Hogwarts, Headmasters Office - August 19, 2004
Albus was sitting in his office going over mountains of paperwork. With the murder of Bartemius Crouch, so much of his work had been forced on Albus. Since they had kept things so quiet, so Albus could get the glory of announcing it, there were very few in Bartemius's office that even knew what was happening, and none of them were senior enough to be given the job. Thus, it had fallen to Albus.
As he was blankly staring at another piece of parchment, that he swore he had already looked at, the floo flared and a tall thin man stepped through.
"Igor, what can I do for you?" Albus looked at the headmaster of Durmstrang. He really didn't like this man, but he was going to have to put up with him for at least a year.
"I am here about a problem I have been having. It would seem, our goals have momentarily aligned." Igor swaggered forward and sat without an invitation.
"In what manner?" Albus practically glared at the man, not even bothering to offer him a candy, that was how much he hated this man.
"The Dark Lord." Igor said simply.
"What about him?" All of a sudden Albus was sitting up in his seat, all his attention focused on the other man.
Igor knew he had caught the man now. "I was contacted by Barty Crouch last week. According to him, he has located a wraith form of the Dark Lord, and they are demanding my assistance in arranging his return."
Although he was acting as smug as ever, Albus, from years of observation, could see the fear in the man's eyes. Igor was, at his very core, nothing more than a self serving con man. Although he was rather sadistic, and had joined the Death Eaters, he was not a true believer. He had only joined because they gave him the opportunity to act on his darker impulses without consequences. The moment there were consequences, like being threatened with Azkaban, Igor had turned on anyone and everyone in an attempt to save himself. There were more than a few Death Eaters that wanted this mans head on a pike.
"Barty Crouch is dead." Albus said in slight confusion.
"Jr, not Sr. It would seem Sr. arranged his sons escape from Azkaban and kept him under the imperious curse ever since. He got a little sloppy with his curses and Jr. broke free and took his revenge. Now, he is demanding my assistance. He knows about this years events and plans to use them to kidnap the Potter boy and use him in a ritual to bring the Dark Lord back. I think we both know just how bad that would be for us. If that were to happen, we both would be targets."
Albus stood up and walked to the window, making sure Igor couldn't see his face. As Albus could read his face, Igor could do the same to him, it came from the years of mind games they had played with each other as headmasters.
Reaching the window, Albus thought. Igor thought that stopping the return of Voldemort would be his top priority, but the opposite was true. If Voldemort returned Albus could use that to regain his power. Everyone would turn to him to save them again. He could use it to force Harry into lessons with him, how else could they be sure he would become the hero the people needed. Sure, Igor would undoubtedly be killed for his betrayal, but that was actually a plus for Albus, it would get rid of an annoying man that knew him just a little too well.
"And just how do they intend to take Mr. Potter from right under my nose?"
"They want me to arrange for his name to come out of the goblet of fire."
"That wouldn't do anything. His 'family' would just have him removed. Unless…" Albus started thinking again. There was going to be a private ICW meeting on the tournament in just a few days. If he could force through a bill, which he knew he could, then he could arrange for anyone who's name came from the goblet to be forced to compete, regardless of age or willingness.
"Albus?"
"I can make arrangements to ensure that the name would be accepted. But, you would owe me… I would need everything you learn, or even suspect."
"But, we don't want his return, having the boy involved is the exact opposite of what we need."
Albus turned back to the window again, hiding his growing smile from the man. "Not necessarily. If you failed in your task, they would just kill you. If, you managed to get him entered it would make them trust you more, while giving me time to arrange for the rituals failure. This is one of those instances where one must give to get.
If we do nothing, they will take matters into their own hands and we will have no chance of control. If we work together, we can make them believe that they are in control while we are working in secret to destroy them."
Yes, Albus's mind was running wild with his new plans. Making the boy compete would test him enough to make up for all the years he had done nothing. His pawns could also use this as a way to alienate him from the rest of the school, no one liked a cheater, while pretending they were the only ones he could trust.
Yes, this was exactly what he had needed.
Hogwarts, Headmasters Office - August 23, 2004
Albus and Alastor Moody were sitting in Albus's office. He had just finalized the arrangements. This September, Alastor Moody would be replacing Leon York as DADA teacher, except he would be taking over Sirius's old schedule of teaching 2nd through 4th year. Albus had also made it so that Sirius would have to switch to teaching the 1st and 5th-7th years. It had been arranged for Leon to go and teach as a guest professor at Castelobruxo, in central Brazil for the next few years.
It had taken a lot of work, and he had had to jump through plenty of hoops, but he had managed it. For some reason Sirius had even agreed.
What Albus didn't know was that Hadrian had been the one to convince Sirius. There was still a chance that Umbridge would end up at the school for some reason, and if Sirius was teaching the 5th years, which Hadrian would be by then, then that woman wouldn't be able to torture him.
Albus had all kinds of plans about what Harry needed to learn, so he was giving Alastor a list. The boy needed proper training, and if he wasn't able to do it himself, Alastor might be the only one he would fully trust with the task.
Just as the two of them were finishing up, Rufus Scrimgeour flooed in.
"Ah, good. Albus and Alastor, just the two people I was looking for." Rufus growled.
"What is it that we can do for you Rufus?" Albus asked in a jovial tone.
"You can explain just why it is you two saddled me with such an idiot." Rufus paced the office in a huff.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Alastor growled back. They had never been friendly, but they had had a decent working relationship until Rufus had helped Amelia to force Alastor into retirement.
"Nymphadora Tonks. Both of you came to me singing her praises. That girl is a fool. Not an ounce of intelligence or stealth in the girl." Rufus went to the empty chair and sat with a huff.
"What has happened Rufus?" Albus questioned. He really didn't understand where this had come from.
"That girl and her romantic obsessions. She has decided that she's in love with Charlie Weasley."
"They are going to be married." Albus said with a smile, he fully supported the relationship so he wanted to encourage the idea of it in everyone.
"Well, it seems no one has told him that. He has filed stalking charges against her. Now, I could have dealt with that. But, oh no, she couldn't just leave things alone. No, she had to start harassing his boyfriend, Oliver Wood. Going so far as to go to his job and start making implications of criminality to his bosses.
One of those Bosses is Mrs. Fairchild, who encouraged him to contact Amelia, going so far as to arrange a meeting a few weeks ago. Then, just today, the foolish girl went back when she learned Wood hadn't been fired.
Unfortunately for her, and me, before allowing her into her office, Mrs. Fairchild floo called Amelia and arranged for the woman to be in the office and witness everything personally. Amelia is out for blood, and she doesn't mind if it's mine.
Tonks is already on suspension, but Amelia is out for her job. She wants her gone, now. If either of you want there to even be a chance for your little golden girl to keep her job, you're going to need to come up with some way to get her out of Amelia's sight for at least 6 months so the woman can cool down, and someone else can mess up and earn her anger."
Albus just stared at the man for a moment. Surely Nymphadora hadn't been so stupid. Then he remembered what her mother had done only the year before. Of course she could be that stupid. What was he supposed to do now. He needed her in the DMLE. He had plans for that woman. He planned on her becoming Ronalds training auror when he and Harry joined, there was no other way the boy would pass.
While Albus was thinking, Alastor started to argue with Rufus. Looking between the two, Albus had a brilliant idea.
