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the-House-of-Black
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Гарри Поттер
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Возвращение Черного Дома
Автор:
Fairywm
Устав от того, как обращаются с ним и его крестником, Сириус
занимает позицию и возвращает себе свой дом. Он больше не
позволит другим управлять его жизнью. Молли и другие получают
пощечину. Амбитч идет ко дну.
Рейтинг:
Художественная литература T
- Английский - Драма/Дружба - Гарри П., Сириус Б. - Главы: 30 -
Слов: 115 598 - Отзывов:
3 342
- Избранных: 8 445 - Подписчиков: 7 334 - Обновлено:
01.10.2021, 07:21:36
- Опубликовано:
26.02.2016, 19:45:22
- Статус: Завершено - id: 11811498
10. Chapter 10 Helping Hands
Chapter 10 Helping Hands
I got a pm about 'ships'. So, I wanted to address that. At this moment in time,
there are no relationships planned. There weren't any for Harry in canon, just
his crush on Cho. I don't do romance often, and in my past stories, the reviews
let me know that that is a good thing.
However, if it comes to pass, it will be up to my muse. I never know who I'm
going to put Harry, or anyone else, with until I write it. So, asking me is futile.
There was something else, but I have forgotten. Oh, well, old age and all that.
Enjoy.
Hphphp
As Sirius stood in front of the Weasley's Floo, he leaned over, one person
at a time, and gave them the secret to his house, barring Tonks who
already knew. Each person nodded to him and stepped into the Floo.
Nymphadora first.
"Mum," Tonks said as she brushed the ashes off. She went to hug her
mother. The Floo flared again, making Andi jump a bit, especially when
Moody came out. Then flared more, letting the rest through.
"Nymphadora, I didn't expect you back so soon and with company. Sirius,
I thought you were keeping the house hidden from the Order," Andi said,
composing herself, and releasing the hug. She looked at Sirius with a
quirked eyebrow.
"Things got a bit out of hand," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his
neck.
"Yes, they tend to do that around you," she replied, then looked at the
rest of the group.
"Albus is being his usual self and not telling anyone anything," the dark-
haired man explained, huffing as he sat at the table. "You know how he
is. So, I kinda let them all know what we know. Then he tried to quash it,
so I asked these guys if they wanted to help," Padfoot defended himself as
he waved to the rest, who were settling at the table.
"I don't know how such a pacifist could try and lead a group of vigilantes.
Don't get me wrong, Albus is a good friend. But his don't kill orders are
annoying. Still, he was the only one trying to do anything," Moody said,
thumping down in a chair, letting his wooden leg slid forward. "Andi," he
greeted with a nod.
"Alastor, it's been a while," Mrs. Tonks said, with a return nod in her old
friend's direction. While they hadn't been in school together, they did
know each other from mutual friends. It had been a very long time since
she had seen him.
"Good to see you too," Alastor said, taking a seat as he looked around the
very tidy room. "Like what you did with the place," he said, glancing at
the many house elves standing around waiting for orders. He never really
trusted house elves. The ones he knew worked loopholes like pros. He
respected them for it, but it made him trust them a lot less. If house elves
could be sorted, most would go into Slytherin.
"Yes, it is homier now," Remus agreed, taking a seat next to Moody.
"I got some new house elves," Sirius said with a deep sigh. He hadn't
intended to hijack people from the Order, but Albus' brushoff was
grating. "Dinky, some tea, please," he called out as he sat at the head of
the table.
A few seconds later biscuits, rolls, some triangle sandwiches and tea
appeared. Many of the occupants reached for something and then settled
back.
"So, to repeat your earlier question," Bill said, snagging a biscuit from the
center of the table, "why are we here?"
"Hold on a moment, Bill," Sirius said, holding up his hand and turning to
his cousin. "Andi, can you keep the kids upstairs? As much as I hate to
keep things from them, this needs to be discussed first," he asked, taking
the teacup Dinky had just brought him. "Make sure the twins don't use
their extendable ears, please. As much as I love their inventions, this
needs to stay in this room. We'll suss out what to tell them later."
"Is it dangerous?" she asked, looking around like evil was going to pop up
any second. Her hand straying to her wand.
"Not at the moment," he answered with a shrug. "However, it can get that
way if the wrong people know about it," he finished, once again
shrugging.
Then he cringed a bit when Andi gave him a look. Her pureblood
upbringing made her want to chastise him. Purebloods don't shrug. He
just smirked at her, while Tonks giggled. It was a bad habit he picked up
in school. Something that made his mother furious. She hated his causal
ways and did her very best to beat it out of him. That was one of the
reasons he ran away.
"I'll do my best," she said with a sniff, glaring at her rebellious daughter,
who just smirked back.
Tonks took after her dad, who only had the minimal manners needed for
a lawyer. Which were high in the courtroom, or boardroom, but when at
home, he was more of a couch potato. It had infuriated her at first, but
after years of marriage, she just went with it. Still, her upbringing did
make her want to jinx those that knew better.
"That's all I can ask with that bunch," Sirius chuckled, and gave her a
wink. He knew she could keep the twins in line. She had Bellatrix as a
sister, and from what he heard, before she ran off and married Ted, Andi
was the one in charge. Sometimes he wondered if Bella went mad
because Andi left. Something he'd probably never know.
"You'll keep me, and Ted, informed?" she asked, looking back as she came
to the doorway.
"Yeah, just let us think up a plan," he answered, relaxing a bit more now
that he was doing something.
"Very well then. Nymphadora, come find me when this meeting is over,"
she said as she opened the door and went through. She locked and
warded the door and went to find the teens. She had a few ideas on how
to keep them occupied. Like maybe teaching them a few new spells for
everyday things.
After they felt the wards go up, everyone relaxed a bit.
"Okay, so we know Voldy has horcruxes," Bill started, leaning back in his
chair. "Do we know what any of them are?"
"I have one, possibly two," Sirius confessed, and called Kreacher.
"Kreacher," he said when the elf popped in, "get the iron box out of the
safe, please."
The elf popped away, and reappeared in a matter of seconds, box in
hand. "Does Master need Kreacher to open the box?" Kreacher asked,
holding the box out for Sirius to take.
"No, I spelled it to only open for me," Sirius said, taking the box and
putting it on the table. "Thanks, Kreacher, you can go."
The elf bowed and left.
"Kreacher brought this to me. Regulus, my brother, stole it from Tom. It
was his last act, defying Voldy," the man explained, bitterness tingeing
his voice. So much time lost with his brother. He sighed and put those
thoughts away for now.
"Open it up. Let's see what it is," Kingsley said, leaning forward to get a
good look at what old Tom might have used to make his horcrux.
Sirius waved his wand over the box and it snapped open. Evil permeated
the air, and everyone leaned back. They could almost taste the vileness
that came from the necklace. It made the air rank. Many screwed up their
noses and held their hands over their mouths. Sirius wondered why the
evil was more predominate than it had been but brushed it off as it being
locked up for a while. Maybe it was a bit sentient and was trying to
escape all this time. Who knew? It was part of a soul after all.
"Isn't that Slytherin's locket?" Moody asked, examining it with his magical
eye. The oppressiveness wore down, and everyone could breathe again. "I
know Tom said he was the heir, but I didn't know he found anything
belonging to the man," he finished, still looking over the evil thing.
"I don't know, probably," Sirius answered, pushing the box in the middle
of the table.
Bill stood up and came around the table and peered inside. He waved his
wand in an extraordinarily complex manner and said, "Socios inveniet".
When he finished, six beams of dark blue light flew from the necklace.
"Shite," he said, waving his wand again.
This time a piece of parchment popped up with a quill and inkpot. The
quill started writing for a few seconds, then disappeared along with the
inkpot. He snatched the parchment and started reading.
"Well, what does it say?" Moody asked, knowing just what Bill had done.
"There's five more. One in this house," he said, looking at Sirius. "The
sixth light was for Tom, himself."
"Harry," the man said, sadness laced his voice. "I brought you here, not
only to take out Voldy, but I need to save Harry," his tone was desperate.
He knew if anyone could save his godson, these people would, or at least
point him in the right direction.
Bill smiled, placed a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "We will," he said firmly.
"You know how?" The dogman perked up immediately.
"Of course. My time in Egypt taught me many things. One, is that these
vile pieces of dung are pretty much worthless. Sure, they keep you tied to
this plane, but they are easily dispelled. That and if left alone they will
only live a normal life span. The soul is finite, it has an expiration date.
The people who wrote the books on how to make one, were lying. They
don't make you live for ever. You're just harder to kill during your life
span.
"Oh, well I guess that explains why Herpo the Foul isn't around anymore,"
Tonks said, tapping her chin in thought.
"Exactly," Bill said triumphantly. "Now the one in Harry will be tricky.
We'll have to go to Gringotts to get it out, but it can be done," the
redhead explained, taking the seat next to Sirius.
"Where are the others, lad?" Moody asked again, putting aside the notion
that Potter was connected to Riddle. He'd have to keep an eye on the
teen, not out of mistrust, but to make sure the evil doesn't take over.
"Let's see, one is in a town called Little Hangleton. I've never heard of it,
so it must be a muggle town. Good thing the coordinates are here, we can
check it out when we're done here. Besides being warded by… Riddle, it
should be the easiest," he read off, squinting at the paper like the words
were small.
The others looked at each other and nodded.
"That sounds like a plan," Tonks said, smiling at Bill. She was
overwhelmingly happy that finally progress was being made to end this
war. She, like the rest here, had been frustrated at the lack of action in
the Order. Dumbledore for all his greatness, was not a fighter. Sure, he
had some tricks up his sleeve that she would probably never match, but
he believed that all life was sacred and should not be taken. She didn't
subscribe to that.
"There're two in Wiltshire, I think one is Tom. Its power signature is
higher than the rest. They are together, so it might not be as easy. I wish
this spell told me what the items were," the curse breaker grumbled. "The
next one, I'm going to have to speak to the goblins about. It's in London's
Gringotts," he sighed heavily, hoping that the goblins would help. They
were very much for staying out of wizarding conflicts, but they could be
bought. It would jus take a lot. Perhaps, he could get Sirius to part with
all the goblin made silver scattered about the place.
Then again, goblins took issue with soul magic. When they took Harry in,
he'd talk to Ragnok. If anyone could get this item, it would be him.
"And the last?" Kingsley asked, putting his biscuit down he had been
holding. The evil in the air made him lose his appetite.
"Hogwarts," was the answer. "But the wards are preventing me from
pinpointing it. Like the one in Gringotts. I know it's there, but not which
part of the castle."
"Is there a spell that will tell us when we are getting close? If we can
teach the kids, they might be able to look for it this coming school year,"
Sirius asked, thinking up plans to get what they needed.
"Yeah, I'll teach the twins. They're of age," the oldest Weasley said, still
glaring at the parchment like it was keeping secrets from him.
"Great, we have the directions," Kingsley said, leaning forward again to
get a good feel of the necklace. "I vote Bill, Remus and Moody do the
treasure hunting in Little Hangleton, while Tonks and I, do some recon at
Wiltshire. Malfoy lives there, and rumor has it so does Tom. I don't want
to pop up in that living room," he added, taking out his wand and waving
it over the necklace, doing the same spell as Bill.
"Do we want to get rid of them all at the same time, so that Tom doesn't
realize that we're trying to kill him?" Tonks asked, taking the parchment
from Kingsley and memorizing it.
"That's a good idea, Tonks," Sirius said, taking Bills parchment and
glancing over it. "There's no telling if he could feel their… deaths or not.
So, I'll find some more boxes, and we can keep them in my safe. Hey, Bill,
how will they get it out of Harry?"
"Well, I can't tell you that. It's a goblin secret. Only their most trusted
shaman knows," he answered, closing the box and making the last
feelings of evil dissipate.
"Right, so we have a plan," Moody said gruffly, standing and taking the
parchment from Tonks. "Let's put it into action."
With that the adults, bar Sirius, who wanted to put the necklace away
and talk to the kids, left via the front porch.
Sirius really hoped that it was all a simple as Bill said. He really hated
that Albus didn't do this ages ago. His godson was in danger, and that
man didn't even ask a curse breaker if he could help. Maybe, Albus was
going senile.
Sirius knew he was not an expert in dispelling curses like the rest. It had
been years since he was an Auror, so he'd let them handle it. Still, now
that he thought about it, he might want to brush up on fighting, maybe
teach the kids a thing or two. With that in mind, he headed up the stairs.
When he reached the top, he listened to where everyone was. He heard
chuckling and headed towards the twins' room, which was the biggest,
bar the master suite. Opening the door, he saw that everyone was sitting
on any available floor space and they were laughing and playing a card
game that seemed to be muggle.
Suddenly Fred called out, "Bullshit." And slammed a card down.
Harry groaned, and picked up the large pile in the middle.
"You need a better poker face, Harrykins," Fred said, cackling madly.
"Yeah, I'll get right on that," the Boy-Who-Lived grumbled.
Andi had to fight hard not to reprimand him. The first time was slightly
embarrassing. They explained the rules, and she settled down to watch.
Teens will be teens, after all.
"Language," Sirius said halfheartedly.
"Don't worry, Sirius, it's part of the game," Hermione said with a wrinkled
nose. She wasn't playing, card games never appealed to her. "I don't know
where Harry learned it from, but everyone else seems to be enjoying it."
"Dudley," came the succinct answer.
"Okay," the dogman said slowly, he thought Harry didn't get on with his
cousin. "Anyway, put the cards up for now. I have something I need to
talk to you all about."
"Sirius, are you sure you should be telling the Weasley children? They are
not your charges," Andi said with a good deal of worry as she smoothed
down her trousers in nervous habit.
"Even if I don't, Harry and his friends will just tell them anyway," he
replied with a shrug. He would just have to word it all to be kid, well
teen, friendly. Let them know that there is a danger, but not tell them the
whole of it. The adults were already working on stopping most of it
anyway. If worded carefully than they would at least know to be careful.
He explained that to Andi, but she still pursed her lips.
"That's not true," Hermione denied.
