Chapter 31
The First Date
Author's Note: This story passed 1500 reviews on FFN last chapter. 1500+ reviews in 30 chapters! That is an average of 50 reviews per chapter! That is amazing! Thank you, each and every one of you who has taken the time to give reviews for this story, whether it be a single review, or reviews for all thirty chapters so far! It means a lot to me!
Last chapter brought up many questions by readers about Fawkes. It will be explained in time. Have patience.
(Sunday, December 20th, 1994 - 6:50 AM)
Harry Potter awoke on Sunday morning to the sound of a vibrating object. He lifted his head off his pillow and noticed, through blurry eyes, that the compact mirror was moving around on the bedside table. Harry sighed and picked up his glasses and placed them on his face. He grabbed the mirror and sat up, and opened it. Sirius Black's grinning face was looking at him.
"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Sirius exclaimed, "About time. Been trying to contact you for five minutes now!"
"Too early, Sirius," Harry muttered, "I was asleep. What time is it anyway?"
"About seven-o-clock," Sirius said, "Your girlfriend's awake too by the way. I contacted her first."
"Did you wake her up?" Harry asked.
"No, she was already awake," Sirius said, "She, unlike you, gets up early."
"You just said it is about seven!" Harry exclaimed, "I could have slept in. Especially as it is Sunday. What do you want anyway?"
"Just thought I'd give you some great news," Sirius said, "Last night, I asked Amelia to marry me! She said yes!"
Harry was wide awake now. "That's great, Sirius. Congratulations. I'm very happy for you."
"Thank you," Sirius said, then he grinned. "I told Hermione a few minutes ago, just because I knew she'd be awake before you. And Amelia's speaking to her niece, Susan, about it. I'm going to speak to Remus after I speak to you."
"You didn't tell your best friend first?" Harry asked.
"He sleeps in like you," Sirius said. "So it looks like both of us will be engaged blokes by tomorrow, since you and Hermione will be Betrothed."
"It is just a preventative measure, Sirius," Harry said, "Hermione said she still expects me to propose to her on her seventeenth birthday."
"You've already discussed that?" Sirius asked.
"It was just something that came up," Harry sad, "a few days before we decided to pen a Betrothal Contract."
"You do realize everyone will consider you and Hermione engaged already?" Sirius asked, "It is basically synonymous with being Betrothed, you know."
Harry shrugged. "As long it prevents others from trying to think we're available for Betrothal Contracts. Hey, I just thought of something. Is Amelia doing anything today? Does she have to work?"
"She has today off," Sirius said. "She's planning on meeting with some of the Lords and Ladies of the Great Alliance later to prepare for the Wizengamot Council tomorrow, and I will be joining her. Why?"
"Professor McGonagall is letting the students go to Hogsmeade today," Harry said, "Do you think you and Amelia could meet us at the Three Broomsticks for lunch? Maybe around noon? Remus can come too, if he wants. We can celebrate your engagement."
"Sounds good to me!" Sirius said, grinning, "Let me ask Amelia."
Sirius disappeared out of the mirror for nearly a minute. Then he returned.
"Amelia has agreed," he said, "We'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks at noon. She's talking about it with Susan now, so she can officially meet her niece's new boyfriend."
"Terry Boot," Harry said, "Fellow fourth year. One of the Children of the Great Alliance."
"Then she's probably known the boy for a few years," Sirius said, "But now he's her niece's new boyfriend, so it is like a whole new meeting."
Harry nodded. "I just remembered something. House Potter has VIP status at the Three Broomsticks – I could send Dobby ahead and ask Madame Rosmerta to set us up a room for noon. How many should I ask for?"
Sirius disappeared again. He returned thirty seconds later.
"Seven," Sirius said, "Susan has agreed to meet us with her boyfriend. You, Hermione, me, Amelia, Remus, Susan and her boyfriend. That is seven."
"I'll send Dobby with a note to Madam Rosmerta then," Harry said.
"Well, since we can have a better discussion face-to-face later, I'll let you go then," Sirius said, "I am sure you need to get ready for the day and meet with Hermione."
"See you for lunch, Sirius," Harry, "Congratulations again."
"Thanks, kid," Sirius said, "We'll see you then."
