Chapter Text
Saturday morning found Harry along with his teammates seated within the locker room with a heavy tension being felt throughout the room. By this point the tournament was well underway having started the previous day. Word of the tournament must have spread however as the stands had been filled to bursting the previous day and more had needed to be created for all of those who'd arrived to view the matches.
Their first opponents had been Hufflepuff whom they had defeated 200-50 and from what Harry had later learned it had been a very interesting match until Harry had sighted and snatched up the snitch just after the ninety minute mark. That however was yesterday and while it had been fun today was an entirely different situation.
Today's opponent was Ravenclaw, who had come into the tournament 0-1 having previously lost to Hufflepuff only to defeat Slytherin the previous day bringing them up to 1-1. This put them in the same position as the Puff's with Slytherin bringing up the rear at 0-2 for all intents and purposes putting them out of the running for the cup.
Aside from all of that however today's game was special for one reason and one reason alone, revenge. The previous year Ravenclaw had not only beaten them for the Quiddich Cup but they had served them with their biggest defeat in three centuries. It was the one game Harry hadn't played the previous year as he had been in the hospital wing due to his confrontation with Quirrell.
"Alright people listen up." Came the voice of Oliver Wood breaking him from his thoughts.
"We all know what today's game means; winning this game guarantees us a spot in the final showdown tomorrow and a shot at the Cup. We are undoubtedly the best team in this school and I think its damned time everyone else knows it." Said Oliver something Harry couldn't help but agree with.
"That however is tomorrow. Today I want you lot focused on one thing, revenge. I want to show them that what happened last year was not only a fluke but that they shouldn't have bragged about it. Most importantly though I want them to know why Lions rule the jungle and why it is not wise to anger them. I've gotten all of you a book of tactics for your respective positions; it's time to put what we've learned to work."
At these words the smiles that graced their faces would have made anyone seeing them extremely nervous. While Gryffindor's were known for bravery, chivalry and courage there was another part of them that most didn't know about until it was too late. They were vindictive, while they would let many things slide once pushed far enough retribution was swift, brutal and for those who witnessed or fell prey never failed to instill a lesson.
"Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Day 2 of the Hogwarts Inter-house Quiddich Cup Tournament. For today's matches we have the snakes of Slytherin vs. the badgers of Hufflepuff. However before that we have the eagles of Ravenclaw vs the Lions of Gryffindor.
My name is Lee Jordan and I will be your host for what is sure to be an intense grudge match as the Lions look to take vengeance on the eagles who only won last year's cup due to the Gryffindor seeker being in the hospital wing."
"JORDAN!"
"Well I guess things really are back to normal or as normal as this place gets anyway." Said Harry hearing McGonagall's sharp exclamation.
"Ready?" questioned Oliver turning to his team and getting nods all around before each of them mounted their brooms and took off.
Meanwhile within the Upper Regions the Elders were once again meeting. In truth it was more of a continuation from the previous meeting he attended. At this point they were actually discussing the schooling of the magical children.
Magic School, the school founded by the Elders so long ago was still closed. Firstly the school had no one to run it and secondly the wards which previously protected it had been broken through by demons. For the time being all of the children were being trained in smaller local schools however that had always been a temporary measure and as such they had gathered to discuss the matter today.
"I may have a solution." Stated Leo slowly causing everyone to look towards him.
"What if we don't reopen the previous school but merge it with an existing one." Stated Leo causing the other Elders to pause.
"An interesting solution." Stated an Elder by the name of Iota.
"True but which one?" questioned Elder Barnabas.
"Out of the ten major schools remaining we can automatically rule out Koldovstoretz, Mahoutokoro, Kunlun and Durmstrang." Stated Elder Mark knowing that none of those spoke English on campus.
"Beauxbatons may well be out as well as they speak French as a primary and don't focus on English until later years." Stated Sandra.
"That leaves Hogwarts, Ilvermorny, Castelobruxo, Uagadou and Heka." Stated Elder Kheel.
"We don't have any influence in Heka." Stated Elder Jonnah.
"Very well. Before we make any further choices we will scope the remaining three out. Leo will cover Hogwarts while we send a group of Junior Whitelighters to Uagadou, Heka, Ilvermory and Castelobruxo. After all we need to find out if they are even capable of taking on our students on top of their own." Stated the woman who he had come to know as the Queen of the Realm, Himawari.
