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Dear Percy,

I hope that this letter finds you in good health. I know that this is the second letter of this week, but you said that if something went wrong, that I could always write you. (We both know that you wanted to say that I could call you before you remembered that technology has no place at Hogwarts)

Even though we just met this summer at the playground, I told you a lot about my life. Although I can’t fathom how you already knew about the Wizarding World, but not about me. You told me to always follow my gut, because you can only trust yourself. Well, it appears that you were right. I didn’t think that my schoolyears could become worse after the sorcerer’s stone and Voldemort’s spirit, the basilisk in my second year and all those dementors looking for my innocent godfather at the schoolgrounds, but I was wrong.

At the welcoming feast, Dumbledore had a few announcements to make. The first was that there would be no quidditch-cup. Merlin’s beard, the twins’ reactions were amazing. They were so angry, just like the most of the quidditch players. I wasn’t happy either, but I could live with it, although now that I know the alternative, I wish that I would have been angrier. Dumbledore calmed everyone and told us about the Triwizard tournament that would take place at Hogwarts. Everyone was amazed, those who not knew what it was, were quickly filled in by other students. Hermione, as always, informed me and Ron about the tournament that was held between the three biggest wizarding schools in Europe. It was apparently a tradition for centuries until something went wrong. I was ecstatic, although for other reasons, at first. This would have been the first year that nothing would happen to me. No murderer of deathly beast to go after me! But you read it correctly, ‘would have been’.

As you know, I’m certain that someone cursed Halloween. You didn’t believe me back then, but this proofs everything. After the guests had arrived from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, everyone over the age of seventeen was given the chance to put their name in the Goblet of Fire, to be chosen as the Champion for their school. At the Halloween feast, the Goblet would spit out the name of the chosen ones. The Goblet spat out the names of the champions: Fleur Delacour for Beauxbatons, Viktor Krum for Durmstrang and Cedric Diggory for Hogwarts. While they were waiting in the antechamber, Dumbledore tried to say something, but the Goblet lit up again and spat the name out of a fourth Champion: me.

It became so quiet; I swear that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone looked angry and flabbergasted at me. Even Dumbledore was angry at me! The other champions didn’t understand why I was sent in there and didn’t believe the teachers and judges that I was to be the fourth champion. There is nothing that I could do to change their mind. Against my will, I’ve become a part of the Triwizard Tournament. According to Moody, someone’s out to get me and I believe him, how else did my name get in the Goblet?

Ron was so angry when I went back to the common room. Screaming about me about how I did it, I should have told him to and if I was happy. I don’t understand. Ron is my best friend! I would tell him everything, he knows that I didn’t want to be a part of the tournament, but he was screaming about money, fame, and betrayal. I couldn’t get a word in.

This all happened a while ago. I thought that I could handle it, but I feel so ostracized now. I thought that I knew how you felt after you got kicked out of the Camp, but I was wrong. My second year was nothing compared to this. Back then I still had Hermione, Ron, and the twins, but now I have no one.

Merlin, this just feels like one large ramble. That wasn’t my intention, I just wanted to get my heart out on the paper. The truth is, I don’t know what to do anymore. I wish that you were here with me, but I know that that will never happen. The first task is in a week and I have a lot of studying to do. I’ve turned into a Ravenclaw. Never thought that that would happen, alas, here we are.

I hope that Hedwig finds you before the first task, I instructed her to stay with you for a few days. Just in case that something terrible happens, can you please take care of her?

Your dear friend,

  Harry Potter

Crumpling the letter in his hand, Percy muttered. “It appears that I’m ready for a task once more.” Everything for Harry. “Lady Hecate,” Percy called out, “One of your children is in danger. You once told me if that were to happen, that I could call on you so that you could assist me in my Task. Will you help me now?”

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Looking back, Harry decided that he should have seen it coming. Hindsight is twenty/twenty. He knew that in his younger years he was less observant than he is now, but even then, he should have seen the signs. After all, this wasn’t the first time that his own House had turned against him. In his first year, he got ostracized because he lost Gryffindor 150 points in one night, but he still had Ron and Hermione. The Heir of Slytherin debacle in his second year also didn’t gain him any fans, although Fred and George loved the hell out of it. It appears that the opinion of the Gryffindors was as fickle as the opinion of the rest of Hogwarts. Only Snape’s opinion of him didn’t change, not that that was a good thing.

Even now everything keeps changing. Otherwise, everything will stagnate for good or for bad, and that would mean a world full of ruins. Thankfully, most of the time a change is a good thing, although it could end up horrible. What Harry didn’t know was that what he thought to be the biggest and worst change in his life, would turn out to be one of the best things to ever happen to him.

Harry looked out of the window overlooking the Great Lake. The ripples in the water indicated that the Giant Squid was swimming close to the water’s surface. The students who were throwing rocks into the water hadn’t noticed yet, but it wouldn’t take long until… never mind. The Giant Squid had already flung gallons of water over them. He never liked it when students would throw rocks in the water. Even skipping stones was not allowed. Harry chuckled before his thoughts got dark once more.

The First Task would take place in two days, and he still didn’t have a single clue about what he could do. Well, except for that one weird discussion with Moody, but he had no clue what the hell Moody meant. What had Quidditch to do with anything? Percy would probably know what to do. Ever since they met, Percy had been a pillar of support to him. Harry didn’t think that he would have survived the summer without him.

Harry had tried to keep his head down this year, but after what happened with Marge, the Dursleys started hating him even more. He was surprised that that was even possible, but they showed him that everything was possible, even without magic. More and more chores were added every day to his list. He had to work very hard to try to finish his chores, unfortunately, most of the time he failed at that.

Vernon always became very angry when he didn’t finish his chores, but there was also some sort of satisfaction. As if he couldn’t wait until Harry failed again. Harry was glad that the welts and bruises were healed before Hogwarts began. It would have been difficult to keep them hidden from his former friends.

It was one evening at the beginning of the summer when Harry was able to finish all his chores and met Percy. It maybe sounds childish, but Harry met his best friend at the playground.

The creaking sound of the swing being used almost stopped him in his footsteps. At this time, almost no one was normally at the playground. The one place he could still be safe. The Dursley didn’t try to do anything where the neighbours could see them, and he was fast enough to run away from Dudley when he and his gang would try Harry-Hunting again.

This summer already had been hell, and it only just started. Harry felt drained. Why couldn’t the playground be empty? Stopping at the edge of the playground, Harry looked towards the other person there.

They were sitting on a swing, gently swaying. They had messy jet-black hair and looked quite tall. Taller than Harry, that was certain.

Harry tried to step back, but he had already got the attention of the person, the man? The boy? The boy stood up and walked towards Harry.

Harry gulped; the boy didn’t look happy at all. The closer he came; the more features of his face Harry could make out. He had a straight nose as if he was from the Mediterranean. Greek or Roman. Harry wasn’t sure. The boy looked incredible, but his eyes almost made Harry’s heart stop.

They were sea green. As the sea on a perfect summer day, but something dark lurked underneath. Harry would recognize it; he saw the same look sometimes when he looked in the mirror.  

Braving himself for the confrontation, Harry tried to stand tall, but it was hopeless. The other towered over him. Harry opened his mouth to say something, but he was abruptly cut off.

“Please excuse me, the playground is all yours. I have somewhere to be.” The other said.

“What?” Harry was taken aback.

The other seemed to sigh. “I will not bother you while you’re here. Please enjoy playing at the playground. Now, can you let me through?”

With cheeks heating, Harry stepped aside. “I’m sorry. I was just confused. Normally there’s no one at this time. We can share if you want?”

The stranger looked conflicted to Harry. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be in your way.”

Harry stood up straight. “I’m certain. It would be nice to have a companion. I’m Harry, Harry Potter and you are?”

The other stared at him before putting had hand out. “My name is Perseus Jackson, but my friends call me Percy. Please don’t hesitate to call me Percy too.”

With that, Harry smiled hesitantly at Percy. Perhaps he made a new friend!

Nostalgia filled Harry when he thought of their first meeting. Merlin’s beard, they both that been tense that evening, but as they spent more evenings together, their friendship grew and grew. But Harry couldn’t help but think that it all would be over soon. After all, why would someone who he had only known for a couple of weeks believe him when those who he knew for years didn’t.

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Silence. Only silence. Percy was disappointed. Normally, lady Hecate would have been there the moment that he had finished his sentence. Most of the time with the weirdest and flashiest entrances, but now? Only silence. A bit disappointing if you ask him.

Groaning, Percy ran a hand through his hair and turned around. What was he supposed to do now? If lady Hecate wouldn’t answer, he wouldn’t have a way to get to Hogwarts and Harry.

‘Oh dear Perseus,’ a condescending voice sounded, ‘how pathetic you look. Walking around without a goal, a Task, in this cookie-cut neighbourhood. And now, not even the one who would normally help you is here. Whatever will you do?’

Turning around, Percy saw the being sitting in his favourite chair, who he would prefer to never see again. “Lady Hera,” he said, “welcome to my humble abode. What can I do for you?”

“Well, well Perseus,” Hera tutted, “aren’t you forgetting anything?”

Percy hated how her smile grew, and her eyes filled with vindication when he kneeled in front of her. “My apologies. I have forgotten myself. My body and soul are in the hands of the gods and you. Whatever your wish is, I will fulfil it.”

Chackling. Percy’s head snapped up.

“Oh, my dear Perseus, you should have seen your face. It looked hilarious. Although I would recommend not looking at Hera as if you want to kill her when she is in front of you.” A beautiful lady with flowing, auburn red hair said, her sparkling eyes full of humour. A hound sat next to her. A familiar sight; the trojan queen Hekabe who leapt into the sea after the fall of Troy. She was transformed by Hecate into her familiar.

“That was not funny!” Percy exclaimed. “You honestly made me think that she was here. I know you like to play pranks, but this one went a bit too far, lady Hecate.” Percy glowered.

"Rise my beloved cousin. I thought that I already told you that you didn't have to kneel for me. After all, you helped me out a lot." Hecate laughed. "You truly are a silly boy. I still cannot understand why the Camp has thrown you away. You are remarably efficient with all the tasks that are given to you."

“You know why lady Hecate.” Percy sighed while standing up. “After all, you yourself had a hand in it. But the past is in the past, isn’t it?”

“Perseus…”

“I must say, your entrance today was different. You mostly use a bit more glitter, flashes, and smoke. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Hecate gave a short laugh, “I thought that I would surprise you with a normal entrance for once, but it seems that you can’t handle those. What a shame.” Hecate gave a crooked smile while flinging her arm across her head dramatically.

"For a goddess who is supposed to be terrifying, you certainly are quite dramatic." Answered Perseus with a grin on his face. "But I shall try to remember not to kneel in front of you, oh almighty goddess." Perseus finished with a mock bow.

"Oh, ha ha ha. Very funny Perseus. You’re hilarious. Nothing can ever top that." Hecate said sarcastically before sitting up straight once more. "You said that one of my children was in danger, what did you mean by that?” She continued. “And preferably no half-truths, will you? I get enough of those from our ‘dear’ family."

"As you wish my lady"

"And stop calling me my lady, will you? I’ve told you enough times by now. It makes me feel old, and we have known each other long enough now that we can drop the formalities."

"I know, I know, but this is official business, and you know the rules. Everything has to go according to the rules otherwise who knows what will happen."

"Fine," Hecate huffed, "You want it to be formal? Then formal it shall be. You asked for my help with a problem regarding my offspring, son of Poseidon. What it is that you want from me? Beware that although you asked something from me, I do not have to give it to you and I can for ask anything in return from you. Be it in this life or any other."

"It has come to my attention that one of your children who dwells in the Magical World, also known as the Hidden World by the rest of the World, has been forced to compete in a deadly tournament known as The Triwizard Tournament. In the centuries this tournament has been held, dozens of wixen have died. Those who were a part of it and those who were just watching. When the ministries decided to hold a tournament once more, it was decided that only those of age would be able to compete. Unfortunately, the child that I am speaking about it is not of age and has had a lot of hardships to endure. He is only fourteen, but he has already battled against the Darkness named Voldemort, a Basilisk and dozens of Dementors. I ask for your permission to help him and stand by his side for this tournament and longer if it is needed."

"Of whom of my children are you speaking?"

"I am speaking about the one named Harry Potter, son of James Fleamont Potter and Lily Luna Potter nee Evans. He is also known as The Boy Who Lived and the Chosen One. He is the only known survivor of the Killing Curse.”

"You have brought an interesting problem my attention and I have decided that I will grant you your wish. This year, and only this year, you will be allowed into the sacred halls of Hogwarts, the school for witchcraft and wizardry to guide the one named Harry Potter. You are not allowed to interfere directly in the Triwizard Tournament; however, you can guide your new charge. After this year has ended, and you have fulfilled your new Task, the price of asking for this will be known to you. Be aware that this will be a heavy burden to bear. I’m granting you this change and only this once to retract your wish. There will still be a price to pay. What is your answer son of Poseidon, Champion and Executioner of the Gods?” Hecate asked ceremoniously.

“I’m aware of the conditions that you have laid upon me and I thank you for the chance to retract my wish. However, I will continue, no matter the price I will have to pay. I swear on the River Styx to do as you told me so.” Percy swore solemnly.

“May the River Styx follow you and make sure that you will uphold this bargain. The agreement has been made. Rise Perseus and go on to fulfil your new Task.” Hecate answered.

“Thank you, Hecate,” Percy said sincerely, “you have no idea how much this means to me.” Smiling at her, Percy started to grab his possessions. “I will go quickly. Harry needs my help. Preferably sooner than later.”

“It’s alright Perseus,” Hecate smiled softly, “I’m glad to be of help. Go quickly, your friend requires your help. Although I’m confused. Doesn’t he have any friends?” She asked.

