What If… Harry Potter

Sixth year wasn't shaping up to be a good year. It was December already and Hermione led Harry through the library as she restocked the shelves with books and ranted about not caring that Ron had ignored her invitation to Slughorn's Christmas party. She continued to claim that him dating Lavender didn't bother her, even after Harry had held her and she had cried her eyes out at the redhead's betrayal.

Harry was in a similar boat. For some reason, he had started getting jealous of Dean as he spent time with his girlfriend, Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister. He had never noticed her before and now he was somehow infatuated with her. His mental shrug of it being just his hormones let the jealousy settle some, without realizing he should feel envy for wanting the girl and not jealousy for not having her to himself.

“Look, if Ron not going with you is upsetting you so much, and since neither of us can go with who we really want to, why don't you and I go to the party together?” Harry asked in a whisper, putting his heart on his sleeve, then realized what he just asked his upset female friend that was pining for his only male friend. “As friends?” He corrected and prayed she hadn't noticed the hope in his voice.

Hermione gave him a surprised look and then sighed as she slumped against one of the bookcases and held the last folded newspaper she had yet to shelve. “Why didn't I think of that?”

Because for someone so smart, you can be really stupid sometimes. Harry secretly thought. He would never say anything like that and didn't let his thoughts show on his face. He wasn't an idiot. Well, not that big of an idiot. He knew he could be pretty dense at times and Hermione reminded him of that on occasion.

“I'm sorry, Harry. Considering the circumstances, I've had to make... other arrangements.” Hermione said, sadly.

Harry gave her a blank look. “Who are you going with?”

“Um... it's a surprise.” Hermione hedged as she played with the folded newspaper in her hands. “Anyway, it's you we've got to worry about. You can't take just anyone.” She glanced around and saw a young woman with long and luscious curly black hair sitting at one of the single student desks. “You see that girl over there?”

Harry, always the curious one, leaned out and around Hermione to look and saw a quite cute girl giving him a shy smile.

“That's Romilda Vane. Apparently, she's been trying to slip you a love potion.” Hermione said.

“Really?” Harry asked and smiled slightly.

Hermione's hand darted in front of his face and she snapped her fingers to get his attention. “Hey! She's only interested in you because she thinks you're the chosen one.”

Harry couldn't help what he said next and smirked. “But, I am the chosen one.”

Hermione immediately whacked him over the head with the newspaper, as if he was a bad dog. In that moment, Harry remembered everything Hermione had said and done to him so far that year. Her tearing him up over the Half-Blood Prince's book, berating him for not working harder, and getting after him for not caring about assignments or classwork because he had more important things to worry about.

So, instead of following his first impulse and apologizing for being cheeky, Harry gave her a squinted eyed look for a second before he walked around her and down the aisle.

“Harry!” Hermione harshly whispered. “Where are you going?”

Harry ignored her and walked over to the pretty girl that was still smiling at him. When he reached her, he realized his spur of the moment decision had left him without anything to say. Since he wasn't a Griffindor for nothing, he braved through his own nervousness and smiled back as he thought of the perfect question.

“Why?” Harry asked her.

Romilda's smile froze and she blinked her eyes at him. “Excuse me?”

“Why do you want to slip me a love potion?” Harry asked her and let his curiosity push his nervousness aside.

Romila looked into his eyes and she didn't see denial or hostility there, so she embraced her Griffindor traits and decided to be honest about it. “I wanted to get your attention.”

Harry leaned against the bookcase beside her desk. “Why?”

Romilda chose to go all-in at this point and closed the book she was reading and stood up. Surprisingly, she was exactly Harry's height and she stepped close. “Out of all the girls you have a choice from in the entire school, I wanted you to look at me first.”

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that.

“You see, pureblood families see nothing wrong with giving a dose of potion to catch the eye of the people they like. It's nothing permanent. It just... increases their interest for a while. It gets them to notice you and nothing more than that.” Romilda said.

“But, you didn't dose me.” Harry responded.

“I didn't have to, even though I do have a box of chocolates with your name on it.” Romilda said and stepped close. “Just the thought that I would go through all that trouble, just to get you to pay attention to me, let you pay attention to me.” She whispered and leaned in close. “I should thank Hermione for finally spreading the rumor to you, just like I hoped she would, since no other girl can get near you with her around.”

Harry was almost too stunned to speak. “I... um... but... Ginny...”

Romilda's eyes widened slightly before she sighed. “I should have known she would beat me to it.”

Harry had to blink his eyes a few times and let his thoughts catch up before he spoke. “Excuse me?”

“Everyone knows that's how Mr. and Mrs. Weasley got together. She dosed him in her fifth or sixth year and caught his eye. They've been together ever since and have the biggest family in wizarding Britain with seven children.” Romilda explained and stood up straight. She didn't move away, though.

Harry stared at her and remembered hearing about that. He also remembered the scene at Fred and George's store where he saw Hermione and Ginny giggling around the love potion display.

“I can see it in your eyes. You realize it, too.” Romilda said and her hand lightly touched his chest. She left it there for a moment, then slid it up to his shoulder.

Harry couldn't stop his face from going red at the contact and didn't know why he didn't flinch at a stranger touching him like he did with everyone else.

Romila smiled at his reaction. “I really like you, Harry.”

Harry stood there and didn't know what to say.

“As long as Ginny doesn't dose you again, the potion will wear off in a week or so. Just don't drink anything anyone hands you.” Romilda whispered and leaned in very close, their noses almost touching. “I don't want you to think I need to try myself, since you were so brave to come right over to me to confront me about it. I'll even give you the chocolates to dispose of them yourself, okay?”

Harry could do nothing but nod. Romilda gave him a bright smile for a moment, then her smile slid away. She gave him a very intense look for a second, then tilted her head slightly and moved in that last inch and pressed her soft lips to his own.

It was only brief and yet sent a thrill through Harry unlike any he had felt before. Even Hermione's kiss on his cheek back in third year didn't make his heart skip a beat like that.

Romilda moved away and saw the stunned look on Harry's face. She gave him another brilliant smile and reached down for her bookbag to pull out the box of Honeydukes chocolates and handed them to him. She picked the bag up and slung it over her shoulder and stood there and waited.

It took Harry's brain another few moments to reboot. “DoyouwanttogotoSlughorn'spartywithme?”

Romilda was a fairly smart witch and her smile almost lit up the room when she figured out what he said. “Harry, I would be delighted to be your date for Slughorn's party. I'll be wearing blue and you can wear something to match. How does that sound?”

Harry nodded several times and Romilda leaned back in and gave him another brief kiss.

“I'll see you later, Harry.” Romilda said and walked away, her hips swinging and her skirt swayed to reveal a lot of thigh that easily caught Harry's full attention.

“Harry!” Hermione hissed and distracted Harry from Romilda's wonderful distraction.

Bloody hell. Harry thought as his eyes left that enticing expanse of skin and he turned his head to look at Hermione. “Yeah?”

“Harry, she's using you.” Hermione said, her face angry.

“So?” Harry asked and Hermione's mouth dropped open. It was then he remembered what Romilda said about Ginny and his sudden interest in a girl he barely ever spoke to. “Did you know Ginny dosed me with a love potion to get my attention like Molly did with Arthur?”

Hermione looked guilty and didn't answer, which was all the answer he needed.

“Thanks a lot for being my friend and looking out for me.” Harry said sarcastically.

“Harry, I... it's not like that. She really likes you and you never notice her and she wanted help to...” Hermione started to ramble.

“I have somewhere else to be right now.” Harry interrupted her and walked away.

