Flash Forward.

"Ah, yes," said Harry, with a slight growl. "Information control. It's just another form of control you're trying to place upon me. I'm supposed to need information you have; yet, you're not willing to give it to me. And, when I ask, you brush me off with some... frankly... inane comment about how my childhood is too important to enjoy with such weighty information. Well Mister Supreme Mugwump Headmaster Chief Warlock Leader of the Light Dumbledore, I'm not interested. I'm not buying it. If the information is important for me to have, then give it to me. However, if you're not willing to give it to me, shove it! I will no longer allow you to use it to have power over me. I will find some other way to get it if I actually need it.

"To the second part of your... reasoning... your tutelage, I put to you it is quite difficult to remain under your tutelage when I've not been under it at all! In case you've not figured it out, Headmaster, you've taught me nothing here except for the following facts: One, you refuse to answer very important questions relating to me when I ask them of you; and two, when I complain about your teaching staff... Snape, in particular... you utter some nonsense or other inanity about how he has your complete faith and trust; which, in turn, demonstrates your complete ignorance of the teaching qualities of your staff, or that you really don't give a shit. There are, of course, other matters, but those are the big two. Anything else?"

With a returned angry glare, Dumbledore tried, "I assure you, Harry; when the time is right, I will give you both the information and tutelage you need. However, the time is not yet right."

"Then, Headmaster, when it is, seek me out," returned Harry. "I have no idea where in the world I'll be, at that time; but, I've been giving a heap of consideration to transferring the three of us to either Salem in the US, or Dundee in Australia. I had originally thought to transfer to Beauxbatons in France, until I remembered I speak very little French other than a few words. At least both the US and Australia speak English, even if it's with an accent. It's a decision my rightful guardian, Sirius Black, the Grangers and Greengrasses will make. Anything else?"

the

"No matter how unworthy of the title of hero of magical Britain you feel you are," tried Dumbledore, "you are considered a hero. If you leave Britain, it could cause such a furore it may likely bring down the government and lay ruin to our way of life. Do you think so little of your friends and their families that you'd do such a thing to them?"

"Ah, control method number two; guilt tripping," replied Harry. "That won't work, either. First, I am not responsible for me being placed on that hero pedestal. If anything, you are when you refused to act in my best interests and put a stop to it as soon as it started. Second, I'm now doing my best to correct that misconception about me. That's what those articles you don't want me causing to be printed are all about. And, three, the only friends I have are in this room. And, the only other people I care about, should be caring more about me than magical Britain; and should, therefore, support my desire to leave. The other students of this school, with the notable exceptions of a very few, amply demonstrated to me in my second year how little they really care for me. Does the term 'Heir of Slytherin' ring any bells for you, Headmaster? That's yet another thing you and your staff should have put a stop to as soon as it began. Next?"

"What about the wishes of your parents, Harry?" asked the old man, scrambling for ideas. "They'd have wanted you to attend Hogwarts, as they did."

"Sadly, we'll never know what my parents wanted, Headmaster; as I've never seen the Will they should have left behind," reasoned Harry. "As such, we have no way of knowing what my parents wanted of, or for, me. I suspect I'll probably learn more once I'm able to sit down and discuss the matter more fully with my godfather."

Harry knew a Will should exist, considering the size of the Potter fortune, but had no idea where it could be found. That the goblin Sharpclaw did not tell him of its existence implied a copy was not within their possession. He had the distinct feeling Dumbledore either had it, or had destroyed it.

"Will that be all, Headmaster?" asked Harry, allowing a hint of frustration to colour his voice.

With an exaggerated sigh, Dumbledore replied, "I see you are in no mood to listen to reason, Harry. We shall speak of this at another time."

As Dumbledore turned to leave, Harry shot back, "And, when we do, Headmaster, it will be in the company of my solicitors. My return missive to you stands! I will NOT meet with you, in private, nor for any reason not directly related to my schooling, without the attendance of my legal counsel. I expect my solicitors will soon visit you to remind you of that."

Dumbledore left acknowledgement.

without

further

The articles concerning Harry's appearance before the Wizengamot hearing, specifically what he caused to be made known, created both a morning and evening edition of the Daily Prophet to be distributed the next day. It appeared there was so much information to cover that the senior staff of the newspaper decided to spread it across two editions, with most of what appeared in the evening being led by teasers in the morning.

Harry and his bondmates decided to simply stick together for the entire day and weathered the clamour that occurred in the school from the articles. Of course, it was the blood bigots in Slytherin, and a couple from Ravenclaw, that were the most upset. None of them liked to learn that Voldemort... Riddle... was actually only a half-blood.

What annoyed Harry and his bondmates the most wasn't what was being said by other students. It was the remarks of the Minister that appeared in the papers along with the articles. The Minister was being adamant that Voldemort was truly dead and gone, and refused to entertain the idea he wasn't. Umbridge even used the opportunity to call him a 'delusional attention seeking liar'. Only this time it occurred about nine months earlier than the previous timeline. He did not need to even bother contacting his solicitors as Miss Pentridge had immediately written him to let him know she was already seeking legal redress for the remarks.

"Idiot man!" snarled Harry, after reading the Minister's remarks. "He was an idiot then, just as he's an idiot now."