"I know what we are going to do. Alastor has just agreed to come and teach here for a year. The school board has ordered assistants for all professors. Nymphadora can take a sabbatical from the DMLE and come here as Alastors apprentice. That should give Amelia enough time to calm down, and Alastor can keep teaching her."
Albus smiled at the other two as he finished.
"I don't care what you do, just get her out of my auror office for a while." Rufus huffed as he got up to head back to the floo. "Just have her submit the paperwork to me by owl post. She isn't to set foot in the ministry until next year."
With that Rufus flooed away, leaving an angry Albus and an irate Alastor.
Dartmoor, England - August 25, 2004
Hadrian couldn't stop himself from grinning as he helped his dads and uncles put up their tent. In just a few hours he would be attending the world cup.
Sure, he already knew how it was going to end. And he knew what was going to happen after. But it was impossible not to get excited. The energy around everyone was just so intense he found himself excited for everyone else.
He was a little worried. They knew about the attack that had happened last time, but they really didn't know if the changes they had made would change that. Originally, Lucius had been the one forced to plan the attack, so now that he didn't have anything to do with the other former death eaters, they didn't know if the attack was being planned by someone else or if it had just been canceled.
Either way, they were ready. Hadrian and all the children had been given emergency portkeys that would take them right home. Their parents held the activation switch. If at any point in time their parents felt they were in danger, they could send them home with a single word, and they would be untraceable.
His parents had also been sure to remind and warn all those that knew about the time travel. They had also told Amelia that Lucius had heard a rumour through one of his connections that an attack was being planned on the cup. Making sure to let her know that it was just a rumour and that they had no way to confirm it. They didn't want Amelia to start to question where they got their information.
When they finished with the tents, Hadrian smiled as he looked around. There was a large tent for the parents and younger kids, but then there was a second tent that was just for Hadrian, Draco, and Neville. It had taken a bit of convincing, but the boys had eventually convinced their parents that they were old enough to have their own space. The girls had all been a little upset by that, but their parents had compromised by getting another small tent and putting it up inside the room they were using for the kids so that they could have their own space, but still have parental supervision.
For the game, all of them were going to be up in the top box. But, this time, there was going to be two separate top boxes. The one they would be in was the one for government officials and where the announcer was. The other top box, which was going to be directly across from them, was for business officials and team management. That box had been set up so that the high ranking business officials connected to recording the game, along with people associated with the teams.
Hadrian had overheard Fabian talking with his dad about how he had managed to arrange tickets for his family. He knew that he shouldn't say anything, but he just couldn't resist. The twins had known as soon as they had next seen him that he was trying to hide something and they managed to trick it out of him. Mostly, after there begging and pleading had failed they pretended to be upset and sad that he didn't trust them, Hadrian hadn't been able to stand seeing them look so down so he had told them, swearing them to secrecy in the process. Since they were going to be directly opposite one another, they had agreed that they were going to use their omnioculars to find each other so they could wave hi before the game started.
As evening drew in, everyone became more excited as they started off towards the stadium.
Weasley-Prewett Tent
Arthur happily walked towards the site that he had rented for their tents. This trip had already started out wonderfully. Since he was pregnant, he couldn't portkey or apparate, so he had gotten to go by car. Alice had become quite active in the muggle world so she had gotten her license. He had had a clear and blunt talk with Ron and Ginny two weeks before about what he expected of them and what they would get if they did as they were told.
Over the past two weeks both children had had to stick strictly to the schedule, including doing all their studying, cleaning up after themselves, and be nice to everyone else, including Winky. As a reward, not only would they be aloud to come, and not sent to spend the night at their Aunt Muriels, Hermione was invited to come with them.
"Alright, this is our site." Arthur announced when they reached their space.
"Now we just need to set up the tents." Bill smiled as he pulled out the large family sized tent he had been carrying.
When Ron, Ginny, and Hermione started to shuffle away, not wanting to have to do any of the work, they were blocked by Fabian and Gideon.
"Now you three." Arthur looked to the trapped children. "After plenty of discussions with Fabian and Gideon we have come to a decision. If the three of you do your fair share in helping to set up the main tent, the smaller, three person tent Bill brought with him from work, will be yours while we are here.
If you are to childish to do your fair share, then you will be in the family tent with us since children need supervision and your brothers will get the private tent."
Arthur smiled as the three suddenly became far more interested in helping. The second tent had been a life saver. Arthur and the others knew that Ron and Ginny would spend all their time whining if they had to stay in the family tent while the other boys got the private tent, so they had decided to use it to force the younger children to show some responsibility. Arthur was finding the children much easier to deal with over the past few weeks as long as he laid things out plainly. You do this, you get that, you don't do this, you don't get that.
The tents were set up surprisingly quickly. Once everything was done, all the older boys and their fathers went into their tent while the younger three went into theirs.
Ron walked into the tent he was sharing with his sister and Hermione and flopped down happily in one of the chairs. He was so glad that they weren't having to share with the others. Ginny looked around, both happy and sad. Like her brother, she was glad that they didn't have to share with the others, but this tent was just so small. The other tent had had a living room and kitchen along with all the bedrooms, this one just had three small single rooms and a main sitting area with three chairs around a small table.
For her part, Hermione was stunned. She hadn't realized how big wizard tents could be. Looking around, she was glad that she had magic. There was no way she would want to share a muggle tent with the others. Moving quickly, she chose her room, she didn't want to argue with the others about who got what room, they were all practically the same anyways.
She hadn't really cared about coming to a quidditch game, but had decided it was for the best. There was no doubt that Harry would come, so she hoped they could use this to get closer to him. Maybe if he thought they were interested in the same things then he might be more open with them.
That was one thing Hermione couldn't figure out. Why Harry didn't seem to like them. They knew what was best for him, but he just wouldn't listen. Albus Dumbledore was the greatest wizard to ever live, and he had plans that would make Harry great, yet he kept refusing to do what he was supposed to. Didn't he understand, the world needed him to be better than he was, and the only way he could get there was by following their orders.
As the three of them were sitting down, there was an attempt at knocking, but it was mostly just a scuffing sound, as someone knocked on the tent flap. Fred and George came in.
"What do you two want? This is our tent." Ron smirked nastily at his brothers. He thought that them getting the tent over their older brothers showed that their dad was finally learning that they were better.
"It's almost time for lunch. Dad gave the five of us two jobs. We need to get water, and help set up the camp stove and cooking implements. We figured we would give you three a choice." George said, ignoring his brothers look and tone.
"You three can go and get the water, or you can help set up." Fred offered.
"I don't want to. We've already done enough work." Ginny said as she tried to relax further into her chair, but it wasn't very comfortable.
"Well, either you do one of those two things, or you're not going to get lunch, or dinner, so… Your choice." George stated bluntly.
"We'll help set up here." Hermione said simply. Hushing the other two when they started to complain.
Once Fred and George agreed and had left the tent Ron and Ginny turned on Hermione.
"Why did you do that?" Ron demanded.
"I don't want to work." Ginny pouted.
"Setting up here will be simple. What would you rather, setting up a few things, or carrying buckets of water from wherever the water taps are?" Hermione gave the two condescending looks.
Both of the others realized just how much work getting water would be and smirked. They were so glad that it was the twins having to do all that work. They could easily set up whatever it was here.
It took Fred and George well over an hour to get back. The others were still setting up and everyone looked a little annoyed.
