The next day saw a flurry of activity in the castle. Now that the curriculum was being placed into effect, the students were eager to see how things would improve for the better around Hogwarts as well as Wizarding Britain in general.

Harry knew that Dolores wanted him to join her some time that day to go to the Department of Mysteries to retrieve the prophecy pertaining to him and the Dark Lord. Harry was sitting there during his break when he had a sudden flash of inspiration. He took out quill, ink, and parchment and began to write his letter.

Voldemort

It has come to my attention that the prophecy regarding the two of us is a fake. I am willing to go out on a limb and obtain the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. I am interested in hearing what it has to say just as much as you are. When I have the full contents of the prophecy, I will send to you a copy. I am sure that someone here in the castle can make a copy of this prophecy and we will send it to you. In this one aspect, I am going to let down my defenses with regards to you so that we can both get the information that we both desire. When it is all said and done, and we have heard the prophecy, we can decide how we want to proceed with our futures. I have never wanted this war to begin with. I was forced into it by you and Dumbledore. I have always only wanted to be normal and have a loving family. While I now have a family that was created through all of this, it is not quite the same as having my flesh and blood mother and father.

The night that you killed my parents, you inadvertently created a Horcrux. Now that I know what they are, I know how it is that you have not died yet. The one that was in your diary was destroyed. Lucius was foolish to send it to Hogwarts when he knew that Dumbledore was looking for items such as that. The Goblins had to take the one that was in my scar out as it was feeding off of my life force. I am not going to apologize for its destruction either.

Just know that Dumbledore is not that happy with me anymore as I have thrown him out of the castle. This doesn't mean that I will not still defend the school and all of its inhabitants and residents. I am the owner of the school and I will do what I have to do to keep it safe at all costs. You will desist in attacking my home or you and I will continue to have problems. Should you decide to leave me alone, I will return the gesture.

There are other things that I am interested in talking with you about, but now is not the time for it. Maybe in the future, you and I can sit down like mature adults and talk face to face without pulling a wand on each other. As we both know, that doesn't work anyway as we have brother wands.

My final word of caution to you is to keep your eyes open for Dumbledore. He is up to something and I have a feeling that he orchestrated the fight between you and me. While I still despise you for killing my parents, I feel that you were not the only one acting that night and something caused all of this to happen. The leader of the Light is definantly working on the Dark side for his own agenda and neither you nor I will be safe from him. I am the Leader of the Light and you are the Leader of the Gray. At least that is how I see it.

I will end this for now. Please note that if my owl doesn't come back in as good of health as I sent her to you, that I will not hesitate to hunt you down and destroy the last of your horcruxes and even yourself. Now that the magical blocks that Dumbledore placed on me are gone, I can finally live with my full potential which is significantly more than yours and definantly more than his.

With my mind in thought concerning this and other events,

Harry Potter

When Harry was done with the letter, he re-read it a few times to make sure that it was as polite as he could make it while also making sure that he got his point across. When he was done, he left his room to search for Severus. He found the man in the Potions Lab. When Severus saw Harry in the doorway, he beckoned him in.

"What can I do for you this morning Harry?" asked Severus finishing he potion he was working on. "You seem to have something weighing heavily on your mind."

Harry handed him the letter and let the man read it. When Severus was done, Harry looked at him hopefully.

"I was hoping to get your opinion on this letter," stated Harry. "I don't want to come across like an arrogant ass to the Dark Lord, but at the same time, I want him to understand that I mean business and I will not back down from him should he continue to come after me and those that are in my care."

"Well," said Severus after a moment of thought. "I think that you are getting your point across nicely with this. It is well written and has loads of insight in it. My main concern is that you are using Hedwig for this delivery. I know how fond of that owl you are. With as loyal as she is, anyone would be severely fond of her. She is highly intelligent for her species."

"I am concerned about her, but I don't think he will take out any anger on her," said Harry. "After all, I gave him some information that is beneficial to him as well as to the differences that he and I share. I want him to know that Dumbledore is up to something and that I don't think either of us is safe from the old fool. Therefore, I think that he will be calm enough to allow her safe flight in and out. Plus I have a special medallion I plan on putting around her neck."

