not human elf?”

“The boss doesn’t care about what people are,” Smasher called from the next table, “just what they can do. And this was amazing grub.”

Tilly bounced excitedly. “Tilly would love to being sir’s elf,” she said. “Tilly is only loosely bound to castle, new bound will be better, make Tilly stronger.”

“Harry,” Hermione said. “Is Dobby working for you, or bound to you?”

“Working,” Fred said.

“Dobby,” Harry called.

The elf appeared instantly. “Dobby, do you want to be bound to me, or to continue to work for me?”

Dobby looked thoughtful. “Dobby is free elf,” he said. “Dobby is happy.”

“Okay,” Harry said, “I just wanted to give you the choice, before I bind Tilly.”

“Dobby is being grateful,” he said, “but Dobby doesn’t need it. Dobby is Harry Potter’s employee, just like Crushing and Smashing.”

“Pull out your magic, Harry,” Hermione said, “and say, I Harry Potter, bind Tilly to my House.”

Harry did as he was told, and Tilly started to glow, before Harry felt a connection to him. “Tilly is human elf,” she said proudly. “Tilly will get back to kitchen, make sure boss and friends get all great food.” The ecstatic elf popped away with Dobby.

“Thanks,” Harry said to Hermione.

She smiled back at him. “And don’t mention the acronym-that-must-not-be-named,” she added. “I was beaten over the head with logic by some of our friends, and have changed my view somewhat.”

He grinned at her.

“Right,” Gabrielle said, “we’ve eaten, now it’s time to dance and have fun!”

“As you command,” Harry grinned at her. “Fred, George, some music?”

The celebration lasted well into the night, and into the next morning. While Gabrielle had fallen asleep around midnight, the rest of them had just kept going. It was a bedraggled, inebriated and tired lot of students that stumbled into the Great Hall the next morning.

Fortunately, as it was a Sunday, they were all planning on having breakfast, then collapsing, and sleeping off their hangover.

“Potter!” Snape hissed, as they entered. He stood between them and their table.

“It’s Snape,” Harry said delightedly. “How’s your office? Did you get caught in the water, I was hoping it would conf..canf… make you get clean,” he finished brightly.

“You’re drunk,” Snape sneered.

“Undoubtedly, and you're ugly,” Harry replied. “And I shall be sober in the morning. But let’s not get personal, eh Snivellus?”

“What did you call me?” Snape yelled.

“A yeasty, hedge-born, foot-licker?” George asked.

“A festering boil on a rancid buttock?” Fred tried.

“An immoral sadist who gets sexual satisfaction out of degrading children,” Hermione suggested, as she leant against Viktor for support.

“No,” Harry said, “I think it was Snivellus. But don’t mind him; he’s just a greasy Death Eater with bad personal hygiene who had an unhealthy thing for my mum. Disturbing, that is.”

Snape went white, then red, then white. “You arrogant…”

Whatever else Snape was going to say was irrelevant, as Harry, slightly unsteadily, kicked him in the stomach. The follow up was grabbing Snape’s head and guiding it to his knee, as his reflexes kicked in.

He felt Snape’s nose break, and dropped him to the floor. “Ewwww,” he said, waving his hands wildly in the air. “I touched Snape’s hair! Yeuch!”

“Mr Potter,” Dumbledore called.

“Hey, it’s the Headmaster,” Harry said. “Wave to him.”

As requested, everyone waved at the Headmaster, who looked disappointed.

“My office, I think.”

“You think about your office,” Harry agreed. “I’m gonna think about breakfast then sleep.”

“That was an order.”

“What was?”

“My office.”

“What about it?”

“You are to go to it.”

“I am?” he asked. “Fred, did I have an appointment booked for this morning?”

Fred pulled out a piece of parchment. “No,” he said, “This morning is sleeping, followed by quiet hangover time.”

Harry turned and smiled brightly at the headmaster. “You must be mistaken; I’ve not got an order with you this morning.”

“Mr Potter,” McGonagall said.

“Hi cat-lady,” Harry called back.

McGonagall blinked at him.

“I always wanted a cat growing up, they’re cool,” Harry said to George.

“We had a puppy once, we loved it.”

“What happened?”

Fred looked down, “It’s a pain that never ends,” he said. “We’ll tell you later.”

“Poor Fred,” Harry said, giving him a big hug.

“Mr Potter!”

“Hey, it’s Dumbledore, let’s wave to him.”

“I think you did that already,” Hermione said.

“Really?”

She nodded.

“Wow, you really are smart,” he agreed. “Is it breakfast yet? I’m hungry.”

“Mr Potter,” Albus tried for the third time. “Will you please go to my office, so we can try and sober you up, and then discuss whether or not you’ll be expelled?”

