A New Ally

The next morning, Harry woke up, feeling a weight on his body. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see Daphne sleeping next to him, with an arm and leg wrapped around him, her head on his chest. He paused and wondered why he wasn't freaking out by the close contact, but on a subconscious level, Harry knew that he had become quite comfortable with Daphne. He didn't mind this at all. He looked at her sleeping face and couldn't help but smile. She looked so peaceful and angelic and he didn't have the heart to wake her. He slowly stroked her dark blonde hair as he watched her sleep.

Five minutes later, Daphne stirred, feeling quite good and rejuvenated. She cuddled closer for warmth as she enjoyed Harry's fingers stroking her hair. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. Oh, Merlin, she was supposed to get up before Harry regained consciousness! She didn't know if he would be comfortable with this. She didn't want to leave him alone last night so she had simply climbed into bed with him. Daphne hesitantly looked up into the smiling face of her fiancé.

"Good morning," whispered Harry as he stroked her face with his fingers. "Comfortable?"

"Ahem – I was, you know –"

"I don't know about you, but I'm very comfortable."

"Are you really?" smiled Daphne.

"Oh, yes," Harry murmured as he nuzzled his face against hers. "I wouldn't mind being here all day. Do you have any idea how much I missed you?"

"You missed me?" she teased good-naturedly. "What are you saying, Potter? Do you actually feel something? I thought you were made of ice."

"Only for you, Greengrass," Harry chuckled, hugging her tightly. He couldn't help but want to keep her close. Her sweet scent was intoxicating. Daphne soon interrupted the silence.

"Why did you go down to the Chamber, Harry? You could have gotten someone to help you and –"

But she was cut off as Harry pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly. Their lips brushed each other for several seconds.

"I couldn't stand the fact that you were attacked," said Harry honestly. "I wanted revenge. I wasn't thinking straight, I admit. But it all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"Doesn't discount the fact that you nearly died, you idiot," Daphne hissed angrily. "You should have –"

But she was interrupted when Harry kissed her again. "I'll keep doing that until you stop being mad at me."

"I should be mad at you more often," said Daphne, flushing as she buried her face in his chest.

"I'm planning on showing the memory of what happened there in the Great Hall, in front of everyone," said Harry quietly. "I doubt the staff will stop me, but if we encounter resistance, can you help me?"

"Of course," she smiled at him. "What are best friends for?"

"I think you are turning into something more than just a friend, Daph."

"Why, Potter, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" asked Daphne, her lips quirking in a teasing smirk.

Harry smirked. "Doesn't being betrothed make us skip that part?"

"Who cares? So, again – are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"Daphne, will you marry me?" asked Harry cheekily.

"You've already asked me that and I said yes by wearing this ring," Daphne sighed, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "You're so frustrating!"

"Alright, alright! Daphne Greengrass, would you do me the honour of being my girlfriend? Not that you have much of a choice, but still ..."

"Way to ruin the moment by your sarcastic comments. Hmm, let me think ..."

"Think? But what do you need to think about? I'm better than anyone in the world!"

"And why is that? I need an explanation before I consider you worthy, Potter!"

"Well, I'm smart ... I'm a duelling champion ... the scion of the Potter family ... the Boy-Who-Lived ... an international celebrity ..."

"Oh, quite full of yourself, aren't you, Potter? I wonder where all this is coming from. This is quite unlike you!"

"Well, you know what they say ..."

"No, what do they say?" asked Daphne curiously.

"How should I know? I thought you might know something to finish that sentence!"

Daphne groaned, shaking her head. Soon, laughs and squeals could be heard as a ticking war began, leaving them laughing and breathing hard.

"You're the best, Daphne," whispered Harry as he closed his eyes, breathing deeply. "I'm glad that you came into my life."

"Same here," Daphne murmured as sleep claimed her too.

HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP

That night at dinner, Harry and Daphne walked into the Great Hall, hand in hand. The entire Hall was silent as the two of them sat along with their friends at the end of the Slytherin table.

"There have been wild theories going around the school," said Tracy. "No one knows what to believe and the teachers are quite tight-lipped about the whole affair."

"Yeah, I thought they would say something, but I guess they don't want to own up to their mistakes," said Theo Nott as he helped himself to food.

