Chapter 26
Millie was woken by Hermione, "Morning Millicent, quite a few of us start the day off with some training and we wondered if you wanted to join us. It will just be a light session today after the workout yesterday and we always feel better after it."
Millie had agreed before she caught sight of what Hermione was wearing, noticing where she was looking Hermione answered the unasked question, "don't worry, Winky will get you kitted out until we can get some shopping done today."
This was how Millicent Bulstrode found herself enjoying jogging along the beach in a crop top and shorts with her hair drawn back in a ponytail, she made quite the sight.
Emma Granger thought some parents should be shot; here was a young girl with an obvious self-esteem problem because of her size and features yet there was absolutely nothing wrong with her body.
She was about six feet tall with really broad muscular shoulders that tapered down to a slim waist, her arms and legs were again heavily muscled but her chest signified this person was all girl. The wizarding robes she wore fitted her at the shoulders then just hung straight down, giving the impression she was fat when nothing could be further from the truth.
Millicent obviously knew about hair removal but had never thought to trim her eyebrow into two distinct entities, instead of the one she had at the moment, her facial features were more chiselled than smooth but with some make-up it would really make a big difference.
She would never be a classic beauty but when she smiled or laughed her inner self shone through and with a body that any distance swimmer would be proud of Millicent was definitely no ogre.
Thanks to Millicent killing the snake they were able to suggest bringing the first task forward as they didn't need to go hunting for it, hopefully by next Saturday night it would all be over.
Harry was certain this was why Amelia was pushing for the Order of Merlin, First Class, as she didn't now need to have aurors carrying out the extremely dangerous task of combing the country searching for the beast.
He was sure Riddle would still be holed up in the old family place and their original plan if it wasn't killed beforehand called for a mass attack timed as he was losing his powers, this had worked out so much better. As it was only magic that was keeping the squirrel body alive, removing it should end Riddle's life without endangering anyone else.
Millie was really having a good time, the fact that these people were all doing this exercise to tone their bodies was a stunning revelation to the pureblood, she'd always considered herself a freak for having all these muscles yet here were women and girls who Millie considered to be beautiful working out to get them.
When they did some light work on the dummies she was amazed to see Hermione and Luna move like that and the power behind their attacks opened up a whole new world for the girl. Harry taught her a few moves and before long Dobby had to reinforce her dummy, when Millie timed it right the poor mannequin kept loosing it's head. Had she caught Bellatrix like she had intended last night there would have been one less death eater to worry about, she was easily stronger than Neville and probably rivalled Remus.
It was a very happy Millie who headed off to get her shower, she'd really enjoyed her morning so far and the girls were all excited about taking her on their shopping trip, allowing Millie to keep Ron at the back of her mind for now.
-oOoOo-
Ron hadn't slept much, watching the pensieve as Millie saved him again and again had become almost hypnotic. It was her face he couldn't take his eyes off, the expression when she let that bitch Lestrange have it turned immediately to one of concern as she tried to free him followed by devotion as she lifted him on to her shoulder and tried to get them out of there. She loved him so much yet all he had bothered about was new robes and stupid possessions, letting the real treasure she offered him slip through his fingers because he was too frigging stupid to understand what she meant to him. Ron couldn't even eat the breakfast that had been provided as his whole body was in turmoil trying to work out how he could fix this.
Cho entered with her arm round Cedric and was gushing with enthusiasm, "oh Ron, such a pity you missed seeing round this place, it's fantastic. Harry's letting me come here next Hogsmead weekend so I can see Cedric, isn't that great? We hardly recognised Millicent this morning when she was training with the others, where had she been hiding that body? Cedric had to elbow Roger in the ribs to stop him drooling over her, these Hogwarts robes definitely aren't as flattering as the Institute's design."
Dobby popped into the room and announced, "Time to go back to Hogwarts."
Ron just froze, he wasn't sure whether it was that Davies was interested in Millie or the fact that he was not going to see her before leaving but his whole being was screaming at him not to let this happen.
"Dobby I can't go without speaking to Millie."
"Miss Millicent has left to go shopping with the other young ladies, it's time to go."
As Dobby reached for Ron the boy jumped back and was now pleading with the elf, "I need to speak to her Dobby, where's Harry?"
"Lord Potter is on the beach with some of the children, he doesn't like his time with them disturbed."
Ron was now crying, "please Dobby, just a minute of his time. This is very important to me."
Dobby popped out for a minute before returning with fresh instructions, "Miss Chang please come with me, you wait here."
Cedric gave his girlfriend a final kiss before she returned to Hogwarts with Dobby, he made no comment on the now distraught red head and left to catch up on some studying.
Dobby returned and Ron found himself transported to a beach where he was surrounded by kids, Harry and Neville flew over the waves and landed beside him as two laughing boys jumped off their brooms. Dobby re-appeared handing Ron a broom as Harry spoke to him, "you might as well make yourself useful, Joanne you're with him."
Another two kids had ran over to Harry and Neville as they flew them along the beach and out over the waves, the children's laughter could be heard over everything.
Joanne looked about five and quickly mounted side-saddle in front of Ron, they had no sooner taken off than the child's curiosity kicked in, otherwise known as the interrogation.
"Are you a friend of Harry's?"
"No, not really," he answered uncomfortably.
"Well are you Neville's friend then?"
"Not really," he was now actually squirming.
"Hermione's?"
"No."
"Luna's?"
"No."
"Ginny's"
The name was like a sledgehammer to Ron's heart as the tears were once again running down his cheeks, "No."
Joanne had that child's sixth sense where she knew there was more to the story and just stared at Ron, waiting on the next instalment.
Ron was like a moth to a flame and couldn't not give an answer to this child, "Ginny used to be my sister."
"What happened to your mum and dad?" Joanne asked, assuming he'd been orphaned.
"They're in jail for trying to swap Ginny for a house."
The look of revulsion on Joanne's face was another severe blow, how could this young orphan instinctively know this was wrong but he had actually gone along with it.
"Who do you live with now?"
"I lived with my betrothed but I haven't been treating her very well and she may be breaking up with me."
Joanne's next question was asked with that touch of exasperation that only a five-year-old can get away with, "do you have ANY friends?"
Ron couldn't answer other than to shake his head, tears streaming unashamedly down his cheeks at just how much of an arsehole he had become.
"I'll be your friend, if you want?" Ron looked mesmerised at Joanne who then went on to explain. "Miss Jillian always says that friends are our most treasured possessions and you can never have enough of them, didn't you know this?"
Ron could only shake his head in wonder at this child who had a better understanding of life than he did, he answered, "yes, I'd like that," and Joanne hugged him.
"You can take me back now, we've been out here ages."
No sooner had they landed than Joanne was introducing her best friend Kathleen and Ron was straight back up in the air getting twenty questions again.
The morning flew in and soon they were heading up the steps towards the institute, Neville and Harry both had younger kids on their shoulders while Joanne and Kathleen each had a hold of Ron's hands as they led him towards lunch.
