She stared at him in shock for over ten seconds before she quietly breathed, "Merlin! You've cured them!"
"Cured them, Madam Bones?" he innocently asked. "To use a Dumbledore expression, 'I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Amelia'."
"Bloody hell!"
"Now, do you know if she is going to try to install someone into the Longbottom Seat as Proxy?" he asked. "And, if so, who?"
"Sorry? What?" she asked, still shaking off her shock. "A... proxy?"
"Yes," he replied.
"Then, no," she replied. "There was, until recently, a line item in the agenda she was going to install her brother, Algernon Rosier, into the seat. But, that's since been removed."
"Good," he said. "There's a couple... of people, that is... who will want to talk to you about him, when they get the time and the chance. Just... get ready to charge that bastard with two attempted murder charges for attempted murder of an Heir Apparent of a Noble and Most Ancient House."
"What do you know about some attempted murders?" she demanded.
"Legally, I don't know anything," he replied. "All that could be considered what I know is hearsay. And, as such, it isn't evidentiary. It's only what I've heard has happened from someone else.
"I've been trying to encourage that person to speak out about it, as he's also the alleged victim. However, I can foresee there's a couple of people who will talking to him about that, too.
"I'm sure they'll convince him to speak out about it with you within very short order. Then, you will have your case. It could have something to do with the Heir... allegedly... being tossed off Blackpool pier when he was a toddler and... allegedly... dropped from a third floor window, head first, only a couple of years later."
"And just why did you not tell me this, this morning?" she asked, with an ominous hint of danger showing.
"Because your next stop was going to be at Longbottom Hall," he replied. "As I said, I do not want that woman to know what is going on until it is time for her to know what is going on."
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After Bones left, Harry was finally able to return to his letter to Frank and Alice.
He knew this might even be the last chance he had to write to them, so he was going to make sure they knew everything right up to the point he'd be sending them the letter.
Again, he'd just pulled it before him when Sirius returned with Ted in tow.
Not wanting to show them he was disappointed they were here, he again slid the letter to the side.
"Sirius, Ted," he smiled.
"Pup," said Sirius.
"Lord Potter," said Ted.
"Teh-ed," he whined. "It's 'Harry' for my friends, remember?"
"This is official law-wizard business, Lord Potter," Ted immediately and easily countered.
As Sirius and Ted moved to the dinette, Harry was just about to go and get Hermione when she walked in.
"Just in time," Sirius smiled at her.
"Shall we get started?" asked Ted.
Harry gave a nod and pulled out his stack of defence arguments for Sirius's case the next morning.
"You know all this depends on the behaviour of Regent Longbottom, don't you?" he asked.
"Only on when it gets started," said Ted. "If necessary, you leave her to me." And grinned a shark-like grin.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Once Ted and Sirius left again, Harry returned to his letter. This time Hermione stayed to help.
However, her first 'help' came in the form of asking Dobby to make some sandwiches for Harry.
When he was about to ask her how she knew, she smiled and said, "Your stomach's growling again, Harry."
Then she seemed to have a bright idea and ordered him, "Harry, go stand by the door again. Today marks the end of the first full week you've been on those potions."
After he was measured he came in at just over five foot ten.
She gave a nod and said, "Mum was right. Five inches for the week."
He gave a sigh and replied, "Then, if I haven't stopped growing in height already, I should be stopping soon."
"That's a good thing," she agreed. "However, we don't know what else the potions have still got to do. For all we know, your height will be only the first thing to have reached your proper potential. We don't know how much more work it has to do on your internals."
"Way to kill the mood, Love," he grumbled.
She was about to add some encouraging comments when she realised what he'd just said to her. And she stopped. He'd called her, 'Love'.
Now she was a feeling all 'gooshy' inside.
Harry was shocked when Hermione suddenly grabbed him and hugged him in a 'Hermi-hug' of old, before she then backed off a little and planted a big, tonsil-searing kiss on him.
When she backed off due a lack of air and need to breathe, he gasped, "Wow! I like those sort of congratulations!
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Amelia Bones had returned to her office and thought long and hard about what the young Potter Lord had told her when she paid him her second visit.
The more she thought about it, the more she was sure the young man had actually managed to accomplish it. That is, he had found someone who could cure the Longbottoms of their permanent near-comas that had resulted from their being tortured for so long under the Cruciatus curse. And they'd done it.
That's why he had them grabbed from Saint Mungo's. There was no way the staff at the hospital would have let anyone but their own staff treat one of their patients. It was policy! Therefore, he had to get them out of the hospital to get them treatment.
The Longbottom regent would never have gone along with that. Her own behaviour over the past couple of days was proof enough of that. Even when she was informed they'd been removed to receive treatment, she flatly refused to allow it go on and demanded someone take her to go and immediately get them.
As such, his action in taking them and hiding them while they got that treatment was the only logical way he could get them help. It was the only way he could do it without the Longbottom regent blocking it.
He also believed the Longbottom regent was completely unwilling to release the Seat. She liked the power too much to willingly let it go. That's why he claimed the Longbottom regent was deliberately blocking them receiving treatment.
According to him it was a way to commit temporary Line Theft; and it was upon a Noble and Most Ancient House. The bugger of a thing it was, it was completely legal. She'd checked.
As Regent, the Longbottom regent had the right to block any medical treatment a member of her House could receive if that member was either under-aged with her as guardian, or unable to voice their own wishes; such as the case of the Longbottom Lord and Lady. When she'd contacted the hospital to get a report on what treatment the Lord and Lady were receiving up until they were taken, she was informed that information had been restricted to Head of House only on the orders of the regent. Which made Lord Potter's claim that much more likely to be the truth.
And there wasn't a damned thing she could do about it.
However, Lord Potter used the Charter to do so. And it, she strongly suspected, would all come crashing down on the head of the Regent sometime just before lunch during the Wizengamot meeting the next day.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
It was mid to late afternoon before Harry was finally able to write what he now knew to be his final letter to Frank and Alice.
So he would time it to arrive with them at around their thirty-second or thirty-third day, leaving them three to four days before the time dilation chamber had completed its course.
~ # ~
Frank and Alice,
Well it's been quite the interesting morning and early afternoon 'out' here. I also estimate you'll be receiving this letter somewhere around day thirty-two or thirty-three in the chamber. Not long to go now, folks!
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