Harry Potter could only stare at Viktor.

“Come again?”

“The second task is in a few days and mum is coming.”

The Tournament. He completely forgot about it. In his defence, Harry had much more important matters to take care of. At least he hoped his elves remembered and their protective gear was ready.

Only two weeks went by since the year began and yet so much happened already.

The raid to the Ministry was the trigger for all his plans to begin moving.

The first thing the Minister wanted to know was if the documents they left behind were real. Much to her horror, they were the unadulterated truth. Madam Bones immediately disbanded the Department of Mysteries and, considering the new state of martial law, no one could object. Then she proceeded to proscribe any kind of immoral experimentation and urged Miss Blair and Marcus to actively modify the creature’s regulations. That was merely the beginning.

The raid was an insult to Auror Moody. The man prided himself on his skills and being unable to discover any clues about the incident made him even more paranoid than usual, just as expected. However, Harry felt slightly guilty for playing the helpful man this way. Using C4 to destroy the place was a calculated risk that paid off. Magicals were not familiar with muggle technology and their ignorance played against them.

Now that Auror Moody had carte blanche over the DMLE and the Ministry’s security, many things were changing. The DMLE was now divided in Law Enforcement Patrol (the new police of the magical world), Aurors (the army), Hit-wizards (some trained under the DMLE while others had more informal training but were recruited by Moody), and the EIS (Elite Intelligence Service, an experimental group dedicated to identify and eradicate all threats against the country). Overall, Harry was pleased with the result. Hopefully, they took care of Voldemort and his followers without forcing Harry to participate in the confrontation. He had too much to lose now and was unwilling to risk it.

While they were busy, Marcus was put in charge to reorganize the Departments and budget. The Ministry was in for a surprise.

Those were the changes that remained invisible under the public’s eyes, something that wouldn’t be revealed in order to keep the public order. Of course, the Death Eaters in the Ministry tipped Voldemort off, but at least they were now excluded from the decision-making. In the eyes of the people, the greatest change was the way blood purity was perceived.

Thanks to Rita’s book, a mild social revolution was ignited. The younger generations were the most open-minded, accepting the facts, though some with more difficulty than others. Older people tended to be more close-minded, too scared of change to join the new mentality. The real problem came from the blood-purists, the ones that blamed first generations for stealing their magic and destroying the society. Those people were a time bomb, they would explode sooner rather than later and take stupid decisions in the process. Harry could already feel the tension when he visited the alley.

There were many blood purists who owned businesses in the alley and, if they barely treated their ‘impure’ costumers, now they reserved the right of admission to their stores. It was a stupid move that only gained contempt from first generations, who in turn antagonized blood purity in a rather public way. Hostilities were rising between them.

Of course, those two groups were rather small compared to the rest of the population, but if tensions escalated, it would affect the whole country. Marcus said there were Aurors keeping an eye on them, just in case.

Aside from that, the most important change for the future was taking place inside of Hogwarts. Some students were indoctrinated with the blood purity ideology and any idea that went against it was considered sacrilege. However, they were still young and social pressure was a terrific motivator for good conduct. The majority of the student body accepted the truth of the founders long ago and Harry’s efforts to change the mentality of the future generation were giving its first fruits.

His House, Slytherin, once motivated by fear and self-preservation became the paragon of change. Now they were motivated by the acceptance and admiration of the whole school. The youngest students learnt from their example and there was no prejudice in their eyes. It was somewhat invigorating to see the kids talking freely amongst each other, without any real rivalry aside from personal differences.

A sharp poke on his ribs broke his train of thoughts. He gingerly rubbed the spot and looked for the responsible.

“You were not paying attention,” Hestia said, giving him her most innocent smile. Harry glared at her, swearing some kind of revenge later on.

“So we are meeting your mum,” Harry told Viktor, not showing his curiosity.

“Yeah, my father had an accident during one of his hunting trips.”

Harry decided not to question his friend. There was not the slightest hint of grief on his expression, only relief. The lines that worry etched on his face looked less pronounced and that was enough to make him happy. Unfortunately, not everyone had the same self-control.

