YAY, another chapter! In this one, we see more updates of what's going on in our characters' world but not as much of an emotional update. That will be saved for next chapter!

Thanks a million to all my beautiful reviewers!

AquaEclipse - "hurt/comfort & fluff for the soul" - perfect description for last chapter! Thanks!

D.J. Scales - glad you liked the movie references! I made sure to double-check the date when "The Lion King" came out, & it turns out that it worked quite nicely!

NicoleR85 - as you wish! A new chapter!

Asmodeus Stahl - to be honest, I didn't even think about the background of Healer Bacchus's name! I wanted something that sounded Greek or Roman & just pulled that name out of my head! You're right, though, it works quite well!

Guest - wow, I have to say I've never had a review (negative or otherwise) in the form of a poem before. The poem itself definitely gave me a Gringotts vibe, whether intentional or not, & I appreciate you taking the time to share your opinion with me.

As always, my darlings - read, enjoy, & REVIEW!

- Owlix

Chapter Sixty-Two: Return to Normalcy

The next few days were the personification of controlled chaos.

Mom spent a lot of time writing to & speaking with various Healers & departmental bureaucrats in various Slytherin-level-ambitious attempts to get Dad recognized as who he is, Uncle Sirius recognized as an innocent maligned victim, herself recognized as his common-law wife, & me recognized as the main heir to the Black family. Thankfully, Uncle Sirius's name was cleared almost immediately, due to Dumbledore's influence, but apparently he couldn't help with anything further than that. We'd have to do the leg-work ourselves if we wanted to have our family restored.

Uncle Sirius was still unconscious, so he couldn't help with the leg-work as of yet, but by the Friday after his admittance to the hospital, the Healers taking care of him were starting to feel optimistic about his recovery. All of his bones were repaired seamlessly, but the joints were still on the way to being fully healed. His muscles had been something between shredded & smooshed, especially around the joints, so those were also on their way.

What the Healers & the rest of the Order were most worried about with Uncle Sirius was his affected organs, namely his heart, left lung, & stomach. They'd been literally flat when Lupin had moved Uncle Sirius out from under the archway, & despite Lupin's quick attempt to reflate them before taking Uncle Sirius to St Mungo's, the spell hadn't held once the Healers got down to business. Lupin himself apologized to me, saying that he wasn't a Healer & hadn't even thought about what kind of damage he'd do to Uncle Sirius with his lack of experience. He'd gone on & on until I'd interrupted him.

"You were thinking about saving his life!" I said firmly, holding his hand tightly for emphasis. "We probably would've lost him if it weren't for you! If Uncle Sirius & I were into this sort of thing, we'd insist on the Black Family owing you a life debt! Since we're not," I laughed, seeing the horrified look on his face, "I'm gonna settle for this."

With that, I reached over & wrapped him in a massive hug & whispered my thanks in his ear as we both tried (& failed) to not cry.

The members of the DA who came with Harry & me - Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, & Neville - were all alive & physically in one piece, but once the adrenaline wore off, Madam Pomfrey found more injuries than she'd originally thought. Obviously, Neville had magical & physical damage from the Cruciatus Curse, but Luna had a concussion from a Death Eater smacking her in the face; Hermione had magical damage from a really nasty curse that was sent by a Death Eater she'd literally silenced; & Ron & Ginny had physical damage from actually punching & kicking the Death Eaters holding them.

Thankfully, Ron, Ginny, & Luna were healed very quickly by Madam Pomfrey. Neville had to stay in the Hospital Wing overnight to make sure that he didn't have any long-term effects, & while he sometimes winced & shifted like he had deep muscle aches, he refused to complain to Madam Pomfrey because he knew he'd end up back in a bed. Hermione was the one who'd had to stay the longest; she'd been officially admitted in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, & as she sat in her bed & insisted on reading aloud from The Daily Prophet's article about Fudge's official statement, it had been more than 48 hours. Needless to say, she was devilishly bored & wanted us to suffer along with her.

"'Details of the events that led to the Ministry turn-around are still hazy," she droned, "'though it is believed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named & a select band of followers (known as Death Eaters) gained entry to the Ministry of Magic itself on Thursday evening.'"

"HA!" I barked, pointing at the paper. "They got that wrong! They got in on the 18th! That was on Tuesday night, not Thursday night!"

"They did say that 'it is believed'," Hermione replied patiently. "The Prophet is already working from rumor on this point, so obviously they will get information wrong."

I groaned & pouted a bit, hamming it up a bit when I saw Harry smirking from out of the corner of my eye.