They exchanged farewells and Sirius vanished from the mirror. Harry closed it, then crawled out of bed and collected writing material from his trunk. He wrote a note to Madam Rosmerta of the Three Broomsticks with a request, as Heir Potter – not Lord Potter, Head of House Potter - to reserve one of the VIP Rooms for a meeting for seven people around noon that day. He then summoned Dobby, who has happy to deliver the letter to Madame Rosmerta.
"Dobby suggests the Great Harry Potter be wearing something warm today for his visit to Hogsmeade," Dobby said, after taking the scroll of parchment, "It be snowing, and Dobby be expecting it will be snowing all day."
"Thank you, Dobby," Harry said.
After Harry completed his morning ablutions, he dressed in jeans, a sweater, and also put on his winter coat. He grabbed the Undetectable Extension money bag from his trunk, which was as big as a tennis ball, even though it had one-thousand Galleons inside, and put it in his coat pocket. Last night when he had returned to his Private Quarters after Dancing Lessons, he had asked Dobby to get him the Galleons from Gringotts so he could do some Christmas shopping in Hogsmeade. Dobby had returned with the bag, and explained the enchantments on it. Harry thought it was pretty brilliant.
He knew a thousand Galleons was a lot of money, but for the first time he had several people to buy presents for. Friends, Allies in the Great Alliance, and the Children, even family when it came to Sirius and Remus. He also wanted to get something for Hermione's parents, for allowing him to stay at their house with Hermione over their shortened Christmas Break. He already had Christmas gifts in mind for Hermione – and they weren't something he could find in Hogsmeade.
He made his way into the main room of his Private Quarters. Dobby appeared with a reply from Madam Rosmerta, who had happily accepted his request. He thanked Dobby once more, then headed out into the corridor of the Lion's Den. Hermione was waiting for him, dressed in an outfit of warm clothes.
"Good morning, Harry," Hermione said, smiling; she pecked him on the lips when he walked over to her, "I assume Sirius told you his news?"
"Yeah – the vibrating mirror actually woke me up," Harry said. "But yes, he told me. Pretty brilliant. Actually, I arranged for him and Amelia to have lunch with us at noon in the Three Broomsticks to celebrate. I learned from my monetary report, that I own a percentage of the Three Broomsticks, so I can request use of one the VIP Rooms. Amelia was talking to Susan, giving her the news too. And I invited Susan and her boyfriend, Terry Boot, to lunch too. I hope that is okay with you?"
"That sounds brilliant, actually!" Hermione said, "I look forward to it."
"Yeah, me too," Harry said. "Shall we get down to the Great Hall then? I expect the Sunday Prophet will have all kinds of details of what happened yesterday."
"Yeah," Hermione said, "Let's go."
Harry took Hermione's hand and they made their way into the seventh floor corridor.
(Sunday, December 20th - 7:55 AM)
Because the first, second and a good majority of third years – those who didn't have older dates for the Yule Ball - had left Hogwarts yesterday for the full Christmas Break, the Great Hall didn't seem as full as usual, even though there was a good majority of the leftover third years – or as some younger students had called them 'lucky third years' – and fourth through seventh years in attendance. Even though it was still early, there was a Hogsmeade visit today. Also the Sunday Prophet was expected to report the news about the events in the Ministry of Magic the previous day. So even those who might have still been asleep on a Sunday morning, were awake and at breakfast.
As per usual, Harry and Hermione had joined the Ravenclaw Table again. Once again, Neville Longbottom was sitting with Luna Lovegood and Padma Patil. However, Ivan Blishwick – Padma's boyfriend was sitting next to the Ravenclaw Patil. Padma was reading a copy of Witch Weekly.
"Is that the newest edition of Witch Weekly?" Hermione asked, "Has the Sunday Prophet arrived already then?"
"Not yet," Padma said, "One of my sisters-in-law is a photographer at Witch Weekly, so thanks to her, Parvati and I get the newest editions early in the morning before the rest of the mail comes. Her owl always delivers us the magazines to our dormitories."
"Anything interesting about yesterday's events?" Harry asked.
"Now that you mention it, I was just reading about your godfather's trial, Harry," Padma said. "They left the real reporting for the Daily Prophet. This is about the more interesting stories behind the scenes. Like the who's who of who was there, what various people were wearing, and other things the Daily Prophet might not tell you.