“Harry!” Hermione hissed and started to follow him. “Harry, please listen!”

“I've heard enough about people using me, thanks.” Harry said and walked faster.

“Harry!” Hermione said in a normal voice.

A bunch of students and the librarian hissed at her to be quiet.

Hermione briefly stopped walking to glare at them and wanted to rant about trying to talk to her friend, only for her to look forward and saw that Harry was gone. Her gaze dropped to the floor and she resolved to find him and finish explaining so that he would know how much Ginny liked him and was too shy to tell him without help. She looked for the rest of the day and he was nowhere to be found.

*

Harry successfully avoided both of his friends outside of classes for the next two weeks, thanks to his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map. Hermione kept trying to talk to him during class and he always made sure to sit as far away from her as the Griffindor side of the classroom would allow, which was the very back of the classroom. She would never purposefully sit so far away from the teacher's desk.

Avoiding Ron is as easy as not looking at him while he's with Lav-Lav. Harry thought and held in his chuckle at the nickname he had given the girl after she had given Ron his of Won-Won. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face and he just so happened to catch Romilda's eye when he crossed the common room to head out for a walk.

Instead of continuing out the portrait hole, he diverted his path over to her table where she sat with a couple of other girls. He didn't even have to say anything for them to titter and giggle at him and he wasn't sure why it didn't really bother him anymore when it annoyed him a bunch during the Yule break the year of the Triwizard Tournament.

“Hi, Harry.” Romilda said with a happy smile.

“Hi, Romilda.” Harry said and glanced at the other two girls. “Demelza, Leanne.”

“Harry.” Both girls said at the same time.

Harry looked back at Romilda. “I was going to head out for a walk and wondered if you'd like to join me.”

Romilda's happy smile grew to a grin. “I'd be happy to, Harry. I just need to grab my cloak from my room.”

Harry nodded and stepped back to let her by and he watched her walk across the common room and go up the stairs to the girl's dorm.

“You know she's using you.” Leanne suddenly said and Harry turned to look at her. “I'm friends with Katie Bell and you're her teammate. It's only fair that I warn you that she's pretty much like her name.”

Harry couldn't stop his smile and felt a weird impulse. He didn't fight against it and did exactly what he felt like he should do, and bent down to place a kiss on her cheek. Both her and Demelza gasped at the bold move and stared at him.

“Thanks for the warning and for being a good friend.” Harry said and Leanne blushed. “It takes a lot of bravery to stand up to your enemies and a whole lot more to stand up to your friends.”

Romilda came down the stairs and walked over to them with her cloak in her hands. “I'm ready.”

“Me, too.” Harry held out his elbow to her and she smiled warmly as she accepted it. “I'll bring her back safe and sound in a little while.”

Leanne and Demelza nodded and Harry led the dark-haired and very pretty girl over to the portrait hole. He helped her like a gentleman and followed her without hearing or seeing the commotion his words had sparked among the others in the common room.

Harry and Romilda spent half an hour walking through the snowy paths down to the Black Lake and talked about classes and who might show up during Slughorn's party. It was a good time for the both of them and after a brief snogging session, they returned to the Griffindor common room with huge smiles on their faces. That made a lot of people smile and start whispering about them.

There were only two faces not smiling back and they belonged to Hermione and Ginny. Funnily enough, neither girl confronted him about being potioned by Romilda, probably because Ginny was guilty of it herself and didn't want that aired out any more than it already had been. They also hadn't been successful in giving him another dose or getting his attention the normal way.

In the minds of the two girls, it was because Harry was blinded by the potions Romilda was feeding him. That it was because he chose to ignore their attempts had never occurred to them. He wasn't the only one to notice that, either. The look on Dean's face as Ginny pined after Harry, let everyone know where he stood with the fiery redheaded girl and someone would be getting one less present this holiday.

Harry couldn't help but feel a bit relaxed about the whole thing and went up to his dorm room to drop off his winter cloak. He avoided Ron trying to confront him on Ginny's behalf and ignored his comment about the vain girl. He was tired of explaining that he knew about it and spending any time with her would have clued him in.

The thing was, Harry liked that she wasn't hiding it or trying to trick him. Romilda was completely open about it and that she liked taking the attention Harry normally gained from everyone and using it for herself. People were looking at her and approaching her instead of him and he was quite grateful for that.

Harry had also looked up the term of what that role was. A Stalking Horse. When he mentioned that to Romilda and explained what it was, she had laughed pretty hard at the time and then kissed him just as hard. It left him breathless and she looked both proud and happy.

*

Harry stood at the bottom of the stairs to the girl's dorm and waited anxiously. He was dressed in a different set of formal robes than he used at the Yule Ball and everyone else in the common room gave him appreciative and approving looks. He had even taken the time to tame his hair with a potion he had borrowed from Demelza that she used to keep her hair immobile while playing Quidditch.

The sound of shoes on the stairs gained his attention and Harry lifted his gaze from the floor to look up, only to catch his breath. A vision of loveliness strode down the stairs wearing a slinky blue dress that matched his robes and the huge smile on her face made her even prettier than she normally was.

Romilda softly laughed at the stunned look on Harry's face and reached out to close the poor boy's mouth. “I'm ready to go.”

Harry could only nod and offered his elbow. She accepted and they walked over to the portrait hole. Before she could climb through, Harry's wand flicked and he created a wrap for her to put around her waist to save her modesty.

Romilda looked surprised and then leaned in to give him a tender kiss on the lips. “My gallant hero.”

Harry blushed at the praise and she wrapped it around herself and then climbed through the hole without flashing the room with the short dress. It never occurred to him that he also denied himself an up-close shot at looking up her dress, either.

Romilda pulled the wrap off and hung it on the first banister they came to as they walked across the castle to the room Slughorn had reserved and converted for the party. Harry occasionally glanced at the pretty girl on his arm and he couldn't help feeling a little proud about it. As if she knew what he was thinking, Romilda turned her head towards him and gave him a bright smile.

Harry returned it and didn't try to stop how he felt from showing on his face.

Romilda blushed slightly and leaned in to kiss his cheek. She giggled a little and looked smug. “I think I'll leave that there.”

Harry wanted to ask what she meant, then they reached the expanded classroom and were brought inside with a flourish that had Slughorn grinning like a cat that caught the canary. The pair were led around like show ponies and were introduced around to everyone that was everyone in the wizarding world. Even Gwenog Jones was there and she was the captain of the all female professional Quidditch team, the Holyhead Harpies.

As the party went on and on, Harry was very grateful to have Romilda there. She filled her role spectacularly and absorbed nearly all of the attention sent his way and he only had to speak when he was actually interested in talking to someone, like Gwenog. That was a great conversation in Harry's mind. The approving looks on both Gwenog's and Romilda's faces made him feel all warm and tingly inside.

The dancing part of the party passed by without Harry really noticing. He wasn't as pants as it as he was way back in fourth year, thankfully. The music was better and there wasn't as much pressure. Plus, Romilda led and Harry was again grateful that she had taken control and made him look mostly competent. That was worth it's weight in gold.

When the party was over, everyone left with happy smiles and lightly chatted about the great evening. Harry was doing that as well, since it really had been a great party and he never thought that could have been possible. Before he could say that to his date, they had reached the corridor where the entrance to the Griffindor common room was.

“In here.” Romilda suddenly said and pulled him into a broom closet.

Harry opened his mouth to ask what she was doing and then she was kissing him passionately and her tongue battled his. Well, he wasn't going to take that and fought back just as hard and was soon breathing hard and having the time of his life.