"I don't know why you even bother with that tabloid-wannabe," I growled. "They've already proven that they'll say whatever the government wants them to, so we never know when they're telling the truth!"

"It's still important to know what angle the Ministry is going for," Hermione said through gritted teeth. "That's usually an indicator of how bad things are & how much leverage we still have to work with."

"Please listen to her, Regina!" Mom said, using a fancy English accent that she said she'd had before moving to the US. "Miss Granger has a frighteningly smart head on her shoulders. You would do well to make use of it while she still lets you!"

I let Hermione preen for a moment before leaning over, a sneaky smile on my face.

"How does it feel to be complimented by a Slytherin?" I asked.

Despite her love of fairness, Hermione couldn't help looking horrified for a split second. Once she'd caught herself, she glared over at me while Harry & I laughed heartily. When I glanced over at Mom, I couldn't help but notice that she'd hidden her face with her hair & that her shoulders were shaking. I grinned triumphantly, knowing that Mom was trying her utmost to not laugh out loud.

"So anyway," Hermione said primly, clearly trying to change the subject, "what's been going on in the school?"

"Well, Flitwick's got rid of Fred & George's swamp," Ginny said brightly, taking a Chocolate Frog from the massive communal pile of "get well soon" sweets we'd gotten from Fred & George. "He did it in about three seconds," she continued with a laugh. "But he left a tiny patch under the window & he's roped it off -"

"Why?!" Hermione asked in alarm.

"Oh, he just says it was a really good bit of magic," Ginny shrugged.

"I think he left it as a monument to Fred & George," Ron said through a mouthful of chocolate.

"So has all the trouble stopped, now that Dumbledore's back?" Hermione asked, trying to not sound too disappointed.

"More or less," I said. "Obviously, the Inquisitorial Squad & Filch aren't all that happy, but everyone else is pretty much satisfied."

"Even Peeves is behaving himself!" Neville chirped, more than a little bit amazed at the complete change in behavior from the poltergeist.

"Of course Filch isn't happy," Ginny scoffed, rolling her eyes before dropping her voice down to a whisper. "He keeps saying that Umbridge was the best thing that ever happened to Hogwarts!"

As if we were one person, we turned to glare at the Pink Elephant in the Room - Umbridge herself. She had been in a hospital bed when we got there after the battle, & everyone had been trying to keep me away from her. I'm pretty sure that someone warned Mom about what I'd done to her because Mom always kept herself in between me & Umbridge, as if I'd just go off again & finish what I'd started. And while it was tempting sometimes, I knew that I couldn't cross that line - there was too much I felt I needed to do, & in my mind, Umbridge had already been taken care of.

"Madam Pomfrey says she's just in shock," Hermione whispered.

"Sulking, more like," Ginny snarled. "Getting her head smashed in by a single student, that's just embarrassing!"

"She shows signs of life if you do this," Ron said before loudly calling out, "Alright, Reggie?"

To my delight, Umbridge sat bolt upright, looking around wildly & faintly squeaking in terror when she saw me smirking over at her.

"Anything wrong, Ms Umbridge?" Mom asked calmly, giving Umbridge a bland smile for good measure.

"No … no …" Umbridge said, lying back stiffly on her bed. "No … I'm quite well … thank you …"

"I should say you are," Mom said tartly before going back to her letter-writing. I'd told Mom everything Umbridge had done this year & had been ecstatic when she'd thoroughly disapproved, actually going so far as to call Umbridge "an utter disgrace to Slytherin House"!

I mentally checked back in to the conversation when Hermione started getting mad at wrong for calling Divination useless now that we knew that prophecies were real. To everyone's surprise, Harry shot to his feet & was halfway across the room before Ron asked him where he was going.

"Er - Hagrid's," Harry said, clearly pulling a location out of his head.

"Oh yeah!" I said, standing up as if I'd just remembered something. "He got back last night - Harry & I promised we'd go down & update him on you guys! Thanks for remembering, Harry! I completely forgot!"

"Say hello to him for us!" Hermione said, seeming to know what was going on right away. "Make sure to ask him what's happening about … about his little friend!"

"Will do!" I called back. "See ya later!"

Harry & I walked in silence for a while, not running into anyone due to everyone enjoying the beautiful day outside. We made it all the way to the Entrance Hall before someone stepped into our field of vision.

It was Malfoy Junior, Crabbe Junior, & Goyle Junior.

They were trying to block the hallway, fixing us with what they clearly thought were death glares as we got close. Harry stopped short, his left arm reaching out slightly to put himself between me & the angry Slytherins.

