198"Harry! Please my boy I…"
"Don't! Don't speak to me, don't come up with whatever pathetic excuse that you are about to spew at me, just don't!" Harry shouted as he hurried down the hallway to get away from the Headmaster, the Order members and teachers that were still in the school after what was already being called The Final Battle by the papers stopping and staring at them open-mouthed.
"Harry, please I…"
"I said I don't want to hear it!" Harry bellowed turning around, his magic visibly crackling around him with his anger. "You're just the gift that keeps on giving! Just when I think that we have reached every level of you trying to control my life, just when I think that there isn't anything else you could possibly have done that makes my life more difficult, just when I think that there can't possibly be anything else, you manage to prove me wrong!"
"Harry," Ron stepped up to his side, wrapping his arm around Harry's shoulder.
"I have had enough of this, just...stay away from me! Stay away from my life!" Harry threw his arms up.
"Harry please I…"
"I think Harry has made himself quite clear Headmaster, I suggest you respect his wishes," Hermione said sharply, stepping in the way as Ron led harry away quickly.
"Miss Granger, I appreciated your loyalty to Harry but this is nothing to do with you," Dumbledore said sharply, and there were murmurings of agreement from around them.
Hermione narrowed her eyes on the old man, her nostrils flaring, magic almost crackling through her as her anger became visible. "Ron and I are Harry's friends and family, if anyone gets to speak up for him and interfere for him, it is us, especially when it is clearly what he wishes. Aside from anything I do not believe that you get to speak for Harry when you raised him to be a pig for slaughter, knowing that he would have to sacrifice his life for Voldemort to die, and manipulated him to that moment, never telling him the truth until the last moment to manipulate him into doing what you wanted him to, and not knowing whether he would survive or not!" Hermione shouted over Dumbledore's attempts to stop her.
The silence around them was telling, and as though the air had been sucked from to area when everyone turned their eyes from Hermione and her fury, to Dumbledore.
"Albus, you...is this true?" Molly stammered.
"I didn't...it is more complicated than this and…"
"It is a simple yes or no answer Albus, did you know that Harry had to die to defeat Voldemort, and did you keep it from him until the last moment?" McGonagall said with false calm.
"I didn't really know, it was a suspicion and I wanted to protect him and…"
Hermione turned and followed her friends catching up with them as they passed out of the wards of Hogwarts. She apparated nearly at the same time as they did, and they appeared in Grimmauld Place where Harry was doing up the house to make it his home or had started anyway over the last few weeks.
Ron and Hermione watched concerned as Harry stormed into the drawing-room and poured himself a glass of firewhiskey, running his hand through his hair once he had drained the glass nearly in one gulp, before pouring himself another glass. There were more apparation pops behind them, and before they turned they were expecting to see Neville, Luna and Ginny, they were not expecting to see Draco, who was looking a little awkward, but determined at the same time.
"I wanted to make sure that you are ok, if that is ok?" Draco managed to sound awkward and determined to match his expression. None of them was really sure how he fit into their group, when they had taken him with them from Malfoy Manor during their escape it had been a spur of the moment thing, and they had been really awkward for a little while, but he was fitting into the group, and they were definitely forging a friendship, especially considering how hard he had fought with the during the Final Battle, saving Luna from Greyback.
"I just…" Harry grit his teeth downing the glass of Firewhisky and then slammed the glass down, cursing when it smashed in his hands.
"Harry!" Hermione cried out worried, snatching his hand and starting to spell the glass away to see the damage.
"What the hell did he tell you?" Ginny asked concerned, hurrying over to rub his back.
"I was just informed that I have seats on the Wizengamot," Harry said through teeth grit so hard that it looked as though it hurt.
"Oh…" Neville's eyes widened.
"You're fucking kidding, he can't have kept that from you! That is...you know nothing about it? You haven't trained for it, or learnt anything?" Draco spluttered, looking both furious and horrified for Harry.
"Nope, apparently the Potters and Blacks both had seats on the Wizengamot, and I am the inheritor of both!"
The Wizengamot met to discuss the laws and rules of the Wizarding world, discussing and negotiating over the different requests that were made of them, they were made up from a selection of those from the Old Houses, and from those in the Wizarding World that showed promise.
