All I Know Is I Won't Go Speechless

Disclaimer/Plot/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER

Dedication: I'd like to dedicate this story to my good friend Winged Seer Wolf for helping to inspire me: my recommended reads are Reclaiming the House of Black by Fairywm, Aspirations by megamatt09, Harry Potter and The Power He Knows Not Book 1 The Reluctant Champion by ACI100, Dark Prince Rises by Ronin2106, Who Dares Wins by OlegGunnarsson, Dark Lord Potter Part 1 by The Santi, Breaking Point by Darth Wartriarr, Harry Potter And The Summer Of Change by lorddwar, His Loyal Pet and To Date a Metamorph by Just a Lonely Lorekeeper, Behind Blue Eyes by elmembrila, Harry Potter and the Daft Morons by Sinyk, Partners? By ReluctantSidekick and Harry Potter and the Grim Heritage by shinobikarasu

Key Pairing: Harry/Tonks; Neville/Ginny; Ron/Luna

Other Pairings: To be determined

Normal Speech

'Thoughts'

/Parseltongue/

Review Answers:

Millie072: Rest assured, the backlash is coming

JustBored21: Hope you like this little aftermath chapter

Alix33: Thanks: I saw it in the Fantastic Beasts movie and it became my 'go-to' spell for dealing with nuisances

Chaos Snow Kitsune: Thanks…and apologies for any fears you might have had that I'd given up on this: problems and emotional backlashes from all the BS I kept getting with my other stories put me in a bad spot

Winged Seer Wolf: I've never actually seen the Peverell one used in the trial before, so it's an interesting option to consider

ArlyssTolero: Wow, thanks, old friend: hope you like what else is coming

"You say I can't learn your sad little group therapy secrets? Fine, I won't: if Dumbledore's the Light and Voldemort's the Dark, consider me the Grey. As of this moment, I declare myself an independent faction and, as the leader of this faction, even if only unofficially, I say this…Don't get in my way…if you're with me, you're with me! Not that old coot, not this banshee bitch and definitely not your own ego; so choose and be sure it's the right one because, unlike last year with my brother-in-all-but-blood, I will not forgive betrayal a second time."

Chapter 4: The Fourth Faction

With Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George having left the room, Sirius moved to close the door, making sure nobody else could get away before he turned to face the table, his eyes darker than dark while his expression was anything but jolly or the happy-go-lucky Marauder he once was as he cleared his throat before he addressed the room.

"All right, first things first: Molly and Hermione, I'm going to leave Harry's hex in place for now, because I'd actually like to get a word in edgewise, but, to the rest of you, listen up because I am only going to say this once."

Folding his arms with a confident, proud air, even as he drew himself to his full height, Sirius continued making his point, "If I discover any books, artefacts or family heirlooms have been removed from this house without my consent…yes, Molly, my consent!"

He made sure to emphasise the point as Molly's muffled squeals filled the room, though, without her mouth, she was just annoying, instead of Banshee-level deafening, as Sirius went on, "I am the Master of this House, whether my name has been cleared or not! Not Albus, not you, Molly and definitely not you, Hermione: the fact you were actually stupid enough to steal from my family makes me regret calling you what I did two years ago, but, clearly, your loyalty was only ever to yourself or to Albus and his delusions."

As Sirius laid out the crimes and insinuations for all to hear, Hermione was turning a whole new shade of red, though not before her skin paled as Sirius indicated Tonks and Moody before he added, "You should just be thankful that, as things stand right now, I don't much feel like making things worse: after all, we have an Auror in the room and an ex-Auror, both of whom are no strangers to magical law. After all, you're a known supporter of the stupidly-named Boy-Who-Lies, so I'm sure Azkaban will be more like Club Med compared to what the Ministry and the Death Eaters would put you through if we handed you over to Fudge and his cronies."

Hermione was visibly trembling as Sirius told her what he could do, even as the Black Lord cleared his throat before he added, "However, the only reason I am not going to do that is because I know for a fact you'd only use this as a chance to paint my boy in a far worse light than Albus has already done. So, instead, I'm saying this: from this day forwards, you, Hermione Granger, are forbidden from entering the Black Library and, if you or your magical signature is found in that room, you will be left to the mercy of the Black Family Magic to decide your punishment."

"And, remember, this is the Black Family Magic we're talking about, Granger," sneered Tonks, her eyes almost-turning serpentine-like, as though emphasising the sinister, smug air she had as she went on, "So punishment from this family won't be something silly like demerits and writing lines: in fact, you'll be lucky to be able to touch a book again once our family's done with you."

