Harry Potter and Grief's Wisdom

A/N: Sorry for the large delay. Life has been crazy and I'm trying to get to the end of this. I am not overly fond of leaving things undone and this has been ongoing for so long. So here's hoping.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I am so not JKR. I play in her sandbox but she is not me and thus I have no rights to the characters. Just saying.

Chapter 43

Harry got confirmation that Draco had gotten the bottle in and sent to Dumbledore. While he wanted to know more details, it was enough to know it was done. Draco had completed another stupid task and was covered for yet another short while. Harry realized that he needed a better way to protect Draco and his mother from Voldy than what was being used now. Andromeda meanwhile had been very busy, pushing back against Voldemort's support in the Wizengamot. Somehow, she had gotten the Minister on her side. Harry thought it was fucking brilliant, as that was an area that had been annoying since Harry had entered the Magical world. Combined with purging the Aurors and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of Death Eaters, things were actually looking better for the Light than it had when the summer started. If only Sirius could see this now.

The thought made Harry a bit maudlin, but not as grief ridden as he had been after he had lost Sirius. He was working as hard as he could to be worthy of his Godfather's sacrifice. He was training, using his power in ways he had not even known he could, and with the assistance from the Muggle government he was starting to seriously think they might make it through this in one piece. What was bothering him the most right now was that all they could really do was to wait for an attack or something before they could do anything.

Being this passive was not something Harry was good at. He far preferred to go after things as opposed to wait, which his own personal history showed quite clearly. Maybe if he pushed things in the Wizengamot more that would get a rise out of Voldemort and make him take action? He had a hell of a lot of votes and could really push things if he had a mind to. He hadn't been overly aggressive there yet, mostly ensuring that both his proxies were settled and accepted in their positions but maybe it was time? The push needed to be something simple yet effective. His thoughts led him to one thing and he frowned. Really? That was the best he had? Fuck.

The late night walk down to the dungeons under his cloak was in silence, all of his grumbling internal. Talking to Snape was not even remotely something he wanted to do, but he was the best source of information for this idea. Reaching the current DADA teachers' door, he knocked softly, hoping it would be enough. The door swung open suddenly, Snape glaring out the door, one arm stretched out making a perfect entrance for Harry, then he cursed out, "Dunderheads."

Once the door closed, Snape cast a few security spells before turning to face Harry, his face turning from the expected scowl to something far kinder and neutral, "Yes Harry?"

Lowering his cloak, Harry fidgeted slightly and said, "Professor Snape, I need to get your advice on something."

"Go on." Snape took a seat and gestured over at a chair for Harry.

"I have an idea but it could affect you," said Harry as he sat.

Quirking an eyebrow, Snape regarded him silently, waiting for the idea. The man was exceedingly patient.

"I was thinking of asking the Wizengamot to ensure that anyone caught in a crime with a Deatheater mark has to undergo interrogation with Veritaserum. With the votes I have I think I should be able to force the issue and get the law changed but I'm not sure."

Snape looked thoughtful before responding. "That is not a bad notion and would certainly have an impact on this conflict. And seeing as I have no plans to commit any crimes at this time it might work. This is of course to try and thin the Dark Lord's numbers?"

Harry nodded, glad that Snape wasn't overly averse to the idea. "Yes. I was thinking about asking that anyone with a Dark Mark get questioned before entering the Ministry but that could be more difficult to get passed, since the accepted defense story of Imperious."

With a slight nod, Snape said, "That could actually work you know. If you personally asked the Wizengamot to do something like this to protect the Ministry, then with your votes and backing from other houses you might actually get it. You would need to use your fame to make it happen. Playing the fame card in this instance might help you achieve your goals."

Harry frowned, "I really don't want to do that, but if you think it would work… uhm… is there a way to hide the Mark?"

Snape smiled, "Not really. You could use some muggle cosmetics to cover the spot but the Dark Lord wanted his members to be proud of the Mark and wanted its discovery to strike fear in the hearts of his enemies. And the modified Protean Charm he used might be easy to look for magically. I suppose Madam Bones could come examine mine to add to the warding scheme. If someone does not return to work or cannot enter then that certainly will have an impact."

"Do you think that is something that can be done?" Harry's eyes widened in surprise. That was certainly taking the issue a few more steps than he had planned on.

"I have no idea. I am a potions master and not a warding master," replied Snape dryly.

Harry nodded his head, getting to his feet. "Thank you, Professor."

"You are welcome Harry." Snape smiled slightly and then settled his face into the more traditional scowl. He stood and moved towards the door, slowly to allow time for Harry to get back under his cloak. The door opened, Snape glared out and looked down both directions, as if looking for something as Harry slipped away. It closed with an angry slam.

Walking slowly to his room, Harry's thoughts ran over the conversation. It freaked him out to know that Snape was not really the asshole he had thought he was. He was still a prat but because of his stupid job but maybe he wasn't simply evil? Harry honestly didn't have a clue how to deal with that, wanting to avoid the topic all together. Maybe he could get back to it once Voldemort was gone and he had graduated? Maybe. Maybe after he married, had kids? Certainly, he could put it off for a long time with some sort of justification.

When he got back to the room, he glanced at the clock. While it was late, it wasn't past the time where Andi had said no calls. If Snape was okay with this plan than just maybe he could get a move on it and coming from the Black seat would certainly throw some of the more Dark allied houses. He threw in the Floo powder and made the call, wanting to get this over with quickly. There was a short wait, which was strange kneeling there with his face in the fire. Wizards were so weird.

Andi came into the room, noticed the face in the fire and asked, "Harry?"

"Hi Andi. I had an idea and I was wondering if we could talk about it." Harry was rather polite to her as she had been nothing but good to him.

