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DODGING PRISON & STEALING WITCHES


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Jump to chapter...Book 1 - Revenge is Best Served RawCh.1 - Through the VeilCh.2
- Flying Under the Radar - WandCh.3 - Flying Under the Radar - GoldCh.4 -
Greetings, I am Lord Slytherin - Part 1Ch.5 - Greetings, I am Lord Slytherin -
Part 2Bonus - A Wild Slytherin Has AppearedCh.6 - Good Morning Students, I'm
Harry PotterCh.7 - Hey, Grab a Drink, I'm The-Boy-Who-LivedCh.8 - Umm I'm the
Champion of Fate and Death?Ch.9 - The Book of Names - Part 1Ch.10 - The Book of
Names - Part 2Ch.11 - Straight From the Graveyard - Part 1Ch.12 - Straight from
the Graveyard - Part 2Ch.13 - Interlude - Hermione Goes ShoppingCh.14 -
Interlude - Alexandra's Birthday PartyBook 2 - The Foundations of PowerCh.15 -
The First Year's Train DanceCh.16 - A Very Slytherin Muggleborn - Part 1Ch.17 -
A Very Slytherin Muggleborn - Part 2Ch.18 - Slytherin's OutcastCh.19 - The
Chamber's Pipe NetworkCh.20 - Double Double Troll and TroubleCh.21 - The
Duelling ClubCh.22 - Muggleborns, Ghosts, and Musical ChairsCh.23 - Manor
Beginnings and The Winter FestivalCh.24 - Ginny Training in DreamlandCh.25 -
Necromancy for Fun and Fun - Part 1Ch.26 - Necromancy for Fun and Fun - Part
2Ch.27 - What Goes On In Knockturn AlleyCh.28 - Divination Dimwits Drugs and
DetentionCh.29 - Cleithrophobia and Planning a HeistCh.30 - Securing the
Area...Ch.31 - ...And the TournamentCh.32 - The House of Potter vs The
MinistryCh.33 - The Philosopher's ProphecyCh.34 - Interlude - Gairsay
islandCh.35 - Interlude - Blood Money and Blood MagicCh.36 - Interlude - Daphne
Goes Down to the VillageBook 3 - Nature Red in Cloak and DaggerCh.37 - Diagon
Alley Pile UpCh.38 - Strategic SortingCh.39 - The Little Trials of Virgo
MalfoyCh.40 - Alexandra Black, Meet Death’s ChampionCh.41 - Ginny's
decisionCh.42 - Daphne's Birthday, Work and Play - Part 1Ch.43 - Daphne's
Birthday, Work and Play - Part 2Ch.44 - Hermione's Quest - Part 1Ch.45 -
Hermione's Quest - Part 2Ch.46 - Hermione's Quest - Part 3Ch.47 - Interlude -
There’s No Business like Hogwarts BusinessCh.48 - Soul Anchors - Part 1Ch.49 -
Soul Anchors - Part 2Ch.50 - Soul Anchors - Part 3Ch.51 - Soul Anchors - Part
4Ch.52 - Interlude - This is the house that Floating-Interest builtCh.53 -
Movers and Shakers - Part 1Ch.54 - Movers and Shakers - Part 2Ch.55 - Movers and
Shakers - Part 3Ch.56 - Interlude - Nothing Like a Free PressCh.57 - Nature Red
- Part 1Ch.58 - Nature Red - Part 2Bonus - ReunitingCh.59 - Nature Red - Part
3Ch.60 - Nature Red - Part 4Ch.61 - Nature Red - Part 5Ch.62 - Nature Red - Part
6Ch.63 - Nature Red - Part 7Ch.64 - Nature Red - Part 8Ch.65 - Nature Red - Part
9Ch.66 - Nature Red - Part 10Ch.67 - Nature Red - Part 11Ch.68 - Nature Red -
Part 12Ch.69 - Nature Red - Part 13Ch.70 - Nature Red - Part 14Ch.71 - Nature
Red - Part 15Ch.72 - Nature Red - Part 16Ch.73 - Nature Red - Part 17Extra -
Quidditch ShenanigansBook 4 - The Gray's SecretCh.74 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 1Ch.75 - The Gray's Secret - Chapter 2Ch.76 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 3Ch.77 - The Gray's Secret - Chapter 4Ch.78 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 5Ch.79 - The Gray's Secret - Chapter 6Ch.80 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 7Ch.81 - The Gray's Secret - Chapter 8Ch.82 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 9Ch.83 - The Gray's Secret - Chapter 10Ch.84 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 11
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CHAPTER 83 - THE GRAY'S SECRET - CHAPTER 10

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First published:
16/08/2024
Last update:
16/08/2024
Word count:
6,564


Just outside the first Wizengamot room, still playing host to the remnants of
the Quidditch hearing, milling about and discussing how thoroughly England was
going to hand everyone else’s arse to them in the upcoming world cup, Rita
Skeeter darted through the small packs of lords and ladies, careful not to step
on anyone’s toes, literally or metaphorically, while she focused her attention
on the door to the room beyond.

Why hadn’t anyone told her Lord Slytherin had appeared for the girl’s hearing!?
Of all the times to be in the wrong place, this was the worst.

“Opps, excuse me,” she said, nearly bumping into Lord Lovegood before gripping
the door and ripping it open.

The room beyond was mostly empty, almost all the occupants having cleared out by
now.

Damn it!

She needed her story!

