That vision remained in the Hufflepuff's mind for several days, and no matter how he looked at it, he saw no solution to it. Everything seemed to indicate that in the near future, or rather, very soon, his parents were going to discover his secret. And they would automatically associate it with the thrice-cursed prophecy and try to control his life and turn him into a weapon for war.
He hated all that… everything that had to do with war or politics. He held them responsible for the absence of family during his childhood. There were many who could say that the War had destroyed their family, but from his point of view, it was better when your family had died but you knew that they loved you, than that they were not alive but did not pay attention to you.
But you couldn't change the past, so it was useless to complain; the best thing to do was to look ahead and make sure that your parents didn't destroy your future as well. After almost a week of considering day in and day out what he could do, it was Draco who brought the right solution.
"Harry, you said the Minister is interested in you going to work at the Ministry, didn't you?"
"Yes, but what does that have to do with it?"
"What does it mean? You don't understand? The Minister wants you within the Ministry, with the Unspeakables, no less, and he will do whatever it takes for you to decide to be part of it…"
"And?"
"Well, if you were to make a request for emancipation… Normally, they would say no, because many specific conditions have to be met, but since they want something from you, they will do anything to convince you, so most likely they will accept your application, and in a month or two, you will be free."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course! If I've learned anything from my father, apart from his hatred for everything that has to do with Muggles, it's how politicians think. He wants you in his power, so he will try to bribe you, and since you are a Hufflepuff, he will believe you incapable of refusing to enter the Ministry in exchange for such a 'favour'."
"But you have to be very careful with that," Hermione began with concern. "I mean, if Harry refuses to enter the Ministry again, he won't have any problems, and they will take away his emancipation, right?"
"No, Hermione," replied one of the Weasley twins. "Once the application has been accepted, it cannot be rejected at a later time."
"The acceptance would remain as a gesture of goodwill on the part of the Ministry… almost as a demonstration that he considers you mature and responsible enough so that you can act like an adult," explained the blond. "There will be no choice but to leave him emancipated permanently."
All together, they met in the school library in order to find the necessary books to make the emancipation application. Of course, as soon as they entered, Madam Pince looked at them suspiciously, but otherwise, she left them alone. After a massive search by all the friends, in a very short time, they had on the selected table all the books they could find on magical civil legislation.
Not long after that, all of them were looking through the thick and dusty volumes for the necessary information so that it would at least have a minimum of legal consistency; it could not be that they would grant him emancipation for much favour from the Minister, if it didn't even have a minimum legal basis.
"Harry, look at this," Hermione exclaimed. "Here it says that anyone who has the mental maturity to be able to finish their compulsory studies also has the maturity of adult responsibilities. Therefore, while the age of seventeen is considered adulthood, they are old enough to understand the responsibilities and at the same time have a year to adapt to them. We can use it!"
"Here it only says the reason why seventeen years," Jonathan said.
"No, here it says that Harry is mature enough to be able to consider him an adult. Hogwarts is almost over!"
"That's fantastic. We already have a legal basis for the request," Athenea made an uproar.
"Well, let's get started," Draco said, taking pen and parchment. "Finally, diplomacy classes are going to be useful for something… I know all the legalese and formal language to write this."
After this, the Slytherin began to diligently write on the parchment what their friend was requesting: his emancipation, both legally and magically, on the basis of his need for the continued use of magic and the different adult options that were available to him. When the application was finished, it looked like it had been written by a lawyer instead of a thirteen-year-old teenager, and without further distraction, it was sent to one of the school's owls.
A few days later, Harry found himself at his parents' house "enjoying" the summer holidays. In reality, what he did was hide in his room, reading quietly, or writing to Ginna about his progress. It was slightly frustrating not to have her around, but since he thought he was ready enough, he had left him to fend for himself.
In fact, things wouldn't go wrong if it weren't for his parents' constant attempts to include him in different family activities. It seemed that they were not able to understand that whatever they did, the boy was not going to face them because of the abandonment suffered during their childhood and pre-adolescence. From his point of view, it was already too late for that.
