Chapter 26
The Children Of The Great Alliance
Author's Note: While it is not a Harmony fic, I must say RIP to the FFN version of S'tarkan's "Harry Potter and the Nightmares of Futures Past". It got removed for using copyrighted music lyrics in the story. And there are some conflicting reports about whether it was a false flag or not, meaning it shouldn't have been removed. Scary to see one of the most popular Harry Potter stories on FFN get removed! It used to be one of my favorite stories when I was still a big fan of the canon pairings.
Warning: Vernon Dursley. Not Bashing. Just good ol' canon-ish Vernon Dursley.
(Saturday, December 19th, 1994)
Vernon and Petunia Dursley, of Number Four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were having a perfectly normal start to their Saturday morning, thank you very much. Petunia Dursley was dining on her breakfast, which she had personally cooked, while endlessly talking about the numerous gifts for her son, Dudley which she had already bought from various stores over the past few days. Her husband, Vernon, was reading the newest edition of the Saturday Times while chewing on his food and nodding at various moments to let his wife know he was listening to her. Whether he was or not, was up for debate.
"Vernon, are you listening to me?" Petunia asked.
Vernon cleared his throat and set the newspaper down, then smiled at his wife, who was looking at him, while pointing a fork in his direction.
"Of course I am, my dear," Vernon said.
"I was up in the attic yesterday unpacking the Christmas decorations," Petunia said, "I noticed our Christmas Tree is looking rather thin. It is definitely improper for a festive Christmas. I do believe we need to buy a new one. Should we buy another fake tree, or a real tree this time? I was considering going out to purchase one after we picked up Dudley at the train station."
"Don't you think that should be Dudley's choice?" Vernon asked.
Petunia smiled. "I was just going to offer up such a suggestion."
"It is settled then," Vernon said; then he took another healthy bite of his wife's cooking – so much better than that freak's cooking! "My Pet, we're not going to go back on that pansy diet since Dudley's home for Christmas, are we? Christmas is a time for good food! And good family, of course! Besides, Marge would never approve of such a dietary dinner!"
"I am sure Smelting's will understand it," Petunia said, "if we allow Dudley to indulge himself during Christmas break."
"Of course they will!" Vernon said. "I tell you, Pet! Smelting's was never like this when I was a student there. I was certainly never asked to go on a diet!"
Suddenly, the gonging sound of the doorbell echoed around the house. Vernon, purely on instinct, was about to order the freak to get the door, when the coherent part of his brain reminded him that the boy wasn't there. He brushed the grease, from his half-eaten breakfast, from his impressive moustache with a napkin, and stood up with a grunt. He made his way into the front hallway and walked over to the door, and opened it.
He found a man in a grey buttoned-down business suit and slacks, complete with a briefcase in his right fist, standing there. Vernon forced a smile on his face.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Vernon Dursley?" The man asked, "My name is Samuel Preston. I am a representative of Gringotts Bank in London. I am here to do some business with you and your wife."
"Never heard of a Grimguts Bank," Vernon grunted.
"Gringotts, sir," Mr. Preston corrected him. "I believe your wife may be familiar with my bank. Is she here?"
Vernon frowned and wondered how his wife would know about a bank he had never heard of.
"She is," Vernon replied, "Come in then. Don't need to do such business here at the front door, do we? Wipe you feet on the doormat, or my wife will complain."
"Of course, sir," Mr. Preston said.
The… banker?... wiped his shoes on the doormat, then stepped into the house. Vernon shut the door behind the man, then led him down the hallway and into the kitchen.
"Who was it – oh! Hello!" Petunia said, as she saw the man accompanying her husband; she stood up and smiled politely. "Welcome to our wonderful home, Mr…?"
"Samuel Preston, Mrs. Dursley," Mr. Preston said, "I represent Gringotts Bank."
Vernon did not notice the wide-eyed, horrified expression on Petunia's face until he sat back at the table. She was sitting again, and was staring at the man.
"Pet?" he asked, "What's wrong? What is this Greygoth bank?"
"Gringotts," Petunia corrected him, "It is… their bank, Vernon. My sister told me about it a few times."
Vernon stared confusedly at his wife for a moment, then he realized exactly what she was referring to.
"You mean this the freak's bank?!" Vernon growled, then turned to Mr. Preston, "You get out of my house! We don't need one of you freaky people ruining our perfectly normal Saturday!"
"Vernon!" Petunia cried, "Be polite!"
Vernon grumbled and sighed as he relaxed in his chair.