"Well, it is on my part," Harry rebutted. "And I'll thank you for not
putting words in my mouth," he snapped.
Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times, but seeing Harry's
glare, she backed off for the moment. Changing one's attitude, was not
easy, but she really wanted to maintain her friendship with Harry and
Ron. Still, there was probably a good reason that some secrets should
remain secret.
"How about this? Hermione, Ginny, and Ron, you leave the room. Go do
your homework, or something. That way if Harry or the twins feel you
need to know, they can tell you," Sirius suggested rocking back on his
heels. He wanted to chastise Hermione, but it wasn't his place. Still, she
was working hard on curbing her pushy ways, so he had to give her
credit.
"Fine," she huffed and left the room. If it was important, then Harry
would tell her. Or at least tell her that he couldn't tell her. Either way,
she would do her best to help in anyway she could.
"Do I have too?" whinged Ron as he stood undecided. He knew that Harry
would tell him… hopefully. So why did he have to leave? He glanced at
his best mate, who shrugged and nodded his head. Ron's shoulders
slumped and he knew that this was an argument he would not win.
"I think it's for the best," Andi said, taking his and Ginny's arm and
leading them away. Ginny protesting quite loudly, while Ron dragged his
heels. "You two are minors, so it is not up to Sirius to go against your
mum. The twins, however, are adults. They can decide for themselves,"
they heard her say before the door closed.
"Don't worry, Harrykins," Fred said, grinning like a loon,
"Fred and I know how," George said with a matching grin,
"To protect our minds," they said together.
"We learned from the best," Fred stated, digging in his pocket.
"Yeah, the Marauders were very insistent about that," George said,
snatching the book that his brother produced.
"Said it was the only way they got away with their pranks," Fred added
with a wink.
"Like we said, the best," George agreed.
"This little gem will teach you all you need to know," Fred added, taking
the book back.
"We'd have given it to you sooner, but you're not really a prankster,"
George said, winking to his friend.
"What book is that?" Sirius asked, squinting his eyes to see the title of the
book. He had his suspicions, but he wanted to hear them say it. Harry
had told him last year that the twins had given his godson the Marauder's
map, so he knew they had heard of his little group, but how did they find
that book?
"This," Fred said, holding up a small green book.
"Found it after we got the map to work," George said, with a mischievous
smile.
"Merlin, I haven't seen this since sixth year," Sirius said, summoning the
book to his hands. "We wrote this and tucked it away in the library," he
mused, thumbing through the pages. "It was spelled so that only future
pranksters could find it and learn how to hide," he added, looking for
something in particular.
"You wrote this?!" Fred and George asked, standing and stepping forward.
"Yeah, me, Remus, James and the traitor," the dogman said distractedly,
finding what he was looking for. "Here, Harry, read up on this. It'll tell
you how to keep people out of your mind. This was one of Moony's
contributions. Basically, he tells how to set your mind up like a
werewolf's, making it dangerous for anyone to take a peek," he explained,
grinning evilly.
"It works too," Fred said, still looking at Padfoot.
"First time Snape tried after we got it, he was in the Hospital Wing for the
rest of the day," George said, he too was still looking at one of their idols.
"Not even Dumbledore can break this method," Sirius agreed, still looking
like he ate the canary.
Harry, who had been bouncing his head back and forth between the
three, took the book and skimmed the page. It didn't look hard, but he
could tell it might take a bit of meditation. Something he was very good
at. Being locked in a cupboard for his childhood had taught him how to
go into his mind for peace and calmness. But he was out of practice,
because Hogwarts had him running for his life every year, no time to
relax, but judging from what he was reading, it should take a week.
Thinking about that, he might want to practice meditating every night. It
might make Hogwarts easier. All those life-threatening situations might
be easier to handle if he could think clearly. Now that he thought about
it, it was strange that he never did that at school. Something he was
going to have to look into that later.
"Thanks," he said to all three. "I am going to share this with the others.
Maybe then we can tell them more," he said, still reading. "That is if what
you have to tell it us that classified, that is."
"Right, lets discuss that," Sirius said, then rubbed his chin. "What to tell
you first?" he muttered mostly to himself. "Harry, there's really no nice
way to put this, but there's some dark magic in your scar. I talked to Bill
and he said he can remove it," he added quickly, making calming motions
at his godson's horrified face.
"That's a relief," Harry sighed, slipping down his chair a bit. "Does this
mean I won't be seeing Tom in my dreams?" he asked hopefully. He hated
those visions.
"Well, I can't say you won't have nightmares, but any connection you
have to the Dark Idiot should disappear," his godfather stated, making
Harry slip down his chair further, like the world had been lifted off his
shoulders. "Still, practice this Occlumency and that'll stop anyway."
"Right, okay. Anything else?" he asked, sitting up again.
"Well, there's one thing, but I warn you, this is only conjecture, but there
might be a prophecy," Sirius said, watching the teen for his reaction.
"Now, I don't place much faith in prophecies, but it seems that Tom and
Albus are banking on what it says to see who wins the war."
"Well, that's just fucking dandy," Harry snarled, gripping the book tight,
and looking at the carpet like it had wronged him. It did make sense
though, why Dumbledore and Riddle were so fixated on him. He didn't
have to like for it to be true.
"Language," Fred said lightly, trying to lift the mood, finally looking away
from who he was sure was Padfoot.
"Yeah, mind your speech," George added jokingly, clapping a hand on
Harry's shoulder.
"Sod off," the dark-haired teen replied, but he did smile. Fred and George
had bigger potty mouths than he ever will. Comes from being repressed
all their childhood.
"Fret not, Harry. Doesn't Trelawney predict your death every day?" Fred
said, standing up and moving closer to Harry so they could boost his
spirits.
"And look, you're still here," George added, waving his hand up and down
to indicate that Harry was alive.
"Yeah, she does. However, my third year she gave a prophecy that
Scabbers/Wormtail/Peter would disappear and go find Tom. That came
true just like she said. So, I must believe that there are real prophecies,"
Harry said, putting his head in his hands.
"While that is true, I have a bit of a theory," Sirius said, scooting off the
desk and crouching down in front of the distraught teen.
"What?" Harry asked, picking his head up and looking at his godfather.
"You see, prophecies are tricky things," the older man said, peering into
his godson's eyes. They really did look like Lily's. "The more you try to
thwart them, the more Fate decides that they need to come to pass."
"That doesn't make me feel better, Padfoot," Harry said, glaring that the
man who was failing to make him feel better.
"No, see, what I'm trying to say is if you leave them alone, prophecies,
they just sit there," he said, once more trying to calm Harry.
"That doesn't make sense, we didn't try and stop that last one, and Peter
still got away," Harry said, wrinkling his brow as if trying to piece it
together.
"Yeah, but we actually did try and keep him from running off. I'm sure
that on a subconscious level you knew it was about the rat. So therefore,
you tried to stop it," Sirius tried to explain.
"Maybe," came the doubtful reply.
"Look, there are thousands upon thousands of prophecies in the DoM that
have never come to pass. They are all just sitting there in the room that
the Unspeakables set up. They keep them around to study them, but only
the person who heard the prophecy, or who it's about, can pick up the
globe," the older man tried again. "So, in this case, only you or Riddle can
hear the prophecy, if it is about you. Though, I'm sure Albus is the one
who heard it, but he would not need to hear it again."
"So only me or Tom can get it?" the wary teen asked, wondering if he
should go and take the damn thing.
"Yeah. Which is one of the reasons I told Dumbledore that guarding it
was futile. I mean only you, Tom, and probably Albus, can get it. And I
can tell you now that besides a very few members, no one in the Order
can stand up to Tom," Sirius said, with a sniff. "Me being one of them," he
added hauntingly.
The three teens snorted.
"How do you know this?" Fred asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Oh, well, my great grandfather, Sirius the second, was an Unspeakable.
He broke his vows with some pretty dark magic, and he wrote all about
what they get up to down there. Well, during his time anyway," Sirius
explained, his eyes glazed a bit in remembrance of reading that diary.
"What do they do down there?" Fred and George asked, leaning around
Harry to peer at Sirius.
"Loads of stuff," Sirius answered, then waved it off. "I'll get you the diary
if you want. I'll have to copy it; the original is cursed. Anyway, Harry,
what I'm trying to say is, don't let this rule your life. Acknowledge it and
move on."
"Yeah, okay, I'll try," Harry said, sitting up straighter and putting the
forgotten book in his back pocket. It was small enough to just barely fit.
"Do I need to return this book?" he asked the other three.
"Nah," the twins said, "we have it memorized."
"I helped write it, I already know what it says," Sirius said with a shrug.
"However, when you've got it memorized, I'd like it if you put it back in
the library. It's written for future pranksters. If you're worried about
giving up something that belongs to you dad, I have a few things that I
can give you," he offered, thinking of the communication mirrors.
"Thanks, guys," Harry said, grinning at all of them. "I'll think about
putting it in the library. If we can make a permanent copy, that'd be
great."
"Sound like a plan. Let me brush up on my Runes and Transfiguration,"
his godfather replied. "Anyway, I'm going to do some training and you
guys, along with the other kids, are more than welcome to join me," the
older man said, clapping Harry's shoulder and standing up.
"I'm in," all three of them said, then chuckled at each other.
"You can decide what you tell people," Sirius said, sitting back on the
desk. "But I hope you understand that most of this can't get out. So,
choose carefully what you tell anyone, friends or not."
"I think, and I hope the twins agree, that we should only say that there's a
bit of a curse in my scar, and that Bill's going to remove it. I would feel
better if the prophecy theory didn't get out," Harry stated, looking to his
two friends. "When I'm done with this book, I'll teach them. It's better
that they can protect their minds, regardless."
"Sounds like a good plan. Why don't you stay here, read that book? If you
need help, come find me," Sirius said, getting off the desk and moving
towards the door.
The twins quickly got up and followed him. He just knew they were
going to pester him for tips, stories and such.
"Practice starts at seven. After dinner, so don't eat overly much," he said
to Harry, who waved that he heard, and then left, hoping to dodge the
twins until Moony got back, then he could foist them off on him.
On the other hand, maybe he should let them follow him to the den. He
needed to take his mind off what the others were doing.
Hphphp
Okay, so every time I tried to edit this it got longer. There might be some
errors, so for that I apologize. Feel free to point them out. I don't get offended
by that.
11. Chapter 11 My Way
Chapter 11 My Way
Okay, thanks for all the reviews. I mean that.
I did want to note that I am not getting notices that I have PMs. I note from
other authors that it's a ffn thing. So, if you are sending PMs then it might be a
moment before they are replied to.
Hphphp
Harry went back to his room and studied the book for hours. He had
heard many people try to call for him, but they all soon gave up when he
didn't answer. Regulus' room was great, only he and Sirius could enter it.
Well, and the house elves, but the others could not. They could come to
visit with him in the lead, but if he wasn't with them, then they didn't
even know where it was. Sirius had set it up the first day he was here.
After he had talked to Ron and Hermione, he told Sirius that he wanted a
place to hide. So, after Sirius had taken care of Buckbeak, he charmed the
room. Harry was grateful for that bit of spell work.
The book on Occlumency was amazing. The part he was reading was very
comprehensive. Thanks to Moony's personal insight on how his own mind
was protected. The basic principle was that you envisioned an animal,
like the werewolf, in your head. The creature would roam your mind in
miniature, then if someone breeched your mind it would expand to its
normal size. Imposing itself larger than life. Nothing but teeth and anger.
You can have a whole pack in there, wandering around. The main job
was to 'train' them to hurt or destroy anything that entered. That was the
hard part. Harry wasn't sure if that hurt the person in real life, but if it
kept Snape and Dumbledore out of his head, he could live with them
being scarred.
The book said that it was easier if you had an Animagus form, but if not,
than any dangerous animal you were familiar with would work. Harry,
who was a sadistic little prick when it came to protecting what was his,
decided that the alien, from the movie Alien, would work.
The only reason he knew the movie was because he had snuck into
hallway, out of sight from the living room, to sneak peeks at it. He had to
scurry back to his cupboard many times when Aunt Petunia got up to get
her 'men' their many snacks, but he still got to see the creature. He had
been fascinated with it since.
He knew loads of movies by doing this. His relatives thought he was so
cowed that they never even realized he was just plain sneaky. Stupid
fools. The hat wanted to put him in Slytherin for a reason.
After he would get these sneak peeks, he would then go to the library and
try to look up the book from of any movie that caught his interest. There
were tons of them, and most of the time they were better than the movie.
He had a lot of things he could add, Bigfoot, Freddy Krueger, Cujo, to
name a few, but he stuck with the alien for now. He could just imagine
what people would think if he put the whole of that American author,
Stephen King, in his head. He did a full body shudder from that thought,
perhaps not.
Settling on what he wanted, he sat on the bed and started to picture it in
his mind. It took the better part of an hour but soon there were a swarm
of aliens roaming around his head. Hissing, snarling, and sniffing around.
They were transparent at the moment, but, according to what Moony
wrote, with practice they would become more lifelike.
The book also said that you had to picture your mind, memories and
things you didn't want people to know, in some sort of structure. Either a
house, a dome, a cave system, or building of some sort. Harry thought
that his cupboard was a great place. It so unassuming that anyone who
didn't know his childhood, would never even glance at it. So, he put
everything precious thoughts and memories in there, and let all the bad
stuff hang around #4 Privet Dr.
If the alien didn't keep them out, meeting his relatives might. Vernon was
scary enough when he got to yelling. Even Snape didn't reach his uncle's
shade of purple. Sometimes, it looked like Vernon was an alien too. Only
more like Jabba the Hutt, or something.
He wasn't sure which was worst.
He hadn't quite gotten it all set up when he heard a knock on the door.
"Yeah," he called, stretching and cracking his back from sitting so long.
"Harry, come on, it's time for dinner," Sirius said, opening the door. "Have
you been at this the whole time? Harry, you don't need to get it right in
one go," he said, joining Harry on the bed.
"I know, but I've almost got it set up," Harry said, stretching his legs,
which had gone to sleep from sitting cross-legged for so long. "You
should see what I've got going on in there. Not yet, I've not set it up all
the way. But I will, you just watch."