"What happened here?" Fred asked.
"Some people don't like to follow simple instructions." Charlie growled.
A simple set up had turned out to be not so simple. Arthur had brought a small propane grill, a few pots and kettles, and a small ice box full of food. It should have been simple to set up, but Ginny had thrown the instructions into the little fire they had made because she thought they were stupid.
This meant that they didn't have the instructions on how to set up the grill and make it work, or the instructions on how to prepare the food that Winky had written out for them.
Fred and George decided to leave it at that. They had had a good time going to get water. They had met up with a lot of their friends from school, and Hadrian, Draco, and Neville had been getting water too. They had spent a lot of time talking with them and their friends.
"What took you guys so long?" Ron, while annoyed with all the work he had had to do, was still glad he hadn't had to carry water across the camp ground, then he noticed something missing. "Where's the water?"
Fred and George held up two small jugs.
"That's not going to be enough water." Hermione said. There wouldn't even be enough in those two jugs for everyone to have a cup of tea.
"I cast space expansion charms on them and Fabian cast feather weight charms." Gideon said as he went to take the jugs from his sons. "There is more then enough water here. So, what took you two so long?"
"We ran into a few friends along the way and everyone wanted to talk." George smiled.
"And Hadrian, Draco, and Neville, were also getting water for their families so we stopped to talk with them for a while." Fred added.
"Harry's here! Where?" Ginny suddenly perked up.
"Hadrian, is with his family." George said flatly.
"Well, why didn't you invite him back here for lunch?" Ron demanded.
"Because he is here with his family, and they were waiting for him." Fred said, his tone a mirror of his brothers.
"Enough." Arthur said strictly. "It does not matter where Hadrian and his family are. This isn't about their family, it is about ours."
"So… When do we need to head out to the stadium?" Bill asked to distract everyone.
"We need to head out just before it starts to get dusk so that we can buy anything we need and get to our seat, they're a long way up." Fabian said with a smile.
"What seats did you get us?" Ron questioned. He was surprised that it hadn't occurred to him to ask that before. He knew that his dad had probably cheeped out on him again and that he had gotten them the worst seats in the place.
"Well, that was a part of the surprise." Arthur smiled. "Over the past few years, Fabian, Gideon, and I have been working with the world cup committee and other businesses associated with it for work. JT is working with them to arrange for this game to be recorded so that people can buy copies and watch, or rewatch, at their leisure.
Fabian and Gideon have been mostly working with team officials and they managed to arrange for us to have seats in one of the top boxes."
Arthur smiled at the shocked looks on all the kids faces. They hadn't even told Bill or Charlie that. The only ones that knew were those like Hadrian because he had overheard when they had been discussing it with his family. He knew that Hadrian had secretly told the twins, but he didn't blame him for that. He actually thought it was a good thing that they were so open with each other.
Ron and Ginny were both thrilled. They couldn't wait to tell everyone back at school where they had been seated. Neither of them might like Fabian or Gideon at all really, but they might be willing to put up with them more so long as they kept doing things like this.
For the first time in a very long time, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny managed to go through their afternoon without Hadrian crossing their minds once. Although Hermione wasn't very interested in quidditch, she still found herself getting swept up in everyone else's excitement, so even she didn't think about him.
Hogwarts, Headmasters Office
While everyone was settling into their tents at the world cup, Albus was sitting in his office waiting for a meeting. He had called both Molly and Dedalus to his office. Ever since the meeting at the bank, he had been going over the account ledgers and there were a few things that he needed to address.
"What can we do for you Albus?" Dedalus asked. He figured he knew what this was about, but he knew he still needed to ask. There really was very few things that he and Molly had in common, it was either about their marriage or the restaurant, the latter was the more likely. That was why he had brought his detailed copy of the accounts ledger that he had purchased from the bank.
"I wished to speak to you both about the Lions Den." Albus gave the two of them a disappointed look.
"What about? Everything is going fine, almost. I really do think we never should have included the pub, it just gives us a bad image, and there are all the wrong sorts walking into my restaurant. I don't want that sort around the good, light, people that come to the restaurant."
"If I didn't have the pub you would have bankrupted us already." Dedalus rolled his eyes at the aggravating woman.
"What do you mean by that Dedalus?" Albus asked as he raised a hand to keep Molly quiet.
Dedalus pulled out his copy of the accounts. The detailed ones he had gotten showed a break down of all revenue and expenses, and where it came from.
"I purchased the detailed account ledger from the bank. If you look at these you will see that the only part of the business that has any profit is the pub section. The restaurant area is losing money as fast as it can as a result of a lack of business and Molly's constant redecorating."
So far, since the pub had opened in January, Molly had redecorated the restaurant 4 times. She was also driving away business with her overbearing behaviour. Going so far as to refuse to get people meals that they ordered and instead giving them ones she thought that they needed. She also had a bad habit of lecturing everyone on everything that came into her head. It had actually become common practice for some to come to his pub and order the food from there so as to avoid Molly.
Albus looked at the ledger and was startled. He couldn't believe just how much money Molly was wasting on redecorating. It explained why the account Aberforth had left was emptying so quickly.
"Molly, what is the meaning of this? You are spending over twice what the restaurant section makes almost every month. You're supposed to be making money, not wasting it."
"I haven't wasted anything." Molly said with a huff. "The restaurant needed those changes.
"No, it didn't. You just can't resist wasting money." Dedalus said, glad he could finally tell the woman off and Albus couldn't even fault him for it. "I mean, honestly. You designed the restaurant, if there were any design problems you have no one but yourself to blame."
Molly was getting ready to start screaming at Dedalus when Albus stopped her.
"I quite agree. Looking at this, it is clear you are mismanaging the restaurant. Like Dedalus said, you designed it, if you have a problem with it now, that is your problem. You can not continue to waste money like you have been. you are driving that restaurant into the ground with your spending.
I understand that you just want everything to be perfect, but you need to stay within the budget. From this point on, you are barred from making any further changes without checking with me first. And, you will not be redecorating until the restaurant is posting a profit."
Albus knew that Molly was going to throw a fit. For some reason he was surrounded by people that just hadn't grown up. So many of those that followed him still behaved like children for some reason. He needed to cut her off with some news that she might like. Luckily for him, he had just the thing.
"With that said, thank you for coming Dedalus, you are free to leave. Molly, I need to speak with you about another topic."
After Dedalus left, Molly turned to the headmaster, still pouting like a petulant child. "What else did we need to discuss?"
Albus was annoyed by the disrespect in the woman's voice, but knew it wasn't worth fighting over. "This year, Hogwarts will be holding a formal ball. This will be the perfect opportunity for Ginny to get close to Harry. She will need a formal ball gown this year, it would be best to get it before school since the moment it is announced the dress shops will be inundated with orders."
Albus pulled out a sheet of parchment. "This is the dress code for the ball. She will need to adhere to these or she will not be aloud in. You both need to remember, this is a formal ball with expectations, not just a house party. I will leave it to you to ensure that she has the appropriate attire."
Molly almost immediately forgot about being angry. Her mind was now full of all the dresses that her baby could wear. She was going to make sure that Ginny was the most beautifully dressed girl there. Quickly agreeing, Molly rushed out so that she could go to the different dress shops so she could get an early start.