Ron couldn't fail to notice the height of the cliffs as he had to climb up the stairs and understood there was a chance he could be coming back down at a slightly faster pace but he'd take that risk if it meant getting to talk to Millie. Hermione's mum had calmly stood there last night, firing whatever it was she held at a screaming Voldemort and it was easy to see where Hermione's nature came from, Ron was well aware they weren't joking that her parents might throw him off the cliff.
-oOoOo-
Millie was having a day like no other, she'd been astonished at the magical shopping section of Naples and the welcome they received wherever the group went but moving into the muggle area was a revelation. She now understood Joan's comment about the underwear shop but there was just so much choice it was hard to decide, it was only when she thought of Ron's reaction to her wearing these things that her mood dipped. She just didn't know how she was going to deal with that so put it at the back of her mind again so as not to spoil the girls fun.
They were having lunch at their usual spot when Ginny suggested trying the salon opposite, Millie looked at her strangely until she explained that's where she had her hair done and they were very good. She reluctantly agreed and was accompanied by Ginny and Luna as Joan's prediction came true and she went off with her mum to buy some things for the kids.
It was a different Millicent Bulstrode who looked back at Millie from the mirror and it was quite a shock, the girls in the salon had pulled off a miracle as far as she was concerned. Her hair was cut to frame her face and now had subtle golden highlights through the brown, an eyebrow wax and facial had been followed with the application of makeup, Millie was so pleased with the results she almost spoiled it by crying.
Joan hugged her on sight as they headed into a sports shop for training clothes where Millie's new look and athletic body drew quite a bit of attention from the male assistants, it was a happy group of girls who ended up back at the institute in time to get ready for dinner.
Millie and Joan walked on to the terrace at dinnertime and were immediately accosted by Roger Davies, "Miss Bulstrode, would you do me the honour of joining me for dinner?"
Before she could answer a nervous voice beside her chipped in, "actually Roger, I was hoping she was going to join me, would you do me the honour Millie?"
She turned and there was Ron holding out a red rose for her with pleading in his eyes, she took the rose and just nodded.
Ron then knelt down and offered Joan a yellow rose, "could I borrow your aunty Millicent for a little while please?"
Joan stared straight into his eyes, "you make her cry again and my dad will throw you off the cliff."
"If I make her cry I'll jump of the cliff myself."
Joan accepted this and the rose as she walked over to her parents, leaving them alone, though Roger was not amused as Ron took Millie's hand and led her over to a table for two that had just appeared.
"What are you doing here Ron?"
"I didn't want to leave without talking to you so I begged Harry for the chance to see you, fortunately the Grangers are having a night out with the Lupins and Blacks otherwise I'd be still in that room."
"Harry and Hermione told me why you all split, is it true?"
"Millie I won't lie to you, I didn't do anything but knew what mum was planning and would have went along with it. I have been an idiot, arsehole and any other words you want to put in there, it cost me my friends and my sister but last night the price was too high. The thought of losing you was the shock that my selfish system badly needed, I haven't slept or eaten since making you cry and I'm willing to crawl over hot coals just to be with you again."
Millie had the beginning of tears in her eyes, "you really hurt me last night Ron, I can't go back to the way things were."
"I don't want to go back Millie, I want to go forward with you at my side. Being betrothed means that you intend to spend the rest of your life with that person and that's what I want more than anything. When you asked me those questions last night I just panicked and my brain shut down, I'm not the cleverest person in the world and it takes a while for some things to sink in. Watching you cry hurt me more than Pettigrew's knife ever could, I love you Millie and am so proud of my betrothed I'll stand up on this table and announce it to everyone here if it would make you happy."
Millie had tears streaming down her face as Roy felt hands bite into each of his shoulders and looked up into the hard gazes of Neville and Harry.
"Hold on a moment guys," Millie said before grabbing Ron by the front of his robes and pulling him across the table to kiss him senseless, after they were done she spoke to the two wizards without ever taking her eyes off Ron, "sorry guys but I'm going to have to disappoint you both, I'm keeping him!"
Neville laughed while Harry's comment about a 'good cliff going to waste' was only partially in jest.
Ron was holding both her hands on the table, "are you sure Millie?" her nod lifted a great weight off Ron as he smiled at his betrothed, "Luna was right, you are too good for me. Your new look is fabulous love, I didn't mention it sooner in case I gave the impression that was the only reason I wanted to make-up."
She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "wait till you see what I'm wearing underneath."
Ron's eyes glazed over as his imagination went into overdrive, using strength of will he didn't know he possessed he shook his head and had to apologise to his betrothed.
"I'm sorry love, Harry's done me a great favour I don't deserve by letting me stay here to speak to you, for us to do anything that breached his hospitality would be like spitting in his face. As much as I want to, I just couldn't do it."
Ron found himself being hauled over the table again and the recipient of another snog that registered on the Richter scale.
"Could you tell me what I did to deserve that so I can try and make a habit of it?"
"You thought of others before yourself, you're learning."
"I had two five-year-olds very successfully point out the error of my ways today, I'll introduce you to my new friends Joanne and Kathleen later."
"If they're anything like Joan I can't wait."
They had finally calmed down enough for their food to arrive though Ron still had one major item to discuss, "Millie I think Harry would let you attend here and I think you should, it's a far better school than Hogwarts and we could still see each other at Hogsmead weekends. He might even let me come here to see you once in a while, I know he'll never forgive me and I understand why but he's not vindictive. What do you think?"
"My place is at my betrothed's side, would you leave me to come here?"
Ron's immediate reply of "never!" earned him another searing kiss.
Roger was sitting watching the couple with murder running through his mind; he would have been in there if that carrot-topped dickhead hadn't showed up. He may have lost this battle but if Bulstrode stayed here she would be his, he was actually shocked she chose Weasley over him tonight. Roger usually got his way with the younger girls, then it was time to move on to the next one – or two as his eyes settled on the Patel twins.
A dunt in his back caused him to turn as he found himself confronted by Lovegood, but this girl was no loony.
"Had Harry asked my opinion you would never have been anywhere near the Institute but as this is a second chance for everyone I'm prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt. All the younger girls in Ravenclaw were well warned about you and while you might be able to get away with collecting girls like trophies in Hogwarts the same does not apply here. This is a much smaller school where we all look out for one another, there's no place for a Lothario here. Millicent has made her choice and you will respect it otherwise, instead of another notch in your headboard you'll be looking for another school as you'll get your arse kicked right out of the Institute."
Roger wanted to tell this girl to go screw herself but something in her eyes told him this might not be a wise choice so he just gave a grunt and turned back round to the table.
