They spent the rest of the day at the bank, returning barely in time for dinner. By then, Harry was wearing the Lord Potter ring, although he kept it hidden from view, and Luna was wearing her own Lady Potter ring, disguised as a simple, cheap ring. Although they both liked being recognized as Lord and Lady, these rings seemed to be inappropriate to be worn openly at school.
"Where shall we sit?" Harry asked Luna as they approached the Great Hall.
"Wherever you choose, I'll be at your side," she said.
"Well, I think I'd like to sit with my friends this time."
"You'll have to tell them. The Prophet may have missed it today, but is sure to publish something about us tomorrow. Snatching 'The Boy Who Lived' can make great news, you know."
Harry grimaced, knowing how bad an article in that rag could make it look. Still, there was nothing he could do about it that late in the day. He might need to enlist Hermione's help, along with Luna's, to find a way to stop the Prophet from badmouthing him and his wife.
Ron didn't notice them when they approached, but once they sat down side-by-side, he couldn't miss that. "I thought you were together only for the ball," he said, looking really confused.
"No, we're together for good!" Luna said with a beaming smile.
"What do you mean? Are you his girlfriend now?" Ron still didn't quite understand.
"No, I'm his wife! We're married!" Her expression turned mischievous. "You now need to call me Lady Potter."
Ron missed the last sentence. "You can't be married! You're too young!" He then gave it a moment of thought. "You didn't elope, did you?"
"Nope. Magic wed us last night, during the ball. See?" Luna grabbed Harry's hand and showed both their wedding bands. "They can't be taken off either," she added.
Ron finally understood. "Well, I don't think anybody expected this, certainly not Harry."
"I didn't," Harry confirmed, "but the more I think of it, the more I like it. I only dread the articles this may invoke in the Prophet. Can any of you suggest how we can deal with that rag?"
"You're already starring in it," Dean, who sat nearby, said, passing that morning newspaper.
Indeed, the front page sported the headline "Surprise Dates at the Yule Ball," and below it were two images. One was Harry dancing with Luna, and the other showed Krum holding Hermione and whispering in her ear. Harry didn't bother to read the article. As it was by Rita Skeeter, he didn't expect it to be objective or likable, making it unworthy of his attention.
Luna read some and frowned. She then seemed to think for a moment. "Didn't your account manager mention some shares you have in the Prophet? He also mentioned a solicitor on retainer. Maybe it's time for that solicitor to prove its worth?"
"May I help you?" Hermione offered. She had probably read the article earlier, and it was evident she didn't like it.
"We're going to get our married couple's apartment after dinner. You may come with us to discuss it. We've also brought many documents from the bank. You may be able to help us understand them."
"Hey, mate! What about me?" Ron asked.
"Do you think you could help us understand financial documents from the bank?" Harry asked pointedly.
Ron shook his head sadly. "I wouldn't even know where to start. Still, may I join you, just to see the apartment?"
Harry glanced at Luna, who nodded slightly. "Alright, but I don't think we'll be able to do more than show you in. I'd really like to get free of that kind of publicity, and not only for myself, you know, so I'd rather act promptly."
Ron smiled with relief. "Sure, mate. I know how important that is to you. I only wish I could be more helpful."
He was not the only one to accompany the new couple. Practically the whole Gryffindor fourth year came, along with most of the Quidditch team. After a tour of the apartment, Harry asked all the guests to let him and his new wife settle in and showed them out. Only Hermione stayed behind.
Luna took a small package from her bag and enlarged it, revealing a large ledger full of parchments. "These are the documents our account manager considered important for us to review. The upper one is a condensed report of all Potter assets."
She took that document in her hand and scanned it quickly. "Here it is: The Daily Prophet — thirty percent of the regular shares and forty percent of the founding shares, that no longer have any vote on the actual management of the business, but just threatening to ask for your money back can give you a lot of influence."
Hermione frowned. "I'm not quite sure I know all I need, but it still looks to me like you need to have some allies to get the majority shareholders on your side. Who are the others?"
Luna shook her head in disappointment. "Our account manager couldn't tell us. He said that our solicitor should be able to find that kind of information."
"Then who is that solicitor?" Hermione pressed on.
"Let's see…" Luna checked a few more documents until she found the one she had in mind. "Here it is! There's an old law firm named 'Stuffing and Bowls' that handles mainly agricultural and land-related businesses. Then there's 'Tonks and Tonks' that handles other finances. It's a relatively new firm, a married couple that works together, and started working with the Potter estate only about a year before Harry was born, maybe by the time his parents got married."
"Do we have their address?" Harry asked.
Luna checked. "Yes, they live in a Muggle neighborhood in London. They even have a phone number, but as we have none here, an owl should do."
"We should send Hedwig then. She may even be able to come up with a reply by tomorrow morning," Harry suggested.
"Even if we send her immediately, it will take her a few hours of flying, so she won't be able to deliver our letter before midnight. I don't think anybody would still be awake to take a message and give a proper reply. Besides, we first need to write the letter," Luna said.
"Isn't there a quicker way? I'd like to prevent any mention of us in tomorrow's edition," Harry said.
"There might be," Luna said pensively. "They have a Floo address. We can fire call them, if the headmaster will let us use his Floo or connect our fireplace to the network."
"I'll go ask him. You may continue phrasing our requests so we can be more focused when we finally talk to them," Harry offered.