"It wouldn't surprise me to learn that it is because of something that Dumbledore did that caused the Dark Lord to become dark in the first place," admitted Severus. "I am glad that you and I can talk about things such as this. It is a far cry from when you first came into this castle. Within the last few weeks, you are more at ease within yourself as well as more confident. Now that you are married to Hermione, you are even more confident and focused. I would haphazard a guess that anyone trying to come between the happiness that you found is in for a fight that they can not win. I for one am not stupid enough to get in the way. I have seen what you have easily done to Dumbledore and I know that at any given time that you could do the same to me if you chose to do so. I also know that you would not do something like that to me without good reason."

"I am happy that you and I broke through all of those barriers that were between us," said Harry with a smile. "I enjoy working with you and I love the fact that if I have a problem that I can come and talk with you about it. I should have let the Sorting Hat place me in Slytherin all those years ago like it wanted. We may have been able to break through the wall sooner."

"It is a possibility," agreed Severus. "I am closer to my snakes due to being able to see them for what and who they are. If you were in my house, I would have known a long time ago that you were being abused and would have taken steps to stop it. Now, why don't you go and mail your letter and I will meet you in the Great Hall for breakfast. From there, Professor Umbridge will want to take you to the Ministry so that you can remove the Prophecy. We don't want you to miss too many more classes, but you are already far advanced in your studies anyway."

With that, Harry politely excused himself and went to the Owlery. Hedwig glided down and landed gently on his shoulder. He stroked her breast for a few moments before he looked seriously at her.

"I need you to take a letter to the Dark Lord for me," he said. "I can only trust you to do this as I know you will not let anything happen to either you or the letter."

She hooted softly to him before she jumped to the ledge to hold out her leg. From there he tied the letter to her leg. He halted her before she was about to fly out.

"I have a protective amulet that I would like for you to wear around your neck," he told her holding it up for her to see. "It will keep you safer. I don't want Dumbledore using you as a means to get to me. I would be very upset if something were to happen to you."

She hooted once more and stretched her neck out for Harry to place the amulet around her neck. He smiled at his beloved owl before he allowed her to leave. When she was gone, he headed back to the castle so that he could get some breakfast. He and Hermione sat with the Hufflepuffs that morning.

"I am going to the Ministry of Magic with Professor Umbridge this morning," Harry told Hermione. "It is time to hear what the prophecy says. From what I am to understand, we are going there and back with no deviations. I need you to keep an eye out for Hedwig for me. She was sent out on a special mission this morning and I want her checked thoroughly when she gets back for injury or any spells that are not supposed to be there. The medallion that you and I created is around her neck. So if there are any enchantments on her that is not supposed to be there, I will trust you to have them removed."

"I will personally see to it that Professor Snape and Hagrid check her over for any type of damage or spells," assured Hermione kissing him quickly. "I love her as much as you do. To whom did you send her to?"

"The Dark Lord," said Harry. "He wants information that only I can give him. There is a copy of the letter I wrote to him on your desk in our rooms. It will tell you what I told him and such. For now I have to go. Professor Umbridge is looking at us with slight impatience. I don't want to upset her."

With a kiss on the lips to his bonded, Harry quickly got up and headed to Dolores. She smiled at him as they left the castle. When they got outside the wards of the school, she took him by the arm and shifted slightly on the spot and apparated them to the Ministry of Magic. When they arrived, they were met by Amelia Bones who posted a couple of Aurors at their backs for safety reasons. The Aurors that were there were those that Amelia knew were not in the pocket of anyone and extremely loyal to the Ministry and the laws that it was supposed to uphold.

Dolores led them to the Department of Mysteries. When they got to the entrance, she posted the Aurors on high alert at the door before she led Harry inside.

"People like Dumbledore like to think that they have access to everything here in the Department, but he doesn't," she told Harry. "He is restricted just like everyone else. If he is ever found here, he will be in more trouble than he knows what to do with."