Lee Jordan was bursting with anger, "look Roger, we only added your name because you begged us to get out of that place, Harry and Hermione have went to a lot of trouble to bring us here and I for one am bloody grateful. I phoned home today and it's all over the British wizarding papers that they not only fought Voldemort last night but also took down Dumbledore to; Harry snapped both their wands in the great hall. Slughorn was arrested for abusing students and the ministry is going to take over the running of Hogwarts from Monday. Do you really want to go back to that because if you screw with Harry or any of his friends that's your best option, assuming you leave here alive that is."
Roger was torn, on the one hand the Institute was far superior to Hogwarts of even his first year but on the other he'd just been told in no uncertain terms that his 'love them and leave them' policy wasn't going to be tolerated here. He now realised the disadvantage of attending a school where the owners were students, they knew bloody everything that went on in the place.
-oOoOo-
Amber held on to Sirius as they slowly moved across the floor, it could hardly be called dancing but she wasn't going to complain. Asking her aunt if there was a job available as she was sick of the discrimination she faced in Britain was, without a doubt the best decision she ever made. The man who currently held her in his arms was everything she'd dreamed about since being a little girl and then some; tall, dark and hansom just didn't do Sirius justice.
They had gone dancing and she couldn't help but smile as Mr and Mrs Lupin glided past, her aunt was glowing with happiness as she held onto her husband. Pregnancy really suited her and Amber was slightly envious, though she hoped lord Black would ask her to be his lady one day soon. She didn't understand everything that was going on but trusted this wizard with her life, she could tell he was holding back and was sure it had nothing to do with her being a squib.
Their reactions last night when they discovered Millicent had killed that snake had been so over the top that she had felt uncomfortable, until she saw her aunt pounce on Remus and kiss him as though their lives had been saved. Whatever generated the party atmosphere she was grateful for it as she was having a splendid evening.
Emma clung to her husband as they danced, both had almost cried in relief at the destruction of the last horcrux, this could now be ended and their kids lead a near normal life. Yes they would have to face a dragon each but Harry had beaten it last time and they were so much more powerful now. They now had the opportunity to sit back and do nothing as a now mortal Riddle had to come to the tournament or die, they were both praying for the second option but would be there just in case – as would Amelia with everything she had.
This was a lovely night but next week could easily eclipse it, if the afternoon produced the right result then everyone would be dancing next Saturday night. For the first time since the attack that day in Gringotts she was starting to believe her family might just emerge from this war unscathed.
-oOoO-
The frigging squirrel had its tail in a tuft once more, that high-pitched voice sounded so out of place with the snarling snout that it became surreal. Bella likened it to her sister Cissi wearing her number one haughty expression while farting 'God save the Queen' in tune; the two just didn't belong together.
How he ever expected purebloods to kneel at the paws of Riddle the rodent was beyond her, only the potions she was taking kept her from skewering a squirrel and now the great bushy tailed one was ordering her around again.
Bella suspected that she was the only death eater left in Britain, unfortunately they could neither confirm nor deny this as stupid squirrel had been hopping mad and tortured to death the only person they had with a dark mark.
She was aware that these potions were addictive and rapidly affecting her personality but the alternative of facing up to the reality she now found herself in was just too much for the pureblood. Better to be bombed out your head than trying to cut those pointed furry ears off with a blunt instrument, chewing them off was no longer an option available to her. Searching for food was one thing but how the hell was she supposed to eat nuts without teeth? Squirrel soup or stew was going to be on the menu shortly as she didn't know how much longer she could stomach this.
When Bella found a copy of today's Prophet she could now work out exactly how long that would be. If he didn't kill her for bringing him the news that Tom Marvolo Riddle had to compete in a tournament or lose his magic then in a week he would be getting his nuts dry-roasted in hell and Bella would be free.
-oOoOo-
Xenophilius Lovegood was chuckling to himself as he came up with more and more ludicrous headlines for tomorrow's special edition, the Prophet thought they had stolen a march on the wily editor with their Hogwarts story but he wished he could see their faces tomorrow when they read this. It was with a sigh that he scrapped all the headlines featuring Voldesquirrel or Squirrelmort, instead deciding on the provocative headline that screamed across the front page.
Black Magic defeats Dark Ritual
Lord Sirius Orion Black was wrongly sent to Azkaban for a crime that saw the man he considered a brother murdered by Voldemort, his actual brother Regulus was also murdered by the direct orders of the self styled dark lord for fighting against him. Regulus had been courted by the dark side and enticed to join before even coming of age, evidence has been presented to the ministry that proves beyond doubt that this young wizard was fighting for the light side when he was killed and has had his name exonerated of any wrongdoing.
It is with this background that Lord Black has sworn to aid his godson Lord Potter in the fight against Voldemort and on Halloween dealt him a massive blow.
"We were aware there was a certain dark ritual that could have returned Riddle to a body and took measures against this. We swapped one of the critical ingredients, which had devastating effects on the result. Lord Voldemort has returned in a new body, unfortunately for him it's in the form of a six-foot squirrel! The leader of the pureblood supremacy movement is not only a half-blood but now has a cute busy tail and a voice so high it would make a Eunuch sound like a baritone."
The following photographs show the Potters banishing the bushy-tailed one up a tree before capturing his wand, which was later snapped at Hogwarts. Lord Black described what happened that night.
"The couple in the picture are Ronald Weasley being rescued by his betrothed Millicent Bulstrode after they were abducted earlier in the day from Hogsmead. Both Lord Potter and myself have recommended this courageous witch for an Order of Merlin for facing the three most dangerous terrorists in the country without a wand and still managed to save her wizard. Not only that but she killed Riddles familiar, a very large poisonous snake and severally injured Bellatrix Lestrange while making their escape from the shrieking squirrel. Voldemort was so upset at the result of the ritual that he tortured Peter Pettigrew to death, poetic justice for the rat who betrayed the Potters to his master on another Halloween night."
As this blow was being delivered in a graveyard, another plan to defeat Voldemort was coming to life at Hogwarts with 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' being forced by binding magical contract to compete in the now Hex-wizard tournament or lose his magic. Hogwarts will be crawling with ministry aurors hoping he'll show up and though the use of glamour's or polyjuice can't be discounted it only works within the same species as the recipient. This reporter fails to see the benefit of turning into a six-foot chipmunk or gerbil as a means of disguise, even ministry aurors aren't that stupid.
Lord Black also explained Dumbledore's actions that night, "Earlier in the Summer Lord Potter had dropped charges against Dumbledore providing he would resign his political positions of power in the wizarding world. When it came to light that three Hogwarts students were missing and the headmaster wasn't even aware of the problem, Minister Bones was left with no option but to recommend Hogwarts come under ministerial control, especially considering the charges faced by the latest head of Slytherin. This left Dumbledore with no job and about to be charged with serious multiple breaches of wizarding law, he decided to go out with a bang by firing a deadly curse into a group of youngsters."
This editor for one will be eternally grateful that Lord Potter was there otherwise I would be writing an obituary for my thirteen-year-old daughter who was in the group that the 'headmaster' tried to murder with a deadly curse.