"Maybe you can show them a memory of the event, Harry," said Daphne casually. "That way you can stop the speculation. I'm sure the Headmaster wouldn't mind?"

Since the Hall was silent, several people heard what Daphne said and whispers began going around the House tables. Dumbledore's beard twitched and his eyes began twinkling as he realised what the two had planned. Yes, this would work perfectly.

"I don't know ... nearly the entire school, not to mention the country branded me a Dark Lord in the making ... I'm actually thinking of not coming back next year."

Blaise Zabini had to hold back a laugh as he caught Harry's eye. He was playing them all!

"What?" said Blaise, acting as though he was shocked. "Y-You can't, Harry! Don't you think it's a bit excessive?"

"Maybe," Harry shrugged as people listened to him intently. "But I've tolerated enough hippogriff shit from the people here, Blaise. What makes you think they'll believe me now even if I show them the memory? They'll probably think I'm lying and I don't want to be branded a liar as well as a Dark Lord."

"Oh, come off it," said Theo, shaking his head. "Memory tampering to such an extent is not possible even for a very skilled Occlumens and for your age, it's impossible to do so. There are always traces, from what I've been told. But it's your decision."

"Ahem, Potter?" said a hesitant voice.

"Yes, Pucey?"

Adrian Pucey cleared his throat. "I may not have personally been the cause of your misery, but I do wish to formally apologise on behalf of all the Slytherins. Shunning you as we did, even if our House was divided was not something which should have been done. You're a Parselmouth and that ability should have been revered by us, not the other way around. So, I was hoping – you know –"

"What he is trying to say is that we were hoping we could see the memory," said Draco Malfoy's drawling voice.

"Do you all want to?" asked Harry, acting surprised. When he got several nods from the Slytherins, he called for a house-elf which brought him his Pensieve.

"Headmaster do I have your permission in showing everyone what happened down in the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Of course, Mr Potter," answered Dumbledore, smiling at the young boy. He really couldn't fault Harry for trying to get his credibility back because it was something he would have done himself. He still remembered his Hogwarts days when people used to point and whisper at him when his father had been thrown in Azkaban, so if Harry was innocent, he wouldn't stop him from letting others know. He had to hand it to Harry; it was executed rather well. Albus had seen the memory in his Pensieve ... finally, Voldemort's true heritage would be released to the press. The last time he had tried that ... he didn't even want to go there. Dorcas Meadows' death would finally not have been in vain.

The Pensieve glowed, with three-dimensional images forming above it. The memory began.

Everyone watched in silence as Harry talked to Myrtle and then opened the Chamber entrance with the use of Parseltongue. They saw him walk through the dark tunnel and enter the Chamber proper. People gasped when they finally saw what the legendary chamber looked like. It certainly had been preserved over the last thousand years. They saw Harry talking to Tom Riddle and many screamed when Harry said 'Voldemort.'

Harry mentally smirked when he saw Dumbledore's eyes narrow in suspicion.

Memory tampering was indeed quite difficult, even for a very advanced Occlumens, but selective memory recall was not. Harry could not even begin to attempt memory tampering, but he could recall part of the memory and not the rest while he extracted it, thus not giving Dumbledore the information he didn't want him to see – yet. People like Dumbledore and Voldemort who were natural at Legilimency had a much easier time with memory tampering, but Harry's natural talent at Occlumency prevented it. Either way, Harry was quite happy with his work. The memory he had given the headmaster did not contain most of the conversation he had with Riddle or him claiming the Gryffindor title.

They all watched as Harry and Riddle spoke about Ginny opening the Chamber against her will; about how Daphne had figured out how the basilisk moved and Riddle trying to kill her but Daphne's prudence saved her life ... they watched Riddle say how similar he and Harry were ... there were many stunned faces when Riddle revealed himself as a half-blood and that Voldemort was only a made up name. It certainly debauched people's claims of him being a pureblood when they saw the anagram. To think that the Dark Lord, the person who spouted pureblood propaganda and even killed for it – was the son of a Muggle!

Dumbledore grimaced when Harry's childhood was brought up. Beside him, he could hear Minerva gasp and glare at him. She hadn't known about the abuse and she certainly had warned him against them but he hadn't listened. He mentally frowned when he listened to the next part of Harry's conversation with Riddle.