World Cup Stadium
As evening started to draw in, everyone set off towards the stadium. When they did reach the stadium, the children went a little crazy with buying their souvenirs. Since Ron and Ginny now had the bank cards their mum had given them they didn't even bother to ask their dad what they could have. They both just went and got everything they wanted.
It was a testament of just how excited Arthur was that he didn't call the kids out on their shopping. Guiding the children up to the top box they would be sitting in, everyone gasped.
The view was amazing. There were just so many people making their way to their seats.
"This is so cool." Ron smiled.
Even Hermione was stunned. She had never seen anything like this.
"It took a lot of work, but it was definitely worth it.." Fabian smiled.
"I wonder if we should have invited Harry?" Ginny questioned, thinking of the boy she loved. Surely, he would have been beyond grateful if she had arranged for him to get seats like this.
"Hadrian is just fine with his family." Fred sighed.
"Yeah, but even his family couldn't have gotten him such good seats. All well, we'll just have to tell him about anything he misses because his view isn't as good as ours." Ginny smiled slightly at the thought. She would love to make Harry jealous.
"Like Fred said, Hadrian is fine. Besides, his view will be just as good as ours. He's in the top box across the field. The Minister invited his family and arranged for them to have seats in the front row of the governments top box."
Hermione almost growled. She wanted to be in the top box across the field. Sure, this one was fine, but she would love the chance to get to meet some of the government officials. It would make her transition to the role of minister when she took over in a few years easier.
"Shouldn't the governments box be used for government officials and not used to curry favour with people?" Hermione questioned. She saw that as a clear case of corruption.
"They are. Sebastian, Severus, Lucius, Narcissa, Frank, Alice, and Sirius all have high ranked positions in the wizengamot. And, as was covered by The Quibbler last Yule, Hadrian currently holds three separate, extremely powerful, titles. It actually makes a lot of sense for Fudge to try and sway them to his way of thinking, not that it will necessarily work." Gideon said.
"Why do you even know all that?" Ginny asked, giving him a disgusted look.
"Because we're both lords. We need to keep up to date on what is going on. Although neither of us are very interested in sitting in the wizengamot, we still have responsibilities. If you don't know who's who, you could make a very powerful enemy or even start a feud, and that could destroy a family." Fabian explained.
"But how do you get all the information?" Hermione was actually interested in something they had to say, something she never thought possible.
"The wizengamot puts out a who's who every year. It details who holds what position and gives small write ups on their party affiliation, alliances, and voting record. If you want a copy all you would have to do is contact the wizengamot's press office, each copy only cost 1 galleon and you can order it by owl at any time." Gideon said.
Before Hermione could respond, the lighting on the seats dimmed and the lighting on the field became brighter. It was time.
While the others were talking, Fred and George were using their omnioculars and a note pad to write messages to Hadrian who was over on the other side doing the same thing, but they had to stop as the lighting changed and the game began.
The game went exactly as Hadrian knew it would, right down to the fight between the leprechauns and veela. Even though he had known what was going to happen, he had still been glued to the game.
It was on the way back to their tents after the game that everyone started to get tense. They knew what might happen, but they were still holding out hope that nothing would happen.
Even knowing what might happen, none of them were immune to the festivities, joining in the celebrations, although most stayed together. The only ones to leave their encampment was Draco and Hadrian.
Hadrian was going to quickly go to see the twins. Draco had decided to go with him so that Hadrian wasn't alone, while Neville stayed behind to keep an eye on the kids for their brothers.
They had only been able to spend about an hour with Fred and George, walking around, talking with each other and the people they met up with. The original attack had occurred just after 11 pm, so all four of them had a curfew of 10. Their families figured that would ensure they would be well away from the attack, if it even did occur.
Draco and Hadrian were almost half way back to their tent when they heard an all too familiar squeal. They both glanced at each other, silently agreeing that they wouldn't acknowledged that they had heard anything. Just keeping walking forward, even as they heard the three calling out for Hadrians attention, once again using the wrong name. Hadrian figured he could use that as an explanation if they did manage to catch up to them.
Turning right when they should have turned left, Draco and Hadrian led the annoying trio away from their tent. They didn't want to risk them knowing where they were.
When a large group of loud girls passed just behind them, momentarily blocking them from the view of their three stalkers, they both took off at a run, heading for a small wooded area they could hide in.
Just as Draco was rushing through a bush, he tripped, taking Hadrian down with him. Suddenly, there was a hand over their mouths, stopping them from making any noise. An accented voice quietly begging them to stay quiet.
The two boys looked up to see that they had tripped over none other than Viktor Krum himself. Like them, Krum was slightly out of breath. He was also missing one of the sleeves off of his sweater, and the other sleeve was barely on.
Glancing back at the girls that they had passed they clearly identified them as fan girls, one was proudly displaying the sleeve to Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. Both Ron and Ginny looking impressed while Hermione rolled her eyes. Then, there was another squeal.
Hadrian sighed, dropping his head into his hands, as he heard, "Did you say Potter?" From the girl standing next to Ginny.
Viktor looked over to the smaller dark haired boy shaking his head. It was clear the boy had been trying to find a hiding spot for the same reason he had. Then he looked to the shaking blond next to him. The boy was silently laughing his ass off.
"This isn't funny." Hadrian said quietly as he punched Draco in the arm.
"Kinda funny." Was Draco's response as he started to calm down.
"Sorry about him. He's kinda an idiot from time to time." Hadrian looked to Viktor.
"Can't deny it, it is kind of funny." Viktor smiled now that he was sure that he wasn't about to have to run away from fans again.
"So, I can guess we all know why we're hiding." Viktor just nodded to Hadrian.
"I forgot my cloak back in the changing room and was heading back for it." Viktor sighed. "By the time I realized that I didn't really need it, it was too late. I was being followed. I was just on my way back to our area when I was cornered and escaped into the bushes."
Hadrian questioned where the area Viktor was heading. Viktor explained where he was heading and Hadrian was a little surprised to realize it was only about five minutes from his own tent. He suggested that they all go together and the other two agreed.
"But how will we get there without being noticed?" Viktor questioned, there really were times he hated his fame. He had just wanted to play quidditch, not all this.
"I have an idea." Draco said as he pulled out his bag.
They had just been sitting with Oliver and his family before they had had to leave. There had been a large fire going, and since they had been next to it, they were both quite warm so they had just stuffed their cloaks into the bag Draco had brought with them. He handed Hadrian his own cloak and held out his own cloak to Victor.
"You're of age, so just enlarge it slightly and it should fit just fine." Draco said.
Viktor did as he was told before fastening the silver cloak around his shoulders and pulling the hood up and over his head.
"Alright, let's go." Hadrian gave an encouraging smile as he slowly stood up and looked around. His stalkers seemed to have wandered off with Viktor's fan club.
They were making their way through the campground as quickly as caution would allow when Viktor literally bumped into a girl. His seeker reflexes kicked in and he grabbed the smaller girl by her arms and pulled her back to her feet before she even got close to hitting the ground. Starting to panic as the girl looked him straight in the eyes.
As he panicked, he couldn't help but think that the girl was beautiful. She had long dark curly auburn hair with bright sky blue eyes. Her skin was a pale peach, making the freckles dusted across her nose and high cheek bones stand out even more.
Hadrian, like Viktor, panicked for a moment, until he got a good look at the girl. "Hey Autumn. What brings you here?"