Leaving the hearing room, she huffed to herself before marching back down the
corridor in the direction of the ministry cafeteria. After that abject failure,
she needed a pick-me-up.

If only there was someone she could interview who could give her some worthwhile
dirt. On who specifically didn’t matter. All that mattered was that the dirt was
juicy.

So focused was Rita on her march towards the refreshments, that she completely
failed to notice the brief moment of time when John Potter was turning the same
corner she was, heading in the other direction.

— DPaSW: TGS —

Damn it all!

John Potter fumed as he stormed down the corridor, not sure exactly where he was
going, but that didn’t matter. It was the storming that was important.

He’d been so sure that Virgo would have taken that clue he’d given her and run
with it. But apparently exposing Harry directly would be ‘risking their secrets’
since Harry knew many of them. John supposed that made sense, but still! He
wanted the world to know Harry’s secret identity so badly! Wanted to watch his
brother flail around as everything Harry had done to him reversed and the little
snake saw all he’d tried to accomplish come crashing down around him.

Harry didn’t deserve any of the stuff that ‘Lord Slytherin’ had. That was all
his!

He shook his head in frustration.

Every time he thought he was over Ginny, something else seemed to pop up to kick
him back down again. That made him remember the girl that had once loved him. To
say nothing of Hermoine. She was looking better and better by the day and it
just made no sense to him. She’d never put that much attention into her looks in
the last timeline! If she had, John might have made moves on her at the Yule
Ball!

Harry didn’t deserve them.

That was his right! He was the boy-who-lived!

That little part of John that hunched in the darkness, terrified that anyone
would discover that he wasn’t the one Voldemort had targeted as a baby, reared
its ugly head and sent a shiver down his spine.

John swallowed.

So, he might not be the boy-who-lived, but at least he was the chosen of Fate
and Death! Champions of the higher powers didn’t come along often in magical
history. He slowed down in the corridor to catch his breath. He hadn’t realised
how fast his heart had been beating.

Okay, so perhaps Virgo was right. The history of the champions of higher powers
was littered with cautionary tales. Attention on those individuals blessed with
missions from the personifications of magic rarely came without cost. It was
just so frustrating!

He needed to find a way to get back at Harry. Somehow! Everyone else was being
too cautious. Too political. John had been raised a political animal by his
father, but even he had his limits.

He needed something…

Looking around, John suddenly realised that he didn’t know where he was. He’d
been marching in any old direction he felt for so long that his wanderings had
taken him somewhere he’d never been before. The ministry wasn’t nearly as
maze-like as Hogwarts, or the side streets of Diagon Alley, but directionality
still wasn’t obvious for anyone who didn’t make their living here.

Ah!

John spotted a cleaning wizard, wearing dusty grey robes that looked
purpose-made for getting grubby. He was even holding a broom. An actual broom.
Not a flying one.

“Excuse me,” John said, walking up to the man.

The man smiled as he approached and John was further reassured that he was, in
fact, a cleaning wizard.

“I’m looking for the Wizengamot. I just came from there, but I appeared to have
lost my way. Please direct me there.”

“Ah, yes,” the cleaning wizard said with another smile. A reassuring one. One
you could easily trust. “I’ll show you exactly where you need to go, Mister
Potter.” The man then turned and starting making his way down the corridor,
continuing the path that John had already been on.

John beamed. What luck! Now he’d be going exactly where he needed to go.

— DPaSW: TGS —

Back in the hall, Virgo looked around in annoyance. Where was John? He should be
here. He should be here with her. He should always be with her.

Just then, ‘Harry’ put up his hand and requested leave to use the bathroom.

Virgo nodded to herself. They were going to do the switch. Very good. She’d
manage to cause quite a bit of chaos while the imposter had been taking Harry
Potter’s place. Not nearly enough to endanger herself, she wagered, but enough
to weaken Lord Slytherin’s position, should it become known that he was Harry
Potter.

Excellent.

The question was, would Harry do anything in retaliation? And if he did, how bad
would it be?

Virgo watched the time traveller return from the bathroom and then watched him
get reconfirmed as Heir Harry Potter by the clerk before he was allowed to
re-take his seat.

It didn’t take long for Lord Slytherin to make his move.

Virgo watched as the muggleborn girl was used to pass a note to the judge, just
the way she’d done with John. Who still wasn’t back yet!

Not long after that, came the question.

“Miss Malfoy,” began Madam Longbottom, the stuffed vulture now staring down at
her instead of at Potter. “You’ve told us how you paired with Dumbledore to gain
entrance to the castle, before lords Lovegood, Greengrass, and Black found you,
but the report here says that you arrived at the entrance first and that
Dumbledore found you afterwards. What exactly were you planning to do once you’d
gained entrance to the castle if your suspicions that the monster was a basilisk
had turned out to be true?”

Virgo cleared her throat. Annunciating every word carefully to make sure she
didn’t accidentally slip into house elf speech, she made her reply. “Your
honour. When I gained my animagus, I read a story about how parseltongue can
control the actions of snakes. My experience gaining access to some secret
passageways in Hogwarts confirmed this to me. Many of the passageways are
guarded by carvings or statues of snakes. I hoped that I could control the
actions of the basilisk, rending it harmless to the students.”

The Judge stared down at her. “Ah, yes. I have your formal animagus registration
form here. It says you achieved you form first in March.”

“Yes, your honour.”

“After the chamber was already opened.”

“Correct, your honour.”