Meanwhile within a modest two bedroom apartment in Manhattan a single figure stood looking over a sleeping figure. The standing one was covered from head to two in robes of the blackest light and his head was covered by a hood enveloping his face in shadow.
The sleeping figure was a boy with raven black hair who could be no older than thirteen. Their hands hovered over the boys sleeping form glowing with a golden light. Finally after some time they stopped retracting their hands and after a moment to look over their work and another to just take in the appearance of the child, their form vanished as a cloud of golden orbs of light lifted itself out of the room.
Just as the last of the orbs of light left the room the door was pushed open by a brown haired woman that could only be the boy's mother.
Harry like his teammates could be found panting as he sat in the Gryffindor locker room. All of them sat on benches completely drained of energy as by the time the game was over after nearly two hours the game had become a massacre.
Harry for the most part had acted as a fourth chaser for the majority of the game breaking up plays and intercepting more than a few passes, much as the girls had. It had been nice to see the Claws so frustrated as the more frustrated the got the sloppier they became. In the end the game ended with a final score of 260 to 10. As such he was forced to admit if only to himself that all those extra practices with Oliver had certainly paid off.
"That felt…"
"…so good" Said the Weasley twins after several silent minutes causing everyone else to chuckle
"Did you see their reaction when Harry got McPherson with that Wronski?" questioned Alicia.
"It was beautiful." Said Oliver.
Andrew McPherson was the captain for Ravenclaws team, a seventh year and their seeker. Harry got him with a Wronski Feint about thirty minutes in which had taken him out of the game. With him out of the way it had freed Harry up and allowed him to help out the Chasers.
A few minutes later he and Katie were standing to their feet after consuming pepper-up potions curtesy of Dobby and making their way to the showers. Over the last two years he'd gotten used to sharing the shower room with Katie, while they were separated by a divider it was time that the two of them always used to talk and he had found that Katie was absolutely hilarious.
Thirty minutes later found a very refreshed Harry sitting within the great hall enjoying a well-deserved lunch. All around him he could hear people talking excitedly about the last game many of whom had congratulated him on a well-played game.
While the grounds outside had become a literal fair the great hall was reserved for the students, which meant they didn't have to pay for the food as they would at the stands that had been set up near the pitch.
"Harry mate that was bloody brilliant!" came an excited voice that immediately had him looking up to see the form of Ron Weasley standing before him and positively beaming.
"They let you out!" exclaimed Harry in surprise as the redhead took a seat across from him.
"After yesterday's game, which I had to listen to on the wireless, dad agreed to come with me for the games." Explained the youngest Weasley boy.
Ron and Ginny had not been in the castle for the last few days. Apparently they had only come for dinner earlier in the week because there had been a Weasley family meeting. From what he understood Mr. Weasley had really let the twins and Percy have it for ignoring their sister throughout the year.
On top of that he'd laid into Ron about his study habits and his atrocious table manners. Ginny had merely been there because the man hadn't wanted to let her out of his sight, but since then had been in Saint Mungo's for sessions with their mind healers and to make sure there was no lasting damage from her possession.
Ron had also been in Saint Mungo's though in his case they needed to treat him and get him through the withdrawals from the potions he'd been under.
From what he'd learned prolong consumption of potions could lead to addition very similar to the drugs that muggles had come up with. This is why healing potions were made to taste disgusting so that people didn't want to take them. As it was he'd heard Percy had lost any chance of becoming Head Boy next year as both his father and McGonagall felt he didn't have his priorities straight.
"Where's Hermione?" questioned Ron bringing him out of his thoughts.
"She went with Parvati, Lavender, Fay, Padma and this girl Luna down to the fair." Said Harry causing Ron to blink.
"Our Hermione actually went somewhere with Parvati and Lavender?" questioned Ron in shock.
"Being petrified really scared her. To be honest it scared me too, she could have died. Outside of me and you she felt like nobody else here would have really cared." Said Harry.
What went unsaid was that both of them had actually wondered if Ron would have cared at all. Whatever the case however the conversation was ended there as McGonagall chose that moment to make her appearance.