Judging by the thud that filled the room, Hermione seemed to have gotten the message, if not fainted from terror and the fact she was now barred from the books she craved so much.

Sirius, meanwhile, remained stone-faced as he looked from the unconscious Muggle-born to the alarmed, red-faced Molly as he added, "This brings me to my second bit of important business, Molly: your cleaning stops here and now. Thanks to my pup, something tells me we've got all the cleaning support we need and, if my guess is right, I'd assume Kreacher is going to make this dark spot seem like a king's palace just to make my boy feel at home. And, like Granger, I warn you now: if I find anything missing or safely secured or disposed of by your wishes, I'm taking the cost right out of what little is left in the Prewett and Weasley vaults…and before you say I can't do that, you should remember that, technically, your families, meaning both Prewett and Weasley, as well as mine still share common ancestries…so, be warned."

As though she was slowly realising how little control she was having over the conversation, and, by extension, the task given to her by Dumbledore himself, Molly's face was turning as red as her hair, if not even redder than that, even as Sirius looked to the rest of the room as he went on, "And finally, this is a message to the rest of you, as this concerns my boy and, Alastor, I strongly advise you to let the rest of the Order know about this too. From now on, any shop talk is not to have my boy's name dropped into it: he is a teenager and deserves to decide what he does by himself, not to mention getting a chance to be with friends. So, from now on, he is off-limits…and that goes infinite-tuple for Albus and whatever plots, thoughts, wishes and security rotas he claims to have come up with for Voldemort and whatever it is he's after in the Ministry."

"I…I'll pass on the message."

"Good," said Sirius, heaving a sigh before he added, "Because, while getting you lot out of here might leave me exposed and you lot thinking you can use that against me, just remember this much…"

Here, he jabbed a thumb behind him as he added, "My godson is no longer a mewling quim of a child, but, thanks to Albus and his screwups last year, he is now an adult, which also means the only one who is responsible for him is Harry James Potter himself…"

Then, to Remus' surprise, Sirius' eyes sparkled with a glimmer of Marauder-worthy amusement and slyness as he smiled wolfishly before he added to his already-final point.

"Sorry, I should say the only one responsible for him is Harry James Potter-Black himself!"

Speechless

"Hey."

After what seemed like a long time of silence and contemplation between all involved, Harry looked up from his thoughts, and his position of sitting with one knee curled against his chest as he sat at the foot of his bed, to see Ron watching him curiously, but also with slight concern, as the redhead asked, "Are you okay? You've been a bit quiet since we left the kitchen."

"Sorry, mate," said Harry, letting out a long, slow sigh before he added, "And sorry we had to leave dinner so early…hang on…Kreacher?"

As if on cue, the apparently-reformed elf appeared, bowing to Harry as he asked, "Yes, Master Harry?"

"Can you provide some snacks for my friends and I up here? We had to leave the kitchen rather-hurriedly…also, before you go, I have a question for you, if you can spare a moment?"

"Kreacher is here to obey Master Harry's call whenever you need it, Sir," replied Kreacher, earning a dumbfounded look from the Weasleys while Harry smirked as he was suddenly reminded of the very reason he was going to speak to Kreacher in the first place.

"Well, I don't mean any offence asking this, Kreacher, but I was wondering if you would like some help keeping the house in order? I happen to know two elves, one of whom would probably kill to be useful to me and the other one whom needs a steady hand and a calm, if not generous master to help keep her spirits up."

"Kreacher would welcome any help coming from Master Harry," answered the elf, earning a nod from Harry.

"That's what I thought…hang on: Dobby!"

To Ron's amusement, the excitable elf he remembered Harry talking about before appeared so quickly and suddenly, he might as well have been eavesdropping from outside the door, though now, instead of an old pillowcase, he was dressed in a smart-looking robe with one sock on his foot, which Harry recognised as the same sock he'd sacrificed to help Dobby in the first place.

"Harry Potter!" gasped the elf, bowing low as he always did as he told Harry, "Dobby is so pleased to see you again, sir."

"And you, old friend," said Harry, earning a beaming look from Dobby that probably could have lit up Times Square, even as Harry went on, "And thank you for answering my call so quickly too: I was wondering if you would like to come and work for me and my family?"

"Dobby already does, sir," said the elf, earning a surprised look from Harry while even the Weasleys looked confused, while Dobby, seemingly-sensing his master's query, quickly continued, "Dobby has served Harry Potter ever since Harry Potter saved Dobby from evil Not-Master Malfoy, sir. When Harry Potter instructed Dobby to never save his life again, Dobby's magic took that as a cue to merge his magical spirit with that of Harry Potter and his Family, sir. But Harry Potter did not have need to call on Dobby anytime soon, so Dobby took up residence at Hogwarts, where Dobby has made himself better, so that he might better serve and aid his friend and true master, Harry Potter."

