Harry Potter was confused, walking through a hall he could have sworn he saw a girl who looked similar to Elizabeth before the blood adoption but he had never seen her again. Maybe he was overworking himself... November had arrived with vengeance, making the temperature drop more than normal; it was good the elves had tempered the Slytherin common room and personal rooms. The older boys in the Guild had told him horror stories about how cold it used to be.

The goblins had given him worrying reports about the diary he had sent them. Apparently, that inoffensive looking book was a Horcrux, a piece of soul created by a process so foul they had not charged for its destruction. The worrying part was that they had found another containing the same magical signature in his godfather's house but they had destroyed it without telling the man. He considered telling Sirius but he was not able to keep any kind of information to himself, and he kept seeing Remus Lupin. He had asked aunt Eleadora about those soul fragments and she had paled, with a sigh, she took a book that had belonged to his great grandmother that contained information about blood magic so foul that any hag that committed it would be cursed by her own blood. It seemed their purpose was anchoring the soul to this realm by putting a piece of your soul to an object. However, the process was not so simple... If you wanted to anchor a human soul you needed to sacrifice the most innocent kind of human soul and that was a baby. The last drop of their innocent blood containing their suffering and pain which meant torture. The process was so disgusting did not finish reading, it seemed only the worst kind of monster was able to create a Horcrux. The goblins and he had agreed that an object so foul could not exist so they had used the diary's magic signature to locate more, though it would take months for a location to appear.

On a more positive note, no other message had been left and no attacks took place so he assumed the diary was the responsible. Now they only needed to find the blasted chambers, but their research while informative had not given them the location but considering the attack had taken place in the second floor they believed it had to be near. He and his friends were walking towards the astronomy tower when they saw Mister Filch and his cat.

“Goodnight Mister Filch,” they saluted in unison at the man.

“Goodnight, going to classes and not out after curfew I hope,” the man who was known to be bitter answered in an amicable way, the wonders of politeness.

“Indeed, straight up to the astronomy tower,” Daphne explained with a smile.

“Good, I wished everyone was as you kids, go ahead then,” he said walking away whistling a happy tune with his loyal cat following.

“It was really kind from you to donate the cure for his cat Harry,” Blaise said looking at the man.

“He loves his cat as his own child, it would be cruel to deprive him of her company,” Harry explained resuming their walk.

“The man looked miserable before,” Theo agreed.

After class, they were on the fifth floor going towards the dungeons when Harry felt the castle's distress and allowed her to guide him to an abandoned corridor. The door at the end of it was blocked by a chair and someone crying could be heard inside. Blaise and Draco unblocked the chair with some effort and he opened the door. The girl stopped crying once she saw him, she was the girl that resembled Elizabeth and his protective side struck. The little girl was wearing her uniform with no shoes or cloak to protect her from the cold, he put his cloak on her shoulders and conjured shoes, thanking on the inside the arduous practice aunt Eleadora forced on him.

“May I know your name?” he asked the girl in a gentle tone.

“Luna Lovegood,” she stated in a clear voice and he had to smile at her dreamy expression.

“I am Harry Potter and these are my friends-"

“I know who you are Harry Potter, the castle likes you...” she said with a small smile.

“That is good to know, would you like to go with Daphne and Blaise to her room, I am sure you will like having a sleepover,” he told her and after a moment, she nodded.

“Don't be too hard on them Harry Potter, they are ignorants who are lead by foolishness,” she said and Daphne guided the girl towards the dungeons with Blaise shadowing them.

"What a curious girl... Let's go to professor Flitwick's quarters,” he ordered wondering if the girl was some kind of seer because she had guessed his intentions too well so he chose the other option.

“At this hour?” Theo questioned.

“Luna is a Ravenclaw and if there is something they hate more than someone besting them is being found lacking by authority. Besides professor Flitwick abhors bullying as much as I do,” he stated and the two boys followed until they arrived. Harry knocked on the door loud enough and after a short time, a short man opened the door in nightwear and looking alarmed.

“Harry, what happened?” he asked the boy whose face seemed carved in stone.

“A short while ago we found Luna Lovegood locked in a room on the fifth floor,” he began explaining and the man sobered.