"Mr. Potter your guests have arrived." Stated the witch.
Sighing and looking longingly down at his only half finished meal Harry grabbed a biscuit to munch on before getting up and following her towards the entrance hall.
Meanwhile within one of the many meeting rooms within Gringotts the woman known as Narcissa Malfoy sat primly within a high backed chair. Her blonde hair was done up and tied into a neat bun with not a strand out of place and she wore a pair of deep green robes.
Across from her sat a man who had introduced himself to her as Elliot Prewett, whom had been placed in charge of the accounts of the Black Family by her late grandfather Arcturus Black, the previous Lord Black as the family's steward.
They'd been deep in discussion for the last twenty minutes since her arrival and she must admit if only to herself she found the younger man quite the professional, unlike many she'd had the displeasure of meeting since her marriage.
"Well then it seems you were correct. Your grandfather did indeed place an escape clause into your marriage contract and Lucius's actions have indeed made it enforceable in several ways. As things stand you can now leave your marriage and Lucius must forfeit any rights to your son.
Furthermore for each violation of contract you not only get to take your bride price back but due to the length of your marriage and the number of breaches you'll leave several million galleons richer. Also any business gained by the Malfoy family that you were instrumental in acquiring goes with you to the House of Black.
Normally that would be the end of it. However as House Weasley is suing House Malfoy due to Lucius's actions towards their sole daughter it's a pretty much foregone conclusion that they'll be winning that case for their asking price.
Because those galleons affect what you would normally take Sirius has allowed me to instead take any properties of your choice from the Malfoy holdings until the value of those galleons have been reached." Explained Elliot.
"I see, and what is the estimated value?" questioned Narcissa thoughtfully.
"Unknown at this point. The only reason I even know about the legal suit is because the Black Family Accounts Manager is also in control of the Malfoy account." Explained Elliot
"I see, do you have a guess?" questioned Narcissa.
"Well considering that not only is Ginny the only female Weasley by birth, she is the first one born in several generations means her value is much higher than many other families. Second take into consideration that it was Malfoy family duplicity that lost the Weasley's not only much of their wealth but also their status as a Noble Family. I will be advising my sister and her husband to go for the jugular to borrow a muggle phrase."
"What does it all mean for me?" questioned Narcissa.
"Well for one your divorce is now a mere formality so it's as good as done. As for the money and properties that may take a while. As it stands Sirius has offered you the use of an apartment owned by the family for the summer located in Manhattan, New York.
Normally he'd have offered you one in the country but those are all scheduled to be inspected by Gringotts curse breakers within the next few weeks. Considering they'll also be updating the wards for various properties he felt this was a better option." Explained Elliot.
"I was unaware the Family had any property in the States." Stated Narcissa.
"It's a newer property. Towards the end of his life the previous Lord Black had taken to living there. The entire building is owned by the Black Family but he kept an apartment for himself while renting out the others. That said this property comes with the provision that you don't cast any magic over the summer holidays." Stated the man.
"Excuse me?" questioned the woman in surprise.
"The current Lord Black feels like people have begun taking their magic for granted, especially purebloods. That said the apartment is currently full of the latest technologies and as such magic cast can be quite dangerous.
Furthermore the Statue of Secrecy is in danger of being made obsolete so consider this preparation for that time. We'll hire you a cook and a cleaner however the rule stands no magic." Stated Elliot causing Narcissa to bite her lip deep in thought.
Meanwhile back at the school Harry found himself leading a small entourage consisting of several goblins and the four Heads of House through the underground tunnels that led to the Chamber of Secrets. The goblins numbered a total of seven including the lead who went by the name of Longclaw, the brother of his Gringotts Account Manager.
Aside from them there were only two more people accompanying them Colin Creevey with his camera in hand and a young girl by the name of Luna Lovegood. Luna, like Collin was in her first year only she was in Ravenclaw and had long pale-blonde hair that fell to her mid-back.
She oddly enough wore Dirigible plum earrings and a necklace that looked like it was fashioned from the corks of butterbeer bottles. She also possessed a distant and dreamy demeanor supported by an aura of dottiness. Despite this though he found that he liked the younger girl over the time they talked since they first met in the library a few months ago.