“It appears that his friends have left him. The whole school is shunning him.” Percy laughed sharply. “It’s almost the exact same situation as at the camp, but there will be one difference. Harry will not stand alone,” Percy looked determined with his eyes blazing fire, ‘and if I can help it, then he will never be alone anymore.”

“He has got a good friend in you Perseus. Good luck.” With that, Hecate snapped her fingers and all of Percy’s belongings appeared by the door in a trunk. “Your ride is waiting”

"Thank you for everything you have done for me Hecate, I will never forget your kindness," Percy said while putting on his armour. He walked out of the door grabbing his trunk.

"Uhm Hecate?" He asked confused. "Why is there a chariot with horses in front of it, standing outside my door?"

Hecate smiled mischievously. "Like I said Perseus, your ride is waiting. You have to make a spectacular entrance after all. How else will you gain their respect? And who doesn't love a spectacular entrance.” She stated, “The horses know the way to Hogwarts. Now go, you have a long way to go. May the moon watch over you and shine over your path.”

Percy thanked Hecate and gave a quick bow laughing before stepping in the chariot. With a klick of his tongue, the horses started running.

"What a silly boy.” Hecate laughed fondly. “What do you think Aphrodite? How long do you think it will take before we hear some good news?” She said before turning around.

An attractive figure stepped out of the shadows in the house. “To be honest, I had already expected the good news, but they are both stubborn. I can’t wait to see who will break first.”

Hecate looked at Aphrodite and smiled. "Good, he deserves some happiness in his life." And with that, the goddesses disappeared.

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It was the day before the First Task would take place and Harry was walking through the school. Thank Merlin, it was a Hogsmeade weekend otherwise, he would have stayed in the library the entire day, and now he could just walk around the grounds a bit. Perhaps for the last time.

Looking around, he started noticing that the castle looked dark and gloomy. The house elves had been busy cleaning the castle because of the foreign guests, but there was no difference to be seen. Cobwebs were gathered around the armours, in the corners of the rooms and around the ceiling beams. It was a wonder that Harry wasn’t sneezing yet with all the dust lying around, though, in his cupboard he never sneezed, so perhaps that was just him.

Harry couldn’t believe that the castle was in such bad shape. In his first year, the castle looked so much better. You could even say that the Chamber of Secrets looked better than the castle right now and that says something with all the skeletons lying around.

The sounds of heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor. The sound seemed to come from behind him. Harry turned around startled. Almost no one would still be at Hogwarts except a few teachers and the first and second years, but the footsteps were too heavy for them.

The footsteps came closer and closer. Harry looked around and saw a tapestry. It would be the perfect place to hide behind. He had no interest in ‘talking’ to anyone. Why should he? No one started a normal conversation with him anymore. Instead, there were hisses and spatted insults that were thrown towards him. Funnily enough, it were the Hufflepuffs who hated him the most at the moment. Although Harry shouldn’t be surprised at that. They were the loyal House, of course, they would stand beside their own Champion. The point was, Harry wasn’t ready to talk to anyone and slipped behind the tapestry.

Standing behind the tapestry, Harry sneaked a look at the person who was walking through the corridor. It looked like it was one of the foreign guests. Noting the uniform was dark red, it was probably someone from Durmstrang, but who? The student came closer and closer. Just a few seconds and he would walk in front of the tapestry. Come on, come on! The student stood in front of the tapestry and looked at it.

Harry couldn’t hold back a gasp of shock. It was Viktor Krum, the star Seeker from the Bulgarian Quidditch team. The Champion of Durmstrang. This was bad, very bad.

“Who’s there?” Krum yelled, “Show yourself.” By the time Harry had inched back from behind the tapestry, Krum had taken out his wand and was standing in a defensive position.

Krum hadn’t changed at all since Harry had last seen him. Dark hair, an eagle’s nose and big, furrowed eyebrows. “It’s only me,” Harry said resigned, holding up his hands.

“Why were you hiding behind a tapestry?” Krum asked puzzled, lowering his wand.

"Why the bloody hell should I tell you? Hell, why are you even asking? It’s none of your business, mate." Harry spat out angrily. "No one cared before, so none of you should care now. Especially the other champions." He said bitterly. "Can I go now, or do you have any other stupid questions?"

“No?” Krum replied confused.

“Good,” Harry said, “then I’ll be leaving. Don’t follow me.” With that, Harry walked away, leaving a confused Krum behind.

“No one cared before? What did Potter mean by that?” Krum muttered to himself while watching Harry walk away. Krum had completely forgotten his original goal of speaking to him.

While walking to the library to try to study more for the upcoming Task tomorrow, Harry realized something. The tapestry looked a lot like that flying carpet from that muggle film that Dudley watched once. Petunia allowed it until it became clear that the ‘magic’ turned out to be good. What was it called again? Addalin? Eladin? Dallin? Aboutherin? He couldn't remember the name anymore, but it was something like that. Oh well, Harry arrived at the library and decided to search for some books on summoning things. Looks like he was going with Moody's plan after all. How hard could it be to summon his broom from his chambers in Gryffindor?

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Percy yawned. They had been in the air for almost two days. You would think that the chariot in the air would go faster since there isn’t any traffic. Especially since Hogwarts is in not that far away. If Percy had taken the train, he would already have been there, but the Hogwarts Express only goes at the beginning and at the end of a holiday.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if only the horses hadn’t decided to go eat something on their own. Without a warning. If they had told him, he would have agreed that some food and some sleep would have been the best, but no, they had to go off on their own. A shiver ran down Percy’s back remembering when they did that. He never wanted a repeat of that, never ever again.

The cold air was cutting into his skin. They were flying above the clouds, but that only made it colder. The wind was blowing so hard, that Percy couldn’t hear the horses anymore. He could barely see them. It appeared that they were discussing something, but with the wind, all the ‘words’ were lost to Percy.

While rubbing his arms, the horses suddenly decided to go down. With a lurching stomach, Percy held unto the railings of the chariot. Through the clouds they went without hesitation. Hades! He was not made for this. He would be happier if he were to be in a lake of the sea. At least then he would be in his element. Like that lake over there. Wait, what?

It looked as if the horses had read his mind because without a warning the chariot landed in the lake. Percy was thrown out the chariot into the water. He was happy that he could swim even with his armour on that dragged him further down into the lake. He was afraid to think of what would happen to someone who couldn’t swim and landed in the lake.

The water was freezing. Percy hurried out of the lake, but it was too late. Around the lake, little puddles were frozen over. The ice broke beneath his footsteps and cold water was seeping into his shoes, stealing the last bit of heat from him. Percy returned the water back to the lake, but his limbs were already shaking from the cold.

Looking over at the horses, Percy saw they had already started eating the grass and vegetation around the lake. Some way or another, they got loose, but Percy didn’t question it. With Hecate around, strange things always happened.

Speaking about Hecate, Percy saw that all his belongings were still standing in the chariot. Percy grabbed it and opened it. The trunk had multiple compartments. Opening the first, he saw some of his own clothing, but mostly new clothes and some togas. In the second compartment, there were all these different kinds of weapons laid out in a velvet case. In the third compartment, there were books? Oh, books in Greek, that makes more sense. Although there were also some books with weird scribbles, perhaps they were for Harry? Percy shrugged and closed the trunk. If they are going to take a break, then he could at least sleep for a bit after making a fire. The horses would know if something went wrong.

Lying down on the ground, Perseus fell fast asleep dreaming about a huge castle with a big hall. In it, there were children eating and enjoying themselves. Music sounded and there were pairs dancing everywhere. It looked a lot like fun. Squinting, Percy tried to get a better look at the couple in the middle. One of them was wearing white, while the other was decked in green. Percy smiled, that green reminded him of Harry’s eyes.

Percy shivered again; he guessed that it wouldn’t take long anymore until they reached Hogwarts. At least, he hoped, he wouldn’t be able to hold out any longer. In the distance, a slight light started growing bigger and bigger.

“Now hoping that I can get through those wards without any problems,” He murmured under his breath, “Harry did tell me they would keep out everyone that was unwanted, yet Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were able to get into Hogwarts.”

Grabbing the reigns, Percy encouraged the horses to make a final sprint towards the castle. A storm had started to form around him. He would prefer it if they could land before it would truly break out. In their haste, Percy almost missed the dragons in the forest they were flying above.

The horses were spooked by the big flames and flew ever faster. It wouldn’t take long before they would land. Taking a quick turn before a big hall, Percy smirked when he saw that a commotion had started because of him. Perhaps Hecate was right and dramatic entrances were fun.

Only a few feet were left until they hit the ground. Five, four, three, two, one! They had landed on the ground with a gigantic bang, both from the lightning and a small earthquake. The horses ran a few more feet before stopping at the steps to the front door.

The steps were filled with children and some teachers. Most of the children were wearing black uniforms, but Percy could also see red and blue uniforms. He preferred the blue ones, but his favourite colour is blue, so…

Stepping out of the chariot, Percy took off his helmet and locked eyes with Harry. With a slowly spreading grin on his face, he said slowly "Hello Harry, did you miss me?"

Chapter Text

Even though he would have preferred to stay hidden from the other students, Harry was forced to eat with the others in the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall gave him a scolding when she realized that he wasn’t eating there anymore, angry that he didn’t ‘promote interschool relationships and really Potter, you as a champion should know better!’

Harry, unfortunately, didn’t have any other option. Even now McGonagall was watching him like a hawk to make sure he was in the Great Hall. Tonight, was no different. Students were chattering everywhere, while some were eating like pigs. Cough Ron cough. That was the only good thing about Ron not speaking with him anymore. He didn’t have to watch him eat anymore. Shoveling food into his mouth as if he were a black hole.

By now, he doesn’t have to worry about anyone sitting close to him. Even the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang started to avoid him, following in the footsteps of the students of Hogwarts.

Bringing a spoonful of soup to his mouth, Harry got spooked by a loud thunder strike. Looking up, he saw that the ceiling was showing a tremendous storm. It was worse than when Mad-Eye Moody first arrived. The glasses and cups on the tables had started to shake subtly. That was weird, Harry thought frowning, this has never happened before.

The teachers apparently agreed with him, because some of them were looking out of the window and pointing at something in the distance. Moody had stood up from his chair at the Head table. His magical eye was swirling around as if trying to see something that he couldn’t. His face contorted when Moody realized that he couldn’t see what was happening.

Disinterested, Harry picked up his spoon again to continue eating. It didn’t take long before Moody and Dumbledore were moving towards the doors. They appeared to be in a serious discussion.

“I’m not sure what it is Albus, it looks as if it is being drawn by something, but it is too small to be a carriage,” Moody stage whispered to Dumbledore who hummed and stroked his beard.

“Well,” Dumbledore said clasping his hands together, “then let’s see what it is, shall we?” His eyes were twinkling, but his smile was just a tad too frozen to be true. They quickly walked out of the Great Hall with the entire student body going after them.

Narrowing his eyes, Harry contemplated walking after them. After a few moments, he decided that it would be better to be prepared than to miss something important. Standing up, he followed the other students outside.

The storm had become even heavier in that short time. Thunder and lightning were in a constant battle. Yet, there was no rain. With how dense the clouds were, it was impossible to see anything in the air. That didn’t deter Dumbledore from staring intently upwards as if he could find the answers to all his problems in the clouds.

"Monsieur Dumbledore, what is the meaning of this? Is this something normal to occur at this 'school'?" madame Maxime sneered while looking down at Dumbledore, "Can you not control your own wards? I must say that this disappoints me, although it is not the first thing that disappointed me about Hogwarts."

Harry snorted when he heard madame Maxime talking. She was the first to openly talk down to Dumbledore. Unfortunately, Dumbledore didn't seem to notice that she was talking to him and was instead busy watching the storm.

The moment that Harry decided that he had enough of standing outside in the storm, a bolt of lightning illustrated an object coming closer towards Hogwarts with great speed. The students were whispering. They were sure that it was a murderer or something, coming to kill Harry for becoming a champion. Harry rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wondered how stupid others could be.

The object came closer and closer until it was clear that it was a chariot drawn by horses. Someone was standing in the chariot, but it was unclear who it was. They appeared to be wearing armour.

The chariot came closer and closer. Only a few feet and it would land on the ground. Five, four, three, two, one. With a tremendous bang, both from the lightning and a small earthquake, the chariot landed. The horses ran out the last few feet before stopping right in front of the steps to the Entrance Hall. The person manning the chariot stepped out and took off his helmet and all Harry’s blood left his face. That was impossible, it couldn’t be him. He wasn’t allowed in the Wizarding World. Right?

Opening his mouth, the person said a few words that would turn the whole Wizarding World up and down.

"Hello Harry, did you miss me?"

His whole world was turning around. It was Percy. It was his Percy. It was his friend! Harry started laughing with joy. He couldn't believe it. Every year his friends left him for one reason or another. Was it a simple reason or not, it didn't matter. But only one letter to Perseus and he came. He came all the way to Hogwarts for him!

“Percy?” Harry called out hopefully.

Harry pushed his way through the rows of students until he was in front of Percy. Looking in Percy’s eyes, he saw warmth and acceptance. Without a second thought, Harry flung his arms around Perseus and hugged him with all his might. When Percy closed his own arms around Harry, Harry let out a breath that he didn't know that he had held in, in fear of rejection. Harry didn't care if he was crying by now or not. He was happy. He finally wasn't alone anymore and he had the feeling as if everything would be alright now. And it would, because with Percy at his side, he could accomplish anything that the world would throw at him.

“You came?”

“You called.”

Chapter Text

Percy held Harry’s form tight against his chest. He burrowed his nose in Harry’s hair and took a deep breath. Just taking in Harry’s wonderful smell. Standing there, with Harry in his arms, Percy realizes just how much he has missed Harry. Reaching out to cup Harry’s face, Percy couldn’t help but notice that Harry was crying. It broke his heart, to know just how much Harry went through and here he was, crying in Percy’s arms.