"My apologies, Mr. Preston," Petunia said, "You must understand we haven't had very good experiences with… your kind."
"I was well-informed of your views on magical society," Mr. Preston said, "May I be seated?"
Vernon's left eye twitched at the word 'magic'. "I'd rather you stand, sir. Who told you about our… views? My… nephew?"
Mr. Preston sighed. "I'm afraid I do not know how my employers received their information about you, Mr. Dursley. However, perhaps I can ease your mind. I am what my kind refer to as a Muggleborn. Your wife's sister was a Muggleborn too. This means my parents are like you – perfectly normal, as you say. They cannot perform magic. In fact, my father and my grandfather are both bankers like myself. My father is a very important manager at a bank in Northampton. I chose to work at Gringotts to follow in my father and grandfather's footsteps."
"So why do you work at… their bank?" Vernon asked, "And not for someone like your father?"
"Because if Gringotts did not have someone like me," Mr. Preston said, "You would be having this meeting with a Goblin, Mr. Dursley. I am employed there because, since I lived for nearly eleven years without knowing about magic, I am perfectly suited to meet with Muggles – usually with parents of Muggleborn or Muggle-raised wizards and witches, like your nephew, for example. Though I have not had the honor meeting your nephew."
"Honor?" Vernon snorted.
Petunia, noting the offended expression on Mr. Preston' face, spoke up before Vernon could continue to insult the man – or her nephew.
"What can we do for you, Mr. Preston?" she asked.
"Your nephew has recently opened the Final Will and Testament of his parents, James and Lily Potter," Mr. Preston said. "As far as I can tell, the Will should have been opened a month after their tragic deaths."
"I assume my sister gave me an inheritance in her Will?" Petunia asked.
"She did not," Mr. Preston said, "In fact, according to their Will, your sister expressly forbid you to raise your nephew."
"Then why was he here?!" Vernon demanded. "Why did that… Dum-Dum fellow toss him off to us with nothing but a letter and a blanket and never so much as a by-your-leave?!"
"I do not know the answer to this, Mr. Dursley," Mr. Preston said, "I do know that what he did was illegal. Albus Dumbledore was apparently the Witness of James and Lily Potter's Will. He knew you were not supposed to raise your nephew. According to what I was told, a lot of lines were crossed illegally when he placed your nephew here. He had numerous guardians in the magical society that should have raised him.
"But Albus Dumbledore sealed your sister's Will, Mrs. Dursley. It wasn't until this past Sunday that it was finally opened by your nephew. Until Sunday, your nephew didn't know much about his inheritance or about the Potter Family. He had no idea his parents even created a Will. It is believed Albus Dumbledore kept him from these things.
"Mrs. Dursley, are you aware who the true owner of this house is?"
"We own it!" Vernon growled, "It is in my wife's name!"
"It is not, Vernon," Petunia said, softly. "Do you not remember? When Lily and her husband – fiancée at the time – met us for a dinner out at a restaurant a month before our wedding? We were living in that flat back then, after I moved out of my parents' house. Do you remember the gift Lily gave us?"
Vernon frowned and racked his brain to think. Then his eyes widened.
"The contract?" he asked.
"I am not sure you read the fine print, Vernon," Petunia said, "I did. My sister or her children could take the house out from us under at any time if they felt it was necessary."
"Is that why you're here?!" Vernon asked, standing up and knocking back his chair, "The freak is kicking us out of our house?!"
"I'm afraid it is a bit more complicated than that, Mr. Dursley," Mr. Preston said, calmly, even though Vernon was raging. "He is giving you an opportunity to move far away from the threat of us… freaks, as you say. He is even willing to give you money for it."
"We have no use for your money!" Vernon growled.
"Your money, Mr. Dursley," Mr. Preston said, "We can convert our money into your kind, you know."
"How much?" Vernon asked.
"200,000," Mr. Preston said, "Converted into any type of currency you may need."
Petunia gasped in shocked surprise. But Vernon was having none of it… yet.
"What's the catch?" Vernon asked, "There's always a catch with these things."
"There is," Mr. Preston said, "You will move far away from Great Britain. You will move to any English-speaking country and find a nice place to settle down. Your nephew has given you the necessities to do so. The biggest catch is you must move out by New Year's Day."
"And if we refuse?" Vernon asked. Truthfully he was just doing it to be difficult; he wasn't going to outright say he was willing to go along with his freak nephew's demands.