Autumn Quinn was a Gryffindor that was in the same year as Hadrian and Draco. She was a very calm and relaxed girl that never seemed to be fazed by anything. Her best friends were Lily Moon, and Fey Dunbar. She had been Hadrian's partner in DADA the year before and he had become quite fond of her.
"Hi Hadrian, Draco." Autumn smiled at her school mates before looking to the other guy and offered her hand. "Hi, I'm Autumn."
"Viktor." Viktor took the girls hand, shaking it. He was mildly confused.
"Oh. Like Viktor Krum. Cool." Autumn smiled at the quidditch player before looking back to the others. "So how did you two enjoy the game."
"It was great." Draco smiled, both at the memory of the game and the look on Viktor's face. The older boy was clearly confused, probably having not experienced a reaction like this since he became famous. "Autumn, why are you here?"
"The Sea Cliff got us all tickets." Autumn smiled.
"Yeah, but why are you here Autumn? You don't like quidditch." Hadrian looked closely at the girl.
"Ok, ok. And, you know I like quidditch just fine, it's the hight I'm not a fan of." Autumn huffed, downplaying her crippling fear of heights that kept her from even going anywhere near the window in her dorm room. "And, I'm here because we were all offered tickets. Lucy convinced me to agree and then just give her my ticket."
"Why would Lucy want your ticket?" Draco asked in confusion. Lucy was a 16 year old Hufflepuff that lived in the room next to Autumns at the Sea Cliff House.
"Well, she's in love… again. But, this one has lasted for more than a month. She wanted to invite him to the game so I gave her my ticket since it wasn't like I could use it. Just, don't tell anyone. I was supposed to attend the game, I don't want to have to deal with another lecture about my needing supervision." Autumn rolled her eyes before looking to Viktor. "Lucy lives in the room next to me and she falls in love with someone new about… 20 times a year. So, a month for her is a seriously big milestone."
Viktor smiled. One of his two older sisters was the same way.
"So, where are you lot off to?" Autumn questioned.
"Heading back to our tents." Hadrian smiled.
"Avoiding fan girls for Viktor, and Hadrian is avoiding his stalkers." Draco said at the same time.
Autumn just laughed. Being in Gryffindor, and being forced to share a room with Hermione she more than understood just how obsessed with Hadrian the three stalkers were.
"Which direction are you headed?" Autumn asked critically.
Hadrian pointed.
"Good luck with that. There's a large group of Spanish wizards that have set up an encampment that way. It is a near solid wall. I've only been able to find a small path through." Autumn warned them.
"Can you show us your path?" Draco asked.
"If that is ok with everyone?" Autumn didn't want to force her presence on anyone. It was clear to her that Viktor was uncomfortable with all the attention he got and she didn't want to upset him.
But, all three nodded at her, so they set off together. Autumn kept up a nonsense conversation the entire time helping to get Viktor to relax. It also helped with keeping them unnoticed, nothing made you stand out more than silently walking through a group of partying wizards.
Eventually they reached an intersection. Hadrian and Draco needed to go right to their tent, while Viktor's tent was to the left. Viktor had at first started to give Draco back his robe, but he was stopped. Without the cloak he was too recognizable. Eventually they decided that Autumn would continue on with Viktor, and once they reached his tent, Autumn would take the cloak and return it to Draco on the train back to school. Hadrian had been tempted to just suggest Viktor return the cloak himself in October, but he didn't want to spoil the triwizard tournament news for anyone. Not even Draco or Neville knew about it yet, and Hadrian didn't want to spoil the surprise.
After the other boys left, things were momentarily awkward. Viktor decided to try and get the girl talking again.
"So, you're not a big fan of quidditch?"
"I like quidditch. It's just… I have this like… Catatonic fear of heights. The mind healer that the staff at Sea Cliff makes me see says it's transference." Autumn explained.
"Sea Cliff?" Victor decided to avoid the mention of mind healer, most people got a little sensitive when being questioned about something like that, and he wanted the girl to keep talking.
"Oh, right. You're not a local. So, the Sea Cliff house is a manor house that is actually owned by Hadrian's uncle that he rents to the government for kids like my little brother and I.
It's… Um… You see… Alright, pretty much everyone I go to school with already knows the story, so whatever. My parents are religious fundamentalists. So, when, on the day of my 11th birthday, a man came to our house and explained that I was a witch and that I was being invited to a school to learn magic they didn't really take it… well.
I was up in my room, so my dad said he would go and get me. The man, Mr. Garlend, didn't see him stop in the kitchen and grab a knife. He really didn't know anything was wrong until he heard me scream. He stunned both of my parents and he and my little brother, who had gotten to me at the same time he had, stabilized me and slowed the blood flow enough to get me to the hospital."
"Blood flow?" Viktor's voice held fear even though he could clearly see that she had survived whatever had happened.
Autumn just tipped her head back slightly, showing off her neck. Starting from just under her left ear and down to the centre of her throat was a long, slightly raised scar. Although she had used scar cream for a while, the scar would never fully fade. It was no longer the dark red it had started off, instead it was a pale, almost white line, only really noticeable if someone was looking for it.
Viktor couldn't stop himself as his fingers lightly grazed the scar. How could anyone, let alone a father, do something like that to a girl like Autumn, his own daughter.
"Anyways, the Sea Cliff House was set up for kids that weren't safe at home and didn't have any other family that could take them. My brother and I have lived their ever since." Autumn carried on like nothing was wrong.
"And your brother?" Viktor asked, needing to change the topic. All he could think about was tracking down her father and killing the man. What kind of monsters aloud their religion to override their love for their child. A child should always be more important than a religion. If at any time a religion told a person that they needed to hurt a child that should be the exact moment people left the religion in Viktor's opinion.
"Liam's 12. He's a squib that attends a school the Sea Cliff house set up for kids and non magical children. He can't use active magic, but he can still do a lot of stuff, like potions. I know what happened still bothers him, but I've always tried to teach him that what happened doesn't define us. He always just goes back to the fact that if Mr. Garlend hadn't been there, and I had just gotten a letter, like what they used to do, I would have probably died.
That's actually what my mind healer says is my issue. Since I refuse to let what happened scare me the fear has to come out some how, and it seems to have manifested in a fear of heights. I don't really care either way, it doesn't stop me from having a good life." Autumn shrugged just as they reached Viktor's tent.
Viktor stared at the girl for a moment. He was startled by just how accepting she was about what had happened to her. He himself was furious over it and he had only known her for less then 15 minutes.
After saying a quick goodby, Autumn took Draco's cloak from Viktor before she dashed off. She had a curfew to make.
August 26, 2004
While Autumn and Viktor had been walking back to his tent, Draco and Hadrian safely made it back to theirs. They spent the next two hours with their families. Finally, at midnight, everyone went to bed.
The adults and Hadrian were all relaxed as they decided that without Lucius there, the Death Eaters never managed to arrange the attack. Getting into bed, everyone fell asleep quickly.
They should have known that they would jinx themselves.
It was just after 4 in the morning when everyone was started awake by an explosion. Then, they started to hear screams and the pounding of feet.
Severus, Lucius, and Frank had just opened the flap of the tent to go and get the boys when Hadrian, Draco, and Neville all rushed through the opening. Although they had hoped to avoid this, they had still made sure the kids knew what to do.