“So what really happened to him?” Draco asked, earning a smack on his head, courtesy of a frowning Terrence.

“He really had an accident,” Viktor answered, looking unbothered by the question.

“When is the second task again?” asked a nonchalant Blaise, who received a grateful look from Daphne. Strangely, the girl was the usual peacemaker.

“Next week,” Adrian answered with far too much enthusiasm, “and I already have my bets placed.”

“That’s not fair. Why is he allowed to bet but I’m not?” Luna whined, her usual dreamy expression replaced with a pout.

“Because, little Luna,” Fred said, sharing a knowing look with his brother.

“He is not a seer.”

Luna only heaved a dejected pout.

Harry shared a worried look with Blaise while Cedric frowned at the girl. Luna was acting a bit strange lately.

“Only one more task was added, right?” Neville asked Fleur, but Harry looked at the girl. Had it also been amongst the letters he ignored?

“Yep, I think they are trying to give the champions more chances to shine. Valery didn’t do well last time, Iwan had terrible luck, and they robbed points from those two,” Fleur said, signalling Viktor and Cedric.

“Did any of you bothered to solve the clue or you just asked Marcus,” Flora asked, giving the four champions in the room a disapproving scowl.

“I forgot my sphere here!” Viktor quickly said, washing his hands off the problem.

“Dad killed mine when he tried to make it reveal the clue,” Cedric sighed, pouting slightly.

“How do you kill an object?” Theo asked, looking utterly bewildered at the notion.

“Ask my dad. He tried to charm it and it turned grey.”

“That is talent,” Blaise nodded sagely, as if Cedric’s explanation made complete sense to him.

“So what’s your excuse?” Flora asked, judging Harry and Fleur.

“I may have misplaced it,” Harry muttered while Flora stared open-mouthed. He was not ashamed of misplacing it, but for forgetting about the whole event. So much for being called a genius.

“I solved it!” Fleur declared, a radiant smile illuminating her face.

“Gabrielle solved it,” Adrian mumbled under his breath, earning a glare from the French girl, who apparently possessed sharp ears.

“As I was saying, my sister and I solved it. I was expecting something harder.”

“You killed Master Smith when you got frustrated and threw your ball at him,” Neville retorted, looking solemn.

“Stop mourning Master Smith, he would have liked you to move on,” Justin said, emulating his friend’s solemn expression.

“Are they talking about that cactus?” Adrian whispered to George, who simply shrugged in response.

“It was an accident,” Fleur groaned, “I already promised to buy you a new one.”

“Master Smith is irreplaceable,” was the curt response of Neville, who was looking at the wall with a far-away expression.

Harry tried to contain the urge to rub his temples, apparently, Draco infected poor Neville with his overdramatic tendencies.

“I’m lending you my grand-mère’s notes on illusions,” Fleur sighed and Neville immediately perked up.

“Okay,” Cedric said, stretching the word, “who wants to duel?”

And just like that, the focus of the room centred on a totally different matter. It was sometimes hard for Harry to understand how his friend’s minds worked, but he went with the flow instead of stressing about it. Otherwise, he would have wrinkles and grey hair and he was too vain to say goodbye to his youthful appearance for at least a few decades. Thank you very much.

Time flew by when it was the most inconvenient, Harry decided, stabbing the innocent food on his plate.

He was so immersed in trying to learn everything the Potter Grimoire had to offer that he almost missed the most important detail from his family history. Yes, his family was decades, perhaps even centuries ahead of their times in potion-making. Yes, there were some interesting spells and artefacts that his ancestors invented, but he almost missed the most important lesson. Respect magic.

Something he always thought he did. Only now he began to understand that respecting magic was not only respecting her nature and all her wielders, but also in all her forms. Magic was everywhere, from the smallest living being to the earth that he walked. The reason for the Potter’s blessing was their respect towards life.