“I am here little one, and I’m not planning on leaving so soon,” Percy whispered soothingly in Harry’s hair. “You won’t get rid of me so easily. I promise. Only the gods can make me leave your side once more.”

Harry gave a shaky laugh and held onto Percy tighter, “good because I’m not letting you go so easily. Not anymore. Good luck getting away from me again, you’re stuck with me. Forever.” With a little laugh, Harry pulled back from the hug. “Can I ask why you’re wearing full armour?” Harry asked, taking a good look at Percy, “Did you just come back from a battle?”

A cough sounded from behind them. Harry turned around to see Dumbledore standing there with twinkling eyes. He was probably trying to take back control of the situation.

Percy rolled his eyes, “I’m not coming back from a battle, I’m going to a battle. Don’t worry, you won’t miss a thing about it.” He said with a cheeky wink.

“Are you flirting with me?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Flirting? Why would I be flirting with you, and if I was, would it be a problem?” Percy answered grinning.

“You sir, are a terrible flirt,” Harry declared, “if you weren’t such an idiot, perhaps you could get a date. But nooooo, it’s truly a miracle that you’re still alive. Besides, why are you here?

Percy gave Harry a telling look, not that he saw, “You’re literally the reason that I’m here, but you can always blame the gods if you want. I like to do that.”

Taking a deep breath, Percy stood up straight and walked up in front of Dumbledore with his ‘professional’ face on. Others, cough Hecate cough, called it his intimidation face number 3, don’t ask Percy why. He was always very professional when wearing that face.

Percy looked Dumbledore straight in his twinkling eyes and said to him short but sweet, “It would be better for the already sinking reputation of your school if you didn’t try to get into the head of every visitor. It makes people think that you’re rooting into the minds of the students too.” Percy gave Dumbledore a look full of contempt. “It’s just a small tip.

“I beg your pardon? How dare you suggest that I would do anything like that.” Dumbledore exclaimed shocked, “It’s against the law and the school board would never allow it. This is a grave accusation, mister…?”

“There’s no need to beg,” Percy ignored the coughed ‘yet’ from Harry, “but it’s good to know that it’s against the law. I find it interesting that you haven’t denied your ability to do so though. As for my name, I’m not quite sure if you’ve earned it yet. Most people are living very happily, not knowing my name. And those who know of me, they are scared of the day that my eye lands on them.” Percy replied in a cold tone, “For now, the only thing that you need to know, is that you messed up big enough to get the attention of those more powerful than you.

“I suggest that we send your students back inside. It’s a cold evening and the storm isn’t helping. We don’t want them to become sick. How else are they supposed to enjoy the First Task?” The smile on Percy’s face was as cold as his tone.

“But of course, you’re right. It had merely slipped my mind,” Dumbledore said with clenching teeth. Turning around, he ordered the students to go inside. “It’s going to be an important day soon; we don’t want you to become sick. The rest of the evening meal will be served in your common rooms. Now hurry up, back to your houses.” Dumbledore clapped his hands. 

The students were grumbling, but they slowly started moving back inside the castle as Dumbledore told them to do. Percy noticed multiple students casting weary looks his way, mostly from the students with black uniforms. It were those with the green and silver accents who were the most subtle about it. They had banded together, and some of them had taken rolls of parchment out of their uniforms.

“Didn’t you hear me, my boy,” Dumbledore said grandfatherly, “You need to go inside too. It’s going to be an exciting day for you, you have to be rested well for that.” Dumbledore’s eyes were twinkling madly.

“What did you just say?” Percy asked sharply, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but did you just call Harry your boy? What kind of school is this? First, a headmaster who’s able to look into the heads of students, but vehemently denies that he wouldn’t do that because of the laws and that the school board wouldn’t allow it. Suggesting that if the school board agreed and the laws weren’t there, he would spend his time looking through the underdeveloped minds of young children.

“Secondly, the headmaster calls one of his students his boy. I hope that you realize how improper that sounds. As if Harry is your property, or as if you are interested in him. I’m aware of where your interest lies, but I hope that you have not fallen so low after your last partner that you go looking for children?” Percy looked at Dumbledore in disgust.

Gasps and explanations could be heard from the students who were not yet inside the castle. The green ones loitered around the entrance doors. A teacher in all black looked as if he was having an aneurysm.

Dumbledore was barely holding unto his grandfatherly façade. Percy could see that his eyes were blazing behind the glamour of his twinkling eyes.

Percy was barely holding back a smirk. He loved it when he could confuse others like that.

“As for Harry, he will be staying outside for this conversation. I am after all here on the behalf of my superiors for him. There’s nothing you can do to stop me from being here. Everything you say and do can be used against you. So, I suggest you stay out of our way.” Percy ordered, “I will be staying in Hogwarts for the foreseeable future. I will share my quarters with Harry because your students can’t be trusted from what I heard.”

“Who are you to come here and try to lecture me.” Dumbledore said, “You have no right to order me around in my own castle, destroying my reputation.”

Percy smirked. “If a few questions already destroy your reputation, then your reputation wasn’t that good to begin with. As for who I am, I am Lord Perseus Achilles Jackson. You will not address me as your boy or anything else. You may only address me as Lord Jackson, do you understand.” Percy smirked seeing Dumbledore’s dumbfounded face.

“As for you ladies and gentlemen,” Percy turned around towards the rest of the professors and the heads of the schools, “I bid thee goodnight. I would say that it was lovely meeting you, but we both know that I would be lying if I said that. I’ve still a lot to discuss with Harry here.” Percy grabbed his trunk out of the chariot and let the horses go. “Are you coming, Harry? My superiors have already taken care of our new quarters. Your stuff is in there too.”

Harry quickly followed Percy in amazement. This was going to be amazing!

Chapter Text

Following Percy further onto the grounds, Harry could no longer contain his laughter bubbling up his throat. What in Merlin’s beard had just happened? Looking out of the corners of his eyes, he saw Percy’s shoulders shaking. There was a badly hidden skip in his step.

Catching his eyes, Percy started to jog, “Lesson number one! Keep up!” Percy said before accelerating into a sprint.

Harry gave a bark of laughter. With sparkling eyes, he followed Percy quickly. Percy damn well knew how fast Harry was. It was probably the reason why he didn’t give him a warning before running away. These games were always the same, but he would let Percy stay in the lead, for now.

Percy led them on a quick run over the grounds. Harry didn’t have a clue where he led them, but he slowly started to recognize a tower towards which they were running.

Harry slowed down, “Percy, where are you leading us?”

Percy pointed forward, right towards the tower. “Right there, there are our new quarters. It shouldn’t be much different from what you’re used to, but it will be a lot quieter.” Percy gave a quick smile.

Harry became filled with dread. “That tower up there. The one that is straight ahead. The one with the four gargoyles on the sides of it? That is where we’re going to live for the foreseeable future?” He said in shock.

“Yeah! Amazing aren’t they? When it rains, they direct the water from the roof. I hear they even move sometimes. I can’t wait to see that happen. We have plenty of time, especially now that the roof has been converted to a training ground.” Percy turned around when he noticed that Harry had stopped following him, “Is there a problem Harry?”

“A problem?” Harry exclaimed hysterically, “A problem? Oh, no, there’s absolutely no problem. Where did you even get the idea that there would be a problem? It’s not as if it is the Dark Tower. You know, the one in which they locked Sirius up. Don’t you remember? My innocent godfather? But don’t worry, there’s no problem at all.”

Percy winced. “In my defence, I didn’t choose the location. My superiors did, and they did renovate it completely from the inside! So, there are no more prison cells, shackles, or bars before the windows, and there will be plenty of space for the both of us, probably even more than we need.” He said quickly.

“No more cells?” Harry cried out, “What do you mean by that?”

Percy closed his eyes defeated. “The Dark Tower, also known as the West Tower, was used as a prison. There were multiple cells, with the topmost being at the roof. I believe that Sirius was briefly imprisoned in that cell. I don’t know why Hogwarts had a prison tower, but I do know that those cells were not warded correctly against breaking-ins from the outside. This you should know.” Percy ended.

“So, we’re going to live in that hellhole?” Harry asked desperately.

Percy’s eyes softened. “I promise you; nothing will happen to us in there. My superiors have drastically changed the interior. Changing this tower was no challenge for them. I’m sure they liked to do something small for a change. It should feel like a mansion according to one of them. If you don’t like it, I’ll make sure that we can live somewhere else.” Percy held out his hand. “Do you trust me, that at least for tonight, nothing will happen?”

Harry closed his eyes. “Fine,” he said resignedly. “Lead the way.”

Percy retracted his hand, a bit hurt to be honest, but lead the rest of the way until the stood at the foot of the tower.

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,” Percy chuckled quietly while trying to find the right key. Eventually, he found it, opening the door, he let Harry go in front of him. “Welcome, to our new home.”

Harry slowly walked into the Dark Tower, and he couldn’t believe his eyes. The interior couldn’t be any more different from its exterior. Where on the outside, the tower looked dark, tall, and narrow, from the inside you got the exact opposite feeling. They were only in the entry hall, but it felt light, and spacey as if they were home. It was a subtle combination of a homely brown and red. The walls were still made of brick, but nothing reminded Harry of a prison.

Little closets and hooks around the wall, made perfect places to hang up your coat and leave your hats and shawls. There was a shoe rack on which two pairs of slippers stood. One pair was red with golden stitching, the other was blue with silver.

Harry turned around to Percy in disbelief. “How…”

Percy smiled softly. “This is not yet everything. Why don’t you go upstairs?”

Walking over the wooden floor, Harry slowly approached a spiralling staircase. Underneath it, some comfy-looking chairs were hidden. Climbing the stairs, Harry entered the first floor. It was a sitting room, with a blazing furnace, sofas, chairs, and a gigantic bookcase. Harry smiled in nostalgia. Hermione would have loved it.

A small reading nook had been made. A soft-looking blanket was lying over the arm of the chair standing there. A little table, perfect for resting a cup of tea or some hot chocolate. There was a huge window looking out over the transfiguration courtyard. One, as Harry realized, that you could not see from the outside. Come to think of it, from the outside, there were no windows. No one would be able to look inside, but they could look outside, giving them the perfect privacy.

Harry turned to Percy speechless, “I love it, this is amazing. I don’t understand how they could do this, but this place is perfect.”

Percy smiled when he saw the wonder in Harry’s eyes. He had to agree with Harry, this place was beautiful. Hecate sure knows how to redecorate, although he wouldn't be surprised if Aphrodite had helped here. There was a perfect blend of blues, greens, reds, and browns. Which shouldn’t look so good together and yet, they were a perfect combination.

“On the second floor, there’s a fully stocked kitchen. It should have anything that we could possibly need and want, but if there’s something missing, don’t hesitate to tell me. I will arrange for it to be brought here.” Percy told Harry, “Your personal chambers are on the third floor, together with an attached bath chamber. I would suggest that you go and take a nice bath for now. We still have a lot to do until the First Task begins.

“My chambers are on the fourth floor if you ever require me, but we will probably spend most of our time either here, or on the fifth floor. The fifth floor has been completely dedicated to studying. The books here are mostly for relaxation, but those upstairs are filled with necessary information.

“The sixth floor is dedicated to relaxation, with enough room for meditation to get in tune with your magical core and room for recreation like painting. I don’t know what you like to do besides flying, but there will be room for it. I can guarantee that.

“For training, we can go to two places. The first, I’ve already mentioned. That is the outdoor training ground on the roof. If the weather is bad, or it’s freezing, we will spend our time training on the seventh floor. I know that this sounds a lot, but you’ll get used to it very quickly.” Percy ended his explanation.

Harry looked at Percy confused. “You said that there was room for me to meditate to get in tune with my magical core, but what is that?”

Percy closed his eyes in despair, “you don’t know what your magical core is? What have they been teaching you here? Your magical core is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a core inside you in which your magic is stored. For some wixen it’s bigger than for others, but they all have one. Even squibs.” Percy shook his head. “Go ahead and have a bath. After that, you’re going straight to bed. I will bring some books on magical cores and meditation to you.”

“Are you sure?” Harry asked.

“Yeah,” Percy replied rummaging through his trunk, “I also have these books with me. I guess that you can read them?” Percy held out some books.

Harry reached for them, squinting. His eyes widened when he realized what it was. “These are books in parseltongue, written by Salazer Slytherin himself! How did you get these?” Harry exclaimed.

Percy shrugged. “I found them in my trunk.”

Harry was browsing through the books. “Wait a moment, these are written about dragons! They can understand parseltongue?”

“Don’t ask me, I’m terrible with languages.” Percy ruffled Harry’s hair, “It does seem that you have a plan for the First task now.”

Harry beamed. “I actually have a change now besides summoning my broom and trying to outfly a dragon!”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing! Goodnight, I’m looking forward towards the books!” Harry dashed upstairs.

“Brat,” Percy mumbled fondly. It seems that he had a lot to do.

Chapter Text

It was done, it was over. Harry had done it, he was finished. Around him, madame Pomphrey was bustling through the tent, chanting spells and grabbing medical supplies. Something in him recognizes the words she was muttering about dragons, risks, and idiotic headmasters.

It was a miracle that he was sitting there. Looking back, Harry was wondering how he didn’t faint. The dragons were huge and he had heard how the other champions were injured trying to get their eggs. He didn’t even had had time to think about what was happening, it all happened so quickly.

Abruptly the tent opened. Percy came storming in. he was smiling like a loon.

“Harry! You did it, well done,” Percy cheered. “Any bruises or scraps?” Percy directed his question towards madam Pomphrey.

