5. New Times & New School
Just after the meeting when everyone was milling about, Hermione told Professor McGonagall that she, Harry, and Ron, needed to talk to her about the next school term. The board of Governors for Hogwarts had decided that the school should remain open and that McGonagall would be the new Headmistress. The professor agreed and said she would stay for supper.
Once everyone had finished with his or her pudding, Professor McGonagall looked at Hermione and asked, “So what did you want to speak to me about?”
“Well Professor, I…. We… Well… School…” With all conviction lost, she looked at Harry for help.
With a halfhearted smile, Harry saved her, “What Hermione is trying to say is that Ron, Hermione, and I will not be returning to school.”
In a span of time that Harry was almost sure was too short to be measured, Molly’s face registered more emotion than he had felt in his lifetime. In the end it was rage that set in. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE NOT RETURNING TO SCHOOL?” she screamed. The smile on Harry’s face hit her like a ton of bricks. She sat back down utterly confused.
Harry’s smile was not aimed at Mrs. Weasley, but at the reaction he and Hermione had so accurately predicted. “We are not giving up our studies Mum; we’re just not going back to Hogwarts is all. That is why we wanted to talk to you Professor; we hoped you would get the lesson plans from our teachers. With Professor Lupin’s and your help, we should be able to do just fine on the N.E.W.T.s next year.”
To Harry’s surprise Hermione added, “Ginny could also take her lesson with us.”
Ginny not returning to Hogwarts was not part of the discussion Harry and Hermione covered as they talked about not returning. He was not particularly keen with this idea; it was going to be hard enough being around her for the summer.
“Since the three of you are of age, no one can force you to go back to school, but I must ask you to reconsider,” Professor McGonagall said.
“We have given a lot of thought to this, and we feel that it is best,” said Hermione rather bravely.
“Very well, I shall help you, but Molly and Arthur are the only ones who can make the decision for Ginny,” replied McGonagall, as she looked to Ginny’s parents.
Not until Hermione had done some fast talking and many assurances were given by McGonagall that Ginny would still get a first rate education, did her parents agree to let Ginny stay at home with the rest.
Ginny was unsure that she wanted to stay. The pain of being around the one she loved was more than she thought she could bear. Her hope that Harry would let her back into his life the way she was meant to be was the only reason she agreed to stay. Women are like teabags, she thought, you never know how strong they are until you put them in boiling water.
After Professor McGonagall left, the household retired to a formal sitting room just off the hall where everyone’s rooms were located. Ginny did not stay long, saying that she was tired and wanted to go to bed. Hermione soon followed, giving Ron a hug. As she left Ron looked like he very much wanted to go with her, but Bill would not let him. Bill and Ron had been playing chess, and for the first time in a long time, Ron was not winning. Harry had suspected that Hermione being in the room was not helping. Sure enough after she left Ron pulled out one of his finest wins.
“So, Harry, are we going to check out the pitches tomorrow?” asked Ron looking excited.
“Might not have time,” answered Harry.
“What do you mean might not have time?” he shot back.
“Well I am meeting with the Minister and Rita tomorrow, and we are going shopping for our rooms,” Harry shot back with a look of utter incredulity.
“Oh,” said Ron, looking very disappointed, but perked up at the though of spending a thousand Galleons.
“Harry.” Ron’s face was a jumble of worry and excitement.
“Yes, Ron?” replied Harry, staring at the fire in the hearth absentmindedly.
“Are you really going to make us spend a thousand Galleons on our rooms?” He was now on the edge of this seat.
“Yes, Ron,” said Harry, as he got up and headed off to bed.
At breakfast the next day, owls delivered Hogwarts letters and Ginny’s O.W.L. results. Ron looked at his letter in amazement. “McGonagall is not off to a good start as Headmistress; she sent us letters and we’re not even going back to school.”
“Ron, I think she sent the letters so we know what books we will need to continue our lessons.” Harry noticed that Hermione’s tone was more sympathetic than it had been in the past when Ron tended to be a bit thick. Opening their letters proved her to be correct.
Mrs. Weasley interrupted by asking Ginny how she did with her O.W.L.s. Ginny looked at her letter and a smile spread from ear to ear. “I got eleven: ten E’s and an A in History of Magic.”
“Wow, that’s great, Ginny,” said Hermione, as Molly beamed at her just before she engulfed her daughter in a hug.
During the festivities, Harry slipped out of the room unnoticed, not wanting to see Ginny’s face when their eyes met. Harry could see the pain in her eyes so clearly, and it magnified his pain one-hundred-fold.
Later that morning everyone in the new household could be found in front of the Potters’ private vault, where the family wealth is housed. Harry’s mum and dad had left him a great deal of money, but Harry was not given his full inheritance until he came of age. On the day of his seventeenth birthday, he became one of the richest wizards in the world. He would have given every Knut to have anyone of his lost loved ones back.
The vault was hidden behind a very large tapestry of the Potter family crest. Harry explained that only the head of the Potter house could open the vault. Stepping up the tapestry he said, “I, Harry James Potter, wish to enter my vault.”
At once, the tapestry rolled up to the ceiling, and the wall behind it disappeared, revealing the vault’s contents. Everyone stood in stunned silence, as they looked upon a room that was bigger then Hogwarts’ Great Hall, filled with more wealth than they could have imagined.
Once everyone overcame their shock, they quickly gathered a thousand gold pieces each for their respective rooms. Harry also took a little extra for other expenses. With their moneybags overflowing, they headed out to the grounds so they could Apparate to Diagon Alley.
