Lightning Strikes Twice Ch. 40 (Harry Potter) (Patreon)

A/N: Time marches ever onward.

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Watching everything that takes place over the next three weeks from his vantage point at Hogwarts is quite the treat, Harry has to admit. First there’s Lucius Malfoy and his loss of magic. While the man himself would probably have wanted to keep his sudden weakness on the downlow and avoid letting anyone know about it while he tried to figure out a way to regain his magic… that simply wasn’t going to happen.

Even if Narcissa had wanted to go along with that sort of scheme, effectively keeping Lucius hidden from the public eye and protecting him from all the shame and ridicule of suddenly being little more than a muggle or a squib… she couldn’t. After all, Lucius Malfoy was an important figure in the Wizarding World. Not just as Lord Malfoy in the Wizengamot, but also as the rich benefactor behind several magical businesses.

Put simply, his name was on dozens of magically binding contracts that relied on all parties involved to have magic in order to properly bind them legally. Things like House Malfoy investing in this or that business, and in turn being able to demand certain repayment over time, or if the business doesn’t do well, repossess assets until they’d recovered their losses.

Overnight, those contracts suddenly lost half of their magical potency. This wasn’t to say they were completely null and void in the eyes of the Wizarding World, but everyone would know that something had happened to one of the signatories, and people would have to scramble to get everything fixed.

Of course, on top of that… Narcissa had no intentions of protecting Lucius anyways. The moment she got home from her time with Harry and found her former husband sobbing about the Dark Lord robbing him of his magic, she’d called the Aurors straight away. And yes, Lucius was her former husband now. Just as he was the former Lord Malfoy.

He would get to keep the last name, and that was about it. Everything else, all of the property and wealth he’d owned in the magical world… it was all tied to his magical identity. Now that he no longer had magic, he no longer owned anything.

With Narcissa’s call, the news of what had happened to Lucius broke quickly. And so did the news of what had happened to Rodolphus Lestrange at long last as well. Lucius and a few others had hidden the news of Rodolphus’ draining from most people, likely out of fear-driven loyalty to the Dark Lord.

But now that ‘Voldemort’ had drained Lucius of his magic, the former Lord Malfoy no longer seemed to believe he had anything left to lose. He’d ranted and raved about the Dark Lord and this ‘repayment for his loyal service’ to anyone who would listen… including Amelia and the Aurors that show up at Narcissa’s request.

Lucius had said enough to incriminate himself despite his previous ‘Imperius Defense’, and once the Aurors had realized Narcissa wasn’t going to be protecting the squibified man, they’d gone ahead and arrested him. Lucius wasn’t in Azkaban right now, but only because his status as a non-magical person disqualified him for imprisonment in Azkaban. As things stood, he was likely to suffer the most common fate that a muggle who committed magical crimes in the Wizarding World suffered… obliviation.

Yes, while it wasn’t set in stone yet, Lucius Malfoy would almost certainly be obliviated of all of his memories and thrown out into the muggle world within the next few months. And no, the Ministry wouldn’t make sure that he had enough resources to get set up in the muggle world or anything like that. He would wind up homeless, his mind fractured, and his previous life forgotten. A terrible fate to visit upon most… but not exactly what Harry would consider ‘unjust’ for someone like Lucius.

Draco, of course, had been quite shellshocked by everything that had happened since that fateful evening. He’d been in and out of Hogwarts the past three weeks, mostly leaving on the weekends and coming back during the week to attend classes, likely at his mother’s orders.

He didn’t seem to know what to make of everything that had happened though. His father had always seemed so untouchable, the ultimate weapon for him to use against his peers. ‘When my father hears about this-!’ had become something of a running joke among most of the students at Hogwarts since Draco had started attending.

… And now that father of his was powerless. Magicless. Weak and feeble and… altogether muggle. Perhaps that alone would help Narcissa in reshaping her son into something Harry could tolerate. Or perhaps it would only cause Draco to double down and become even worse. He didn’t know yet, but at this point he also didn’t care.

On Narcissa’s end, she’d managed the situation beautifully. To the extent that some were suspicious she’d engineered it, even if they couldn’t figure out how. Harry only knew that from checking in on Amelia and noticing that her notes mentioned Narcissa’s startling competence.