"You've got time. It's still weeks before you head back to Hogwarts," his
godfather said, patting one of his legs.
"I was thinking about that," Harry hedged, swinging his legs to the side of
the bed and folding his hands between his knees. "I don't know if I want
to go back," he confessed, peeking to the side through his bangs.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, worried that Harry might have finally
had enough. Not that he was against it, just the opposite. He'd do
anything to spend more time with his godson.
"Well, every year something happens to me," Harry said, almost in a
whisper, like Sirius might not believe him. "Usually I face something,
every DADA professor, Moony included, had tried to do me in. If Ron's
right, then the Ministry is doing it this time. I don't want to go a whole
year looking over my shoulder. If my luck holds true, it'll be the new
DADA professor will be the culprit," the tired boy said, laying back on his
bed and staring at the canopy top. "My luck sucks," he sighed, putting his
arm over his eyes.
"I get that. Both Moony and Moody have told me about your run ins with
the past professors, and I'm still mad at Albus for letting all that shite
happen. But I have to know, are you sure? What about your friends?" the
dogman asked, grabbing Harry's arm and pulling him up so they could
see one another.
"As much as I love my friends, they might be safer without me. I mean,
they don't get into trouble on their own. It's usually them following me
around that gets them hurt," the poor teen sighed, leaning his head on his
godfather's shoulder.
Sirius jerked up his shoulder, making Harry sit up straight so he could
read his face. "From what you and the others have told me about all your
near-death experiences, I have to confess I was thinking along the same
line. You not returning, I mean. However, you have to be really sure this
is what you want. If it is, you have my full support. Heck, I'll hire tutors.
Don't worry about your OWLs, we can get you passing those with straight
O's. I know Remus and Bill would help. Maybe even the rest of the group
I brought back. But, Harry, you have to be sure," he said, looking into the
boy's eyes. All he saw there was exhaustion.
"I'm 85% sure this is what I want," Harry said with conviction.
"Albus won't like it," came the necessary warning.
"He can bugger off. You're my guardian," was the reply.
"Okay, think about it for a few days. Talk to your friends," Sirius
suggested, giving him a one-armed hug. "I'll support you, no matter what
you decide."
"Yeah, okay. I guess I should get more opinions," Harry said with a sigh.
Then he stood up and started walking out the room. "Dinner?" he asked
as Sirius joined him.
"Dinner," the other man confirmed.
And the two went downstairs to join the rest of the house.
The group of treasure hunters hadn't returned yet and Sirius was getting
worried. He tried to hide it from the kids, but they could tell something
was up. They kept shooting looks at him. He would just smile at them
and then share a concerned look with Andi and Ted. They too were
worried about their daughter, but they didn't want the kids to know.
There was no need to let them know, right yet. It would be better if they
were told that it was all over, and they no longer had to worry about the
Dark Idiot. That's what they were shooting for anyway.
"Harry?" Ron asked between bites. "Can you tell us what you guys talked
about?"
"Really, Ronald, at the dinner table?" Andi scolded, snapping more than
she usually would. She would probably be tightly wound until
Nymphadora came back.
"Now, now, Andi," Ted said with a chuckle, keeping the mood light. "It's
normal to be curious," he finished, patting her hand.
"He can wait. There will be no discussion on the war, or anything related
to it, at the dinner table," she snapped, glaring at her husband.
"You heard the lady, keep those questions until dinner is done," Sirius
said, smiling at his cousin.
She harrumphed and went back to pushing food around her plate.
The conversation turned to Hogwarts, and Harry declined to make
comment. The main question for everyone there was who was going to be
the DADA professor. No one really knew and the letters hadn't come yet.
So that topic petered out and talks turned to Quidditch.
It was just as Kreacher served afters, that Bill, Remus, and Moody came
through the Floo. They looked like they had seen battle, with torn and
burnt clothes and ashes and dirt everywhere.
"Oh, Merlin, what happened?" Andi asked, getting up, pulling her wand,
and waving it at the trio.
The kids all scrambled to help, but they were shooed away by Andi. They
all stood by the doors and watched as she waved her wand over the tired
men. They were itching to ask questions but knew from prior experience
that those would go unanswered.
Even Moody was too tired to stop her, and he hated anyone pointing
their wand at him. They shuffled to empty chairs and collapsed.
"That was one well warded shack," Bill said, glancing at the kids.
"Did you get it?" Sirius wanted to know as he poured some firewhiskey
for them.
"Sirius wait until I'm done. They may need potions," Andi scolded,
waving her wand over Bill, who seemed the worse for wear.
"Fine, but they're there when you need them," the dogman said, putting
the glasses in the middle of the table. "So, did you get it?" he asked again.
Moody reached over and snagged a glass, waved his wand over it, and
then chugged it down. "Aye, we got it. Gives us a mo., and we'll take it to
your safe," he said after blowing flames from his mouth. That did the
trick.
The kids looked at each other, and as one, they turned and left the room.
They knew the adults wouldn't talk to them. They were almost to the
stairs when Hermione stopped and held Harry back.
"You guys go on," she said to the others, grabbing Harry's elbow. "I want
to talk to Harry," she finished, dragging the unresisting boy to the library.
Harry sighed in resignation and followed along.
"Tell me what Sirius told you," she all but demanded the minute the door
closed.
"No," was the curt answer.
"But, Harry, I need to know so I can tell you what to tell others," she said,
stomping her foot.
"No, you can hear what I'm going to tell everyone," Harry said, folding
his arms and glaring at her. "I don't like my friends demanding things
from me. I thought we talked about you trying to be my mum. My mum
is dead, and you are not her ghost."
"But…"
"No, that's final," he said, turning and walking from the room. He knew
that the information he was going to share had to be minimal, and that
anything that got out had to be stuff that he didn't care if Dumbledore
knew. And what he said was true, while he loved Hermione to death, she
could be quite pushy when she wanted information. She was just going to
have to learn to take no for an answer. He was in charge of what he told
anyone, not her.
He was glad he had sussed it out with the twins and Sirius beforehand.
He went up the stairs and joined the others in the twins' room. They were
chatting about Hogwarts and who the DADA teacher would be when
entered and he sat down on one of the beds, leaning against the wall and
tilting his head back to look at the ceiling like it had the answers.
Hermione came slinking in a few minutes later. It looked like she had
been slapped with a fish and she was thinking hard on what that meant.
It wasn't often that anyone denied her information. Especially not those
her age. Harry had always told her what was going on in his life, and she
was confused as to why he would hold back now. Was that she was
pushy? Or did he know something that might hurt her if she found out?
She didn't know, and there was no way to find out, and it was frustrating
her.
"Can you tell us now?" Ron asked, looking at the three in the know. "I
mean, if you can. I know that there are somethings that you guys might
not be able to tell us. Sirius did mention that there was harmful stuff in
what he told you guys. But I'd really like to help if I can," he added,
hoping that Harry wasn't in trouble again, but he'd be there if his best
mate needed him. He knew Hermione would be too, even if they didn't
have all the information.
Harry took a deep sigh and sat up straight. He looked at his friends and
smiled. He knew that even if they weren't on the same page, he could
count on everyone in this room.
"All I can tell you is that there's some dark magic in my scar, and Bill is
taking me to the goblins to get it removed," he answered as vaguely as he
could, while sounding like he was giving a secret.
"They didn't tell you what kind of magic?" Hermione asked, leaning
forward to make sure she heard every word. Her hands twitched like she
was dying to go and find out what could solve the problem.
"No, just that it's in my scar," the dark-haired teen answered with a shrug.
Come to think about it, Sirius didn't mention what it was. Harry wasn't
sure if he wanted to know. As long as, it was removed he really didn't
care.
"Why didn't Dumbledore know?" she inquired instead, biting her lip in
confusion.
"Bugger me if I know," Harry said with a bit of a scowl.
"I'll bet he did," said Ron, thinking hard on all he knew about the
Headmaster. "I mean, how could he not? He's always going on about
Harry having to be some sort of champion. Yeah, he knew," the redhead
finished, tapping his chin.
"I'll bet you're right," Harry sighed, then thought a moment. "Which is
why I'm thinking of dropping out of school," he said, taking in everyone's
reaction. "Well, one of the reasons."
"Harry, you can't…" Hermione started, only stop when Harry held up his
hand.
"And you can tell what I can and can't do, why?" he asked with a lifting
of his eyebrow. He wasn't being mean, but really, sometimes that girl.
"Oh, well, what I meant was, well, that you really shouldn't," she
stuttered out. "Education is really important, and you need your OWLs to
get a job."
"I know that, Hermione," he snapped at her. "I am not stupid you know.
Don't you think I talked this out with my godfather?" he asked with a bit
of scorn, then sighed. She was only trying to help. "Sorry, it's been a bad
day. Well, not totally bad, but with this news that there's something in
my scar… I'm just a bit short tempered."
"I'm sorry, I'm doing it again, aren't I? I didn't mean to sound bossy, I'm
just worried," she finished, reaching over and squeezing his hand. "I know
it must be difficult, but Harry, are you sure?"
"Hermione, I know you worry, but still…" he left it hanging. "Anyway,
like I told Sirius, I'm 85% sure that this is what I need to do. He told me
to discuss it with you guys, but unless you give me a really good
reason…" he trailed off again.
"I think you have the right idea," Ron said, thinking that maybe for once
his friend might have a good school year, even if he wasn't at Hogwarts.
Merlin knows, Harry never had one before. Every year Harry was there,
was a bloody nightmare.
"What about Quidditch?" Ginny asked, thinking hard on what Hogwarts
would be like without Harry. She wasn't sure she liked that picture, but if
it made Harry happy, then she'd support him. But she wanted to make
sure he really wanted that. "And the rest of us," she continued, pointing
her fingers at the youngest in the room.
"I was thinking on dropping that anyway, because like Hogwarts' DADA
teachers, Quidditch seems to want to do me in too," Harry replied with a
chuckle.
"True," she agreed with a small smile. "Well, I, like Ron, support you. You
might get a howler from Mum, though," she warned.
"I'll send one back if I do," he promised.
Hermione opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, thinking hard on
what she should or should not say. She had already blundered twice; she
would really be pushing the limits if she did it again.
"I wonder if," George started, looking to his twin,
"we should," Fred went next, sharing silent communication with his twin,
"drop out,"
"as well," they finished together.
"Think about it," George said, this time looking at his siblings.
"We can stay here," the other twin said, also gaging his brother and sister.
"with Harry,"
"help teach him,"
"And finish our educations too," they said together.
"Not to mention," one twin said, with a wicked grin,
"the wonderful,"
"amazing,"
"never beaten,"
"Marauders are here," they said with great praise.
"In my opinion, you two are adults, so you can do what ever you bloody
well please. However, I'd run that by Sirius first. It's his house," Harry
said, beaming at his lookalike friends.
Ron and Ginny slumped; they knew no matter how much they begged
they would not be able to stay. They shared a look and sighed.
"Harry, what about Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, once more biting her
lip.
"What about him? Sirius is free, and my legal guardian. I already talked
to him and he'll support what I want," the teen said smugly.
"He's the headmaster," she said a bit firmer.
"Yes, and if I drop out, he won't be mine," Harry stated, folding his arms.
"Tell me this, what has Dumbledore ever done for me? For all he goes on
about having my best interest at heart, he has never, and I do mean
never, stopped any of the rumors that have spread throughout school, or
the wizarding world. I mean, he could have, at any time, told everyone
that I did not put my name in the goblet, or that parseltongue was not
evil. He didn't, instead he let me suffer."
"I'm… I mean… well…" she stopped. Everything he said was true. The
Headmaster never once stopped Harry from being ridiculed. "You're right
of course," she conceded. "Like when Ron said the Ministry was trying to
kill you, I just wanted it not to be true. He's supposed to protect us. It's
his job to make sure the school is safe. It's not, and if I could, I'd stay too.
But, I think I'll stick with Ron and Ginny, because I know that their mum
won't let them stay." She nodded her head decisively, knowing that she
made the right choice.
"Thanks, Hermione. If Harry's not going to be there, we're going to have
to stick together. Can you imagine what Malfoy is going to say?" Ron
said, a look of disgust on his face as he pictured the blond harassing him
and his sister.
"Well," she huffed, folding her arms and sticking her nose in the air, "I'll
just have to sock him in his kisser again," she said.
The whole room broke out in laughter at the thought of Hermione
dropping Draco Malfoy like she had done in her third year. Talks turned
to other things, after they played with that image for a while.
Hphphp
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen. Andi had done all she could for the three
treasure hunters. They hadn't been as bad off as she first thought, but
there were many bruises and scratches that she healed.
"Andi, now that you've healed them, I have to talk to these guys. Can you
give us a few? I don't want to drag them to the study until they are a
bit… livelier," Sirius asked, still sitting at the head of the table.
"Okay," she said, tucking her wand in her sleeve. "Come, Ted, let's let
these men do what they must. Sirius, you will tell me as soon as
Nymphadora shows?" she asked, waiting for her husband to join her.
"I'll send her straight through," he promised.
The Tonkses left.
"It was a bitch," Bill said, answering the question before it was asked.
"How so?" Sirius asked, pushing the glasses of firewhiskey towards the
weary men.
"Tom is a marvelous curser. His knowledge of obscure dark curses is vast.
How do I know this?" Bill asked rhetorically. "The curse on the ring hasn't
been used in over five hundred years."
"What kind of curse?" the dogman asked, shooting back one last whiskey.
"A withering curse," Moody answered, while Moony put his head on the
table and closed his eyes. "Remus and Bill fought over who was going to
put on the ring. The compulsion charm on it was that strong. Good thing
I'm impervious to such curses. But it took a lot for me to separate these
two and bag the ring," he explained, then forgoing the whiskey Sirius
poured, he tipped his flask.
"I'm sure you did great," Sirius said, trying to lighten the mood.
"I'm not all there, body or mind. I got it done, though," the one-eyed man
mumbled, still sipping from his flask. He was too old for this shite.
Constant Vigilance was exhausting.