"Then I am to report back to my superiors," Mr. Preston said, "And by this time tomorrow morning, this house will literally disappear out from around you, though all of your belongings will still be here. Believe me, Mr. Dursley, my superiors have their ways to make it happen, without any Muggles knowing anything is different."
"The freak won't be here until June!" Vernon said, "Why does he want us out by January first?!"
"Your nephew has recently become Emancipated," Mr. Preston said, "But Albus Dumbledore doesn't support it. If Dumbledore had his way, your nephew would be back here by next June. Your nephew does not want that. Therefore, he requests that you go somewhere far from Great Britain where Albus Dumbledore – who knows very little about the modern Muggle world – could find you and force your nephew to come back here and live with you. He wants you gone now, so he doesn't have to worry about it between now and next summer."
"This is a very good deal, Vernon," Petunia said. "We could find a good place for you to work. We could get Dudley into a good school. We could find a good house. We're getting a lot of money here."
Vernon huffed. He was about to argue and say they could get more money if his nephew was truly desperate. But then he remembered the freak banker's threat about what would happen if he disagreed with the deal.
"Fine," he grunted, "We agree to the deal. I assume there is a Contract of some type."
"There is," Mr. Preston confirmed.
"Then tell us where to sign so we can say good riddance to you and your freaks!" Vernon huffed.
Samuel Preston smiled.
(Saturday, December 19th, 1994 – 8:50 AM)
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were hand-in-hand, leaning against a wall near the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy, who was ignoring the couple as he continued to teach the trolls inside the portrait how to dance. Even though Barnabas was ranting and cursing at the trolls for not doing very well at their task, Harry and Hermione simply ignored him as they waited for the other members of the Children of the Great Alliance.
They didn't have to wait very long for the first arrivals. Luna Lovegood was skipping down the corridor, leading an amused-looking Neville Longbottom and the Patil twins, Padma and Parvati, who were interlocking arms as they walked toward their destination.
"Long time, no see, Hermione," Parvati quipped, as she arrived.
"Is this about Harry and I not sitting at the Gryffindor Table lately?" Hermione asked, "Or me no longer being your dorm-mate? We're in every class together, after all."
Parvati sniffed. "You're denying Lavender and I some juicy gossip about you and Harry – excuse me, Lord Potter, should I say? We had to hear about Ron and Ginny Weasley's expulsion from a friend of the twins! I am sure you were caught up in the middle of the Weasleys getting expelled. Ron was your friend, after all."
"'Was' is the keyword there," Hermione said.
"No doubt," Parvati said, "Especially after all that drama last week! And I thought your past arguments with Weasley were epic! The mouth you had toward his sister!"
Hermione blushed. "I felt rather bad for what I said."
"Why? It was brilliant!" Parvati exclaimed, "See, this is stuff I should have known days ago! Wait… what are you doing here anyway? You're not one of the Children."
"All will be explained, Heiress Patil," Harry said, "Wait… which one of you is the Heiress of your House?"
"Neither of us," Parvati said, "We have a few siblings. Not as many as the Weasleys. But we're far from being next-in-line for Head of House."
"I didn't know that!" Hermione said, "I thought Padma was your only sibling."
"We're the youngest of our siblings," Padma said, "All of our other siblings are in their twenties and early thirties, and married with their own families. Our eldest brother has a son of his own."
"So neither of us will qualify as Heiress," Parvati said, "Lady of our future husbands' Houses, sure! But not Heiress of our own."
Harry nodded, as he tried to follow along with all of this. Thankfully, his focus was elsewhere, as more arrivals were headed their way. Susan Bones and Terry Boot walked hand-in-hand toward them, as did Hannah Abbot and Ernie MacMillan, though they weren't hand-in-hand even if they were apparently going together to the Yule Ball.
Upon arrival, Terry Boot and Ernie MacMillan looked at Hermione oddly, but neither of them said a thing to her. In fact, they were mostly ignoring Harry and Hermione and talking to the others. Harry was quickly reminded he and Hermione were the… newbies here among this group. He suspected even Tracey Davis and Ivan Blishwick were more acquainted with this group. Especially since Ivan and Padma were going to the Ball together. There had to be some history there, aside from the fact they were both Ravenclaws.
Speaking of Tracey Davis and Ivan Blishwick…
Daphne Greengrass approached the group, accompanied by – but not hand-in-hand with – Tracey Davis. Behind them was a young man who must be Ivan Blishwick. He had black hair in a style that sort of resembled Draco Malfoy's usual hair-style, but Heir Blishwick seemed to pull it off much better. The only hint that Ivan Blishwick and Daphne Greengrass were related was the fact that they had the same exact eyes, and eye color.