“Expelled?” Harry gasped.

Dumbledore nodded.

“Hey, if I’m expelled, I won’t have to take part in this stupid tournament!”

“No fair,” Cedric called. He stumbled over to Snape and pulled out his wand. Whatever spell he slurred seemed to work by making Snape completely bald. “Me too.”

“That looks fun,” Fleur announced sleepily. “Here, take my sister,” she said, passing a still sleeping Gabrielle to Harry. She walked over to Snape, and kicked him as hard as she could in the balls.

“Stop,” Albus roared.

“Ouch,” Harry said. “Vik?”

“Ya,” Viktor agreed. “If that’s alright with Herminny?”

Hermione nodded. “You’ve got a career,” she agreed. “And enough money to keep me in books.”

Viktor smiled happily and cursed Snape as well. “That’s for trying to curse Hermioninny,” he muttered.

“Great,” Harry said. “Are we expelled now?”

Dumbledore growled.

“Yay,” Harry cheered. “George, what’s my biggest property where we can go celebrate getting out of this stupid contest?”

“Potter Castle,” George replied. “But you’ve got a smaller and nicer place in France.”

“France?” Harry asked. “All the cool people live there, and Germany, and they do wine!”

“They do,” Fred agreed. “We better get expelled as well.”

“YOU WILL STOP THIS NONSENSE IMMEDIATELY!”

Harry looked at the roaring Dumbledore. “He looks pissed off,” he said in a stage whisper.

“Yeah,” Cedric agreed.

“You think he’ll do a Snape?”

“What?” Cedric asked, “A hundred billion points from Gryffindor for breathing?” he sneered in an accurate impersonation of the unconscious professor.

Harry cheered. He looked around, did a full circle, and then spotted Dumbledore. The Professor was on his feet, glowing with magic, and a furious expression on his face.

“Hey,” he said, “it’s Dumbledore, let’s all wave to him.”

As a group, they all waved at Dumbledore.

Harry looked along the table. Madame Maxime was the only one not glaring at them; she looked like she was having trouble keeping her laughter in.

“Hey,” Harry said. “I’ve got a great idea; let’s connect the bounty on Snape’s arm! There’s this guy that pays lots of money for that, and we could buy more drink with the money!”

“Yeah,” Crusher cheered. He pulled out an axe from his pocket, and then stumbled as a spell from Dumbledore pushed him backward.

“Take cover,” Harry yelled, “we’re under attack!”

His friends followed him as they dived over tables, upending them for protection. He carefully placed Gabrielle on the floor. He grabbed his wand and threw up a ward without thinking about it.

He conjured the most deadly weapon he could think off, and threw it. He turned to watch, as the plate of strawberry ice cream sailed forward and landed on Dumbledore’s head.

“Yeah,” he cheered. “For the honour of us, fight them on benches, fight them on the tables, and never let them take our cranberries!”

Food started appearing all around them, and they all launched it toward the professors.

Fred and George worked together, Fred would throw a melon in the air, and George would smack it with his arm, like a Beaters bat, sending it flying.

Fleur had conjured a large pot, and was throwing bowlfuls out while screeching, “This is what bouillabaisse is supposed to taste like you heathens!”

Viktor and Hermione were throwing hot cross buns that exploded on contact. Melissa and Christophe were creating foaming cream that seemed alive.

Adrienne had a hose pipe full of vinegar that she was spraying over everyone.

“We surrender!”

Harry paused, holding a bag full of pig’s blood. He looked over the barrier, to find that the floor in front of it was a complete mess. Students and Professors were coated in various foodstuffs, and were half-laughing, half-glaring at them.

“You’re not very good shots,” he pointed out. “Hey, it’s Dumbledore, everyone wave at him!”

All his friends stood up and waved cheerily.

Dumbledore thumped his head against the table. “That was something to do with your shield,” he said.

“Hey, that’s a cool shield,” Harry said. “We gotta thank the guy that did that!”

“It’s time for breakfast,” Melissa announced.

“Yay,” Harry cheered. He took a seat and woke Gabrielle up.

“Why is the floor covered in food, and all those people?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said. “There was something about a war, but it’s not important, let’s eat, then we can get sober.”

Gabrielle looked at him. “Wow,” she said in awe, “you’re the most drunk I’ve ever seen!” She looked down the table. “You all are completely drunk!”

“It was the firewhiskey,” Fred said.

“And the scotch,” George added.

“Don’t forget the Vodka,” Viktor added.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “Hungry and sleepy.”

“One more question,” Gabrielle said. “Why is Snape on the floor?”

“Because he’s ugly,” Harry explained.

