In This World And The Next (Completed)

Chapter 8

Lucius Malfoy was mulling over the parchment he'd received from his son, once more thanking Merlin he didn't go angrily barging into that school to challenge Potter's rant against him. The boy was rampaging through the magical world like a horde of giants, flattening all who stood against him. Lucius was only a few school board votes short of being able to turf Dumbledore out of Hogwarts, these latest revelations alone wouldn't quite push his swaying supporters off the fence but it set the old fool up nicely for the biggest fall from grace ever seen.

He may have to allow Severus to take the fall as well though, in the grand scheme of things, this would be acceptable losses. The potion master's main duties were to spy on the old fool; if Dumbledore no longer resided in the castle then Severus would be free to use his talents exclusively for brewing more financially lucrative, totally illegal potions.

Lucius could construct a lab in the manor and use his contacts to procure the more exotic ingredients, while taking a percentage at every turn. Dumbledore would be gone, Severus would be looked after and the Malfoys would make even more gold, that was how a Slytherin operated.

-oOoOo-

Dan answered the door to find an imposing woman standing there with an entourage, "Mr Granger I presume? I'm Amelia Bones and these ladies and gentlemen are members of the Magical Law Enforcement Department. Could we please speak with Sirius Black?"

He couldn't think what else to do so led them into the kitchen where Emma was preparing breakfast.

Sirius shot to his feet at the first sight of their unexpected guests, "Amelia, is there trouble with Harry and Hermione?"

Amelia smiled, "Take it easy Sirius, as far as I know everything is fine with them. I received a rather strange note from your godson, requesting my immediate presence at Hogwarts in my official capacity. It also suggested that I turn up 'mob handed' and asked if I could bring you along as well. I was hoping you might be able to throw some light on the matter but I can see you're as much in the dark as we are. Would you like to finish your breakfast or head straight there?"

Sirius was already moving, "I'll get my cloak."

Emma was still worried though, "How can we find out if they're ok? I really didn't want them to go back to that place."

Dan had his arm comfortingly around his wife's shoulder, "Don't worry love, you know they'll look after each other. If they were in any trouble, Hedwig would have been waking us up this morning, not Amelia here."

Since she had the opportunity Amelia asked a question that was puzzling her, "Mrs Granger, you seem to be taking the children being married in your stride, I am guardian to my niece who's the same age and I don't know how I would react in similar circumstances."

Amelia Bones had built a career on being able to read people so could say with a degree of certainty that the smile which illuminated the woman's face was as genuine as any she'd ever seen. "Ah but that's purely down to the young man who capture my daughter's heart years ago, they've been best friends for a long time and anyone could see they were perfect for each other. Hermione had numerous educational choices available to her as she registers near the very top of the intelligence scale, when given the opportunity to study magic with Harry her mind was instantly made up. As a mother, Harry is everything I could want for my daughter, I wish they were a bit older but you can't have it all."

Dan agreed with his wife, "The day Harry confessed how his relatives treated him; we jumped in the car and went straight over there. The kids maybe adults in your world but they are still considered minors in ours, our lawyers are currently perusing having us declared as his legal guardians. No matter what, he will never set foot in that house again."