Before the first week of Lucius’ squibification had ended, Narcissa Malfoy had gotten all of her ducks in a row. She had herself appointed Acting Head of House Malfoy first and foremost, regaining access to House Malfoy’s Gringotts Vaults as well as settling herself into House Malfoy’s Wizengamot Seat. Then she’d replaced Lucius’ name on all of those aforementioned magical contracts with her own, renewing their magic and getting things back on track with House Malfoy’s business partners.

The Wizarding World seemed to still be rather split on whether Voldemort was actually back or not, of course. With Fudge out as Minister of Magic due to Sirius Black’s innocence, there was no pressure from the top of the Ministry to stifle the information and declare it lies and falsehoods. At the same time however, the only sources of Voldemort’s supposed return so far were a maddened prisoner in Azkaban and a magicless Lucius Malfoy.

The only thing anyone was willing to say for certain was that Lucius was out and Narcissa was now the one to talk to when it came to doing business with House Malfoy.

The second week, meanwhile, was capped off with the formal inquiry into Severus Snape and his actions as a Professor at Hogwarts for the past decade and a half. Harry didn’t doubt that Dumbledore had done his best to prepare Snape for the inquiry. But even the Headmaster and Chief Warlock had a limit to the miracles he could perform.

It started with none of Snape’s fellow Professors being willing to speak in his defense, even with Dumbledore’s cajoling. It ended Snape himself being as unlikable as ever and completely incapable of presenting a sympathetic or charismatic figure to the governing body. His attitude did him no favors as every question asked of him only led to a caustic response.

Most of the Wizengamot was too old to have had the unfortunate ‘privilege’ of learning Potions under Professor Snape. However, that wasn’t the case for all of them. Even if the Wizarding World was technically in a time of peace, they’d lost quite a few wizards and witches during Voldemort’s first rise to power, and their surviving children had grown up and taken their seats… after spending seven years under Snape’s not-so-tender mercies.

The things some of them had to say, and Snape’s own inability to garner a single morsel of sympathy from the governing body, had prompted a motion to continue the formal inquiry… and even expand it. Specifically, the Wizengamot had decided to ask for public comments on Severus Snape and his impact on the Wizarding World at large.

Judging from the sneer on Snape’s face and the panic on Dumbledore’s when that motion passed, Harry could guess they both understood something of what was about to happen… a tidal wave of angry wizards and witches from the last generation of Hogwarts Students was about to come down on Snape like the fist of a vengeful god.

In the meantime, the Wizengamot, which just so happened to share members with most of Hogwarts’ Board of Governors, had gone ahead and demanded Snape’s ability to give and take House Points be completely removed… as well as assigning a member of the Wizarding Examinations Authority to not only sit in and audit all of his classes, but also double check all of his grading for discrepancies or issues.

Put simply, outside of arresting the bastard outright, which unfortunately Snape hadn’t been QUITE belligerent enough to warrant, the Wizengamot had done everything they could to express their displeasure on such short notice. What might happen after the public comments came in… well, that was anyone’s guess, but Harry suspected it wouldn’t be good.

Finally, the third week since draining Lucius of his magic had arrived. And even though the Wizarding World was somewhat in an uproar over Sirius Black being exonerated of all crimes, Cornelius Fudge resigning as Minister, Lucius Malfoy becoming a muggle, and Severus Snape being raked over the coals by the Wizengamot… life continued all the same.

It especially continued at Hogwarts, where Albus Dumbledore seemed intent on keeping things ‘business as usual’ and making sure that everything seemed as ‘normal’ as possible. Even though the now positively ancient Griselda Marchbanks followed Snape around everywhere he went like a hawk, keeping an eye on the Professor and making sure he didn’t step a single toe out of line. Even though the whole world seemed to be imploding outside of the Castle Walls.

And so… even with everything that was happening out there, the show had to go on. And that meant the Yule Ball would still take place. Unlike the rest of the Triwizard Tournament Tasks, the Yule Ball wasn’t ensured by magical contract, so it technically didn’t have to happen. But Dumbledore clearly considered it a point of pride that it still did. Harry didn’t mind, of course. In fact, he would have been disappointed if the Yule Ball had been cancelled.