Neville took Alex out of his mums arms, Draco grabbed Athena and Hadrian took Ares. The four older girls gathered around the boys, all looking to their parents as their emergency portkeys were activated and the dissappeared to Grimauld Place. Regulus and Marlene had offered to watch the kids if anything happened.
Once the kids were safely out of danger, the parents all went to help where they could.
Weasley-Prewett Tent
Arthur had, like so many others, set a curfew of 10. He, Fabian, and Gideon had been warned about the possibility of an attack, but, like the others, had chosen to stay.
It was just after 10:20 that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny came into the tent. They were all annoyed. Early in the evening, Arthur had given Ron and Ginny new bracelets. The kids, thinking that they were just presents had accepted and put them on happily.
What they hadn't known was that they were curfew bracelets that had been designed in Italy. A parent would set the curfew time, and from five minutes before then the bracelets would beep. If the child was walking toward the parent, who had the control bracelet, they would be quiet, but if they attempted moving further away the beep would grow louder and louder. The best feature, in Arthur's opinion was that the bracelets could only be removed if they were within five feet of the control bracelet.
Once they were close enough, both Ron and Ginny threw the bracelets off before storming into their tent with Hermione. When they were in the tent, Fabian cast an alarm spell on the tent entrance. If the kids attempted to leave at any time the adults would be alerted.
As 11 came and went they figured the attack wouldn't occur this time. Until 4 in the morning when they were also woken up by explosions and screams. Like the others, they had plans.
Fabian, Gideon, Bill, Charlie, and Percy, as adults, would stay to help. Arthur would portkey home with the kids. They were all more than a little nervous for each other. Arthur was worried that his husband and three older boys would be hurt, while they were worried about Arthur using a portkey.
The use of portkeys was not recommended for pregnant individuals. With Arthur being due in just over two weeks the biggest risk was that there was a 50/50 chance that it would push him into early labour. But, there was no safer way for them to leave. Apparition was even more dangerous and would risk still birth.
Leaving the tent Fabian, Gideon, and the boys headed towards the screams and glow of fire, while Arthur, Fred, and George went into the kids tent.
In the tent, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were getting dressed quickly and quietly.
"We didn't even do anything." Ginny all but shouted as she saw her father and brothers.
"What?" Fred asked in confusion.
"Why do you think we think you did anything?" George added.
"We were just going to join the party. How did you even know that we were up. Were you spying on us again?" Ron demanded.
"Enough." Arthur huffed before motioning the kids over to him. "Come here, all of you."
Fred and George instantly went over. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny moved slower, but they went. As soon as they were close, Arthur, Fred, and George took hold of them and Arthur activated their portkey.
The Burrow
As soon as they landed, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny pushed away from the others. Fred and George barely noticed as they watched a flash of pain on their dads face just before he doubled over, breathing hard.
Fred and George knew what to do now. Fred would take their dad, and George would take the kids. Fred ushered their dad inside to quickly floo to the maternity ward in St. Mungo's.
As soon as he was sure they were gone, George escorted the three kids inside to the floo, all of them asking dozens of questions, none of which really reached George. Half his mind was back at the campground with his fathers and brothers, while the other half was with his father and twin.
Throwing the floo powder into the fire he called out Diggle Manor.
"Why are we going to your mum's?" Hermione questioned. She was more than a little irritated at being ignored.
"Don't ask questions, just go." George snapped back.
None of them had ever seen George so angry so they did as they were told without any more questions, for that moment.
Diggle Manor
Arriving in the floo room in the manor, George went forward to ring Molly's bell. In the floo room there were four bells that could be rung. Each one would alert a different person of their arrival. Even though Ginny and Ron were only there every other weekend, Molly had still demanded that they get bells in the event of one of their friends visiting.
Molly shuffled into the room a few minutes later, pulling on a dressing gown over her nightgown. Looking at the kids, she was confused. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all angrily yelling at, who she assumed was, Fred. Fred, for his part, didn't even seem to be hearing them, he was staring off into space and looked like he was getting close to tears. "What is going on in here?"
"Dad, Fred, and George wouldn't let us attend the party." Ginny whined as she rushed to her mum.
"Fred won't tell us what's going on." Ron pouted.
Molly looked to Hermione for a coherent answer.
"I honestly don't know whats going on. A little while ago we were woken up by fireworks. Ron and Ginny wanted to go see so we were getting dressed when Mr. Weasley and Fred and George came into the tent. They didn't really explain anything, they just grabbed us and portkeyed us away.
George went somewhere with Mr. Weasley, who looked like he was in pain, and Fred brought us here."
"Well?" Molly looked to the boy.
"First off, I'm George." George said, pulling himself back to the present. "Second, we were in a rush. We didn't have time to stop and explain everything to you."
"And just why were you in such a rush? And, there is no way Arthur took a portkey, you're not supposed to while pregnant." Molly said.
"We didn't have a choice. We needed to move quickly. It was to dangerous to leave any other way. Fred took dad to the hospital for a check up because of the portkey use." George explained.
"And just what is so bad about fireworks. You just didn't want us to have fun. Admit it. You guys made us leave so that we wouldn't have any fun. Mummy, make them be nice." Ginny turned and pretended to cry into her mums arms.
Seeing Molly getting ready to lecture him, like she was his mum, George snapped.
"Fine, you really want to know what was going on. I'll tell you. As you're so often saying, you're not babies, so sure.
Those explosions and bright lights weren't fireworks. Those weren't screams of excitement or joy. Dad got us out of there because it was dangerous and he was trying to protect us, even at the risk of his pregnancy."
"If it wasn't fireworks then what was it?" Ron demanded, cutting into George's tirade.
"Death Eaters. But, if you want to go back and play with the Death Eaters be my guest. All the others are already there fighting, risking their lives for ungrateful people like you that can only think of themselves like the little childish babies you are." George snapped, that shut everyone up.
Mollys arms shot out and grabbed her babies and held them close, her face going very stoic. George might not like the woman, but this was the first real evidence that reminded him she really had lived through the last war. She might have never gone to actively fight, but she had still lived through the fear.
"What do you mean George?" Molly questioned in a quiet voice.
"I mean that a group of former Death Eaters couldn't resist such a large crowd and decided to attack. Dad got all us under age kids out before Ron or Ginny had managed to get out of the tent, like they had been planning, while the others went to try and help." George said, calm and focused for that moment. "Now, the kids need to stay here for a little while since I'm going to the hospital to meet Fred while dad gets checked.
It would probably be best for Ron and Ginny to stay here for a day or two if you want, but I think dad will want them back this weekend at the latest. But, they can come home later in the afternoon if they want. Hermione needs to be dropped off at home after lunch." With that said, George turned and flooed away.
Molly just hugged her babies close. She could have lost them tonight.
St. Mungo's
It was 6 in the morning when Fabian, Gideon, and the three older boys arrived at the maternity ward of St. Mungo's. All of them were a little worse for the wear, but all would be just fine. The only one in any real pain was Arthur.
As everything had been winding down at the world cup campgrounds Winky had popped in telling then that Fred and George had sent her to tell them that Arthur was in labour. The aurors just waved them away on the understanding that they would stop by the DMLE later in the week to give their statement. They knew there was no way any of them would be able to focus properly. It didn't really matter too much now since all those in Death Eater masks and robes had been rounded up.