"What are we going to do about his spot as Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump?" asked Harry. "With that kind of power, won't he be able to cause me more grief and heartache?"

"If Amelia has anything to say about it, he won't be either of those things for very much longer," assured Dolores with a smile. "He is in an awful lot of trouble right about now. I sent a vial with my memories of the other day to her. She is furious. This is the reason why you have Aurors watching your every move when you are not in the castle. While you are there, your magic and that of the castle protects you and Hermione. While out of the castle, you will need someone to help watch your back. Powerful the two of you may be, but you can still be hit with spells and charms when you are not looking for them."

"Constant Vigilance," laughed Harry. "I will definitely keep an eye out for the old fool. He better leave me alone is all that I have to say. He has already done as much damage if not more to me than the Dark Lord has ever done. I will not tolerate one more person using me for their own gain and influence ever again."

"Nor should you have to," said Dolores leading him through the doors to the Hall of Prophecies. "You are your own person. Those that are in the castle with you are there to guide you through your magical training. If anyone is trying to use or abuse anyone, we need to know about it."

"I have no doubts that now that Dumbledore is gone, that the rest of you can actually enjoy yourselves with your jobs," said Harry with a smile. "Now that it is out in the open as to whom and what I am, I can be more relaxed. Now that the Horcrux is gone from my scar, I don't feel so angry all the time. I can actually enjoy life and do the best that I can do without fear of retribution for it."

"I am very impressed with your grades and the way that you are carrying yourself," said Dolores with a smile opening the door for him. "I am very impressed with your willingness to learn anything that I am teaching you."

"This is beautiful," said Harry looking around at all of the globes and such. "I didn't realize that there were so many prophecies out and about. Professor Trelawney is such an old fraud. I am tired of her predicting my death every time she sees me. It is part of the reason I dropped Divination."

"She is only there because according to Dumbledore, she is the one that made the prediction about you and the Dark Lord," said Dolores with a snort leading Harry to the area where his prophecy was sitting. "I happen to agree with you that she is nothing but a fraud. If I could fire her and send her on her way I would. Seers are rare."

"Something tells me that Luna is a seer," said Harry. "She always knows things that most people wouldn't know. I really worry about her sometimes. Her dorm mates have been treating her badly and they need to leave her alone. It is getting old watching her walk around in bare feet because they steal and hide her shoes."

"We will fix all of that," assured Dolores patting him gently on the arm. "Now that we know it is happening, we can do something about it. As far as her being a Seer, I think you are probably right. She does have the aspect and outlook that a Seer would have. She definitely sees more than we do. Here we are. Your orb with the Dark Lord is there."

Harry looked to where she was pointing and saw the dusty orb sitting on the shelf. He reached up and took it down. She handed him a small sack to put it in for safe keeping. From there, he placed it in his pocket and they left the area. Neither of them saw Dumbledore in the shadows looking at them with anger on his face.

"I will get you for this Harry Potter," said the old man before he apparated out.

Harry and Dolores made their way back to the entrance to the Department of Mysteries. One of the Aurors was unconscious on the floor and the other was nursing a wound. Harry and Dolores immediately sent word to Amelia. Within moments, the area was flooded with Aurors.

"What in the world happened here?" asked Amelia. "What happened to these two men?"

"Dumbledore attacked us," said the Auror that was trying to stop the blood flowing from a cut on his chest. "He went into the Department of Mysteries. I have not seen him come out yet, but we are talking about Dumbledore. He can do things that most ordinary witches and wizards can't. he probably apparated out."

"So he is trespassing on Ministry property," snapped Dolores angrily. "That means that he could have been near us when we took the prophecy down. I have to get Lord Potter back to the castle. Madam Bones I will need a portkey to the Head's office."

Amelia was already in action. With a wave of her wand and a fluent spell, she was able to produce a portkey to get both Dolores and Harry back to the castle. When she knew that they were gone, she went about her task of getting her Aurors the medical attention that they needed. She knew that it was time to stop Dumbledore before he ended up killing someone.