"He saved our lives," Bill said, thumping the older man on the back. "Put
a sticking charm on everyone's chair," he requested.
Moody didn't even bother to ask; he just waved his wand, and everyone
was stuck by the seat of their pants.
"Great, everyone hand Moody your wands," the redhead said, handing his
over.
Moony sat up, looked at Padfoot, then the two shrugged and handed the
one-eyed man their wands.
"Okay, thanks, now can you levitate the ring to the middle of the table?
Just out of reach," Bill inquired, twitching in his chair to see how stuck
he was.
Moody looked at him for a full minute, tucked everyone's wand away,
and then floated the bag with the ring to the center. Another flick of his
wand the bag fell open.
Everyone, bar Moody, leaned forward, so Mad-Eye stuck their shirts to
the back of the chairs.
Bill, fighting the compulsion now that he knew it was there, took a deep
breath and centered himself. He waved his hand over the ring, in many
different movements. These were spells that were required to learn
wandlessly by all curse-breakers that worked at Gringotts. If you couldn't
do them, you didn't get to go to sites that might have antique treasures.
You only got to work at the bank itself until you did learn them. If you
hadn't learned them by your second year, you were let go.
After five minutes of casting, the ring flared bright and the compulsion
was gone. Bill slumped in his chair. Sure, he knew how to do it, but
wandless casting took a lot out of him. He didn't bother with the
withering curse, now that the compulsion was gone, it could stay.
Though, he did want to study it.
Everyone sighed a huge sigh of relief.
"That was nasty," Moony said, once more trying to put his head on the
table, but his shirt was stuck fast. So, he leaned his head back instead.
"Yeah, it's shite like that why curse-breakers never, and I do mean never,
work alone," the oldest Weasley child said, waving his hand and putting
the bag back on the ring. It just folded up, like a Venomous Tentacula
over a bug. Then the cord wrapped around the top and they all relaxed.
"I didn't know you knew wandless magic," Sirius commented, wiggling
around in his chair. The sticking charm was prickly.
"Only a few things. The goblins insisted," Bill said with a sigh. "Box?"
"Kreacher," Sirius called. "Bring me a box, please," he requested when the
elf appeared.
With a snap Kreacher vanished, and an iron box appeared on the table.
Bill levitated the ring in it and closed the lid. "You can release us now,"
he said, turning towards Moody, whose wand never faltered.
A swish later they were all released from their chairs. Then without being
asked, he handed their wands back.
Just then the Floo flared, wands went up, and Tonks came out of the
flames. Kingsley followed her. They too looked like they had been
fighting.
"We've got a problem," they both said, falling into chairs.
Hphphp
I know the alien had been done, though I can't recall which stories I have read
it from, but I love that image.
12. Chapter 12 Compromises?
Chapter 12 Compromises?
Thanks again for the reviews. You guys offer some great insight. And there are
plot holes that you catch. Which means I can go back and fix them. One of the
reasons I love writing fanfiction. Your thoughts and hints help me to be a
better writer.
I am still an amateur, but I am quite okay with that.
Hphphp
"Merlin, what now?" Remus asked, his head landing on the table now that
the sticking charm was removed. He didn't know how much more he
could take. The full moon was in a few days, and the fight with Bill had
taken a bit out of him. He closed his eyes and listened, he didn't hold
much hope that he'd stay awake, but he was hoping that if he did fall
asleep, someone would fill him in in the morning.
"We Apparated about seventy-five feet from where the two horcruxes
were. It was a standard distance, that they taught us in Auror training.
I've used it hundreds of times. We thought it would be far enough that it
wouldn't trip any wards," Kingsley said, running a shaky hand down his
face.
"We were wrong," Tonks said, taking deep breaths. "We-"
"Tonks, before you say any more, send a Patronus to your mum," Sirius
suggested, holding his hand up. "I don't want her mad at me. She asked
that I tell you to let her know," he said, smiling to take any bite out of his
words. "You do know the charm, right?"
"Yeah, after we heard that a third-year student could cast it, all of the
Aurors learned it right quick. Madam Bones was very adamant about
that," she said, lifting her wand to cast the charm. "Mum, I'm home. I'm
safe. Let me get in my report and I'll find you when we're done," she said
to the chameleon mist.
When she was done, it nodded its head and flew through the wall.
"Right, you were saying," Sirius said, pouring her and Kingsley shots of
firewhiskey.
"Anyway, we landed right inside some sort of trip wards at Malfoy
Manor. I didn't feel anything, we didn't realize it until a whole shitload of
Death Eaters came pouring out of the house," Tonks said, her voice a bit
wobbly.
"It was daunting how many Death Eaters there were. I'd say between fifty
to a hundred. There must have been a meeting going on. At least I hope
that was all of them. We're in big trouble if there's more. Either way,
Dumbledore's information is grossly incorrect. I have to wonder if Snape
is giving true reports, or is the Headmaster withholding information,"
Kingsley said, looking at Moody, who knew the man better than anyone.
"Probably the latter, lad," the retired Auror grumbled. "I will be having
words with both of them to find out," he promised, his one good eye
narrowed at the thought that his friend of many years would go so low as
to not keep his comrades informed on what they were facing.
"What happened next?" Sirius asked, pouring everyone more alcohol. He
figured that one more shot should be fine. Any more than that, and
they'd be useless.
Moony didn't touch his glass and if they didn't know better, they would
have thought the man asleep. But his eyelids were roaming like he was
thinking.
Bill, on the other hand, took his but instead of downing it, he just sipped.
Little burst of smoke came from his mouth.
"We immediately took cover in the woods behind us and tried to port
away. We do have emergency portkeys, thanks to being Aurors," Kingsley
added, taking the glass of firewhiskey that Sirius handed him. "The
portkeys didn't work. I think some anti-travel wards popped up as soon as
we landed."
"Any idea why the 'trip' wards let you in?" Bill asked, putting his glass on
the table.
"No, I think it's a trap of some sort. I felt stronger wards further up, about
six feet or so," Kingsley stated, moving his head side to side, trying to
relieve some tension. "We're going to have to adjust accordingly. I'll have
to let Bones know as well."
"Anyway, the Death Eaters hadn't seen us right away, so we disillusioned
ourselves, and stuck around for a moment. We listened in, while trying to
make it to the ward line. Meanwhile, they looked for us using revealing
spells, and we heard them say that their master would not be happy if
they didn't find us," Tonks continued, she asked for water and Kreacher
complied.
"It was at that time You-Know… Riddle came out of the house," the dark
Auror said, still trying to relax a bit. "It was strange, while his minions
were running around shouting spells, he simply walked, easy as you
please, barefoot to boot, until he got to the woods. He then called those
looking for us fools, and then pinpointed where we were," he said, giving
up on trying to relax. "I think he caught our thoughts. I don't know about
Tonks, but I quickly threw up my Occlumency shields."
"I did as well, but not before he got in. Scariest fucking thing I ever saw,
or felt," Tonks said with a full body shudder.
"Too right," her partner agreed. "We exchanged spells for a moment, and
then this big ruddy snake come slithering into the fight. Riddle spoke to
it, and it came our way. We buggered out of there as fast as we could.
Riddle and his minions stood back and laughed at us as we ran."
"Stupid snake was quick too. We almost didn't make it," grumbled Tonks,
thumping her empty glass on the table in frustration.
"Anyway, as soon as I felt the end of the anti-travel wards, we ported to
the Auror Headquarters. Amelia was not happy when we told her what
we had been up to. We didn't tell of the horcruxes but did say we were
scouting things that keep Riddle in the here and now. There were too
many people around, to tell her everything, so I hinted that we needed to
talk later. She heard us out, and made comment that she wanted a full
report, off the record," Kingsley finished, leaning back in his chair and
pinching his nose.
"It would be good to have Amelia on our side. Now that you're free,
Black, she could be a great boon," Mad-Eye said, giving Sirius a
thoughtful look.
"I'll look into it," Black promised.
"Weird thing is, she wanted to know if we knew where Harry was. I think
Dumbledore has reported him missing, Sirius," the pink-haired woman
said, finally picking up the whiskey and shooting it down.
"That doesn't make sense, he knows exactly where Harry is. Well, he
knows he's with me," the dogman said, rubbing his forehead.
"I think he's trying to get you for kidnapping. You did take him from his
relatives' home," Kingsley added, furrowing he brow.
"Arsehole," Sirius muttered, pouring himself another shot. "To bad for
him, I've already covered that with my lawyers. I'll get your dad to go
with me to the Ministry tomorrow, Tonks. I'll bring Harry along, so they
know the full story. We still have to report the Dementors."
"What Dementors?" came the shout from all but Moony, who was lightly
snoring.
"Right, I didn't tell you guys. The reason I went to get Harry was because
he contacted me, via his house elf, that a pair of Dementors were near his
home. If it hadn't been for his house elf, he and his cousin could have
been Kissed. We're not sure if it was a set up to make him use magic, or
someone… else, is trying to kill him," Sirius explained with a deep sigh.
"Sounds like something Fudge, or his lot, would do," Mad-Eye said, his
eye roaming around the room like those foul demons would float in at
any moment.
"Yeah, that's why I want to take him with me. He can give his statement
to Amelia and we can brush our hands of it," the dogman said, then
cracked a huge yawn.
"Well, back to the report on Harry being kidnapped, I told her I haven't
seen Harry in a while, which is partially true. I haven't seen him since
yesterday," she said, grinning impishly. "I also implied that the address I
had seen him at couldn't be disclosed. She seemed to find that funny."
Her hair cycled in many bright colors, reflecting her mirth.
"I knew I could count on you," her cousin said, winking in her direction.
"So," Moody said, getting them back on track, "old Tom is at Malfoy
Manor. Did they recognize you two?" he asked the Aurors.
"I think Malfoy did, when our disillusions fell. He's at the Ministry often
enough," Kingsley reported, thinking back to the fight and going over
what might be spilled.
"How did they fall?" Bill asked, looking between the two.
"Some spell Riddle did. We need to watch out for that," Tonks answered,
asking for more water.
Kreacher snapped his fingers and her glass filled.
"Malfoy, or Riddle even, probably thinks your spying for Albus," Moody
said, sipping his flask.
"Probably," the other man agreed. "It's not like it's a secret that we fight
with the Order. Though, calling what the Order does as fighting is a bit of
a stretch. I mean, the only thing I've done for Albus is tell him who is get
arrested and why. I'm going to stop doing that since he can't do anything
for them anyway. What with him being kicked out of the Wizengamot,"
the tired man said, stifling a yawn.
"How far out were the wards?" Bill asked, conjuring up some parchment
and writing utensils.
"I'd say they are seventy-five feet from the house. Like I said, there are
trip wards about fifteen feet from the main wards. We landed six feet in,
so yeah, about fifteen feet. Remember that they activate some anti-
traveling wards. If you do plan on scouting, then shoot for one hundred
twenty feet away. That will put you in the woods, and you can figure
everything out from there," Kingsley said thoughtfully.
"Right," the curse-breaker said, jotting it all down. "Do you think old Tom
will move bases?"
"Probably not. Riddle is too full of himself, and if you're correct, he has
surrounded himself with enough people loyal to him to feel safe.
However, I think we should cast that spell again, to see if he, whatever
his horcrux is, and his snake have gone to ground," Moody said, thinking
over many scenarios that could help with this.
"Now that you mention that blasted snake, could it be a horcrux, like
Harry," Sirius speculated.
"Might be," Alastor said, thinking hard. "It does seem smart for a snake. If
it has got a bit of Riddle hiding in its head, then that would account for
that. Bill, if you get near the thing, kill it."
"I will," Bill said, taking all this in so he could tell his boss. "I'll be careful
about it. Because if you're right, that means I won't be dealing with a
simple snake. Though, maybe we should leave it there for now. That way
Riddle doesn't know we're on to him," he said, tapping his quill on the
parchment. Too deep in thought to realize he was making ink blots.
"That is a good idea," Kingsley said, looking around at everyone, who
were all nodding in agreement. Expect for Remus, who was still snoring.
"Anyway, Sirius, I think we should get Harry to Gringotts tomorrow, or
the next day," the younger man said. "The sooner we get that thing out of
his head, the better I'll feel."
"Let's shoot for the day after tomorrow. I have something planned for
tomorrow," the head of the house mentioned, trying to think of what he
needed to do over the next few days. First thing in the morning though,
he was making Harry part of the family. Dumbledore be damned.
"Oh?" came the questioning voice of everyone except the sleeping
werewolf.
"Don't you guys worry none. It's family stuff," he waved their questions
away.
At that moment Andi came in, and beelined to her daughter. "I waited
long enough, young lady. You've had ample time to give your report. You
should have let me check you the moment you returned," she scolded,
waving her wand over Tonks, who mumbled something about being
grown. "Nymphadora, you know better than to let things go untreated."
"I'm fine, Mum. I didn't get hit once, this is all from dodging," she said,
trying to bat her mum away.
"I'll be the judge of that," the older woman stated, still waving her wand.
"I'm going to put this away," Sirius said, picking up the iron box.
"Someone might want to wake the wolf. Carefully, he bites. Just kidding,
the most he'll do is growl at you," he said, laughing at their faces and
moving towards the door. "And you guys either go home or take one of
the empty rooms on any floor but the third. Either way, get some rest.
You all look like shite," he finished, hurrying out the door in case one of
them fired in retaliation.
A stinging hex hit the doorway, and he laughed his way to the study.
Tomorrow was going to mark a milestone in his and Harry's life. He only
hoped that it all worked out. These rituals could be deadly, if Magic
didn't agree with what you wanted. Very few people realized that Magic
was alive. One didn't interact with it, per se, but if you learned to feel it,
it would help you obtain what you needed. However, you have to really
need what you're asking for, or even if your wish was granted, there'd be
a price to pay. Hence the reason why Dark Magic was so costly. Usually
your sanity or your soul.
With those dark thoughts, he put the horcrux in his safe, and went to find
the kids.
Hphphp
While that was going on, the teens were still talking and playing Bullshit.
They had been playing for a while when Hermione spoke up.