“Oh, okay.” Gabrielle snuggled into his side as their breakfast arrived. Tilly popped in and squealed. “Cleaning elves are going to be so happy,” she said. “Harry Potter is greatest!”

“Yay,” Harry cheered once more. He started to eat, and drunk what seemed an endless supply of orange juice. After he had finished, he lifted Gabrielle up, and carried her past the cheerful elves. His friends all went different ways to their beds, as Harry, with Fleur and surrounded by the bodyguards, took Gabrielle back to the carriage.

She was giving off an air of amusement, as Harry undid her robes. Gabrielle lifted her hair, and turned her back, so that he could clumsily undo her dress. He removed her socks and shoes, then put the t-shirt that Fleur handed him over her head. He tucked her in to the bed and kissed her head gently, not noticing that she was completely awake, sober, and well rested. He turned, and stumbled to his bed on the Durmstrang ship.

He didn’t remember much after that.

His first action when he woke up was to groan.

“Here,” a voice said.

He took what was offered, realised it was a cup, and downed it. “You’re a lifesaver,” he said.

For a second, it felt like every cell in his body caught fire, but it was gone before it could really hurt, and he felt fine. “Thanks, Gabrielle.”

She grinned at him. “Madame Maxime wants to talk to you before you go to Hogwarts.”

“Gabrielle,” Harry said slowly. “Why do I have a sense of unease?”

Gabrielle laughed. “We need to go to her now,” she said. Harry nodded.

He moved out of bed, looked down, inhaled, and then looked at Gabrielle. “Two minutes,” he said, “I stink.”

“It’s not that bad,” Gabrielle replied, but he was already in the bathroom. The quickest shower in the world later and a fresh set of robes, and he felt normal. Apart from the hole in his memory.

The carriage was pretty much full by the time Gabrielle had dragged him into it. There were a couple of seats next to Fleur.

As Madame Maxime wasn’t there yet, Harry decided he’d be the one to speak first. “Does anyone else have a feeling of dread about entering Hogwarts?”

Pretty much everyone nodded.

“What did we do last night?”

“Last night,” Madame Maxime said, “you got very drunk. In my estimation, not far from paralytically drunk.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed as memories started to flood back. “That was a good party.”

“I’m sure it was,” Olympe agreed. “This morning, however, between you, you broke Snape’s nose, removed his hair, rendered him sterile, and gave him the bubonic plague.”

“We did that?” Harry asked.

She nodded.

“Good work, people,” Harry praised.

Hermione sniggered. “Viktor gave him the plague,” she said proudly.

“You then,” Olympe continued, “treated one of the most powerful men in the world as a complete irrelevance, before instigating a food fight, where you were protected.” She paused, “and I thank you for not once aiming at me.”

Harry thought it wise not to mention that he’d done no such thing. He laughed. “So Dumbledore is annoyed with us?”

“Well, it all started when Snape stood in your way, and you all realised that if you were expelled, you wouldn’t have to participate in the tournament.”

“I think I remember that,” Fred said slowly. “That sounded like a good plan.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. “Especially if we could go to Beauxbatons early!”

“Sadly, I don’t think you’re going to be expelled,” Olympe said. “But as a lot of you are going to be our students next year.”

“What?” Cho asked.

“Oh,” Harry said, “It is not common knowledge, but Hermione and I are transferring.”

Gabrielle beamed and hugged him.

“We are, as well,” Fred and George said. “Others are thinking about it.”

“I’m moving to France,” Melissa added.

“Count me in,” Cedric said.

“Me to,” Cho agreed. “Where you go, we go.”

“Thanks,” Harry said, with a smile.

“Yes,” Olympe interrupted. “As I’m being invaded, I thought I’d get your promises while you are all sober. I’m not going to demand that you don’t throw parties after special occasions – as long as they are special occasions. What I will demand is that you arrange them with me first, and that you do them off school premises, and don’t come back to school until you are completely sober, understood?”

Harry looked at Olympe for a long moment. “I think,” he said softly, “that I am going to absolutely adore Beauxbatons. But having a headmaster who treats me like an adult is going to force me to try and act like one,” he said with a mock pout. “I swear that I will not break the rules you give me and that I will not abuse your trust.”

“Yeah,” the others agreed.

Olympe smiled. “Now, Harry and Hermione, I’m afraid that Albus does want a word or ten with you. Everyone else, well, you are going to be punished. My students can spend an evening with our Abraxans, removing their waste. Durmstrang, as Karkaroff is terrified of you, you can help. Hogwarts, well, your head of houses will be punishing you. Hermione, I think your parents are being called first, then the others’ later.”

Hermione sighed, before she slowly smiled. “Come on, Harry,” she said cheerfully.

