Chapter 148

"For example, I know one time when it must've been an elf who told him something when I sat in my bed, late at night, and pretended to talk to my parents. I said how all the crap I had to put up with as everyone called me the 'Heir of Slytherin' was making me seriously consider running away. The next day Dumbledore summoned me to his office and told me how Hogwarts was 'the safest place in all of wizarding Britain' and how 'the children' were just being children and would soon realise how silly they were being. He said he told me that because he could 'see I was feeling very troubled about it and worried I might do something truly foolish'."

"That was the one that confirmed a house elf was watching and listening to me at the time. It then had me later confirm the ghosts and portraits were also watching."

Slumped in her seat a little, Hermione sadly said, "Wow. That's just... that's a little sickening."

She suddenly blanched and looked back at Harry in not a little horror. "That means..."

"That means?" he pressed.

"That means... almost everything we went through, he knew about in advance! He knew about the basilisk well before you went down into the Chamber... hang on, he'd have known it was Ginny! He also had to know it was Sirius coming into the castle in third year!"

"Hermione," he gently said. "You know Albus Dumbledore, as Headmaster, had control of the wards. I'm sure you would have read about that in 'Hogwarts a History'. Think about it, for a moment!"

"Yes, that's what it says," then stared at him in shock again. "He had to have known a dark artefact, the diary, was brought in and, highly likely, by whom on the first day of the school year."

"Correct."

"And he had to have known it was Sirius Black; and that he was on the grounds and when; because of the ghosts, portraits and house elves."

"And the wards," he added. "Plus, he deliberately left a way for Sirius to bypass the dementors and get in."

"Huh?" she asked.

"The tunnel from the Weeping Willow to the Shrieking Shack. Dumbledore built it to give a way for Remus Lupin to be removed from the school to the shack on the nights of the full moon," he explained. "He couldn't have not known Remus's three best friends didn't also know about it - one of them being Sirius Black. However, he made no move to block it when people thought Sirius was heading for Hogwarts. What does that tell you?"

"Oh, Gods!" she moaned. "How have I been so blind? How did I not figure that out, myself?"

"Because you hadn't considered Dumbledore was capable of Machiavellian machinations," he explained. "So, you didn't go looking for such moves or ill-intentioned motivations.

"I knew what sort of man he was from before I even entered Hogwarts. So, I was looking for them. That then made it easy to find them. Dumbledore was so assured about his image as the so-called Leader of the Light he didn't consider the possibility someone would go looking and could find evidence of the truth behind his actions.

"Secondly, that loyalty enhancement potion was probably having a more... deleterious effect on you, at the time.

"And don't go thinking I'm blaming you for not figuring any of this out, either. For all I know... for all we know... you might have figured it out about the tunnel, for instance, and gone to Dumbledore with it. Then he Obliviated the knowledge of it from your mind and added a termporary compulsion redirecting your thoughts elsewhere before you could say anything to me."

Hermione, even more dejected, sighed while looking at the tabletop between them and nodded.

Harry made his way back around the table, sat next to her and kissed her again. Pulling away, he softly said, "Understand, Hermione Granger, I do not consider you culpable in any of this. I know that if you could have told me, you would have told me."

Relaxing a fair bit, she kissed him back and smiled. "Thank you, Harry. But, I can't help feeling I let you down."

"You didn't," he immediately shot back. "I know you didn't."

Again moving back to his own side of the table he was sitting down as Hermione said, "We should write to Headmistress Lady Marchbanks and let her know how Dumbledore used the house elves, the portraits and the ghosts to spy on us. Unless she's countermanded that order, they might still be doing it."

Harry grinned and said, "Well done, Hermione! Now that's what I call thinking logically!"

Happier, Hermione pulled a fresh sheet of parchment across, uncapped her ink pot again and picked up her quill. Harry would not tell her that he'd said that exact same thing just before he started telling her about Dumbledore using them as spies. He wanted her to have the 'victory' of coming up with it, herself.

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―==(oIo)==―

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Later, with Harry working in the kitchen preparing dinner, Hermione sat at the dinette table and took notes as he talked.

Coming at the subject he knew Sirius would be coming to talk to Wendell about after six, he spoke about the concept of the laws that were in place for the Noble Houses. Then gave a few examples.

"Hang on," she said. "If someone publicly insults you, as you're the Head of the House of Potter, that would also be seen as an insult on the House of Potter."

"Correct; because I am the physical embodiment of the House of Potter, irrespective of how many Potters there are alive."

"And, at your level... the level of the House of Potter, I mean... such an insult can lead to you challenging someone all the way up to a duel to the death and no one can do anything about it?"

"Other than try to talk me out of it? Correct."

"But, what about Malfoy?" she asked.

"Malfoy thought himself the Heir Primary - Heir Presumptive - of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. And further thought that, with Sirius currently being hunted down by the dementors, he thought it was only a matter of time before he became outright Heir Apparent. That put him on par with me.

"However, what slipped his little mind after the First Task was that, during the First Task, I proved my claim as Lord Potter, not Heir Apparent Potter.

"Now that Sirius has been cleared and has basically stripped the little ferret from the line of succession of the House of Black, if we return to Hogwarts you will notice an immediate and significant change in the little... tosser's attitude towards me. He's gone from what he thought as him being the Heir Presumptive of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, to only the Heir Apparent of the Magical House of Malfoy. That's a huge drop in stature."

He gave a snort and added, "Actually, now that me being a Lord of a Noble and Most Ancient House has had a chance to 'sink-in' into their daft little moronic minds, you'll notice a significant change to how all the students treat me - except, maybe, Neville."

"Why Nev... oh," she said. "Because he's the Heir Apparent for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom, which means he's really only one 'rank' below you."

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