Many were stunned when Harry revealed a theory about how he survived. Lily Potter having dabbled in the Dark Arts to save her son's life was a monumental revelation and people didn't know what to think about that. Snape looked smug but Dumbledore was frowning heavily. He had thought that Harry had survived because of the power of love, but obviously, that was not true. He would need to get that journal and Lily's notes about the ritual. He wanted to know more about it.

The duel between Harry and Riddle was awe-inspiring for many. Professor McGonagall was overjoyed at Harry's Transfiguration skills and Snape had to grudgingly admit that Harry's knowledge of the spells which were most definitely considered dark by many was good. Flitwick was bouncing in his seat at the outstanding charmwork and everyone cheered when the daggers impacted Riddle, only to gape in shock when nothing happened to him. The fight with the basilisk was terrifying to watch and when Harry stabbed the snake, people screamed in fright. Madam Pomfrey had buried her face in her hands as Harry was slowly poisoned by the deadliest venom on the planet. The entire school exploded in cheers once Harry had destroyed the diary.

Harry had to try very hard to conceal his smirk when everyone realised that the sword belonged to Godric Gryffindor. While it was true that the Potters had not actively suppressed the knowledge that they were descendants of Godric, they didn't advertise it either. It was known only in influential circles in the nobility while the common folk were blissfully unaware of it. So it was quite a shock when they all heard the Sorting Hat tell them that Godric Gryffindor's only daughter had married a Potter.

The ring appearing on his finger had Dumbledore closing his eyes in frustration. Why did things have to get more difficult? Even the information about the Dursleys was manageable, but not this! The fact that Harry was the future Lord Gryffindor would get the liberal faction of the Wizengamot flocking to him! How was Dumbledore supposed to be their leader if they looked up to someone else? He would have to do damage control. Sirius Black already had a grip on the traditionalist faction, Cyrus Greengrass was the leader of the centrists and if Harry had this level of influence over the liberals ... he would have to think things through because this could have political repercussions.

When Dumbledore was thinking and the rest of the teachers were celebrating, Severus Snape was mentally scowling. Things had been so good over the past year. He had thought that James Potter's brat was the one attacking the Muggle-borns. He had dreamt happily about the day the boy would finally be taken to Azkaban and he could gloat to Sirius Black. But now, the boy had to go and do this!

"Potter, I think it is time you give the artefact back to the school," said Snape silkily, his voice echoing throughout the Great Hall.

Dumbledore snapped out of his trance. He looked at Snape with his eyebrows raised. Surely Severus was not that desperate to get his revenge on the boy? He should know better! As Headmaster, he knew of the laws surrounding the founding families and he was positive that there was no way that sword was leaving the hands of the Potter family. He should know – James Potter had demanded an Unbreakable Vow just to borrow the Peverell Invisibility Cloak!

"What artefact?" asked Harry, looking at Snape with a straight face. "The Sorting Hat has been returned to the Headmaster."

Dumbledore's beard twitched in amusement, but before he could intervene, Snape said in a dangerous voice, "Five points from Ravenclaw, Potter, for your cheek! I'm talking about the sword! Gryffindor's sword! It belongs to Hogwarts, so return it!"

"And who in Merlin's name told you that Gryffindor's sword belongs to Hogwarts?"

"It says so in Hogwarts, A History," answered Hermione Granger imperiously. "It's the legendary artefact of Godric Gryffindor and since he is one of the founders of Hogwarts, it belongs to the school."

Harry's face remained impassive as he spoke, "Hogwarts, A History is the most biased book I have ever read in my life. I'm pretty sure it was written by a Gryffindor who looked down upon the other three Houses. As for the founders' artefacts, let's ask Smith, shall we? Hey, Smith, what are the laws governing the founding families and Hogwarts?"

Zacharias Smith's eye twitched in annoyance at the Hufflepuff table. He really did not like Potter and he did not appreciate the boy bringing unwanted attention to him in the middle of the Great Hall, but he would be damned if Snape were to start spouting nonsense about seizing founders' artefacts. His family would never agree to that and he knew that Potter wouldn't either.