"Looks like we're all here then," Ernie MacMillan spoke up, then looked around; "As well as a few tagalongs it would appear."
"Everyone who is here has been invited to be here, Heir MacMillan," Harry said, "All will be explained soon."
Ernie shrugged. "So where are we headed then? We're not meeting here in the middle of the seventh floor corridor are we?"
Harry smirked then walked over to the wall across from the portrait. He ignored the snickers from Parvati, Ernie, Terry and Ivan, as he walked back and forth along the wall. These four were the first, and loudest, to gasp in surprise when the large double doors appeared in the wall.
"Welcome, Children of the Great Alliance," Harry said, "To the Room of Requirement!"
He pushed the doors open, and they opened by themselves. Gasps, exclamations of awe, and other murmurs were heard around the group as they stepped into the room.
"The Room of Requirement, also known as the Come and Go Room," Harry said, "Will form into almost any type of room you request of it. Today, as you can see, I have requested a corporate-style meeting room. Please be seated everyone. Who was considered the leader of this little group before I came along?"
"Daphne's the eldest of us," Susan said.
"Daphne, please be seated at this end of the table," Harry said, pointing at the chair on the nearest end of the table. "I'm at the other end. Hermione is to be seated on my right, Neville, I ask that you sit on my left. The rest of you can choose your seating."
Neville looked shocked at this, but he accepted. Tracey Davis sat down on Daphne's right, while Ivan Blishwick sat down on her left. Harry stood at the opposite end of the table, while Hermione sat to his right and Neville on his left. Luna sat next to Neville. Instead of sitting next to Luna, as Harry expected, Padma sat next to Ivan – which told him she might be his girlfriend, and not just his date. Parvati sat next to her. Susan and Terry sat down on one side of the table, and Hannah and Ernie sat across from them.
Harry remained standing. "Dobby!"
Dobby appeared a moment later.
"Pitchers of ice-cold water, glasses and the packs of butterbeer I asked you to purchase from Hogsmeade, please," Harry asked Dobby.
Three pitchers of water appeared at three spots at the table. A glass appeared in front of everyone. Three packs of butterbeer appeared next to the pitchers. Harry motioned to the beverages, and the various students each took their choice – most chose Butterbeer. Harry thanked Dobby, who vanished, then he picked up a bottle of butterbeer, and opened it.
"Good morning," Harry said, as he held his bottle of butterbeer in front of him. "You probably know my name, but let me formally introduce myself. I am Lord Harry James Potter, Lord Potter of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, and Lord Peverell of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell."
Most who did not know this news either dropped their jaws or stared at him in surprise.
"Until last Sunday," Harry continued, "I knew nothing about the Great Alliance. I knew nothing about the Children of the Great Alliance. I expect before last Sunday none of you – nor any of your parents and guardians – knew or remembered that the House of Potter and the House of Peverell were a part of the Great Alliance. This was due to nefarious enchantments in place that, as far as I can tell, made every single witch, wizard and Squib in Great Britain – aside from a select few – forget this particular information.
"Until last Sunday, most of you were simply fellow students of mine. Some of you were closer than others. Aside from Heiress Lovegood and Heir Blishwick, the rest of you were simply my fellow classmates. Most of the time we were simply neutral acquaintances, aside from a few of you. Until last Sunday, when I realized what connections we have when it comes to House Alliances.
"Over the past several days, I've been doing a lot of thinking when it comes to the Great Alliance, and this particular group, also known as the Children of the Great Alliance. I knew I needed to announce myself to all of you.
"So here I am. I, Lord Harry James Potter, from this moment forward, claim my position as the de facto Leader of the Great Alliance and the Children of the Great Alliance! So mote it be!"
"So mote it be," the rest of the students at the table said, whether it be in mutters or more clearly.
Harry took a long swig of his butterbeer, and the rest did the same. Then he sat down.
"Three of you in front of me, are like me," Harry said, looking at Hermione, then down to Tracey and Ivan, "Until today, we weren't officially considered as Children of the Great Alliance. That changes today."
He winked at Hermione. "Sorry, love. Saving the best for last."
Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled and nodded.