Madame Pomphrey huffed, “I don’t know how he did it, but there’s nothing wrong with me. I need to go to the other champions and see if they need my help,” With that, she left the tent in a hurry.

Percy raised an eyebrow at the fast retreat but ignored it. He quickly stepped forwards to Harry who was still sitting on the bed.

“Are you alright?” Percy asked grabbing Harry’s hands.

Harry gave a nod.

“I don’t think so,” Percy shook his head, “it’s okay. This was a difficult task; it took a lot of you. You were very brave in the arena. Your performance still baffles the audience.” He chuckled, “why don’t you rest for a bit? The judges are still debating which marks they should give you. Do you want me to step out for the moment or do you want me to stay?”

“Stay,” Harry whispered. “Just for a moment.”

“Can you tell me what happened?” Percy asked softly.

Harry opened his mouth…

It was time to go to the Champions tent. It was a large, obnoxious white tent that was in the middle of the field next to the arena. Everyone would have to walk past it to get to the arena. Aka, there was no privacy. Hopefully, they’ve placed some privacy wards around the tent, but judging from the giggling students, they didn’t. Or they didn’t hold.

Harry looked around, but he couldn’t see Percy anywhere. They had been training a lot these past few days and Percy was an enormous help with meditating. They had last seen each other the night before, most of the time they have breakfast together, but Percy was nowhere to be found this morning. A note explained his absence, but Harry had still hoped that Percy would be back on time.

Entering the tent, Harry saw that he was the last one to arrive. The other champions were already seated on the beds or getting a pep talk from the heads of their schools. Diggory’s father was hyping Diggory up while glaring at Harry. It’s clear that he believed what Rita Skeeter wrote in her articles.

As a matter of fact, another Daily Prophet was laying on one of the tables. It was probably full of speculation once more. Although, Harry had to admit the article of the morning after the confrontation between Dumbledore and Percy was hilarious. Skeeter may have dramatized it, but it came close to the truth. For once. The reactions of students were also hilarious, some were glaring at Dumbledore while others (Gryffindors) were scoffing at the article. Not believing a word of what they said. Even Hermione didn’t agree with it, but she and the rest of the female students were looking futile where Percy could be.

Harry smiled, that was one of the good things about the Daily Prophet. Shaking his head, Harry went to sit on the unoccupied bed. Perhaps some meditation would work. By trying to get away from the others, he sat near the back of the tent and could overhear the conversations of students.

Annoyed, Harry closed his eyes, but they snapped open again when he heard Dumbledore talking to Granger and Weasley, his ex-friends. He scoffed. Of course, they would be there.

“This has gone on long enough, after the Task you will go to him and apologize for not believing him. Do you understand?” Dumbledore said sternly, “I know that you probably liked having a time off from him, but it is important for our plans to have him following you. Especially now with that ‘lord’ walking around, pretending as if he is someone important. He needs to be kept away from Potter. It may be a difficult task, but I’m sure that you’re able to fulfil it.”

“But professor,” Weasley started whining, “Do we have to apologise to him? He’s so annoying to be friends with. He never wants to do anything fun! And we can just keep the other Gryffindors away from him.”

“Relax Ron, it’s just for a few more months. At the end of the Tournament, Potter will be dead and we will get all his money. Think about the things you can do with it and the fame we will get from being Potter’s friends.” Granger said soothingly against Weasley. “Ron is right, being Potter’s friend has become harder and harder,” She turned towards Dumbledore, “He never takes his studies seriously, but with lord Perseus around, he’s suddenly making all sorts of progress that he wasn’t making before. I overheard him talking to himself about his magical core! He never should have known about that! It’s as if all my hard work is for nothing.” She hmphed.

“It’s all going to be alright miss Granger and mister Weasley,” Dumbledore said soothingly, “the rest of the plan is still in order. We only have to worry when he realizes that he has multiple vaults, but you’re fantastic with distracting him about that and intercepting the Gringotts Owls. Those blasted owls can get through any mail wards. For now, continue playing the good friends of his. I’m certain you can make up a fantastic sob story over how you didn’t believe it at first because it was absurd, but when you saw him in the arena you realized how idiotic your thoughts have been.” Dumbledore dismissed them and went away while muttering; “Now where is that damned Skeeter woman. I need her to ruin the reputation of that bloody lord, if he even is a lord. She should be here by now.”

Harry slowly opened his eyes looking pale. He knew that something was wrong with his friends, but this? He barked a laugh, earning a weird look from the other Champions. Harry moved his trembling hand over his mouth, covering a crazed smile. So, his loyal friends were paid all this time. So much for the “Great” and “Brave” House of Gryffindor. And then they called Slytherins snakes and traitors! His mind started racing, going through every possibility to get the best revenge.

He chuckled, oh he knew what to do, but first to start the First Task, afterwards he could tell Percy everything. Their revenge would be perfect! A crack got his attention and he stood up. It was time.

When the cannon shot was heard again, Harry walked out of the tent. The crowd was murmuring when he walked into the arena, but Harry didn’t pay them any attention. He scanned the crowds looking for Percy who was sitting… right there! Right in front of him, there was a hole in the tribune with only Percy sitting there. Harry sneered, it appears that both Light and Dark wizards were too scared to sit close to him.

A second cannon shot was heard again and the fearsome roar of the Hungarian Horntail that he was supposed to fight was heard cutting through Bagman’s commentary. The Horntail was approaching, but Harry didn’t move from his spot in the arena. He would show them all how much they have underestimated him. It was time to show his Slytherin side.

The Horntail was now standing right in front of him. “You think you’re so clever aren’t you, you PUNY WIZARD. But you’re WRONG. I WILL BURN YOU TO CRISP, TEAR YOUR BODY APART, CRUSH IT AND WHAT’S LEFT OVER, I SHALL FEED TO MY CHILDREN,” the Horntail roared, “FEEL MY WRATH.”The Horntail inhaled to spew out her deathly breath, but Harry gave a bow.

“Before you do so, honoured lady, I must implore you to listen to my honest words.” Harry hissed.

The dragon squinted her eyes at Harry. “You speak the Serpents Tongue wizard? And yet you dare to threaten my eggs. I knew that all you wizards were the same, even if you are a Speaker.” She spat out.

Harry raised his hands, showing that they were empty. “I am not here to threaten your eggs, I’m planning to save them. Between your eggs, there’s an imposter. The one that shines like gold is the reason that they put you in here with me.” Harry gestured towards the nest. On top of the normal eggs, the golden egg was clearly showing. “If you grant me permission to get the imposter, you will be reunited with your eggs in your own home. Away from the pests that call themselves wizards.”

The dragon stood on her hind legs and roared into the skies in anger. From the tribunes you could hear the people shouting in shock. "HOW DARE THEY TO PUT AN IMPOSTER IN MY NEST! I WILL SHOW THEM MY WRATH AND I WILL GET MY REVENGE! WHICH WIZARDS DID THIS?"

"My Lady, that may not be the best way to get revenge. I beg of you to give me the imposter and I will make sure that hell will rain over those who thought that it would be a good idea to put an imposter egg in your nest." Harry promised to the Dragon. 

"And what will you do them then?" The dragon calmed done a bit and started walking to her nest. She slapped the Golden Egg away from her own eggs and pushed the egg towards Harry. "Here is the imposter egg. Take it far away from me."

Harry bowed, “I thank you, my lady. Rest assured that the wizards who thought this was a good idea will be destroyed. Piece by piece I will destroy their reputation until not even their own families will want to do anything with them. They will be shunned from our community and free to be hunt.”

The dragon huffed and turned around to her eggs. “Take the imposter with you and good luck with your quest.” She huffed. “If you ever need me, my name is Nèahm." The dragon said. "It was an honour meeting one of the Speakers. Now leave, I need to take care of my eggs. I hope that your chosen one will take good care of you."

Harry bowed one last time and turned around to step out of the arena. Over his shoulder he called to Nèahm. “My name is Hadrian Potter.” Stepping back into the shadows, Harry wondered what she meant with his ‘chosen one’. He didn’t notice that the audience had been silent all this time.

“You were amazing, don’t you ever forget that,” Percy said softly. “You should have seen yourself standing in front of that dragon. Showing no fear for the world to see. Even Bagman forgot to comment. The audience was in shock.” Percy chuckled. “We can take care of the traitors after this. Now rest, we can go and see the judges in a few moments.”

Harry gave a quick smile before giving Percy a small shove, “You need to get up Percy, it won’t take long before they are –“

“Harry!” A voice shrieked. The tent opened up again letting Granger and Weasley through.

Granger flung herself in his arms ‘crying’ and sobbing’, saying how she was “so sorry”, that she should have helped him with how dangerous the tournament was. She was talking about how she had been stupid to not have seen that he didn't want to be in the tournament. Harry just sat there, looking at Weasley. Weasley was unable to contain the sneer on his face while pretending to apologise for his actions. That he was just jealous, but he came to his senses after seeing him standing in front of the dragon.

If Harry was honest, it just sounded rehearsed, but he let them go on. It probably wouldn’t take long before they would blame everything on him. He didn't have to wait long. Granger let go of him soon and started berating him on how he dared to use that Dark ability and that he should have gone to them for help. He should have gone to Dumbledore, who was his mentor and sometimes as good as a grandfather to him. Weasley just nodded along with Granger and threw in random comments about how good his family always had been for him.

“And really Harry, trusting this ‘lord’. It’s obvious that something is wrong with him. He’s probably Dark and in the leagues with You-Know-Who!” Granger chastised Harry.

"No," Harry snapped.

"What do you mean, no?" Granger asked in shock that he even dared to interrupt her.

“No means no. No, I won’t forgive you for abandoning me and no, I will not take you back as my friends. Now please leave the tent because otherwise I will call for Madame Pomphrey and I will tell her that you are disturbing me while I want to rest." Harry answered stoically.

“You see Harry, that ‘lord’ is already influencing you!” Granger shrieked.

"Madame Pomphrey?" Harry called out.

"Yes, mister Potter?"

"Granger and Weasley are disturbing my rest and they do not want to leave. Can you please send them out?" Harry asked Madame Pomphrey.

"But of course. You heard him; you are disturbing his rest. Get out." Madame Pomphrey turned to Granger and Weasley and shoved out of the tent. "Here you go, now go one and rest a little bit more."

Percy chuckled, “I will make sure that he’s resting enough madame, but first we will need to see the judges.” Percy stood up and held out his hand to Harry who eagerly took it. Together they stepped outside to see the judges.

The crowds were murmuring, but quieted down when they saw the judges standing up. Harry held his head up high while Dumbledore gave him his first points; six. Eight from madame Maxime, seven from Crouch, four from Karkarov and ten from Bagman. His total came out to be thirty-five points. Harry laughed; he came in last.

Chapter Text

It was only the day after the First Task that Harry remembered the conversation between Dumbledore, Weasley and Granger that he had overheard while sitting in the tent. Most importantly, the part where Dumbledore promised his, his, money to his friends. Deciding that he should do something about it, Harry got up from the chair he was sitting on and started looking for Percy.

“Percy!” Harry called out when he saw Percy sitting in the window stilt, playing with a bottle. He gave a curious glance at the bottle when he noticed a beetle in it, but he dismissed it just as quickly. “You remember what I told you about Dumbledore yesterday? I just realized that he promises Weasley and Granger money from my vaults. Is there a way to check that?” Harry asked Percy when he had his attention.

“Of course,” Percy answered, “you can always look at your bank statements to see if there are suspicious transactions or we could go directly to Gringotts and look in your vaults.”

“Bank statements?” Harry questioned Percy, “what are those? I have heard of those from uncle Vernon, but he was always annoyed at them, talking about how I squeezed every little cent out of them.”

Percy put down the bottle with the beetle in a box and closed it before slowly answering, “you have never gotten a bank statement from Gringotts? As one of their most esteemed clients, you should have gotten monthly bank statements.” Percy blinked. “Now that I think about it, I never really see you getting any mail, except the letters you get from Sirius. What do you do with your fan mail?”

“Fan mail? Why would I be getting fan mail?” Harry laughed.

Percy looked at Harry with horror filled eyes. “You as a baby defeated one of the worst dark lords Britain has seen in its recent history, and you don’t understand why you would be getting fan mail? This is direr than I previously thought,” Percy muttered, “someone has been making sure that you won’t be getting any mail. A mail-ward, probably a redirection ward.” Percy looked up to Harry determined. “Grab your wand and a coat, we are going to Gringotts immediately.”

“What?” Harry stammered.

“As a Lord of an Ancient and Noble House, you should have gotten multiple bank statements about your estate. These would show how much money you have and where the money goes.” Percy explained patiently. “That you didn’t get those, combined with the fact that you didn’t get your fan mail, means that someone is blocking your mail from getting to you. Come to think of it, didn’t Sirius tell you anything about this? He is the Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Black… which means that he should have gotten a trial…” Percy started cursing. “Something smells really fishy about this. We need to get to the bottom of this directly. Go and grab your wand now.” Percy ordered. “I will meet you in the Entrance Hall.”

With that, Percy disappeared through a door and left Harry standing there with an open mouth. Shaking his head, Harry got out his stupor and ran away to his room to grab his wand.

Harry was waiting impatiently for Percy, tapping his foot. Percy had said that he would be waiting for Harry here and yet it was Harry who had to wait for him! Finally hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, Harry opened his mouth to say something about it to Percy, only for his mouth to fall open at the sight that greeted him.

Percy was walking down the stairs wearing a white chiton draped over his shoulders and his body. The chiton was cinched with a belt. A purple cloak was attached to his shoulders. It fell just above his ankles where they framed the sandals that Percy was wearing. The sandals were carefully bounded around his legs to stay on, but also to show off his long and strong legs.