"For example, there's a bit about your godfather, and Susan's Aunt Amelia. They question Director Bones' impartiality in the trial in one line, especially after it was revealed that Sirius and Amelia had a past relationship. Then in the very next line they gossip about the 'reuniting couple', and congratulate Amelia for reuniting with her long lost love. Then they ask when she and Sirius will get married! Talk about double standards!"
"Well, as for that last bit," Harry said, "I'll let you in on a little secret. I heard from Sirius this morning. He asked Amelia to marry him last night. She said 'yes'. Amelia told Susan too."
"So that is why Susan has been looking so happy this morning," Luna commented.
Harry and Hermione looked over at the Hufflepuff Table and found Susan Bones. She was grinning happily while talking to Terry Boot – who had chosen to sit with his girlfriend, instead of at the Ravenclaw Table – and Hannah Abbot and Ernie MacMillan. She caught him looking at her, and he gave her a thumbs up. She smiled and returned the hand signal.
"So was the impartiality bit the only thing they really cared about Sirius' actual trial?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, mostly," Padma said, "Like I said, the Daily Prophet gets to report the real information. Witch Weekly is their sister subscription, so the Daily Prophet lords over Witch Weekly and decides what they cannot publish in their magazine, since it should be exclusive to the main newspaper."
"I just remembered, Luna," Hermione said, "Your father owns the Quibbler right. Was he at the trials?"
"He was," Luna said, sighing, "He wrote me personally about Molly Weasley. He witnessed the entire thing."
"Oh, that must have been so horrible," Hermione whimpered. "Being there and seeing that."
"Yeah," Luna said, "He didn't give me too many details. He said there will be no pictures of the event and aftermath, because the Aurors and DMLE took the pictures from the cameramen as 'evidence'."
"Good," Harry said, "They would probably publish them because they believe it is good reporting or something."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Ivan Blishwick said, "The Daily Prophet has a history of photographing crime scenes and putting them in newspapers. I know the DMLE and Aurors are never thrilled about that. Good to see them on top of this, this time."
"Daddy was also one of the few reporters present at Sirius' trial," Luna said, "He was rather unhappy that Sirius Black didn't turn out to be Stubby Boardman, former lead singer of the Hobgoblins. Stubby hasn't been seen in thirteen years, and he thought Sirius' imprisonment might have explained why."
Harry blinked, then chuckled. "Sorry to hear he was disappointed."
"Oh, he got over it pretty quickly," Luna said, "Just because it means he can follow other leads about where Stubby Boardman might be. The other theory is that Stubby married one of his superfans, and is now living in the Bermuda Triangle with ten children."
"Would your father actually visit the Bermuda Triangle to confirm or deny this theory?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, yes!" Luna said, nodding happily, "It has been one of our dream destinations for a holiday! We might actually get to go now!"
Harry blinked again, then he just shrugged. He was used to Luna by now. Neither Padma, nor Neville, seemed too perturbed about this either, which made him feel better.
Ten minutes after Harry and Hermione arrived, the flock of owls made their way into the Great Hall. Two owls dropped the new editions of the Sunday Prophet toward Harry and Hermione, who caught them.
Harry wasn't surprised to see that Sirius' trial was the headlining article, nor was he surprised that Rita Skeeter had written it. He was surprised about the contents however, before he recalled that he had made a deal with Rita not to write libelous articles about several people, including Sirius and Amelia. He was also quite surprised that – while there was hints that James and Lily Potter's Will had been opened, due to the evidence of Sirius Black being Godfather, per Godfather Ritual, and James and Lily calling Wormtail, the Secret Keeper and a traitor – Rita did not mention that it was him, Harry, who opened the Will.
Had someone gotten to Rita to stop this piece of information getting out? Sirius? Amelia? One of the Great Alliance? Professor McGonagall – she had been there when Harry had made the deal with Rita. But… she would have told him if she had done this, wouldn't she? Maybe Rita simply chose not to write about that, so as to not offend Harry? Maybe she realized he would give her juicy information soon about what he discovered in the Will or at Gringotts, and she didn't want to lose out on that? From what he knew about her, it did seem like something she would do.
Everything else that was mentioned about the trial, Harry had already known, since Sirius had told him about it. It was reported Sirius was now Lord Black, and he had gotten 1,300,000 Galleons in compensation. Harry laughed at the thought of Sirius getting marriage proposals or Betrothal Contracts from older witches, even widows, who might be interesting in marrying Lord Black. He could picture Amelia's face if she caught sight of these Contracts.