Up in the gallery, some members of the wizarding aristocracy, many of them
former Slytherins, were making the same connection that Madam Longbottom clearly
had—that the ‘first achieved’ date on an animagus registration form could be
easily doctored and didn’t have to reflect reality. There was no way to prove if
Virgo had been the mysterious figure leading the attack on her fellow students,
and there likely never would be. That one of the attacks had been on her own
brother only made the play more audacious. To those that made the connection,
there was no doubt this girl would become a formidable force in Magical British
Politics.

“Can we get an expert on the matter down here?” Madam Longbottom called out.
“Young Edgar! Could we prevail upon you, please?”

Lord Nott grumbled at the casual use of his first name in the chambers, but did
make his way down the outside stairs and into the hearing area proper.

“How accurate are the rumours of parselmouths being able to control snakes?”
Madam Longbottom asked.

“Very accurate,” Lord Nott replied. “100% correct.”

“So, Miss Malfoy could have succeeded in bringing the basilisk under control?”

“No, your honour.”

“Oh?”

Lord Nott looked over to where Virgo was staring at him intensely. “A
parselmouth can only control a snake if the snake isn’t already under the
control of another.”

“Fascinating. Okay, thank you, Edgar.”

Lord Nott winced, but did retreat without objection.

Up in the gallery, the same wizards who’d already drawn the conclusion about
Virgo made another connection. This time, to the identity of the other new
part-snake animagus that prowled the corridors of Hogwarts.

Harry smiled politely at Virgo, who just turned up her nose at him.

“Now…” Madam Longbottom curled her fingers under her chin. “My next question is
this… How exactly did Miss Malfoy know the location of the entrance to the
chamber of secrets in order to gain access to the chamber?”

Harry stilled. Oh dear. This was not a great question. This was a question that
had the potential to completely expose Virgo, and thus, himself in retaliation.
It wasn’t a question he’d specifically prompted the judge to ask. But would
Virgo believe that?

Across the table, Virgo’s glare flashed daggers at him — so briefly that he
suspected no one but him caught it.

Harry winced. As much as it annoyed him, he might actually have to step in to
save Virgo here.

“Well?” Judge Longbottom demanded.

Harry was about to speak when someone else beat him to the punch.

“Your Honour?” Dumbledore said, speaking up. “I think I can answer that one. I
appreciate Young Miss Malfoy here is hesitant to say, because she fears it might
get her into trouble, but the truth is that she has been in possession of an
artefact for a good amount of the year that has granted her an unparalleled
knowledge of all of Hogwarts’ magical passageways and secrets.”

The Marauder’s Map, Harry thought. Not the solution he’d have gone with to get
Virgo off the hook, but he had to admit it wasn’t a bad one.

Although the fact that Dumbledore of all people was willing to step in to cover
for someone like Virgo, was troubling in the extreme. He’d have to pay more
attention to any dealings between the two in future.

For now, part one of his tit-for-tat plan had gone off almost without a hitch.
This was only the dueller’s hello. Now it was time for part two — the stunner in
the shadow.

— DPaSW: TGS —

Up in the Gallery, Lord Malfoy watched the proceedings below with keen interest.

The Potter boy had floundered. Though he seemed to be back on form now. Odd.
Almost as if he weren’t the same person. But that was impossible.

The Potter’s outcast son had been an enigma ever since his return. Not Lord
Voldermot. Lord Malfoy was quite certain of that now, but still a mystery. But
not so much of a mystery that he was going to start attributing feats to him
that defied his understanding of magic.

Lucius knew he was no Dumbledore, but he was no magical slouch either.

That Harry Potter had floundered sent a signal to all present. That Slytherin’s
protégé might not be as untouchable as they’d thought.

The boy had been starting to build a reputation.

That wasn’t to say he wasn’t still formidable for such a young child.

In many worlds, Lucius would have been positively eager to have him as a
son-in-law, though he’d never show it, obviously.

In this world, he’d settle for having him merely as the brother of his
son-in-law. Provided of course that James could be talked into agreeing to his
terms for the betrothal contract between John and Virgo.

The man was stubbornly refusing to accept that John was no longer his heir.
Constantly going on about how he’d find a way to make it right again.

That didn’t matter to him one merlin. The idea that the straight-laced and
self-righteous James Potter would actually find a solution—seeing as most of the
good ones involved organising ‘accidents’ sufficiently deniable enough to
hoodwink the Albion— well… the simple truth was Lucius found the whole situation
both amusing and convenient.

Yes, it would be even more convenient to have Virgo as the Lady Potter rather
than just the wife of a branch house, but he was used to working around such
things.

Though the thought of explaining everything to the Dark Lord when he finally
returned did send rivers of sweat running down the back of his neck.

A part of him wondered if it might not be smarter to just leave Draco in the
care of Lord Slytherin’s mini-minion gang, but he quickly squashed that thought.
Getting Draco out of the hole he’d dug himself was a top priority. Perhaps even
more so than planting Virgo as a Trojan Horse with the Light.

Still, the weakness showed by Lord Slytherin’s Protégé just now fascinated him.
It opened the door to other possibilities. Such as the man himself perhaps not
being quite as untouchable as many had started to believe.

Down in the hearing room, Madam Longbottom and her fellow judges started folding
up books and putting away parchments. “Fifteen minute recess!” Madam Longbottom
called out. “We start again at twenty past the hour!”

As the witnesses and gallery viewers all started getting to their feet and
filing out—chairs scrapping on floors and the air filling with general
babble—Lord Malfoy reflected on his many problems again. And how he might best
solve them.