Harry and Hermione rushed into each others arms upon the duo returning to Hogwarts. Dolores was a bit shaken, but she was holding her own. Minerva and Severus were quietly conversing with her while Hermione was busy checking Harry for any signs of injury. Minerva, Severus, and she were already waiting in the office for their return. All three were nervous about Harry being somewhere without sufficient backup.

"Has Hedwig returned yet?" Harry asked his wife. "If so was she hurt in any way?"

"She has returned," said Hermione handing him the reply. "She was not harmed in any way. She was actually quite happy to be back. I think she knew that the mission you gave her was more than a normal delivery. Did you get the prophecy?"

"We did," said Harry. "Apparently while Professor Umbridge and I were doing that, Dumbledore attacked our Auror guards. I wonder why he didn't come after us."

"It could be that he was not ready to make his move against you yet," said Severus hearing the remark. "It is not like he will forget what you did to him the last time the two of you came face to face. You were easily able to beat him and he will not forget that any time soon. I think he wants to bide his time and see if you make a mistake somewhere."

"That man is going down," said Harry angrily. "I am so tired of him thinking that he is above the law and that he has the right to dictate to everyone what they can or can't do. I think that we need to get a session of the Wizengamot called so that we can deal with him once and for all. Don't I have a seat on the panel?"

"As the heir of the founders, you have more than just one," said Dolores quickly. "Also as you are the Head of the Black family, you have that seat as well. Your mother, being a pureblood, ensures that you have that seat as well as you are the last of the line with magical blood in them."

"So that is four for the founders," said Harry tallying them up on his fingers. "One for the Black, Potter, and Evans lines, which makes it a total of seven seats. Is Hermione able to sit on any of those spots as my wife?"

"Very much so," said Dolores while Minerva and Severus nodded. "As your wife, she can take one or more of the spots to help spread the vote out evenly. You are also able to appoint proxies to the other seats. You are the first and only one with so many seats. However, the laws dictate that you are able to do more than most as you have so many old seats that have not been claimed or used in so long of a time. The laws are older ones and have not been changed nor will they ever."

"So how do I call for a vote of no confidence for certain people?" asked Harry as the group all got situated. "I think we need to get Dumbledore out of the picture as soon as possible. We also need to do something about that imbecile Fudge as well. He is the worst Minister for Magic to have ever taken the office. We need to get more forceful people in those two offices."

"I have a seat on the panel," said Dolores. "I can talk with Amelia and we can get something set up. For now, we need to listen to the prophecy and decide what we are going to do from there."

Harry pulled the prophecy out of the bag and tapped it with his finger. The group all listened to it intently for a few moments.

"About the only thing that makes sense in this is that he marked me as his equal," said Harry thoughtfully. "However, we don't know that it was actually him that did it or if he did it on purpose. We do know that my scar was the area where his Horcrux was at, but that doesn't mean that he intentionally marked me."

"You are correct," said Severus. "It could just be that it is the point of entry of the spell when it was cast. For all we know, you were hit with flying debris, and that is what caused your head to open up to begin with. This part about being born as the seventh month dies is rubbish."

"I agree," said Hermione. "Neville was also born in July. There are others in this school that was born at the end of July as well. This prophecy doesn't make any sense what so ever. How do we know that the Dark Lord in question is Voldemort? He isn't even a real Lord. It is just a made up name."

"I see where she is going with this," said Harry. "He is only called the Dark Lord because people are afraid to say his name. To be honest that isn't his real name to begin with. It is all a made up scenario. I am sure that more than my parents defied him three times anyway. His own minions defy him all the time. How do we know it isn't one of his own minion's children that are destined to beat him and bring him down?"

"Besides," said Hermione. "We know that Dumbledore orchestrated the whole thing. He is the one that cast the Fidelius Charm. He knew who the Secret Keeper was the whole time. He has been playing this whole thing out just for some sick and perverted reason. When I get my hands on him I will make him sorry he ever started all of this. My family has been affected by this as much as Harry's. I am going to make that old man pay for all of this."