Luna like Neville and Hermione, was one of the few who had believed that he wasn't the one who had set the monster loose on the students. He knew most people tended to avoid her due to her personality and the fact that she believed in things and creatures that others didn't.
Sure she had her quirks but he honestly believed he wasn't one to judge considering his own baggage and despite what people thought everyone was entitled to their own beliefs. Hell he knew most people scoffed at the belief of aliens until two years ago then bam, there was a hole ripped in the sky over New York and aliens were invading. That said who was he to say that whatever creatures she thought were real weren't, after all he'd once though unicorns were a myth until he'd had a class focused on them in his first year.
Regardless none of that explained why the two were following along. The simple truth of the matter was that Harry had invited the two, Colin to take pictures and Luna so that she could write about it in her family's magazine the Quibbler.
During the journey they'd only stopped twice, once so that Professor Flitwick could fix the collapsed pile of rocks that was blocking the way forward and once so that the goblin harvesters could inspect the shed skin of the basilisk. At the moment they stood in front of the large iron doors as he mentally prepared himself to go back to the scene of his latest near death experience.
"Open up." Came the hissed command after several silent seconds.
For a moment all was still before the doors slowly swung themselves open allowing them entrance. Once the door opened wide enough the goblins streamed inside with Professor Flitwick following them along with Professor Sinestra before they allowed the three youngest to enter and Professor's McGonagall and Sprout brought up the rear.
Colin as he entered became rather animated and immediately began clicking away with his camera taking pictures of everything that caught his eye. Harry however froze as a voice just on the edge of his senses caught his attention. Eyes narrowing after a few moments he took a step forward his entire body language changing with the action something that did not go unnoticed by the pair of witches behind him.
"Colin, get back here, we're not alone." Said Harry his words having immediate effect on everyone with the teachers brandishing wands while the goblins all went back to back taking guarded stances with their axes.
That however if anything produced amusement judging by the bark of laughter he heard. He heard whoever it was claim they weren't a threat something he felt would be easier to prove if they showed themselves. He must have said it aloud however as a moment later a man appeared before them.
He stood tall at what was perhaps 6'5" and wore a pair of dark green robes with a high black collar. His head was shaven bald but he had a beard of grey hair that went down to the top of his chest and ended in a point that was nearly the color of his grey eyes. The most peculiar thing about him however was that you could see right through him and his body had what appeared to be a blue outline surrounding it.
"Merlin's beard, you're Salazar Slytherin!" exclaimed Professor Sinestra in surprise.
"Indeed I am, well met Professors." Stated the man bowing his head slightly.
"How are you here, your definitely not a ghost." Stated Professor McGonagall.
"No I am not. It is a technique Rowena taught us, so while I am in the beyond I can use the magic of this place to commune with the living." Stated Salazar before turning his attention to Harry who took a reflexive step back.
"Now then young Mister Potter I believe I owe you much thanks. If not for you my dear friend Hilda here may well have labored even longer under that idiot Riddles spell. She would be happy to know you stopped her before another young life could be unfairly taken by her." Stated the ancient wizard.
"I don't understand I thought that's why the chamber was built so you could have a weapon to kill muggleborns." Stated Harry with a frown.
"Non-sense. New-bloods are a blessing especially in your time, what with the segregation. Without new-bloods such as your friend Ms. Granger there would be no fresh ideas, no progression and eventually our kind would stagnate." Stated Salazar.
"I don't understand I thought you hated muggleborns, the legends swear by it." Stated Professor Sprout.
"Please Helga was a new-blood and I married her. No I simply felt that new-blooded individuals should be brought in differently. I felt that it would be better if we started them earlier so that they could learn our ways and traditions and understand them. Unfortunately due to the times this was unable to be accomplished, at the time it was just the four of us and it was a time of constant warfare." Explained Salazar
"Now as for why I am here. Mister Potter you have done me a huge honor, not only have you freed my friend but you cast that idiot Riddle out of the line of succession. Because Riddle was responsible for the death of a previous magical heir he was able to take his spot. However by you defeating him in battle you have stripped him of that position and brought it back to the family. As such you may consider this Chamber as yours from this point forward.