— DPaSW: TGS —

Wizengamot Hall was large and spacious. Marble, gold, silver and gems of all
cuts and sizes were inlaid into finely carved statues that dotted the walls,
from which wine, juices, and milk flowed like water.

While the Ministry of Magic was cramped and utilitarian, the Wizengamot’s
workspace better reflected the tastes—or at least the aspirations—of Magical
Britain’s ennobled aristocracy.

Hermione Granger swept across the floor of the large space leading off the
Hearing Chambers, where most of Wizarding Britain’s aristocracy had chosen to
take their break before the hearing concluded before lunch.

One might expect that a teenage muggleborn witch such as her would feel
incredibly out of place in such august company, but Hermione was no ordinary
teenage muggleborn witch.

Wearing a formal witch’s robe in Slytherin Green, she was indistinguishable from
a child of any of the older men and women now standing around discussing the
events of the day thus far.

Elegant hairstyle. Enchanted nails. A poise and form that left no doubt to the
casual observer that this witch could carry a stack of books on her head, if she
thought for even a second that would be a practical way of transporting such
precious tomes of knowledge.

Three years ago, Charlotte Timberland had cut her teeth at such events at the
tender age of just ten years old and while she hadn’t been perfect, Hermoine
knew she’d performed a lot better than many would have. Certainly a lot better
than that other version of her would have. The one that hung around John Potter,
believing that the magical world was exactly the same as the muggle, just with
more wizzes and things going bang. Ugh. The mere thought made her skin crawl.

Thank Merlin for Harry.

Hermione felt a slight flutter in her stomach at the thought of her best friend
and recognised the feeling.

Biting her lip, Hermione mentally shook herself.

Now wasn’t the time.

She had a job to do.

A few minutes later found her in conversation with none other than Madam
Longbottom herself after an introduction from Daphne’s father.

“So, you’re training to be a healer, and an arithmancer, and a duellist, and an
occlumens?” Madam Longbottom said with a raised eyebrow. “That’s quite a
workload.”

“Well, I did pause my healer training, but I’m starting again next year,”
Hermoine answered. “Though I would ask your advice on a profession in law. I’ve
spent a lot of time studying our ways and think it would be fascinating.”

“Our ways, Mmm?” Madam Longbottom replied, somehow seeming to arch her eyebrow
even further towards the vaulted ceiling.

“Our ways,” Hermione replied, putting just a bit of force into the words. “I
have lived in the wizarding world since I was a child. Lord Slythheirn took my
family under his care years before I even received my Hogwarts letter. I know
my Three Brothers from my Many Champions of Death. More so than many of my peers
at school, that’s for sure. Even those born to wizarding families.”

After a significant pause, Madam Longbottom cracked a smile. “It is good to see
that Slytherin takes the education of his charges seriously. I’m sure you will
grow up to be a fine servant of his house.”

“Thank you,” Hermione replied, even though inside she desperately wanted to
retort that statement. Not because the idea of being a ‘fine servant’ to Harry
was bad. It wasn’t. But because that fluttery feeling in her stomach
wanted more. And with the declaration of intent gift Harry had given her on her
birthday, she assumed it was the direction Harry wanted to go in. Even if he
himself wasn’t ready for anything more than friendship, yet.

Of course, that just made her need for radical self-betterment even stronger.
Whether as a healer, lawyer, spell explorer, or whatever else Harry might need.
Harry wasn’t perfect. She had to keep reminding herself that. And he needed her
to be what he wasn’t.

“If you want a profession in law, the best advice I can give is to read,” Madam
Longbottom continued. “Read everything you can about the statutes, the
precedence, and the magic. Occlumency makes that significantly easier, so you
should already have an advantage there, but even with that, surprisingly few
young wizards are willing to do what it takes to become proficient enough to be
useful. Most just go far enough to be a danger to themselves.”

She gave Hermione a calculating look before glancing around the room and leaning
in to whisper conspiratorially, “And if you want an edge that makes you
indispensable to your lord, I suggest learning how to impress ‘The Scales of
Judgement.’”

Hermione went wide-eyed for a second before slowly nodding, filing away that
little tidbit before plunging on with her mission for the hour. “Umm, on that
note, what did you think of Virgo’s statement back there?”

Suddenly Madam Longbottom’s air switched from conspiratorial to cautious. “What
about Miss Malfoy’s statement?”

“About how she thought she might be able to control the basilisk. And how Lord
Nott said it would probably have been possible, if she were the first to reach
it.”

“What of it?”

Hermione took a steadying breath before continuing. If she pulled this off,
Harry would be much better off going forward. If she failed…

“Well,” she started, “The way I see it…”

— DPaSW: TGS —

“Harry, I’m sorry!”

Ginny wasn’t crying. Harry had only seen his Ginny cry once and she’d grown a
lot since then. But this was about as close to actually crying as it got. The
girl clung to him, repeatedly apologising over and over. If you counted this as
a good old-fashioned breakdown, he’d now had three of his ‘inner circle’
desperately hugging him for emotional support. Only Luna and Alex hadn’t. Luna
had come close after his acquittal of attempted murder the year before, and
Alex… Well, trying to picture the grown-up Black Heiress all huggy and
vulnerable, clamped to him like a limpet while her voice trembled like a reed…
It wasn’t a terrible proposition. It just didn’t quite fit his mental image of
Alex — neither the Death Eater she’d become in the previous timeline, nor his
rather more even-keeled version, at least for now.