"Harry, I have an idea. About you leaving Hogwarts, that it. Well, a
compromise, really," she said, leaning forward a bit. "I know you don't
want to go to Hogwarts because you think someone will try and kill you,
again, but hear me out."
"Okay, what are you thinking?" he asked, putting his cards down and
turning in her direction. It had better be good, his mind was pretty much
made up.
"Maybe, you can come anyway but have someone create an emergency
portkey for you. That way if someone does try to kill you, you can escape
and come here. I really will miss you if you are not in school," she added
shyly, blushing a bit at being emotional.
"I will miss you guys too," Harry said softly, looking at all his friends,
who all seemed to have different emotions playing across their faces.
"But, Hermione, I'd still be looking over my shoulder all the time," he
said, rubbing his scar in thought. "Even if I had one on me, how would it
get through the wards? Besides, don't you think Dumbledore would
prevent me from leaving if I were in the school? That man's interest in
me is sometimes downright creepy."
"Don't say those things about the Headmaster," Hermione said, trying not
to sound bossy while doing it, but failing miserably.
"Really? After everything I told you, you're going to defend him?" Harry
asked, miffed that she wasn't listening to his concerns.
"Right, Hermione, I get that you think the world of authority figures, but
Harry is right, Dumbledore is fixated on him. And if what I heard today is
anything to go by, I'd not want to be around that old man either," Fred
said, not breaking into twin-speak. His brother nodding along with him.
"I don't know what you guys learned today," she said, looking at the
serious faces of the three boys.
"I told you that there was a bit of dark magic in my scar. Well,
Dumbledore know it was there and he's done nothing to get rid of it,"
Harry said, still upset that she was taking the old man's side. Again.
"Oh, well, I mean…" was all she could get out.
"Think about that for a while," Harry said, picking up his cards again.
"Her suggestion isn't a bad one," Ginny ventured. "If we can get the
Headmaster to create you a portkey, or someone who can bypass the
wards, like Bill. Then you could come back and not miss being around
your friends."
"If you do that, I'll stick with you like glue, mate" Ron said, clapping his
hand on the other boy's shoulder. "We can get our other roommates to
stay with us. I know Neville would help. He might be shy, but he hates
all the crap you've been through," he added, nodding towards the twins
so they'd back him.
"It's true. I've heard him complaining many times that if your folks were
still alive, none of what happened to you would have," Ginny answered
instead. "It got a bit repetitive when we were at the ball, but I felt… I
don't know, like he was growing?" she finished in a questioning tone.
"I always knew there was a lion under that quiet demeanor," Harry said
with a beaming smile.
"If you come back, we'll make sure you're never alone. Even if you have
detention, we'll figure out a way for one of us to be there. Promise,"
George said, he too not going into twin-speak.
"But if you must run, we'll be right behind you. Covering your tracks, and
taking out whoever it after you," promised Fred.
"Alright, let me talk it over with Sirius and see what he says," Harry said.
It was a good compromise, and he could leave anytime he wanted. His
heart swelled with joy that his friends wanted to make such an effort to
be near him. Still, he could not shake the feeling that it might not be a
great idea.
The papers had stopped vilifying him, but they were still raking the old
man over the coals. His article must have touched a lot of people. He
wasn't getting any mail, but the reviews were good.
He wondered about the mail thing. It was weird that he hadn't heard
from anyone not in this house. On one hand, that was good. Too many
owls at the Dursleys would have caused problems. On the other hand, it
was just one more thing keeping him in the dark. Something to
investigate.
That and they could hide it from Dumbledore that he was not still
impressed with the old man. Now that he was learning that badass
Occlumency, he couldn't wait until someone tried peeking. He had some
awesome ideas.
One particular one came to mind. Chucky. He smirked as he thought of
the scenario.
He could just imagine the look on Dumbledore's or Snape's or Voldy's faces
when they open the door to his cupboard. They'd be all battered from fighting
the aliens and thinking that was all he had to protect his mind.
They'd open the door and see Chucky grinning at them.
"This is your final defense Potter/Harry? A doll? Pathetic/Disappointing.
Would you like some candy, my boy?" Pending on who said it.
Chucky would do his evil laugh, and spring into action.
"ARRGH, NO! PLEASE MERLIN NO! 'bloody gurgling'"...
...Chucky looks at his bloody knife as the intruder fades away, smiles, and
closes the cupboard door. Chuckling all the while.
His face broke out in a wicked grin as he pictured that. He might have to
let them through just to see that. He laughed out loud at those images
and waved the others away when they looked at him funny. He didn't
think that Hermione would appreciate the humor but vowed to explain it
to the others when she wasn't around. He didn't need the lecture.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The teens jumped a bit, they
were all in deep thought over Hermione's suggestion. Except Harry, who
was still envisioning the demises via Chucky.
Hermione was also deep in thought, but her mind wasn't on a psycho
murdering doll. She was going over everything she learned this last week,
and she wasn't liking the conclusions she was coming up with. Maybe
Harry was right, maybe he should stay here.
"Yeah?" came the response from many teens.
Sirius walked in grinning like a fool. "I know it's later than I had planned,
but there's still a few hours left until I hit the hay. Anyone want to spar?"
he asked, looking around at the kids who all stood and moved as one
towards the door. "Guess that answers that," he said, leading the way.
They spent a few hours in the cellar, Sirius teaching them some down
and dirty tricks. When they had finished, they all went upstairs, except
Harry, who was being held back.
"What's up, Sirius?" the teen asked after the others had left.
"I want to do the adoption, either now, or in the morning. We both have
to leave the house tomorrow, and I don't want to take any chances that
Malfoy would try to bump me off. If that does happen, you would have a
clear shot to my fortune and title," his godfather said, leaning against the
wall.
Harry joined him there and thought a moment. "While I don't want you
to die, in any way shape or form, I think you may have a point. Question.
I'll still be a Potter, right?" he asked, turning his head towards Sirius.
"Yeah, no worries there. You will be like a first cousin or younger
brother. Maybe even a nephew. It'll be up to magic to decide," he said.
"What do you mean, magic to decide?" Harry asked, with a cock of his
head.
"You see, I'll be asking magic to make you family. It'll weigh you, your
blood, our relationship, and then decide how close we'll be. Magic hardly
ever makes one a progeny. There are darker rituals for that, but those
who do it can be accused of line theft, so they are banned. That and
there's a heavy price to pay. Still, I'll try and make you as close to me as
possible," he explained, hoping that Harry understood.
The boy was doing marvelous in all his training, and Sirius had no doubt
he could pass himself off as a snobby pureblood by the end of summer.
"Oh, okay, that's actually better. I don't know if I want to be considered a
son of a reprobate like you," Harry said, shoving the man in jest.
"Prat," Sirius growled playfully, "You take that back. I'll have you know
any offspring of mine would be thankful to have a handsome, charming,
rich man like me as a father." He put his nose in the air and sniffed
pompously.
"You keep telling yourself that," Harry said, shoving him again.
"Seriously, Sirius, I'm knackered. Can we do this in the morning?" he said
with a yawn. "I don't want to mess anything up, and I can't get my mind
to settle. Ask me tomorrow and I'll tell you why, but right now, it's all
crazy up there. Maybe after a good night's sleep, I can think clearer," he
added, not wanting Sirius to think he was putting him off for the wrong
reasons.
"Might be best. Alright, go to bed, but you'll need to get up bright and
early. Say around six. Have Dobby wake you," Sirius said, pushing
himself off the wall and headed out of the room. He was let down that it
couldn't be right now, but the boy was right, he needed a clear mind.
"Alright," Harry said, following the man up the stairs. His mind whirling
about what was going to take place in the morning.
"Don't worry, it's a simple piece of magic," his godfather said as the crest
the stairs.
"I'll try not to," was all the answer he got.
"Good night, Harry," Sirius said, sitting at the kitchen table and pouring
himself a glass of firewhiskey. Just one more, to calm his nerves. What he
was going to do tomorrow was risky. Not deadly so, but still…
"Good night, Sirius," the boy said, and headed to bed.
Sirius sat and looked at the amber liquid in his glass. He really had had
too much tonight as it was. But his thoughts were deep, and he was
concerned about all that was happening to his godson. He shrugged,
downed the liquor, and put his head in his hands. He could only pray to
the Powers-That-Be that he was doing the right thing.
He soon put his thoughts away and went to bed.
Hphphp
I can only say that there is a reason for my madness.
The Chucky scene was provided by BMS on ffn. With his consent. I
embellished them a bit, but there it is.
13. Chapter 13 Finally Family
Chapter 13 Finally Family
I did want to say that I write as a hobby, and like any other hobby I don't
write every day. If I do, I burn out. Then months, or years, go by where I don't
write at all. So, please, bear with the erratic update schedule.
Also, some have asked if I'm going to work on sequels to my other stories.
Granted some of them have open endings so if I want to do sequels I can.
However, there are no plans for any at this point in time. When I do pick up
one it will more than likely be Our Friend Millie.
However, I have to finish my incomplete stories first.
I leave an open invitation in my stories and on my profile. If anyone wants to
pick up, rewrite, or continue anything I've written, have at it. Just, give me due
credit, and drop me a link so I can tell others.
Thanks for all the reviews.
Hphphp
Bright and early the next morning found Sirius and Harry in the ritual
room behind the library. Harry's hair was still sticking up from bed, but
Sirius was nicely groomed. They stood on opposite sides of the pedestal.
Both were decked out in robes, Sirius' a bit more pressed than Harry's.
The boy looked like he slept in his.
The man made a mental note to get Harry kitted out. No relative of his
was going to wear rags. He had seen the stuff the Dursleys had giving
him and they were only fit to be burned.
He had tried getting Harry clothed better in the past, but with him being
housebound, and Harry at the Dursleys it just never happened. For now,
Regulus' stuff would do, even if they were a tad too big. A small bit of elf
magic, and they fit well enough. Say what you will about his late brother,
the man could dress.
That thought sent a pang of regret through him, but he shook it off and
focused on his soon to be new relative.
Just then Harry let out a huge yawn. He covered his mouth with his
forearm and forced his eyes open.
"Tired, Harry?" Sirius asked, grinning like a loon. "I thought you'd be
excited."
"Oh," yawn, "I am. I just had a lot on my mind last night. I don't think I
got to sleep until two this morning. Sorry," the teen said, stifling another
yawn.
"Well, we can hold it off again, if you're that tired," Sirius offered,
knowing that Harry hadn't wanted to do this last night because he was
sleepy.
"No, I'm awake, mostly," Harry protested, stifling another yawn. "My
mind is clear, it's my body that's all lazy," he added with a smirk.
"Don't worry about it. You don't need to be awake, just standing," his
godfather teased. "Though, I have to warn you the ritual itself might get
you going," he added, winking at the half-awake boy.
"Prat," Harry said, giving a tired smile.
"Alright, I'm going to put my hand on this spike. It'll make me bleed a bit.
Not much," Padfoot added at the boy's shocked look, "just enough to get
done what we need. It doesn't even hurt. It's spelled to be painless. So
don't freak out or anything. You're not one of those that pass out at the
sight of blood are you. Your dad did when you were born, it was funny as
hell."
"No, blood doesn't bother me," the boy said, perking up at that bit of info
on his dad. "Did he really pass out?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow,
thinking Sirius was pulling his leg.
"Twice," the older man laughed. "Right when Lily broke his hand, and
just after you crowned. I had to pick him off the floor both times."
"Right, well I should be okay, as long as there isn't' too much blood,"
Harry said, more awake now that they had that little chat.
"Most of it will stay in the bowl. It'll look like a lot, but it really isn't.
besides, I have a blood replenisher in waiting for me when we're done,"
his godfather assured him.
"Okay, that does make me feel a bit better," the teen said, still eyeing the
sharp spike with distaste. There was dried blood from past use matting
the barb. "Do I have to put my hand on it?" he asked, knowing that it was
unhygienic to share something like that.
"No. You are going to slice your palm and add your blood to mine. It will
mix with the potion I poured in," the other man explained, pointing to
the acid green potion in the basin around the spike.
"Eww, I don't have to drink any, do I?" the tired boy asked, his nose and
face scrunched up. Again, wavering over sharing blood.
"No, gross. Why would you even think that?" Sirius asked, his face just as
screwed up at Harry's.
"Don't know. Just a thought that popped in my head. I mean, how else
would your blood adopt me?" Harry inquired, staring in horror at the
pedestal. He had no idea where that thought came from, but the last
thing he wanted to do was drink blood. He would, but only if it were
entirely necessary.
"Um, magic," the dogman stated as if it were obvious.
"Right, remember I'm still relatively new to all this. And they don't teach
ritual stuff at Hogwarts," Harry said, almost snapping at his godfather.
"They don't?" his godfather asked, a bit perplexed. "It's a part of how
magicals work. Rituals are supposed to be the foundation of all magic,"
he explained at his godson's confused look.
"No, and I don't know why. How would I?" Harry answered with a shrug.
"Right, I'm going to ask Dumbledore about that. That's just not right. No
wonder the purebloods are up in arms," Sirius said, his face a mask of
determination. He'd have to talk to Remus, since the man had taught
there. Surely, the werewolf had asked the same question.
"You do that," Harry said, again shrugging. He didn't think it would do
any good, but now that Sirius was free, he could do whatever the hell he
wanted. If the man wanted to bang his head against a wall, who was
Harry to stop him.
"Right, okay, enough of that for now. Let's get to getting us related.
Anyway, I will put my hand here and you will slice your palm. When the
blood mixes with the potion, I will do an incantation. Hopefully, magic
will hear my call and we can finally be family," Sirius reiterated, moving
it along.
"What do I use to cut myself? I didn't know I'd need a knife," Harry
inquired, with a raised eyebrow.
Sirius reached into his robe and handed the teen a pocketknife. "You
don't have to cut much. Just enough for a bit of blood."
"Okay," Harry said, holding his left hand over the basin, knife in his right
hand. The blade ready to slice.