"Ivan Blishwick and Tracey Davis," Harry said, looking at the wizard and witch in question, "Lord Castor Greengrass recently informed me that the Houses of Blishwick and Davis were in talks, with my father, to join the Great Alliance before that tragic Halloween in 1981 when my parents were betrayed, murdered, and sacrificed their lives for me. I will reopen these talks with your Lord Fathers in the near future. But, for now, consider yourselves unofficial members of the Children of the Great Alliance."
Daphne Greengrass began a round of applause that was echoed around the table. Harry turned to Hermione.
"My love?" Harry asked Hermione, "Many of our friends here think they know who you are. Why don't you introduce yourself and tell them who you really are."
Hermione smiled then stood up. "Greetings. I am Hermione Jean Granger, Heiress Dagworth-Granger of the Noble House of Dagworth-Granger. I am also Vassal to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter."
Wide eyes, and gasps of shock were the reactions to this news. A once-thought extinct House – one of the more well-known Houses in British wizarding society – was alive and well here in a fifteen year old Muggleborn.
"House Dagworth-Granger is the newest House in the Great Alliance," Harry said, "Heiress Dagworth Granger is the newest member of the Children of the Great Alliance."
Luna was the first to applaud and that set off applause around the rest of the table.
"Monday morning, during the Winter Solstice Session of the Wizengamot Council," Harry said, "Heiress Dagworth-Granger and I will claim our three chairs in the Wizengamot. Lady Minerva McGonagall will be Proxy for House Dagworth-Granger. Lady Regent Amelia Bones will Proxy House Potter –" Susan's eyes widened at this news. Her Aunt had not told her this news. "Lord Castor Greengrass will Proxy House Peverell.
"Afterward, I will personally announce House Dagworth-Granger, House Blishwick and House Davis as the newest members of the Great Alliance.
"My fellow Children, beginning Monday the Great Alliance will once again be the political powerhouse it once was during the time of my father and my grandfather!"
Cheers and applause broke out around the table. Obviously nearly everyone – aside from Hermione, perhaps – knew exactly what this meant for the Great Alliance.
"After this meeting," Harry continued when the cheers and applause settled down, "I want all of you to write to your Lords, parents and guardians and inform them that I have reclaimed leadership of the Great Alliance and that – with their help - the rest of the Wizengamot and the Noble Lords and Ladies will know that we are back!"
There were a few more cheers. Then they stopped when Harry cleared his throat.
"Now we move onto the more difficult part of my plans for this meeting," Harry said.
He noticed grimaces from a few members around the table. Obviously some of them knew what was going on.
"Before I begin," Harry said, "There are a few of you who should know that nothing I am about to speak about should qualify for you. Heir Blishwick, today is the first time I've ever met you, and unless you tell me otherwise, none of what I am about to say should have anything to do with you. Heiress Greengrass and Miss Davis, I've already explained this to you – both of you have always remained neutral toward me. You are not targeted toward what I am going to say."
He turned to Neville, who was seated to his left. "Heir Longbottom. Neville. Had things been different, you and I should have been friends from the moment we met on the Hogwarts Express, instead of Ron and I. Miss Padma Patil and Heiress Luna Lovegood, over the past week or so, you've been very good friends to Hermione and I. I do not hold any grudges against either of you."
He looked at the rest of those seated at the table, who looked uncomfortable.
"As for the rest of you," he continued, "Whether it be during the Chamber of Secrets fiasco, after I was revealed to be a Parselmouth." He knew he wasn't truly a Parselmouth, but that was too difficult to explain right now, "or after my name came out of the Goblet to Fire, your behavior and attitude toward me – and Hermione, sometimes – was far worse than the neutrality Heiress Greengrass and Miss Davis showed me.
"Miss Parvati Patil, we are already clear with each other what happened between us after my name came out of the Goblet of Fire. I've recently discovered you've decided to show signs of remorse. Whether it was because of a choice you made, or something your Lord father or sister told you, it doesn't matter to me. Remorse is good. I can work with that, and we can start anew as Allies."
Parvati, who looked nervous to the point of fear, suddenly looked relieved. "I would like that, my Lord."
Harry nodded, then looked at Terry Boot. "Heir Boot, I believe I saw you wear those 'Potter Stinks' badges now and then."
"Cedric Diggory is my cousin, my Lord," Terry said, "I had to show my support with him. I do regret the insults, but…" He cleared his throat. "My lord, there is something I must tell you."
"Speak Heir Boot," Harry said. "I'm listening."
"Lord Potter," Terry said, "My Lord Father was considering – over the summer – to drop our House out of the Great Alliance and join the Alliance that House Diggory is in. I do not know what his opinion is, now that Houses Potter and Peverell have returned. It was my father's influence that made me support Cedric. Unfortunately I chose to wear the badge to show the support."