To be fair, seeing Ginny like this wasn’t normal either and he should probably
do something more about it than just patting her and saying it was alright.

He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away to look into her eyes.
“Ginny, look. It really is okay.”

“How is it okay?” Ginny choked. Yes, her eyes certainly were quite watery. “I
made you look like a complete idiot in front of all those people! Daphne
explained it to me!”

Thank you, Daphne, Harry thought in the privacy of his head, a little
sarcastically. For someone so good at politics it was amazing just how cold and
direct Slytherin’s ice princess could sometimes be.

“Well, she’s not wrong, per say,” Harry allowed. “I imagine some people might
get a little more pushy now after seeing that.”

“I knew it!” Ginny almost wailed. Almost. “You must think I’m stupid now.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “No, Ginny. I don’t. You did the mission I asked of
you. You carried out that mission cleanly and without hiccup. No one but you
could have taken my place the way you did. If you weren’t fully prepared with
every answer to every question, that’s on me. That’s my responsibility. Not
yours. This is an important lesson, in fact. Not every mission I give you will
go perfectly. It can’t. How many missions have I sent you on so far?

Ginny sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “Umm… I had to secretly prep for Hogwarts.
There was the hit on the diary. And the phoenix ash heist at the ICW. You asked
me to fix the Hogwarts student wardrobe elections, as well. And evacuate the
students from the school before you took care of the basilisk.”

“And did everything go perfectly on every one of those missions?”

Ginny slowly shook her head. “The Hogwarts prep went perfectly, but the diary
hit failed. That thing is still walking around. The Phoenix ash heist was a
success—her face relaxed slightly at the memory—and so cool—but the election
fixing turned out not needed, ‘cuz Virgo was already on it. The evacuation was
good, but the wider mission went a bit off the rails.” She sniffed again and
wiped her eyes with the cuff of her robes. “You’re really not mad at me?”

Harry brought the girl closer for another hug. “No, Ginny I’m not.”

“You’re not rethinking our betrothal?”

The mere idea left Harry practically stunned. “Hells no,” he said, rather more
forcefully than he’d intended. “I’m letting you go over my cold dead body.”

Ginny fell silent, but Harry could feel her relaxing in his arms.

They stayed like that for a moment before there was a coded knock on the trunk
roof.

Ginny’s eyes widened and she practically leapt away from Harry with a yip.

The trunk trap door opened and Hermione stuck her head through. “Recess is about
to end,” she called in. Then she took in the scene. “What were you two doing?”

“Nothing!” Ginny said, rather more quickly than was believable.

“We were hugging,” Harry supplied simply, earning a betrayed look and a ‘Harry!’
from the shorter girl.

“No, ‘Harry’,” Harry retorted. “I know we’re all just starting to go through
puberty, but that statement was ripe for misunderstanding. It’s bad enough the
shenanigans you were playing with the girl Alex won a bet with during the
duelling tournament. I’m not having any of you think one of you is ‘stealing a
lead’ or anything like that.

“Ah, right,” Ginny blushed. “So, um, what are we going to do about my mess up?”

Harry held up a finger. “Tell Daphne we’ll be there in a moment,” he called up
to the closely-paying-attention Hermione.

The closely-paying-attention Hermione looked a little disappointed, but did nod
and retreat with a ”Yes, Harry.”

The door to the trunk closed behind her.

Now alone again, Harry smiled at Ginny. “You haven’t studied politics like
Daphne has. Something you need to learn is that the game is never played
perfectly. In politics, you expect your opponents to make plays against you. How
well you come out in the end depends on what you do with their moves. Sometimes,
an opportunistic thrust by an enemy leaves them wide open for an attack from the
rear. It may sometimes even force their hand in strange and interesting ways.”

“What strange ways?” Ginny asked.

— DPaSW: TGS —

Regent Longbottom, joined by her fellow sitting judges—along with the now
available Regent Bones, who was there purely as a tiebreak in the event they
needed one—stared across the hearing room at the witnesses who were technically
not on trial, while simultaneously absolutely being on trial.

A tiebreak hadn’t been needed.

They’d heard all the evidence submitted to them, all the accounts, and asked all
the questions they wished. The statements of both Lord Potter and the Ministry
were clearly self-serving and held little basis in actual wizarding law or
magic.

Yes, Harry Potter was a child of House Potter and had assisted in the killing of
the basilisk, even going so far as to strike the final blow, but he’d been
assisted by many others.

The Ministry’s argument for why they should get to keep the basilisk were on
even shakier ground. Some reference to some statute that no one had looked at or
even cared about for a hundred years and whose existence Augusta suspected
wouldn’t be long for this world now that the Wizengamot had their eyes on it.

So in the end, the actual findings of the investigation had been rather easy.

Regent Longbottom cleared her throat. “Ladies and Gentlemen, my fellow lords and
ladies. We’ve heard all the accounts of what happened during the event under
question, and it is our conclusion that this matter is no one’s ‘fault.’ There
will be no trial as we have heard nothing that leads us to believe that any
crime was committed.”

There was a susurration from the Gallery.

“However!” Regent Longbottom continued, speaking louder to be heard. “However,
there are still matters arising from this episode that must be addressed, either
as statements now or as recommendations to the Wizengamot, which we will direct
the Chief Warlock to include in the relevant sessions. Mister Dumbledore.” She
nodded towards Dumbledore who nodded back.