"The founding families are different and separate entities from Hogwarts," said Smith imperiously. "The descendants of the founders cannot own the castle and similarly, any money and artefacts of the founding families have nothing to do with Hogwarts. This is a school, not a museum."

"And would you be willing to return any artefacts that you have that belong to Helga Hufflepuff?" asked Harry casually.

Smith scowled. "No. Didn't you hear what I just said, Potter? These laws are something that should have been taught to you considering our unique position. You should know them."

"Oh, I certainly know them, but I was asking you to explain it to Professor Snape and Miss Granger here. Long story short – the sword is Potter family property and no one can take it away from us. If you have any doubts about the veracity of that claim, Professor Snape, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore or Lord Smith would be more than happy to explain it to you. I would explain it to you as well, but you never believe anything I say, so it is counterproductive."

Snape's lip curled but he didn't say anything. He thought for sure that he would be able to embarrass Potter by doing this publicly, but it didn't turn out that way. Well, the brat wasn't going anywhere. He would get an opportunity in the future to take that boy down a peg or two. He was a Slytherin; he was nothing if not patient.

HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP

Unfortunately, Dumbledore was not the only one who was panicking about Harry's new title; word had quickly gotten to the heads of several families of nobility, not to mention the Ministry of Magic as well and someone in the Ministry, who went by the title of Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, had decided to do something about it even before the Chief Warlock attempted to do anything.

Rita Skeeter quickly re-read the letter in her hand. It said quite clearly that Harry Potter was lying about what had happened to bolster his own fame after the disastrous article which revealed him to be a Parselmouth. The anonymous person had promised to give her five hundred Galleons if she could make a bad article appear in the Daily Prophet about Potter's involvement in the Chamber of Secrets and his refusal in giving back a priceless artefact such as Gryffindor's sword back to the Ministry where it belonged, not to mention line-theft in saying that he was the future Lord Gryffindor.

Humph; as if a twelve-year-old boy could defeat a basilisk! Now, what would be the most catching headline? She chuckled.

"Boy-Who-Lived turns Boy-Who-Lied," Rita murmured to herself happily as she looked through the information she had. "Harry Potter – The next Dark Lord? Yes, that's a good secondary headline, or should it be first? Hmm ..."

Just as Rita touched the quill, it glowed blue and started spinning. She shrieked; how was there a Portkey in her office? She went to great lengths to ensure that she was not tracked or kidnapped. Merlin knows she had a lot of enemies, especially powerful people so it was essential. When Rita landed, she saw that she was sitting in a very regal looking study. Rich wooden slabs adorning the walls with gold-framed paintings, floor to ceiling windows, and a thick carpet on the marble flooring with a large, richly decorated mahogany desk in front of her – all this made her realise that whoever kidnapped her was very, very wealthy. She was also magically bound and gagged. What was going on here?

"Hello, Rita," said a voice. The dim lighting charms became brighter and she felt her chair turn in the opposite direction. There were two armchairs in front of the large fireplace where she saw, much to her shock, Lord Sirius Black and Harry Potter.

"Nice headline you were going for," said Harry wryly looking at the sheet of parchment. "The Boy-Who-Lies? Catchy."

"Tsk, tsk, you really do play with the big fish, don't you, Rita?" Sirius smirked. "You have written a few articles that I really didn't like. Questioning my sanity, Harry's Parselmouth status, the article about the Potter-Greengrass betrothal ..."

"Looks like she is angry, godfather … shall we make her talk?"

Sirius flicked his wand at her and the gag disappeared. "Let go of me!" Rita cried hysterically.

"Hello Rita, welcome to my family's ancestral castle," Harry greeted her with a small smile, though his eyes were an angry shade of blackish-green.

"What do you want? Why did you kidnap me?" snarled Rita. She tried to shift in her seat but screamed painfully.

"That is a darker version of the anti-Animagus ward created by the Black family," said Sirius, sipping from a glass of firewhisky. "We don't want you turning into a water-beetle to escape, do we?"

Rita's face turned pale. How did they know? She swallowed in fear when she realised who Sirius Black was married to.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not calling my wife here," said Sirius as he smirked darkly at her. "But I will call her if the negotiations fail."