"I suppose your House's future in the Great Alliance lays with the decision of your Lord Father then," Harry said. "Until then, I will speak no more of the grudges between you and I."
Terry nodded. "Thank you, my Lord."
Harry nodded once. Then his gaze turned toward the three Hufflepuffs whose gazes were not on him.
"Heir MacMillan, Heiress Bones and Abbot," he said. "I don't think I need to remind you what your treatment toward me was like during the Chamber of Secrets fiasco after my Parselmouth secret was revealed. We all remember, don't we? Malfoy's summoned snake just so happened to go toward Justin Finch-Fletchley. You could not understand me, but I told the snake to leave Justin alone. Soon after, Justin just so happened to become Petrified.
"Now here is what I do not understand about all of that. Did the three of you really not think about what evidence there was that made me the Heir of Slytherin? How about the evidence that proved I was not the Heir of Slytherin. The Heir was targeting Muggleborn! My mother was Muggleborn, my best friend is Muggleborn!
"Oh, yes, let's not forget. The rumors that I truly despised my Muggle relatives. Perhaps that is true. But here's the thing. You've never met them. Hermione's never met them and yet she still hates them. I do not like them because of what they did to me. Because of what I had to suffer for ten years with them. That doesn't make me a Muggle hater. That doesn't make me hate Muggleborn.
"Then there's the more obvious piece of evidence. Why would I Petrify Justin, when all of you thought you saw me try to attack him with a snake? I would have to be a pretty poor villain if it was really me. No… the true villain made me an easier scapegoat because you thought I attacked Justin during the Dueling Club.
"Common sense, people. I practice that all the time. I implore you to do the same if you wish to have a part to play in the future of this Alliance."
Hermione learned toward Harry and whispered something to him. Harry's eyes widened.
"Heir MacMillan, Heiresses Bones and Abbot," Harry said, "Did Ron Weasley ever try to give you any evidence that I was the Heir of Slytherin?"
"He blamed you for what happened to Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey," Ernie MacMillan said. "Honestly, my Lord, I could never see what you saw in that idiot!"
Harry closed his eyes for a moment and cursed Ronald Weasley to hell.
"Forgive me then," Harry said, "I recently learned Ronald and Ginny Weasley were never really my friends. I am sure everything will be more clear after news of their mother's trial comes out tomorrow morning. Let's just say there is a reason I never approached any of you, just as an offer of friendship, or simply to talk. Ron and Ginny Weasley made it their mission to keep me in solitude. Ron Weasley didn't want another person to steal his spot as the best friend of the Boy-Who-Lived, and his sister – she didn't want me to fall in love with another girl, because she believed she was meant to be Lady Potter."
"My Lord, I apologize, but I must speak," Susan said.
"Speak openly, Heiress Bones," Harry said, "You're the reason I was able to contact your Aunt. Your Aunt assisted me and Hermione in a great many things recently."
"It doesn't really matter that Ron Weasley influenced or pressured any of us to openly oppose you about anything, my Lord," Susan said. "None of us may have known exactly how Houses Potter and Peverell were connected to the Great Alliance, that may be true. But that doesn't excuse us. Allies or not, you we should not have treated you in such a way.
"My Aunt gave me a great lecture a couple nights ago about my past behavior toward you. I lost a lot of sleep that night, because I realized just how right she was. Hufflepuff stands for loyalty. I am supposed to be a loyal person. Today, starting now, I will be more loyal to you, and to the Great Alliance, then I will be to even Hufflepuff House. If we can't be friends, I will consider us Allies. That is my vow as the future Lady Bones."
"I'm not as vocal as my friend here," Hannah Abbot said, "But I agree with her. I apologize for my past behavior toward you, my Lord. I vow to be Allies, if we can't be friendly."
Ernie cleared his throat. "Your grandfather saved my grandfather's life before either of our fathers were born, my Lord. I would literally not be here if it wasn't for the bravery and courage of House Potter. I had forgotten that until my father reminded me in a letter last night. I deeply apologize to you, my Lord. In honor of our grandfathers, I pledge my vow to be loyal to Lord Potter and the Great Alliance from this day forward."
Harry smiled and raised his bottle of butterbeer. "I accept your vows and apologies. Now that our dirty laundry has been aired and discussed, I want it to be forgotten and forgiven. From this day forward, we start fresh. From this day forward, the Children of the Great Alliance stand united."