“Firstly, the matter of the basilisk. We find that this is the sole property of
Lord Slytherin,”

There was an eruption from the Gallery.

“Silence!” Madam Longbottom called out. “Silence! We find that the Basilisk is
the property of Lord Slytherin, however, we would like to remind everyone that
all parts of a basilisk are controlled magical substances and that only those
that have been granted monopoly rights may farm or import them. The Nott family
has been Magical Britain’s sole supplier of basilisk for three hundred years and
we see no reason to change that, given the good work they do. Therefore, our
recommendation to the Wizengamot is that the monopoly on basilisk farming be
extended to private domestic trade as well. Happy now, Young Edgar?”

Up in the Gallery, Lord Nott kept his poker face and merely nodded.

“Secondly, there is the matter of Slytherin’s control of the wards of Hogwarts.
In this matter, we find that he acted fully within reasonable limits and that if
his control is required to continue the security of the castle, then so be it.”

“You’re honour, I must protest!” cried out Dolores Umbridge, standing up so fast
that her chair shot backwards.

This earned her little but a silencing spell to the face.

“Enough!” snapped Madam Longbottom, slipping her wand back up the cuff of her
robe. “No, this really is too much. This is our courtroom and we will be
respected within these chambers.”

Umbridge sat back down, now glaring daggers.

“Our decision on this is final,” Regent Longbottom declared, now glaring up at
the still far-from-silent Gallery above.

No one was saying anything specific, not wanting to be singled out. It was more
a general cacophony of huuuhs, aggggghhhs, Arrrhhhhs.

“We have been deemed able by Dimwiddy’s Scales of Judgement and so our
interpretation of the laws that you make is final,” Madam Longbottom continued.
“Need we remind you of that?”

Slowly, the gallery settled back down. When the aristocracy of magical Britain
was finished showing their very clear discontent—or at least, those parts of it
that weren’t Gray did—Madam Longbottom continued.

“And finally, there is the matter of Miss Malfoy’s animagus form.”

There was a puzzled silence.

“What—” came an icy voice from the gallery, cutting through the sudden quiet
like a sabre through silk, “—about my daughter’s animagus form?”

Unlike with Umbridge, Augusta Longbottom did not pull her wand on Lord Malfoy.

“Well,” Regent Longbottom said, “The way we see it…”

— DPaSW: TGS —

Towards the end of the last recess…

Suddenly Madam Longbottom’s air switched from conspiratorial to cautious. “What
about Miss Malfoy’s statement?” she asked.

“About how she thought she might be able to control the basilisk,” Hermoine
said, doing her best to sound like she wasn’t pushing an agenda, even though it
would be obvious to both parties that was exactly what she was doing. “And how
Lord Nott said it would probably have been possible, if she were the first to
reach it.”

“What of it?”

Hermione took a steadying breath before continuing. “Well,” she started, “The
way I see it, the Wizengamot seems to take a special interest in particularly
dangerous magics.”

“Naturally,” Madam Longbottom confirmed. “The last thing the Wizarding World
needs is more large-scale catastrophes. They do a lot of damage and put
incredible strain on our oblivators. But Miss Malfoy’s parseltongue ability in
her animagus form hardly constitutes a magical catastrophe. Not in the same way
that Harry Potter’s or Luna’s forms do.”

Hermione nodded quickly to show she agreed. “Of course, of course. But you must
admit, it is rather convenient, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Her brother.”

“…What about her brother—oh.”

Hermione could see the wheels moving in Augusta Longbottom’s head. Not long ago,
the Wizengamot had convened a special session just to ban Draco Malfoy from
further experimentation with the Serpensortia spell—a rather knee-jerk response
to the news that a Hogwarts student had succeeded in summoning a basilisk, even
a young one, and in rather exceptional circumstances. But, he’d managed it
regardless.

The fact that the young wizard in question was the heir of one of the most
influential wizards in the country hadn’t stopped the near-unanimous vote.

“I agree that Virgo’s animagus form isn’t that dangerous by itself, but if you
combined it with her brother’s demonstrated capability,” Hermoine said, putting
all the pieces together out loud, “Well…”

— DPaSW: TGS —

“But this is outrageous!” Lord Malfoy declared, bolting to his feet. “The
Wizengamot has already voted to ban my heir’s experimentations with a very basic
spell. Surely that is enough!”

All around the hearing room, Lords and Ladies were giving Lord Malfoy the stink
eye, muttering under their breath.

Down in the hearing room, Virgo was glaring daggers at Harry, who for his part
seemed completely unfazed.

“Whether there is anything to be banned or not will be up to the Wizengamot,”
Longbottom said, her stuffed vulture now glaring up at the Gallery where Lucius
was glaring down.  “I am merely advising that Miss Malfoy be added to the
hearing on whether any restrictions should be placed on magical Britain’s new
rather unique animagi. Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood, and Virgo Malfoy. They will
all face the stand together. I do not believe your peers will disagree with
this.

Her gaze swept over the Gallery. “All those in favour?”

“CONTENT!” shouted basically every Lord in attendance.

Lord Malfoy’s face went a slightly deeper shade of red.

“Leave it, Lucius,” said Edgar Nott next to him. “This is not a battle you can
win.”

Lord Malfoy made a disgusted noise, breaking away from his staring contest with
Madam Longbottom.

“Then it is settled!” Madam Longbottom called out. “Chief Warlock Dumbledore,
please make the arrangements. And with that we have another fifteen-minute break
before the start of the next session. Hearing adjourned!”