The particularly specific ingredients his family potions contained were not that strange, now that he thought about it. Willingly given animal ingredients, never using those parts that had death’s mark. Vegetable ingredients that were reaped on times of abundance, always respecting the lives that sustained on that ecosystem. That is how the Sanctuary was born, to offer a safe haven to other species in exchange of a few, willingly given parts (hair, nails, feathers, and so on).

The few spells in the grimoire were dedicated to either healing or protection. The artefacts that his family invented also were meant for these uses, though he admitted there were some much more interesting than others were. The process of weaving an invisibility cloak was quite tedious, but the end result was magnificent. Though considering he already owned one and had never really used it, Harry didn’t see a reason to trouble himself with creating more. There were also instructions to create special rune stones. They were way harder to create than normal ones, using painite – or any similar precious stones – to create the desired result. Just like every single artefact his ancestors invented, the Potter method included the use of potions.

Well, the Potters were always known for being potion savvies. Which meant he had to dedicate much more time to learn how to brew potions the Potter way and unlearn all the bad habits he acquired throughout his different teachers.

At least aunt Eleadora was no longer in charge of teaching potions. Not that the woman didn’t do a great job, but he would rather have her as the loving aunt instead of the stern teacher that she was ninety percent of the times.

“You have to eat,” Theo chided him softly, pushing a bowl of fruit towards him.

“I’m not that hungry,” Harry muttered but he accepted the offer. Theo had the uncanny ability to see too much and he didn’t want to worry his friend further.

“Granger isn’t glaring at you,” Draco said as if it was the strangest thing in the world.

“Hermione changed a lot since that day,” Neville offered with a shrug.

“So she really stopped hating Harry?” Adrian asked in wonder.

“I think she began hating the rumours more than she hates him,” Hestia suggested.

“You do know I’m present. Right?” Harry said, containing the strange desire to spray water on Draco and see if the boy would hiss at him. And maybe smacking Adrian and Hestia, just a little.

“I think she’s biding her time,” Cedric said, as helpful as always.

“That’s right, lowering his defences to stab Harry in the back when the time comes,” Fred agreed, sharing a look with Flora.

“Do you also want to strangle them?” Daphne whispered on his ear.

“Sometimes.”

To be honest, he didn’t really understand why they were making such a big deal out of it. As far as he was concerned, Granger had no real effect on his life. He distantly remembered the altercate they had during their first year and the latest incident a few weeks ago. If he was frank, he didn’t understand why the girl was so hostile before, but he didn’t really care. Now that he thought about it, he was really... intense and perhaps a tad too petty. Neither had the best impression of each other and that was fine, people changed. He certainly did.

Somehow, his apathy turned to slight indifference and his volatile temper eased down. He hardly, if ever, got angry anymore. His confrontational nature gave place to a more laid-back attitude, where he observed everything before reacting. His dislike of people also disappeared... A little. He guessed that his slightly hostile nature turned lackadaisical. It was far easier this way, he didn’t waste time in petty acts of vengeance or useless grudges.

That is why he reacted the way he did when Neville told him Granger lost her cat before the Yule Holidays and was desperately looking for him.

Louie was precious to him. A living memory of his mother. However, there was also the possibility of him also being precious to another person. Sometimes, Harry really hated his ability to see things from another person’s perspective. He simply decided to take his cat to the Gryffindor tower and hope the girl lost another one with a similar physique. Neville had obviously been beside him – nagged until Harry agreed.

While Harry now had access to all the common rooms, he lacked the curiosity to visit them, so he never visited the Gryffindor common room. The woman on the portrait greeted him with eagerness and promptly granted them access. He only held Louie tighter to his chest when all the eyes of the room turned to him. Neville, as supportive as ever, only gave one of his looks for the students to look away. They kept glancing at them, but at least they now tried to be subtle.

Granger was sitting near the fireplace, her eyes glued to the book on her lap.

“Hermione,” Neville said as greeting, approaching the girl. “This is the cat that we found.”

Harry only raised an eyebrow as Louie jumped off him and ran to the girl, whose eyes looked strangely shiny as she hugged the purring cat.