“Come in and tell me everything,” the man said and they walked towards the sitting place.

“She was wearing only her uniform, no cloak or shoes. The door was blocked by a chair so it was no accident. Daphne and Blaise took her to our common room, she will sleep with her tonight, I am sorry to tell you this professor but I do not trust your house not to harm her,” Harry explained with clenched fists and the man seemed to age in front of him, burying his face in his hands.

“Thank you, Harry, I will make sure the culprits are punished tomorrow,” the man stated and the boys understood how this gentle man had seen many wars and survived.

“If I may add one more suggestion professor, ask for the house elves to retrieve all her belongings and tell you where they found them. I want her to stay with us for a couple of days just in case,” the boy suggested the man.

“I will do that, now I think it is time for bed. Before I forget thirty points to Slytherin for their selflessness and quick thinking, goodnight,” the tired professor said.

“Goodnight professor” they answered and left, curious to see what the ravens’ punishment would be.

Next day the boys were waiting in their common room for the girls to arrive, it was quite early and they were tired but curiosity was winning over. A radiant Luna walked beside Daphne and the twins followed them, wearing small smiles. His heart warmed at the sight of the girl, he was sure Elizabeth would love her when they meet, with that thought remembered he had to plan for the holidays.

“Good morning, I hope you slept well,” he told the girls, the other males smiled when Daphne scowled at him.

“I would have if an idiot did ask me to wake up so early,” she huffed.

“I had the best night of my life, never before I had done a sleepover or had friends,” the dreamy girl answered and Daphne's face softened.

“Do you have a cloak?” Blaise asked much to the surprise of the others.

“Daphne lent me one, now let's go, it is about to begin,” she said with a gentle smile and the older boys understood why Harry had taken her under his wing.

They walked in silence to the great hall and the girl talked about different creatures they never heard of but swore to find information about them. Their new member was a little ball of sunshine that made them smile at her antics. Once in they noticed the Ravenclaw's point glass contained no stones and their marker read zero, the few ones in that house table were looking despondent. They looked at each other and walked to their usual spot at their table; the snakes looked at their new member with curiosity but did not linger on her. Half an hour later the hall was full and the rest of the raven's house came in followed by a furious looking Flitwick who walked to the front of the hall, it was a shock for the rest of the school to see the affable man angry.

“Good morning students, I have a few announcements to make,” the man said and even if he was short, the aura he projected was enough to catch the entire hall's attention. “The Ravenclaw house as of today has no points for terrible infractions committed since the beginning of the year, it was a shame there were no more points to be taken. First, all the prefects are in probation and even the slightest infraction they commit will have them lose their title so you are to inform me.

“Yesterday night, Slytherin students found one of my first years locked in an abandoned room, they took care of her and I was informed. Investigating the circumstances I found out that my students had locked her in on different occasions: Cho Chang, Isobel MacDougal, and Mandy Brocklehurst were the bullies who lost their house fifty points each and four months of detention. I also discovered that many of her belongings were hidden from her, I would point names but that would include most of the girls from first to third years, they lost twenty points each and two months of detentions. Most of the house took part in verbal bullying and the older students who knew did nothing against it, I would say names but that would include most of the house, they lost ten points each and a month of detention,” the man announced with a stern-faced that conveyed his anger.

“At the end, there were no points to be taken but at least the castle will be cleaner than ever. Once again I commend the exemplary Slytherin students and after discovering the depth of the abuse that took place I give Mister Potter fifty points for taking care of one of his peers and inter-house cooperation. In all my decades working in this school I have never felt ashamed to be head of the Noble House Ravenclaw... Until this moment,” the man finished his speech with obvious disapproval directed at his house and walked to his seat.

Whispers broke out in the hall and many people looked at their table and at the disgraced house. Luna was eating her breakfast with a small smile directed at her food and he had to smile at her innocent disposition.

“Granger is glaring at you again!” Draco exclaimed looking exasperated.

“She does that frequently?” Harry asked curiously, he never paid attention to jealousy.

“Always, now with even more envy if you ask me. How is it possible for you not to notice that?” Theo asked groaning and he shrugged.

“I don't think I will ever anger Flitwick,” said Terrence still looking surprised, the others nodded in agreement.