"What negotiations?" the reporter asked shakily.

Harry waved his hand and a sheet of parchment floated in front of her. "My godfather and I are now the owners of the Daily Prophet," he explained. "Tomorrow, the Daily Prophet is going to be dissolved to form the new Magical Daily Press. All the employees of the Daily Prophet are going to be assimilated into the new company. Of course, we were wondering what to do with you. If you are willing to work for us, then you'll get all the perks of the job. If you don't, then we could always hand you over to the D.M.L.E."

"Trust me, you have made a lot of enemies in the Wizengamot," said Sirius dangerously. "You have been actively using your Animagus form to spy on people. Let me tell you now that you would get no less than five years in Azkaban for the number of laws that you've broken. Take it from a person who spent ten years in a high-security cell, it's not paradise. I will never recover from my ordeal. It has scarred me forever, changing me as I had to spend ten years reliving my worst memories day after day. You'll probably go insane within a few months of being there. We are giving you a better alternative."

"Which is what?" asked Rita nervously.

"Glad you asked," said Sirius, smiling widely. "This is the contract we want you to sign."

Rita read through the contact and her eyes bulged out of its sockets. "NO! This contact gives me no escape clause! I'll be a lifetime employee and it gives you too much control over me! I can never write what I want and I cannot divulge your secrets."

"Rita, Rita, Rita," purred Harry, coming closer to her, his green eyes glinting dangerously. "Don't think we are not capable of forcing you to do this. We're being nice, you know. Your salary will increase and you get all the perks of the job. Trust me, one way or another we're getting rid of the threat that is you. Don't be an idiot. You can go back to your life without any problems. If you piss us off today, you'll end up next to a Dementor. You have five minutes to make a decision."

Five minutes later, Rita sighed. She knew it was her fault for playing with the big fish. She had forgotten the first rule of nature – there is always someone more powerful than you.

"Where do I sign?"

HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP

Once Rita was gone, Sirius smirked as he looked at the contract. Duplicating it, he gave one to his godson and kept handed the original copy to his house-elf so that it could be kept safe in his study. They now controlled the biggest and most popular media outlet in Magical Britain.

"How was the meeting with Lucius Malfoy?" asked Harry, raising an eyebrow.

Sirius' face turned an angry red. "That fool didn't even know that there was a basilisk at Hogwarts. Can you believe that? Once he realised that his own son had been in danger because of his actions, he was literally white as a sheet! It wasn't until I threatened him with delicate information did he bow down to my demands and trust me, it was not easy negotiating with him and still keep my temper in check! I felt like killing him then and there!"

"So, what did you get out of him?"

"I snatched his seat on the Board of Governors. Combined with your seat as Lord Gryffindor, I will have two with one of them being permanent, so I can make myself the chairman if I'm interested. The majority of the Board is actually filled with traditionalists now after the last reshuffle, so I have a majority. I also got a few very profitable businesses that I wanted, one of them being a potions ingredients farm in Northern France. Finally, I caused a bit of trouble for him with the French Ministry of Magic by leaking some of his shadier deals, so he's currently bribing his way out of there. Also, Dobby!"

The elf popped in front of them. "Lord Black sir," said the elf, his face lighting up. "What can Dobby do for Lord Black?"

"Nothing for me, Dobby, but my godson was the one who wanted you freed from Lucius Malfoy," said Sirius, pointing at Harry.

"Harry Potter sir wanted to free Dobby?" asked the elf tearfully. "Harry Potter is greater than Dobby knew!"

Harry smiled slightly. "You may not have gone about it the right way, but I can't forget the fact that you risked your life to warn me about your master's plot. So I couldn't, with a good conscience, leave you there. So, Dobby, would you like to be my elf?"

Dobby began crying loudly. "It is Dobby's greatest dream to be Harry Potter's elf! Dobby accepts!"

"Good. Go to Potter Castle; Tippy will give you fresh clothes and tell you what you need to do."

"That is all, Dobby," said Sirius, dismissing the elf. Dobby bowed to them and disappeared with a crack. The two of them were silent for a while until Sirius looked at his godson with narrowed eyes.