You will soon know every secret of this chamber and how to access it. However I ask that you take the time to study the library and perhaps translate a few of the text there. However a word of warning, while many of the magical text are powerful and may prove difficult to learn I hope you only attempt to do so with an adult present.
Magic is after all quite dangerous, as a side note the hat wanted you in Slytherin for a reason, you should let that part of you out. After all my magic flows in you as well even if Godric's is stronger." Stated the man causing several eyes to widen none more so than Harry's by the time he was done.
"So you're actually leaving?"
The question was asked by a man who appeared to be in his late thirties. He had sandy brown hair that was cut short but styled in such a way that his hair fell over his right eyebrow. He had vibrant green eyes and stood at a height of 6'2". He wore what appeared to be high quality wizarding robes that were black with accents of red. From his position seated behind his desk Albus Dumbledore had to admit the man looked good possessing none of the wear and tear that he had expected to see him carrying by this point.
"Indeed I am. There are things that must be put into motion. You have lived in the muggle world, I think you would know more than most of how muggles have advanced in the last few centuries." Stated the old wizard.
"True however before it was a slow process however in just the last two or three decades technology has grown by leaps and bounds. It's actually quite amazing what they've come up with." Stated the man.
"Indeed it is young Remus. However that was just the tip of the iceberg, the rise of the Avengers, the Chitarri invasion and the return of Thor and Loki have changed the narrative. Muggles now know for certain that Gods exist even if it's just the Norse their curiosity has been awakened, they'll want to know what else is out there." Stated Albus.
"You think they'll start looking for us." Stated Remus causing Albus to snort.
"They already know where we are." Stated Albus with certainty that brought Remus up short.
"Tell me, what do you think happens to all of the muggleborns who leave Hogwarts only to discover whatever prospects they thought they had were not to happen. That all they had to look forward to were menial task. What happens to those who leave here and discover that they were passed up for jobs by people whom they outscored by large margins?" questioned Dumbledore causing Remus to frown.
"They leave." Stated Remus remembering several people he'd graduated with, housemates whom he'd seen over the years and learned they'd moved abroad.
"Some do. But many more, those most noteworthy the Head Boys and Girls, Prefects and many others they find themselves soon coming into the employ of various agencies. S.H.I.E.L.D was and probably still is a big one, W.H.O (Weird Happenings Organization) is also a big one. Or at least it was I hear it's about to undergo an overhaul." Stated Albus.
"That's a blatant violation of the Statue of Secrecy." Stated Remus with a frown.
"Not really. Governments especially the British, Chinese, and Japanese are all old enough to have records of our existence. While the original written records may no longer be available I have no doubt that they have been digitized. No the Statute is meant to hide us from the general population, a secret I fear will not be kept much longer." Stated Albus.
"So what do we do?" questioned Remus frowning.
"You learn to blend in to the crowds. Segregation was always a stop gap measure." Stated a new voice catching both by surprise and causing them to look at the door where another man was standing.
"Sorry to interrupt the door was open. My name is Leo Wyatt." Stated the man making his way in.
"So you're the Elder I've heard so much about. My thanks for healing the students."
"Elder?" questioned Remus.
"Indeed. Mister Wyatt is what is known as a Whitelighter and among them an Elder. Until just recently we had no idea if they actually existed so we never taught about them." Stated Albus
"How can I help you today Elder?" questioned Albus.
"Actually I think we can help each other."
To say the atmosphere inside Hogwarts was festive would be an understatement. Over the last few days Hogwarts had seen games of Quiddich that despite their short length had been filled with an intensity that many had never seen before. The strategies each team had come up with to accomplish their goals within the small time limit had been wonderful.
In fact it was so successful that the final had not had the time limit removed simply extended an extra hour. Slytherin had beaten Hufflepuff 80-60 as the time limit had expired just before Cedric Diggory the Hufflepuff Seeker managed to catch the snitch.
As such it had been Gryffindor and Slytherin in the finals. As it was Harry was forced to admit if only to himself that Draco wasn't as bad a flier as he thought as the seeker who took his spot Thomas Avery, a sixth year had actually been a lot worse.
From his position within the Gryffindor common room Harry could see that his teammates were all still in their euphoric states. The Gryffindor common room was currently crowded by several people from multiple years who were currently celebrating.