"You're dead, Potter," Malfoy drawled.

"Funny," Harry retorted, "you'd think I'd have stopped walking around …"

"Very true," I said semi-seriously, "but then again, my cousin's never been one to recognize truth when he sees it."

Harry snorted quietly while Malfoy's pale pointy face contorted in rage.

"You're going to pay!" he hissed, seemingly trying to not let himself be overheard by teachers. "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to my father …"

"Well, I'm terrified now," Harry snapped sarcastically. "I s'pose Lord Voldemort's just a warm-up compared to you three!"

"You think you're such a big man, Potter," Malfoy growled as he stalked towards us, Crabbe & Goyle flanking him just as their fathers had flanked his in the Ministry. "You wait. I'll have you! You can't land my father in prison!"

"Well, we kinda did," I sneered, leaning over to peek out from behind an increasingly protective Harry, "& can I just say, it was an absolute pleasure to literally knock him on his noncey, pretentious ass!"

Before I could even blink, Harry had his wand drawn & Malfoy was reaching for his own ...

"Potter!"

I groaned when I heard Snape's nasal voice snap Harry's name. Despite everything going on, Snape would take Malfoy's side & take pleasure in it simply because he'd be taking Harry down a peg or two.

"What on earth are you doing, Potter?" Snape sneered coldly.

"Protecting me," I said before Harry could dig himself a deeper hole. "I was telling my dear cousin how wonderful it was to put his father in his proper place, but I'm afraid the poor boy took offense to that. Harry was simply quicker on the draw than Malfoy or me."

Snape sneered at us before snapping,

"Put your wand away at once, Potter. Ten points from -"

"There aren't any points to take, Professor," I sneered. "It seems that Umbridge puts even your level of favoritism to shame."

Snape glared at me before saying, "In that case, Dolan, we will simply have to -"

"Add some more?"

I was never so happy to hear that proper Scottish burr. We all turned to see Professor McGonagall coming in the door. She had a traveling cloak over her slightly sagging shoulders, a tartan carpet-bag in one hand, & a walking stick held tightly in her other hand. Her hair was slightly grayer than normal & she seemed a bit tired, but apart from that, she looked completely fine.

"Professor McGonagall!" I cheered, literally jogging over to help her with her bag. "How are you feeling?"

"Quite well, Miss Dolan," she said firmly with a slight smile in my direction. "As you can see, I'm quite as good as new! You two - Crabbe - Goyle!"

She beckoned them forward, looking as imperious as a Scottish witch queen, only to thrust her bag into Crabbe's chest & her cloak into Goyle's.

"Here," she said, "take these up to my office for me."

As the two shuffled down the hallway, she quietly slipped her arm through mine when I offered it, & the two of us made our way over to Harry & Snape.

"Right then," Professor McGonagall said smartly as she peered at the hourglasses that displayed how many points each House had, "well, I think Potter & his friends out to have fifty points apiece for alerting the world to the return of You-Know-Who! What say you, Professor Snape?

"What?!" Snape snapped bitterly. "Oh - well - I suppose …"

"So that's fifty each for Potter, Dolan, the two Weasleys, Longbottom, & Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall said semi-smugly, signalling a shower of rubies to fall down in the Gryffindor hourglass, "oh, & fifty for Miss Lovegood as well," she added, causing some sapphires to fall in Ravenclaw's hourglass. "Now, you wanted to take ten points from Mr. Potter, I think, Professor Snape - so there we are …"

A few rubies flew up in the hourglass as the points were officially detracted.

"Well, Malfoy," she continued briskly, "I think you ought to be outside on a glorious day like this. Mr Potter, Miss Dolan, if you two will follow me to my office. I have an important message for you both."

My eyes immediately bugged out. Professor McGonagall had just come from St Mungo's - she could have information about Uncle Sirius or Dad!

Harry also didn't need to be told twice. He walked at Professor McGonagall's side as I supported her down the hall. We slowly made our way to the Transfiguration department, making sure to take it easy as we went up the various stairs. We passed the disgruntled Crabbe & Goyle on the way, but they were at least smart enough to not try anything with Professor McGonagall right in front of them.

Finally, we were secured in Professor McGonagall's office. She took her time to sit down in her most comfortable chair & order a pot of tea with a side of Ginger Newt biscuits from the Hogwarts Kitchens. Needless to say, the elves were as ecstatic as we were to have our Deputy Headmistress back.

After pouring both of us a cup of tea & making us chew on a couple biscuits each, she finally delivered her message:

"Sirius has finally woken up. He's doing well, but he wants to see both of you as soon as possible."