Page Two was a page-wide wanted poster of Peter Pettigrew – Harry recognized the photo of Pettigrew that was used. It was one he had a copy of from his parents' wedding, but only Pettigrew in his tuxedo was seen. Another picture was of Scabbers on Ron's shoulder, though Ron was not shown, aside from his shoulder.
The bottom article on the front page was about the 'tragedy in Courtroom Ten'. Harry skimmed over it, and grimaced when it reported that Dedalus Diggle had murdered Molly Weasley, then killed himself. The report said there was conflicting reports about whether Dedalus was under the Imperius Curse or not. The report also said that if the Imperius Curse was used, it might have been cast by the person who put the Dark Mark in the sky during the riot at the Quidditch World Cup Campgrounds. Rita also spent a whole paragraph complaining about her cameraman's camera being confiscated, but she blamed it on the DMLE and Aurors, not Amelia herself.
Overall, Harry was satisfied with what had been reported. The best part was that if Dumbledore had read the articles, he still wouldn't get any clues or hints about what would take place in the opening minutes of the Wizengamot Council meeting the following day.
(Sunday, December 20th – 9:30 AM)
The carriages to Hogsmeade were scheduled to leave fifteen minutes before ten. During breakfast, Harry, Hermione, Neville and Luna decided to get in one together. Padma and Ivan had already planned to join Padma's sister, Parvati, and Lavender Brown. So, bundled up in their winter clothing and coats, the four friends had made their way out of Hogwarts with the other students who were also heading for the carriages. Snow was falling over the Hogwarts grounds, and there was about half-an-inch on the ground already. Some students were having snowball fights with their friends as they headed toward the carriages.
"Hopefully the snow doesn't get too deep in Hogsmeade before we have to make our way back," Hermione commented, as she and Harry sat down on one of the seats in the carriage. "Though I must admit, it does make for a beautiful setting for our first date."
"It does," Harry agreed.
Neville and Luna stepped into the carriage and sat down on the other seat. The carriage began making its way to Hogsmeade almost immediately after they had sat down.
"Oh, you're having your first date in Hogsmeade too?" Luna asked; she smiled and squeezed Neville's hand, "So are we. However, Neville won't be with me for the first part of the day."
"Oh?" Hermione asked, "Why is that?"
"I'm going to be buying an outfit for the Yule Ball," Luna said, "I asked Padma about it, and she says dress shopping should be the first thing I do today, because she suspects there will be a lot of girls who want to do the same thing."
"Even though the booklists for the older students told us to bring formal wear?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, yes," Luna said, "Padma said that now that girls have dates, they may want have an outfit that will match with their dates. Padma also said I shouldn't let Neville see my dress. She says it will make it more special."
"Yes, it will, I think," Hermione said, "I haven't given any hints to Harry about my dress."
"I'm completely fine with that," Harry said, squeezing Hermione's hand, "I want to be surprised the first time I see you in it."
"Yeah, sounds good to me too," Neville said, "I figured I can buy Luna's Christmas present while she's shopping for an outfit. So she doesn't see what I buy her, you know?"
"I don't have to worry about that," Harry said, smiling, "I already know what I'm getting Hermione, and it is not found in Hogsmeade."
"Me too," Hermione said.
"Now as for shopping for everyone else," Harry said, "Like my new Allies. That will be more difficult."
"Make the gifts simple, but meaningful, Harry," Neville advised him, "Right now, you don't know the Lords and Ladies of the Great Alliance more than Allies. Just give them simple things, but make it mean something too. Maybe consider the gifts for the Children a bit more meaningful, as you'll get to know them a lot better over the next few years, than you will with the Lords and Ladies. Your Allies won't be expecting much from you this year, since you literally just debuted yourself as the new de facto leader of the Great Alliance. So don't get too nervous about it."
"Thanks, Neville," Harry said, smiling, "That actually helps a lot. Makes me feel better about shopping for people I really don't know."
Neville blushed at the praise. "You're welcome, Harry."
As the carriage made its way toward Hogwarts, the four friends talked about their plans for Hogsmeade, and what they would be doing during their free week at Hogwarts before the Yule Ball.