When Percy stepped closer to Harry, Harry could see that a pattern of waves was woven into the chiton. The same went for the golden armlets he wore around his upper arms. They looked simple from afar, but only close by you could see the fine details engraved on them. The armlets were engraved with a slashing sword, a trident that summoned water and the three phases of the moon; full, half and new moon. He wore an armguard on his left forearm that was engraved with the same symbols, but there was a glint of silver surrounding the moons.

Percy was wearing a golden circlet, with an eye-catching sword that laid in its center. The sword itself was black and the sphere surrounding it was as red as blood.

Harry gaped at Percy when he briskly walked past him to grab a black cloak that he put over his outfit and he pulled up the hood.

“We are directly flooing to Gringotts, put up the hood of your coat.” Percy ordered. “We don’t want people to notice us.” Percy extended his head to Harry and Harry grabbed Percy’s hand eagerly. Together they entered the floo and went to Gringotts.

Before approaching the goblins, Percy took Harry aside for a moment.

"I will have to warn you now. You will possible see something that I am not allowed to explain to you. Please just follow my direction and everything will be alright, okay?" Perseus said sternly with some concern in his eyes. Harry could only nod. "Perfect. Do not take of your hood until we are in an office."

Seeing Harry nod, Percy turned towards the goblins, took of his hood and strode towards the nearest teller, completely disregarding the line in front of them. Those in line started protesting, but Percy headed them no mind. He looked the teller right into his eyes, greeted him and demanded an audience with the king of the goblin nation, Ragnok, within the same breath.

The teller took one look at Percy’s circlet and the rest of his outfit before calling over another goblin to escort them to Ragnok’s office where Harry took place in one of the chairs and Percy went to stand in front of the fire. It didn’t take long before Ragnok arrived and greeted them.

“Well, hello Ragnok, I haven't seen you in a while. I would ask how you were doing, but seeing the state your bank is right now, I don’t have to ask to know how bad everything is going.” Percy turned his back to the fire. “After all, that would be the only reason why your bank would make so many mistakes right?”

Ragnok opened his mouth with indignation, but Percy didn’t give him a chance to interrupt. “I’m not here today for a social visit, but on behalf of one of my clients. I’m sure that you can imagine my surprise when I asked to see his bank statements and he told me that he never got one. Nor did he ever get any other mail from the bank.” Percy’s eyes looked murderous.

“How dare you,” Ragnok growled, “we would never make mistakes like that! Let your client show yourself, we’ll shall do an inheritance test and that will show that we have never made a mistake!” Ragnok pushed a button on the side of his desk and within a few moments a bowl with clear liquid in it, a dagger and parchment were brought into the office.

Harry pulled of his hood by Percy’s command and while ignoring Ragnok’s gasp and grabs the dagger that lies on the table. He slices his finger with it and drops three drops of blood in the bowl. The liquid started swirling and the moment that it was calm, Ragnok placed the parchment into the bowl. The paper was quickly filled with writing. When it was done Percy took it out and started reading it. Harry was unsure as to what it said, but seeing how it felt as if an earthquake was taking place, it wasn’t good. He picked up the parchment after Percy threw it on the desk in anger and he felt the blood leaving his face while reading it.

Dumbledore had put multiple blocks and charms on him. Loyalty charms to Gryffindor, Dumbledore and the 'Light’ side. It was just one of the many. And if that wasn't a shock enough, Harry had ingested many different potions to make him more submissive. Harry couldn't believe his eyes when reading that. He knew that Dumbledore was manipulating him, but he didn’t think that it would go so far.

Not only the different potions and spells were written out on the parchment, but also all the money that he had inherited without his knowledge. Harry couldn't contain a small snort. All his life he had believed that he was poor, even with what is seemed was his trust vault. He didn't only have multiple companies, but he also was a billionaire in both the Wizarding World and the Muggle world. Skipping over the companies, he looked to the part with the transitions of his money. It turned out that Dumbledore didn't stop with messing with his brain, but that they were right and that Dumbledore had been taking his money from his. A few million galleons per year, it’s nothing compared to the complete amount, but it was still a lot of money that he was now missing.

Harry looked up at Ragnarök, “I want it all back. I never gave permission for this,” he demanded. “Furthermore, it says that Dumbledore is my magical guardian. What is a magical guardian and can it be changed?”

“Of course, my lord,” RagnoK said paling, “we will make sure that you will get all your money back, with interest even. Your money and other possessions will be back before the end of the day. A magical guardian is the one who is supposed to take care of you in the Magical World. Most of the time, your magical guardian are your parents unless they are not available or they don’t have magic. A magical guardian can be compared to a godfather of godmother. They are automatically assigned when muggleborns get sorted. Their Head of the House is their magical guardian. As for why Dumbledore is yours, I do not know. Technically, it should have automatically switched to Lord Black. It can be taken to court of be judged my lady Magic, but I presume that Lord Jackson here will take care of that?” Ragnok looked towards the still raging Percy who nodded.

"You are correct, with permission of Lady Hecate I will take over that roll. Talking about Lady Hecate, Harry you are getting a new wardrobe. It is already made. When we get back to the Tower it will be there. For now, we are done here. We will take our leave. Oh, and before I forget it, Ragnok. You will take care of the traitor who led this all happen  right? We will have to go somewhere else now. Harry come on. We are going to the department of magical law enforcement." With that, Percy and Harry left the office to go back to Hogwarts.

Ragnarök looked at the parchment in front of him. He could see that Lord Jackson was now the new Magical Guardian of one Harry Potter. Ragnarök stood up and left. It was time to take care of a traitor to the Goblin Nation.

Chapter Text

Inheritance Test.

Full name: Hadrian James Potter.

Birth Father: James Fleamont Potter

Birth Mother: Lily J. Potter née Evans

Date of Birth: 31 July 1980

Current age: 14

Godfather: Sirius Orion Black

Godmother: Alice Longbottom

Magical Guardian: A. Dumbledore (Unauthorised)

Mundane Guardian 1: Petunia Dursley née Evans (Unauthorised)

Mundane Guardian 2: Vernon Dursley (Unauthorised)

Lord of:

Potter (Blood)

Black (Godfather)

Peverell (Blood)

Slytherin (Right of Conquest)

Gryffindor (Blood)

Heir of:

Ravenclaw (Right of Conquest)

Hufflepuff (Right of Conquest)

Vaults:

Potter:

Family Vault. Contains Galleons, Sickles and Knut's

Trust Vault. Contains 100.000 Galleons, 120.000 Sickles and 200.000 Knut's

Black:

Family Vault. Contains Galleons, Sickles and Knut's

Trust Vault (Opened by S. O. Black). Contains 50.000 Galleons, 20.000 Sickles and 15.000 Knut's

Peverell:

Family Vault. Contains 456458459332 Galleons, 546381289 Sickles and 78584326. Knut's

Slytherin:

Family Vault. Contains 54656413446 Galleons, 4546486473543131 Sickles and 225875356 Knut's

Gryffindor

Family Vault. Contains 792499565214 Galleons, 46574531368351654 Sickles and 836236285 Knut's

Ravenclaw

Family Vault. Contains 468765468435468 Galleons, 56476843514546 Sickles and 2755565786 Knut's

Hufflepuff

Family Vault. Contains Galleons, . Sickles and 825.635.376. Knut's

Transactions (Illegal)

Monthly transitions of 10.000 Galleons from the Potter Vault to M. Weasley by A. Dumbledore.

Monthly transitions of 5.000 Galleons from the Potter Vault to R. Weasley by A. Dumbledore

Monthly Transitions of 5.000 Galleons from the Potter Vault to H. Granger by A. Dumbledore

Weekly Transitions of 10.000 Galleons from the Potter Vault to A. Dumbledore for 'Order of the Phoenix', by A. Dumbledore

From the main Potter Vault, many different books, jewelry and trinkets were taken.

Chapter Text

The moment they landed in the floo of the Ministry Hall, Percy walked towards a clerk who was sitting at the welcoming desk.

“Good day,’ Percy started, “where is the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?”

The clerk looked up, disinterested. “Wands please.”

“What?” Percy said, taken aback.

“Your wands,” The clerk said slowly while rolling his eyes, “unless you work here, they need to be registered.”

Harry looked up to Percy who started to look murderous. “It’s okay Percy.” but Percy cut him off.

“And what if you don’t have a wand?” Percy asked, leaning over the counter.

The clerk scoffed. “Squibs can just walk through; those wastes of space aren’t dangerous at all.”

“Wastes of space?” Percy said through clenched teeth. “Is that what you think?”

The clerk snorted. “Think? I know that that is what they are, everyone knows that they are useless. There is nothing that they can do. Hey!” the clerk shouted when a dagger suddenly appeared in front of his face. The clerk looked up to see Percy casually playing with another dagger.

“So not having magic is the same as being useless in your eyes? Interesting, since I don’t have any magic and yet I just almost killed you. But since I’m useless, but I did almost kill you, does that mean that you’re useless too?”

The clerk paled quickly. “The DMLE is on the second floor, if you take the left elevator you will arrive at the department immediately.”

“That’s what I thought.” Percy sneered. “Come, let’s go.” Those last words were directed at Harry, who was confused for a moment that Percy didn’t call him by his name like before, but then he realised that it was probably so that nobody else in the hall realised that he was there. Harry felt his cheeks warming, that was nice of Percy.

They walked towards the elevator that the clerk pointed out and stepped into the overfull elevator. Percy sneaked his arm around Harry’s middle to keep him close. “Don’t move.” He whispered in his ear.” Harry nodded.

Arriving at the second floor, Percy moved them out of the elevator, and into the DMLE.

An auror noticed their arrival immediately and walked towards them. “What can I do for you gentlemen?” The auror was built strongly but of an average length. He had a thick, strong neck and short, blond, but greying hair.

“Can you tell Madame Bones that Perseus Jackson is looking for her?” Percy asked.

The auror looked doubtfully at Percy, but after exchanging a look with his auror partner, he nodded and went towards a door in the back of the department. After knocking, he entered while his partner walked towards them. He couldn’t look any more different from his counterpart, whereas his partner was blond, this auror had black curls and was tall and lean where the other was stocky. A hint of a purple shirt stuck out from underneath his red auror coat.

“So,” the auror started, “what brings Harry Potter and an unknown factor named ‘Perseus Jackson’ to our department.”

Harry was taken aback. “How do you know who…?”

“Who you are?” the auror looked haughty, “it’s what I do.”

“Damnit.” The other auror curses coming back from the office. “Don’t start right now.” Turning towards Percy and Harry, the blond said; “Madame Bones is expecting you. Sorry about my partner, I hoped that he hasn’t started insulting you?”

“He hasn’t?” Harry said confused, which seemed to relieve the blond auror. “Should we just… walk in?” The auror nodded while staring at his partner.

“Yeah, just knock first.”

“Great.” Harry gave two thumbs up; he didn’t know why he did that. He felt his cheeks warming again as Percy chuckled beside him.

Together they walked into the office of Madame Bones where she sat behind her desk looking sternly at Percy. Harry couldn’t help but hide a bit behind Percy. The look in her eyes reminded him too much of Professor McGonagall’s stare when she was disappointed in someone.

Percy gave a strained smile in response before he sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk and redirected Harry to the other. Harry swiftly obeyed the unspoken order.

“Thank you for seeing us today Madame Bones especially without an appointment." Percy started. "I assure you that we have not come here to waste your time. The opposite actually, I have heard some… rather disturbing news and I would love to hear your side and perhaps you could elaborate on it?"

"What is it that you heard?'' Madame Bones looked suspiciously at Percy. "My guess is that it has something to do with mister Potter here, as you have caused a lot of ruckuses the last few days."

Percy gave a short laugh before giving Madame Bones an overview of what they had learned that morning and before that.

"You are partly correct. We have come here to talk to you after Harry overheard an interesting conversation. He overheard Dumbledore, Granger and the youngest Weasley boy talking about certain plans to manipulate Harry. Not only that, but he also overheard them talking about multiple vaults he never heard of before. Thus, we decided to go to Gringotts this morning to figure out which vaults they were talking about. It turns out that Dumbledore was Harry's magical guardian, but he never told Harry anything about the customs in the Wizarding World or about his vaults. As you know, he should have told him that." Perseus wanted to continue speaking, but Madame Bones interrupted him.

“What do you mean Dumbledore was his magical guardian? Shouldn’t he still be?” She asked confused.

“I took over Harry’s magical guardianship this morning with Lady Hecate’s permission. Any more questions?” when Madame Bones shook her head, Percy continued with his story. “We didn't only find out that Dumbledore was his Magical Guardian, but we also found out that he had been stealing from Harry. He took over a million Galleons for himself and gave a couple hundred thousand Galleons to Molly Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and his 'club'. We surprised to see this and Harry ordered the Goblins to take all the money back, with interest.

"Unfortunately, this isn’t everything. As you know, the test also shoes a list of all the injuries the subject has sustained through their life, but instead of that, the only part that was listed was the advice. It showed that we needed to go to a healer immediately because of the myriad different charms, blocks and potions that were on and in him. And that was only the magical part. The advice also showed that Harry has severe malnourishment and multiple bones that were healed wrong, among other things. These injuries came from Hogwarts but also his childhood home where he was placed, illegally, with Petunia Dursley née Evans and her husband Vernon Dursley."

"By Dumbledore." Harry butted in.

"By Dumbledore”, Percy nodded at Harry, “and if that was not enough of a concern, he should have been placed with his godfather or godmother. And here is my concern. According to the inheritance test, someone called Sirius Orion Black is Harry's Godfather, but…"

"Sirius Black?” Madame Bones shook her head. “That’s impossible, godfathers and godmothers make a pledge to never harm their godchild. And seeing that Black was the one to betray the Potters, it’s not possible for Black to be his Godfather.