"Don't think you're getting off easy, Harry," he said quietly. "You're in big trouble. I never thought you were this reckless and stupid. Going into the Chamber of Secrets alone, without an adult to help you, knowing that there was a basilisk inside was short-sighted and foolish. Would you mind telling me what you were thinking?"

Harry swallowed slightly as he saw the furious expression on his godfather's face. This was a lot more difficult than explaining it to Daphne. "Sirius, I did want to tell someone," he began, "but I guess I got carried away. I was angry and after I read the information Daphne had found out, I decided to see if her theory was right. When the entrance opened, I decided to go for it. What else could I have done?"

"What else could I have done?" repeated Sirius angrily. "I'll tell you what you should have done. You should have contacted me immediately! This was a bloody thousand-year-old basilisk which turned out to be seventy feet long! No snake in history has been this large and deadly. It could have killed you with one stare alone, and you nearly died there! You were bitten by a basilisk, whose venom is considered the deadliest in the world. If Fawkes had not followed you, I don't even want to think of the consequences. This should have been handled by Ministry experts, not a twelve-year-old boy!"

"I'm nearly thirteen," said Harry quietly.

Sirius snorted at the typical teenage response. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I'm very disappointed in you, Harry. I expected better from you. I know that you're an exceptional boy and I'm very proud of the way you defeated the basilisk, but can't you see from my perspective? You nearly died, son, and I can't ignore that!"

The butterflies in his stomach returned when Harry heard Sirius refer to him as his son once again. His voice was caught in his throat as he tried to say something, but he couldn't. He was feeling emotions he couldn't identify and that confused him more than anything.

"Right," Sirius nodded to himself. "Your punishment is to clean the stables and dungeons at Black Castle this summer for two weeks – without magic. I've done the same during my childhood and I know how hard it was and how much I hated it. It will give you time to reflect on your actions."

"Two weeks?" asked Harry incredulously. "Without magic?"

"I can always make it three."

Harry opened his mouth but closed it immediately. No, it was futile to argue with Sirius; he knew that from past experience when he had forced Harry to go to a Mind Healer after the Lockhart incident.

Sirius sighed softly as he extended his arms. "Come here, Harry," he said softly.

Harry hesitated, but he sat down next to his godfather who wrapped his arms around him tightly. Having now being used to it, he stiffened only an instant before melting into the embrace.

"I'm not doing this because I enjoy punishing you, Harry," said Sirius quietly. "You should realise what you did wrong and ensure that you learn from your mistakes. Your parents would not have wanted you so unnecessarily risking your life when your future is looking bright. You want to make James and Lily proud, don't you?"

"Of course!"

"Then don't do something this reckless again. You nearly died, Harry, and I can't believe I came this close to losing you. I hope you won't be doing something like this again, son, because I would be severely disappointed if you do."

"Do you really consider me your son?" asked Harry, looking up at his godfather, his voice very soft. He honestly sounded like a small child.

Harry may be a nearly thirteen-year-old boy who was quite mature for his age, but he was also quite abused during his childhood. Those scars had never quite faded from his mind, even if those on his body had disappeared. He still remembered the time he had pined for his parents or anyone else who would take care of him and be a father figure to him that he could look up to. Even as he grew up, he subconsciously still pined for a parental figure who cared about him. Growing up, he had watched as Dudley was constantly showered with attention from his parents. He had seen Aunt Petunia give Dudley loving hugs while he got nothing but scorn and disdain. He could see the proud look in Uncle Vernon's eyes when he saw Dudley, but nothing but anger and hate when he looked at Harry.

The dreams concocted by the then four-year-old boy had never truly vanished in Harry's heart, who still longed to have parents. From reading their journals, he knew that James and Lily Potter had loved him with every inch of their hearts, but it didn't discount the fact that his godfather, Sirius Black, had done everything possible to provide for him over the past year and a half. He had constantly showered Harry with attention and affection, something which Amelia had done as well, both of them coming to the Shrieking Shack nearly every alternate day to teach Harry more magic and spend time with him. The way Sirius had done his best to protect him from the press and the general public, and the affection shining in those haunted grey eyes still moved Harry deeply.