Soon enough, they arrived at Hogsmeade. They separated into couples, and promised to meet up again at some point during the visit.
"Where should we go first?" Harry asked.
"I think we should just walk around for now and avoid the early rush," Hermione said, "The shops are going to be too crowded."
"Just walk around and spend time together?" Harry asked.
"At least until we find one of the less-crowded shops," Hermione said. "We can go to the more popular shops after lunch."
"Sounds brilliant to me," Harry said; then he smiled mischievously, "So you already know what you're getting me for Christmas. Any hints?"
"Nope," Hermione said, "Not saying a word."
Harry didn't give up there. As they started walking through the village, he started guessing different things she might be getting him. Soon enough, he started getting into more outlandish and wild guesses, which just made Hermione laugh. She obviously realized what he was doing, but she had let him continue. Then he started trying to guess what her outfit for the Yule Ball looked like, but the look on her face made him stop. He realized she truly wanted it to be a surprise. After that, they simply discussed ideas for gifts for their friends as they walked around the village and enjoyed spending time together.
(Sunday, December 20th – 11:55 AM)
Harry and Hermione had done very little shopping in the past two hours, simply because they were only going toward the least-crowded shops for now. They had already found a few things for some of the people on their lists. But they both knew they would find the majority of their gifts during the afternoon when they visited the more popular shops.
They stepped into the Three Broomsticks and found that they were the last of the planned group to arrive. Sirius, Amelia and Remus had already arrived, as had Susan and Terry Boot. Harry walked over to the bar, where Rosmerta was talking to Sirius and Amelia.
"There's my godson and his girlfriend," Sirius said, as he caught sight of them, "I was just talking to Rosie about you. Did you know Rosie thought you two had been a couple for a few months now?"
"Really?" Hermione asked Madam Rosmerta.
"You were sitting together without that Weasley boy," Rosmerta said, "I thought you two were on your first date back then."
"This is technically our first date," Harry said, "Though we've been together for about ten days now."
"Only ten days?" Rosmerta asked. "Merlin, you could have fooled me! You know, I still remember when your parents were here on their first date. I was simply a waiter back then. I had been so shocked when they told me they were dating. I knew your father had been trying to catch your mother for a while, but – to be frank – I didn't think he'd ever succeed. But he did a lot of growing up."
She smirked as she looked at Sirius. "I also remember you, Sirius, and your friend, Remus, sitting a few tables away from James and Lily eavesdropping on them. I thought you two were going to interrupt their date with a prank or something!"
"Rosie!" Sirius gasped, "We would never! We promised James we wouldn't do anything to ruin his date with Lily."
"Good!" Rosmerta said, "I would have hexed you if you did!"
"Moony! Get over here!" Sirius barked.
Remus walked over to the bar. "Yes, Sirius?"
"Rosie thinks you and I were eavesdropping on James and Lily on their first date," Sirius said, "Were we eavesdropping?"
Remus had a look of thoughtful reminiscence for a moment. "Well, you did choose to sit rather close to them. But no, we didn't deliberately eavesdrop. We were waiting for Amelia and…"
"Marlene McKinnon," Sirius said, smiling. "You had actually gotten up the nerve to ask her out. Yes, now I remember. Amelia and Marlene were shopping before they met with us."
"You weren't shopping with them?" Harry asked.
"They were doing girl shopping, kid," Sirius said, "Trust me, you don't want to get involved if Hermione decides she wants to do some girly shopping."
"Depends on what type of shopping she is doing," Harry said, shrugging.
Rosmerta laughed. "You have a very good boyfriend there, Hermione. I knew I was right about the both of you. Still can't believe it has taken this long for you to get together! Congratulations."
"Well, thank you," Hermione said; Harry blushed and echoed his girlfriend.
"Right, I am sure you all just want to get something to eat," Rosmerta said, "You're in VIP Room Two. No charge for the room, as House Potter still owns fifteen percent of this establishment. Follow me please."
"Thank you, Rosie," Sirius said, "Follow her, kids. Let me save Susan and her boyfriend from my fiancée, and then we'll follow you there."
Harry was sure Sirius was joking about having to save Susan and Terry. They seemed to be enjoying whatever they were discussing with Amelia. However, Terry did look a little nervous.