He wasn't looking forward to the pain, but he really wanted family, and
Sirius was the one he wanted to be related to the most. The man was
great. He was funny, smart and strong. All the things that Harry thought
a dad should be. Even though he wasn't going to be the man's son,
anything closer than godson was wonderful.
That and Harry loved the man, even in the short time he knew him,
Sirius was better than even his friends. At least he had kept him informed
of almost anything related to him. No one, not even Hermione had done
that. That and he told the best stories about his parents. Not even Remus
did that. It was like the werewolf wanted to leave the past in the past. It
was his prerogative, but sometimes it made talking to the man hard.
Sirius slammed his hand on the spike, breaking the boy out of his
thoughts, and nodded to Harry who quickly sliced his hand and let the
blood flow. Dark red mixed with acid green, making a weird gold color.
A few seconds later, the potions started smoking.
"Magic hear my call. I, Sirius Orion Black, as the Head of House of Black
do hereby claim this person, Harry James Potter, to be part of the Black
Family," Sirius intoned as the vapors rose. "I ask that you judge this fairly
and give us the family we both desire."
At the last word, magic swirled up from the basin, a dark golden mist. It
wrapped itself around the two men. A tingling came over both of them as
it hugged them tight. It was searching out any relation and weighing
what was needed.
They could feel it humming on their skin and seeping into their bodies.
Not literally, more like an invisible wave of electricity. It was like
standing in ozone. All their hair was standing on end, and a prickling
sensation caused goosebumps to cover their skin.
Then out of nowhere, Harry's scar burst open, black sludge poured down
his face, and he was letting out a quick pained yell. His face was screwed
up and his body was rigid. Sweat started pouring from his forehead.
Keeping his eyes closed, he silently yelled.
"Harry!" Sirius shouted, trying to remove his hand from the spike. It was
held fast by. Yanking it with all his might, he groaned when it stayed. His
free hand wrapped around the wrist of the impaled hand. "Harry, what is
happening? Don't worry, I'll get free and stop this," he said, then thought
quickly. "Magic hear…" was as far as he got when his godson's voice
stopped him.
"Stop," Harry said, holding up his good hand, eyes still closed against the
pain. "It said I can't be adopted as long as Riddle is in my head," he
rasped out, holding on to the basin with both hands. Grabbing it to help
steady him as whatever was happening worked its magic. It felt like a tug
a war was going on, on his forehead. Something was yanking something
from his head.
"Wait, what? Magic is talking to you?" Padfoot said, stopping his struggle.
That doesn't happen. Magic just does. Magic just is. It doesn't have a
voice, does it? Now that he thought about it, yeah, magic was an entity.
He would not have to call it to do spells or ask it to make things happen.
Like the ritual they were preforming now. But to hear that it was actually
talking, that was too weird, even for him.
"Yeah, kind of like a whisper in my mind," the teen said, still gripping the
pedestal. He could hear magic trying to calm him, and it was like wooly
cotton was rubbing against his brain. He really hoped it stopped soon.
Then he giggled.
"What?" Sirius asked, holding himself taunt, thinking he was going to
hear something bad.
"It likes my mind's landscape," Harry said, chuckling at the voice. "It says
the aliens are cute," he added with a small laugh.
"Only you, Harry." Sirius made a mental note to find out what 'aliens'
were, but not right now.
"Give me a minute," Harry said, trying to hear more.
"Fight," came the whispered words from all around him. "Use your mind,
and fight," it said again.
Hearing that, he went into his mindscape and ordered his aliens to him.
They all came at his call, snarling and hissing. They moved like spiders,
crawling, leaping and just sidling to where they needed to be. Their grey
skeletal bodies, were clambering on the ground, looking for their enemy.
The elongated heads, with no eyes, were moving back and forth,
searching for something to destroy. Rows of teeth were gnashing at the
air, showing their willingness to fight.
They flanked Harry like an army of demented beings. Which they were.
Hundreds of them all creeping around and waiting.
There was a man there; he looked like and older version of Tom Riddle.
"I'm going to kill you, boy," Tom said, warily watching the army of aliens.
He wasn't worried, they couldn't be worse than Inferi. "Your pets won't
stop me," he sneered, raising his wand.
"Okay, guys, sic 'im," Harry said, wondering if he should bring out more
defenses, but then brushed that thought aside. He really wanted to get
this done and over with. As funny as it would be to have Tom meet
Chucky, he didn't want to make any mistakes.
The aliens all converged on the entity, jumping and crawling towards the
invader.
Tom shot an Incendio spell, like he would with Inferi, but the creatures
just leaped out of the way. He ran towards them, firing off Killing Curses,
and other such deadly spells, but he never hit one.
Then the Dark Idiot retreated, moving as far away from the demons as
possible. Tom would move back, throwing the aliens off him, only to be
swarmed by twenty more. He screamed and fired off spells that were
ineffective. His clothes and skin were ripped and torn. Blood was
dripping from every part of his body, even his face was a mess.
The Xenomorphs leaped and grabbed, biting and tearing, and tore it to
shreds. Their mouths opened, and smaller heads darted out, each taking a
piece of the man. Blood and chunks of flesh flew everywhere.
"NO! This can't be happening. I am immortal! I will be back, Potter! I
have done more than anyone to obtain immortality! You won't stop me
with this!" the dying entity declared as he was buried under those grey
bodies.
"I will stop you. We will stop you. You are nothing," Harry declared
monotoned, watching it all in fascinated horror.
The aliens didn't stop until the man was completely eaten.
Harry wanted to be sick, but instead thanked each alien, petting them
like they were pets, before returning to reality.
As Tom disappeared, the tugging stopped. The teen's hands relaxed a bit,
but he didn't fall like he really wanted to. That took a lot out of him.
He didn't know if dying in someone else's mind killed you for real, but as
long as Tom wasn't in his head, he didn't care. He knew the adults were
doing their best to get rid of the man, and if this helped, he was all for it.
At least he wouldn't' have to go to the goblins now. He was sure that
what ever that was, was what Sirius had warned him about.
The teen was breathing hard, and there was still gunk on his face. It
seemed to be sticking to his like hardening glue. He was holding his eyes
closed, so that that stuff wouldn't get in there. It was nasty feeling. Like
some slime Dudley had dropped on him once when he was napping. Only
this stuff was solidifying, and all he wanted to do was wipe it off.
However, his hands were being used to keep him standing.
After taking a few deep breaths, Harry said, "Did it work? The adoption I
mean." He didn't even want to think about what had gone on in his head.
"Wait a second, Harry. I need to stop the magic," the worried man said,
his hand still impaled. "Magic, thank you for your gifts. I release you," he
said quickly. A down and dirty closing, but effective. He then removed
his hand from the spike when the mist vanished.
"Wow, that was rough," Harry said, cracking open one eye, the one free
of gunk. "Can I sit now?" he asked, still trying to keep himself erect.
"Yeah, here, I'll conjure a chair," the dogman said, doing just that, then
leading the teen to sit. "Don't open your eyes yet," he cautioned.
"Right, so, okay, it's done, right? It worked?" Harry asked again, leaning
his head back onto the chair.
"First, let me check your head," Sirius insisted, getting out his wand and
waving it over the teen's scar. He expelled a great sigh when he found it
clean. Waving his wand again, he put the sludge in a vial he conjured.
Once more the wand was in motion as he healed the wound. "You'll still
have a scar. Sorry, but it's still a curse scar. You did get hit with the
Killing Curse, so it's going to stay around," he said, taking a closer look.
"Is he gone?" the boy asked, raising his head and wiping his face with his
shirt. Even if most of the sludge was gone, his face felt like it would
never be clean.
"Yeah, he's gone," Sirius said, conjuring a wet cloth.
"Thanks," Harry said, cleaning his face. "What was that?" he asked. "I
mean, was it what we talked about the other day?" He didn't want to
relay what had happened in his head, not yet at least. When he wasn't so
traumatized from watching it, maybe.
"Yes, it was the dark magic I told you about," Padfoot said, peering at the
vial in his hand. He shuddered and put it in his robes. "With this out of
your head, we're one step closer to stopping him." He made a mental note
to add the vial to his safe. He had no idea if it still was a horcrux, and he
didn't want to take the chance. It was still emanating evil, so yeah, hiding
it was imperative.
"That was gross," complained the now wide-awake teen, handing the
cloth back.
"Yeah, I didn't know that would happen," Sirius confessed, as he banished
the rag. As he thought about it, it did make sense. He wasn't adopting
Tom Riddle, after all. "You need to tell me about what 'magic' said. But
that's for another time. I'm just glad that you don't have any part of Tom
inside you anymore."
"Yeah, me too. I'm glad this happened, one less thing to worry about.
So…?" He let the question fade away. He knew that Sirius knew what he
wanted to know.
Sirius smiled and waved his wand again. Words formed in the air,
showing a small family tree. Harry's name was right next to Regulus'. He
grinned and said, "Welcome to the family, little brother."
Harry whooped and threw himself at his god… brother. "I always wanted
a brother." His smile was so large that it almost split his face in half.
"Well, now that Regulus is gone, I can claim you as my heir," Sirius said
sadly and joyfully at the same time. He looked at the basin and seeing a
ring in there he pulled it out. "Wear this, just will it invisible for right
now."
Harry took the ring and slipped it on his finger. It was too big, but it
shrunk quickly enough. The ring itself was gold with a black and white
onyx stone that had words written on it. Toujours Pur. He knew that
meant Always Pure, but he wondered if it meant the same thing to Sirius
as it had to the rest of the Black family. He'd ask later.
"I'm sorry I never got to know Regulus. Will you tell me about him
sometime?" the teen asked softly. Even if the man was dead, he was now
family. Heck, he would even listen to stories about Walburga. He
shuddered, maybe not. Not Bellatrix either. No, most of the Black family
women were off limits for nighttime tales.
"Yeah," Sirius answered just as softly. Talking would be hard, now that he
knew the story of his little brother's death. But maybe it might make
things easier.
"Are there any special powers on this ring? Like shielding and stuff?"
Harry asked, peering at the ring again.
"No, it's just a ring. I mean, it will got invisible, and it will get you special
treatment at stores and such, and open the Black vaults, but, no, there are
no other spells on it," Sirius said, wondering where Harry came up with
this stuff. "Of course, if you really want, I can make into a portkey. That
might actually be a good idea," he mused softly to himself. With all the
trouble Harry got himself into that would make him, Sirius, feel loads
better.
"Okay, that sound good. Anyway, breakfast?" the teen said, smiling again.
"Come on, little brother, let's get Andi to check out your scar. I'm pretty
sure that I'm correct, but I'd like to have a second opinion," the older man
said, putting his arm over the shorter teen's shoulder and led him out of
the room.
"But I'm starving," the teen whinged, yet not resisting.
"She's probably in the kitchen anyway," was the reply.
"Should I tell anyone about this? Or did you want to keep it a secret? I
mean, you did say to hide the ring," Harry asked as they walked out of
the library.
"I'd like to keep it to just family right now. I don't want to paint a bigger
target on your back," Sirius said, thinking about all the people who would
use this to their advantage. "I know you trust your friends, but they can't
protect their minds, yet. Dumbledore is still trying to get you away from
me. I'd like to keep this an ace in the hole, at least until Riddle is gone for
good," he explained, seeing Harry's hurt look.
"Okay, but only until the war is over. After that, I'm shouting it to the
world," Harry said stubbornly. Then he glanced at the ring and willed it
invisible. He could still fell it on his hand, but…
"I'll be right there with you," agreed his new brother.
"Won't magic change all the paperwork?"
"No, well, only the stuff that will be filed hereafter. You will be known as
Potter-Black on any new documentation, but all the old stuff will stay the
same," was the answer. "Good thing you're not going back to Hogwarts."
"Umm, yeah, about that," Harry said, stopping in the middle of the hall.
"What? Did you change your mind?" Sirius asked, stopping with him. He
dropped his arm and moved to stand in front of Harry.
"Well, not really, but Hermione and the Weasleys want me to go. They
have this whole elaborate scheme planned out. With bodyguards,
portkeys, and a whole mess of other ideas. But I just can't drop the
feeling that it could go terribly wrong," Harry confessed, having had all
night to think about it.
"Really, now? I'm not sure that it is a good idea for you to return.
Especially, if your gut is telling you not to," Sirius said as he started
walking again. His mind going over arguments to keep Harry here.
"I'm going to have to really think on this some more," the teen sighed. He
did want to be with his friends, but he wanted to get to know his new big
brother as well. He just couldn't shake the feeling that nothing good
would come from him returning to school.
"You have a few weeks," Padfoot said, leading the way to the kitchen.
"Yeah," Harry sighed, following along.
"Look, Andi knows what we did this morning," the dogman said softly as
they came to the kitchen door. "She's family. What she knows, her family
knows. So, don't be surprised if they mention it when no one is around,"
he said, opening the door. "However, they know that I don't want anyone
else to know for now."
"That's a lot of knows," Harry joked, playfully pushing Sirius aside and
entering the kitchen.
Everyone was up and sitting at the table. The Weasleys, the Tonkses,
Remus, Bill, Alastor, and Kingsley. Most were eating, some were just
sipping hot drinks and reading either the newspaper or reports.
The head of the table chair was vacant, and the seat next to it as well.
The two men moved to sit, as Andi spoke up.
"Did it go well?" she asked, getting up and moving towards Harry. He still
had some stuff on his face, and she conjured a flannel to wipe the rest off.
"Your scar is smaller," she said when she finished cleaning his face. "What
did you boys get up too, with this gunk on your face?" she asked,
scrubbing harder.
Harry pouted at being treated like a kid, but he did want all that slime off
his face. Obviously, he hadn't done a good job.
"Yeah, about that, we had a bit of a surprise," Sirius confessed, looking at
all the treasure hunters. "Don't have to worry about the other one here
anymore," he said smugly.
It was after all a great relief. Now they didn't have to rely on the goblins,
who would have charged an arm and a leg. Not that he couldn't afford it,
but why spend money when he didn't have too.
"Really?" Bill asked, setting down his cup. "You're going to have to tell me
how you did that," he added, confused. He was certain that only the
goblins could rid a horcrux from a living being.
