As Harrigan stared down at the parchment in his hands, the corner of his mouth twitched despite his best attempts. Once the incredulity of it sank in, his reaction was a foregone conclusion and he gave in to the inevitable, laying his head back on the armchair he sat in and descending into what he would later try and convince himself was manly laughter, not an insane rather feminine-sounding cackle.

Ever since beginning their little attack against Dumbledore, Harrigan, Orion, and their companions had been trying to figure out a way into the school. It was commonly believed by the four Lords that Dumbledore's little preaches of 'equality' and his magnanimous manner were a front and the school was his domain where he shaped students into what he wanted them to be. A few random comments from Sirius over the summer seemed to confirm some of it at least, and it was a big one. Prejudice apparently ran rampant at the school, 'bullies' under the name of pranksters ran unchecked and when caught out were able to get away with a small slap on the wrist.

A quietly ashamed Sirius had admitted to his own wrongdoing, listing a few incidents that he had been a part of with his friends, including one incident with a Slytherin in their own year that should have resulted in expulsion. Orion had been very angry at his eldest son and demanded that he prepare a proper apology for when he next saw one Severus Tobias Snape. Though it was unacceptable even against a student of no history, Sirius had been even more ashamed and horrified at his actions when a frowning Lucius revealed that Severus was Heir to the line of Prince. He would technically be Lord Prince when Sirius next spoke with him.

While the Prince family didn't soar quite as high as their falcon emblem would have liked over the past few decades, the family was still old blood, producing some of the finest individuals in the fields of Potions, Spell Crafting, and Herbology that were seen in Wizarding Great Britain. Severus was well on his way to becoming one of the youngest Potions Masters in the field, if not the youngest. According to Sirius' rueful comments, that could end up being a double Mastery with Spell-Crafting.

On the subject of bullying and favoritism, however, Sirius easily admitted that the very worst offenses had been against Slytherin and he agreed that more than three-quarters of these incidents had been by Gryffindor students. The four friends had agreed, they needed a way into the school, pronto.

And here the solution to their problem had literally soared into his lap, delivered by a very grumpy screech owl. After dismissing the foul bird Harrigan had read through it swiftly the first time. Unable to comprehend what he had read, a second and even third reading had been taken far more slowly.

Apparently, the school governors (of which Abraxas was a member) had decided that a closer eye needed to be kept on this year's crop of graduating students. To this end, they had declined the Headmaster's appointing of a truly dismal choice for the teacher's post of Defense Against The Dark Arts for a term of one year. They had informed a likely infuriated Dumbledore that they would be choosing the replacement instructor. To this end, they had sent an inquiry to Harrigan asking if he would so kindly consider taking the post of Defense for one term starting August 25th. Apparently, teachers started preparing for the arrival of the students a bit ahead of time.

Harrigan didn't truly know how much influence Abraxas had over his fellow governors, but the timing of this little gem was absolutely superb. If it was not his doing, then Harrigan would be giving the Mother some well-deserved thanks.

Picking up the missive he stood, stretched luxuriously, and headed for Orion's office, a smug little grin creeping onto his lips at the thought of the other man's reaction. The thought of Orion brought Harrigan to their Courting and he was thankful the hallway was empty as he was unable to repress a slight blush. He was quickly coming to think of Orion as his beloved, and even thinking the name in his head brought a small smile to his lips.

They had only been Courting for 6 full months but Harrigan was beginning to wonder if they would last a whole year before Orion proposed. The older man seemed determined to have Harrigan as his lifetime companion, something which both delighted and confused the younger man. Orion could have anyone he wanted, after all. He was wealthy, good-looking, and incredibly influential. But for some reason, he seemed to want Harrigan, and he was reasonably convinced by now that it wasn't because of his name.

They certainly hadn't moved as quickly as Sirius and Lucius, but the young were far more impatient. Having only settled their past in April, the pair had been officially betrothed as of late June. Sirius was ecstatic and the Malfoy heir only a little less so. Orion was in his office actually working on certain things involved in the pair's betrothal, or rather to do with Lucius' ex-fiancée Narcissa Black and her sisters.

