Remus chuckled. "No, he's been like this since I woke up."
Sirius pouted for a moment before sitting down on a lounger. "Have you read them?"
Severus looked intrigued and turned to the blond aristocrat and noted his smug expression.
"Yes, I have and I must say I never knew Skeeter could be so useful." "What has she done - other than her articles, I assume?" Severus asked.
"Harry put her on the task of investigating Lockhart's success," Sirius said, grinning madly.
"Oh?" Severus said. He knew the man was a fraud but he had no evidence other than his obvious incompetence and lack of magical and mental skill.
"She sent her files to me a few days ago and to say she found gold would be putting it lightly."
Severus snorted. "So the fool will be gone soon?" "Hopefully. I doubt Dumbledore can keep this hidden. I sent a copy of the files to Amelia Bones as well."
Severus smirked at Sirius. "Smart, Black. I heard rumours he was trying to stop the ministry investigation?"
"Indeed. However, now it's been done for them; all they have to do is check the facts," Lucius said, his smooth voice injected with amusement.
"It shouldn't take them more than a few weeks to verify them - what I read was pretty condemning," Remus said.
"What she has printed so far hints as much," Severus agreed. "Oh yes, her articles have been great!" Sirius said, "The one about Azkaban was pretty accurate."
"Hopefully that buffoon will find out for himself," Severus said, not wanting to linger on the subject as he wasn't sure if Sirius would be comfortable.
"I must admit I'm disappointed in myself for never seeing her full potential. Harrison really did find a great resource in her," Lucius said.
"Indeed," Severus agreed.
"Has the ministry started investigations?" Remus asked.
their "My sources in the DMLE confirmed they had sent agents out to look into the claims this morning."
Sirius snorted and grinned. "Somehow I'm not surprised you have sources in the DMLE."
Lucius allowed one perfectly shaped eyebrow to rise. "I have people everywhere," he said before continuing. "Madame Bones is overseeing the investigation personally because of all the roadblocks Dumbledore put in place."
Severus smirked. "So his meddling has drawn her eye." "Well, it is rather obvious if you know where to look. I gathered from our meeting in the headmaster's office that she is no longer enamoured with the beloved leader of the Light."
"Harry is close with her niece, Susan. He spent a few days with them over the holidays - they even went to the beach. She likes Harry and she's always been more skeptical of Dumbledore from what I remember."
"Such powerful and influential friends he has... it really does make you wonder if he planned it," Lucius said, more to himself than anyone in particular. What he saw of the boy reminded him of the stories his father would tell him about their Lord's early days. Sirius, however, just smiled. He knew Harry didn't pick his friends for that reason, but he did sometimes wonder if he subconsciously allowed what he knew of their families to influence his decision when befriending them. Neville was influential because of his family and status, Susan had her aunt, Hannah's family, although not as well known, were still respected among the Light sects, Luna's father owned the Quibbler, Draco was a Malfoy, Pansy's family was almost as respected by the Dark families as the Malfoy's, and the Zabini family was not only rich but a recognised and respected Neutral family—Harry had even recently mentioned befriending the Weasley twins.
After that the group slowly fell into idle chitchat as Narcissa joined them and lunch was served. Before leaving, Lucius arranged to meet up with Sirius later in the week to discuss the Lockhart situation in detail; they wanted to work together with the DMLE and the Hogwarts Board to bring the man, and hopefully Dumbledore, down.
~
21th December 1992
The latest article by Rita had really made an impact on Lockhart and Harry enjoyed watching him as the man struggled to respond to the rising number of questions being raised. He feared the man would flee before his plan had a chance to take effect - he knew in his last life the man had tried to run before he and Ron had forced Chamber to rescue Ginny.
him
into
the
Harry knew that now practically nobody attended Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons. Instead, most were choosing to self-study and several students had also opted to do the same for History of Magic. Yet, it hadn't been until Lucius and Sirius had come into school that Lockhart had really panicked.
~
Earlier in The Week
Harry and his friends were sitting at the Gryffindor table for breakfast - they had slowly started to include the lion House in their daily rotation ever since the twins had come on board and often joined them at meal times to plan pranks with Neville and Draco. This new development between the four made Harry smirk internally as the foursome honestly thrived together. The twins were better at pulling off the pranks, having had years of experience, whereas Neville was better as their informant as he was always overlooked or underestimated and Draco was the mastermind behind most of them. Somehow, he had hidden this talent in Harry's last life, but now he was letting it flourish. He was full of ideas, it just took the help of the twins to bring them to life. They reminded Harry of the Marauders but, unlike his father and his friends, they were not malicious. Sure, they did tend to target Ron and Ginny, but they never skirted close to bullying. Sitting together at the table gave Harry the perfect view when Sirius walked in, flanked by Lucius and who he guessed were the other members of the School Board. Harry noticed how the room quickly silenced as the imposing looking group entered. All of the members were dressed in robes - not formal, but certainly high quality.
Sirius quickly scanned the crowd of students and spotted Harry and his friends. Catching his eye, he winked at him and smiled when he saw Harry shake his head in amusement.
"What is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore's voice boomed out, tearing almost everybody's attention from the intruding witches and wizards. He stood tall from his chair in the centre of the room and stared at the group.
Harry, however, focused not on his words, but his magic. It was swirling unnoticed by all but him, angry and malicious.
"Headmaster, as you seem to have not received any of our numerous owls and appear to never be in your office when we attempt to floo you, we, the school governors, felt it necessary to come in person," Lucius said, coming to the front of the group and letting his cool aristocratic voice ring over the crowd, hushing the growing whispers.
"You have no business forcing these witches and wizards to follow you, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said, the rude tone showing his displeasure.
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