Another person delighted with Lord Potter's actions is the current Hogwarts head of Gryffindor, Percy Weasley.
"When my fiancée and I accepted teaching posts at Hogwarts we assumed the headmaster would aid us in this new challenge, instead he poured administrative tasks that he himself was meant to fulfil in our direction with the result that I didn't even know my brother had been abducted by death eaters. The revelations of Slughorn's behaviour sent me over the edge, this person was directly responsible for my sister and fiancée almost being killed by means of a diary he helped create. I only wish there was a worse punishment than a Dementors kiss that could be applied here."
On the conduct of Dumbledore the former head boy was even more scathing, "the Potter's had their eight-year-old adopted daughter with them and Dumbledore fired a curse that would have cut the little girl in half. This once respected wizard committed this atrocity in full view of the youth of the wizarding world. Only Lord Potter's extraordinary actions prevented a bloodbath in the great hall of Hogwarts."
This great wizard once shone as bright as the robes he famously wore but when we looked beneath the surface what faced us was a whole web of lies and duplicity, theft and abuse of power.
The ministry had been building a cast iron case against Dumbledore but his actions of Halloween speak for themselves, this was not an action that any light sided wizard could even contemplate far less attempt. It would now appear that we have had another dark lord in our midst all these years without even knowing it, like a muggle magician he used his colourful robes and personality as a ruse to fool the public so they couldn't see what he was really up to.
-oOoOo-
Ron and Millie's entrance into the great hall caused quite a stir, since her return Cho had prattled on incessantly about how good the Institute was but the proof was now standing right in front of them. If two days there could make that change in Millicent Bulstrode then everyone in the hall was going to try like mad to get an Italian transfer as soon as possible.
It had been a tearful goodbye this morning between 'aunt and niece' with Harry eventually saying they could come for a Hogsmead weekend along with Cho, the smile he received from a crying Joan was worth the world to her dad. She promised her aunt Millicent they would go shopping again though no mention was made of Ron joining them; he had a long way to go before Joan would forgive him for making her aunt cry.
Percy actually hugged them both and congratulated Millie on her nomination for an Order of Merlin, the two looked stunned until they noticed what everyone was reading. The old Ron would have exploded at the picture of him being lugged on Millie's shoulder and her nomination, this Ron reached up and kissed her in front of everyone before telling his brother that he was so proud of her.
Millicent just held him tight, this was the wizard she loved publicly acknowledging he returned those feelings and Ron was so going to be rewarded as soon as she could get him out of here.
-oOoOo-
Charlie Weasley was a powerful wizard, both physically and magically. Charlie Weasley was also boiling over with anger at the wizard he had physically pinned to the wall in front of him, the only thing stopping the red head from punching the said wizard's head off was the sight of George lying on a cot with his ear cursed off.
"Just what in the name of Merlin were you two trying to achieve?"
Fred's feet weren't touching the ground as his elder brother looked ready to kill him, "we were trying to lighten the mood, everyone around here is so serious."
Charlie didn't think he could get any angrier but had just been proven wrong, "serious? Of course we're frigging serious! This is a dragon reserve; a mistake here doesn't earn you a detention or lose house points. A mistake here will cost you a limb or your life, explain to me how twenty dragon handlers puking their guts up is lightning the mood?"
George tried to help his twin, "we thought it was funny."
"You're lying there missing an ear and if I hadn't pulled you out the way that curse would have killed you. Is that funny to you?"
"How were we to know they would react like that?"
Charlie took a deep breath and tried to explain, "this is the real world, you slip someone a potion in there food that makes them violently ill, they're going to treat it as an attack and respond accordingly. They won't laugh, they won't think it's funny, they'll just retaliate and start firing curses at you."
Charlie lowered Fred so his feet at least touched the ground, "we were supposed to take three dragons, nursing mothers mind you, to Hogwarts in a few weeks. We just got an owl that they need six nursing mothers for this weekend; you couldn't have picked a worse time to try a prank. I was going to put your names down to go but I don't think the other handlers will want you anywhere near them, when you perform dangerous work you need to know that the people beside you are trustworthy and reliable. With the best will in the world I can't put Fred or George Weasley into either of those categories."
"What if we apologised?"
"Promised to behave?"
"We really want to go back."
"I'll ask," said a despairing Charlie "all you had to do was make the tea and serve the food, I didn't think even you two could screw that up."
He left the twins with some serious thinking to do, both were more committed than ever to being their own bosses but it would appear that the only way that would happen was if the kept their heads down and worked. Every time they felt like pulling a prank they would just have to think of their shop, Weasley Wizard Wheezes, and think about the gold they needed to make their dream a reality.
-oOoOo-
Amelia Bones felt as if she was going to be physically sick, the report in front of her generated feelings she didn't know she was capable of. The minister of magic so wished that she had gotten a couple of kicks at the 'slug' that night in Hogwarts, if she had this information then he wouldn't have gotten out of that castle alive.
He had been plying his perversion for many years and continued even after being caught and blackmailed by Riddle, the training and information he had passed to the boy was terrifying and explained how a powerful young wizard was able to create a horcrux at seventeen.
Another event that stood out was the fact that Dumbledore was aware of his behaviour with the young male students and actually brought the pervert back to the castle as head of house. He had originally used the information to get the 'slug' to resign, thus creating a vacancy for a twenty-one-year-old Snape to become head of Slytherin and potions professor despite having no teaching experience and being a marked death eater.
The more she learned about their society the more it sickened her and she was beginning to think that Harry had the right idea, quit the country and leave the bigoted purebloods to seethe in a putrid stew of their own concoction.
As the board of Hogwarts governors entered her office for their meeting she was finally convinced that bigoted Britain could not be saved, it would need torn down and rebuilt from the ground up.
It was the first words out of some pompous pricks mouth that did the trick.
"Minister, we want you to order those people back to Britain and pass a law banning any magical children not of pureblood stock from learning magic anywhere but the ministry approved location of Hogwarts."
Amelia was amazed at just how far these arseholes would go to protect their hold on any semblance of power, "and just how do you propose we do that?"
The smug bastard replied, "after Saturday the threat from the dark side should be over, we simply arrest the Potters after they compete. We can generate some charges for their attack on the headmaster, which we all witnessed. If they choose to return to Hogwarts and do what they're told then the whole matter can be dropped."
Amelia knew she would AK this bastard before ordering the arrest of the Potters but had to think fast, if these pricks started to generate any kind of support this could get ugly very quickly. Opinions in the wizarding world could change more dramatically than the fabled British weather as was proven in the great hall at Halloween, she reached for her mobile knowing Harry would understand that when she called him Lord Potter there was a problem.
"Lord Potter I currently have the Hogwarts board of Governors in my office and they would like a chat with you … that would be so generous of you my lord, we will expect Dobby and Winky shortly."