Albus Dumbledore was having a mental breakdown, it was already mid-November and no muggle-borns had been attacked. He had been so sure it had been Harry Potter who opened the chambers but nothing had happened until now, unlike last time.

Furthermore, this morning he had discovered he had taken a bullied girl under his wing, what was happening? He was in his desk waiting for Filius so he could answer some inquiries he had, was the boy on his path to be evil or not, had he somehow gotten the situation wrong? The only time he had asked Fawkes to flame him in the chamber he had received a burning beard in response and been brutally ignored for weeks. The wards alerted him that the professor was coming in and he composed himself.

“Good evening Filius, please have a sit,” he told the man with a cordial tone, he was one of the few who could see behind his facade so he had to be careful with his words.

“Albus,” he greeted and waited.

“I wanted to speak with you for a few reasons; first, don't you think you were too hard with the children in your house?"

“Did you not hear what I explained in the morning?” was his sardonic response.

“Of course, but children make mistakes.”

“Indeed, and they continue making them until someone corrects them. Your way of doing things is waiting and hope for the best, my way is punishing them for their wrongdoings so they are able to understand. This lesson will not be forgotten and I am sure they understand now the consequences of bullying,” he stated, perhaps with or without knowing, he had struck a sensitive nerve.

“I see... I also have to ask you about Harry Potter, do you think it was wise to award him so many points?"

“Of course, he informed me about Miss Lovegood and took care of her. You have awarded more points for reckless behaviour,” he admonished and once again struck a sensitive spot.

“Very well then, what do you think about Mister Potter?"

“Excellent student who has an admirable work ethic, no matter how complicated is the task I give him he accomplishes it.”

“Yes, besides the academicals, I meant on a more personal level,” the man probed with caution.

"Why should I tell you, Albus, this is a school and you are a headmaster. If you wish to know about someone talk with them, especially if it is a student,” the man told him, making him feel like a child and he sighed, Filius was one of the few who could accomplish that.

“I worry about him, Sirius is not the most responsible adult around. He may be spoiling the child too much,” he explained trying to appease the older man.

“Then speak with Sirius Black, besides a little spoiling after the life he has led will not harm him. You should stop thinking about Harry Potter as a small James because they are not the same. Behave your age Albus and either talk with him or stop probing in his life.”

He was chastised. Now he understood how the younger people felt when he used his grandfather persona.

Filius left the office with no further words, fact that he thanked because he could no longer take the verbal beating. He guessed it was time to call Minerva, but she was enchanted with the child of her favourite student and in her eyes, he could do nothing wrong. Maybe it was better if he called Severus, yes that was it. He was the head of the house and even if the child had created a Guild they had to follow authority orders. He called for an elf and waited for Severus to arrive, it was time to pay close attention to the boy who had been allowed free reign for too long.

"Why did you call?” the man in question asked surprising him, he must have been too lost in his musing to not notice when he arrived.

“Take a sit Severus,” he told the man and sighed, age was making him easy to tire. “I want to ask you about the boy.”

“His behaviour has not changed but his group has expanded, the Carrow twins, Higgs, and Pucey. The Slytherins adore him, they are like puppies following his every word... I am not even allowed entrance to the common room unless it is an emergency, though I know the password the castle doesn't allow me to,” he explained his quandary looking tired.

“I see, has his behaviour changed at all?"

“Of course not, he is still the ideal student, even I must admit that the house has improved and only the most obstinate fools see them as evil now... Draco is still not talking to me,” he sighed.

“I guess it is because of the treatment you give the young Potter, maybe it is time to change tactics my boy. Treat him better and maybe there are still chances of saving your relationship with your godson,” he suggested, grabbing the last strings of hope to get information about the boy.

Narcissa Malfoy had just received a letter from her only child, however, she did not know whether she was feeling proud or heartbroken. Draco had written telling her he would only be one week of the holidays with them, afterwards, he had plans with his friends, but if she wanted he would take her to a new food place that would be opening soon. However her little dragon had not mentioned his father at all, the knowledge that her son was not only disappointed but ashamed of her husband filled her with anxiety.