And with a single loud bang coming from the tip of the judge’s wand, the
basilisk hearing was concluded.

— DPaSW: TGS —

“That was wicked!” Alexandra whispered gleefully to Ginny while Wizarding
aristocracy filed out of the Galley around them. “Now whatever restriction they
place on Harry and Luna, they’ll have to place on Virgo, as well! This time,
we’ll have the whole of the Dark on our side! To act against anything
unreasonable the Light try to foist on us!”

Ginny frantically nodded her head. She wasn’t altogether certain that Harry
wouldn’t have made this play even if she hadn’t messed up as badly as she did.
But it at least felt better knowing the diary would think this was the
consequence of its attack on her while she’d been impersonating Harry.

Down in the hearing room, Daphne Greengrass held up two fingers to them and made
a cutting motion.

Two sessions down, plenty more to go.

— DPaSW: TGS —

“Arthur. Arthur!”

In the corridor outside the basilisk hearing, Arthur Weasley looked around to
find James Potter hurrying towards him.

“Yes, Lord Potter?”

James stopped in from of him before looking around quickly to make sure they
weren’t being overhead. “Listen, Arthur. I don’t want you to think I’m being
overly suspicious or anything. But I have to ask. You don’t have any kind of
special relationship with Lord Slytherin do you?”

“No more so than we’ve already discussed.”

“Only, isn’t it a bit weird that Slytherin would decide to sweep in and offer up
Hogwarts scholarships like that just when Ginny needed it most?”

Arthur pursed his lips.

“Oh, I know that it was Lockhart who made the announcement, but there’s only one
place the gold can actually be coming from. Wherever Slytherin gets his wealth
from.”

“You know I try to maintain a neutral position,” Arthur replied.

“Yes, but…” James looked wretched.

“And isn’t it reasonable for Lord Slytherin to be considerate of Ginny’s
ambitions? Firstly, he was the one who proposed Harry’s betrothal to her, and
secondly, he is a British lord. Quidditch is probably in his blood as much as it
is yours.”

James looked loath to admit he shared anything in common with the mysterious
masked lord. “Yes,” he eventually conceded, “but even I didn’t propose funding
Ginny’s entire Quidditch career for the next six years. That could get quite
expensive, you know.”

Arthur shrugged. “I’m sure there will be many others who benefit from the
Hogwarts scholarships.”

James looked ready to argue some more, but he then his gaze fell on something
behind Arthur’s shoulder, presumably someone coming straight towards them from
the other end of the corridor.

“Oh, hells,” James muttered, “Look, I have to go. See you at the aniamgus
hearing!”

Arthur watched the retreating leader of the lords of the Light as a rather
dishevelled and pissed-off-looking Rita Skeeter passed by on his left, no doubt
on the trail of blood, or at least, a story, which for her might as well be the
same thing.

She certainly had the look of someone looking for something very specific.

— DPaSW: TGS —

“I just want to say how proud I am of you, Harry,” Lily gushed, preening over
her son in a way that might have sent bubbles of joy through him back when he
was twelve in the last timeline. “Even when you were pushed, you
didn’t completely lose your cool.”

“Thank you,” Harry said sardonically.

For some reason, Lily seemed to have taken ‘Harry’s’ mess-up at the Wizengamot
as proof that he was in fact still a child and that she should absolutely dote
over him as though the whole Dursley abandonment thing hadn’t happened.

The fact that he’d ultimately, ‘won’ and manoeuvred Virgo into a position where
she might need to support Harry and Luna if she wanted to keep using her own
animagus form, apparently merely proved that he was a talented but flawed young
man, rather than the untouchable savant he’d been before.

Of all the consequences he’d foreseen from Ginny’s mishap, this wasn’t one he’d
been prepared for.

Lily was acting more like one of the girls than the contrite, ashamed, and
panicky woman he’d created before and he wasn’t sure he was all that comfortable
with this new version.

“Of course Harry is amazing,” Hermione said from off to the side. “You should
have known that from the start.”

Gee, thanks, Hermione.

Lily nodded fervently

“You really should have,” Luna added.

Et tu, Luna?

Thank Merlin none of the other girls were here or this could have turned into
something even worse.

“And I can’t believe Virgo tried to get you into trouble like that,” Lily
continued. “Why, it half puts me in mind to…” she trailed off as though
uncertain she should say any more.

“Speaking of,” Harry interrupted, taking the natural break in the flow as the
opportunity it was. “Isn’t there something you’re forgetting again?”

Lily looked at him blankly before realization dawned. She let out an Eep of
shock and embarrassment and bolted for the door — the door of the Gray’s faction
room in Wizengamot Hall, where they’d been debriefing.

“John demonstrates his occasional usefulness yet again,” Harry murmured. “But
now that she’s gone, we can really get down to work. We’ve still got a bunch of
stuff to get ready for. Not least of which will be the Americans. They should be
here soon.”

Luna put a thoughtful finger on her chin. “Where do you suppose John went off
to? I haven’t seen him since before the last break.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know. And so long as he’s not here getting
in the way, I couldn’t care less.”

— DPaSW: TGS —

The room was dark, large, circular, and made of stone. John groggily awoke,
feeling the unexpected chill of someone far too used to warming charms, now
exposed to unexpectedly cold air.

He tried to move his hands, but found them bound. “Whaa?” he groaned out.

Then he saw what stood before him and his brain caught up with what his ears
were hearing.

“~Come,” a voice whispered and echoed. “~Come join us.”

