Headstrong

Chapter 32

Amanda sighed. It was time for her to go. She got dressed quickly, grabbed the chocolates she had bought for the Fudge's and disapparated.

She was greeted at the door by Mrs Fudge, who gave her a warm hug and welcomed her inside. Amanda smiled, a bit unsure.

The three of them ate a delightful lunch and afterwards, Cornelius welcomed Amanda into the lounge.

"Do you mind if I take notes?" He asked her.

"Not at all, but I would like a copy afterwards. For future references." The man nodded and started to write as he talked.

"Amanda, you are a very sensible girl. I think that everybody who knows you, knows that you can be a bit immature at some points, but you are incredibly trustworthy. There are just a few problems with you taking custody of Harry.

"One of the main ones is that you are not of age yet. We can not permit you to take care of Harry permanently without you being seventeen. I know that it is nearing for you, but you can understand.

"The other big problem I see is the fantasies you have. You keep telling the Ministry that Sirius Black is innocent. Under the conditions the Ministry is in, we have confirmed him as guilty. We cannot allow you to take care of Harry until you have proven to put aside these lies. You cannot say anything right now that will allow me to change my mind. We will give it time until our next meeting, in which we will re-evaluate the situation."

Amanda nodded numbly. She knew better then to argue. Fudge had already cleared the entire situation. The man duplicated the notes and handed it to her, with a 'Merry Christmas!'

Amanda knew she was welcome to stay longer, but she knew that she would rather go home.

That night, she sat in her apartment, writing a letter.

Hi Harry,
I've just come back from the lunch/meeting thing with Fudge. I'm really sorry, but for now I still don't have custody of you. I'll have to try again at a later date.
I'll be back at Hogwarts soon, because the holidays are ending. I hope you are well.
See you soon,
Amanda

She sighed unhappily. She hoped that Harry was okay with it for now.

When Ember arrived back from her mouse hunting, Amanda handed her the letter. Ember left, and Amanda went to bed.

...

When Amanda arrived back at school after the holidays, she dumped her stuff in her dorm and went to find Harry.

She found Oliver talking to Harry and grinned when she found out Harry had received a Firebolt for Christmas.

She frowned when she realised that Minerva had taken the broom, but understood where she was coming from. Harry mysteriously receiving the most expensive and best broom on the market could be a theoretical problem.

When Oliver left she wrapped Harry in a hug and smiled, asking how his Christmas was.

Harry assured her it was fine and he didn't really mind about Amanda not having custody of him yet.

Amanda grinned, relieved that everything was fine for now.

...

One weekend, after checking to see that Harry's patronus lessons were going fine, Amanda joined Marcus, Theodore, Blaise and Draco at the tree.

"Aww, did you miss me?" She smirked upon arriving.

Draco laughed and the others gave her pointed glares or looks, but the group soon joined Draco in laughing.