"We are going to help you," said Minerva through gritted teeth. "I have trusted that man since my own days here as a student. How dare he do this with so many people's lives? He has no right to do what he did or continues to do. It is time that he is put in his rightful place."

"We will take care of all of this," said Harry smiling at her. "Professor Umbridge, can you make a duplicate of this prophecy and our reasoning behind it? I think that the Dark Lord should hear all of this as well as our theories. He may agree with us and have ideas as to how we can come to some sort of conclusion to all of this. He may have insight on something that we are missing."

"Harry," said Hermione suddenly. "You never read the letter from him. I think we should all hear what he had to say. Would you be willing to read it out loud for us?"

"Sure," said Harry shrugging. "I trust all of you and I will not hold anything back from you all. Each of you present has done something that has impacted my life for the better. Professor McGonagall has always made it known that she loves and cares for me. You are my wife Hermione. Professor Umbridge has taken me under her wing and has helped me throughout this year and I am sure she will continue to do so. Professor Snape is helping me deal with my haunted past. Therefore, I trust you all to know what is going on."

With that, Harry took out the letter. He opened the envelope and began to read out to the assembled party.

Potter

I think you are correct in a number of things that you have told me. I didn't know that Lucius was the one to send my personal belongings to the castle to hurt the Weasley family. While they may be classified as Blood Traitors, they are still purebloods and deserve the chance to live as such. The fact that Lucius was told to guard my possession with his life apparently means nothing to him. It was not supposed to go to the school or to even leave his home.

As far as its destruction, I am not foolish enough to think that the meddlesome old fool would not have done it himself. You did it to save the life of the Weasley girl. I do NOT fault you for this. I am upset that it was done, but you didn't know what it was or what it could do. Lucius will pay for this misdeed.

As for the one that was centered in your scar, that explains so much. It would also explain how I have never been able to do you serious harm. Again I will not fault you for its destruction. Were I in your shoes, I would have done the same thing to get a part of someone else out of me. I am not happy that it was done, but I can't fault you for wanting it out of your head.

The topic of Dumbledore is a sore one for me as much as it is for you. He was a busy body when I was a student. He is the one that introduced me to the Magical World. I asked for help in getting out of the muggle orphanage and was denied by him time and time again.

You and I DO need to sit and talk. I will call a truce with you so that we may discuss this issue and more. I will bring one person to cover my back and I ask that you do the same. I know you are honorable enough to do this. You have my oath as a wizard that no harm will come to you or your escort during this meeting. Should we come to some sort of conclusion, future details can be discussed and decided from there.

Until we meet

Lord Voldemort

"Well that was both interesting and enlightening," said Severus. "I am impressed that he is actually willing to speak to you on such common ground. He is normally not known for his willingness to deal with issues outside of his command. He is more than likely to blast first and ask questions later. I think that you should set up a time and place to meet him so that the two of you can come to some sort of compromise."

"I have so much that I have to do," said Harry rubbing his temples. "I don't want to fall back on my studies. This is our OWL year after all. I know that I am advanced in most of my classes, but I want to do well in ALL of them. I can't keep putting off my homework and such. I know this is important, but so is my education."

"Harry," said Minerva kindly. "Why don't you let us deal with getting everything set up for you? I think you could use some time to get back into your normal routine. With all that is going on, you are starting to feel overwhelmed and we don't want that. I will write the letter to the Dark Lord for you. All you have to do is decide who is going to go with you so that I know who to tell him is coming."

"I honestly don't know who to consider," said Harry. "I am open to suggestions. I don't know who would be willing to go with me other than Hermione, and I am not subjecting her to this madness. She has so much going on herself that I am surprised she hasn't cracked yet under the strain. Do you have any suggestions as to who should go with me?"

"I will go with you," said Dolores suddenly. "I can act in dual roles this way. I can act as your supporter as well as a representative for the Ministry of Magic. I will also talk to Amelia about getting the Wizengamot to meet in two weeks from today so that we can do something about Dumbledore."