"Of course I consider you my son," said Sirius patiently. "I know that you are James and Lily's son, and I have my own son who is to be born in a few months, but it doesn't discount the fact that I promised your parents and myself that I would take care of you the moment your father placed you in my arms the day you were born. I swore an oath on my magic to always be there for you, Harry, and I will honour that promise till my death. I know that I'm not James or Lily, but I am always here for you when you need me and if that requires me to be strict with you and hand out punishments, that's what I'm going to do."

Harry swallowed thickly as his eyes grew misty. Sirius hugged the teary boy sitting next to him and rubbed his back soothingly.

Harry hugged Sirius tightly as silent tears rolled down his cheeks, long buried emotions resurfacing as he finally reconciled with his childhood, accepting it for what it was, something he had never been able to do. He felt as though a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he put the issue of the Dursleys behind him. The scars would never disappear, but he now had the strength to wear them without hating that part of himself.

"Thanks, Sirius," said Harry softly, wiping his tears away.

"You're welcome, Harry."

HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP

Even though Dumbledore had cancelled the exams for the rest of the school, the fifth and seventh-year students still had to finish theirs. Harry was busy studying for his incoming O.W.L.s, so he didn't bother with what was going on outside. The news about the Daily Prophet changing ownership and its shift to the Magical Daily created a storm in Magical Britain. Many were wondering what the hell had happened as they all had vested interest in the largest media outlet in the country. Any and all information pertaining to Frank Olive was accessed by several people, but none of them could find him. Dumbledore was sure that the man was an alias, but he didn't know who actually owned the paper.

The reactions to the headline later were also entertaining to watch. The fact that the Boy-Who-Lived had wielded the Sword of Godric Gryffindor in defence of the school to kill a basilisk caused people to flock to him again, but Harry now knew that fame was fickle. The Gryffindor Lordship had also been announced and once the Department of Mysteries verified his claim, Sirius was made the regent and another vote made its way to the Wizengamot. Many were now feeling ashamed that they had doubted Harry after this revelation and he did receive several letters of apology. Not that he cared anyway.

The news about the abuse Harry suffered at the hands of his Muggle relatives brought massive outrage from the wizarding public. They were all under the impression that he had been living in a magical home and raised happily, but this was not what they had expected. Dumbledore tried his best to talk his way out of it, but his popularity was on the decline. He had suffered setbacks one by one in the course of two years and he didn't have time to regain the trust of the people and this was certainly a massive backlash.

Sirius and Harry were happy about that because from what Blaise Zabini told Harry who had heard from his mother, the news about him had travelled internationally as well. Harry had become more famous for his defeat of a basilisk and Dumbledore's job had become more difficult at the I.C.W. due to it. Child abuse was something the magical world didn't tolerate at all. Children were considered as the sacred blessing of Mother Magic herself and for them to be tortured to such an extent was not something they could accept.

But the biggest reaction yet was the revelation about Voldemort's ancestry. The entire country was spluttering in disbelief about the fact that a man who had torn their country into pieces and killed innumerable witches and wizards who were purebloods, half-bloods or Muggle-born was actually the son of a Muggle!

It didn't have the impact Harry, Sirius and Dumbledore were hoping for, though. Even though Voldemort was a half-blood, the supremacists would still flock to him if he returned to power because Voldemort had just that – power. He had the power to achieve their goals, not to mention they were all terrified of the Dark Lord.

The same could be said about the common public. They were not cowards; far from it. But the last war had been brutal. Anyone caught saying something vocal against the Dark Lord had ended up dead or had disappeared. Anyone trying to fight the Death Eaters would come home and find their entire family dead. So many families had become extinct because of him. Wizengamot members were terrified to vote because they knew they were a major target. By 1991, the death toll had risen to more than two thousand witches and wizards and no one was willing to breathe a word for fear that their families and loved ones would end up dead.

That was how Voldemort had nearly conquered Magical Britain – until he was stopped by the young Harry Potter.

Sirius had also demanded that an Order of Merlin, First Class, be given to James and Lily Potter and another one to Harry Potter for his defeat of the basilisk. If Cornelius Fudge can give himself one, if Peter Pettigrew had been awarded one, if Gilderoy Lockhart was given one (both of which had been rescinded, of course), why not give it to people who actually deserve it?

The awards had been handed to Harry within a week.