Romilda broke the kiss and her eyes were almost filled with little hearts. “Go ahead, Harry. You can touch them. You earned it.”

“Wha...” Harry started to say and then stopped breathing when Romilda pulled the top of her dress down.

Romilda looked very happy at the stunned look on his face, so she pulled his head to her chest. She moaned as Harry kissed her softness and then she gasped when his mouth suckled on one of her nipples. She moaned before she could stop herself and Harry availed himself of her other nipple, both were rock hard now and Romilda loved what he was doing with his tongue.

Harry had no clue what he was doing, only that he wanted her to keep making those sounds. He lightly gripped both of her breasts and licked and kissed them all over. His fingers only sank in a little, so she was quite firm and he liked that feeling. He liked it a lot.

“S-s-stop. Stop, Harry.” Romilda managed to say, even though her heart was beating so fast and she didn't want him to stop. She didn't want him to ever stop. “We can't... go too far.”

Harry broke the kiss he had on her nipple and his face was red from embarrassment. “I'm sorry, Romilda. I kinda lost myself there and...”

Romilda put a finger on his lips to stop him. “I wasn't complaining about what you were doing, Harry. We just started dating and I don't want to do more than this in a broom closet.”

Harry nodded several times in understanding.

“A few more dates could let us do a lot more if we had somewhere more appropriate and private to go.” Romilda said with a knowing smile.

Harry nodded again and looked down at her still bare breasts and back at her face. “I always thought you were pretty.”

Romilda blushed and wiggled as she pulled the cloth back up and slipped her arms back through the arm holes. “You had to see my boobs to tell me that?”

Harry looked embarrassed. “I haven't really had a girlfriend before, so you'll have to tell me what you want me to do.”

Romilda looked surprised for a moment, then she smiled a huge smile again. “I'll do my best to teach you how to be a great boyfriend, Harry.”

“Thanks.” Harry said and looked down at her chest again. “It doesn't look ruffled, so it should be okay. No one will know we did anything.”

Romilda smirked and winked at him as she opened the door and pulled him out. They walked down the hallway and she picked up the wrap he had made for her before and opened the portrait with the password.

Harry stopped breathing when Romilda handed him the wrap and shamelessly hopped up into the hole and crawled through with her short dress, giving Harry a perfect view of her lacy panties and her shapely arse.

Romilda giggled at Harry's shocked look and waved him inside. He scrambled in through the hole and stood up on the other side. She gave the people in the common room a smug look and then gave Harry a soft and tender kiss on the lips.

“Thank you for the great party, Harry. Goodnight.” Romilda said.

“G-goodnight.” Harry said and stood there and watched her walk away, his mind replaying what her panties looked like as she went up the stairs.

“You look like you had a good time, Harry.” Demelza Robbins said.

Harry startled and looked over at her. “H-how can you tell?”

“You've got a bit of something on your face. Right there.” Demelza said and motioned towards her own mouth as Leanne beside her giggled.

Harry reached up and wiped a finger beside his mouth and looked at the tip, only to see smeared lipstick the same color as Romilda's. “Bloody hell. That's why she winked at me when I said no one would know.”

That made most of the students in the room laugh and they went back to their conversations.

Harry chuckled himself and walked across the room and went up the stairs. He was surprisingly comfortable in his clothes and hadn't complained once about how restrictive they were. He stripped them off and grabbed his pyjamas before he went to take a shower.

The face in the mirror made Harry laugh loudly, because his mouth looked like a clown's with the smears of lipstick all around it. “There's a bit of something on my face, Demelza? Really?” He asked his reflection and kept laughing as he washed his face off and took a shower.

Harry went to bed afterwards with a smile on his face and fell asleep with competing images of Romilda's breasts and panties going through his mind.

*

“I'm telling you that's it's Malfoy.” Harry said after returning to the common room after his latest attempt to get into the Room Of Lost Things. “He's been up to something since September and...”

“Just drop it, Harry. You've been harping on about Draco for months and you've never found anything.” Hermione said and Ron nodded. It was one of the rare times that Harry had with just his two first friends and they weren't busy with other things or people.

A shadow covered Harry's head from behind and he looked up, only to see a frown on Romilda's face. He hadn't seen it before and he was a little afraid of what she was going to say. She had made a few comments about how Hermione and Ron had kept him isolated and unable to make any other friends besides them, even in his own year.

“I thought you were supposed to be his friends?” Romilda said, her voice soft and it didn't carry past their little group.

“We are his friends!” Hermione almost shouted and gained everyone's attention.

Romilda's frown pointed right at her. “Then why haven't you supported him at all this year? It's the middle of January already and all you do is shout and yell at him over a stupid book that someone else wrote in.”

Hermione looked angry and opened her mouth to argue.

“She's right.” Harry said before Hermione could get going. “I've never once lied or exaggerated anything I've ever told you and the both of you keep trying to convince me I'm wrong about Malfoy being a Death Eater and how he's planning something big.”

“Harry, you're exaggerating things right now.” Ron said with a sigh. He was as tired hearing about Harry's wild theories as Hermione was.

Harry slowly stood up and gave them both a blank look. “I don't think I can be around people that don't believe me.”

“Harry, don't be that way. We're just trying to stop you from embarrassing yourself.” Hermione said.

Harry shook his head. “If that was true, you wouldn't embarrass me every single potions class and every time I try to do my homework using the book.”

Hermione looked defiant. “You shouldn't be cheating like that! You're not learning anything and...”

“Shut. Your. Stupid. Mouth.” Romilda said with a deadly voice.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to stare at her, even Harry.

“Harry has never cheated at anything. Not once. He didn't cheat in the tournament, even though the other competitors did. He's never cheated on any tests or exams. He's never once tried to copy off of anyone, no matter how difficult things were or how low he would be marked... unlike a certain redheaded bigot that everyone knows cheats all the time from both Harry and you.”

“Oi!” Ron protested.

“You're worse than her.” Romilda said, her voice in the same deadly tone. “Like Harry said, he's never lied to his supposed best friends and you were a complete arse to him before the first task. You said so many bad things about him behind his back about being a liar and a cheater that you had nearly the whole house turned against him.”

Nearly everyone nodded and both Ron and Hermione looked guilty.

“A few of us could only support him by being silent and not hexing him like everyone else, because none of us wanted everyone to turn on us, too.” Romilda said and looked over at a silent young man in Harry's year. “Right, Neville?”

“It's true.” Neville said and didn't wilt from everyone looking at him. After he had stormed the Ministry of Magic the year before and fought against the Death Eaters, he had become both confident and proud of what he did. “I was already ostracized because I'm quiet and don't have any friends. I would have spoken up if it would have made any difference.”

Nearly everyone in the room turned their head to look at Ginny, only to be surprised when she didn't speak up.

“Don't bother looking at her. She was in Ron's corner and supported her family instead of the hero that saved her from dying to a basilisk in second year.” Romilda said and several gasps came from the girls and the guys looked shocked.

“That was real?” Dennis Creevey asked. He was one of the boys from her year and the brother of one of Harry's biggest fans.

“Most of the rumors are true and only a few of them, the vicious ones that certain people started, are exaggerations and lies.” Romilda said and didn't look at Ron or Ginny.

Everyone knew she should have, though.

“I can't believe he told you about what happened.” Hermione said, shocked. She had thought only she had the right to know all about her best friend.

Romilda smiled at her and it was cold and not warm at all. “Unlike you, I like listening to him. I like hearing what's bothering him. I like asking him about his opinion on things.” Her smile changed to a real one and she turned to face Harry. “It's so wonderful to be with someone that adores you and never takes you for granted. Someone that is just as interested in learning about you as you are in them.”