Lucius had been once a gentle man, but he had changed so much after he joined the Dark Lord, and now even if the man was dead he was wreaking havoc in her family and she would not allow it. Decision took, she walked with firm steps to her husband's studio and opened the door, the man who was about to protest shut up when he took a look at her. With no words, she deposited their children's letter for him to read.

“I don't see the problem, during summer he did the same thing but the only difference is that he will be sleeping in another place,” he tried to appease his wife.

“So you don't mind that he didn't mention you at all, before he sent a letter to you and another one to me. Did you not notice that he barely spoke a few words at you during the summer? Or that he does no longer search for your approval or even your opinion? Are you so blind that you don't notice you are losing your son? Wake up, Lucius! Because if you don't do something soon Draco will drift away and you will not be able to win him back,” Narcissa stated and left the man alone.

Lucius Malfoy was in a conundrum, never had he imagined that Draco would distance himself, he had been his son's hero and example to follow. Now though, even before the auror intrusion in his house, he had been distant, talking when necessary and spending most of his free time with his mother. He wanted to have someone to blame but knew there was no one but him... He had received reports about Draco's excellent performance in school and perfect behaviour, professors praised the way he was polite and gentle with all his classmates, something he was sure he had not learned from him. It was hard to confront the fact that your children's exemplary behaviour had nothing to do with your teachings.

There was also no news about any problem in Hogwarts aside from the one in Samhain, he had hoped the diary the Dark Lord entrusted him would be enough to drive the old man out. There were not even whispers of any kind of problems with the Weasleys and now this.

Somehow Draco had known about his illegal dealings and less than honest behaviour and he was ashamed. Somewhere along the line his son had decided not to emulate him or his mistakes. Now he had to decide whether he continued the path he had been walking for so long or whether he would change to keep his family.

It had been a strange week for Harry Potter, though little Luna had been the highlight. She had integrated with the Guild sooner than expected, making good friends with the twins, fact that worried him a little for all the catastrophes they could cause. Elizabeth was anxious to be back home and he had been informed that Hwasa would stay the holidays with them, he could hear the old man's laughter at his plight. He had decided they would stay at the castle and his friends would come over, though Daphne and the Carrow twins would be staying over... And in that moment he noticed he would be surrounded by females, it was good to have Sirius, he would be the perfect human shield, besides he could always spend time doing business and ignore his godfather's cries for help.

Thinking about business, a new cafe and restaurant would open because the others were always full, though they would have a different combination of meals and ambience. The daycare would be full, it was good he had decided to expand it and installing the muggle park had been brilliant from Elizabeth. The school for werewolf children or related to werewolves was excellent, and he was sure they would have a brilliant future. All of his employees were first generations, werewolves, and a few vampires who also helped with security. It had been curious to discover vampires did not drink human blood unwillingly given because it brought too many unpleasant consequences, such as being burned by the sun, being weak against pure things, and surprisingly making them easy to kill by anything that nature produces such as a stick or even garlic. However his greatest surprise had been Aragog, the giant spider had begun giving the elves their silk, stating that it was a way of thanking him for protecting them. In that way, he had a cheap supply of acromantula silk for the clothes shop, without thinking twice he talked with Hagrid to give him half of the money, which he denied immediately. So after long hours of discussing they had agreed that Hagrid would get new clothes along with a nice pair of shoes every three months with no price limit and a few visits a year to the sanctuary, though he still needed to plan a safe way of doing that and send a nice present to the gentleman. He had sent Ragnok and Sharpclaw the finest winter cloaks made of acromantula silk and adorned with dragonhide.

The last time he had seen Ragnok for counsel about the possibility of opening a store that sold muggle based desk materials and another that sold actual underwear instead of the grandmother shorts people wore and socks that could be worn with the new styles of shoes. His smile was so wide he worried about the man's facial muscles, the desk material shop would open in the summer but only introducing the least revolutionary objects in order to adapt the population little by little, perhaps in a couple of years he would be able to use pens and notebooks. The underwear shop would be a revelation in the magical world so he had to be careful in the extreme on how it was introduced, maybe in the clothes shop and beginning with first generations and half-bloods.

He was walking from the library to the headquarters after a nice chat with Madam Prince, so lost in his thoughts he was that he did not realize he had somehow walked to a place he did not know. While he tried to identify where in the castle he heard that annoying laughter that could only belong to Peeves, annoyed he was about to turn around when the poltergeist in question appeared.