At the hospital the five Weasley-Prewett boys paced in the waiting room while their fathers were in the delivery room. They were all excited and worried.
In the delivery room, Fabian and Gideon were just as worried, if not more. They had been making so many plans.
They had already decided that they were going to try to raise these two to be Slytherins. Even going so far as to interrogate all the Slytherins they knew on what they thought would be the best lessons to teach them first. They figured, they had already had two Gryffindors, plus Ron and Ginny, two Hufflepuffs, and one Ravenclaw, they needed at least one snake next.
But now, that all just seemed silly. All they cared about now was that the twins were healthy.
Just after 8, Fabian and Gideon walked into the waiting room, all smiles. They had gotten their wish. The twins were perfect. Inviting the others in, they got ready to introduce their new twins.
"Well, as you know we had already decided on the babies names, but, there is going to have to be a slight change." Fabian smiled.
"Your youngest brother will indeed be Leo, as we had planned, our little lion in the snake pit." Gideon chuckled.
"But, the first born in this set is going to have a bit of a name change. Rather than the Nicholas we had planned, we got a perfect little Nicole." Fabian finished.
Both stepped away, allowing the boys to see their dad sitting in the bed, a bundle in each arm. Pink on the left, and blue on the right.
That was a bit of a surprise. There hadn't been a girl born in the Weasley family in over three generations. That had been why they had all figured they would get two more boys. They all secretly thought that Ginny wasn't going to like this, she had always prided herself on being the only girl.
"So what are their full names?" Bill questioned.
"Nicole Muriel Weasley-Prewett, and Leo James Weasley-Prewett." Arthur announced happily.
Diggle Manor
Molly and the three children were sitting down to a late lunch, Molly had decided the schedule didn't matter right now since just how much danger her poor babies had had to face. The kids were once again regaling Molly with just what had happened. By this point they were all convinced that they had come face to face with over a dozen death eaters and survived by skill and intelligence.
As Ginny was reaching the height of her story, Loki and Hermes flew in, dropping letters on Ron and Ginny's heads before immediately flying away.
Ginny got hers open first and started screaming in fury.
Ron just glared at his letter like he was trying to set it on fire.
Hermione grabbed Rons letter while Molly grabbed Ginnys. Both stared at the words telling the other two about the two new babies.
Molly had so many emotions about this news. She was excited that she was going to have another son and daughter, but she was sad at how upset her babies were. She was also annoyed that she hadn't been informed, upset that she couldn't be able to claim the title of mother of the only Weasley girl. And, of course, completely jealous at what her brothers had.
Hogwarts Express - September 1, 2004
Hadrian sat in a near state of shock in his regular compartment. Draco was in a similar state.
In the near week since the world cup, their lives had been like a traumatizing roller coaster.
Just two days after the riot the Daily Prophet had printed a picture that showed Severus and Lucius throwing jinxes and curses. The article under the picture had said that they had been siding with the Death Eaters and attacking innocent people.
Like usual, the public had immediately started demanding their heads and, in the case of Severus, demanding that he be stripped of his guardianship of Hadrian. Rufus Scrimgeour had even managed to push through an arrest warrant against the recommendations of Amelia.
Severus and Lucius had seen no other option than to surrender themselves to Frank and let him take them into custody. Luckily, although Amelia hadn't been able to stop the arrest warrant, she had managed to keep them from being sent directly to Azkaban. Instead, they were held at the holding cells in the ministry.
Between Amelia, Frank, and Kingsley, they were never alone. Which was lucky as a large number of aurors had found their way down to the holding cells for no defensible reason, with their wands out. Unfortunately for those aurors, Amelia now had a list of their names and was keeping a close watch on them.
Their families had been in an uproar about what was going on, they knew those photos and stories were false, and they were going to prove it. But, public opinion was so heavily weighted against them that it was proving difficult. Albus had even come forward, expressing his sorrow about Severus before publicly offering his job before he had even been fired, going so far as to announce that Minerva would be retaining her position as deputy headmistress.
Hadrian had been in a state of shock. He couldn't lose his papa again, and he couldn't let him be taken from Kali. He had been staring at the article when he noticed that the photo was credited to Colin Creevey. There was no way Colin would do something like this to him.
Reaching out to Colin, he found a furious boy. Although he had taken the photo, the Prophet had selectively edited it. Inviting Colin and Dennis over, they had planned their method of attack with Draco and Neville.
When Colin and Dennis had gone to the bank to be tested, they had learned that they were indeed in line for a title. Dennis was now Lord Dennis Mercer-Creevey. Gerald Greengrass was his chosen proxy.
Dennis went to Gerald to have him file formal charges of corruption against the Prophet. Because it was two Lords that they were lying about, and it could be seen as an attempt to subvert the power of the wizengamot by targeting its members, it was more than just mere slander, it entered corruption and conspiracy.
Hadrian took Colin, with his original copies of the photos to the Lovegoods. When he had sold the photos to the Prophet he had signed an exclusivity contract stating that he wouldn't let any other paper or magazine have the photos, but what the Prophet reporters hadn't seemed to realize was that, at Dennis's suggestion, an honesty clause had been added to that contract. By manipulating the photo they had violated the contract allowing Colin the right to give his photos to others.
The very next day The Quibbler had printed a special edition. On the front cover there was the picture that The Daily Prophet had printed, but then, the photo pulled back to show the full picture. It showed Severus and Lucius had been throwing the jinxes and curses at three Death Eaters. Just behind Severus and Lucius was a young mother that had a clearly broken leg and a large gash gushing blood down the side of her face as she tried to both comfort and use her own body to shield her two young children.
All of a sudden, after the photo had been printed the public changed their tune. Demanding justice for Severus and Lucius for the ministries rush to judgment. From then it was easy for Amelia to arrange the release of the two.
Having their fathers back had calmed the traumatized children slightly, but everyone was still furious. Especially when Amelia managed to get in touch with the young mother in the picture and gotten her statement.
Rufus Scrimgeour had never believed, or cared, about the reasons Lucius and Severus had been found innocent and released after the last war. He had been hoping to find some reason to arrest them for years, so when that opportunity had been offered up to him on a silver platter, he hadn't been willing to let anything take it away from him, not even the truth. He had been hoping to use their arrest and conviction to catapult himself even higher in the ministry. So, when he had been contacted by the young mother and learned what had really been happening in that photo, he had promised her he would deal with it before destroying all records of his interview with her and any record of her contacting the ministry.
When Amelia had learned what he had done, following the rules, she reported it. Rufus had found himself removed as head of the Auror Office and moved over to Sr. Undersecretary to the head of the Transportation Office.
It was very similar to what had been done to Bartemius Crouch. It effectively ended his rise in the ministry. It also pretty much destroyed any influence or power he had once had.
Frank had been promoted to his position.
Since there were so few potions masters in Britain, Albus hadn't managed to replace Severus. Albus had even been forced to make a public apology to the man. He had also been forced to announce that Severus had been placed as Deputy headmaster by the board, something the public hadn't known at the time, but now was widely supported, much to Dumbledors private fury.
Now, everything was back to how it had been, but everyone was more than a little shaken up. Hadrian and Draco were furious about the injustice that had been done to their families. And, their younger siblings were terrified of losing their fathers. Although things were back to the way they had been, both Hadrian and Draco were permanently changed.