She turned to the board members; "Lord Potter is currently meeting with officials of the Italian government but has extended an invitation for everyone to join him at the Institute."
"We must move fast before that Potter brat takes Italian citizenship or that could cause serious complications when we arrest the little shit."
"NEVER INSULT HARRY POTTER IN MY PRESENCE!"
They all spun round to view a sight never seen by any of them, an enraged house elf wearing strange cloths.
"How dare you shout at your betters, punish yourself now!"
Dobby grabbed the wizard and disappeared as Winky spoke, "we are here to take you to the Potter Institute."
Dobby popped back and between the two elves the party was soon in Italy though they did notice that one of their number was missing.
"Where's Howard?"
-oOoOo-
Howard was at that moment living a nightmare, that little freak of nature had dropped him in the middle of Diagon Alley. This in itself was not a great problem but the lack of any clothing whatsoever definitely was.
The screams of women reverberated the length of the alley as he scampered up and down, trying to cover himself with his hands while looking for somewhere to get off the busy street but when the screaming began being replaced with laughter he didn't think it could get any worse.
The first witch who fired a stinging hex at his bare arse soon changed his mind and moving his hands to cover his backside left the women with a more tempting target. With the hexes came shouts and comments, 'what a lot of fuss over a little thing like that' hurt more than the hexes.
When a pair of aurors managed to stop laughing long enough to stun the Hogwarts governor, unconsciousness was a blessed relief for the latest pureblood to underestimate Dobby.
Chapter 27
The four remaining board members were flabbergasted at their introduction to the Potter Institute; young children were running about laughing and jumping into a swimming pool while adults sat drinking coffee as they kept an eye on them. Some of the students were even wearing swimwear as they alternated between reading their books and cooling off in the water, all four purebloods were of the opinion that children should be rarely seen and definitely not heard so this display of frivolity really set them on edge.
The Potters appeared with Pomona and Minerva along with two people who the governors assumed were from the Italian Ministry, their noses were further put out of joint when Harry totally ignored them and just spoke to Amelia.
"Good to see you again Minister, you know you're always welcome here Amelia." There was no mistaking the implication that the governors weren't. "May I introduce you to Francesco and Eugene of the Italian Ministry." Again no attempt was made to include any of the four in the conversation.
"Lord Potter, it would seem that your servant misplaced one of our number on the journey here."
Normally Harry spoke to the purebloods, as they wouldn't be too happy dealing with the muggle born Lady Potter but since this was exactly the effect the Potters wanted though Hermione took over.
"Dobby," she called as their little friend appeared. "These gentlemen have suggested that one of their number is missing, do you have any idea what happened?"
"I was following Lord Potter's orders my Lady, he has stated that bigotry will never be allowed to come to the institute. When I uncovered what type of wizard that man was I divested him in Diagon Alley."
Hermione was trying not to chuckle, "you may have gotten your words mixed up there Dobby."
She could actually see the twinkle in his eyes, "no Lady Potter, that is the naked truth."
She now had mental images she didn't need but as Dobby popped away the governors were working themselves into a lather, "do you allow servants to speak to you like that? I demand he be punished."
Hermione's features hardened, "Dobby is not a servant but a friend and who the hell are you to come into our home and start making demands?" They were starting to draw quite a crowd, especially since Hermione almost never raised her voice in the Institute, "I for one would like to know what you're doing here since tomorrow morning you will all be out of a job."
They were now seething at this mudblood whelp who dared to question them, "Hogwarts has stood for a thousand years and we will not allow this piss-ant place you laughingly call a school to endanger that. You will all be returning to Hogwarts pending legislation that will make it illegal for any magical person, other than a pureblood to be taught anywhere but Hogwarts."
Little Natalie Macdonald couldn't stay quiet any longer, "this is a fabulous school, from what I've heard much better than Hogwarts and my dad won't let me go there anyway."
The spittle was actually flying from the enraged man at this child having the audacity to answer her betters, he shouted at the child "well then my little mudblood bitch, you'll just have to…"
No one found out what Natalie would have to do as Harry had the man by the throat before he could finish the sentence, "no one uses that word in my school, you will apologise to this young lady immediately or I will be seriously upset."
Hermione was knelling beside the trembling Natalie, "that's why your father didn't want you to go to Hogwarts, no matter how good you and I are we will never be anything else but that to some of the magical people in Britain. No one holds those beliefs here though and that is why we'll be staying in Italy."
The man tried to mumble an apology but Natalie had got herself together and was having none of it, "you're only saying that because Harry has you by the throat so I don't accept your apology. You don't mean it, I don't want it so stick it up your jumper."
Hermione was worried for a second what the young witch was going to say but seeing her standing up to this arsehole filled her with pride, now it was time these bastards learned the facts of life. "Sixteen of us swore on our magic never to return to Hogwarts as students but you're going to change the law to force the ministers niece back there?" Hermione noticed Amelia was trying to hide the smile she was wearing at their treatment of these pricks.
"Everyone here rejected Hogwarts in favour of the Institute," she turned to the crowd that was now everyone in the Institute, "would anyone here like to change their minds?"
A resounding shout of "NO!" came from every mouth, including the professors.
Harry now took over, "you come to our home making demands and issuing threats with what authority? In Italy we don't care whether you're a pureblood or not because it's of no importance, we have some of the most prominent British purebloods among our staff and students but they're treated no differently than anyone else and that's they way they want it. Miss Macdonald here may be a first generation witch but she and her family are under the protection of house Potter and I could legally duel you for that derogatory comment you made against her but we do things differently here."
Hermione summoned all the governor's wands as the fighting teams swung into action; the Grangers had been sitting enjoying a coffee with Sirius, Amanda and Remus when these pricks appeared. Neville and Luna were exponent's of the study / swim method of passing a delightful Sunday afternoon so, while Hermione had been talking the other six had been pairing up and choosing their targets.
The four unwelcome visitors found themselves being dragged onto the terrace in the direction of the railing; all of the eight grabbed an arm and a leg of each governor as they began to bodily swing them while chanting. And a one, and a two, and a three - and four purebloods were released to go sailing over the safety railing that was there to protect people from falling off the cliff, it wasn't so good at protecting those thrown over it though as their screams echoed around the building. The screams ended abruptly and were promptly replaced by the entire student body of the Institute cheering.
Amelia, Francesco and Eugene were appalled, they'd just watched four men murdered and were unsure of what to do. Harry gave them a smile that left them wondering if they would be next, "relax, and come with us for a few minutes."
Dobby and Winky popped the three of them down to the beach where Pomona, Minerva, Harry and Hermione joined them as they walked up to the four bodies lying face down in the sand.
It wasn't until they got closer that Amelia noticed they weren't actually lying on the beach but floating about six inches above it, they were wide awake while appearing to be in a full body bind.