Harry smiled warmly back. “I should be angry that you're saying all of this in public.”

“You know I'm only saying the things you're too stubborn to say to defend yourself.” Romilda said and stepped close to wrap her arms around his neck. “You can spank me for being naughty later.”

A lot of the girls made surprised sounds, especially Ginny and Hermione. Harry blushed at the implication of getting to touch her down there.

Romilda looked pleased at his reaction and gave him a quick kiss. “Let's get out of here and check on a few things, all right? I think we both need some air right now.”

Harry nodded and she let him out of her embrace. “I'll be right back.”

Romilda nodded and Harry walked across the room and up the stairs to his dorm.

“You won't get away with this.” Hermione whispered and Ron nodded. “We're not going to let you manipulate him anymore.”

Romilda turned and gave her an evil smile. “Manipulate him? Why would I do that?” She asked in a normal voice instead of whispering. “You two have already alienated him from everyone else in the school and now you've pushed him away completely. I'm only picking up the pieces of his life and trying to help him get through the huge mess that it is.”

“Snogging him isn't helping him!” Hermione almost spat.

“Yes, it is.” Harry said as he stepped into the room from the stairwell and Hermione was embarrassed to be caught arguing. “I'm more relaxed, more accepting, and she lets me talk through things without calling me an idiot or telling me that my ideas are stupid.”

Hermione opened her mouth to refute that, then remembered how she had been treating Harry since September. She sighed and closed her mouth without saying anything to defend herself.

“It makes me wonder why Won Won isn't hanging all over Lavender like he was before Christmas and avoids her as much as he can.” Harry pointed out and it was Ron's turn to look embarrassed. “Where's the beautiful necklace she bought you for Christmas, anyway?”

Ron's red face changed from embarrassment to anger at being called out. “Piss off!”

Harry smiled at him and put an arm around Romilda's waist. “Gladly, Weasley.” He said and nodded to Hermione. “Goodbye, Granger.”

That was the moment that everyone would remember as when the Griffindor Golden Trio had broken up for good.

Harry Potter and a happy Romilda Vane walked across the room and left through the portrait hole. They stopped walking when they went down a flight of stairs and stood on the landing between floors six and seven on the main staircase. They poured over the Marauder's Map looking for a particular bleach blind boy.

“He's not on the map anywhere.” Harry whispered as he cuddled with Romilda under his invisibility cloak. It had quickly become a habit that the both enjoyed.

“There's only two explanations for that. He's either not in the castle or he's somewhere the map doesn't show.” Romilda said. “It even shows us and we're under your powerful heirloom cloak, which means the map must be tied into the castle wards and it detects everyone under them.”

Harry thought about that. “Well, the only two places I know of that aren't on the map are the Chamber of Secrets and the Room of Requirement.”

Romilda nodded and folded the map around to show the second floor and quickly found the unused bathroom that Moaning Myrtle had claimed and haunted. “You said the entrance is by the sinks and goes down, which doesn't appear on the map, so the wards don't go down that far. He also can't open it unless he can speak parseltongue or has a spell to duplicate the sounds and vibrations.”

Harry watched as she folded and refolded the map the other way and revealed the seventh floor. He used a finger and pointed. “That's the corridor where the room's entrance is and... Crabbe is standing right there.”

Romilda smiled at him. “Let's go.”

They carefully walked with the cloak still covering them. They passed a few people without being caught and stopped at the end of the corridor and looked down the hallway. A young blonde girl stood there and she held what looked like heavy brass scales in her arms.

Romilda moved the map back up and showed Harry that it was still Crabbe standing there. “Either Crabbe's been lying to everyone for years about being a big dumb brute and is really a cute little first year girl...”

“...or he's using polyjuice and stole some poor girl's hair. Hopefully he only stole it.” Harry said, his face showing anger.

Romilda put a hand on his arm where he held his wand. “I doubt he'll admit anything if we asked, so attacking him won't gain us anything.”

Harry sighed and slipped his wand back into his pocket. “What do we do?”

“We can scare the girl and make her run away or we can wait her out.” Romilda said, wisely. “Either way, we find out if anyone else is inside by summoning the door.”

Harry thought about that and made his choice. He wrapped is arms around her waist and Romilda hummed approval and leaned backwards into him. They stood there by the wall and waited for quite some time and watched the hallway and the map at the same time.

Half an hour later, the familiar door started to form and it opened as Draco Malfoy himself stepped out and appeared on the map. Neither Harry nor Romilda breathed as Draco and the little girl that Crabbe was disguised as, walked down the hallway and passed them to head down the stairs.

When they were gone, Harry and Romilda carefully walked over to the fading door and summoned it again. They entered the huge room and Harry took off the cloak and tucked it into his pocket.

“It's too bad we don't know any tracking spells.” Romilda said as she stared at the piles and piles of junk and lost things.

Harry took his wand back out. “I don't think this will work.” He said and balanced the wand on his palm. “Point Me where Draco Malfoy was.”

The wand didn't move.

“Is that a real spell?” Romilda asked, doubt in her voice. “It's not in Latin.”

“Hermione made it for me to navigate the maze at the tournament.” Harry said.

Romilda's eyes widened. “Hermione made her own original spell?”

Harry smiled at the awe in his girlfriend's voice. “She said she modified it from a few other searching spells to make it more versatile than a compass spell that only always points north.”

Romilda smiled back. “So, she wasn't always so ignorant of your needs and desires?”

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that.

“I'm just teasing you, Harry.” Romilda said and kissed his cheek. “She was your best friend and you depended on her a lot.”

Harry's face went sad at her words. He was only just now realizing how much his life was going to change without Hermione in it.

“No, don't think about her like that!” Romilda said, a bit harshly.

Harry's eyes widened at her tone.

“It's not your fault that you've outgrown her. You needed her to grow up with you and stop treating you like you're an ignorant first year.” Romilda told him. “She doesn't need to baby you anymore or lead you around by the nose to try and keep you out of trouble.”

Harry wanted to argue her point and he couldn't. That was almost exactly how Hermione had been acting this year. Every suggestion he made about Malfoy she shot down and denied it meant anything, keeping him from investigating someone he knew was up to no good, which was something they had done as a group every year they had been at school.

“She should have changed her attitude to stand beside you to support you, and she didn't. She's still telling you what to do and to fit into her own idea of who you're supposed to be. That's not a good thing, for either of you.” Romilda said, her voice losing the harshness and reducing to a whisper.

Harry took a deep breath and let it out. “Romilda...”

“Yes, I'm going to fill that role for you, just like I have ever since you defied her and chose to talk to me that day in the library.” Romilda said, proudly.

Harry felt pride fill him, too. He had been particularly brave that day, and a little foolish for approaching a pretty girl he didn't know.

Romilda saw the change in his posture and smiled. “How long did she harp on you about the love potion, anyway?”

“Weeks.” Harry said with a chuckle. “She still thinks I ate some because of how I talk about you.”

Romilda was very pleased to hear that. “You see? I told you I only needed the potion to get your attention. It didn't matter if you actually took it or not.”

Harry nodded and looked at the piles of junk. “Do you have any idea about what to look for in here?”

“Since we don't know what Draco was doing in here, maybe you can ask your spell about the last thing that's been moved?” Romilda asked.

Harry blinked his eyes at her exactly three times. “That's bloody brilliant!”

Romilda blushed at the praise. “Thank... mmm.” She moaned as Harry kissed her passionately.

