Howler Havoc
Remus Lupin opened his copy of The Daily Prophet with a huge amount of reluctance. He knew the wand ceremony had taken place thanks to Harry's letter, so he was expecting an article full of vitriol towards the boy he considered a nephew.
What he wasn't expecting, however, was three articles clearly manipulated by Harry - one of which would clear Sirius's name, one of which made Harry seem like he should be sympathised with and one which dirtied Dumbledore's name. It was a pleasant surprise, one that had him choking on his morning cup of tea every couple of minutes.
"Harry, you cheeky thing." He muttered to himself, grinning.
.... I asked him.
"Well, I've been writing to Sirius since I found out he was innocent and didn't get a trial-"
"Innocent you say? How do you know?"
"Peter Pettigrew is an illegal animagus, he was my best friend's pet rat. We saw him transform and admit to his crimes. If you're looking for an escaped man with a dark mark, look at him, not my godfather."
Remus smirked. As soon as Amelia heard the words 'didn't get a trial' she would be furious. Harry was a genius, far quicker at getting Sirius's name cleared than Dumbledore.
He skim read the rest of the article, as it was just Harry talking about his terrible childhood and how Sirius offered a chance at a better home and a happier life. He grinned to himself; he would need to write to Harry and congratulate him.
Meanwhile, in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, Minerva, Pomona, Filius and Poppy were furious.
"I told you those muggles were the worst sort!" Minerva yelled at Dumbledore, ignoring the students that watched the argument break out with wide grins on their faces.
"It was for his own protection, you know that-"
"His own protection? He needed protecting from them, they were just at dangerous as the dead wizard who may or may not even be alive!" Aurora Sinistra added. She quite liked Harry, he was good at astronomy.
"The blood wards-"
"Wouldn't work if he did not consider that house a home. I suggest you check them." Severus said smoothly. "I doubt they even exist any longer."
"And you let him use a time turner? There were so many other ways to save Sirius, for instance speaking to Amelia Bones, and you chose to send a thirteen year old back in time?" Pomona said, a look of horror on her face.
"Two, actually!" Harry called helpfully from the Gryffindor table. "Hermione came with me." Pomona looked even angrier at those words.
"Well, you know the ministry, they-"
"I always said hiding the stone in the school was a terrible idea." Filius said sadly.
"No wonder the boy is so clearly undernourished. Did you even make sure he got his prevention of magical disease shots?" Poppy scolded.
Before Dumbledore could reply, a single owl flew into the great hall, a red envelope in its beak. Everyone watched with bated breath as the owl flew straight at Dumbledore, dropping the letter on his plate. The old man froze.
Just as he reached for the letter it went up in flames, and Molly Weasley's voice rang through the hall.
"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE, HOW DARE YOU LET HARRY COMPETE IN THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT! AND HOW DARE YOU LEAVE MY SON WITH THOSE MUGGLES! THEY TREATED HIM LIKE A HOUSE ELF AND PUT BARS ON HIS WINDOW AND YOU THOUGHT HE WAS SAFE THERE? ARE YOU SENILE? HARRY BEGGED YOU TO LET HIM LIVE WITH US, AND YOU KNOW I WOULD WELCOME THAT BOY WITH OPEN ARMS, BLOOD WARDS AND VOLDEMORT BE DAMNED! IF YOU EVER SEND THE POOR BOY BACK TO THAT HOUSE EVER AGAIN I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND CURSE YOU TO PIECES AND SCATTER YOUR LIMBS IN THE OCEAN, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR? I HAVE HALF A MIND TO WITHDRAW MY CHILDREN FROM YOUR SCHOOL AND SEND THEM TO ONE THAT VALUES THEIR SAFETY MORE THAN YOU DO! AND YES, THAT INCLUDES HARRY! HE'S BEEN MY SON SINCE THE DAY HE MET MY BOY RONNIE ON THE TRAIN, SO DON'T YOU DARE MESS WITH HIS LIFE AGAIN OR YOU WILL HAVE ME TO ANSWER TO! Oh and Harry dear, I hope you're feeling okay, please write to me soon. And you Ron, Ginny, Fred, George."
The howler blew a raspberry at Dumbledore before tearing itself to pieces. There was a moment of silence, then someone started to laugh. To everybody's shock, it was none other than Snape. He was full on belly laughing, which was a terrifying sight. McGonagall had her lips tightly pressed together, clearly suppressing her own laughter.
Soon enough the students resumed their usual chatter, although most of it was centred around the articles in the paper that morning, and the howler they had all just listened to.
"I'm going to cherish that memory forever." Ron said, smiling. "As annoying as she is, my mother is amazing when it's not me she's yelling at."
Harry didn't respond, staring absently at the ceiling.
"Uh, Potter." Draco said hesitantly, nudging Harry. "Everything ok?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, fine, fine. And call me Harry, we're friends now." Harry said, before turning to Ron and Ginny with a look of pure joy on his face.
"She called me her son!" He whispered, a huge grin on his face. Hermione, to everyone's bewilderment, started to sob again and wrapped Harry in another hug.
Molly sent another letter to Harry that day, apologising for not believing the twins when the had told her Harry had bars on his window in second year. She also said she was writing to Amelia Bones to apply for custody of him. Harry felt conflicted.
He loved Molly, and was ecstatic that she considered him to be her son, but would seeing her as a mother figure be a betrayal to his mum who died? He decided to write to Remus and see what he thought. He also didn't know how he felt about living with the Weasleys. He loved them, sure, but he also really wanted to live with Sirius if or when his name got cleared.
If or when, His brain reminded him, and that was enough to persuade him to write back to Molly and thank her for sending the howler to Dumbledore and tell her he would love to live with her during the summer.
He would definitely show the memory to Sirius if that was possible. Knowing magic, it almost definitely was.