"Wow," whispered Harry, remembering how Dobby had helped him the year before, though, at the time, he'd thought of it as nothing more than fate doing something right…or rather, he had done until it was revealed that the other Moody was Crouch.

"So," continued Harry, swallowing down his curiosities as he asked, "If I asked you to come here and aid Kreacher in keeping the house in a liveable state, you'd do that for me, Dobby?"

"Dobby will do as Master Harry wishes of him, sir," replied Dobby, earning a faint smile from Harry.

"Also," added Harry, remembering the other point he'd wanted to make, as he asked, "Do you think you could find out where Winky is? I know she's a bit sad after what happened with Crouch, but, if she wants a master so badly, tell her she can come and work for me or my godfather, which will give her the magic she needs to stay strong and be useful to a wizard."

"Dobby will tell her, but Winky is…she is unwell due to her Master rejecting her so badly, Master Harry," admitted Dobby, though when Harry saw the worry in his friend's eyes, he couldn't help but smile.

"You care for her?"

"Very much so, sir."

"Then, as your…your master," said Harry, his dislike for the title evident in his expression as he told Dobby, "I want you to help her be better: if you have to juggle your time here with your time helping her, do so, but don't go overboard, Dobby. Then, once Winky is well again, tell her about my offer and, if you really want to, you can even care for her as more than just a friend."

Dobby's eyes widened to a point that made it so Harry wouldn't have been surprised to see them fall from his face as he asked, "Master Harry is blessing Dobby's hope to have Winky as his life-mate, sir?"

"Yes."

As soon as Dobby started jumping up and down in an excitable manner, Harry allowed himself a faint smile as he added, "You're welcome, Dobby: now go and make sure she's okay. But remember, you and her are to help Kreacher when you feel up to it, understand?"

"Yes sir, thank you, Master Harry Potter, Dobby is so glad to finally serve his Master Harry Potter, sir; thank you, thank you, thank you…"

"Dobby: go!" commanded Harry, though once Dobby was gone, and Kreacher had provided the group with some snacks for their chat, the young wizard couldn't help but laugh, earning more laughs from his friends as he looked to them before he asked, "He'll never change, will he?"

"No," laughed Ron.

"Though neither will you, it seems," added Ginny, earning a shrug from Harry, while Ginny cleared her throat as she asked, "So, now we have some time to ourselves, what do you want to do first, Harry?"

"I want to be ready for this bullshit trial," said Harry, rising from the ground while the others helped themselves to snacks, as Harry went on, "If I know Fudge and Dumbledore, and I'm sorry to say I do, they'll spent the whole thing talking it out and arguing about one another's opinions. I wouldn't even put it past that self-centred old wanker to make a Voldemort reference, just to throw Fudge off his game, while they both ignore me because, like Granger and Molly, they prefer to think of me as just a boy."

"So, what are you going to do?" asked Ron.

"I'm going to find a way to make sure they hear me and not just each other in their pissing contest," said Harry, earning a few titters from his friends, even as Harry scowled as he added, "I just wish I knew a way to do that."

"Maybe I can offer some advice," suggested Tonks, startling the others as she walked into the bedroom, though not before sending an amused, if not flirtatious wink in Harry's direction as she smiled coyly at him.

"Nymphadora, and don't call me that, Tonks, reporting for duty with the wish of siding with the Grey, Lord Potter-Black, sir!"

Even with all the confusion he felt, Harry couldn't resist laughing along with the Weasleys when Tonks actually saluted him, like a soldier reporting to her superior, as she delivered her reason for being there in the first place.

Though not before Harry scoffed as he told her, "No, don't do that, Miss Tonks…I'm not Dumbledore or Voldemort, so please don't salute."

"Aye-aye, Captain," laughed Tonks as she saluted again, earning a groan from Harry.

"I had to declare myself the one to form this new faction, didn't I?"

Chapter 4 and it looks like Harry's only just starting to realise what a headache being the boss is, but how can Tonks help him out when she's meant to be part of Dumbledore's Therapy Sessions?

Also, will our hero – or is it anti-hero now? Hmm – be able to defy both Fudge and Dumbledore and take over their pissing contest long enough to show them he means business?

Keep Reading to Find Out

Next Chapter: The battle lines have been drawn and now Harry must find a way to ensure he doesn't just retake control of his life...but he keeps it! Well, Harry, I suppose it's a good thing you've got someone trained in law and inside the Ministry on your side, isn't it?

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