Harry broke the kiss and cast the spell. His wand spun on his hand and stopped as it pointed off slightly to the right. He beamed a smile at his girlfriend and she beamed a smile right back. They clasped hands and started their search and Harry kept using the spell and asking the same thing to narrow down where the wand was pointing.

They eventually reached an aisle about a third of the way through the room and the wand pointed at a large cabinet. Both Harry and Romilda silently cursed at themselves for not asking for the largest object inside the room instead, not that they knew it at the time.

“I think I recognize that.” Harry said. “I think Fred and George shoved Montegue inside it last year.”

Romilda gasped and pointed at the dresser right beside the cabinet, her eyes catching the glint from a diamond tiara. “Please tell me we can keep what we find in here!”

Harry turned to look and saw the thing. Even with his limited knowledge of such things, he knew that something like that was worth a lot of money. “I don't know.”

“It's called the room of lost things for a reason.” Romilda said, hyping herself up, and walked over to the bust of a man wearing a fake grey wig and the tiara was nestled into the hair. Her mind came up with a great question to ask. “Harry, use your point spell and ask where the owner is!”

Harry knew that was another brilliant thought and did exactly that. His wand didn't move.

“Yes! It doesn't have an owner! Finders keepers!” Romilda exclaimed happily and reached for it.

Harry smiled at making his girlfriend happy until her fingers touched the thing and she stiffened. He knew something was wrong when she growled and yanked the thing off of the bust, tore it from the wig, and her eyes flashed red. His seeker reflexes kicked in and he snatched it from her grasp before she could put the thing on.

“AHH!” Harry gasped and dropped it onto the floor. The metal had become hot for some reason and he looked at the slight burn on his palm and the slight char on the edge of the tiara.

Romilda looked livid at being denied her prize and snarled at him as she tackled him. “NO! IT'S MINE! YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!”

Harry spent the next few minutes being punched and struggled on the floor against a surprisingly strong girl until he managed to point his wand at her and stunned her. Romilda slumped down and fell unconscious and he pushed her off of him. She had never acted like that before and he knew it was the tiara's fault, especially after their last conversation about her standing by him.

When he tried to pick the tiara up, Harry hissed at the metal getting hot again. He sat there and didn't know what to do. His girlfriend was unconscious and obviously affected by the tiara and he couldn't pick the thing up without hurting himself. He sat there for several minutes as he thought about things and his mind eventually went to the last thing that reacted to his touch. A possessed Quirrell.

Harry used his wand to point to a piece of cloth and used an old shirt to wrap the tiara up and had nowhere to shove it, except inside his own shirt, so he did that. He looked at the cabinet that he remembered being a vanishing cabinet and he couldn't leave it intact, not if Malfoy was working on it.

So, Harry did the only thing he could think of. He dragged Romilda down the aisle a short ways and took aim with his wand at the cabinet. “Bombarda! Bombarda! Bombarda Maxima!”

The first smashed the doors in. The second broke the doors apart to expose the inside. The third spell blew the entire cabinet apart into splinters. Harry covered his face with an arm and used his body to block any from hitting Romilda on the floor behind him.

Harry sighed with relief at neither himself nor Romilda being hurt and now he had to wonder how he was going to get her out of the room. He looked at his wand and smiled. “Point me to a stretcher.”

It didn't take long to find one and a quick Reparo spell later, he carried it over to where he had left his girlfriend and placed her on top of it. He tapped it and it floated up into the air like he had seen Madam Pomfrey do for people that were hurt and had to be brought to the hospital wing. It followed him out of the piles of junk and Harry used his wand to find the exit to Hogwarts.

Harry checked the map for anyone that might be on the other side, didn't see anyone, and opened the door. The stretcher followed him and he shut the door, then he had the smart idea to put his invisibility cloak over Romilda. There was no way he was going to walk through the entire school without someone seeing her.

Harry made his way to the hospital wing and couldn't use any of the shortcuts he knew, because the stretcher wouldn't fit through some of them. If anyone stopped him with the 'empty' stretcher, he could claim that he found it and was returning it to Madam Pomfrey. It was even the truth.

“What happened to you this time?” Madam Pomfrey asked in a dismissive tone as soon as she saw Harry. Her eyes didn't even look at the stretcher.

Harry was perturbed about that and spoke without thinking. “Why do you care what happened? Just patch up what you see and send me on my way without ever checking anything else!”

Madam Pomfrey was shocked by the hatred she heard. “Excuse me?”

“I've been in here a bunch of times over the years and you never did anything beyond tending whatever wound you see. You have never once given me a check-up or even any of my immunizations.” Harry said and Madam Pomfrey almost stumbled at the implication. “I think I'd rather take my chances at St. Mungo's this time. Call the real medical professionals and arrange an immediate appointment, please.”

Madam Pomfrey was a little too shaken by his words to follow the normal procedure of notifying the headmaster first, so he could take full responsibility like always, and went to her office. As she used the floo and placed the call to the wizarding hospital, she felt her magic start to flicker and wane.

She knew then that Harry was right. She had him under her care a lot since first year and didn't give him a full check-up or ever bothered checking for his immunizations. She had taken Albus Dumbledore's word that he had been well taken care of outside of school and didn't do her job, essentially violating her magical healer oaths to never do harm to anyone under her care.

When the call was answered, she quickly said she needed medical help at the school, was losing her magic for violating her oaths, and a student needed their help immediately. She pulled her head out of the flames before her magic completely left her and opened the floo for visitors. A man dressed in healer robes stepped through as she collapsed unconscious to the floor.

The man bent and checked her, confirmed her diagnosis, and levitated her out of the office and towards the beds. He saw the student that was supposed to need urgent care and ignored him, since he was standing and wasn't in immediate danger.

“Who are you?” Harry asked him.

“Madam Pomfrey called for help.” The man said and settled the matron onto a bed. “She apparently broke her medical oaths and is losing her magic.”

Harry was stunned at hearing that and he wasn't sure what to do, then he realized it was him pointing out that she wasn't doing her job that probably caused her to lose her magic. He didn't know that was a thing and he felt a deep regret at pointing it out as he silently cursed his Griffindor nature.

“You don't seem to be in dire straits.” The healer said as he finally turned to look at Harry.

That same dismissive tone made Harry angry. “I was regretting pointing out Madam Pomfrey failed in her duty. I can see now that she was only following normal healing procedure by dismissing people without bothering to check them for anything besides what they can see.”

The man scowled at the arrogant boy. “If you don't have an immediate problem, then there's no emergency or need for me to be here.”

Harry couldn't stop his smile and it wasn't a nice one. “Go ahead and leave without doing your job. I want to see how long you can keep your magic if the mere mention of negligence took it from Madam Pomfrey.”

The man scoffed and started to walk away before the boy's words registered. He made it to Madam Pomfrey's office door before he stopped walking.

“Well? Go on and leave. I'm sure I can figure out how to call for a replacement when you collapse.” Harry said just before the man dropped to his knees. “That didn't take long.”

The healer looked up when Harry walked over to him.

“You didn't even bother asking what happened or what was wrong.” Harry said and let the man fall to the floor on his back. “Maybe the next healer won't be so ignorant of their vows?”

The man stared as Harry stepped over him with a floating stretcher behind him. Where did the old stretcher come from? He asked himself before he lost consciousness.

Harry used the floo and called out St. Mungo's and asked for another healer, then explained that the last one violated his magical oaths and collapsed. He was in luck and a thirty year old woman was available to come through. He stepped back and she came through and saw the man on the floor by the door.