Cheers of approval broke out around the table. Hermione smiled at him as she, too, applauded. She obviously approved of his choice to have a clean slate toward all the Children.
"Now we can move on to the real meat and potatoes of this meeting," Harry said, "Look around you. I am sure you've already considered this before. We are future of the Great Alliance. Misses Padma and Parvati Patil, Miss Davis, none of you may be Heiresses of your Houses. Your older siblings may be the Heirs, but I do not know them. I know you – or at the very least, want to get to know you better. There is a reason this group exists. There is a reason the Children of the Great Alliance was formed. Because we are the future of our Alliance.
"As Lord of, not only the Children, but of the Great Alliance itself, I can use the ideas and decisions we make here, and bring them forth to the Lords and Ladies of the Great Alliance. We are not just the future of this Alliance. We are here now. We have a Voice now. I am that Voice. Help this Voice speak, my friends. I want to hear your ideas for the future of the Alliance. I want to hear any important news you might have. For example, thanks to Padma here, I am rather familiar with just how close some of you are, especially when it comes to who is pairing up for the Yule Ball."
Padma blushed as several others snickered at her. Obviously they knew how much of a gossip she truly was. Harry glanced at Hermione, and she nodded. She knew what he was silently asking her. They had discussed this earlier that morning before breakfast.
"Here is a bit of gossip for you that Padma doesn't even know," Harry said, "Because it is about Hermione and I, and we haven't revealed it until now. Monday after we claim our seats at the Wizengamot Council, Hermione and I are going to visit Gringotts. When we leave, we will be a Betrothed couple."
Padma and Parvati were the first to gasp in surprised shock. Harry grunted as Neville slapped him on the back in apparent congratulations. He and Hermione blushed as applause once again burst out around the table.
"Thank you… however!" Harry said, loudly, as the applause finished, "Our Betrothal is going to be an open contract. We can cancel said Contract in the future if we decide it is necessary. The reason we are penning a Contract is so the Noble Lords and Ladies of our good society don't get the impression that Hermione and I are open to Betrothal offers from anybody else."
Daphne Greengrass gave a healthy snort Harry could hear from his end of the table.
"You do realize that won't stop some Lords or Ladies from offering Contracts?" Daphne asked.
"As long as do not receive one from your father, good Heiress," Harry joked.
Daphne glared playfully at him, and blushed deeply, as raucous laughter erupted around the table.
"Touché, my Lord," Daphne said.
The meeting continued as a few of the Children voiced various issues they felt should be explored more in the future – perhaps not the near future – but between now and the time they left Hogwarts. Most of these were simply existing Bills and laws they wanted modified, or disbanded. Some voiced possible Bills they could create in the future. Harry soon realized that a lot of these issues and ideas were things that the Children had never spoken of with their parents and Lords or Ladies of their Houses. But as Harry was their peer, in addition to being de facto Leader of the Great Alliance, they felt more comfortable speaking about these things to him.
It was nearing eleven when Harry decided the meeting needed to be finished.
"We've been here for a while now and voiced many topics we should discuss more of in the future," he said, "There will be more future meetings between all of us. The next one probably won't happen until sometime next term. I remind you, I want you all to contact your parents and inform them of whatever details of this meeting you feel you need them to know.
"I do not believe I really need to voice this, since it is probably clear to all of you. But needs must and all of that. I trust that everything we discussed here will be kept private and only between the members of the Great Alliance. I don't need to warn you off of telling any of your friends, who aren't a part of this Alliance, about any of this, do I?"
There were murmurs and heads shaking, which told him they would keep everything secret inside the Alliance.
"Then, with that, I conclude this meeting of the Children of the Great Alliance," Harry said, "Thank you for taking part in this meeting, all of you. It means a lot to me. It means a lot that I know we can continue this meetings and move forward with this Alliance. So thank you."
This special Room we are in has a brilliant function. While we can only enter it from the seventh floor, it can let you out anywhere you wish in the castle. I imagine a door will open somewhere where nobody will see you walking out of. Feel free to use this function. Heiress Greengrass, can I speak to you, before you leave? Miss Davis, you may remain behind as well. I am sure you know you can stay too, Hermione."
Daphne and Tracey nodded. One by one, or in groups, the others left the Room of Requirement into various parts of the castle. Harry and Hermione walked over to Daphne and Tracey.
"I apologize for what I am about to ask the two of you," Harry said. "Do your parents know of your relationship?"
