Harry just about held back his snort of derision - that was an exceptionally weak excuse. He wondered if the old man was really becoming that desperate.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Harry said, allowing him for a moment to think he had won. "However, I will have to decline. I love being in Ravenclaw."
Albus felt his elation crash and narrowed his eyes. "I see, you're certain?"
"Yes," Harry said smiling.
"Very well then, I shall be going. Do enjoy the rest of your holiday," Albus said, his voice clipped as he thought about how the boy refused to do as he was told.
Walking him back to the parlour, Harry sent Sirius a look which had the animagus biting his lip to stop himself from laughing. He did so love winding the old fool up.
After Dumbledore's visit the rest of the summer flew by - the only thing to break it up being the promised surprise visit from the Department of Children's Protection. It was Joanne Mirwood herself who came, much to the relief of Remus and Harry.
August London
25th
1992, Grimmauld
Place,
"You're looking well, Mr. Potter," Joanne said, following them into the kitchen. Her quill was taking notes as she walked, probably on the house and its suitability for a family.
"Thank you, Ms. Mirwood," Harry said, sending her a sweet smile. He had liked Ms. Mirwood when he had met her in Madam Bones office and hoped she would continue to be in his good books.
"So Harry - is it okay if I call you Harry?" she asked. "Yes, ma'am," Harry said.
"Call me Joanne," she said, smiling. Unlike most adults, her smile wasn't patronising and Harry could see how such a young woman had become the head of such an important department. "Anyway, as I was saying, Harry, would you mind if I asked you a few questions about your life now that you've been living with your blood father?"
"Certainly," Harry agreed easily.
"Well then, let's start with the basics: are you happy here?"
"Yes, Sirius and Remus guardians," Harry said.
are
great Joanne smiled at the small boy in front of her; she had been present during the trial and had been disgusted by what had come to light. She was one of the many who had wanted Dumbledore charged with neglect and she had, along with the Muggle Relations Department, already sent their findings off to the muggle authorities. The Dursleys would be in a lot of trouble soon and there would be no way for them to worm their way out of it if she had anything to say about it.
"That's good, Harry. Now could you tell me what has been the best thing you've done together so far?"
Harry tilted his head when he thought about it. "My birthday," he said. "Oh?"
"When I lived with the Dursleys, I never got to celebrate my birthday. When I was younger I didn't even know I had one. This year though, I got to celebrate it. Sirius and Remus took me to muggle London and we saw Cats - it's a muggle West End show - and it was so good. Then we went to Rome for lunch—did you know the Coliseum has a wizard only part with a restaurant? Then we went to the Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon, the Trevi fountain. It was great!" Harry had sure to act excited, which wasn't hard as he really had had a fantastic time in Rome.
"Then to finish it off we had dinner with the Malfoys. Did you know aunt Cissa is Sirius' cousin? That means me and Draco are sort of related, which is great because Draco's one of my best friends."
"That's sounds great," Joanne said, smiling at how obviously happy the boy was. "What about punishments? Have Sirius or Remus had to punish you since you've been living with them?"
"No. Well, at least not that I've realised they're not like the Dursleys. They don't shout at me or hurt me," Harry said. "Sirius did once speak to me about being too independent and knowing I could come to him and he made me promise not to wander off on my own, but other than that I don't think I've done anything wrong." "That's really good, Harry. So you're not worried about being punished here?"
"No, I know Remy and Siri wouldn't hurt me."
"That's great! Now, what about food? What's your favourite thing to eat?"
"Treacle tart," Harry said immediately, an answer that hadn't changed since his last life.
Joanne smiled again at the answer. "That's one of my favourites too. How about dinners though?"
Harry considered this for a minute. "I like it when Kreacher makes roast dinners," he said. It was true, he liked having roast dinners on Sundays with Sirius and Remus.
"Kreacher?"
"He's our house-elf. He's a bit old and slightly batty, but he's great. He likes me the best for some reason," Harry said, blushing slightly.
"He obviously has good taste," Joanne said. The quill was still moving behind her and noting everything that was being said and anything else that was relevant. "Now, what have you been doing for fun since you came here?"
"I spend a lot of time in the library. It's great! There are so many books, it's like Hogwarts library. I've also been to see my friends a few times. Neville like plants so I've helped him in the garden—we even got to harvest his pineapple-apple tree. I've also spent a lot of time with Draco; we both love flying so I've done quite a lot of it, I'm even thinking about joining the Ravenclaw team. I've even seen Susan a few times. We went to the beach with her aunt once, which was fun as I've never seen the sea before, but I'm not the best swimmer so I didn't go too deep." All of this was said with excitement, Harry making sure to portray a happy child, not that it was too difficult a task.
"It sounds like you've had a great summer," Joanne said. "I think that's everything I need to know. Why don't you show me around? By then I think I'll be done, I just need to have a quick word with Sirius." She had no concerns about the boy and was glad to see him so happy.
Harry smiled and went to give her the tour, making sure to happily show off his room and the library. Once that was done he left Sirius to have his conversation.
"Hello, Lord Black," Joanne said.
"Please call me Sirius, Ms. Mirwood," Sirius said, offering her some tea.
"Then call me Joanne." Accepting the tea, Joanne looked at the young Lord Black and noted he looked healthier. "Now I've just got a few questions, then I'm done." "That's fine."
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