"Not really sure how it happened. It just… did," Sirius said with a shrug.
"But, if you wait until later this afternoon, Harry and I will tell you what
we know," he offered, cutting looks to the eager looking teens, who were
all leaning forward, as if to catch any tidbit of information. "Right,
Harry?"
"If I must," was the reluctant reply.
"I can wait," Bill said, picking his coffee cup back up.
The teens, bar Harry, groaned and complained, but the adults just
ignored them. Harry smiled at them reassuringly, he would just tell them
that he was free of dark magic, and that he felt better than he had in a
long time. It was like pressure had been removed from his brain.
"Right, Harry, when you're done eating, go get dressed in something
nicer," Sirius said, picking up his fork and scooping up some eggs. "Get
Kreacher to help you. He knows were all Regulus' clothes are. He also
knows what is appropriate."
"Why?" the teen asked, smiling at Andi, who was done examining him.
"We have to go to the Ministry," the man said when he finished
swallowing.
"Again, I say, why?"
"You'll find out when we get there," Sirius said, pointing his fork in
Harry's direction.
"Fine," Harry huffed and started eating.
"He's fine, Sirius," Andi said, sitting back down and resuming her meal.
"Good to know," the man said.
"Is anyone going to tell us what's going on?" Hermione asked, folding her
arms over her chest and leaning back in her chair.
"No," came the response from at least five adults.
Harry just shrugged at her and winked.
She harrumphed and started eating again. The Weasley children all
sighed exasperated and they too went back to breakfast.
14. Chapter 14 A Clash In
Cultures
Chapter 14 A Clash In Cultures
There's a small debate on religion, you can skip it if it offends. It kinda got
away from me.
Anyway, thanks for the reviews, and enjoy.
Hphphp
"Hey, Remus, I have a question," Sirius said, putting his fork down.
"When did Hogwarts drop rituals?"
"About the time we graduated," the werewolf answered, putting his cup
down. "I asked Albus, and he said that there were too many muggleborns
that didn't like rituals. He said it was like they thought it was summoning
evil or something. I really couldn't get a good answer out of him." The
man frowned at the vagueness of Dumbledore's reply. It smacked of lying
without lying. Something the Headmaster was good at.
"That's horrible," cried Andi, appalled at what she was hearing. "How
could he do something so monumental? Rituals are the backbone of this
culture," she hissed, extremely upset by this news. "Nymphadora, why
didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know it ever was a class," protested Tonks. "I thought it was a
family tradition. You know like the holidays and stuff."
"No, it most certainly is not," huffed Andi, looking at Remus for the
answer.
"Like I said, Albus blames it on the muggleborn. Well, not blames, per se,
but…" he shrugged. "That's his reason, like changing Samhain and Yule to
Halloween and Christmas," he offered as if that explained everything.
"Shite, no wonder the purebloods are up in arms," Sirius reiterated his
earlier comment. "We need to do something about that." He looked to all
the adults, who looked confused as to what happened to the class. They,
all but Tonks and Bill, had been taught rituals in school.
"Rituals?" Hermione asked, poising as if the answer was especially
important. "What are rituals? I mean, I know what they are, but why
would wizards need them?" she asked, thinking of the new age wiccans.
She had read a few of the books over the summer, but it all seemed like
hooey to her.
"Rituals are the bases of magic," Sirius repeated what he told Harry.
"They are performed when wands don't do what is needed. There are
many different types, but mostly it's used for family magic, nowadays.
That and various Sabbats," he added, thinking of all the past ones he
participated in.
"How?" she asked, not understanding how a summoning 'magic', was like
casting spells.
"Well, first of all, magic is alive," the older man answered, knowing that
more firmly after this morning's events. "I used it to reclaim my house. If
magic didn't feel I was up to the challenge, then I'd still be an ex-con with
no family."
"Honestly, magic is alive?" Hermione scoffed; her logical mind could not
comprehend that.
"It is," Harry insisted, "I felt it myself, jus this morning," he added,
frowning a bit at her.
"What did it feel like?" the bushy-haired girl asked, more than willing to
believe Harry.
"Like a mum's hug," he stated, his eyes getting vacant for a moment.
"That, and I've always thought Hogwarts was sentient," he said, shaking
the warm feeling away.
"Well," Hermione started, then thought about all the times that she had
simply found her way when lost in the castle, "I guess that does make a
bit of sense. Does that mean wandless magic is the same as wanded, just
more like praying?" she pondered.
"Not quite, but a bit like that, yeah. You see, wizards didn't always have
wands," Remus started, taking a sip of coffee. "They used rituals to do
their magic. Mostly, like Sirius said, for family magic and Sabbats.
Chanting and dancing to call upon magic to assist them in things like
crops, family, healing and other such things. When wands came about,
they just changed the rituals into words. When you cast a spell, you are
still calling on magic to do your deed. However, now you are doing it
quickly."
"However, there are still things that need to be done by ritual," Bill
added, looking at all the confused faces of the teens. "I use rituals a lot in
my line of work. The goblins more so. Using a ritual is, like Hermione
suggested, like saying a prayer, only instead of asking a deity, you're
asking an entity."
"What's the difference?" Harry asked, having finished it meal. He was that
hungry. Then a bit sheepishly, he scooped up some more eggs.
The Weasley children were hanging on every word of the conversation.
They too were taught a few rituals for the holidays. Small things. They
didn't, however, know that it had ever been a class. It made sense
though, those like Harry and Hermione wouldn't have anyone to teach
them.
"An entity is something has a distinct existence as an individual unit, like
ghosts, or magic. It usually doesn't have a solid physical form. While
deity is 'the state of being a god', 'a divine character', or a 'being of
omnipresence'," the curse breaker said, leaning back in his chair. This was
magic 101 to him. He thought it was taught in Magical Theory class. He
wondered if that had been cut too. He voiced that question.
"No, we don't have a Magical Theory class, but McGonagall and Flitwick
teach us the basics in first year," Ron answered, wondering just how
messed up Hogwarts was.
"Also, Hermione, Harry, we may say thanks to Merlin a lot, or even curse
by him, but we don't really consider him a god," Remus explained.
"Religion is not a big deal to wizards. Not when we can make miracles
happen every day," he added.
"Isn't that blasphemy?" a confused Hermione asked, wondering when this
dipped into religion. She wasn't a devout follower, but she did say her
prayers every night.
"But wait," Harry said, his brow bunched in confusion, stopping anyone
from answering Hermione's accusation for a moment, "don't you call
upon magic, like Bill said, in a prayer like fashion?" His thoughts on what
Sirius has done just this morning
"Yes, but magic is not a god. It's a source. To use it, you should call upon
it," Remus tried to explain. "It more like asking for something to help you
do what you can do naturally. Praying is more like asking for miracles
that are out of your hands. We magical folk have magic given to us at
birth. A core, if you will. If our core gets depleted, via spell casting,
natural magic replenishes it. So, when we want something done, we ask
our magic to touch natures magic to help us manifest what we need."
"This is confusing," murmured Harry, going back to his food. He knew
that the voice he heard was magic. So, if it had a voice had a presence,
didn't that make it a deity? He was going to have to do some research on
that. Maybe he'd ask the entity, for guidance. Now that he thought about
it, ghosts talk and mixed with the living, as if they were still thinking
beings. Maybe he'd ask them.
"So, you're saying that the magical world doesn't believe in God?"
Hermione said, thinking if she had ever heard anyone say that out loud.
"How can we worship a deity that says witchcraft is evil?" Harry asked,
thinking hard on all he knew about the Christian religion. "I know my
aunt and her family attend church every Sunday. They never took me,
something about being evil as well as a freak."
"that is not a very Christian thing to say," she said, placing a hand on his
arm.
"Well, their bigotry turned me off religion. I mean what if all churches
subscribe to this belief?" Harry said, giving her a lopsided smile.
"No, not all of them do," protested Hermione, giving his arm and squeeze
then turning to the older people at the table. "I mean, there are some
churches that don't discriminate," she added.
"Let me stop this conversation right now. This has gone beyond magical
theory. Religion is not to be discussed at the table," Andromeda said
sharply. In her belief, religion and politics were not discussed while
eating. Too much tension, made for a foul-tasting meal. "You have your
beliefs, we have ours. It is not your place to tell us we are wrong," she
kindly said to Hermione, who nodded firmly once.
"You're right," she said, softly. "My parents taught me better than that. I
will stick to my beliefs, and not insult yours." The more she tried to
understand and embrace the wizarding culture, the more confused she
got. Was she supposed to suspend her beliefs, and embrace theirs? She
wasn't sure she could do that.
"It's alright, Hermione. This debate is ongoing, and has been for
thousands of years," Ted said, kindly, putting his hand on his wife's
shoulder. "It is up to you who you pray to. I would suggest that you read
a few books on magical theory, and make up your own mind, okay?" he
said gently. After all, he had once been in her shoes.
She nodded and looked to Sirius, who nodded to her that 'yes, she would
find them in the library'. She smiled and hurried to finish her meal.
"Back to rituals," Sirius said, looking at everyone seeing if they had
dropped religion for now. "We need to get that back on the curriculum. I
will teach anyone here what I know, but it needs to be taught at
Hogwarts," he said firmly.
"You younger Weasleys need to ask your parents if that is okay. Though, I
don't see why it wouldn't be, but that is not our call," Andi said, dropping
her fork on her plate, finished with her meal.
"I tried to get him to see reason, when I was there, Sirius. Albus is firm in
his resolve. I don't know how that will change," Remus said, shaking his
head.
"Well, I know it wasn't taught to me," Bill added, rubbing his forehead in
thought. "The goblins, like Sirius, are very upset that that those courses
were dropped. They have to teach all new curse breakers. It's frustrating
to them." He sat back a moment and pondered. "I know Mum might have
something to say about you four learning more than you already know,
but Dad will give his okay. So next time you check in, ask him."
"We will," the twins said, glancing around at all the stubborn faces.
"You need to ask your parents too, Hermione," Ted said, looking at the
girl who was bouncing at learning something new.
Even if she didn't entirely approve, she still wanted to learn. Until she
did, she couldn't make a decision. Mr. Tonks was right; she'd have to
clear it with her folks. She resolved to write them after breakfast and ask
Harry if she could use Hedwig. She could still read on magical theory
though, that should be safe enough.
"I'll look into it, everyone," Sirius said, finishing off his eggs. "Kreacher,"
he called.
"Master calls," the elf said, popping next to the man.
"Yeah, can you get the book I loaned Hermione. I need to check some
things," he ordered the elf.
"Yes, Master," Kreacher said, popping away. A few seconds later the book
was on the table.
"You could have asked," Hermione stated, folding her arms. "I wasn't
finished with that," the girl complained, putout that the house elf could
just take anything from her room. Even if it was Sirius' to begin with.
"I'll let you use it again, later. I need it right now for my duties as a Lord.
If I want things to change in Hogwarts, I need this information to get
people on my side. I might not have to bribe for this, though," he
chastised, though he really should have told her he was claiming it back.
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"No, you're right, I could have asked, and I apologize for that. Still, I
might copy it for you, if you ask politely," Sirius said with a wink to show
he was just joshing. He then picked up the book and thumbing through
the first few pages. "Not right now though. Harry, can you go and get
dressed?" he asked, not looking up.
"Yeah, sure," the teen said, moving to do just that.
The rest of breakfast passed in quiet whispers, with Bill and Remus
explaining what they could. Moody was just watching everyone, thinking
of the things he was going to ask Albus. Something wasn't right at
Hogwarts. Andi and Ted had left to get ready for the day. Kingsley and
Tonks were sipping their cups, waiting for the time to leave for work.
Harry soon came down, dressed in nice green day-robes. "I'm ready," he
said to Sirius, who looked up from his reading.
He saw Harry, closed his book, put it in his pocket and stood. "We're
going to head to the Ministry," he said to the table. "Bill, we'll have that
talk later. Moody, Moony, maybe you two can go to Wiltshire and look
around. Don't try and get into the house and remember the wards."
"Did you teach your grandmum to suck eggs too?" Moody grumbled,
getting up from the table.
"Right, sorry," Sirius said, rubbing the back of his head.
"We'll be careful," Remus said, joining Alastor.
"We have to go to work," Kingsley said, making his way to the Floo.
Tonks joined him.
"We'll see you there," Sirius said to the two Aurors.
Everyone split-up to do their thing. The teens still discussing what they
learned that morning. The Weasleys imparting what they had been
taught by their parents. Since it was so little, they were sure it would be
okay to let Hermione know.
Harry and Sirius used the Floo and were soon in the atrium of the
Ministry of Magic.
"Oh my, what is that thing?" Harry asked, looking aghast at The Fountain
of Magical Brethren. It was appalling. The only house elf he had ever
seen with that look was Dobby. But Dobby was a special case. That elf
was batshit crazy, in a good way.
"Yeah, ignore that," Sirius said, curling his lip at the depiction of magical
creatures worshipping wizards. If he had his way, he and a few others
would come when the place was closed and melt the damn thing.
"Not a problem," Harry said, shaking his head in disgust.
They made their way to the elevators and Sirius pressed the button for
the DMLE.
"Why are we going there?" the teen asked, ducking the paper airplanes
that were flying around the lift.
"We need to talk to Amelia Bones, then I need to register," his brother
explained, reading the floor numbers, and listening to the voice telling
them which floor was which.
"Who is she?" the boy asked, thinking of Susan Bones.
"The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Sirius said,
looking at the ceiling, like he was trying to read the memos.
They came to their floor and stepped out with about five others. Sirius
led the way to Amelia's office. The Aurors were giving him dark looks.
They didn't like that he had gotten off on a technicality. They would have
felt better if he had had a trial. Still, he was a free man and they could do
nothing about it.
Sirius stopped at the secretary's desk. "I'd like to speak to Madam Bones,
please."
"Is she expecting you?" the woman asked, charming her long shapely
nails different colors.
"She told me to drop by," the dogman lied, slightly. She had told Ted she
wanted to talk to him.
"Who shall I tell her is calling?" the woman asked, finally settling on lime
green nails.