"Uh-hmm," murmured Hermione, still reading. "This time, though; we'll have to take him down, earlier. He is as much responsible for all the deaths that occurred as Riddle, himself. He gave Riddle that entire year, last time, to rebuild his forces." Chapter 128 From then onwards, the weeks began to flow by.

Ackerman had been to visit the Headmaster and given him a bollicking. It was immediately followed by a formal 'cease and desist' order delivered by hand from Madam Bones; with further threats of arrest should he even consider breaching the order.

However, a criminal trial against Dumbledore had, as predicted, stalled. Nothing further occurred.

To try and get things moving again, the bondmates then caused for the whole story of the Philosopher's Stone to be released to the Prophet. This time there were many angry questions over how Dumbledore could place the students of Hogwarts lives' at risk by having such an artefact stored at the school.

However, though it caused even more angry letters from concerned parents to be sent to the Editor of the Prophet, it was still not enough to see Dumbledore brought in for trial. It was merely seen as a separate incident, unrelated to his initial problems.

For strengthening their bonds the three bondmates, by unspoken agreement, decided not to progress matters beyond what they were already doing. All three decided they had no reason to rush anything, with Luna easily able to see the bond and ensure no harm occurred.

However, during their latest visit to Madam Pomfrey for an 'official' bond health check, the medi-witch gave them a 'what for' lecture. Sitting them all on one bed, she stood before them and demanded, "Why am I not seeing any progression in the bonds? Everything appears to have stalled!"

"Because there truly is no need to rush, Madam Pomfrey," Harry calmly replied. "And, with Luna's assistance, we know we're not causing any harm to it."

"And, how snapped.

would

you know that?"

she

"How would anyone know either way?" he countered. With a sigh, he said, "Madam Pomfrey, please consider our ages. Please consider the way we were each raised!"

Pomfrey appeared to visibly sag at Harry's words. And appeared to have recognised the verbal slap for what it was. "I understand, Mister Potter," she softly replied. "However, we do not know if there is a finite time period we need... you need... to consider here."

"But, the books we've read have already provided prior evidence it can take a lot longer than we're currently giving it," replied Hermione. "Harry's right; there's no rush."

Daphne, who'd been sitting with her head bowed, softly said, "It's my fault."

"What? No!" exclaimed Harry, barely beating Hermione to the same response.

"And, just why do you believe it's your fault, Miss Greengrass?" asked Madam Pomfrey. "If anything, it's the fault of the three of you, equally combined."

"There is no fault!" exclaimed Hermione, a little shrill for being affronted. "Alright, we're not puritans," sighed Harry. "We aren't too held back by the mores of society, either magical or muggle. But none of the three of us see a need to rush anything, here. We've read the available literature and there were no specifics as to how long this is supposed to take. Merlin, madam! Even then, none of them cover three-way bonds.

"The bond could be stronger if we take our time, or dissolve. If we rush it, we could do more harm than good. There's no way to know. All we can do is go with our gut feelings, supported by what you and Luna are telling us. Neither of you have steered us wrong, yet. Yet!"

"All three of us are agreed we see no need to push things, Madam," tried Hermione. "You cannot state... without doubt... that the bond won't be harmed by us pushing things too fast, or will be harmed by us taking it slow."

With a sigh of near surrender, Madam Pomfrey replied, "No, I cannot. However, the literature does go into detail concerning two-way bonds, and that the bonds need to be constantly improved until they reach finalisation."

"And those mentioned in the literature did not also include someone with mage sight or Ravenclaw's Gift being able to constantly monitor the bond on behalf of the bondmates," Hermione shot right back.

"Hermione, stop it," said Daphne firmly but quietly. Looking at the medi-witch, she sighed with an almost pained look and said, "There's another factor of which you're unaware." "Daphne," both Harry and Hermione warned. "You don't need to tell her."

With a look of apology at her bondmates, Daphne looked back towards Madam Pomfrey with her eyes downcast, and quietly said, "What you don't know is that, before the bonds were established, I was... sexually molested."

"What?" gasped you poor dear!"

Pomfrey.

"Oh,

As the medi-witch stepped forward to cast more scans, Daphne held up her hand and firmly said, "You won't find any evidence of it. The... physical... side of things has been rectified."

"But, you still have the psychological trauma associated with it," finished the medi-witch, understanding as she lowered her wand again.

As Harry was the only one sitting next to her - Hermione was on his other side - he twisted on the bed and wrapped the girl in his arms, not saying a word.

"And, that's why things are being taken slow," explained Hermione in a furious mutter to the medi-witch while Harry just glared.

"Yes, yes," said Madam Pomfrey, almost distractedly. "It all makes perfect sense, now."

Thinking furiously for a few moments, she turned once more to Daphne and said, "If you ever need to talk of it, my door is always open to you. You need to know that. And, never fear; this will not go into my medical files on you. I trust my security to hold up to the best, but... I'll not risk it."

"Thank you," Daphne quietly said in a small voice.

"I think that's enough for today," Harry firmly declared, hopping off the bed and helping Daphne off. Hermione followed.

The three then made their way back out of the infirmary without a backward glance. They immediately headed directly to their apartment whereupon Daphne broke down, sobbing. Her bondmates put her to bed with a calming draught and lay cuddling into her as she fell asleep.

Both Harry and Hermione realised it was something Daphne needed to do as part of recovering from that awful experience. The girls, who had firmly taken control of the project of getting Harry's back-mail sorted, had organised students who were eager for the added pocket money to start sorting through everything.