As far as the party went it seemed like everyone was enjoying the festive atmosphere, even 'perfect' Percy could be seen with a butterbeer in hand. He himself was leaning back into a couch near the fire a half empty bottle of butterbeer in one hand while his right arm was wrapped around Hermione who was currently leaning into his chest. The rest of the team appeared to be still be surrounded by admirers and enjoying the celebrations.
He couldn't say he blamed them however all of them had been approached by representatives or players from professional teams just after the games. As if that hadn't been enough each of them had been approached by a representative from the Nimbus Racing Company and informed that not only was the company looking to sponsor the team in the next year but with the exception of Harry all of them had been gifted with Nimbus 2001's.
The representative however had informed Harry that as he already had a Nimbus 2000 that they had something special they were going to offer him once it was ready and that he should receive it before the end of the summer.
Not only that but they'd had photos taken which they were informed would in Seeker Weekly and as a team had even sat for a small interview with a reporter. Harry had actually been quite pleased when the focus of the interview had been on the others.
Sure the man had asked him a few questions but his focus had been on the others especially the chasers. After that though when Harry had started looking a bit shifty McGonagall had called for anyone not a current member of the Gryffindor Quiddich Team to leave. After a very relaxing shower he and the team had returned to the great hall where the house elves had thrown them a massive feast.
Following that was the victory party held in the Gryffindor common room. It had started just after dinner in the Great Hall. In truth he didn't know how they even got a hold of some of the things they did but he wouldn't be the one to question the twins and Lee on anything. Still he had to admit that he much preferred muggle music to wizarding music and made a mental note to introduce real music to people around here.
Meanwhile in the town of Smallville a black haired youth could be seen sitting within the loft of his family barn. It had been quite a few days since the sudden storm that had swept over much of the world. More importantly it had been a few days since his secret had come out to two young ladies that he counted on his small list of friends when he'd saved them from being struck by lightning.
At first they had been afraid that like most others with abilities in Smallville he was what was known as a meteor-mutant. He had corrected them in that his abilities were natural to him. For as long as he could remember he had always possessed super strength, according to his adoptive parents they'd met him when he had found them in their overturned truck in a ditch. At the age of six he had developed super speed and today he had learned he possessed invulnerability due to the fact he'd gotten hit by a car.
"Clark!"
The call of his name from his mother had him standing from the couch to find her standing on the ground floor. Climbing down the stairs he was met with a hug from the woman who was obviously still a bit shaken up.
His mother was perhaps the single most important person in his life and the two had always been close. In fact his own name of 'Clark' was in actuality her maiden name. She stood at the average height of 5'5" and had ginger red hair and was known for her heartwarming smile which never failed to catch the attention of anyone she knew.
"Come, there's someone I want you to meet."
With that said she led him out of the barn and back into the house. Inside they were met by his father Jonathan Kent who possessed dark blond hair and blue eyes. He was actually quite tall at 6'4" and was a former football player, only he'd been injured in college and as such never went to the professional league.
His attention however was pulled to a new person, one who stood at 6'2 and possessed oddly enough grey eyes with black hair that had white at the temples. He wore a pair of black pants and a blue shirt along with a scarlet red cape with a high collar that seemed to frame his face. His eyes were soon brought to his chest where a strange golden medallion rested.
"It's been quite some time. You've grown well Kal-El."
The last two weeks of term went by in a blur. Neville had returned on Sunday night just prior to curfew in order to attend classes for the remainder of the term. When he had come however he'd come with a new wand that was 13 inches crafted with cherry wood and with unicorn hair as the core.
Classes had all been going wonderfully as well. Professor Dumbledore returned in time to see the games over the weekend and as of the following Monday had taken over as the Potions professor. Madam Bones had allowed them an Auror by the name of Kingsley Shacklebolt to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts for the remainder of the term as well.
With the aged Headmaster teaching them many had found an appreciation for potions not the least of which was Harry. Under a proper teacher the classes seemed to blossom and without all of the harassment by Snape and the Slytherin contingent of Malfoy and his cronies students soon began to enjoy and anticipate the class. Defense had become the hit that everyone had always wanted and Kingsley or Professor Shacklebolt as they'd taken to calling him had taught them a number of jinxes, hexes and counter spells.