"So its political."

"Yes."

She sat closer to the fire, with some note paper and a quill, "Ready."

Harry explained the basics of the plan and how Snape was alright with a Warding Master coming to examine his Dark Mark. Andromeda Tonks looked thoughtful for a moment. "I wonder if William Weasley would be a good person to send. He has a plausible reason to head up there, with his youngest brother and sister there which might keep Snape from being considered the source. I'll talk it over with both Madame Bones and Gringotts in the morning. Was there anything else Harry?"

Harry blushed a little, "Uhm… yes. Did those gifts get finished?"

Andi smiled warmly at him, "They are nearly done. The last protection spells should be carved tomorrow, then polish, before being sent to you via owl. If that good?"

"Thank you, Andi."

"You're welcome Harry." She smiled fondly at him and set down the paper and quill. "Good night."

Pulling his face from the fire, Harry felt a wave of exhaustion roll over him and the yawn that followed made his jaws ache. Perhaps it was time for bed.

HPGWHPGWHPGWHPGWHPGW

Breakfast was its usual chaos, as all sorts of students were more asleep than awake and trying to get food. Ron still trying to eat Hagrid's weight in food as Harry neared the table, desperate for the boost a good cuppa tea would give him. Harry was hungry himself but thankfully the House elves were rather on their game this morning, with enough food for everyone, even Ron. Between mouthfuls, Ron asked, "So, Harry. Want to play chess today?"

He was about to say no when he realized that he hadn't hung out with Ron in a while, because most of his time was spent working or with the girls. In a lot of ways, he had been neglecting his first friend. "Yeah sure Ron. Come over to the room after breakfast and bring your board. I'll see if Dobby can grab you some snacks. The girls are likely to be there as well, but we can chat during game."

Ron nodded happily, returning to his mountain of breakfast.

Soon enough, Harry and Ron were battling it out on the chessboard, Harry doing about as well as usual. As he was trying to decide on a move, the door opened and in walked Hermione and Luna, arms linked and giggling about something. Hermione seemed slightly surprised to see Ron there and smiled happily. "Beating Harry as usual?"

"Yeah, but he's doing better this time," remarked Ron, as he looked away from the board to talk to Hermione.

Harry frowned down at the board, waving hello distractedly, trying to figure a way out of this situation. Some of the chess books that Hermione had gotten him had really helped his game overall, letting him gain a better feel for the game. It was helping but Ron was really good at this and nothing he ever seemed to do ever made a difference. Deciding to use a move he had read about, he managed to surprise Ron when he captured a pawn en passant, Ron's counter put him in check. Not three moves later the game was over.

"You really are getting better Harry. I mean the games are taking longer. Have you been practicing?" asked Ron.

"Mostly I've been reading books that Hermione found," stated Harry, wanting to seem like he was taking their matches seriously.

"You found books on Wizard's chess in the Muggle world?" Ron was rather surprised by this, turning to look at Hermione in surprise.

"If you must know, since the rules of the game are the same as Chess, I simply got Harry books on that. There are a lot of them available as it is a popular muggle game. The current world champion is Grandmaster Gary Kasparov and some of his matches have been rather impressive. Since the rules are identical, he would probably trounce you, after he got over the shock of the moving pieces."

Ron paused and looked at Hermione in some confusion, "Wait, you're telling me that the muggles have people who play chess professionally and have world championships?"

"Yes. They have for a while now."

"Hunh…" Ron looked thoughtful, which was a new look for him. "There aren't really chess tournaments in the wizarding world, just friendly matches between people, so maybe I could go and try my hand in the muggle world."

Hermione shrugged, "That might be interesting. I can look into what you might need to start working on becoming a professional chess player and how to get ranked."

Ron grabbed a cheese Danish, and had a huge bite, washing it down with tea. "Yeah, I'll think I'll do that. Grandmaster Ron Weasley… I like the sound of that. Certainly not something any of my brothers have done."

Hermione and Luna chuckled over that, with Harry smirking in amusement. Hermione then said, "Actually Ron that might be a fun thing for you to do. You will have to get better with being in the muggle world because there could be no use of magic there without breaking the Statute of Secrets. Besides, the games between Grandmasters are a big deal and are shown on television. Plus, the pieces don't move."

Harry was surprised by that. He hadn't known any of that, well he did know the pieces didn't move. "Really?"

"Oh yes Harry. Some of those games can get crazy. Some countries try very hard to cheat and not get caught. Its actually kind of silly. There are all sorts of politics that goes into it as well. Kind of scary, what with Russia and America battling things out over the chessboard. There is even a musical that came out in the late 80s that was loosely based on the games with Bobby Fisher."

Ron meanwhile looked excited by this notion. "Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'll become a chess grandmaster. Sounds like fun."

With a snort, Harry stated, "While that might be a fun thing for you Ron, maybe we should get rid of Moldyshorts first."

"Fair point mate." Ron conceded. "Any idea when we're going to have the ambush?"

"Not sure. Draco hasn't heard anything from his end. I had an idea I told Andi about and I'm hoping that helps irritate Voldy enough to get him to go before he is ready."

Luna cocked her head as she stared intently at Harry, "You have more nargles than usual…"

Hermione looked at Harry with some concern and Ron looked confused, "What?"

Looking slightly abashed, Harry replied, "Sorry Luna, I've been worried about things and I know that attracts them."

"You need to be thinking clearly Harry. I'll get the siphon and we'll see if it helps." She stood and walked out of the apartment.

Ron looked at Harry, "Mate, I know she's your girlfriend and all that, but there are times when she's very strange."

Hermione and Harry both rolled their eyes.