Upon arriving at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry was met by the Minister of Magic. Harry told his friends that they should go do their shopping and he would be along shortly. Mrs. Weasley protested that Harry should not be left alone, but quickly ended her protest when Harry said that Hagrid would be here any minute and that he would be escorting Harry as he did his shopping.
Harry and the Minister headed to a room secured by the Ministry for their meeting. To the Minister’s surprise, Rita Skeeter joined them.
“What is she doing here?” the Minister demanded of Harry.
“Well, sir, she is here to write an article,” he answered, unable to keep a sarcastic grin off his face.
The Minister did not look happy about this new wrinkle, but he did not protest further. The meeting went quickly; Harry used the Pensive to show the pair his memory of Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets. He told the Minister that he should make an open statement saying that from now one everyone should refer to Lord Voldemort as Tom, and that the Ministry and the Daily Prophet should as often as possible state that Tom is not a pure blood wizard.
As Harry scooped the memory up in a glass vial he said, “I would place this in the atrium of the Ministry so everyone can view it. If you see fit to do the things I have suggested then Ms. Skeeter here can quote me as saying, “In recent days the Ministry and the Minister have made great strides in the fight against Tom Riddle.”
“Ms. Skeeter, would you care to give the Minster and I a moment?” stated Harry.
She began to protest, but Harry cut her off, “You got my letter, right? And I promised that you would have exclusive access to all the information I choose to reveal. That alone should make you the most famous reporter of all time, so I ask again, would you give the Minister a moment?”
She did not look happy, but she left. As soon as the door was closed, Harry looked at the Minister very seriously. “You know that I can end your reign as Minister just by denouncing you, but I don’t want to do that. The Order needs your help to bring down Tom. You, of course, can fight the Order, or you can help the Order put an end to him.”
A few minutes later, Harry stepped out of the room they had been using, and was greeted by Hagrid.
Hagrid was twice as tall as a normal man. “Hey there, Harry, ready to do bit of shopp’en?
About two hours later, the group met up with Harry and Hagrid just as Harry was saying, “You’re making this tough on me, Hagrid, if you keep it until then I will let you keep Witherwings for good.”
The look on Hagrid’s face told Harry he played his cards right, and he quickly agreed.
The group parted ways and as soon as Ron and Hermione got Harry alone, they asked him what he wanted Hagrid to keep for him. He told them that it was none of their business.
Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasley did not look very happy. “Mrs. Weasley… Sorry, Mum, what is wrong?”
It was Ron who answered, “The family vault was filled to the brim with gold and she is upset about it. The goblins told her that a sixth cousin twice removed on her mother’s side left the money to her because he did not think his family deserved the money. Then she goes and tries to refuse the money, but the goblins told her she had no choice in the matter.”
“That is a bit odd. I have seen the goblins take refused money and keep it for themselves,” added Bill.
Harry, who knew the truth about the money, was keen to change the subject. “So how is it going with everyone spending?”
Only Ron and Hermione had little trouble in spending the money. Hermione had spent a small amount on decorations for her room, but the rest she spent on books for her study. Ron, however, went nuts and bought everything he could find that had his favorite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons, and he spent three hundred Galleons on a marble chess board, oak stand, and matching chess men. Ron spent lunch telling anyone who showed the slightest bit of interest about how his new chess board would play against him with varying degrees of difficulty.
Once Harry was satisfied that everyone put an honest effort into spending the money, he allowed them to keep it so they could buy more things later.
Once Harry and Ron put their shopping away, they quickly headed on to the grounds with brooms in hand. “Just be careful when you’re on a broom; the protections on this place won’t allow you to go over three hundred feet,” Harry explained, as they jumped on their brooms. The pair spent over two hours on the grounds. Ron was most impressed with the Quidditch pitch, but Harry was most impressed with the pitch over the pond. As players fly over the pond, spouts of water shot up randomly. The pair was quite soaked when Mrs. Weasley called them in for dinner.
Over diner Harry noticed that Ginny was not shooting him looks like she was over the past two days. He know that she and Hermione talked, because Hermione told him that she was going to after everyone returned from shopping. Perhaps it was this conversation that brought about the change. He was not sure that this change was good, for at least when she shot him evil looks he knew she still cared.
Mrs. Weasley was not adjusting well to having Dobby and Winky in the house. The two house elves got most of the work done around the manor so Molly had a lot more free time than she was used to. Arthur’s comment that “Mrs. Weasley would never be happy, before she had too much to do, and now she did not have enough to do,” earned him a slap on the back of the head.
Hermione found Harry once again working on a potion. “You know I never thought you liked potions much,” she stated simply.
“I don’t,” he replied with a smile.
With Hermione’s next words his smile vanished, “Ginny told me about why you broke up with her, and about the other night.” After Harry did not say anything she continued, “I think your making a mistake, Harry. I know you want to protect her, but your reasons for doing it are wrong.” Harry glowered at her. Undaunted she kept speaking, “Do you really think that if Vol… I mean, Tom killed Ginny that you would hurt less because you pushed her away? I know I can’t speak for you, but I am sure I would feel even worse knowing that I pushed someone away who had been so close and never told them how I really felt.” That said she turned and left to find Ron.
Harry finished his work on the potion he was making, and all the while Hermione’s words ran through his head. At half past midnight, he finished; all he had to do now was to wait. In six months he would know if he properly completed his potion.
On his way back to his room, he stopped and listened to Ginny’s door, just as he had done each night since they arrived. He did not know that she was on the other side of the door listing for him. When she heard him walk away an hour after he arrived, she whispered, “Goodnight, Harry, I love you.”