Harry kissed Gabrielle on the head, and winked at her. “We’ll see you all for dinner,” he said. “Sober, this time.” He looked at the other Hogwarts students. “Wait for us here,” he said, “and let us talk to Dumbledore first, before you see your head of houses.”

Hermione dragged him out of the carriage and to the Headmaster’s office.

Sirius was there, with a couple of people he didn’t know. McGonagall and Dumbledore were the only professors there.

“Mum, Dad,” Hermione shouted, launching herself at them.

“Hermione,” the male said, hugging her tightly, before passing Hermione to the woman next to her.

“Harry,” Hermione said, “this is my dad, Simon, and this is my mother, Carol.”

“Nice to meet you,” Harry said.

“You too,” Carol replied. “Hermione’s letters have been full of you.”

“Not bad things, I hope,” Harry replied.

“Well, you did walk on water, right?” Simon asked.

Harry nodded.

“Then no, no bad things. So, what trouble have you gotten into that requires me to miss Manchester United versus Chelsea?” Carol asked.

“Mum,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

“It’s an important match,” Carol protested. “Well, what is it?”

In a low voice, Dumbledore recited what had happened that morning.

“So let me get this straight,” Simon said. “My underage daughter was allowed to get drunk at a sanctioned party to celebrate Harry being freed from an inhumane justice system, where she joined in the putting down of an arsehole of a teacher with no right to be within a hundred yards of children, and participated in a food fight, and won?”

“Well…” Dumbledore said.

In a dull voice, Carol said, “I’m disappointed in you, for that, your next month’s pocket money will be cut by half a percent. Don’t ever do it again, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”

“And you, Harry,” Sirius added, “when you come and stay with me this summer, you’ll spend fifteen minutes sat on the stairs thinking about what you did. And if you want to do this thinking out loud, where I can hear it, well, that will be even more of a punishment.”

Harry tried hard not to smirk.

“Really,” McGonagall said, “That is hardly suitable.”

“No,” Simon replied, “what is hardly suitable is this joke of a school you consider a decent education system. I’m horrified by the lack of basic subjects you teach, the sub-standard quality of some of the lessons, and the extortionate price you charge for it.

“Frankly, I find it disgusting that you allow students to get drunk, and then complain when they act it.”

“We didn’t authorise it,” McGonagall said.

“It was on your property, in front of the school, under bright lights?” Simon asked, as Dumbledore looked away.

Hermione and Harry nodded.

Simon snorted. “And as for your professor, I’ve seen transcripts from Hermione of his lessons, and they are an absolute joke. I have complained to the Board of Governors, and will be contacting the head of this investigation. How dare you endanger my child’s education?”

Dumbledore and McGonagall looked bewildered.

“Hermione,” Carol said, “were you safe?”

Hermione nodded. “It was great, Mum, the sort of party you described. We stopped dancing around one, and just sat around drinking and talking.”

“I’m so pleased you have real friends,” Carol said softly. “I told you it would happen.”

Hermione nodded.

“And you, young man, thank you for rescuing my daughter.”

“It was Viktor,” Harry said.

Carol and Simon both snorted.

“Anyway, I love Hermione, she’s my best friend, and she’s been there for my every time I’ve needed her. She lived in the library, reading the dullest books in existence to help free me. She’s amazing.”

“She is,” Simon agreed proudly.

“Are you planning another party?”

“After the final event,” Harry said, “unless we get expelled, in which case we’ll have one over the summer.”

“Dumbledore?” Carol demanded. “Are you going to expel them?”

“I’ve been contemplating it.”

“I’ve had enough,” Simon decided. “Hermione, I’m pulling you out of Hogwarts.”

“Harry, if you want to leave, you can,” Sirius said. He paused. “Oh, sign this.”

Harry glanced at it quickly, and then smirked. He pulled a feather from Dumbledore’s collection, and signed it with a flourish. “Thanks, guardian.”

“What?” Dumbledore gasped.

“I called in a favour with Amelia,” he said. “She fed me the old truth potion, I told the truth, and my trial is in a few weeks’ time. In the meantime, the Potters Will has been read, and I’ve got guardianship of Harry.

“So, Harry, want to leave?”

“Yes,” Harry said.

“What about your schooling!” McGonagall demanded.

“You didn’t seem to care about that when you were threatening to expel them,” Simon pointed out.

“Well,” Harry said, “It’s been fun.”

“Wait,” Dumbledore called. “You can’t leave.”

“Sure we can,” Harry said. “If we’re no longer students, I can’t compete.”

“You have to compete.”

“Why are you so obsessed about this?”

Dumbledore sighed deeply. “The magic is tied up with Hogwarts, if you leave, it is she that suffers.”