"We, as the Heads of House, will keep things going in the castle," assured Minerva. "We are not forgetting that you are still a fifteen year old. We know that you have much life to live. We do want you to be able to actually act like a teen every now and then. Life is hard enough without losing what little childhood you have left. Why don't we meet tomorrow after all of your classes and we can work together to make a list of people you would consider acting as a voice for you for the seats you have on the Wizengamot. That way, you will have one less thing to worry about and we can get everything set up while you are speaking to the panel about what you want."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Harry. "I think that Professor Snape should be the proxy for the Slytherin seat. Professor McGonagall can act for Gryffindor. I will take my spot for Potter. If Narcissa is willing, we can have her sit for the Black family spot. Hermione can sit for Ravenclaw or even Evans if she wants."

"Why not both?" asked Dolores. "You can have more than one spot on the panel. You can take the Potter and Hufflepuff seats while she takes Evans and Ravenclaw. Those that you named for your other seats will do just fine. I can send the letter to Amelia and let her know what is going on."

"I will take the spot for you for Slytherin," said Severs nodding in agreement. "I will also speak to Narcissa for you. I am sure that she will oblige you as she was a Black before she married Lucius. I can take my spot as the Heir to the Prince name as well. So that will help in that aspect. However, instead of Minerva, why don't you let Amelia or Dolores act for Gryffindor? That way, she can stay here and keep an eye on the castle while we are all gone. Taking too many trustworthy people out of the castle could be a problem. We don't want to leave it open for attack while we are gone. You and Hermione are Lord and Lady of the castle, and that alone is enough to leave the castle slightly weakened in your absence. So just leave Minerva here, as she is the most powerful person to watch out over it while we are not here."

"Professor Umbridge?" asked Harry hesitantly. "Would you do that for me? I think Professor Snape is correct."

"Of course I will," aid Dolores with a smile. "For now, why don't you and Hermione head on out and get some of your homework done while we three take care of everything for you."

"Thanks everyone," said Harry as Hermione and he made their way to the door. "I appreciate all of this. Just let me know when and where I have to be and I will make sure that I am available for all of this."

"Just go," said Minerva with a smile. "We will make sure that you are notified when we have everything set up."

Harry took one last look that the trio of professors before he smiled and headed out of the room. He wanted to make sure that he stayed well ahead in his school work. He didn't want to back slide in his grades and he knew he still had those students that were interested in being tutored.

Harry and Hermione made it to lunch later that day. Classes were going smoothly once more for them. Both were able to comprehend things that most of the others were unable to grasp so easily. Remus was back in the castle acting as the History of Magic Professor. Now that there was a live teacher, the others were able to stay awake and learn more about the subject.

After lunch, Harry and Hermione made their way to Ancient Runes where they delved deeper into the workings of the symbols and such. The professor was pleased that Harry was finally attending her class. She knew he was a few years behind, but she also knew that he was quickly catching up. He was now studying at a second year level. She knew he would be up to par with the rest of the class come time for their exams in May.

Arithmancy was another class where the Professor was delighted to finally have Harry actually sit, in the class. That he was studying at a fourth year level already was impressive to say the least. She knew that with his ability to work with the numbers so easily that he would be far ahead of his year mates at the rate he was going. Add in that he only started studying the subject during the summer and you had a Professor that knew the boy was a prodigy in the subject. Her star pupil was Hermione, but now that Harry was actually sitting in the class, she knew it would not be long before the young man far outstripped his wife in the subject.

Life was going to be good for Harry for awhile. Every now and then he could feel that someone was testing the strength of the wards. Each time, Harry gave the wards a small power boost and the person that was trying to pass them would leave. The wards were stronger now than they were since the time of the founders themselves.

Harry was not foolish enough to think that things would continue to be so easy. He knew that coming up, he had to face Voldemort and discuss options. He also knew that he had to eventually face Dumbledore and bring him to justice. Last but not least, he was worried about what would happen when he went through with his plan to evict Cornelius Fudge from the seat of Minister and work to get someone worthy in the post. He was also worried about Sirius as he had not heard from him in some time.