“Lonny a longy bottom is crying,” the idiotic apparition giggled in delight until he saw him. “Oh, the prince of snakes is here... What is the princy doing here, it will be so fun-.”

“Leave before I call the baron,” he threatened the thing that looked around in fear and flew away.

He kept walking until he heard something move inside a room to his right, he almost dismissed it when he heard a sob coming from the inside. Curious about it he opened the boy and saw a boy he remembered from the first year, who looked up and his eyes widened in fear, he recoiled until his back was to the wall.

“Do you need any help?” he asked the boy who looked about to faint.

He observed him and his blood began to boil, his clothes were torn, so were many parchments and books around him. Someone had done this and while it was strange for him to help anyone he would never allow someone to go through what he did.

“Are you cold? Dinner will be in two hours, do you want to come with me and meet my friends? No one will hurt you, I promise,” he told the boy who nodded with caution.

He guided the boy with gentleness, talking about inane subjects to put him at ease, he opened the door and the boy's eyes widened at the sight, the members of the Guild were curious but asked no questions. He guided him to the sitting area and began the introductions.

“He is Neville Longbottom,” he told his friends who all nodded, but sweet Luna was the one who talked, making the boy feel comfortable.

“I know you are scared, I was too, but no one will hurt you here... If you want you can be one of us,” she offered. That day Harry had earned the loyalty of one of the fiercest lions.

The Guild was in their compartment, leaving the castle for the holidays plus their two new members. Neville had warmed to them after the first day, the other members had accepted him the same way they accepted Luna. It amazed Harry that once this compartment had been occupied by only him and now it was almost full by people he considered friends and knew the feeling was reciprocated. They spent the train ride between conversation and laughter, talking about their plans.

“Though I will spend the holidays with Harry I will visit my sister,” Daphne told the others.

“I already informed mother that I will spend one week with them, then I will join you though I will take mother on dates to the new café and the restaurant, I bet she will love sushi. Does anyone wish to join? She wants to meet my friends,” Draco asked.

"We wish we could but our dear mother will kill us if we are seen with a Malfoy,” George groaned.

“But we will visit over the holidays, so you better get us something sweet from Harry's new place,” Fred threatened.

“Same as usual,” Blaise shrugged.

“I will be with daddy but I promise to join you for a few days,” Luna said with that dreamy expression of hers.

“I am still surprised my grandma gave me permission to stay over a few days,” Neville muttered with a small smile.

It had not been hard to convince Lady Longbottom, a polite letter from the boy-who-lived asking her to allow his best friend to visit and he would do the same over summer was enough. The invitation he had sent to the inauguration of the new places may have also helped.

“Yeah at least you can stay, the three of us have to hand out excuses to our parents just to be able to visit the castle in the mornings,” Marcus grumbled signalling Terrence and Adrian.

“Count me in that group,” Theo complained glaring at his ice cream.

“Is my home some kind of public meeting place?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes,” the Carrow twins answered in unison and he gave up and went back to his food.

They arrived at the station and said their farewells; he was walking with the youngest twins and Daphne behind him when a familiar ball of energy hugged the life out of him. He smiled at the girl and at his aunt behind her but saw no Sirius.

"What did he do now?” Harry asked with a sigh.

“He thought it was a good idea to welcome you by trapping the house. Auntie turned him to cat for a short while and now he is cleaning under the watchful eyes of the elves,” Elizabeth explained with an amused glint in her eyes.

“Never mind that, I introduce you to Flora and Hestia Carrow, and you already know Daphne,” Harry introduced the twins and Eleadora smiled at them. “She is my sister Elizabeth and my aunt Eleadora.”

“Pleased to meet you,” the twins greeted in unison.

“Hello aunt Eleadora, Lizzy,” Daphne beamed at the woman and his sister.

“It is good to meet you dears call me aunt or Dora, Daphne you look even prettier,” the woman greeted, hugging each one of them. “Let’s go before Hwasa arrives, I shiver to think how that man will destroy his image if we allow him to,” she grumbled the last part and took a portkey that everyone touched.

