Chapter 27: 27. Preparing for the last task (II)
"Thank Merlin you're not in Slytherin, but why did you ask for any other house?" Neville asks, looking at me very curiously.
"Draco Malfoy." I answer, and I see that my answer only increased their doubt. "I had two encounters with Malfoy before the sorting, the first time, in the clothes shop, where he was extremely rude and aggressive to Hagrid.
Then, at the entrance to the castle, where he tried to present himself in a noble light, but his arrogance dismantled his little sandcastle. I wanted to stay away from this guy, and when the hat said that I would be great in Slytherin, I thought of him.
I started desperately begging the hat to put me in any other house at Hogwarts. That's when Gryffindor came out of the hat's mouth and here we are." I finish.
"I need to send Malfoy a box of chocolates, thanking him for this." Susan says, making the group laugh.
"Okay, guys. Let's focus. We have time, and even though I believe my idea is good, a lot can still go wrong." I resume the subject, and the group returns to their previous seriousness.
"Susan, can you tell your aunt to show up with some Aurors for the last task? I know Fudge will be here, so she can use the excuse that it's for his protection, and at the same time, that she wanted to take a look at you." I ask the girl.
"Of course Harry, if I ask her, she would do it, but know that she will get here, and every chance she gets, she will try to interrogate you for information. My aunt is a very... intense woman when she does her job." says the girl, and her body shivers.
"If Fleur can get her father to bring some French friends and reporters, the presence of the Aurors would be more than necessary, to protect our foreign visitors." I say, and look at Fleur.
"Arry, in addition to the largest French wizarding newspaper, do you need the presence of the minister?" the blonde girl asks me with a radiant smile.
"Do you know the French Minister?" I ask incredulously.
"Of course, Arry, he's my uncle." she replies shrugging with a smile on her face.
"Excellent." I smile my own. "Fleur, I would fall in love with you, if I didn't love my girl too much, and was afraid she would kill me out of jealousy." I joke, making the blonde laugh.
"Ginny, can I count on your help?" I ask the smaller red-haired girl.
"Always Harry." the girl answers a little tensely.
"I want to talk to your brothers, the twins will be a very important addition to our plan. I need your help to get them in line." I give the girl a calm smile.
"This is going to be fun, Harry." she declares, and I saw a certain sparkle in her eyes. I could only start praying for the twins' souls in advance.
"Neville, would you invite your grandmother to the last task?" I look at the previously nervous and shy Neville. The changes in him are noticeable, and although it is still a little, his posture is now much better.
"Gran will enjoy the ride," he says firmly.
"Cedric, if it is just my paranoia, you or Fleur are destined to be the champions of the tournament, but if not, I want you, at the slightest sign of danger, to return to the beginning of the maze and take down our 'professor' Alastor Moody.
I say the same to you, Fleur. Although this is a war that is focused on Magical Britain, if this madman is successful, your country can and will be the madman's next target. Being prepared is better than being caught off guard," I say to the two, who nod their heads affirmatively.
"Harry, I think that after we prepare everything, we should intensify our training. I don't want to see either of us caught out by inexperience during a possible fight," says Neville, taking a step forward.
"Good idea, Neville. The Room of Requirement has the ability to create very resistant magical mannequins. We can try to use them to increase our combat training. But I'll warn you here and now, this war, if it actually comes, will be intense.
I don't want to see any of you wasting time, staying on the defensive, and just trying to stupefy our enemies. They will come to kill, and the least I expect from you is that you at least tear off a few arms and legs.
Killing is far from what we believe in, but if it's to protect any of you, I won't hesitate, and I expect you to do the same. I need each of you alive, for a long time, so that one day, my children will have godparents to be proud of." I say, looking very seriously at the group.
"Wait," says Susan, with a rather cheeky expression. "Does this mean you and Hermione are getting married? When?" By the end of the question, Hermione was blushing so much that if the Hogwarts cloak had been all red, it could have blended into the cloth.
"In the future, after we finish Hogwarts, and if Hermione still wants me, I would be more than happy to marry her." I answer with a shrug.
The last thing I saw was a big wad of messy hair, while my body was squeezed in a bear hug, and my lips were assaulted by my girl.
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GRINGOTTS
"Since you never claimed your inheritance rights, and the time in Askaban prevents you from continuing the Black lineage, it was only thanks to your will before your arrest that Harry James Potter can and is the legitimate heir to the Black house." Eyred finishes explaining to Sirius next to me.
"So how can I still access the family vault?" Sirius asks confused.
"Well, Mr. Black, being Harry Potter's godfather, since he is still a minor, that makes you his legal magical guardian, even though your Ministry believes otherwise. Although Albus Dumbledore has assumed this position, he more than anyone knows that it is only in human eyes.
Magic does not accept things the way you wizards believe it to be. It has its own rules, and will not accept demands that break them. Just for that reason." Eyred says again.
"How do I claim my rights, both from House Potter and House Black?" I look at Eyred with great anxiety.
"Just raise your wand, the words will come through magic. No one can tell you how to claim a right other than magic itself." the goblin explains once more.
Standing up, I raise my wand. But before I can begin, Sirius stops me.
"Harry, being a minor, even if you claim your rights, it won't give you any substantial power, so just wait a little longer, everything will be fine." he says, trying to calm me down.
HAHAHAHAHA
"Sirius, you'd be surprised at what my enemies did, to have my rights well before their time." I say to the man, who looked lost and confused, while Eyred had that sinister smile on his face.
"I, Harry James Potter, last son of the Potter house, claim my right as heir and head of the house, as well as, dictated by magic through my godfather, I claim my right to the Black house, assuming both, taking seriously, my rights and duties to these houses. So be it."