“Thank you,” Granger muttered over and over again in a shaky voice, her eyes were focused on the cat. “You had to worry me like that, right Crookshanks? I looked everywhere for you,” she said to Louie, caressing his face. “You are heavier now, I’m guessing Neville treated you well.”

And that is how Harry knew he had to let Louie go. Damn it! He knew it was a bad idea to get attached.

“Where did you find him?” she asked, petting the cat, who kept purring at her ministrations.

“In the dungeons, he followed us,” Harry said.

Much to his confusion, the girl’s head snapped up and she glared at him.

“It was before the aurors tempered the hallways so Harry took him with us,” Neville said, recognizing the outburst the girl was about to have.

“Actually, we asked people around and no one lost a cat,” Harry added, only for the girl to flinch as if he yelled at her instead. He only exchanged a confused look with his friend.

“He likes to wander in the forest,” Granger muttered, not meeting their eyes. “I thought he went on another hunting trip. Crookshanks always comes back so I didn’t worry until we had to leave and he wasn’t back.”

“You let him wander in the Forbidden Forest?” Harry asked slowly, scowling slightly at the girl.

However, he wasn’t expecting her to cower at his accusation. He was used to seeing the spitfire and didn’t know exactly what to make of this meek person wearing Granger’s face.

“He likes to hunt and I don’t want to restrain him.”

“Wait, was it your cat the one that left that giant spider in our room?” Neville asked the girl, looking amused for some reason. She simply nodded, “Ron almost had a heart attack. He also left that bird in the living room, right?”

“Yeah,” Granger muttered, looking flustered for some reason.

“You had to see it, Harry. That bird was bigger than the table! Richard screamed loud enough to wake the whole House.”

“He can take care of himself, I get it,” Harry said, raising his hands in surrender. “So how did you find him?”

“I bought him last year,” Granger said in a more stable tone, apparently getting over whatever strange mood that took hold of her.

Harry would have perhaps noticed if he was not rendered speechless by her declaration. “It’s not possible,” he simply said, frowning at the girl.

“I did buy him at the pet store,” Granger began explaining, her brows furrowed in confusion. “Last year my parents finally agreed to have a pet at home. I always wanted a cat and the shopkeeper was showing me all the kneazles when I saw him. He said that Crookshanks had been in the store for more than ten years and I decided to take him.” It was an unnecessarily detailed explanation, if someone asked him.

“I see,” that was the only thing Harry could force himself to say. “Come here, Louie.”

Harry simply petted the cat, not caring about all the eyes that examined his actions. For some reason, he felt guilty. He felt like he no longer deserved to take care of his mum’s cat because he failed him. It was not a logical reaction and he would need some time alone in order to organize his scrambled emotions.

“Spend some time playing with him,” Harry told the girl, ignoring her puzzled and, dare he say, concerned expression. “He really likes to run so maybe you can run with him.”

Granger only nodded, looking at Neville in search for answers. The boy in question looked troubled for some reason.

“Hermione, Louie is Harry’s mum cat.”

“That’s not possible.”

“I said the same thing,” Harry muttered under his breath, denying with his head in order for his friend to remain silent.

Neville pretended not to notice. “He really is. If you want to, I can show you pictures. He knew his way around Harry’s house and knew which one of the old elves would give him treats-”

“That’s enough,” Harry said in a much harsher tone than necessary. He would apologize later.

“Is this some kind of joke?” Granger asked, looking more annoyed than angry. He could only blink at the strange question.

“Not really,” Harry sighed, scowling at Neville. “He was mum’s cat, but now he is yours. Thank you for taking care of him,” he told the girl.

It was his simple yet candid way of saying thank you. Few persons adopted adult pets and Harry was fully aware of that fact. Personally, he would have never looked for any other companion than Hedwig, so he would have never met Louie if not for Granger.

“Would you mind if I visit him every once in a while?” he asked the speechless girl.

“What? I, uhm... Crookshanks does what he wants, I’m sure he will visit you if he wants to,” Granger told him, looking puzzled.