Harry felt a deep feeling of surprise, fear and rage emanate from the castle. “Hogwarts didn’t know that,” he said slowly. “And she’s royally upset with you.”

Dumbledore blinked. “No,” he whispered, “stop!”

A deep sense of satisfaction came from Hogwarts.

“She just transferred the burden to you, didn’t she?”

Albus nodded sourly.

Harry grinned. “Right, one of Melissa’s first rules was always to negotiate from a position of strength. My bodyguards will wear their uniforms. Hermione will have full unfettered access to the Library, and we’ll do a token punishment for this evening, by helping out the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students deal with Abraxan waste.

“You will apologise to my bodyguards for not checking on them while you did whatever the hell you thought was more important than the welfare of your students.

“You’ll keep Snape away from us, and we’ll stay away from him. We won’t have another party until the end of the Tournament.”

“And I’ll take the room next to Harry’s on the ship,” Hermione added, “So I no longer have to deal with the idiotic Gryffindors.”

Harry looked at her.

“Never you mind,” she said firmly. “I’ve been handling it.”

“Okay,” he agreed.

Dumbledore sighed. “Considering the circumstances, that’s acceptable.”

McGonagall’s lips were pursed together in utter disapproval.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked Sirius.

“Damn right,” Sirius agreed and hugged him.

Carol looked at her watch. “Excellent,” she cheered, “I can catch the second half.”

“Enjoy, mum,” Hermione said, and hugged her, then her dad, before she grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him out.

As soon as she was outside, she burst into laughter.

“Hermione?”

“My parents are died in the wool hippies, they hate ‘the man’, and have been encouraging me to be less straight laced all their lives. They’re so proud that I got drunk and helped layout Snape.”

Harry looked at her in disbelief.

“Look, my rule following was a perfectly normal reaction to the encouragement of my parents to break as many rules as I can.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed.

“Although,” Hermione continued, “they will want to know how my teeth have shrunk. Teeth are the only thing they’re serious about!”

“Blame me,” Harry offered. “And say it was magic.”

“It was you, and it was magic,” Hermione agreed. “Why did you say that we’d clear out the Abraxans, when you had Professor Dumbledore over a barrel?”

“Well, we did break a lot of rules last night, and we did sterilise Snape. We ought to be punished for that, I guess. And besides, this way, it’s not obvious that I’m blackmailing him.”

“Yes, about that,” Hermione continued. “Exactly how do you know what Hogwarts is doing?”

“She helped me out. She leant me some of her power to help me grow up. I can feel, a little, what she is thinking, especially when she tries to tell me.”

Hermione nodded. “Like you playing with time?”

Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

“Magical maturity indeed. I lost a gallon of respect for every professor who swallowed that idea without even asking you. There is no historical precedent for a magical maturity like that, or even that there is some sort of magical maturity. So, as Sherlock Holmes once said, when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

“And I deduced that the only thing it could be was playing with time. You did it over a month or so, so it seemed natural, but it wasn’t.”

Harry smiled proudly at her.

“Why didn’t you ask me to join you?”

Harry sighed softly. “Because I spent a month in a single room, with no natural light, no conversation, nothing. Because every time I went slightly insane, I talked to inanimate objects, and I worked. I went through everything everyone had been teaching me, and taught myself some new stuff, and while I was doing it, I was myself. There was no one to push me, no one to rely on, just myself.

“I did think about asking people to join me, but I couldn’t. It was something I did on my own. It was something I had to do on my own.”

Hermione nodded slowly. “I think you did the right thing,” she said slowly. “I am very proud of you.”

Harry wrapped an arm around her. “You know I love you,” he said.

“I do,” she agreed. “And I love you too. And I’m even prouder that you can say that without your silly boy words.”

Harry laughed softly.

“Now,” Hermione said, “I need you to have another word with Viktor.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I trust him now. Please tell him that he can go forward at a pace we agree, without worrying about you breaking his hands.”

Harry smiled. “That was a previous threat. My latest was cutting off his balls and feeding them to him with a summer salad and a bottle of alcohol-free beer.”

Hermione stumbled, before she burst into laughter. “You are cruel, Mr Potter,” she announced. “The summer salad and useless beer is just chilling.”

“That was the affect I was going for,” he agreed. He looked at his watch. “Let’s eat, then go out and do our detention.”

He opened the doors to the Great Hall, and ignored the glares he was getting from the now-clean students. The Hall itself was spotless, and reverberated with a cheerfulness that only the Elves could produce.

Tilly appeared in front of them, bouncing happily. “What’syou liking for Dinner?” she asked.

Harry thought for a second, and looked at the table full of his friends.

“It’s Sunday afternoon,” he eventually said, “let’s go for a full English Roast Beef with all the trimmings.”