Harry addressed the soon to be ex-governors, "This isn't Hogwarts gentlemen, we don't let monsters in our school or employ professors who try to kill the students. We consider the safety of the people in our care our most important obligation therefore the cliff is warded so that anyone falling off gets saved, though captured until we can investigate how they came to fall off it in the first place. Since our piss-ant school opened there's yet to be a detention issued as all these students are here because they want to learn and we have so many placement enquires to fill the Institute more than twice over."
Harry's demeanour changed as his voice became as cold as ice, "we've tried to just withdraw from Britain and live our lives peacefully but a percentage of British purebloods are never going to let it go so this is the only warning you're going to get, come after us and we will retaliate with every means at our disposal."
Harry called for Dobby and Winky, "place these gentlemen, fully clothed, in Diagon Alley then bring us some refreshments please."
Even in these instructions Dobby found some room to be creative, therefore it was to howls of laughter that the four appeared in the window of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. They were of course fully clothed but now modelling the latest of ladies fashionable wear though Dobby's fashion sense was rather unique. The elves hadn't been ordered to remove the full body binds so left them in place as the four new mannequins looked out from the display window, seeing people they knew pissing themselves laughing at their very public predicament.
Back at the Institute Minerva had conjured a table and chairs for them while Hermione waved up to Joan and Natalie just to let them know that everything was fine. Both went back to playing in the pool under the watchful eyes of just about everyone in the place.
The elves returned with refreshments as Francesco looked as if he needed a long, cool drink. "Harry I've never seen anything that disgusted me as much as a school governor screaming at a child because of the circumstances of her birth, part of me was cheering as you threw them off the cliff."
Eugene concurred, "we hear stories coming out of Britain but that's all they are, when you see it for yourself it's sickening. Is that typical of the treatment first generation magic users receive?"
Harry thought for a few seconds before replying, "that was maybe a touch excessive because we've backed them into a corner but in general terms the answer would be yes."
"Harry it's worse than you think," Amelia said "after Voldemort is defeated they want me to have you both arrested on Saturday with some triumphed-up charges and force you back to Hogwarts."
It was a thoughtful Hermione who summed it up, "so Dumbledore gone, Voldemort dealt with and Harry and I lose our magic leaving the purebloods once more in total control of magical Britain. I can see how this would be attractive to them."
Amelia nodded her head, "you know of course that neither Shack or myself would ever give that order but just the fact they're even thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach, if you ever have a job for me just say the word. I've reached the opinion that magical Britain can't be saved in its present form, it'll have to be torn down and built from the ground up."
"We reached the same conclusion which is why we applied to the Italian ministry for citizenship."
"Lord Potter on behalf of the Italian ministry can I say that we will support you in every way that we can, we have had our eyes opened today with both our tour of this lovely school and the conditions you are trying to leave behind. I'm sure we can guarantee your citizenship before Saturday for all of your party and we have discussed the other matters and look forward to working with you for many years to come." Francesco and Eugene stood and shook everyone's hand before taking their leave.
"Sorry to land that on you today Harry but I didn't want them having time to spread their ideas around people who would be receptive to them. I thought you dealt with the situation brilliantly."
"Can you stay for the day?" asked Hermione "we really need a plan of action that covers more than the Institute and will arrange a meeting for after dinner tonight."
Amelia was delighted at the chance to get to spend the afternoon with Susan and Hannah as the other four worked on an agenda for tonight's meeting.
-oOoOo-
Jillian Green was wondering why she had been included in tonight's meeting but the revelations that she heard had her head spinning.
Harry started the meeting, "can I say right from the off that the Institute will remain open, this is non-negotiable as too many of our futures are tied into this venture and it's the right thing to do."
This settled everyone as the meeting continued, "the bigoted purebloods are beginning to realise the threat this venture is to their power base, both politically and financially. They are already trying to make life difficult for us and this meeting is to tailor our response to that threat."
It was a thoughtful Amelia Bones who replied first, "Harry I can no longer continue as minister for magic, I could never be a party to some of the suggestions made today and will resign after the tournament is completed. I will hold off long enough to watch your backs and offer whatever protection I can while you're forced to return to Britain for the tournament but I could not do this job past Christmas. I find myself taking more showers than at any time in my life and I need to get out before I become acclimatised and all the stench starts not to bother me."
Hermione had a big smile on her face; "Amelia we had a job already picked out for you and were hoping we could entice you away from the ministry in the New Year. Our meeting with the Italian ministry was not just about our citizenship but the future of our students and even their families. What do you think will happen when the first student's job application form arrives on someone's desk with the Potter Institute listed as the school they attended? Our students will be ostracised in Britain so we are looking to arrange an alternative for them, the Italian ministry have offered instant citizenship to any student who completes their education at the Institute. This offer also includes their immediate family and all hell will break lose in Britain if this news leaks."
Hermione gave that news a minute to sink in before continuing, "it's not just that their ministry agrees with what we're doing here but the fact that everything in the Institute has been purchased locally and the fact our students all spend their gold in Naples has been a big boost to the local wizarding economy. We're looking to buy land and build our own village, even if we open a couple of shops or businesses they'll still be buying their produce or raw materials locally which helps everyone. We would like you to head this project Amelia and be our link to the Italian ministry, we have a couple of years yet before we get our first graduates but I would like the option to be open to students and their families by the time they've sat their OWL's. This should open up a whole new world of careers to them."
Everyone at the meeting thought this was a brilliant idea but none of them were under any illusions that the British purebloods would do anything but retaliate.
Harry brought Gillian into the conversation, "we may have to re-think our plans to have the orphanage located at the former Malfoy manor, the link between ourselves is now well known and I couldn't let anything happen to the children because of us. I know that Joan is the only child to have been adopted since we brought you out here and for that I feel I must apologise."
Jillian bursting into laughter was not the reaction that the Potters expected, "forgive me but that was just too funny, in all the time I've been associated with the orphanage the children in its care have never been happier. The people in this room have given of their time so freely that their days are filled with Minerva's magic, Hermione's stories and even Dan introducing them to the Saturday morning cartoons. The older children have been so kind to them and they love sitting on the terrace, eating their meals and chatting with whoever joins the table. You have provided them with such a better life and hope for the future with the promise of an education that your apology just cracked me up."
It was a relieved Harry who answered, "we had hoped to convince you to stay in Italy and we'll build a new orphanage beside the Institute, we also want to attach some stables and provide horse riding as a pastime."
Emma started celebrating and kissed Dan, who was left to do the explaining, "After watching Joan on that pony in New Zealand we had a bet as to how long it would take to have them here at the Institute. I just lost and owe my lovely wife a night out, can I borrow the Ferrari son?"
Harry could only nod his head while smiling at the folly of betting against the Granger women, "Jillian we will open an office in Diagon Alley where prospective parents can make an appointment to visit and allow the ministry child services a contact point. We may find ourselves with the occasional Italian child but I think this would always be a short-term measure if the local authorities were stretched."