"You are saying that the inheritance test, from the goblins, lied?" Percy raised his eyebrow. "If that is true, then please, show me Black’s trial. I would love to see proof that the goblins are wrong." Percy challenged Madame Bones.

Madame Bones looked Perseus straight in the eyes while she commanded her assistant to get the records. Minutes past and there was no sign of the clerk. About half an hour had passed before the assistant returned hesitatingly.

"Madame? I haven’t been able to find any records of Sirius Black except for his arrest form.” The assistant looked ashamed for not finding the records. “I’m sorry Madame.”

"That should be impossible. There should be records besides his arrest. Was there any note of who arrested him? Or who arranged the transfer.”

“There was not even a transfer request to Azkaban. I sent a note to the other departments, but not even they have any records except his employment record.”

"Unless, he never had a trial of course," Percy said smugly.

Madame Bones turned to look at him. “There should have been. People aren’t thrown into Azkaban without a trial.”

“But he was,” Harry said with blazing eyes. “I met him in my third year after he escaped. He told me what happened to him years before. He told me that they switched Secret Keepers last minute, but he also told me that Dumbledore was the one to place the charm. He also told that Pettigrew was still alive, and that was true. I saw him with my own eyes. But he escaped." Harry told them silently. He was still ashamed that they didn't get Pettigrew to the castle. “It is all my fault, if I had kept a closer eye on him, he would not have escaped." Percy moved to him and started consoling him.

Madame Bones couldn’t do anything but stare at the lack of evidence and the changed truth. "Is there any way that you can contact Black so we can give him a trial?" She asked determined to Harry.

“I have ways to contact him, but I will not let him walk into a trap.” Harry shot up.

“That won’t happen. I swear on my magic.” Percy’s eyes flashed for a moment.

“Lady Hecate has heard your vow.” Percy said grinning. “The moment that Sirius Black walks into a trap, it’s on your magic. Hecate takes vows on magic very seriously.”

Madame Bones seemed to pale for a moment before recovering. “I’ll make sure that all the necessary parties are informed and that the Daily Mail will print an article about the trial of Sirius Black. That way, nothing can be swept under the rug.”

Percy nodded and took out the glass with the beetle in it that he had caught earlier. “I know the perfect person to write the story.” He put the glass down in front of Madame Bones. “If there is someone who has the trust of the public, it’s Rita Skeeter.”

Madame Bones eyes the beetle, “what has this to do with that beetle?”

“Silly me,” Percy grinned, “I forgot to introduce the two of you. Madame Bones meet Rita Skeeter, an illegal animagus. Take good care of here, will you? She is very useful for articles. If you play it right, she can even shine a bad light will be cast on both Dumbledore and Fudge, while rising your own status.

“Now,” Percy stood up, “I have to meet with someone called Malfoy. There are a lot of laws that are no longer active and a lot of discarded laws that need to be looked again and I heard that he is the one who can pull the right strings for that. You know, with Harry here having multiple Lord- and Heirships and Dumbledore using his seats and votes illegally." Percy gave a smirk that could only be out smirked by the cat from Alice in Wonderland and left the office with Harry in his wake leaving Madame Bones behind with a beetle in a glass.

Percy ushered Harry back to the floo to go home where multiple packages waited for them. Harry looked puzzled to Percy, when Percy told Harry to open them.

“What are these?” Harry asked.

“These are the rings that show to which Houses you are Lord and Heir off. Why don’t you put them on?”

Harry looked at Percy sceptical, because he did not have enough fingers for all those rings, but he shrugged and put the first two rings on. To his surprise they merged together. “What?” he exclaimed.

Percy laughed, “neat trick, right? It surely saves you some room for movement.”

Harry looked weirded out, but he kept putting on the rings. The moment he had put on his last ring, Percy bowed and greeted him.

"It is an honour meeting you, Lord Hadrian James Potter, Lord of the Noble and Ancient Houses of Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor and Slytherin, Heir of the Noble and Ancient Houses of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Heir of the Noble House of Jackson."

Harry looked up at the face of his best friend in the world and smiled. They would take the world to storm.

Chapter Text

Harry cast his eyes over the transfiguration courtyard, a lot had been changed in just a few days, and he was not only talking about his new titles. Chuckling silently, he couldn’t help but look back at the moment he found out about his new clothes. Percy had said that he would order him a new wardrobe, but had outdone himself. His new clothes were simply… too much.

After Percy had rightened again after greeting him with his new title, he had gestured upstairs and told him that a surprise was waiting for him there. Harry had raised an eyebrow at that, but he had simply shrugged, and he went upstairs, only to not be able to walk into his room. The floor was littered with gigantic boxes everywhere. There was a slight path in the middle that led to a door that hadn’t been there before. Harry slowly walked towards the door, trying not to hit any of the boxes. He opened the door, and it opened up to a… walk-in closet? With even more boxes?

“Uhm, Percy?” Harry called out rather hysterically.

Within moments, he heard Percy running up the stairs, “Harry?” He called out when he appeared in the doorway, is everything going alright?”

“Why is my entire room full of boxes?” Harry had a second look at Percy; he could have sworn that he was holding a sword a few moments ago.

Percy smirked. “I told you that I was going to take care of a new wardrobe for you, right?”

Harry’s mouth fell open, “a new wardrobe? I thought that you meant a few new clothes and perhaps some robes, not this.” He gestured to all the boxes in the room.

Percy smiled sheepishly, “I do have to admit that I also hadn’t thought that there would be so many boxes, but I should have expected it if I’m being honest. The one who I asked for arranging your new clothes can be… enthusiastic to put it lightly. If you want, I can help you look through everything and sort it? Seeing if there is anything to crazy that you don’t to keep.”

Harry nodded, “that would be great, but I’m going to take a shower first. I’m not going to go through all of this without wearing something comfortable,” he looked through the room, “if I can find something comfortable since I can’t see my own clothing any more.”

Percy closed his eyes, “I’m afraid that she probably got rid of all clothes that were an affront to her, which seeing your old clothes, were all of them. But she should have put some labels on the boxes.” Percy scanned the room before giving a short exclamation. “There it is!” half jumping over some boxes, Percy reached a box that clearly said ‘Sleepwear’ on it and ruffled through it. Harry could see that he blanched for a moment before pulling out a simple looking pyjama. It was emerald green and on first sight it had no pattern but when Harry grabbed it, he saw that it contained different strands of green and blue which reminded him of the sea, of Per… nope. Not going that way.

Harry tried to peek at the box to see if he could see what made Percy blanch, but Percy noticed his look and stood in front of the box, obscuring Harry’s view of it. Harry did not pout, he DID NOT. “Thank you.” He said, holding up the pyjama. Percy nodded.

“Go and take that shower, I’ll start here to make piles.” Harry looked suspiciously at Percy.

“I’ve never seen you wanting to have anything thing to do with clothes.”

“Well, since this is kind of my own fault, so why shouldn’t I own up to it? Go.” Percy shod Harry into the bathroom with a smile that dropped the moment that Harry was safely through the door. What in the name of the gods was Aphrodite thinking?? The kid’s fourteen, for the gods’ sake! And she gave him lingerie?? Shaking his head, Percy called a house elf to get through the boxes, and he ordered the house elf to get rid of all the lingerie and other possible inappropriate items. With the help of the house elf, he was able to get through most of the boxes and get rid of the most inappropriate items. With his ears steaming, Percy started to write a letter in his head to send to Aphrodite. What had she been thinking? But, Percy wondered, would a letter be enough, or should he have made it clearer? Pondering on thoughts of revenge, he almost missed the door opening, letting Harry back into the room.

“What happened here?” Harry looked wide-eyed around his room, which seemed to have exploded. Clothes were laying everywhere and boxes were pulled open, showing their contents bulging.

“Ah,” Percy looked up, “I perhaps got distracted a few times, but I asked a house elf to help me put things in your closet! They also made you a cup of hot cocoa, it’s somewhere in this room. It should still be hot.”

Harry looked around, and he saw the hot coco standing on his night table. He grabbed it and sat down on the bed, watching Percy go through each box one by one, sorting the clothes. He grabbed each item before either disposing it to his left, right or behind him. Once in a while, an entire pile just disappeared. Where to, Harry didn’t know, but he guessed that it was the house elf moving the clothes to the walk-in closet. Frowning, he wondered how the clothes all fitted in the walk-in room because there were certainly more clothes than that there was room. When he voiced out his question to Percy, Percy shrugged and mentioned something about magically expanding rooms.

“If you want, you can start checking out the first of the clothing? Just be aware that the room can expand while you’re in there and that feels… weird.” Percy offered. Harry nodded eagerly and went into the walk-in closet.

It was … huge. Harry had to take a double take to make sure that it was still the same closet that he walked into the first time. The size had tripled at least and while he stood there, a rippling sensation went through the room, though him, and the room expanded once more. Harry was amazed, magic could do the most wondrous things. He started to look at the clothes nearest to him, pulling open drawers and doors. The clothes nearest to him had a more casual look to them, but they were clearly expensive. After that came everyday robes with, as Harry noticed, the symbols of his Houses, woven into the fabric. The further he got into the closet, the more expansive and elaborate the robes and clothe became, until he walked admits of robes fit for an emperor that were surrounded by many jewels. Harry had never seen so many jewels together, and they fitted the robes so perfectly. Everything was in hues of green and blue to match his eyes and Percy’s. The more elaborate robes had gold and red accents, honouring his Gryffindor heritage, but he also saw some silver in between.

Eventually, Harry arrived at the end of the closet, ignoring the way the room kept expanding while he was there. At the end, there hang the most elaborate robe of all. It had a blue under robe, but the upper robe was a sparkling dark green, the same colour as his eyes, and his Houses were woven in the robe with a golden thread. No wait, Harry squinted having a closer look, it was actual gold that was inlaid in the robe and the sparkling were tiny emeralds that were sown unto the robe. Above the robe a circlet hung which showed once again his Houses, and underneath it laid various jewellery, all fitting the robe. Harry’s mouth hung agape while he stared at the robe, he had never seen something so beautiful.

“Do you like it?”

Harry startled; he hadn’t heard Percy come in.

“It’s amazing but way too much. Percy, what am I even supposed to do with all of this? I will never be able to wear everything before I grow out of it!”

Percy smiled, “this is only half of what was sent, she wanted to give you more, but I stopped her. She also told me that these clothes grow with you, but that she would love to give you another new wardrobe if you want to.”

“I…”

“I know. It’s a lot. Don’t worry about it and just let me take care of this, okay? You can have a rest.”

Harry nodded and went back into his room, where he sat on the bed. He kept his vigil there while Percy kept unboxing the boxes and ordered the clothes in their pile. This went on until deep in the night.

Harry smiled, the memory disappearing once more. It was way too much. At least he didn’t have to take care of all those clothes on his own any more. They were way too much to handle just by one person. But the reactions of those in Hogwarts was too beautiful to reject the clothes. Especially Malfoy’s he looked like he sucked on a lemon when he first saw Harry. The entire Slytherin House was treading more carefully since that they, testing the waters of the shifting political waters. And they will only shift more in the coming days. It would take a while before the water’s calm again. After all, with him being the new owner of Hogwarts, he can start reforming the lesson plans. But he will wait until after Monday, because then Rita Skeeter will publish her article exposing Dumbledore, and Sirius will finally get his trial. It’s going to be a good day.

Chapter Text

The day had finally arrived. Not only was today the day that Sirius would get his trial, but it was the start of Dumbledore’s downfall. The only shame was that because of Sirius’ trial Harry wouldn’t be able to see the full chaos that Skeeter’s article would unleash. But the start of it would be something that he would savor for the years to come.
“What are you grinning about?” Percy asked, leaning against the door.

“Thinking about today,” Harry grinned, “are you done already?”

“For now,” Percy sighed, “When I took over your Magical Guardianship, I hadn’t realized how much worked it would be. I really should just have left you behind in that card box. Would have saved me a lot of trouble.” He winked. Harry stuck out his tongue in response to Percy’s quip.

“You love me way too much for that.” Percy sighed as if the world rested onto his shoulders.

“I guess you are right, you definitely grew on me. In contrast to Malfoy senior.” He grumbled.

“What happened?” Harry asked worried.

Percy shrugged, “nothing special compared to the other days, but damn. That guy knows how to harp. I’m pretty sure he has some harpy blood in him. But at least he knows how to word things to the best advantage. Although he has been driving me and Madame Bones crazy will all his little revisions of the laws.”

Harry winced, “yeah that doesn’t sound good.” Ever since Percy became his Magical Guardian, he got the right to vote for laws in Harry’s stead. That also meant he was able to all the laws that Dumbledore had voted for or renounced in Harry’s stead. There were… a lot. So, he had been working together with Madame Bones and Malfoy Senior to start the revision of some laws to have a head start after they outed Dumbledore. “Were you able to finish the law?”

“Yes,” Percy perked up. “Which brings us up to a grand total of,” Percy started calculating, “fifty-eight revised, so we only have two hundred seventy-six to go. Not to mention everything that will still needs to be changed at Hogwarts. But!” He exclaimed triumphantly, “that is your job.”

It was time for Harry to groan, “don’t remind me. It was such a disappointed to realize how much Dumbledore ruined this school. And you want me to stand in front of everyone to talk about what happened and the changes that are going to pass? They are going to skin me alive.” For years Hogwarts had been advertised as one of the top schools, but Harry had found out that it was actually the other way around. Dumbledore had gotten rid of so many classes and clubs that if a wixen from Britain wanted to work somewhere outside of England, they had to sit extra tests to see if their skills were sufficient. Spoiler: they were often not and got rejected if they didn’t do their homework on time.”

“Nawww, poor Harry. Having to actually do his job as the owner of Hogwarts instead of just having the title.” Percy tried not to smile as he opened his arms. “Come here.”