Tilly nodded energetically. She beckoned Harry down. “Tilly has been practising,” she whispered. “I has new chocolate dish for pudding, best thing in world.”

“Brilliant,” Harry praised her. “We’ll have that for pudding.”

Tilly nodded and popped away. Bowls full of fresh bread appeared on their table.

Harry sat down, and looked at the other Hogwarts students. “We will be joining our friends in clearing out the Abraxans,” he said, a little loudly, “as punishment for our behaviour.”

They all nodded.

“Melissa, can I have a word?”

Hermione hugged him briefly, then wandered over to sit with Viktor. Melissa stood and followed him over to his private table.

“So, how would you like the case of the century?”

“I’ve already had it,” she said. “Your trial was huge.”

Harry smiled. “How about a trial against the Ministry where you defend an innocent Sirius Black?”

Melissa blinked at him. “Innocent?”

He nodded. “He wasn’t the Secret Keeper, Peter Pettigrew was. Peter betrayed my parents, and then framed Sirius.” Harry could see Melissa thinking things through.

“He didn’t have a trial?”

“Nope. Huge miscarriage of justice, wrongful imprisonment, state sponsored torture of an innocent man.”

“And that’s just the start,” she whispered. “Sweet Merlin, we’ll take the Ministry to the cleaners for this.”

“And we’ll put the money to good causes, making Sirius’s name clean again.”

“Yeah,” she breathed. “This is going to be huge.”

He nodded in agreement.

“Of course I’ll take the case,” she said excitedly.

“As far as I can tell, with the appalling lack of useful education in real life, your plan was to clerk at a law firm, prove that all your self-study has worked, and then work your way the ladder, ignoring the fact that as a beautiful female, you’ll be expected to spend some time on your back?”

“Yeah,” she said sourly.

Harry grinned at her. “Which is the traditional way,” he agreed. “The other less interesting way, is to start your own law firm, hire some people to do the job for you, and accept that your first clients will be the retainer that the Black and Potter families keep you on.

“With two huge pure blood families backing you and your reputation from winning two of the biggest cases, others will come to your door.”

Melissa was looking at him with huge hazel eyes. It was the first time he’d seen the Head girl totally speechless.

“I happen to own a property or two just off Diagon Alley that would be perfect.”

She slowly smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said softly. “Why?”

“I owe a debt to everyone who has helped me grow up. To everyone who has helped me get in shape, to everyone who helped get me out of prison. I pay my debts.” He smiled at her. “And having everyone work for me means I can keep an eye on them, can ensure that they’re safe, happy, and loved.

“What else is the point of having all this money and power if I don’t use it to destroy my enemies and reward my allies?”

“That,” Melissa said softly, “is the Slytherin creed distilled into a single sentence.”

Harry grinned at her. “Come on, food’s almost ready.” He stood and took her hand, dragging her over to Christophe.

“What have you done to her?” he asked dryly.

“Offered her the equivalent of a vineyard.”

Christophe smiled and offered a small bow. “Thank you.”

He nodded and took his seat next to Gabrielle, who instantly snuggled tightly into his side. He wrapped an arm around her, and concentrated, sending his love to her. As before, she started to glow, but as they were in a school full of witches and wizards, he didn’t stop this time.

The food that Tilly organised was completely out of this world. The beef was incredibly tender, and everything was perfectly cooked.

But it was the pudding that was the biggest success. Gabrielle got the first bite, and the sound she made was almost sexual. It was a sound that Harry decided was definitely anything but that.

The rest of the table turned to look at Gabrielle. “Harry,” Fleur called. “Can I try that?”

“Tilly,” Harry called. “One special for Fleur, please.”

Fleur dipped a fork into the chocolate sponge, and watched for a second as the melted chocolate inside oozed out. Her eyes went reverently wide, before she took a forkful.

“Sweet Merlin on a bike,” she whispered. “That’s better than sex!”

Harry stared at her. “You’ve been doing it wrong,” he eventually stated.

“Shut up, Potter,” Fleur said, ignoring him as she concentrated on the dessert.

“Harry,” Adrienne called. “Me too?”

Harry smirked. “Puddings all around, please.”

The sounds of appreciation were slightly disturbing, from girls that should really have known better.

The boys exchanged amused looks, and enjoyed theirs.

There was a few moments reverent silence as they finished, the girls with partners leaned against them.

From the door, a lone owl floated into the room, and with an imperious hoot, proffered its leg to Harry.

“Hey,” Harry greeted it cheerfully. “Want anything to eat?”

The owl nodded, and before Harry could say anything, a bowl of owl food appeared next to the owl.

Harry untied the letter and scanned it quickly. It was short and to the point, inviting him to go and see Kate that evening.