Further down the train, there were two other students that sat in a near state of shock. Ron and Ginny were trying to recover from how their summer had ended.
After the Death Eater attack their father had given birth to twins, and that had changed everything. Neither of them had wanted any more siblings, but they had been ignored.
Neither could really deny that their new younger brother and sister were kinda cute, but they still didn't want them there. Everyone's attention was completely focused on the new babies, and not them. Didn't their family understand, they had almost been killed by Death Eaters, but no, all they cared about was the babies.
Nothing was ever going to be the same at home, and they both knew it. Even their mum was bugging them for pictures of the twins. Both Ron and Ginny felt she wasn't paying the right amount of attention to them.
The only thing that made up for that behaviour for Ginny was the shopping trip her mum had taken them on. Ginny had been thrilled that there was going to be a ball, even though their mum didn't know exactly when it was going to be, apparently it had never occurred to her mum to ask the headmaster.
For Ginny, life had just gotten harder. Her dad had come to her after she had come back, attempting to get her to accept her new siblings, but Ginny still wasn't sure. Sure, like her dad had said, Nicole would look up to her as a role model, but Ginny wasn't sure that she wanted that. She didn't want someone trying to be like her, although it did stroke her ego to know that she was going to be Nicole's hero. Ginny had decided to wait a little bit before making a final decision on her. Right now, she was still too young to do anything more than eat and sleep, so Ginny couldn't really tell if she was the kind of sister she could tolerate.
Hogwarts
With all the students on the train and on their way to the school Albus was in a rush. There were still things that needed to be finished for the coming year, and there weren't many people that were willing to help him. For some reason a majority of his staff was furious at him for what happened with Severus.
Flitwick and Sprout had barely spoken more than two words to him since. And the words that they did speak had been to berate him.
Honestly, how was he supposed to know that there would be evidence that disproved what Severus had been accused of. Then, there was Severus himself. There was little chance he would be willing to forgive and forget what had happened.
Albus was frustrated. Once again, he had been so close to regaining control just for it to be taken from him. As soon as Severus had been arrested, Albus had gotten in touch with Fudge and they had started the paperwork to reassign Harry's custody to Albus. But, no, that rag of a magazine, The Quibbler, had had to print the full picture. Albus had been less than 24 hours from having control of the boy. He had even managed to work in a clause that said once the guardianship was transferred it couldn't be transferred back, regardless of the cases outcome, for at least 10 years.
Why was nothing working for him anymore? Albus had never had to deal with issues like the ones he had had in the past decade. Before this, Albus had been able to control almost everything with minimal amount of problems since he was a teenager. Now, nothing worked.
At least, until now, he hoped. A chance at getting Harry into the triwizard tournament, testing the boy while isolating him, and a possible return of Voldemort to force people back to him was just what he needed.
Great Hall
Everyone was sitting happily in the great hall, the last traces of their desserts fading from their plates when Dumbledore called everyones attention. When he announced that quidditch was being canceled for the year there was a near uproar amongst the students.
Both Ron and Ginny were furious. They finally had the brooms they deserved, and were practically guaranteed a place on the team. And now, quidditch was being cancelled for the year.
But then, the headmaster announced the triwizard tournament. All of a sudden, everyone forgot about quidditch.
Ron and Ginny's anger turned to joy. Both imagining being selected as Hogwarts champion and going on to winning the cup. They started to dream about how everyone would praise them when they won.
But then, the age limit was announced. And, the rage from a majority of the student populations anger returned. They wouldn't be able to compete, and although most were secretly glad they weren't going to have to risk their own lives, they had still wanted the chance.
With all that announced, the students were sent to their dorms.
For once, all the Gryffindors were waiting in their common room. As soon as the dessert had left their plates, a note replaced it. The notes told them that there was going to be a house meeting after the feast finished, and for every student that didn't attend, the house would lose 5 points. No one wanted to start the year behind, so they had all gone straight to the tower.
Just as everyone was finding a place to stand or sit the prefects led the new first years in, followed by Sirius.
"Professor Black?" Many voices questioned.
"Hello everyone." Sirius smiled out at all the kids, he knew that there would be more than a few angry at him soon enough, but this needed to be done. "For those of you who haven't heard yet, I have been named co-head of Gryffindor."
"But Professor McGonagall is our head of house." None other than Ron said.
"Yes, she is. However, we are now co-heads. With this change, there are going to be a few other changes."
"But we don't need to change. We're Gryffindors." Ginny said like that could excuse everything.
"Yes, you are Gryffindors, and I am a former Gryffindor, but there are plenty of things that need to change. I am not going to sugar coat this, more and more, Gryffindor is being seen as the worst house.
I take no pride in having to say that, this is my former house after all." Sirius said gravely, hushing the angry students. "But, in the past decade, this house has had the worst grades and the highest amount of detentions consistently. This house is starting to be seen as the house of bullies, and, that is no longer going to be tolerated. It is time to start to repair the image of this house, and it is going to have to start with you all.
I understand that no one likes to think that they are becoming a bully, but there is a difference between a joke and bullying. Trust me, I my self considered myself to be a joker when I attended here, but looking back now, I know that I was a bully, and that fact brings me great shame. I actually think my reputation as a bully made it much easier for people to condemn me. I do not wish the same for any of you.
To those ends, there are going to be changes in this house. For every detention associated with bullying you will be required to write a two foot essay. I have a list of topics and will assign you your topic at the time. Repeated instances of bullying will cause what I guess could be considered grounding. A grounded student will be able to go to meals, classes and any assigned detention, but other than that they will be restricted to the dorms.
Now, for the grade issue. We will be implementing mandatory study groups for any and all classes where you are receiving an A or lower."
"That's not fair, none of the other houses have that." Once again, Ron was the one shouting out in his anger.
"Actually, all the other houses have mandatory study groups for low grades. All these changes are actually based off the rules in the other houses." Sirius explained. "Another idea we will be taking from them is the meetings. When you receive your schedules tomorrow you will also receive a date and time where you will be meeting with me, and Professor McGonagall, should she wish to attend, to discuss any issues you are having.
As the headmaster said, there will be two other schools coming to visit this year, each of you will be a representative of this school, and this house, any misbehaviour will not be tolerated.
Now, for some good news for our older students. As co-head, I have been able to override Professor McGonagall about your rooming. Starting from this year, fifth and sixth years will be two to a room. To claim your room just press your wand to the door and your name will appear, marking it as yours. Just be careful, once you have selected a room, and roommate, there is no changing. You will be with them for the rest of the year. Seventh years, you will have private rooms. The process of claiming your room is the same."
The older three years all cheered.
"What do you mean overrode McGonagall?" Angelina Johnson questioned.
"The school board ordered the change a few years ago to assist in your studying for your exams, but Professor McGonagall felt that it was better for you all to continue to share, so she refused to expand the dorms. Only a head of house can change the dorms so there was nothing any of the other staff could do, so they just left it alone while all the other houses started separating rooms for the older years."
"Are you saying that all the other upper years have had their own rooms for years while we've been struggling to study in our dorms for years?" Angelina's friend, Katie Bell asked, when Sirius nodded she seethed. "The least she could have done was give us the option. It's almost impossible to study when there is no room."
Sirius gave the older students a sad look. "I agree, which is why I changed it. Now, it's time for bed, you all have class in the morning."
Grumbling slightly, the students all went up to bed.