No one knew who sat on the Wizengamot, and the members only told those that they really trusted to ensure that they were not able to be manipulated or enthralled to push someone else's wishes. There were 59 of the Old Houses still existing and only 17 had seats on the Wizenamot. It was something that they all took seriously, and a vow would be made when joining the Wizengamot not to ever reveal the names of any of the others in the group to ensure that heirs and descendants weren't compromised.
It was a position that required training and understanding of the world and the laws in it, the traditions and something that heirs were trained for years to take over.
"What about being able to put off claiming your seats?" Hermione asked as she finished getting the glass out of his hand and wrapped it in bandages.
"If I chose not to take my seats at 18 then my legal guardian would take over my seats, or carry on using them as he has been," Harry ground out.
"Dumbledore," Ron sighed.
"Yes," Harry glanced at the fire whiskey. He blinked and frowned a little when the bottle was taken from the table, turning to the culprit and blinked when he found Neville looking determined.
"The Longbottoms haven't got a place on the Wizengamot, but I have been trained in Lordship and in the Wizarding world and traditions since I was three years old. We're going to get some takeaway, we're going to drink ourselves silly, and then tomorrow we will start helping you learn about everything that you need to know so that you are ready to take your seats in August!" He said firmly.
"I can help as well for the traditions and laws," Luna smiled.
"The Malfoys are on the Wizengamot," Draco announced, and they turned to blink at him, but he was looking at them with an open expression. "I trust you all to tell you all, and I have been trained since I was a baby to take my father's place on the Wizengamot, and I will be taking it over from next month considering his charges, I can help you understand what will be expected of you, and I can help you when you are there. There is someone else our age as well that will be on the Wizengamot that I trust and that would help you learn, if you felt comfortable telling them," Draco offered.
"Thank you, that would be amazing. I know it might be stupid trying to learn all this in three months, and I know I am not going to be able to learn everything before then. But the idea of him having control over any aspect of my life, even if it is making decisions under my Houses...I just…"
"We understand," Ginny shook her head drawing him over to the sofa.
"Completely," Luna nodded.
"Now, we're going to get ridiculously drunk, have something to eat, and then we will start from tomorrow," Hermione said digging some more bottles out of the cupboards and setting them on the table.
"Thank you all," Harry managed to smile honestly, even if his head was still spinning as he looked around at them as they made themselves comfortable on different chairs, sofas and on the floor.
"What are friends for," Draco said, a little shyly, an honest smile on his face as he looked back at Harry.
"Friends," Harry nodded.
"Hello," Daphne Greengrass bowed her head as she stepped into the kitchen. Looking around more than a little wide-eyed at the destruction before her eyes found Harry.
"Sorry about the mess, I am doing the house up to get rid of the dark, dank and miserable feeling," Harry apologised, magicking his hands clean to shake hers.
"It is ok, Draco has informed me about what has happened, I am more than happy to help you," Daphne smiled a little.
"I really appreciate it, anything I can do to pay you back I…"
"Please there is no need for that. You saved my life and my sister's by getting rid of that madman, my father was willing to sell us off as though this were the Middle ages to vicious Death Eaters, Astoria they were planning on marrying off to someone next year," Daphne's lips pinched together.
"Isn't she only twelve now?!" Harry choked.
"Yes," Daphne nodded. "By defeating him, and so ensuring our father is in prison, you have helped us both more than you know. I am more than happy to help in this to pay you back for that,"
"But...I was just doing what…"
"Hold your cards close to your chest Harry, if someone is offering you something, especially in this context, then take it and accept it," Draco said softly.
"Draco is right, you can be caring and kind, that is who you are, but you need to learn to understand the hand you hold and to use it to your advantage, otherwise others will take advantage of you. Especially because they will see your age, and your not growing up in the wizarding world as a weakness," Daphne nodded.
"I feel as though this is hopeless already," Harry sighed.
"Don't worry, we will have you whipped into shape before you know it," Hermione smirked, walking in with a mountain of books behind her.
"Yay!" Harry blinked.