Paid In Blood - Revised

Chapter 14

The fourth year Slytherins were so engrossed in their conversation that it took them a full minute to realise that half of the Great Hall was looking in their direction. They had just started trying to figure out what was going on when Millie opened her copy of the Prophet and gasped.

"Look!" she exclaimed, laying the paper flat on the table so the others could see.

"You're a lord?" Tracey whispered, turning to look at Harry.

"I am."

"Are you sure about this?" Daphne asked, somewhat uncertainly.

"Definitely."

Her eyes searched his face for a moment, but she seemed to find what she was looking for and relaxed.

"Good," she replied, then turned back to finish reading the article.

"You don't seem too surprised to learn that your boyfriend is a lord," Millie pointed out.

"I've known since he went to Gringotts to claim it," Daphne replied with a small smile, and she couldn't help but chuckle at the bemused looks on their friends' faces.

"Remember the day we started dating, how I was by myself when I joined you at the Three Broomsticks?"

"So, that's why..." mumbled Theo. "Damn, Harry. Any more surprises?"

"A couple," Harry replied, taking a bite of toast. "Nothing my friends need to worry about, though."

"But this... This will have significant repercussions," Blaise remarked, pointing to the paper.

"For whom?" Harry replied, appearing entirely unconcerned by the matter.

None of them got a chance to answer, because at that moment, Dobby popped in with a message for Harry.

"Master, you have a message from the wolf and the mutt," Dobby informed him, and Harry raised an eyebrow and took the letter. He expected them to contact him today, for obvious reasons, but he was a little surprised by how quickly the missive came. They must have written him and called for Dobby the second they finished reading the article.

"The wolf and the mutt?" asked Tracey, unfamiliar with the monikers.

"Lord Black and Professor Lupin," Daphne clarified.

"As you know, Sirius is my godfather and I consider Remus my uncle," Harry explained, opening the envelope and reading the letter.

"They were both close to my parents, and they're the closest thing I have to a proper family. And according to this," he said, holding up the letter, "they read the Prophet and want me to meet with them today to explain myself. Too bad I already have plans."

"Tell them to meet you in Hogsmeade," suggested Daphne, reading the letter over his shoulder. "I don't think any of us mind. You don't see them very often, so if nothing else, you can have lunch with them."

Harry shrugged.

"We'll see," he replied, then started penning a reply using a conjured sheet of parchment and calligraphy pen, courtesy of Dobby. After a couple minutes of writing, he sealed the message and handed it to Dobby, who took it and popped away.

"What do you say we walk to Hogsmeade, instead of taking a carriage?" Harry asked out of the blue, recapturing his friends' attention.

"Walk? What for?" Pansy asked with a small scowl.

"Why not? We can have a nice stroll, take the time to appreciate the view of the snow-covered grounds, refresh ourselves in the crisp morning air," Harry listed off.