The group arrived at the parlour in the castle only to be greeted by one of the most bizarre and hilarious sight they had ever seen. A bald grim was cowering behind elves who were also cowering behind a chair and Hwasa was cooing at a baby version of a white tiger. It seemed his godfather had learned the hard way that you should never mess with a hormonal teenager, even more, if said teenager was a temperamental princess.

“It is good you made yourself comfortable, your majesty,” Harry teased the girl who was lying on the couch; the others in the group were too occupied laughing at Sirius bald form or trying to avoid the girl.

“It is the least I could do after such a gracious invitation Lord Potter,” she bowed at him in a mocking way.

“May I ask what did my godfather did to deserve such a punishment.”

“He tried to scare Yoko, so he turned into a mutt.”

“You shaved a dog?” he asked amazed by her ruthlessness.

“Of course not, I hit him before he turned, I will share the memory later,” she promised and kept playing with her mini tiger.

The beautiful silence only lasted a few seconds before his sister shouted and hugged her friend, both babbling and including the other three girls; he watched them leave with amusement mourning his tranquil holidays. His aunt was trying and failing to control her smile of a cautious Sirius that did not emerge until the girls left for their rooms. He had to fight with himself not to laugh when his godfather turned; a Black without hair was a hilarious sight.

“That girl is pure evil!” the man complained not noticing his baldness.

“It was your fault for trying to mess with a princess, Sirius what do you have in your hair?” Harry asked in the most innocent way he could manage.

He would never forget the horror in the man’s face when he felt no hair or his high pitched scream when he touched his nonexistent eyebrows. The man refused to go out of his room until Harry took pity on him and sent him a hair growing potion. Aside from that amusing mishap, the holidays were a monotonic event, and as always his sister woke him up at ungodly hours to open their gifts. He had asked Hwasa to bring handmade necklaces with names engraved to give every elf, the princess in question received a gift card for Honeydukes and a beautiful hair ornament, his sister received expensive earnings, his aunt a collection of muggle books, Sirius his hair growing potion, Daphne a bracelet, Flora a gift card to his clothes shop and a necklace, and the Hestia also received a gift card and beautiful earrings. Not knowing what to give to the rest of his friends, he sent to all of them three gift cards with and added a necklace for Luna. He had also sent presents to the same professors of last year and Hagrid received two paid trips to his dragon reserves.

He was surprised by the number of gifts he received from many Slytherins and professors, most of them were books his mother already owned but he was thankful. The Guild knowing he already owned a great quantity of books he had yet to read sent him curious objects he did not understand the use of, dear Luna had sent him drawings of strange creatures his aunt recognized, and the older twins sent him ‘ugly toffee’ to try on someone and tell them the results. Hwasa surprised him when she handed him a heavy wooden box that was exquisitely carved and a long plain rectangular box on top.

“The one in the top is mine, the other is from grandfather,” she announced.

He was curious to discover a katana of all things, he raised an eyebrow at the older girl and she shrugged. The other box contained a stunning silk Hanfu and a letter from the emperor. ‘Young Harry, thank you for taking care of my granddaughter and allowing this old man a peaceful respite of my energetic heir. Do not forget to visit on your summer’, he had to smile at the letter and all the tumult in the living room convinced him the man felt more thankful than he expressed, thus such a pricey gift.

Draco, Luna, and Neville arrived on Boxing Day, accepting the chaos on the castle as if it was an everyday occurrence. Luna and his sister bonded as he expected, though under the leadership of the princess he could only hope not many disasters took place. Draco and his aunt got along amazingly well, sharing their fascination over muggle science. Neville had been starry-eyed when he saw the greenhouses, much to his surprise he had begun talking with Ceres, the elf in charge of the plants in highly technical botanic terms he did not understand so he left them and searched refuge in the library. They had been able to meet the rest of the Guild on different occasions either in the Alley or in his home. Narcissa Malfoy had been delighted to be invited to the inauguration of the new café, fact that a selected few could brag about. He would never forget her amusing reaction the first time she was served Japanese food.

“You are saying I have to eat with those?” the woman look at his son with such intensity that he looked at Harry begging for help.

“Indeed aunt Narcissa, this is how you do it,” he showed taking sashimi, much to the woman’s horror.