“Thank you,” Harry gave the girl a small smile and signalled Neville to leave.

After long hours of meditation, he had his fully justified revenge against Neville Longbottom while George and Fred were in charge of pranking Gryffindor for spreading strange rumours regarding the event.

“...and everyone really likes counsellor Ciro, but he’s a manipulative little berk,” Daphne commented and Harry only blinked. What were they talking about?

“You like him though,” Cedric muttered, frowning when he received an excited nod in response.

“I feel kind of guilty for thinking Crabbe and Goyle were dumb,” Draco sighed, playing with his food.

“I think everyone feels guilty,” Justin agreed.

They were not wrong. Once the counsellors examined all the students, they realized that at half of the student body had dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyscalculia, language-processing disorder, or some kind of learning disability. All in all, an eye-opening discovery. While they had different theories, the counsellors’ main priority was to help the students.

“Yeah, but at least Ronnikins now knows that there’s nothing wrong with him,” George said, looking fondly at his little brother.

“Mhm, we barely managed to convince Munter not to send a letter to our parents telling them about Ron. Dad doesn’t need more stress and mum is having a hard time,” Fred added, “but we sent a letter to Bill yesterday.”

“He was pretty harsh with Ron during the summer,” George sighed and Blaise placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Right, they were also feeling guilty. Harry would talk with them later.

“I think everyone learnt not to judge others,” Fleur said in an almost inaudible voice, her eyes were fixed on the table. “Adrienne is so kind and cheerful, I never imagined she was dealing with so much.”

Fleur buried her face on Viktor’s chest while he gently comforted her. Harry stopped Flora from asking further, this was a topic that Fleur would talk about when she was ready and only if she wanted to. The night that Fleur’s classmate decided to tell her about her depression on the counsellor’s recommendation Harry felt his mark pulsing painfully, forcing him to look for the girl. She was sobbing silently in the Ravenclaw common room.

That night Fleur felt guilty for not noticing her classmate’s struggle. They were not close, but Fleur was empathetic to a dangerous degree. Harry only comforted his friend.

Next morning, he asked one of the school elves to keep an eye on Adrienne, just in case life overwhelmed her and pain clouded her mind, making her make rash decisions. Fleur would never forgive herself in that case.

“Counsellor Lucy is really chill,” Terrence commented in an effort to ease the tension.

“He’s in lust with her,” Adrian confided the others in a not-so-hushed tone.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” George said, looking eager for some reason. “We are hanging out with Lee after the task, who’s joining?”

“No thanks, I was sufficiently ignored last time,” Cedric immediately said.

“And you ignored us to flirt with that waitress,” Viktor retorted, giving the prefect a disapproving frown while signalling Adrian and Terrence.

“And you ignored us for that book!” an exasperated Terrence exclaimed.

“You’re talking when you ignored me to ogle at the counsellor,” Adrian sighed and Terrence gave him a sheepish smile.

“Blaise, my friend, are-”

“I have a date with Andrea,” Blaise interrupted Fred, who clutched his chest dramatically.

“We are shopping,” Neville immediately said, signalling the youngest twins and Luna, along with the resigned looking Justin, Draco, and Theo.

“Daphy, Daph,” George almost sang, and the girl in question threw a spoon at him.

“I have a date.” Cedric choked.

“But... But, you are baby,” the prefect whined while Justin patted his back.

“Do you want me to tell the others how you disappeared from the Ministry Ball with that girl?” Daphne asked and Cedric turned into an interesting shade of red.

“Technically, you just did,” Theo told the girl, who shrugged in response.

“I don’t feel loved, brother of mine,” Fred said theatrically, leaning on his brother’s shoulder.

“I’m meeting Viktor’s mum,” Fleur immediately said when he looked at her. Despite her smile, her eyes were still shiny.

Fred made a scene worthy of a politician or maybe even a football player.

“What about you, Harry?” asked a hopeful George.

“I don’t have plans,” he lied, winking at Viktor, “I just hate you.”

Never before had the student body looked as interested in their dynamic as that morning.