Minerva spoke next, "we have a problem in identifying next years students, the first generation magic users will just be contacted by Hogwarts and we have no access to the list."
It was a thoughtful Hermione who asked the question, "How does the list work?"
"The magical book records every birth of a witch or wizard in Britain, it automatically generates the Hogwarts letter and sends it to the correct address by owl on their eleventh birthday."
"So let me see if I've got this right," said Hermione "the magical book has the name and date of birth of every witch and wizard under the age of eleven?"
"Yes," answered Minerva, using her explaining to small child voice "but without the addresses we have no way to contact them."
Hermione just glanced to her mum and dad, "Just leave that to us, with a name and date of birth it's a lot easier to trace someone in the non-magical world. For people of magical backgrounds an advert in the Quibbler inviting applications should do the trick. That book should have most of our students for the next ten years in it, how do we get at it and can it be copied?"
"I'm certain the information could be reproduced but not the enchantments that power the book. I would need to get into my old office at Hogwarts to do it though."
"We're planning on awarding Millicent Bulstrode the Order of Merlin, first class, officially it will be for rescuing her betrothed but we all know it's for rendering Voldemort mortal." A few gasps around the room alerted Amelia to the fact that they didn't all know and she'd put her foot in it.
"Ok, everything said in here tonight is confidential and nothing more so than that last statement." The tone of Hermione's voice left no one in any doubt she was deadly serious, her eyes travelled from Jillian to Minerva taking in Filius, Poppy and Amber en route. "My husband has already destroyed Voldemort three times but he had taken steps to ensure he could keep coming back. We've been working to ensure that couldn't happen again and that bloody reptile was the last piece of the puzzle, Millicent killing that snake has saved lives, some of them might even be in this room now. That piece of information is the biggest secret in the wizarding world at the moment and could endanger many lives if it became public knowledge."
Harry continued seamlessly from where his wife left off, "Most of us saw what happened when Dumbledore realised his number was up, he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory so can you imagine what Voldemort would do? We're hoping his life as a squirrel is so bad that he will accept his fate, thinking that he wont actually die and have the opportunity to return in a more suitable body."
Poppy was looking at her daughter who got the slightest of nods from Harry, "yes mum I knew, the diary that possessed me in second year was one and I was there when they destroyed another in Hogwarts before saving me again. I don't like keeping secrets from you but that wasn't my secret to tell and Riddle might have moved them had he heard even a whisper of what was going on."
Poppy just hugged her daughter, "I'm not angry at you Ginny, just sorry you couldn't share that burden."
"She shared it with us Poppy," said Luna "Neville and I weren't involved in those operations but it was worse just sitting here praying for their safe return."
Minerva's quick mind had put together the pieces and she now had tears in her eyes at the enormity of what these two had achieved, "I'm so proud to even say I know you far less work for you both."
Sirius was never one to let a situation get to serious for long, "why thank you Minnie, Remus and I are quite fond of you to."
Her pretend scowl just cracked everybody up and it was left to Amelia to get things back on track, "I agree with Minerva and there isn't an award high enough for what you've achieved though I totally understand your reasons for refusing any and all from the British establishment. We could hold Miss Bulstrode's award ceremony on Friday night in Hogwarts, invites would of course be coming your way and if Minerva and I went missing for fifteen minutes I'm sure you could cover for us."
This sounded like an excellent plan that was quickly agreed upon though Amelia's mood darkened at the next part, "I was hoping we could just let Dumbledore die in peace without ripping the wizarding world apart with another sensational trial but I now realise I was wrong. You have destroyed the man but unless we go ahead and demolish the mythical reputation he had fabricated for himself then I fear we may face repercussions in the future. There are some very short memories going about and the last thing we want is that manipulative old bastard being hailed a martyr and providing a rallying point for an anti-Potter movement."
"Could we do it on Friday then we would only have to go to Britain once, stay at mum and dad's after the award ceremony on Friday night then back home after the tournament on Saturday." Harry thought for a moment, "we'll need to factor in a visit to Gringotts as well."
Amelia agreed the trial would be for Friday morning and, considering the amount of evidence levied against the old coot, it shouldn't last long.
"Why do we need to go to Gringotts?" asked Dan.
"We have substantial holdings in the British wizarding world, I wish to use these to cause the bigots as much harm as possible."
Sirius immediately concurred, "The Black's are in the same position and I would like to join you on this," his next words were spoken to Harry but his eyes never left Amber "the Blacks are also leaving Britain, settling down in Italy sounds like a great idea to me and if I can also hurt the society that sentenced me to hell for twelve years while murderers walked free so much the better."
Harry was trying not to smirk, "we already got you a house next to Remus and Pomona, we were just saving it as a wedding present."
Sirius still hadn't taken his gaze from Amber, "not before Saturday," he whispered, "I don't want to jinx all the good fortune that's been coming my way."
"I can wait," answered Amber then immediately proceeded to make a liar out of herself by pouncing on Sirius and fiercely kissing him.
"One last thing Harry," Amelia asked "when you offered some tutoring for the young Hogwarts professors did you include Percy Weasley in that?"
Harry glanced at Ginny for some guidance but she just shrugged, "as far as we're aware he was never involved in the plot against us, Percy would never break the rules. His treatment of Ginny's predicament still leaves a lot to be desired though so we may have to think about it."
"He was apparently hoping to apologise to Ginny for his behaviour but was too busy beating up Sluggy and then comforting his fiancée. The Clearwater girl has been extremely good for him and pointed out the error of his ways by using her wand aimed at his 'wand' and threatening a banishing charm if he ever even thought about selling one of their children. I think we can safely say that Percy is going to be a changed man, one way or the other."
A bemused Neville asked a question that he couldn't figure the answer to, "Harry, if you can build a new orphanage next to the Institute, why not extend the Institute to hold more students?"
Harry beamed at his brother in all but name, "Nev, we could easily up our numbers here but we have no intention of doing so. We like the atmosphere generated by the fact we all know each other so well and the smaller classes make for a much improved lesson."
"Harry is quite correct," said Minerva "at Hogwarts we were limited to learning one spell a lesson to allow the slower students to keep pace. Here classes are small enough that the gifted can forge ahead while I even have time to aid any stragglers."
Neville had to admit that he enjoyed classes much more here than he ever did at Hogwarts.
-oOoOo-
Harry was tucking Joan in when the twitching nose alerted him that she was troubled about something.
"Dad, why did that man scream at my friend Natalie?"
It was a sombre Harry who tried to answer his daughter, "In Britain there are people who think they are better than everyone else just because of who their parents are, I love your mum's parents but that man today would class her the same as Natalie because they're not magical."
She thought for a minute before asking in a hurt voice, "Is that why no one ever picked me?"
Harry had her in his arms in seconds, "if you had been picked then we would never have gotten to meet and I can't imagine our lives without our wonderful daughter. Never ever think you're not good enough because we think Joan Potter is the most perfect daughter in the whole wide world. It doesn't matter to me if your biological father was a prince or a pauper, all that matters is that you now call me dad and my heart does cartwheels every time I hear it."