He scrawled, “I’ll be there at ten,” on the letter, and attached it back on the foot of the owl.

“Feel free to finish first.”

The owl hooted, and Harry turned to the still-glowing Gabrielle. “Better?”

She nodded. “Feel loved.”

“You are.”

She smiled at him. He stood, and lifted her onto his chest, cuddling her. “Come on,” he ordered. “Those horses aren’t going to clear themselves.”

There was some good natured grumblings as they all headed out and down to the massive stables.

Christophe and Adrienne opened a cupboard, and pulled out a series of shovels and rakes.

Harry looked at them for a long moment. “What are you doing?”

“Getting out the implements.”

“And we have to use these implements?”

Adrienne and Christophe nodded.

“Then use them, we shall. Viktor, you have your cards?”

Viktor nodded, pulling out a deck.

“Duplicate them. Crusher, Smasher, close the doors. Christophe, Melissa, Hermione, Fred, George, tables and chairs. Fleur, Gabrielle, warming charms, it’s more than a bit nippy in here.” He turned to the tools. “ Substitutiary locomotion !” he called, before passing his wand to Gabrielle so that she could do that charms with her sister.

The tools jerked themselves out of the hands of Adrienne and Christophe. The rakes started to rake the waste into corners, where shovels lifted them into barrels.

When he had his wand back, Harry then created a huge pile of multi coloured chips. He separated them into piles, took a seat at the first table. “Come on,” he said to Gabrielle, “let’s teach you the game of poker.”

Gabrielle giggled.

She then showed him that poker skills evidently ran in the family, as she was already a far better player than him. Her technique was different to Fleur’s, in that she treated each and every card as if it was an ace, regardless of the true face value.

After an hour, he left her playing with his chips, and walked around the tables, chatting with everyone, and seeing how they were doing.

The most successful players seemed to be Fleur, Fred and George, Gabrielle, and Lisa.

“Harry?”

“Yes, Chloe?” he replied to one of the Beauxbatons students.

“Why are you not interested in dating girls in your year?”

“I’ve never liked the idea of shooting fish in a barrel,” he said with a small grin.

“What do you mean?”

“It wouldn’t be fair,” he explained. “And I’d feel guilty.”

She looked doubtfully at him. “You have a high opinion of your skills, don’t you?”

“Did you see Kate?” he asked dryly.

Chloe shrugged. “You are rich,” she pointed out. “There are many things that can attract a woman.”

“You want a demonstration?” he asked.

She smirked. “Sure,” she agreed, before she shot a look at her boyfriend.

“Chloe’s got a big mouth,” her boyfriend said dryly. “It often gets her into trouble. Feel free to prove a point, Harry. She can make it up to me later.”

Chloe sent him a smirk, “and you will pay for that,” she promised.

“It’s hardly a hardship,” Harry said, stepping a little closer to Chloe. “Chloe is beautiful.” He caught her eyes and concentrated, letting how attractive he found her show. He turned slightly, so that he was facing her dead on, and reached out, lightly stroking her face, raising her chin.

“You have the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen,” he whispered intently. “The flecks of gold in the deep brown dance in the candlelight, making you look dark and mysterious.” His hand slid down, cupping her jaw, as he lightly dragged his thumb over her lips. “I’ve been watching you for weeks, hoping for a chance to get to know you better,” he continued, his cadences regular and almost hypnotic.

He didn’t let her look away from him. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he told her, as he leaned in and gently did exactly that. He didn’t kiss her hard, and push his tongue into her mouth; it was more a precursor to a kiss, a light and intimate touching of lips to lips.

He pulled back slightly, feeling her breath against his lips, seeing the ways her eyes had clouded slightly, and the way she leaned forward, trying to recapture his kiss.

This time he kissed her harder, and allowed her to close her eyes. His hands went to her shoulders, easing the power blue robes off her shoulders. She didn’t seem to notice, but arched her back as he ran his hands down her back, checking that she was wearing a bra.

He gently drew her tongue into his mouth, and lightly bit, sucking the tip, as his hands expertly danced down her blouse, undoing all the buttons, before he eased the shirt over her shoulders, leaving her torso clad only in her white bra.

He slowly broke the kiss, “Chloe,” he whispered. “Come back to me, Chloe.”

She moaned softly, as her eyes started to clear and she shuddered. Her eyes cleared totally, and she looked down at herself. “I would have slept with you,” she stated softly. “Right here. I forgot that we have a barn full of friends here. It wasn’t what you said, it was how you said it, and I felt like everything inside you was focused on me, just on me, that nothing else mattered. Your eyes seemed to glow as they devoured me. God, that was intense.”