Between visits with his betrothed, Sirius was bonding once again with his year-younger brother Regulus, who was very happy to be with his older brother again. They had been close once before Sirius had become so bitter after Lucius' betrothal to Narcissa and both young men were hopeful about regaining that closeness. They shared many common interests and Harrigan was happy to observe them growing closer day by day.

Cygnus had been outraged when Orion had taken control of the man's daughters from him and his truly awful wife, Druella Black nee Rosier. Harrigan imagined that the man had been near-apocalyptic when he found out that Orion had met with the disinherited eldest, Andromeda and her Muggleborn husband Ted Tonks.

Orion had been impressed with the younger man's courage at meeting him face to face and the already apparent talents of their young daughter Nymphadora, who showed a powerful Metamorphagus talent from birth. This had resulted in the oldest daughter being welcomed back into the official family and the release of her dowry, in the form of some of Walburga's own. Orion had admitted later that he took great amusement at giving part of Walburga's dowry to a 'shame' and her half-blood daughter.

Narcissa had been firmly warned away from interfering in Sirius and Lucius' betrothal at the cost of her graduation from Hogwarts. Orion also held a betrothal contract for both her and her sister Bellatrix, to be filled in at his discretion and approval should Narcissa not come to an agreement by legal, approved means with an appropriate young man. Furious but afraid of being removed from Hogwarts in her final year, Narcissa had agreed.

Now Orion was setting up appointments with a mind-Healer to meet with Bellatrix, the middle daughter. She had been severely tortured by both Orion's dead wife and her own mother's family, much to Orion's disgust. The girl was partially unstable but there were high hopes that she could return to the normal young witch of incredible talents and sharp wit that she had been before. Orion was hopeful about the situation.

Having finally reached Orion's office, Harrigan rapped on the door in warning and opened it. Orion was inside sitting at his desk looking relieved at his appearance and frustrated with the piles of paperwork strewn about his desk in messy, random piles. Harrigan took one look at Orion's expression and crossed the spacious office to a small cabinet. Opening one of the glass-fronted doors he retrieved a bottle of Ogden's Finest and poured a generous finger into a small shot-glass and placed it in front of the older wizard.

Orion looked incredibly relieved and smiled at him, downing the small glass in a single go. Standing up, he crossed around the desk and wrapped his arms around Harrigan's waist, drawing him into a warm embrace. "Thank you," he rumbled quietly in his ear.

"You are very welcome," Harrigan said warmly, "it looked as if you needed something to help you relax."

"I did, this paperwork seems endless. But on the plus side, I have arranged meetings with a mind-Healer for Bellatrix and she has agreed to meet the woman this weekend at St. Mungo's. She has her license to Apparate so there is no way for Cygnus and Druella to refuse. I always knew that the Rosiers were bastards, but I never imagined them capable of this. Now the only thing I was wishing for is a way to keep an eye on the two girls and my sons at the school."

"I may be able to help with that," Harrigan said slyly, offering Orion the parchment with their golden opportunity.

He watched the man's expressive eyes and he knew when Orion had read to the right point because they widened slowly and his mouth parted in surprise. Once he had finished reading the parchment he looked at Harrigan and murmured quietly, "Is this real?"

"Very. Either we owe Abraxas a very big favor or the Mother is smiling at us, for this is exactly what we needed on two fronts. I can keep an eye on the assorted Blacks, Lestranges, and various others and we can see how genteel Albus Dumbledore acts on his own turf. On the downside, however, I will have to put up with the man for a year," Harrigan grumbled the last part.

Orion threw back his head and laughed. "Then we shall make sure that you are ready to deal with him for the next few months, hmm? What a perfect opportunity. I feel like things have just started to fall into place since we met you, my love. Shall we head out to dinner after giving our friends the news?"

"Why not make it a group dinner?" Harrigan suggested.

"Perfect, just like you," Orion murmured, leaning in and catching his lips in a hard, passionate claim. Harrigan shuddered and returned it, savoring the taste of Orion and a slight hint of Firewhiskey.

If I am perfect to you, Harrigan thought, then you are beyond so to me, Orion.