Harry stood up and gave Percy a hug. “I’m glad that you’re here. I don’t know what I would do without you. He mumbled into Percy’s chest. He felt more than he heard Percy’s laugh.

“Glad to hear that you have such a high opinion of me,” Percy loosened his arms, “now shall we go see chaos personified?” He asked with his eyes twinkling. 

Harry nodded, “let’s go.”

Together they started walking towards the Great Hall. “Which reminds me Percy, how did you get Skeeter to cooperate with you?”

Percy shuddered thinking back at his conversation with that vile woman. “Let’s just say that you don’t want any details of that. Even if her screams were nice to hear.” He mumbled the last part staring grimly into the distance

“What was that?” Harry asked.
“Nothing. Shall we go in?” Percy gestured at the doors of the Great Hall. Seeing Harry’s nod, he opened them. They walked side by side inside, voices hushed and the sound of cutlery moving stopped. It seemed like everyone wanted to stare at them again. Ignoring the people in the room, Harry and Percy walked to the Head Table and sat down. They quietly talked with each other waiting for the Daily Prophet to arrive, but thankfully they didn't have to wait very long. It seemed that they were right on time for the morning rush of owls to come. Between the owls, the standard delivery owls flew around the room and the first gasps and whispers started to fill the room. Glares started being thrown at the two youngest Weasleys, Granger and Dumbledore. The Weasleys didn’t seem to notice that something was wrong, they were just happily eating. But Granger and Dumbledore both seemed anxious to grab the Daily Prophet as quickly as possible. Dumbledore was the first to leave the room after reading the front page and Granger tried to get the attention of the Weasleys.

Percy grinned at Harry while grabbing his own copy, “after you,” he said while offering it to Harry, “it seems that she wrote even better than we could have expected. Enjoy it.”

Harry grabbed the copy and unfolded the paper to show the front.

Attention seeking boy or a victim crying out for help?

That's right dear readers, instead of the attention seeking boy who we thought that he would be, our pour boy-who-lived turned out to have been a victim for years. Yes, you read that right. We all have been betrayed, but I am here to open up our eyes! Our beloved hero has been deceived, manipulated and betrayed multiple times. How did I found out you may ask yourself? But patience, dear reader, for I will tell you.

It was after that horrible First Task, that I was accosted by a concerned Lord. To be preciously, Lord Perseus Achilles Jackson, and Lady's, if I may say so, he is a top-notch gentleman and deliciously handsome. I would not be surprised if he will end on top of our bachelor rankings. Lord Jackson was concerned because his client, our boy-who-lived, had overheard a disturbing conversation. Yet I can tell you my dear readers, that I was able to get the full conversation on paper between the esteemed Headmaster of Hogwarts and our hero’s FORMER best friends Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. Be aware dear reader, the conversation is quite shocking.

  Dumbledore: “This has gone on long enough, after the Task you will go to him and apologize for not believing him. Do you understand? I know that you probably liked having a time off from him, but it is important for our plans to have him following you. Especially now with that ‘lord’ walking around, pretending as if he is someone important. He needs to be kept away from Potter. It may be a difficult task, but I’m sure that you’re able to fulfil it.

Weasley : “But professor, do we have to apologize to him? He’s so annoying to be friends with. He never wants to do anything fun! And we can just keep the other Gryffindors away from him.

Granger: “Relax Ron, it’s just for a few more months. At the end of the Tournament, Potter will be dead and we will get all his money. Think about the things you can do with it and the fame we will get from being Potter’s friends. Ron is right, being Potter’s friend has become harder and harder. He never takes his studies seriously, but with lord Perseus around, he’s suddenly making all sorts of progress that he wasn’t making before. I overheard him talking to himself about his magical core! He never should have known about that! It’s as if all my hard work is for nothing.

Dumbledore: “It’s all going to be alright miss Granger and mister Weasley the rest of the plan is still in order. We only have to worry when he realizes that he has multiple vaults, but you’re fantastic with distracting him about that and intercepting the Gringotts Owls. Those blasted owls can get through any mail wards. For now, continue playing the good friends of his. I’m certain you can make up a fantastic sob story over how you didn’t believe it at first because it was absurd, but when you saw him in the arena you realized how idiotic your thoughts have been.

It should surprise no one that after this our Hero cut ties with his former friends and that he went his new Magical Guardian Lord Perseus to Gringotts to figure out what they were talking about. And as you know me, I can’t leave a good mystery alone and what a great news I have to share with you! Not only is Mister Potter not the Heir as we all expected and thought we knew but Lord Potter himself. Furthermore, he is also Lord Black, Peverell, Slytherin and Gryffindor. He is also the Heir of the Houses of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Jackson. And it doesn't stay there. What should have been wonderful and exiting news to the newly minted Lord Potter, turned into a tragedy when he realized that Headmaster Dumbledore had been taken money from his fault without permission to pay of Molly Weasley, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. Probably to be the friends of Lord Potter and in his own words "to keep him meek and on the right pad.'' Is this what we want to see form the so-called Leader of the Light. Is he even so light, because dear readers, I started digging and what I found was hideous!

As we all know, Headmaster Dumbledore was announced as the Magical Guardian of Lord Potter, but it turns out that this was done illegally! And he never taught Lord Potter anything about the Wizarding World or it’s customs! Dear readers, I would love to tell you that that was it, but unfortunately it is not.

Dumbledore even placed our Savior in an abusive home! He was kept in a cupboard and he was treated worse than the slaves of old! That's right, while we thought that our savior grew up in a loving magical home, he actually grew up in a muggle world without knowing about Magic. I’m certain you wouldn’t believe me when I tell you it can even get worse.

Dumbledore also placed multiple Blocks and Charms upon our Savior and had him dosed in potions to make sure that he was as submissive as possible! Is this someone who went to take care of our children? I certainly would not.

I heard that Lord Potter didn't went to St Mungo's because, and I quote! "I have to take care of a few things first. Only when I am able to redo all the wrongdoings from Dumbledore and his old lover, Grindelwald, then and only then, I shall go to St Mungo's, because how can I be in the Hospital knowing about all the people suffering from them?"

That poor boy! Only thinking about the good of the Wizarding World and what did we? We scorned him after his name got out of the Goblet! I, myself was horrible to him and I admit it, but how Hogwarts and its teachers reacted was even worse!

None of the teachers seemed to believe him and they threw him to the side. And his schoolmate's, who should support each other, started ignoring him and bullying him! He was not even saved in his own House. I heard that Lord Potter has taken on a neutral House and that he doesn't wear his school robes anymore. Instead, he wears his formal robes. How could we be so awful to our savior?

If that wasn't enough, the people who were supposed to be his comrades and stood by him, deserted him. Ronald Weasley immediately started sprouting lies about how 'Dark and slimy' Lord Potter had become, and that when he got paid to be Lord Potter's friend and that he was supposed to keep Lord Potter ignorant and he had to make sure that he didn't study!. As for is ex-friend Hermione Granger, she was supposed to keep him biased and ignorant of the Wizarding World. Headmaster Dumbledore even gave her sacred books from the Potter Vaults! Only Gringotts rules made sure that he wasn’t able to take out the Potter Grimoire out of the vaults.

Hearing all of this I couldn't help but get furious. How could they do all of this to such a sweet, little boy? He is only fourteen! Pour Lord Potter, he didn't deserve anything of this

But although he is fourteen, that didn't stop Dumbledore to draw up a Magical Marriage Contract between Lord Potter and Ginevra Weasley! In it stood that Weasley would become the Head of the House and that our poor hero nothing had to say anymore! He would be like a slave! I shuddered when I heard that, who would ever want that! And that was not even the worst part! They decided that it would be the best to kill our dear Savior! To make sure that he could never go against them again.

My dear readers, you probably recall the part about Dumbledore being the Magical Guardian of Lord Potter? Wel, I have good news for you! Lord Jackson took over that role and I heard that there will be an emergency Wizengamot meeting today, to rectify all the laws that have been passed the last thirteen years, because most of these laws are illegal! Every notion will be read again. So dear readers. Tomorrow you will find a different world. Free from multiple laws and a few new laws that should have been there years ago, like Veritaserum within every Trial. Why you ask? I overhead Madame Bones speaking about the possibility that Sirius Black, the infamous mass murderer, is in fact innocent. He was never given a trial! You read that right dear readers. Sirius Black is possible innocent! An Heir from an Ancient and Noble House wasn't even given a Trial! 

I, myself am curious about our minister is going to do about that, but this all and more will you certainly hear tomorrow! 

I will investigate on all the things that will happen after this heart-breaking news. 

We stand with you Lord Potter, and we hope that everything will fall out in you favor!

Yours,

Rita Skeeter

For more on the Crimes of Dumbledore, see pages 2-7

For more on the Crimes of Grindelwald, see pages 8-10

For more on the Crimes of the above named Weasleys and the reactions of the rest of their clan, see pages 10-15

For more on the Crimes of Granger, see page 16

Harry snorted when he finished reading the article, leave it up to Skeeter to dramatize everything. He was surprised at the amount information Skeeter had dug up within a couple days. Folding the Daily Prophet back up, he got up and left the Great Hall with Percy. Ignoring the speculative glances shot their way. It was time to free Sirius free and finish Dumbledore.

Chapter Text

The courtroom was packed; from his position to the side of the courtroom, Percy couldn't see a free seat. There were even people standing on the chairs. Percy could only blame the number of people on Skeeter's article. Everyone was shocked by the information that was shared, and just like sharks, they smelled more blood in the water. Well, what else could Percy do than give them a show? The murmurs in the courtroom grew when he started walking to the centre of the courtroom, towards the defence stand. He gave a nod towards Madame Bones, who nodded back and banged her gavel to call the court to order.

"Order in the courtroom, the emergency meeting of the Wizengamot has started. Bring in the accused."

The murmurs had temporarily stopped after Madame Bones banged her gavel. Still, they were quick to pick up again when the doors opened to see Sirius Black being escorted in chains by the Aurors to the chair in the middle of the courtroom. The murmurs only grew when the chains of the chair rattled and did not encase Black. Black looked as if he didn't have a care in the world and sat relaxed in the chair. An Auror administered the Veritaserum. After waiting for a few moments to make sure the potion had the time to properly settle in, they asked Black some baseline questions. The Auror who administered the potion gave a nod to Madame Bones to confirm that it was working.

"The accused Sirius Black has been accused of the betrayal of the Potter Family, the murder of Peter Pettigrew and thirteen muggles, and being a Death Eater. Black has already spent time in Azkaban, but new evidence has come to light, which is why a trial is held now. Overseeing the trial are fifty-three members of the Wizengamot; two are absent. I, Madame Bones, am the current court overseer and Head of Justice. Perseus Jackson as the defence, and Percival Weasley is the current court scribe." Percy did a double-take at that, looking at the man sitting on Madame Bones' right hand, he indeed has a passable likeness to the others Weasley's. Hmm interesting. Percy turned in again when he noticed that Madame Bones had started talking again.

"Without further ado, the floor is yours, Lord Jackson."

Well, Percy thought, show time. Spreading his arms wide open, he welcomed everyone in the courtroom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming here today. I know that it was on very short notice, but as I presume, many of you have read this morning, the situation is rather dire. Thirteen years ago, after the Potter Family's unfortunate demise at the hand of Voldemort," would you look at that, it had been a while since an entire room had flinched because of something he said, "the accused, Heir Sirius Black was thrown into Azkaban without a trial, everyone believing that he betrayed the Potter's and that he was a Death Eater after his so called murder of Peter Pettigrew and thirteen muggles." Whispers started up through the room, from the corners of his eyes, Percy saw the press quickly writing while camera flashes were going off. "However, the evidence that emerged this weekend shows that none of this was true. Sirius Black was not a Death Eater, he did not betray the Potters, he did not kill Peter Pettigrew or those thirteen muggles. On the contrary, Peter Pettigrew is still alive!" Percy could hear audible gasps echoing through the room. He so much enjoyed this. "I could go on and on to convince you how an innocent heir of an Ancient and Noble family was thrown away in prison without any proof, but I believe that definite proof of my claims will be a better persuader. So, I will give the floor back to Madame Bones to start asking the question. Madame Bones." He nodded at her, taking a step to the side.

"Thank you, Lord Jackson." She gave him a nod back before turning her full attention to Black. "Let's start with the easiest question: Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?"

"No, but I tried" The dreamlike state of Black did not matter. It was black on white; he hadn't killed Pettigrew.

"Are you or were you ever a Death Eater?"

"No, I would never follow that bastard."

"Let it be confirmed to the court that no sign of the Dark Mark was found anywhere on Heir Black's body." Percy quickly jumped in, holding a parchment with the proof. Madame Bones shot him a quick glare at his interruption, but told Weasley to put it in the records."

"Were you the secret keeper of the Potters?"

"No, it was Pettigrew, we switched so I could be the decoy." Audible gasps once again.

"Who put the charm in place?" Percy butted in with a glare from Madame Bones.

"Dumbledore did it, he proposed the switch."

"Which Dumbledore?" Madame Bones glared down.

"Albus Dumbledore."

Madame Bones clenched and unclenched her jaw. "We will make a note for that later, for now it's clear that Lord Black was never a Death Eater, he was also not the Secret Keeper of the Potters and thus did not betray them, nor did he kill Peter Pettigrew. Which leaves us to the last charge, the murder of the thirteen muggles. Did you kill those thirteen muggles, Heir Black?"

"No, Pettigrew blew them up when I confronted him. He took me by surprise with it. He even cut off his own finger before turning into his Animagus form and fleeing."

"I see," Madame Bones pondered, "I have a few last questions about the lack of a trial, if that is alright with you, Lord Jackson?"