“You didn't put him in a bed?” The new healer asked.

“He just collapsed. I thought it was better to get help than do something I have no idea how to do.” Harry explained and she nodded.

With a flick of the healer's wand, the man was floated up into the air and she brought him over to one of the beds and set him beside Madam Pomfrey. She settled him quickly and turned back to look at Harry.

“What seems to be the problem?” She asked and her eyes went over him.

“We can deal with my own problems after you look at the actual patient.” Harry said and pulled the invisibility cloak off of Romilda and tucked it into a pocket.

The healer gasped and rushed to the side of the stretcher that she didn't notice and ran several diagnostics on her. “What happened?”

“She touched a cursed object and became crazed and attacked me. After we fought, I stunned her and brought her here.” Harry said.

The healer levitated Romilda from the stretcher to a bed and secured her, in case she was still suffering from the anger curse or whatever she was suffering from. She could detect some dark magic residue and that was not good. Not good at all.

“What was the object?” The healer asked. “If I can examine it, I might know how to fix this.”

“It's this.” Harry said and took the wrapped tiara out of his shirt.

The healer stared at the cloth bundle and kicked herself mentally for not seeing the bulge. He could have thrown it on her and cursed her, too. She was taking his word for things and that was a very stupid thing to do.

“Give it here and...”

“No.” Harry interrupted her and stepped back. “As soon as she saw it, she wanted to put it on. When she touched it, her eyes went red and she growled. Romilda never acted like that before and I won't let anyone else touch it, either.”

The healer softly sighed. “I need to check it with a diagnostic spell and...”

“If you can do it at a distance, I'll unwrap it and hold it out.” Harry said.

The healer wasn't used to someone defying her so much. “Just set it down and...”

“I'm not letting it go or letting you take it.” Harry said adamantly and took another step back.

“You are delaying this girl's treatment!” The healer nearly shouted, pulling out the big guns of guilt.

“No, you are. Either do your job or get someone here that can. Have fun living without your magic.” Harry said and his eyes went to Madam Pomfrey and the other healer.

That startled the woman and her own eyes went to the two unconscious people. Whatever was going on, it was taking people's magic within minutes of encountering it. She let out an annoyed sound and waved a hand at the bundle.

“Unwrap it and hold it out as far as you can. I don't want you messing up the results.” The healer ordered.

Harry opened up the bundle with his eyes focused on the healer's own. If he saw the same reaction as he saw from Romilda, he would cover it up and hide it as quickly as possible. He was relieved when the healer's gaze only looked interested and not obsessed and held the tiara out to the side and only held on the very edge of it.

The healer performed her spells and gasped at the results, then performed them again and gasped again. She couldn't believe the huge amount of dark magic that permeated the tiara. She performed the spells on Romilda and nodded. It was the same magic residue and confirmed that the girl had been cursed by the item.

When she looked back, the tiara was gone and the bulge was back inside the boy's shirt. The healer ignored that for now, because she had work to do. They still had another girl from Hogwarts in St. Mungo's Spell Damage Ward that had touched a cursed item. It scared the healer, because that was two students this year and that was two students too many, and there were two very dark objects that should never have been inside a school.

The healer produced a Patronus Goose and it gazed into the healer's eyes for several moments, then it took flight and flew out through the wall of the infirmary. She went back to work and didn't see the interested look on Harry's face. He hadn't seen anyone use a Patronus like that before and wondered what it did. He wasn't stupid enough to ask about it and interrupt her, though.

Over the next hour, Harry was a little surprised that no one else showed up or stormed into the hospital wing, either to see what was going on or to see what he was doing there. It always happened when he was involved and he wondered why he was being left alone. His eyes went to Madam Pomfrey and he had to assume that she always summoned McGonagall or Dumbledore.

When a group of five Aurors entered the hospital wing from Madam Pomfrey's office, Harry immediately took a defensive stance. That did not go unnoticed. Two of the men and one woman gave him approving looks and the remaining man and woman ignored him as they moved over to talk to the woman healer.

Harry wasn't surprised when the woman that noticed him and one of the men broke off from the group and walked over to him. He didn't relax his stance and both the man and the woman gave him reassuring smiles and almost looked proud.

“We'd like your full name, the patient's full name, and to get your description of what happened.” The man said and took out a piece of parchment and an inked quill.

“Just so you know, it's a crime to lie to authorities during an investigation. It's called Obstruction of Justice.” The woman said.

“You didn't have to tell him that.” The man said with a chuckle.

“He's too wary of us to be caught in a lie like our normal procedure.” The woman said with a smile and looked at Harry. “Aren't you?”

Harry nodded. “My girlfriend's name is Romilda Ivy Vane and she touched a cursed object. It made her crazed and we fought, I stunned her, and brought her here to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey asked me what happened to me this time and I confronted her about never treating all of my problems and only the ones she could see.”

That statement made both Aurors give him searching looks.

“Madam Pomfrey called for help when she realized she broke her oaths to never do harm and another healer showed up. He was just as dismissive of me as she was and he violated his oaths as well by not asking what was going on or even asking about the emergency patient he knew was here. When he collapsed, I called for help again and a competent woman showed up.”

The man wrote all of that out and the woman nodded.

“And what's your name?” The man asked and poised to write it.

“Harry James Potter.” Harry admitted.

Both the man and the woman caught their breaths and exchanged looks.

“Why isn't the headmaster here?” The man asked after writing out the name.

“I assumed Madam Pomfrey called for help instead of informing the headmaster I was involved in something again.” Harry said, a bit angrily. “This is the first time I've been left alone and not badgered about everything that's going on.”

The two Aurors exchanged looks again.

“You don't think this is badgering?” The woman asked.

“No, you're talking calmly and asking me to explain, rather than demanding answers and asking questions you already know the answers to.” Harry said and he wasn't sure why he was being so open and free with his complaints. His thoughts went to the tiara in his shirt and that he had touched it, too. “I touched the thing as well, only I'm not as affected.”

“How do you know that?” The man asked and the woman drew her wand and held it by her thigh.

“I'm not crazed or trying to put the tiara on. I am feeling a lot of anger, though.” Harry admitted.

“Not enough to attack people?” The woman asked.

“No, I'm not that weak-minded to let a little anger influence me.” Harry said and his thoughts ran wild at how calm, collected, and articulate he was.

“What makes you say that?” The man asked and his partner moved slightly to the right for a wider field of fire.

“I've been angry at everyone in the school pretty much every year I've been here. They insult me, hex me, blame me, and everything else.” Harry said and held in his sigh. “I've never lashed out at anyone.”

“Why not?” The woman asked and drew his attention. It did not stop Harry from seeing the man draw his wand to hide under the parchment he was writing on.

“Because they're not worth it.” Harry said and let out the sigh he was holding. “It wouldn't achieve anything if I did hex people, except to make them hate me more than they already do.”

That statement made both Aurors stiffen and give him surprised looks.

“I've been labelled a dark lord in training for three of my six years here and this year is shaping up to be the fourth. It doesn't matter if I was proven right that Voldemort is back. They all ignore the danger and I'm tired of trying to defend myself.” Harry said and saw both of them flinch at Voldemort's name.

“You do seem rather calm with your girlfriend hurt like she is.” The man said.

“That's because I don't know how to fight someone else's possession. I can fight my own easily.” Harry said and both Aurors stepped back from him with their wands raised. He sighed again and showed his hands didn't have a wand in them. “If you ever talked to Mad Eye, you should know that I can't be put under the Imperius Curse, either. I'm immune.”

The shock on their faces made Harry smile.