Especially since this time around, well… he’d taken the opportunity provided by this whole ‘do-over’ to fix the mistake he’d made last time.

Hermione had confided in him that it had only been a week after he’d asked her that Viktor Krum had approached her in the library and asked if she would go with him to the Ball. You snooze, you lose, and the Durmstrang Champion had been forced to be gracious as he accepted Hermione’s apologetic rejection given that she already had a date to go with someone else.

And so, in a bit of déjà vu from the last time this event happened, but also in a much, much different manner than last time, Harry stands at the base of the staircase and smiles as Hermione Granger shows up at the top in all of her splendor and glory. She’s done up just as beautifully as last time, a combination of muggle makeup and magical beauty treatments making her skin downright glimmer. Combined with her done-up hair and her gorgeous dress, she looks absolutely amazing.

She looks even better when her eyes alight upon him and a broad smile spreads across her face, causing her to hurry down to meet him at the foot of the stairs.

“Harry!”

“Hermione. You look beautiful.”

Blushing prettily, Hermione takes a moment to look him up and down before throwing the compliment right back at him.

“You’re looking quite handsome yourself, you know.”

Harry just hums. He was indeed ‘dressed to the nines’ so to speak. His robes were the same dark green as last time, a color that went well with his eyes, but were also a bit more expensive as well. He was going to be side by side with Hermione after all, and he wanted this to be something of a new dawn for her. He’d probably have Rita write an article singing Hermione’s praises just to be sure, but it would also help if there was word of mouth and grassroots talk about her going on.

Offering the beautifully dressed muggleborn his arm, Harry smiles as Hermione beams at him and eagerly loops her arm in his. Together, they continue on their way to the entrance, where they find the other Champions and their dates waiting for them. Amusingly, two of the three Champions are shooting… looks at Harry and Hermione.

Viktor Krum has wound up with a female witch from Durmstrang after striking out with Hermione and judging by the glower on the Durmstrang Witch’s face, she knows full well that she wasn’t Krum’s first choice. Meanwhile, Fleur has still wound up with Roger Davies… but only seems to have eyes for Harry, no doubt still recalling their single kiss and the fact that he’d asked for nothing more from her.

Cedric and Cho were once again paired off, and from them Harry and Hermione only get smiles and nods. Nobody had expected Cedric to return so quickly after his injuries in the First Task, but while he's immensely scarred, it seems that House Diggory spared no expense in getting him back on his feet, and Cedric himself refused to stay down for the count.

Harry, who felt slightly guilty for not paying much attention to Cedric after his injuries, briefly wonders how they did it... but there’s not enough time for any chatting to take place anyways, because the next thing they know, the doors are opening and Professor McGonagall is ushering them all in.

It’s tradition after all for the Triwizard Champions and their dates to open the Yule Ball with a dance. Last time around, Harry could only admit to having made a fool of himself with his erstwhile date for the evening, Parvati Patil. While it was never his intention in coming back in time to relive and fix the minor embarrassments and awkward moments of his past… he’s certainly not going to pass up the chance to do so. Especially when Hermione deserves the best from him that he can give her.

And so, as the Yule Ball begins, as the music starts, Harry and Hermione begin dancing right alongside the rest of the Champions. Harry can tell that Hermione is pleased and enthused with him taking the lead as she eagerly follows along. Given the size of their audience, their dancing remains appropriate of course, but Harry can tell there are some who are surprised at his sudden display of skill.

It’s not like dancing is something he’s practiced a ton, but ultimately it’s all just movements and memorization in the end, and with the power Harry now has at his disposal, he can suffuse every fiber of his body with his magic, allowing him to have total awareness of not just himself, but his surroundings as well.

That’s how, even though he can tell both Viktor and Fleur along with their dates are ‘accidentally’ drifting over towards him and Hermione, he’s able to dodge them with ease and keep his and his date’s distance from the two couples. At least in Viktor’s case, it seems like it’s the no-name witch he’s with that’s the problem. Fleur on the other hand, is definitely the one pushing for it on her end.

But Harry just ignores her in favor of paying all of his attention to Hermione. This night… this night would be about her, he’s decided. No matter what.