Percy nodded, "By all means, as long as you don't try to incriminate my client."

"I won't," She promised. Turning back to Black, she continued. "Heir Black, who sent you to Azkaban?"

"Crouch, instead of going through a trial, he decided that it would be better to immediately ship me off to prison, believing that the evidence was enough."

"Hmm, alright. You escaped last year. What was the reason for this?"

"I found out where Pettigrew was hidden all this time. He was the pet rat of the Weasley family. He had been in their family for years. I got him last year, but because of Snape, Pettigrew could escape. He has been running around for a long time now." Black answered monotonously. Weasley dropped his quill in shock when he heard that, and cries of outrage echoed through the courtroom. Madame Bones looked around at the members of the Wizengamot.

"I believe that we have heard everything that we needed to hear. Any objections?" She waited for a few moments, but no objection was heard. "Aurors, administer the antidote. It is time for the vote. Everyone who votes guilty, please light up your wand."

Percy was not surprised to see Dumbledore and a few others of the 'Light' side lighting up their wands together with a few families who would possibly inherit the Black seats, would Black go back to prison, or at least, that is what they thought would happen.

"Who votes not guilty?" At this, an overwhelming majority of the room lit up, cheers could be heard from the balcony, and lights flashed.

Madame Bones quickly tallied the votes, but it was already clear. They had won; Percy smirked.

"Heir Sirius Black. I am pleased to inform you that you have been found innocent by an overwhelming vote. The Ministry offers its apologies for its oversight thirteen years ago, and they will compensate you for your time spent in Azkaban. As an Heir of a Noble and Ancient House, something like never should have happened. As compensation, you will be given a million galleons per year for each year you were in Azkaban. That will be a total of twelve million Galleons. Furthermore, we will pay for your stay in St. Mungo's. I hope that you will recover fast. Aurors, please escort Heir Black out of the courtroom and to St Mungo's." Madame Bones commanded, and the aurors immediately helped Black up, taking off his chains, and they escorted him away. "This case has been closed, but this was not the only thing on the agenda. Lord Jackson, the floor is yours again."

Percy took a step forward again, "Thank you, Madame Bones. I am glad to see justice prevail today in this case, and I hope it will once again prevail in the next issues. As some of you may remember, there was a second issue brought up in the paper. Namely, the actions and inactions of Albus Dumbledore. The so-called esteemed Headmaster of Hogwarts. I found this out a while ago when my client came to me, and thus, I have been investigating what he has done throughout the years, and what I found disturbed me. I will highlight the most important aspect to show the direness of the situation, since if I were to tell you everything, we would still be here this evening, and I don't believe that anyone wants that." Percy smiled, hearing the laughter echoing through the courtroom.

"Fantastic, then I will keep this short. Over the short period that my client, Lord Hadrian James Potter, Lord of the Noble and Ancient Houses of Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor and Slytherin, Heir of the Noble and Ancient Houses of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Heir of the Noble House of Jackson has been to Hogwarts, dramatic things have happened. At Halloween, a troll broke in with the help of the DADA professor Quirrell, who carried a piece of Voldemort within him. That troll was defeated by my client and two other first years because none of the teachers were there. Furthermore, the students were warned that year that the third floor was forbidden. They were not given a reason, but we now know it was because of the Philosopher's stone that was 'protected' there. I say 'protected' because it was actually a trap laid by the Headmaster for Voldemort, one in which my client got caught up.

"In his second year, the Chamber of Secrets was reopened, and students were petrified. Yet, the school didn't close until a student was allegedly killed. Why? Because Dumbledore said that as long as there were students who still wanted to be there, the school would remain open. Quite dangerous if you ask me. The thing that was petrifying the students was killed, again, by my client. Who, again, almost died. Did anyone even know what it was? It was a Basilisk. In the school!

"And nobody can forget what happened in his third year, with Heir Black escaping from Azkaban and dementors, soul sucking monsters, were stationed around Hogwarts. Something that could have easily been prevented by the Headmaster, yet it was because of him that my client and other students were attacked and almost lost their lives." Percy had the room in the palms of his hands, just a bit further, and he was there.

"Even the current mess with the Triwizard Tournament could have been prevented, but Dumbledore did not do anything. Is this normal behaviour for a Headmaster? Is this normal behaviour for someone whom we want to be led by? If not directly, then indirectly? You have read it all, his manipulations, his past deeds and still some of you believe him to be good for us. I say no, I say no to someone who cannot keep his nose out of someone else's business." Percy said, disgusted.

"I am standing here, in front of you, the ones who decided for the Wizarding World, the ones who keep all of us safe, do you still believe that he can keep us safe? We can stop Dumbledore from making sure that something like this will never happen to anyone, no more sentences without trials, no more secrets and lies and our children safe at Hogwarts. For that to happen, it's time to get him out of his seats of power, the ones he illegally gained, may I add. I vote for a vote of no confidence. Who is with me? Who here is ready to lead the change for the Wizarding World for the better? Who will no longer be a sheep and put the safety and the well-being of the Wizarding World to the front? I ask you once more: who is with me?" Perseus challenged.

An uproar started, just like Percy had predicted. People were hollering and demanding Dumbledore's head. Calling out for a change, Percy started smirking.

"Then where are we waiting for? Let us vote, let us decide again for the future. Madame Bones, I give the floor back to you." Percy gave a bow and took a step back again.

"Order in the court!" Madame Bones called out. "We have a vote of no confidence against Albus Dumbledore. If this vote goes through, he will immediately be released from the Wizengamot and, as Headmaster of Hogwarts, a title which will refer back to Lord Jackson's client. All in favour, for the vote?"

Almost every wand in the room lit up, while a few wands did not light up.

"Then it's decided. Aurors, please take Dumbledore away from the Ministry and stay with him until his trial is ready." Madame Bones sat down with a heavy sigh. This was not what she expected from today.

"Madame Bones?"

"Yes, Lord Jackson?"

"I believe that the laws of the past few years have to be revised."

"You are correct, we will be starting with that now."

"Of course, Madame Bones. May I first send a message to my client so he can announce the trial's outcome at Hogwarts?" Percy asked, and Madame Bones nodded.

Percy immediately started messaging Harry, who was very happy. The Fall of Dumbledore was in its final stage, and nothing would stop him from taking care of Hogwarts. It was time to change the Wizarding World for the better.

Chapter Text

Harry could not believe that everything had happened so quickly and so perfectly, too. In no time, Sirius Black was freed, and Dumbledore was taken away not only from Hogwarts, but from all his positions in the ministry too. It would only be a short while before Dumbledore would be completely gone and to be in prison. Harry looked towards Hogwarts from his view in the tower. It was truly a splendid building, and it was time that the interior would reflect that too.

Grabbing a cloak quickly, Harry stepped out of the tower and started walking towards the Great Hall. He had discussed beforehand with Percy what the smartest thing to do would have been, first taking control of the headmaster’s office and perhaps finding more incriminating evidence of Dumbledore, Weasley, and Granger, or making his announcement first. They had settled on the announcement first to be certain to be in control of the news and the reactions to it.

After he entered the Great Hall, Harry took his place before the Head Table, and he cast a sonorous call to all staff and students to enter the Great Hall. One by one, classes escorted by their professors came into the hall, looking confused when they saw him standing there. He nodded at the members of the staff who joined him on the dais while keeping an eye out for the students whose murmurs were slowly growing. A flicker in the light caught his attention. He smirked; it appeared that Skeeter had decided to come after all.

Harry took a step forward and clapped his hands, immediately silencing the students. He let his gaze go over the crowd one last time before starting.

Dear students. You may wonder why I have called you here, why I am the person who is standing in front of you, but there is a simple explanation for this. This evening, a special edition of the Daily News will be printed with decisions that were made by the Wizengamot in their emergency meeting that was just held. Since their decisions have direct consequences for you as students, I was chosen to relay their decisions to you. Be aware, these decisions were not taken lightly, and they may upset some of you. I ask you to stay silent so we can get through them as quickly as possible.” Harry cast another glance through the hall, and he was happy to see that the students, while not happy, seemed willing to listen. Although it seemed that only the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins seemed to be aware of the gravity of his standing there.

“Sirius Black indeed has his trial today, in which he was declared innocent. However, some severe details came to light from his testimony about what happened. These details were given under Veritaserum; thus, there is no question as to whether they were true or not. In his testimony, Black has shown that it was Albus Dumbledore who orchestrated much of what happened that night.” Murmurs and shouts could be immediately heard from the students, most from the Gryffindors, but the Hufflepuffs seemed to support their words too.

Harry held up his hand to silence the students, and to his surprise, it actually worked. “All details about it will be made available. For now, the most important information is that the Wizengamot has come to the decision to strip Dumbledore of his seats in the Wizengamot, and to remove him from his post as Headmaster of Hogwarts, a title that, for now, was referred back to me as Hogwarts’s owner. They are now conferring about when his trial will take place.” This time, the noise was even louder, with even staff members talking to each other about what this would mean. Some students became louder and louder, and Harry could even distinguish some accusations being thrown at him, about him being a traitor and how he shouldn’t even be in Hogwarts. Curiously, the accusations came from the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff side of the Hall; the Ravenclaws and Slytherins, too, were murmuring, but more quietly, and their tone sounded more favourable. The staff members, too, were divided; however, they seemed to be mostly concerned with Harry’s age and lack of credentials.

Harry continued to observe the students for a bit longer, or to be more precise, Granger and the Weasley family. Granger, Weasley, and Weaslette were causing an absolute ruckus, screaming, yelling throwing things. It made even some of their own house members look at them weirdly, yet strangely enough, the Weasley twins kept quiet. Something to keep an eye out for, either they were planning something, or perhaps they could be allies. Harry hoped for the second option; the twins had always been nice to him, and it would have been a great way to ruin the Weasley family, or at least divide them.

Deciding that the ruckus had gone on long enough, Harry called for order and silence again, which took a bit this time.

“Since I am now Headmaster of the school, I will be implementing some changes after the Winter break to bring the school closer to international standards. First, I will be bringing back old subjects that were removed in Dumbledore’s tenure as Headmaster, and I will be introducing new subjects, some of which will be mandatory. As for the current curriculum, it will be updated. Some subjects may be removed or revamped depending on various factors. My goal is to have more subjects divided into theoretical and practical classes. During the vacation, everyone will receive an information package which will include all subjects, new and old.

“This also means that new professors will have to be hired, and I may be letting old professors go or changing their position, which once again depends on various factors. The same goes for other staff members. I will be hiring and creating new positions, such as a counsellor for students and a study advisor.” That news brought a new series of unrest, this time among the professors behind him. Harry shot them a quick glance; most of them showed concern, but there was one person with hope in their eyes. Hope? Harry had not expected that, especially not from that person.

“Thirdly, everyone will be resorting after the vacation. As a person grows, their traits change, and your current house may no longer fit you now. Furthermore, enchantments were found on the Sorting Hat that were not placed there originally. We, that’s Lord Jackson and I, fear that someone has been tampering with your placements. That is why another sorting is necessary. This also means that from this moment, no one has a house official anymore.” With a wave of his hand, Harry removed all house crests from the Great Hall to the shock of the students. “You will stay for the moment in your old House dormitories since the Winter break is not too far away anymore.

“This brings me to the point of the House Points and the House Cup. It was a system that promoted good behaviour and a healthy competition between the students; however, it has been transformed into a system that is just used for punishing, and into something that can be used for someone’s own gain. It has become very easy to take advantage of, which means that the system, too, will be revamped. As for now, it means that Prefects and the Head boy and Head girl will no longer be able to remove points without giving an explicit explanation for them. There will be no more house-wide punishments, and you are no longer able to lose more than twenty points in one go, unless it is severe. In which case, the professors will come to me to explain the reason why. A book of records with the loss and gain of House Points will be made. If I find any loss or gain unacceptable, the points will be reversed. I will not personally keep track of these points; Lady Hogwarts will do that for me, and she will point out any discrepancies.

"For my last point of the day, I will be reinstating clubs. It will be mandatory to join at least one. There will be a variety of clubs to join, including study clubs, art clubs, music clubs, and more."

"These are all the points I wanted to inform you about today. Classes are cancelled for today; I want everyone to go back to their common rooms and work on their homework or relax." Harry waved his hand. The doors to the hall opened. "Please take no detours. I will know."

The students were slow to get up, but when they started moving, they were quickly gone too.

“As for you,” Harry turned to the professors and staff members, “I want you to prepare your lesson plans, information about your classes, and anything else that you may want to use to convince me whether it is worth keeping you here. I will be speaking with each of you individually to determine your place in this castle. You are dismissed.”

With that, Harry turned to leave the Great Hall in favour of the kitchens, where he was greeted by an army of House Elves who had immediately stopped working when they saw him.

“I am disappointed,” Harry started, seeing multiple House Elves flinch, “by the state of the castle. There are cobwebs everywhere, and layers of dust can be found on portraits. And then I am not even talking about the state of you. You are the ones who represent the castle, yet you are almost in a sorrier state than the castle itself. From today on, you will be wearing an official uniform, not these rags. I will hire new House Elves to clean the castle; there will be no more cobwebs and layers of dust. The windows should be done too, repairs are needed, painting, everything to return Hogwarts to her former glory.

"The lawn must also be maintained. I want you to look for flowers that can be placed on the lawn. For the Lake, it also should be maintained, but I will give you the decision on how." Hadrian smiled at the House Elves. "Oh, before I forget it. The only one who will be able to fire you will be me. So, you do not have to worry anymore about finding clothes accidentally and being 'freed’. Do you understand?"

All the House Elves nodded quickly.

“Great, then I will be leaving for my new office, make me proud.” Harry left the kitchen to a chorus of ‘yes sirs. He still had a lot to do before the day was over.