“That was raw!” she exclaimed, showing how ignorant of the world pure-bloods tended to be.

“It is delicious,” Daphne assured the woman, who grabbed her chopsticks clumsily and fought to take a piece of sushi, her eyes widened after a few chews.

“I must admit it is, but I must ask, why is my drink green?”

They had spent an entertaining meal introducing Draco’s mother to different kinds of food that she enjoyed and even managed to dominate the use of chopsticks. No one asked Draco why he did not invite his other parent.

“My father is willing to take petty revenge and give an evil object to a kid,” Draco muttered, even paler than usual, the day Dobby told them the diary was in the school. “I feel so disgusted to share the same blood as him... He never had a great reputation but I believed those were lies sprouted by jealous fools, now though...” he whispered. No one would forget the day Draco Malfoy saw the real Lucius and decided he would be nothing like the man.

Before they knew it they were back at Hogwarts, trying to solve the puzzle of where was the Chamber of Secrets located.

The holidays had already ended and Lucius Malfoy was worried. Narcissa had met with their son constantly, but the child never asked about him. The only time he had joined them without asking his wife or child the only thing his son did was greet him in a formal way, he took his mother’s hand and guided her somewhere in the Alley. That had been the moment he understood it was not a capricious child throwing a tantrum, it was his heir deciding he would not follow his footsteps. That realization elated him and filled him with sorrow, his only child saw the real Lucius and he was not impressed. In his stupor he apparated to Severus’ house, the man seeing his expression passed him a bottle of firewhisky.

“Draco has matured,” Severus began saying with a shaky voice. “You know of the problems I used to have with James Potter; I projected my hatred over the man on his son. Draco confronted me before leaving the school for Yule, I told him the story hoping he would understand,” the man sighed taking a gulp of the alcoholic beverage. “He told me I was a bully unable to mature and confront my problems... He doesn’t want to know about me,” he whispered with glossy eyes.

“I have not talked to him in months, the longest conversation we had was last year when I explained the importance of blood purity. It was the first time he had debated with me. At the time I was angered at his insolence and showed my disappointment... I thought he was throwing a tantrum but he is not, he has changed and I don’t know what to do.”

“I already lost my godson, you are still in time Lucius,” Severus advised, proceeding to nurse the bottle in his hand.

“House-elves,” Harry groaned burying his face in his book. The rest of the Guild looked at each other in confusion. “Their magic is able to transport them anywhere they wish, they can take us to the chamber.”

Realization hit the rest of the people and they started planning while Harry cursed his brain, while he loved his intellect there were times like this he was reminded he was far from infallible and he did not enjoy the feeling. The basilisk was going to be hungry being in that forsaken place for so long so the first thing would be to ask his elves to leave dead livestock on the chambers, even if their purpose was to be food there was no reason to be cruel. He would order them to always keep their eyes closed and when they popped him in he would take Ares and Mars with him. He hoped the snake was willing to reason because his heart ached at the idea of harming an innocent. Plans made he called Rome to arrange for twenty elves to leave the food and be careful, that done it was time to convince his friends of going alone.

“You have an expression that I don’t like,” Theo said with a scowl. “Don’t you even dare to try to suggest what I think you will.”

“I will be going alone,” he announced and Theo cursed, but before any more chaos was formed Luna spoke, her dreamy expression disappeared.

“I don’t like your idea but it is for the best, if any of us go the only thing we will find is death. Take only Ares with you and order Mars to be ready to either retrieve or dispose of the basilisk,” she ordered and he nodded, the other people in the room were shocked by Luna’s announcement, many times they had wondered if she was a seer and things like this only enforced that idea.

“Ares, Mars, Rome!” he called for his elves.

“The food was given, no one was harmed,” Rome reported, his shoulders tense.

“Thank you Rome, Mars recruit the best security elves to either retrieve or kill the basilisk, do you know how to do the later?”

“The first morning cries of a rooster,” the elf stated.

“Excellent, Ares, are you willing to go with me to the chambers?” he asked the elf, not able to order such a dangerous task.

“It will be an honour,” the elf bowed and he nodded.

“We will be going in half an hour, if he needs to be retrieved you will hear my call... If he needs to be disposed I will send Ares to inform you, be prepared.”