After a few moments, the woman finally spoke. “The healer said you have the cursed item on you.”

“Yes, I do and I won't be handing it over to you.” Harry responded.

That made them both frown and tense up.

“You can't handle it properly or give it the respect it's due.” Harry said and immediately thought he was trying to protect it from being damaged, which is something he wouldn't normally do. “Do you have a way to destroy cursed objects? Maybe with it broken it will remove whatever happened to Romilda?”

The woman and the man exchanged looks.

“We do.” The man said. “We need to make a call.”

“Are you going to use your Patronus like the healer did? I'd like to know more about that spell.” Harry said before he could get his curiosity under control. Thankfully, this made the two Aurors relax instead of worrying them.

“While my partner uses it, I can give you a brief overview of what the spell can be used for when you eventually learn to cast it.” The woman said with a smile.

“I can already cast it. I just want to know how she sent a message with it.” Harry said and managed to not sigh. Didn't these people keep updated with current events? I told the Ministry about my Patronus way back before fifth year during my trial.

That shocked both Aurors again and Harry let out the sigh.

“I've been able to cast it since third year. It's a stag. It's always a stag.” Harry repeated the same statement he had made back then and thought about wowing them by reminding them he defeated over 100 Dementors in third year, too.

“It's always a stag.” The woman whispered and nodded to the man. He stepped back and cast a Patronus that looked like a weasel, whispered to it, and it shot out through the wall and disappeared.

Harry watched it go and then his eyes went to the woman, whose smile was a little strained as she held up both hands like he was and stepped a single step closer. She did not put her wand away, though.

“I suppose I can give you a quick lesson on how to use the Messenger Patronus.” The woman said and started to explain the spell's modification and how it can carry a message to the target in the caster's own voice.

Harry listened with one ear and didn't relax as he also watched the man write a few things down and didn't do anything threatening. He was sure that if he stopped paying either of them his attention, he would be stunned and robbed of the treasure in his shirt.

That thought made Harry pause and he fought against thinking that the tiara was anything but a completely cursed item that needed to be destroyed. His mind suddenly became very clear and he realized he was projecting the exact image he didn't want to show, someone about to go off the handle and attack, which was why both Aurors were ready to take him down.

Harry knew exactly how to diffuse things and he very slowly made a stop motion with his hand and then reached into his pocket for his wand. He slid the wand out, holding it by the tip and not the handle, and held it out to the woman. She looked stunned at the offer.

“I'm sorry I didn't offer it right away. You need to check it for spells, don't you?” Harry asked.

The woman's expression immediately changed to a warm smile as her hand closed around the handle of his wand. “Yes, we do. Thank you for cooperating, Mister Potter.”

Harry let the wand go and fought his urge to snatch it back. He wasn't defenseless without it and let her hand it off to her partner, whom did the proper spell and checked the wand. He wrote the results down and didn't hand the wand back, just as Harry suspected he wouldn't.

The woman continued her lesson on the Patronus and Harry continued to listen and watched the other Auror, too. With almost perfect timing, the impromptu lesson ended and Madam Pomfrey's office door opened and a stout woman wearing a monocle was followed by two Aurors and a man dressed in all black. Even his face was completely covered by his cloak.

“You declared an emergency situation, Robards?” The new woman asked the man with the parchment.

“I did, Director Bones.” Robards answered and handed her the parchment to read.

She skimmed it and her eyes widened, which let her monocle drop out. “This is a real transcript?”

“Yes, ma'am. Word for word.” Robards said and held out the extra wand he had.

Harry wasn't an idiot or tried to object to her taking control of it. He kind of knew this woman from his trial as the one that had been surprised by him being able to cast a Patronus.

“It seems you keep doing... interesting things, Mister Potter.” Director Bones said and walked over to him.

Harry stepped back and Bones stopped walking with a look of surprise on her face.

“I'm only handing your wand back to you.” Bones said.

Harry briefly glanced down at her not extending it out and looked back at her face. “Really?” He asked and then was quite surprised when she smiled instead of being insulted that he had called her out on her deception.

“Robards wasn't exaggerating. Good.” Bones said and motioned to the man wearing all black. “Unspeakable Croaker is here for the cursed item.”

“Are you going to destroy it?” Harry asked her.

“It needs to be examined first to...”

“I'm not handing it over to let anyone else be corrupted by it.” Harry cut her off. “The healer cast several spells and it matched Romilda's condition. I want it destroyed to save her.”

“Saving her is a little more involved than simply destroying it will achieve, boy.” Croaker said.

Harry immediately hated the man for using that moniker. “Then you can go back to wherever you came from, old man.”

“Hey! Show some respect!” One of the other Aurors spat at him.

“Why? He didn't.” Harry responded and several Aurors and the Unspeakable started berating him.

“Everyone stop.” Bones ordered without raising her voice and they all shut up. “Croaker, stop intentionally provoking a cooperating witness. I didn't bring you here for you to play your games.”

The man dressed all in black gave her a piercing look through his face covering and then nodded.

“Mister Potter, we need to do more diagnostics on the object than a healer can do. She's not extensively trained in dark magic use or its effects like an Auror or an Unspeakable.” Bones explained.

Harry looked into her eyes and decided to test her. “How long will that take? Katie Bell's been in St. Mungo's for months and I'm sure it's because the cursed necklace she touched is sitting somewhere being examined instead of being destroyed and ending the curse.”

Bones turned away from him, showing Harry that she actually trusted him to not attack. “Croaker! Is that true?” She asked and the man stilled. “Don't make me call upon your oath to stop you from lying to the Head of a Department in the Ministry.”

The fully covered man didn't respond for a moment, then sighed. “Yes, one of my people are still examining it. It's a fascinating object and usually kills as soon as it's worn. Knowing that just briefly brushing it causes...”

“Shut up.” Bones ordered and the man's jaw clacked shut. “I am ordering you to destroy that necklace as soon as you return to the Ministry.” She said and glared at the man. “Am I understood?”

“Director, you are not allowed to order me to stop researching a valuable resource for the Ministry.”

Bones stepped close and stared at his covered face. “I don't care if the thing holds the secrets of the universe! You are intentionally making a young woman suffer torture for months because of your bloody curiosity!”

Her raised voice gained everyone's attention and the Unspeakable did not like being subjected to all the angry glares. He also didn't like having his policies questioned.

“We could eventually find a counter for it.” Croaker said and didn't really believe it himself.

“Not if it's only a consequence of barely touching it. You already admitted you didn't know it could do that.” Bones countered. “I'm issuing a legal order and filing the paperwork as soon as I return to my office. You will have the actual cursed necklace that girl touched destroyed by morning or I will have your entire department subjected to a full inspection. Do. You. Understand?”

The man stood defiantly for several seconds, then slumped slightly. “Yes, Director Bones.”

“I can provide a memory of what it looks like and what happened, so you know they won't substitute a fake.” Harry offered. It was the only useful idea he had gotten so far from his lessons with Dumbledore every few weeks. Gathering important memories.

“That is a wonderful idea, Mister Potter. Thank you.” Bones said and turned around to face him once more and walked over with his wand held out. “You'll need this to pull a copy of the memory out.”

Harry accepted his wand back and performed the simple spell to copy the memory of Katie's attack.

Bones handed him an empty vial and he filled it with the silvery substance. She accepted it back and slipped it into her robes. “Why don't you give me a copy of today's as well?”

Harry nodded and pulled out finding the cabinet, the tiara, the fight with Romilda, and what happened in the hospital wing. He was sure she didn't really need that last bit; but, it was better to have her see it than relying solely on people's word.