Harry and Hermione followed Rosmerta, while the rest of the group soon followed behind them. They entered the VIP Room, which was basically a well-decorated room with a large circle table and seven chairs. Dishes, silverware and glasses were already set, and menus were sitting on the plates.
"Sit down everyone," Rosmerta said, "And you can order drinks and look through the menus."
Harry and Hermione sat down together, of course. Remus sat on the other side of Hermione, while Sirius sat next to Harry. Amelia sat next to Sirius and Susan and Terry sat down last, with Susan sitting next to her Aunt.
When asked for drinks, Harry and Hermione ordered warm butterbeer and ice cold water. This was a mutual decision for most of the table, though Amelia ordered a Cherry Syrup instead of Butterbeer. Rosmerta said she'd be back with the drinks soon, and left right after. The group sat looking through the menu for their meals, and were rather quiet otherwise. Rosmerta returned ten minutes after she left. She served the ordered drinks, then listened to, and wrote down, the orders – Harry ordered the Shepherd's Pie and Hermione ordered goulash – then promised their meals would be ready in thirty minutes or less. After Rosmerta left, Remus stood up and held up his glass of butterbeer.
"To Sirius and Amelia," Remus said, "If the world was better than it is, these two would have been married a decade and a half ago, and might have had a child or two who were students now in Hogwarts. But the world isn't perfect, life throws many curves. Sirius and Amelia – even through all the struggles, even though separated for thirteen years – you've still rekindled your relationship, and are far better for it. To Sirius and Amelia!"
Amelia had misty eyes as the four students toasted the newly engaged couple.
"Thank you, Remus," Amelia said, "That was wonderful."
"Yeah, Moony," Sirius said, "Practicing for best man already?"
"Me?" Remus asked, surprised, "I thought you might choose Harry."
"He'll be standing with us too," Sirius said.
"You deserve it, Remus," Harry said.
"Do I?" Remus asked, "I thought you were guilty too, Sirius! Just like most people did."
"Yet, when the truth was revealed, you stood with me," Sirius said, "Like always. You're my Best Mate, you're my Best Man."
"Yes, I'll be your Best Man," Remus said.
"Thank you," Sirius said.
"So have you decided a date yet?" Hermione asked.
"We discussed it this morning," Amelia said, "Easter Break, first week of Easter, sometime that week. We'll figure out a proper date by then. Easter Sunday is problematic, as you would be coming back to London the day before Easter. So sometime in the middle of the week."
"So soon?" Susan asked.
"Not for us," Amelia said, smiling; she rolled her eyes at Sirius. "If my fiancée had his way, we'd go to Gretna Green during your shortened Christmas Break and get married then. But I don't want a Gretna Green wedding. I want a wedding at Bones Manor."
"It is a fine plan, love," Sirius said.
"We're going to formally announce our engagement tomorrow during the Wizengamot Council Meeting," Amelia said.
"Are Heirs allowed to these meetings?" Harry asked.
"Not during Solstice Sessions," Amelia said, "During Summer Council meetings, Lords and Ladies sometimes bring their Heirs along so they can learn the ropes, so to speak. Susan and Terry – and most of the Children of the Great Alliance – have been to a few."
"I always thought they were boring," Terry said, grinning, "Occasionally it gets interesting, when there are heated debates, or there is an interesting Bill up for debate. But most of the time it is boring stuff."
"I will agree that a good majority of Council Meetings tend to be rather boring," Amelia said, smiling; then she looked at Harry and Hermione. "Tomorrow will start with a bang, however."
"So exactly what will we need to do?" Harry asked.
"Professor McGonagall – or Lady McGonagall in this case," Amelia said, "is the only representative of Hogwarts - aside from Dumbledore – who currently has a chair on the Wizengamot. If she hasn't told you already, she will probably escort the two of you to the Ministry tomorrow morning. She will take you down Level Ten. There is a room to the right of Courtroom Nine where the Lords and Ladies convene before Council Sessions – so that they can have meetings with their Allies. Normally anyone below seventeen isn't allowed in this room. But Harry, as Lord Potter, will be. We might be able to arrange for you to be there too, Hermione. So Harry can introduce you as the newest member of the Great Alliance.
"Right before the Lords and Ladies are dismissed into the Courtroom, the bigwigs – shall we say – namely Minister Fudge and Dumbledore – will enter the room. Minister Fudge will give a speech of some sort, then he'll tell everyone to go into the room.