It hadn't however been all fun. Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy, Herbology and History of Magic had all been pretty much review culminating with a pop quiz which everyone felt had seemed too much like a final exam.
Still for the first time Harry found himself enjoying the vast majority of his classes, though history was still pretty much regarded as naptime. On Wednesday the new edition of the Quibbler was released the cover of which showed him standing and facing the doors of the Chamber of Secrets.
The magazine also featured his very first interview in which he explained the encounter with the shade of Riddle and fight against the Basilisk. Ginny's name had been left out completely, though Ron's had been added and their encounter with Lockhart had apparently ruined the man.
Luna had also somehow included the conversation with Salazar. The edition had been a hit and apparently opened the floodgates. Apparently until that time not many had known about the troubles of the year and many parents were incensed.
The Ministry and from what he heard the Board of Governors were flooded with Owls and Howlers due to their lack of action. While many praised young Harry for taking action the fact that he had been forced to do so pissed off many parents, not the least of which was one Molly Weasley.
The Ministry in response quickly shifted all the blame to the Board who had failed to report the troubles to the DMLE and considering the niece of Amelia Bones was attending the school many understood her righteous indignation.
Not only that but the Pureblood movement had taken a devastating blow with Salazar Slytherin himself debunking them. Knowledge that Helga Hufflepuff herself was a muggleborn created shockwaves. The news had people clamoring to know more about the founders and demanding the pure-blood propaganda be taken from the shelves.
As it was he had been sent an owl by the Daily Prophet requesting an interview. He responded that he would only do so if the reporter was not someone by the name of Rita Skeeter and the usage of quick quotes quills was banned. That was of course after Dumbledore had removed the redirection ward on his mail.
As it turns out the man had applied it in the immediate aftermath of the war when people had begun bombarding Harry with things. Considering that he had not even been two years old and lived in a muggle neighborhood meant that the move had been backed by the Ministry.
The ward redirected all of Harry's mail to a storeroom in Hogwarts with the castle elves in charge of sorting and storing items. Anything dangerous had been sorted into its own pile which had been forwarded to the DMLE. Considering that the room had been quite full he had determined that he would use the time off for the summer to work on it.
Wednesday also brought the arrival of a notice from Gringotts. They discovered that the discrepancy in the manifest had been due to a filing error. As it turns out Dumbledore had gone through all the proper channels however the goblin that had given him the cloak just a week prior to when he received it had filed the transaction incorrectly.
Considering the goblin in question had been in training at the time he felt that it was forgivable but his account manager had assured him that such a thing would not happen again. Aside from that they informed him that Dumbledore withdrew an amount of 174 galleons 3 sickles and 11 knuts and transferred that to the account of one Vernon Dursley every month for his living expenses and care.
The breakdown revealed that he was essentially paying 525 pounds to the Dursley's a month for over a decade which had only slowed when he started attending Hogwarts and only began again in the summer months when he was with them. According to the math over the last ten years the Dursely's had received no less than 64,000 pounds from his accounts.
However once he had learned of how he had been living while there Sharpclaw put in a demand for the return of the funds with interest as Gringotts had a contract on file between the Dursley's and Dumbledore acting as his magical guardian.
As the Dursley's were in blatant violation of the contract they were seen as thieves in the eyes of the goblin nation. He had also advised him that they'd gotten a price for the corpse of the basilisk and its various valuable parts.
While they would be spreading it out so as not to crash the market they had estimated a price of two million galleons. As he had already told Longclaw what he wanted to do with the funds his account manager Sharpclaw had advised him that split how he wanted between himself and the victims that would be over three hundred thousand galleons a piece. Apparently all of the owls had been sent at the same time as well to the victims in this case being Hermione, Penelope, Justin, Colin and Ginny.
He had the thought to give something for Ron but Mr. Weasley had advised him against it. Apparently the man felt that Ron hadn't been a true friend and more than that he already had plans for Ron. He later learned that Snape had been dosing Ron with potions keyed to Dumbledore without the headmaster's notice.
With that action he secured himself an unknowing spy while he himself was a double agent acting against the headmaster who tended to tell him just about everything. Due to his actions during the war and after Snape was currently serving a life sentence in Azkaban right alongside Fudge and Malfoy. He'd had a small trial on Sunday and the results had been released to the Prophet which released the story on Monday morning.