“I'll do up an order for the new cursed item to be destroyed as well. We can't have these things in a school full of children.” Bones said and made her voice as reassuring as possible.

“It's about time someone cared about that.” Harry said before he could stop himself.

Bones' smile was strained as she spoke. “That sounds like there's been more than just these two.”

Harry thought about staying quiet, then realized he had a captive audience and someone that actually had the ability to help him. “I'm going to need more empty vials.”

*

A week later, Hogwarts was closed and all of the teachers were fired. A deathtrap like that would never be allowed to threaten Britain's children ever again. Albus Dumbledore himself was publicly arrested and his cursed withered hand was revealed from touching a cursed object, then he was released, since he had given himself a death sentence and they couldn't top that.

It was then revealed that several of the students at Hogwarts had also encountered various cursed objects. Thankfully, they only mentioned Harry Potter and didn't reveal the names of the other students to embarrass them. However, they did receive compensation for all the damage they received from being at school.

The largest recipient was Harry Potter himself. The things he had gone through during all five of his years at Hogwarts had shocked the entire wizarding world and he became even more famous for surviving it all. His title was fully proved to be right and he really was the Boy-Who-Lived.

Everything he had reported had been investigated and each and every student or teacher that ever raised a hand or wand against Harry Potter were fined and censured. Those black marks on their records and the shame of attacking the Boy-Who-Lived would follow them for the rest of their lives.

The tiara was also examined by dark magic experts, including several curse breakers, and they easily discovered the item's true horrible nature. It was destroyed and the victims were checked to remove the magic's taint. That was how they discovered the same type of source within Harry Potter's scar. As they performed surgery to try and remove it, Harry died on the operating table.

Before anyone could start crying or mourning the unexplained death, Harry sucked in a sharp breath and woke up, even though he had been put into a coma with the Draught of Living Death and no one had fed him the Wiggenweld Potion antidote.

The first things out of his mouth were what the other horcruxes were and then he fell under the effects of the Draught of Living Death again. No one dismissed his words and it caused a mad scramble to get them before Voldemort himself made any overt moves. No one mentioned that Dumbledore was dying, so no one was worried that he wouldn't be there to stop the Dark Lord from attacking.

*

Harry was kept under guard and the protection of the DMLE for over a month as he healed. He was eventually released and looked like a new man. Those that hadn't been constantly around him and saw the gradual changes, barely recognized him. He was six inches taller, had short hair cropped on the sides, and a completely blank forehead.

Romilda's poor heart went pitter-patter when she first beheld her hero. He had saved her from being possessed and she could never thank him enough for that. She had thought Harry was cute before and now he was gorgeous, because he wasn't hunched down or trying to not draw attention to himself.

Harry looked and felt confident after having his damaged bones and scars fixed or removed. After coming clean to the authorities about everything he went through, the silent praise that even grizzled Aurors gave him, reassured him that he wasn't weak or a failure like he had been told all his life. The look on Romilda's face also told him that he had finally found someone that loved him for who he was.

The two of them embraced and then kissed like they were completely alone, despite the cameras flashing and the cheering of the crowd. Harry broke the kiss and smiled a roguish smile at the bright blush on Romilda's face. He let her go and stepped over to the small stage and the mass of reporters and Amelia Bones.

“It's good to see you up and around, Harry.” Amelia said and shook his hand.

Harry glanced at Romilda and she gave him a nod, so he turned back to give Amelia that same roguish smile before he kissed her. Amelia was too shocked by the move to do anything like push him away or berate him for it. She would later, though.

“It was thanks to this great woman actually listening to me that led to everything happening.” Harry said with authority and Amelia's slight blush was captured for posterity. “It was also thanks to my girlfriend that started it all. If it hadn't been for her, I would probably be gallivanting around the country right now trying to track down all of You-Know-Who's dark magic baubles.”

That made everyone chuckle at the stupidity and Romilda blushed and preened at the praise and the camera flashes.

“The DMLE stepped up and protected all of us and not just me, so I wanted to personally thank Madam Bones for her exemplary work in dealing with the scourge of Dark Lord Riddle.” Harry said and everyone started talking and a few laughed at the silly name. “She has already appointed me as a special consultant to her Task Force that will hunt down the rest of the Death Eaters.”

The crowd cheered and Harry waved, stepped back and shook Amelia's hand, and chuckled at the glare she gave him. He stepped away from her and waved at the press. Romilda ran over to him and hugged him, gave the reporters and cameras a few more pictures, then they retreated from the room.

Two Unspeakables and led them away from the Ministry of Magic's Atrium and into a hidden elevator. They descended and stopped at the ninth floor. Another set of steps later, a hated black door was opened and they went through and entered the circular room. When it stopped spinning, one of the men asked for the death room. The sixth door opened on the right and the four of them entered a very familiar room.

“You can't do this to me! I'm immortal!” Voldemort yelled. He was bound in magic suppressing chains and struggled to get a hand free.

“You're not immortal, Tom. You're deranged.” Harry said and Voldemort started cursing and almost frothing at the mouth at the very different Harry approaching him. “I'm here to finish the prophecy.”

“NO! You can't kill me! I've gone further down the road of immortality than anyone else!” Voldemort shouted.

“We know. That's why he said you're deranged.” A younger female voice came from a short fully-cloaked figure. She carried over a large box of ruined items and handed them to Harry.

“You forgot your voice changer.” Croaker said from beside the Veil of Death.

“No, I didn't.” The female voice said and the covered face looked up at Harry's face.

“Thanks, Hermione.” Harry whispered and walked over to the veil and tossed the entire box in. He didn't want to touch anything inside just in case. He was cleaned of Tom's magic and he wanted to keep it that way.

“Killing me will corrupt your soul!” Voldemort shouted to try and buy himself some time.

Harry chuckled and walked over to him. “Your horcrux in my skull would have corrupted me years ago if that was true.”

Voldemort stopped struggling and stared at him in disbelief.

“I had that same look on my face when they told me, only with a nose and eyebrows.” Harry said and grabbed the end of the chain. He pulled on it and Voldemort fell onto his back and started struggling again.

The dark lord yelled and screamed as he was easily dragged over to the veil.

“Do I need to pick him up or just toss the end of the chain in?” Harry asked.

“The end of the chain. It's magically connected and counts as a single object.” Hermione said.

Harry nodded and looked down at the thing yelling and cursing at him. “After everything you've done, I still feel sorry for you, Tom.” He said and tossed the chain into the veil and it snapped taut and started pulling Voldemort in. “Maybe an eternity paying for your crimes might let you regret it all and forgive yourself, because no one else will.”

Voldemort's yell was cut off as he was pulled through the Veil of Death and silence fell in the chamber. The cloaked figures walked away and left Harry, Hermione, and Romilda alone.

“Are you in trouble for revealing yourself?” Harry asked her.

“I didn't say anything about who I was, did I?” Hermione asked and reached up to touch her collar. “Have a good life, Mister Potter.” An almost genderless mechanical voice said. “Miss Vane.”

“Unspeakable Newton.” Harry said and nodded to her.

The figure nodded back and left the couple alone in the death room.

“Aren't they going to show us the way out?” Romilda asked and took Harry's hand.

“They don't have to. I know the way.” Harry said and led her out of the room, through the spinning room after asking for the exit, and he slipped the cloak over their shoulders. They disappeared completely, even though the cloak didn't cover their feet. The elevator rose to the Atrium and neither of them spoke.

Harry led Romilda out of the Ministry building and into their new lives together.