Joan was clinging to her father when she felt another pair of arms join the hug as her mother kissed the top of her head.
"Listen sweetie, men like that is one of the main reasons we're living in Italy. They wouldn't put up with behaviour like that in this country."
"But why do they allow it in Britain then?"
Harry couldn't help but think that the child's logic always managed to get right to the heart of the problem, "because that's the way it's been for hundreds of years and the people with the power don't want it to change. Britain once led the magical world but they then seemed to think there was no more to do and have rested on their laurels for so long that the rest of the world is now passing them by. They couldn't care less how bad a state the country gets into because this is all they've known for generations and they're teaching their children the same values."
Hermione tried to give her an example, "when your aunt Ginny's parents tried to get a bride price for her to build a new house, her brothers accepted this because they had been raised to believe this was acceptable behaviour for purebloods."
There was a slight look of panic in the child's eyes, "I hope I'm not a pureblood!"
Hermione chuckled before kissing her on her brow, "sweetie there isn't enough gold on this planet that could buy you from your dad though I do pity any boyfriends you bring home. Between your dad, granddad, uncles and aunts the poor boy is in for a tough time of it."
Harry quietly thought that Emma and Hermione would be worse than the rest of them put together and any potential suitors were in for the grilling of their lives.
Joan made a face that only an eight-year-old could pull off, "yuk! Who wants a boyfriend? I'd rather have a pony any day."
It was a much-relieved father who answered his daughter, "that is the best news I've heard all day so we'll just have to see what we can do about it."
Joan's whole face lit up with an expression that melted both her parents' hearts, "really? A pony?"
Harry tucked her in before kissing her cheek, "really."
Joan watched as her parents left her room with their arms around each other, her dreams tonight wouldn't now feature that purple-faced man screaming at her. Instead they would be filled with equestrian adventures and the thought that she was so glad nobody had picked her before her mum and dad visited the orphanage.
-oOoOo-
Amelia entered the great hall as the students were at breakfast and the audible sigh of relief from some of the older students was not for her presence but rather for the people she'd brought with her.
The minister of magic made her way up to the podium and addressed the hall, "good morning Hogwarts, as of today the school comes under ministerial control. The older students amongst you will of course recognise the people with me, Madam Griselda Marchbanks is head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority and has agreed to take over the role of headmistress until a suitable replacement can be found. Professor Tofty is a senior examiner but has consented to teach potions and be the new head of Slytherin while the defence course will be taught by a rotating pool of aurors."
Cheers and applause greeted the announcement as these appointments definitely met with the student's approval, comments like 'at last, people who know what they're doing' came from every house table. Amelia might be quitting her job and even this country at Christmas but that didn't mean she wasn't going to do her best until then to ensure whoever took over from her found a much better situation than she had inherited.
Her next announcement went down even better, "this Friday, dinner will be a slightly more formal occasion as the ministry expresses its thanks one of your own. For exceptional bravery and courage under fire Miss Millicent Bulstrode is being awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class."
The noise was thunderous, even Slytherins lost their usual reserved manners at the news that a member of their house was receiving this most prestigious award. Ron was actually sitting with his betrothed at the Slytherin table as they now ate all their meals together at one of their house tables and no-one was going to object, especially now.
He was kissing Millie congratulations when she suddenly shot out of his arms and ran away, he was confused until the reason became apparent as she returned with her arms around her parents.
"Lord Potter wrote to us and explained what happened before we read about it in the Prophet, we're so proud of you," said her mother.
"As are we," said Amelia who had came up behind them, "there will be an award ceremony here on Friday night where you four will be the guests of honour."
A delighted Millicent lost her smile as a thought that proved she was all woman crossed her mind, "what am I going to wear?"
Amelia was laughing before pulling out a note, "this is permission to leave the school on Thursday, and a certain elf will collect both Bulstrode women for a day's shopping with Emma, Hermione and Joan in Naples."
The head of the Bulstrode family hadn't said a word since entering the hall, every father thinks their daughter is beautiful but the change in Millicent since the first of September had shocked him into silence. She was currently entangled with her betrothed, whirling the red head around in her joy that had her giggling loudly and half the hall was laughing with her instead of at her. The medal would bring great honour to their family but the change in his daughter's behaviour and appearance was a greater reward to the very proud father.
-oOoOo-
The sound of sobbing from the ministry holding cell wasn't heard by another living soul due to the heavy silencing charms in place, distraught didn't even begin to describe how Molly Weasley felt.
She had been informed that the trial of Albus Dumbledore would be held on Friday and she would be called as a witness, this news extinguished the last faint glimmer of hope she had managed to keep burning. Molly was sat on her bed, which, apart from the commode was the only thing in the cell taking stock of her situation.
She was wearing a grey threadbare robe that by no stretch of the imagination could be called flattering, combined with the fact that her hair was refusing to grow back and the bald witch didn't have a lot going for her.
It was bad enough that everyone was going to hear what she had attempted but to go to court looking like this was just too much for Molly Weasley. She was aware that she had shed a few pounds since her incarceration but it would have to be stones before she looked any better in these robes.
Molly had resigned herself to the fact that Azkaban beckoned and her only goals in life now were a hot bath and a clean robe before having to face everyone in court. She realised that this was a trivial matter compared to the charges she was facing but it was all she had left, to accept her punishment with whatever dignity she could muster.
She was sure Harry would be under the thumb of that bossy mudblood bitch and wouldn't lift a finger to help, Molly's only consolation was that her daughter was safe and not being pawed over by some old man after Arthur's incredible stupidity.
-oOoOo-
Bella awoke to find herself entranced by the red eyes of her beloved master, she could feel his gentle touch caressing her body.
"I'm sorry I hurt you Bella but I need you to find that goblet for me."
Bella had been lost in those eyes until he opened his snout and spoke in that grotesque voice, then it all came flooding back to her with the force of a tsunami.
The night in the graveyard, a half-blood rodent and then her being crucioed into unconsciousness for returning with the news that 'it' would have to compete in a tournament or lose 'its' magic.
Her body was trembling from the cruciatus exposure while her mind seemed even more confused than it had been lately, but not as confused as Riddle the squirrel who seemed to take her bodies reactions as proof 'its' ministrations were having a positive effect on the female death eater.
Bellatrix had no intention of providing creature comforts for this abomination of magic so did the only thing any pureblood princess could do, she vomited all over his fur.
The Technicolor yawn seemed to take the edge of the randy rodent's ardour as Bella silently swore on her mother's grave that she would kill the squirrel before she allowed it to put its paws on her again.
Bella knew the dark lord was one sick puppy but thinking squirrel seduction techniques had a cat-in-hell's chance of working on a pureblood witch emphasised just how delusional the great bushy-tailed one had become – she needed to get away from here.