Daphne and Tracey shook their heads, their eyes wide.
"Relax, I will not tell them, of course," Harry said; to obvious relief from the Slytherins, "I just want to know if there is going to be any issues with this relationship of yours when it comes to your futures."
"You mean our probable future of being Lady to a Lord husband?" Daphne asked.
"Yes," Harry said.
"It is something we've considered and discussed, my Lord," Daphne said, "For now, we're going to just be girlfriends. We do not know where the future will take us."
"Do you truly believe your fathers will want you to be married to Lords or Heirs in the future?" Harry asked.
"It is likely, my Lord," Daphne said. "We've grown up knowing our… purpose. We are to be mothers of the next generation's Head of our House. Why do you ask?"
"As Leader of the Great Alliance," Harry said, "Please know that if an issue ever comes up between you two and your Lord fathers, I will do whatever I can to make sure the issues end positively for the two of you – and hopefully your families as well."
Daphne smiled. "Thank you, my Lord. I am sure we won't have to deal with this for quite a while. We are very private with our relationship. You two… you're the only ones to have found us in such a… compromising position. Nobody, aside from Uncle Ivan knows about or relationship."
"Let me tell you a secret," Tracey said, "There is a good reason we don't need to worry about Uncle Ivan's opinion about our relationship being negative. Aunt Isabella – our youngest Aunt – is also in a relationship similar to ours."
"Wait," Hermione said, "I'm missing something. Ivan is your Uncle too?"
"Our mothers are eldest of the Blishwick siblings," Daphne said.
So Daphne and Tracey are first cousins and they're… together, Harry mused, Nope, not going there! Not going to bring that up!
The look on Hermione's face told her she was thinking along the same line of thought.
"At the Yule Ball," Daphne said, "we will only act as best friends who decided to go the Ball together, because we didn't want to go with boys."
"Will that work?" Hermione asked. "I've heard Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott are interested in going with you to the Ball."
Daphne rolled her eyes. "We've taken care of it. It isn't an issue now. There is a reason Tracey and I were able to remain neutral with the two of you over the past three years. Nobody messes with us in the Slytherin dungeons. Pansy tried, and – let's just say she ended up convincing Draco and his… minions, that we weren't somebody to be messed with. That was the first week of first year, and they haven't messed with us since."
"As for whether it will work," Daphne said, then she winked, "It is known Tracey and I are cousins. Most people around here don't want to even consider that Tracey and I could be in that type of relationship. Which is perfectly fine for us."
"Right!" Harry said, "Well, I think that is all I needed to say."
"We'll see you later then," Daphne said, then she winked again, "Try not to walk in on us again, please."
Harry coughed and Hermione chuckled. Both Daphne and Tracey grinned, then said farewell and left the Room of Requirement.
"Those two are so unlike every Slytherin I've ever met," Harry said.
"Wrong," Hermione said, "They're more Slytherin than any Slytherin you've ever met."
Harry considered this, then nodded in agreement. "Hiding their relationship in plain sight, due to the fact that they're cousins? Yeah, that's pretty Slytherin!"
"Yeah," Hermione said, "Come on. Let's go back to the Den. I want to see if we can contact Sirius before his trial. Wish him luck and all that."
"Good idea," Harry said.
He took her hand and they stepped out of the Room of Requirement and onto the seventh floor. Then they headed off back to the Lion's Den, less nervous then they were when they had left it that morning. The meeting they had been dreading had turned out to go a lot better than they had thought!
When I originally decided on including House Blishwick into this story, it was my idea for Daphne and Tracey to be cousins, with their Mothers as Blishwicks. Then I forgot about that detail when I put them together as a couple. Then I remembered the detail in this chapter and decided to keep my original plans. So… um… they're kissing cousins?
Let me be honest. I dreaded this entire chapter. Both meetings in this chapter were something I was struggling to figure out before I began writing it. But I am happy with everything I've come up with here.
I hope I didn't disappoint too many readers with how I settled the past issues between Harry and some of the Children. I didn't want to break up the Children, so cleaning the slate after a discussion about it all seemed to be the best way to do it.
The main reason I summarized all the "issues and ideas" part of the meeting was so I wouldn't have to keep faithful to any ideas I might have put down in this chapter for the future. I could come up with such ideas in the future, and it would seem as if they were voiced here.
Next Chapter: A Sirius Black PoV as he speaks to Harry and Hermione and prepares for his trial. Then Molly Weasley's Trial. Sirius Black's Trial should be in two chapters.