“~Join us.”

“~Join us.”

“~Join us.”

“~Step through with us.”

“~With us.”

“~With us.”

The massive form of the Veil of Death loomed before him like a creepy miniature
stone henge filled with mist and smoke. John had never seen it before, but like
most of Wizarding Britain’s aristocracy, he knew that the tales of Death in the
old stories, plays, poems, and legends, were all too true. He knew that more
than anyone else, of course. But still, he’d never before actually seen the
veil.

That must mean that this place was…

A man in a robe hiding his face stepped out of the shadows.

The Department of Mysteries.

“Heir Potter,” the man intoned. “We would like to talk to you about a fantastic
opportunity.”

 

Author's note  

Hi, all! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I've been made aware of a plagiarised
version of DPaSW on webnovel under a different name. Thank you to everyone who
alerted me. I am considering my options. It seems I'm also not the only work
this individual is plagiarizing.

Prev chapter
Jump to chapter...Book 1 - Revenge is Best Served RawCh.1 - Through the VeilCh.2
- Flying Under the Radar - WandCh.3 - Flying Under the Radar - GoldCh.4 -
Greetings, I am Lord Slytherin - Part 1Ch.5 - Greetings, I am Lord Slytherin -
Part 2Bonus - A Wild Slytherin Has AppearedCh.6 - Good Morning Students, I'm
Harry PotterCh.7 - Hey, Grab a Drink, I'm The-Boy-Who-LivedCh.8 - Umm I'm the
Champion of Fate and Death?Ch.9 - The Book of Names - Part 1Ch.10 - The Book of
Names - Part 2Ch.11 - Straight From the Graveyard - Part 1Ch.12 - Straight from
the Graveyard - Part 2Ch.13 - Interlude - Hermione Goes ShoppingCh.14 -
Interlude - Alexandra's Birthday PartyBook 2 - The Foundations of PowerCh.15 -
The First Year's Train DanceCh.16 - A Very Slytherin Muggleborn - Part 1Ch.17 -
A Very Slytherin Muggleborn - Part 2Ch.18 - Slytherin's OutcastCh.19 - The
Chamber's Pipe NetworkCh.20 - Double Double Troll and TroubleCh.21 - The
Duelling ClubCh.22 - Muggleborns, Ghosts, and Musical ChairsCh.23 - Manor
Beginnings and The Winter FestivalCh.24 - Ginny Training in DreamlandCh.25 -
Necromancy for Fun and Fun - Part 1Ch.26 - Necromancy for Fun and Fun - Part
2Ch.27 - What Goes On In Knockturn AlleyCh.28 - Divination Dimwits Drugs and
DetentionCh.29 - Cleithrophobia and Planning a HeistCh.30 - Securing the
Area...Ch.31 - ...And the TournamentCh.32 - The House of Potter vs The
MinistryCh.33 - The Philosopher's ProphecyCh.34 - Interlude - Gairsay
islandCh.35 - Interlude - Blood Money and Blood MagicCh.36 - Interlude - Daphne
Goes Down to the VillageBook 3 - Nature Red in Cloak and DaggerCh.37 - Diagon
Alley Pile UpCh.38 - Strategic SortingCh.39 - The Little Trials of Virgo
MalfoyCh.40 - Alexandra Black, Meet Death’s ChampionCh.41 - Ginny's
decisionCh.42 - Daphne's Birthday, Work and Play - Part 1Ch.43 - Daphne's
Birthday, Work and Play - Part 2Ch.44 - Hermione's Quest - Part 1Ch.45 -
Hermione's Quest - Part 2Ch.46 - Hermione's Quest - Part 3Ch.47 - Interlude -
There’s No Business like Hogwarts BusinessCh.48 - Soul Anchors - Part 1Ch.49 -
Soul Anchors - Part 2Ch.50 - Soul Anchors - Part 3Ch.51 - Soul Anchors - Part
4Ch.52 - Interlude - This is the house that Floating-Interest builtCh.53 -
Movers and Shakers - Part 1Ch.54 - Movers and Shakers - Part 2Ch.55 - Movers and
Shakers - Part 3Ch.56 - Interlude - Nothing Like a Free PressCh.57 - Nature Red
- Part 1Ch.58 - Nature Red - Part 2Bonus - ReunitingCh.59 - Nature Red - Part
3Ch.60 - Nature Red - Part 4Ch.61 - Nature Red - Part 5Ch.62 - Nature Red - Part
6Ch.63 - Nature Red - Part 7Ch.64 - Nature Red - Part 8Ch.65 - Nature Red - Part
9Ch.66 - Nature Red - Part 10Ch.67 - Nature Red - Part 11Ch.68 - Nature Red -
Part 12Ch.69 - Nature Red - Part 13Ch.70 - Nature Red - Part 14Ch.71 - Nature
Red - Part 15Ch.72 - Nature Red - Part 16Ch.73 - Nature Red - Part 17Extra -
Quidditch ShenanigansBook 4 - The Gray's SecretCh.74 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 1Ch.75 - The Gray's Secret - Chapter 2Ch.76 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 3Ch.77 - The Gray's Secret - Chapter 4Ch.78 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 5Ch.79 - The Gray's Secret - Chapter 6Ch.80 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 7Ch.81 - The Gray's Secret - Chapter 8Ch.82 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 9Ch.83 - The Gray's Secret - Chapter 10Ch.84 - The Gray's Secret -
Chapter 11
Next chapter
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