"However, since we do not want Dumbledore to know you two will claim your seats before it happens, you will be leaving with Sirius before Dumbledore arrives. The three of you will go into another room near the Courtroom and wait there for one of the Aurors – I'll arrange for Sirius' cousin, Auror Tonks, in this case – will bring you into the Courtroom, so you can claim your seats. This is how I suggest that goes…"
Harry and Hermione listened to Amelia's suggestion, and eagerly agreed to it. Then she walked them through how they would claim their seats.
"After you finish claiming your seats and inviting new members into the Alliance," Amelia said, "You may request to leave. Ask Minister Fudge, not Dumbledore. I have feeling he will want to keep you there, to keep an eye on you. He'll get a huge shock due to your revelations of Lordships, and yours, Hermione. If you want to get to Gringotts, and get your Betrothal Contract penned, you need to leave when you're finished. Do not stick around."
"I will be waiting for you outside the Courtroom," Remus said, "Since I won't be allowed inside. I can escort you to Gringotts if you wish. I won't join you while meeting your Account Manager. I'll wait in the Leaky Cauldron for you. Then we can come here and I can get you back to the castle."
Harry and Hermione agreed with this. Madam Rosmerta returned moments later, with a house-elf in tow. The house-elf came in, snapped their fingers, and plates of the ordered food appeared in front of each seated at the table.
"Anything else I can do for you?" Rosmerta asked.
"Not at the moment, Rosie," Sirius said; the others murmured their agreement.
"The house-elf who accompanied me is named Buzzy," Rosmerta said, "Call them if you would like to top off your drinks. If you call for Buzzy when you're finished with your main course, she can bring you a dessert menu if you wish. Otherwise, just come see me and pay up and that will be it."
"Thank you, Rosie," Sirius said.
The rest of the group thanked Rosmerta and she left the room.
"Amelia?" Terry asked, "Have you spoken to my father recently?"
"Not since our last meeting a few months ago," Amelia said, "Sirius and I will be seeing your Lord father with the majority of the Alliance this evening at Lord Castor's house for a meeting. Why do you ask?"
"My Father has had doubts about our House remaining in the Alliance," Terry said, "I wrote to him yesterday after the Children of the Great Alliance meeting finished, but he hasn't replied yet. I feel like he might go forward with his plans."
"You do not want this?" Amelia asked.
"No, ma'am," Terry said, "It – erm – might cause difficulties for my relationship with Susan, especially if my father wants me to set my sights on an Heiress in whatever new Alliance he joins. I don't want that to happen."
"What would you ask of me, Heir Boot?" Amelia asked.
Terry looked at Harry. "Tell my Lord father that Lord Potter is our leader now and the Great Alliance he has been waiting for, to return, will only be getting stronger. He would regret leaving the Alliance."
"I will pass on your message, Heir Boot," Amelia said.
"Thank you, Lady Bones," Terry said.
The conversations continued over the next hour while the group ate their lunch, which followed with a delicious dessert, all of which was very enjoyable.
It was nearly one-thirty when Harry and Hermione said their temporary goodbyes to Sirius, Amelia and Remus. Then they continued their shopping trip for gifts, until they had to get to a carriage to go back to the castle. Hermione suggested they ride a carriage by themselves. Harry soon learned why, as he and Hermione spent much of the carriage ride kissing and snogging.
Both Harry and Hermione mutually agreed, by the time they returned to the castle, that their first official date was brilliant. But they were very much looking forward to the events of the following morning.
And so are my readers! This chapter went so much better in my head. I thought there was going to be a lot more going on during that lunch scene. But my muse said 'no'!
As for the shopping in Hogsmeade, I didn't want to get too descriptive, and limit myself when I describe some Christmas gifts in an upcoming chapter. I left it open-ended for that purpose alone.
My apologies for not writing any Rita Skeeter articles. I didn't want to summarize in an article what we witnessed in recent chapters.
I know this chapter felt like filler. But it was mostly a fluffy calm before the storm.
Next Chapter: Harry, Hermione and Professor McGonagall make their way to the Ministry of Magic. Harry meets the Great Alliance, and the Wizengamot Council scene you've all been waiting for! The only definite scene in the Council meeting I will have is the seat claiming and Harry welcoming Houses into the Alliance.