For their part, the Potters were slightly desperate. Whatever they did, it did not seem possible that their son would want their presence around, that he would forgive them for their behaviour years before, and their many attempts to include him in family activities ended with the boy locked in his room. Worst of all, they also knew they deserved such an attitude, but it was frustrating when everything you do to fix the situation fell on deaf ears.
Surely, that situation would have lasted forever, if it weren't for the arrival of his NEWTs results at the end of the first week of the summer. That made the boy go down to the dining room and had to remain in his parents' presence.
"Harry, your NEWTs!"
That simple exclamation on Lily Potter's part caused the boy to rush out of his room, closely followed by a black cat. Without looking at who was in the room, the boy took the envelope and began to open it impatiently. Ignoring his parents' questions, he opened the parchment and reviewed his results. What he saw made him smile.
"Let us see it, let us see it!" His father said over and over again with an impatient expression.
Harry considered for a few moments burning the parchment and leaving them wanting, but the joy of knowing that there was his best chance towards his freedom made him hand them the parchment, which they took with impatient hands.
"Wow," murmured the man. "These notes have never been achieved, that I know of."
"All Outstanding," Lily said, smiling. "Not even Dumbledore achieved these grades back in the day, and his notes in both OWLs and NEWTs were magnificent! I'm so proud of you."
"Curious," Harry said, taking the parchment and leaving the room. "As far as I know, I've always been nothing but a disappointment to the two of you. Even when I received my letter from Hogwarts, you didn't show an ounce of pride, only surprise because I wasn't a Squib."
With that comment, he left the room without paying attention to his father's expression, as if he had been punched in the stomach, or his mother's tears. He had wanted to tell them something like that for a long time… he just needed the opening.
While Harry was enjoying satisfaction with the results of his efforts, his request for emancipation had reached the appropriate official. At first, when he looked at the name, he did not give it importance and only read the content of the letter, but then, when he went to the boy's file, he was surprised when, first of all, he read a note on the cover of the file in which it said that any matter corresponding to that citizen should be dealt with directly with the Minister.
Surprised, he looked at who exactly the file belonged to and could not believe it when he verified that it was a simple teenager of almost fourteen years old, although later he could see that he was a rather surprising teenager if one considered that he had managed to complete the seven Hogwarts courses in just three years. And he was even more surprised when he saw that he was Master Severus Snape's apprentice… yes, he was already beginning to see why the Minister took a special interest in him.
Taking his documents as well as the application, he gave notice to one of his colleagues and went to Fudge's office; it must be said, quite nervously. He had been working in the Ministry for almost five years, and he had not yet been able to enter that office. It was a social leap.
"Good morning, I would like to see the Minister," he said to the Minister's secretary.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No."
"Then you can't see him."
"But it's important!"
"Yes, right… and what else…"
"Tell him that you have a matter concerning Harry Potter, and let him decide."
"What good is it going to do," said the secretary before getting up and entering the Minister's office. Not even three minutes had passed before the secretary came out with a surprised expression.
Inside the office, the Minister was sitting with a thoughtful expression, obviously trying to imagine what it could be. With an uncertain step, the bureaucrat approached the man who looked up when he felt his presence.
"Good morning. I think you told my secretary that you had something for me."
"Yes, sir… This has reached our department."
"Let me see it."
The Minister stretched out his hand and took the request and read it carefully. After going over it a couple of times, he looked up and asked.
"An emancipation?"
"Yes, sir."
"Does it have a legal basis?"
"Normally, a minor of only fourteen years of age would have to meet a whole series of requirements, which this young person does not meet, but he has placed his application on a certain and valid legal basis. This law exists, and it is in force, so it would be legal."
"I wonder why such a request… After all, I doubt that it is only the reason he indicates, but well."
"What do I do, sir? Do I accept the request and we grant him emancipation, or do I deny it…?"
"Oh, no… Grant it. We are interested in the boy being on good terms with the Ministry… He is a powerful wizard and practically a prodigy. I would like him to consider being part of the Ministry, and you will not achieve that if you do not appreciate us."
"I'll start the administrative work right away."
"Perfect."