Mr. Weasley had also filed a suit against Lockhart which he won due to memories submitted by Ron. With his actions of late against Malfoy, Snape and Lockhart, Arthur Weasley had become a power player almost overnight. Not only had he taken his families status as a Noble family back from the Malfoy's, moving them back into the Most Ancient and Noble category his various lawsuits had practically bankrupted all three men.
From what Ron explained to him in his letter Lockhart had been loaded and all of that was now Ron's exclusively as was everything Snape possessed. Not only that but he now owned the patents to many of the potions that the greasy one had created over the years.
It had been a very Slytherin move. While a more Gryffindor reaction would be to cause physical pain the Head of House Weasley had hit them where it had really hurt their pride and their vaults. He and Neville had both agreed that while there was no bloodshed what Mr. Weasley had done was actually a much worse punishment.
He had taken Malfoy's money and title of Noble, Snape's ownership and patents of potions and Lockhart's money and credibility. The things those men prided themselves on more than anything he'd stripped them away leaving them with nothing even their names were now worthless. It had been an abject lesson handed out by a Gryffindor in a Slytherin manner.
Shaking such thoughts from his head Harry turned his attention back to the present day. He was just in time as the carriage he was in chose that moment to come to a stop. As he climbed out of the carriage following Neville and Hermione the black haired youth took a moment to breath in the fresh air.
Looking around the Hogsmeade Station as it was called Harry could see the Black Lake not far away where he knew boats were usually docked to welcome first year students. At the moment the boats were absent but it was rumored that they were used to usher graduating students away from the castle allowing them a final trip from the place they'd previously called home.
The village of Hogsmeade itself could be seen in the distance as the station was placed just far enough so that the train would not disturb those who lived within the village. Sitting before them however was the Hogwarts Express which was a large red train, specifically a 4-6-0 steam locomotive.
While it was originally powered by a steam engine he knew it now ran exclusively on magic, though it still produced steam as it tended to run within plain view of muggles in some areas. Upon boarding the train it didn't take long to find a compartment as most of them were still empty as everyone needed to secure their luggage.
He, Hermione and Neville were luggage free as Harry had asked Dobby to take their luggage as they were heading off for breakfast. As he settled in to prepare for the long ride to King's Cross Station in London he soon found himself following the lead of his friends in closing his eyes to sleep.
Meanwhile in a galaxy a far distance from Earth on the surface of a moon a figure could be seen at rest. The figure was that of a man with long messy dirty blond hair that fell past his shoulders the front of which merged into his beard which fell to his chest. He wore no shirt showing he possessed a very muscular frame, a pair of ragged black pants and an equally ragged red cloak.
Around him lay the broken bodies of various life forms though he paid them no mind. Instead his attention was focused on the bottle of mead he held in his hand, and held previously by several discarded bottles that littered the area as well.
This was the scene another man found as he made his appearance. This man was an older one with long hair whitened by age and wore a dark armor with accents of gold. He had a single visible blue eye while his left eye was covered by a golden patch. He was Odin, Son of Bor, known as the All-father and the King of Asgard.
"I had hoped by now your mood would have improved." Stated the elder as he approached.
"They should have known not to challenge me. Mjolnir or no Mjolnir I am still the God of Thunder." Stated the man.
Despite the strong words the Elder could see that the man was very drunk, in fact he would bet at this point a strong wind would probably knock him over.
"Tell me my son why have you relinquished Mjolnir and what has brought you here." Said the elder.
At his words the younger man looked up at him and caused him to pause. Odin had watched the boy for centuries and put him through test after test. In that time the younger man had been in many battles and had his mettle tested by many a foe.
He had seen him at the height of his arrogance and even in the depths of the Warrior's Madness. Yet never in all his time had he seen his son look at him with such pain and anguish in his eyes. This he realized was not the son he had sent off to battle so many Midgardian years ago, no this was a man who had been broken in a way he hadn't previously thought possible.
Turning his eyes away the younger man reached down before handing the elder a bottle of mead and then the man known as the Thunderer, the Asgardian God of Thunder and Strength, Thor Odinson spoke the words he would tell to no one else.