::chuckle:: Ah, yes, Harry & company are going to have fun and when Harry gets to Hogwarts, he's likely going to need quarters for himself and his "pets", though they'll likely all be bonded to each other by then. That should create quite a problem for Dumbles, over and above having to deal with the Delacours and with some very angry Grangers (and who knows what Luna's father will do/say?). I do like the way Hamid Harkness is being punished and I'm certain that more will yet befall him. Menawhile, the searchers will have their work cut out for them.
Author's response
Thank you!
Ayup, it's going to be interesting, whichever school they wind up at. They will need quarters to themselves, as you said, so it's going to be a different situation. In a sense, they'll be missing out on the interactions they might have had with dormitory mates, but considering what Luna's were like it's probably just as well.
Dumbles will have his hands full. I amn't sure yet just how he's going to react, but a lot of his plans are going to go astray. For a start, Harry and the Dursleys have essentially disowned each other, so the 'isolate Harry in Little Whinging every summer' thing is not going to happen. The Delacours will regard any attempt to separate them as an attack on their health and safety; the Grangers will take more time to come round, but will eventually take much the same position as the Delacours. And Xeno... well, as you said, who knows what Xeno will do? ;-)
Glad you like the start of Haman Harkness' punishment. I'm still trying to decide between having Gérard slit his throat, having him actually die whilst attempting to escape (bit of a cop-out, but it would make things easier), and punishing him legally in some fashion that will reliably stop him talking.
Well, M. Delacour is searching, and Fleur isn't particularly trying to hide from him.
In fact, she's assuming that he's been prevented from finding out her fate, and that lines of communication will be blocked. She _could_ have actually stopped at the Leaky Cauldron, asked Harry to Floo her parents, and shortcut straight to the "Bonjour, Papa! These are my new... friends. Could they follow me home so Harry can keep me?" stage, but she assumed such a communication would be prevented by rogue Ministry agents or other parties. It wouldn't have been, but it was a fairly reasonable assumption for her to make.