Harry nodded. “Kate insisted I learnt how to seduce her properly, she’s been all around the world, seen and done incredible things. A fourteen year old student in a small boarding school in the middle of nowhere wouldn’t even be a minor challenge compared to her. And that’s without the fact that I’d feel like a paedophile.”

She nodded and stood up. She gathered her shirt and robes, and held out her hand to her boyfriend. “Time for me to make up for what I said earlier,” she announced cheerfully. “Take me to bed, Andrew.”

Andrew grinned at Harry, mouthed, “Thanks,” and picked Chloe up, and carried her out.

“Do not worry about them,” Julia said, “Chloe is always putting her foot in it, but she does love Andrew, and Andrew learnt in our fourth year that it was easier just to let her get on with it.”

Harry nodded. “Having a good time?”

Julia smirked. “I’m up fifteen chips, and we’re not shovelling shit. It could be a lot worse.”

Harry laughed and continued his circuit of the room.

“Guys,” he said to his bodyguards, “I’m sneaking out for the evening, as Kate wants a chat with me. I’ll be back in the morning.”

“Okay,” Smasher said, as he concentrated hard on his cards. “You have the necklace?”

“Never take it off.”

“Go,” Smasher ordered, as he asked for two more cards.

Harry smiled and walked over to Gabrielle. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he promised. “And tomorrow evening, we’ll go through everything we missed while I was in jail.”

“I went to classes with Fleur,” she said. “But Fleur said I should wait for you to do the magic.”

Harry smiled and hugged her tightly. “We’ll catch up,” he promised.

“I know,” she agreed. “Now go, you’re getting in the way of my cards.”

He laughed and wandered outside. He hoped that Chloe had been warm enough, as it was bloody cold.

As soon as he was outside of Hogwarts wards, he Apparated to Kate’s apartment in London. He knocked on the door, and was greeted by a smiling Kate. She was wearing a pale blue house coat.

“Come in,” she told him.

“Thanks, it’s brass monkeys out there.”

She tilted her head and looked at him curiously.

“Muggle analogy,” he said, “also popular is ‘as cold as a witches’ tit’.”

“How nice,” she said slowly. “Albeit factually incorrect. But this is hardly how I taught you to greet someone.”

Harry smiled slowly at her, as he stepped into her personal space. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he whispered intently, his lips a millimetre against hers, as he took her hands and held them captive against the wall of her hall. He kicked the door shut without looking, and then smiled into her eyes. “Better?”

She lightly kissed him. “A lot,” she agreed. “Sit down.”

Harry moved casually into her living room, and lounged on her couch casually. “What’s the matter, Kate?” he called.

Kate appeared again; she’d lost the house coat, and was now just wearing her heels and a pair of black silk knickers.

“You wear this stuff all the time?” he asked curiously.

“How else can I be comfortable?” she asked. “When I’m hired, I’m expected to be comfortable doing whatever I’m paid for. If I wore something else at home, when I am relaxed, I’d never be able to pull it off at work.”

He nodded, and slowly ran his eyes up and down her body, before meeting her eyes comfortably.

“Did you miss me?” she asked, her eyes meeting his challengingly.

“Of course,” he said. “I could have done with one or two of your hugs while I was in jail.”

“You impressed a hell of a lot of people with what you did; loyalty is a very attractive trait.”

Harry shrugged. “It was that or we fought, and the press would not have accepted the fact that we accidentally killed a number of Aurors.”

Kate laughed and nodded. “Harry,” she purred, “there’s someone I’d like you to meet. This is Rhiannon.”

The girl who walked had the most incredible beautiful red hair. Multi-coloured, it hung down her back like a wave, every moment causing a kaleidoscope of colour to dance over her head.

He stood smoothly, “I’m delighted to meet you, Rhiannon,” he said softly. “You have the most amazing hair I’ve ever seen.” He took her hand and gently kissed the knuckles, hovering over them a little longer than was necessary, as he stared up into her eyes.

Light green eyes met his, and small pearly teeth peeked out of full lips, as she smiled at him.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said. “I’m glad to see that it appears true.”

Harry, who hadn’t let go of her hand, brushed his thumb over her knuckles. “Thank you,” he replied, as he reluctantly released the hand.

He moved back to his seat, allowing his eyes to roam over her body. She was dressed identically to Kate, only her underwear was pure white, before he met her eyes again, the frank appreciation he regarded her with was in his eyes.

Kate moved next to Rhiannon. “Rhiannon was the friend I was talking too,” she explained. “And we agreed on one thing.”

“Oh?”

“That we are never in debt to anyone.” Kate turned and gently kissed Rhiannon, the closeness suggested that this wasn’t the first time. When they finished the kiss, both prowled toward him, only giving him time for a quick gulp.