With both girls accepting his idea, he rushed to the headmaster's office. The door was open when he arrived, and Dumbledore stood up as he called him in. "What can I do for you, Lord Potter?"
Harry wasn't very interested in being addressed by his newly found title, but he thought that it could help him establish a more balanced relationship with Dumbledore. "We found out that we need a Floo connection in our apartment. We currently need to talk to our solicitor. We may later need to contact others or even visit with them. It wouldn't be right to bother you each and every time, Headmaster."
The old man smiled understandingly. "Of course, Lord Potter. Your Floo connection is already in place, but you need to learn how to open and close it at will to allow incoming calls or visitors. It would be unwise to keep it open when you need your sleep or just some privacy." The twinkling in his eyes suggested that he was thinking of very specific actions that normally required privacy.
It took a few minutes for Dumbledore to demonstrate and teach Harry how to open, close, and filter calls or visitors. He then gave Harry a printed page with the condensed procedures as a reminder.
Ten minutes later, they were already talking on the Floo with Andromeda Tonks. "I want you to make sure that the Prophet publishes nothing about me and my friends unless I approve of it. Use my shares and buy more for me, if that's what you need to accomplish this," Harry instructed.
Andromeda had to check some of her files before she could form her reply. "As far as I can see, you hold quite a few shares, but not enough to control the board. Malfoy, although having only a few shares, is using the Black shares to help him push his agenda, and even if we buy out quite a few of the minor shareholders, we can't get a majority. We may need to think of a different strategy."
Harry frowned. "I don't think Lord Black has let Malfoy use his shares. I'm sure he'd be quite mad at hearing that."
Andromeda sighed. "There's no Lord black now. The one who would have been, was sentenced for betraying your parents and for killing a group of muggles. He's now a fugitive, so we couldn't contact him in any case."
"Sirius is innocent. It was Peter who betrayed my parents and killed the Muggles. He confessed to that himself before he managed to escape, when we found him out. Sirius has never had a trial to start with!" Harry sounded quite angry.
"Well, if that can be proven, it could change the situation drastically, but it wouldn't help with our immediate problem, as that may take quite a bit of time, and you want immediate action."
"Can't you use financial pressure? If we withdraw our investment in the Prophet, it may go broke. Malfoy would probably like to step in, but he may not have enough money for that, as far as I heard," Luna suggested.
"That could work to some extent, but we need to back it with some action soon enough, or it will stay an empty threat," Andromeda said cautiously.
"What if I get Sirius to assign you as his solicitor, including controlling his shares, leaving Malfoy with just his minor share that can't have much use?" Harry suggested.
"Do you know where Sirius is? If so, as much as I don't like it, you should inform the authorities."
"That would be like killing him, as long as the current order of the minister stays. He can't prove his innocence if he is to be executed by a dementor kiss on sight. I may be able to contact him, though. Would a letter from him be enough?"
"It should better be stamped with his Lord ring, yet I doubt he could get it, being a wanted man. His signature could do, for now."
"I believe he'll send this letter within a few days, if asked. Can you assure a fair trial for him? The first step would be to make it known that he'd had no trial and to remove the 'kiss on sight' order so that he can get his belated trial."
Andromeda seemed to give it a moment of thought. "I believe this can be done, but it may take some time. I'll gladly help him, if he's innocent, as you believe."
"I know he's innocent! That's not mere belief. Is there a way to show you my memories, so you can see for yourself?"
Andromeda's surprise was evident. "Actually, there is. I'll need to find a Pensieve for that, and then we need to meet to extract a copy of those memories."
Harry smiled with relief. "That's good to know. Right now, though, we need to stop the Prophet from saying anything about me and my wife except for the statement that we were magically wed during the Yule Ball and we're both happy with this." Another idea crept into his mind, one he didn't really like. "Shouldn't we tell Luna's father before he sees this printed?"
Andromeda smiled. "By all means, tell him. You could just call him by Floo or even use it to visit his house. I suggest you do it now, as soon as we finish our conversation."
"I'm not sure it's that urgent. I told Daddy that I'll probably be married by the next time we meet, before I left for Hogwarts," Luna chimed in.
Andromeda's smile widened. "Still, it would be politer to let him know the facts before they become public, and it will keep him happier with your union."
Harry took this to heart. As soon as they finished the conversation with Andy, he turned to Luna. "Can you call your Dad, so that we can go visit immediately?"
Luna smiled reassuringly. "Daddy will be fine even if we just talk over the Floo, you know. He trusts me completely."
"But will he trust me?" Harry asked, feeling his apprehension grow.
"I trust you, my dear husband, so my Daddy will trust you just the same."
"Still, it would be politer if we met face-to-face," Harry insisted.
Hermione felt like a third wheel during this conversation. "Maybe I should return to the dorms? Curfew time is close enough. Besides, we still need to prepare for the second task. I'll start researching for more useful spells."
While Harry escorted Hermione to the dorms, not willing to let her risk walking alone, Luna called her father. When Harry returned, she beamed at him. "Daddy said he's fine with whatever we do. Are you sure you want to see him?"
Harry shrugged. "It's not exactly what I want, but I think I should, if only to ensure as good relations with your father as possible for the future."
Harry didn't enjoy the Floo travel this time any better than the previous ones. At least he stayed on his feet at the destination, although barely.