A tense half-hour went by marked by grim expressions, but every time someone opened their mouths to talk Luna shook her head at them. It was amazing the amount of power such a young girl held. Once Ares appeared Luna spoke.

“Remind him of his duties, you will come back,” she said and he nodded, the two elves popped out and in their anguish, they did not notice the magic emanating from the castle.

Harry and Ares arrived at a dingy chamber, but even in that poor light, the poison green of the basilisk skin could be seen so both closed their eyes. Taking a deep calming breath he spoke.

“We intend no harm, king of snakes,” he hissed and he could feel the air ripple.

“Who are you?” the snake hissed in a threatening way.

“We are the ones who sent food, we came here to offer you a safe place to live where you will get as much nourishment as you wish.”

“And leave this place? I was so hungry but Salazar never came back, then his heir appeared telling enemies are inside Hogwarts, I was so hungry,” he hissed with a psychotic edge in his voice and Harry felt compassion for the snake, no person should be forced to experience loneliness nor constant hunger.

“Remember your duty,” he hissed, remembering Luna’s advice.

“Protect her, protect Hogwarts, but enemies live in Hogwarts... But those enemies were protected by her... I had been so hungry, so lonely,” the snake said but Harry understood, time had taken a toll on the innocent and robbed him of his sanity, whether he liked it or not the basilisk was a threat and he would be treated as such.

“I apologize for disturbing you, do you wish me to send more food or water?”

“Freshwater, have not tasted that since Salazar took me to the forest. Food, yes, I have been so hungry... There was never food here, sleep, yes I had to,” the basilisk began to grumble to himself and he squeezed Ares hand for them to go back.

They arrived and he plopped on the nearest couch feeling drained, he did not notice the relieved faces that surrounded him or the teary eyes of more than a few.

“The basilisk has lost his mind, he is a threat anywhere. Ares, please tell Rome to pop freshwater and more food, it will be his last dinner. His skin will make good armour for all of you so keep it, his venom will be a weapon for you to use. Never forget to thank the noble snake... Give a litre to the goblins, as warriors they will appreciate the sacrifice. Tell Rome that I want a sculpture in the castle and in the common room dedicated to the snake, I did not manage to learn his name so the plaque under will read ‘Noble King who did his duty until the bitter end’. I thank you for your company today my friend, go to the castle and tell the others,” Harry said with a knot in his throat.

“I will do so, we will always stand by your side,” Ares promised and he popped out.

Harry was enveloped in many warm hugs that night but the hefty weight on his chest did not diminish, but the knowledge that people he cared about were safe calmed him. He would not regret disposing of the basilisk because it meant the safety of people he loved. For the first time, he understood that while some threats were easy to take care of while others were heart-wrenching, being a leader was not about being the strongest or smartest but about being the one willing to do what was necessary to protect the ones that he loved.

Omake: Sirius Discovers Himself

Eleadora was a serious woman with no time or patience for nonsense hence her rocky relationship, or lack of thereof with Sirius Black. The day she had seen the mutt bald in his human form was one of the best days of her life, not seeing the annoying man for a week afterwards had brought a wide smile to her face. All of her good mood was shattered when the man in question followed the girl he had deemed as evil like a puppy wearing the most hideous outfit she had ever seen in her whole life.

“Why is the mutt wearing... whatever he is wearing,” she asked Harry trying to erase the image from her memory.

“He discovered the advantages of hairless legs during his reclusion and is trying to show them off,” her nephew sighed covering his eyes when the man approached wearing the shortest shorts and a shirt that was too small for him.

“Harry, the girls are going to give me a facial so don’t bother,” the man ordered eyeing his godson with a critical look. “Your skin doesn’t look good maybe you should try one,” he stated and left while she facepalmed.

She was about to speak when she noticed Harry touching his face self-consciously, examining with wide eyes his hands. She sighed; her nephew was one of the vainest persons she had ever met, putting tons of different creams every night before bed and every morning after showering.

“Aunt, do you know of any magical creams to hydrate skin, maybe I should open a spa in the magical world,” he mused examining his image that was reflected in his cup.

Eleadora had to facepalm again, as if having one vain person wasn’t enough now Sirius had to go and discover himself!