"Black, Lord Sirius Black," he said, his eyes boring into hers, now that she
deemed to look up.
"Shite," the woman softly swore. "I'll let her know," she said, getting up
quickly and waving them to chairs.
It only took a minute, they hadn't even sat down, before the woman came
out and waved them over.
"She'll see you now," the secretary said, her voice quivered a bit as she
held open the door.
"Thanks," Harry said when Sirius just moved past her.
"Oh, my word, you're Harry Potter," the woman exclaimed. She had been
so nervous being around the alleged ex-con that she hadn't even
registered the teen.
"Yeah, uh, thanks again," Harry said and hurried to enter the room.
Sirius was sitting in a chair in front of the large desk that was covered
with piles of parchment. Harry moved to sit next to him.
"You wanted to see me, Lord Black?" the woman with a monocle asked,
leaning back in her chair.
"Yes, Madam Bones. I wanted to register my Animagus form. And I
needed to talk to you about a few things that should not leave this room.
Unless the person you tell takes an oath. I mean, not even Dumbledore…
well, he knows what I'm going to tell you, but he doesn't know that I am
going to tell you," Sirius explained, making the poor woman confused for
a second, until understanding lit her face.
"Hmmm," she murmured, tapping her chin in indecision. "Very well,
follow me," she said standing and leading them to a door at the back of
the room.
Once they entered all the background noise seemed to vanish.
"Wow, what is this place?" Harry asked, extremely impressed.
"A room the Unspeakables dreamed up. No one can hear us, and we can
hear no one. There's an alarm on my office door that lets me know if
someone comes in. Most just think this is the loo," she explained with a
smirk. then her face firmed.
"Wicked," Harry said with awe. "I love magic," he added with a grin.
"It is something, isn't it," she agreed with him. "So, what did you need to
tell me?" she looked at the two males, wondering if this had to do with
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
"What do you know of horcruxes?" Sirius asked, conjuring three chairs.
"Vile things," Bones spat. Then again, realizations came over her. "You
were telling the truth," she said to Harry in a mere whisper. She sat
heavily on her chair and put her face in her hands. She didn't need this.
Not with the crap Fudge had been saying about the teen over the
summer. If it got back to him that he had been wrong, then all sorts of
things could happen. Fudge did not like to be proven wrong. People
disappeared when that happened.
"I can relieve some of your worries," Sirius said, taking a parchment out
of his robes. "This is the last test run, by a curse-breaker. We have two
dealt with. The two in Wiltshire, are still there and we think one is the
self-proclaimed Dark Lord. We're not sure what the other one is, but we
think it might be his snake. I'll deal with the one at Gringotts, tomorrow.
I hope," he mumbled under his breath.
"And the one at Hogwarts?" she inquired, looking over the list.
"We don't really have a plan for that one," the dogman confessed.
"However, there might be a way," he added thoughtfully. "Let me think
on it a few days," he offered.
She scrunched her forehead in deep thought, then realizing she could do
nothing about Hogwarts. Not while Dumbledore rul... was headmaster.
So, nodding her head she gave her agreement. "Keep me informed
please," she said to the ex-con.
"I will," he promised. "We also got the one in Little Hangleton," Sirius
said, grimacing at the reminder that they almost lost two of their people.
"That's good to know. What was it?" Amelia asked, looking up from the
paper. She wasn't sure if she completely believed them. They weren't
showing her proof, but they didn't come off as lying either. So, for now
she'd give them the benefit of the doubt.
"A ring," was all the answer he would give. "It's safe," he assured her.
"I should send a team to Wiltshire though. That is something I can do,"
she said, standing from her chair. It was her job after all, but she wasn't
sure if her Aurors could handle it. Not with all the budget cuts over the
years.
"Wait," Sirius said, holding up his hands. "We have someone on it. I know
it's your job, but do you really think that Fudge would let you raid
Malfoy's home?" he added, stressing where the horcrux might be.
"Shite," she said, slumping back in her seat. "Are you sure?" she asked,
hoping for a negative answer.
"Yeah, a few of mine were there yesterday. They have some impressive
wards," he answered, cutting a look to Harry, who looked like he was
putting pieces of a puzzle together while the corners were missing.
"I'll let you deal with that then, but I want regular updates," she said
harshly. Not that she was angry at Black, more like she was upset that
her hands were tied.
"That's why I wanted to see you," Sirius said, pulling another parchment
out of his robe. "This is my address," he said, handing it to her.
"Fidelius?" she asked once the knowledge came to her mind.
"Yeah, things got a bit hectic and I had to hide from Dumbledore, and a
few others," Sirius said, taking the parchment back.
At those words, her brow furrowed. "The last I heard, you and Albus were
on good terms."
"Let's just say we don't play well together anymore. I, and a few others,
don't think that a pacifist should be leading us," was the answer,
accompanied with a wink.
"I can agree with you there," she said with a nodded, then narrowed her
eyes at him. "Don't do anything I have to arrest you for."
Sirius just gave her a wolfish grin.
"Why are you hiding from him though?" she asked instead.
"You know he was asking about Harry. Well he knew where Harry was
the whole time. Well, he knew he was with me under the charm. He had
no reason to be asking. I am the boy's guardian," Sirius puffed up
importantly.
"I'd like to hear more on that, but we need to exit this room before
someone comes in," she said, standing and going to the door.
"Right," Sirius said, following her, while Harry trailed him.
"Wait, we have to tell her about the Dementors," Harry said, right before
they left the room.
"What Dementors?" Amelia asked, her eyes narrowed.
"The ones that almost killed me and my cousin," the teen said, backing up
a bit from the angry woman.
"When did this happen?" she asked, pulling out a small notebook and
pen.
"Um, about a week ago," Harry hedged, he wasn't quite sure the exact
date. It felt like forever agon. "If my house elf, Dobby, hadn't popped us
away, me and my cousin would've been Kissed."
"I'll look into it," she stated firmly, snapping her notebook shut. With that
she turned on her heels and left the room.
Sirius and Harry shared a glance and followed.
"You cannot register here, you need to go to the Department of Magical
Creatures," she said, moving her head back and forth to try crack her
neck, and ward off the headache she felt coming.
"Why there?" Harry asked, confused.
"When a wizard becomes an Animagus, he is classified as a magical
creature. That's why they must register," Bones answered, distractedly.
She was pulling parchments towards her, making plans that would help
the two in front of her.
"Oh," was all the boy said. He didn't agree, but then again, he didn't agree
with a lot of what the Ministry does.
"One question. Why did you bring this to me if you are handling it?" she
asked, looking up from her papers.
"Just because we get the 'things' doesn't mean he'll disappear," Sirius
explained. Looking to Harry to see if he clued in.
Harry's face as a mass of emotions. He didn't know what a horcrux was.
Only that it was vile, and that it kept Tom here. And now that he thought
about it, there had been on in his head. He wasn't sure if he wanted the
definition of the word. Or if he should just be happy that he was no
longer one.
Amelia sighed. "You're right, I'm going to have to beef up my people," she
said, thinking on how she could do that on the sly.
"You might want to keep a few handy around you too. You are a threat to
'him'," Sirius suggested, thinking that she was high-profile.
"You are correct again. I'll deal with my department. You go and register.
Oh, and you might want to take a walk down to the DoM, I'm sure you
know why. James was your best friend after all," she said, thinking of the
prophecy, and what it meant to the boy sitting quietly.
"Will do," the dogman said cheerfully. In all reality, he had forgotten he
told Harry there might be one. Now was as good a time as any. "Come
on, Harry, let's leave Madam Bones to her work," he said, standing and
bowing to the head of the DMLE.
"Yes, you've given me enough to worry about. Off with you," she said,
grumbling under breath over the vast conundrum they had landed in her
lap.
"It was nice to meet you, Madam Bones," Harry said as he was pulled out
the door.
"Oh, um, yes, nice to meet you too, Mr. Potter," she said, just realizing
that she had only spoken a few words with the boy. Well, she could be
forgiven, after all, Black hadn't introduced him.
"I guess, we'll be staying here a bit longer," Sirius said, heading to the
lifts. "We really need to see if there's one of those 'things' about you," he
added, looking around to make sure they weren't heard. Other than the
glares they were receiving, no one was paying too much attention to
them.
"'Things?'" Harry asked, thinking hard on what Sirius had told him this
summer. Then he remembered what the DoM was. "Shite," he swore, "I
really hope you're wrong," he whispered. "The last thing I need is the
public tagging me with the title 'The-Chosen-One'," he hissed, just
picturing the sheep doing just that.
"Well, if there is one, then I would seriously contemplate staying with me
for your schooling. Can you imagine what would happen at Hogwarts if
that got out?" he said, softly as they stood in the back of the lift.
"Yeah," Harry said, very much imagining that happening.
Just then Tonks came in and saw them hiding in the back. She moved
towards them, pushing people out of her way. "We have a problem," she
hissed in Sirius' ear.
"What, again?" was all he could say.
15. Chapter 15 Encounters
Chapter 15 Encounters
Also, I don't know if 'lay it on me' is a British term. Well, I know it started in
America, but maybe it made its way across the pond. If not, can someone give
me an alternative.
Hphphp
"Yes, again," Tonks said, angrily.
"Why is it you that always brings me bad news?" Sirius asked softly,
making her glare at him. "Okay, lay it on me," he said resigned.
"Just lucky, I guess," Tonks sniffed irritably. "I can't tell you here, but I
can give you a clue," she said, glancing at all the people who were
listening, but trying to look like they weren't. She leaned again so she
was right next to his ear. She had to stand tippy-toes, and he leaned
down a bit. "Umbridge," she hissed.
"Shite," Sirius grumbled. "Okay, we'll talk when you get home. Around
six, right?" he asked as casually as he could.
"Yeah," she mumbled, her hair turning bright orange.
"Okay, Harry and I have a few things to do, but we'll be home by then.
Meet us in the drawing room? I'll make sure everyone else is there," he
said, patting her on the shoulder, trying to relax her a bit. "Actually, can
you get Madam Bones to come? I've already told her where I live," he
asked, shifting his eyes to the eavesdroppers.
"Fine, yeah, I'll ask," she said, and fell silent.
Floor after floor was stopped at. People got off, people got on, most of
them sent terrified looks at Sirius. Like he was going to lose it right then
and there and kill them all. He just smirked at them. Except those that
were making faces at Harry; them, he growled at. They would quickly
look away. There were a few sympathetic looks peppered in there. One
person even cried, and thanked Harry for the eulogy.
Speaking of eulogies, it was on the fifth floor that Mr. Diggory came in.
The poor man looked like he hadn't slept in days. His haggard expression
broke Harry heart. He took one look at Harry and closed the space
between them.
"Mr. Potter," he sobbed, giving Harry a hug that was very tight, "I want to
thank you for what you said about Cedric. They tried to tell me that you
had killed him, but I didn't believe it for a minute. Your words in the
paper, have given me some closure. And for that, I want to thank you,"
the sobbing man said, pulling away from the teen and holding him at
arm's length.
"You're welcome, Mr. Diggory," Harry said, tears in his eyes. This was a
sense of closure for him as well. To be forgiven by Cedric's dad, was
something he never thought would happen.
"I believe you, Harry. I know everything you've said since you came back
with Cedric's… body was the truth. I know, he's back, and I'll do my best
to make sure everyone I know, knows it too," Amos said, looking at
Sirius.
"Thank you, Amos," Sirius said, gently taking Harry away from the man.
"Not a problem, Lord Black. I need to…" was all he said as the lift doors
opened, and he hurried out.
"Was this even his floor?" Harry wondered.
"Does it matter?" Sirius answered, giving his brother a handkerchief.
Harry quickly wiped his eyes and replied, "No, I guess not." He handed
the cloth back, and stood leaning against the wall, closing his eyes to
control his emotions, and waiting for Sirius to tell him when they
reached the correct floor.
Soon, it was only him and his new brother in the lift and it was going
straight down. When it finally stopped, they got out and went to the
middle of the circular room. There were doors everywhere. All of them
unmarked.
"What are we waiting for?" the teen asked, looking at all the doors.
"They know we're here, so someone should show up in a moment," the
dogman explained, rocking back and forth on his feet. His hands in the
pockets of his robe, the right one, clutching his wand. Not even as a Hit
Wizard had he ever liked being here. The Unspeakables were downright
creepy. It was very disconcerting not to be able to identify who you were
talking to.
"Oh," Harry said, still peering around like he was trying to predict which
door would open.
Soon enough, a man showed up. He came from behind and not one of the
doors, making both men jump a bit. Sirius almost pulled his wand, but
seeing who it was, didn't.
The man's dark brown robes were hooded and pulled up over his head.
His entire identity was concealed. The only reason they knew it was a
man, was because of the lack of female parts on his chest. "Ah, Mr.
Potter, Lord Black, we've been expecting you," the man said, walking to
them.
"Yeah, right," Sirius muttered under his breath. He was sure the man was
just saying that to seem omnipresent. He cleared his throat. "Harry here
wants to check out the Hall of Prophecies."
"Of course, right this way," the man said, leading them to a door on the
right.
When they opened the door, a long hallway appeared. It too was lined
with doors. There, in the middle, leaning against the wall, looking bored
out of his mind, was Arthur Weasley.
"Weasley," the man barked, making Arthur jump a mile, "what are you
doing here? And how did you escape notice?" he demanded. This was an
extreme security breach. No one was supposed to come down here
without being detected.
"Oh, um, well, you see… I was just wandering around. I wanted to see
the Time Room to check on something for work. No one came to get me,
so I tried a few doors, and got lost here," he stuttered out, lying badly. A
bit of sweat forming on his upper lip.
"And you avoided detection, how?" the man demanded, not believing the
Ministry worker for one moment.
"I honestly have no idea," Arthur said, this time telling the truth. He
knew that Albus had done something but didn't know what it was.
The man went to the main door, held it open and said, "Leave. If you
come back and I, or another Unspeakable, catches you down here, you
will be fired. I'll make sure of it," he spat.
"Right, um, sorry," Mr. Weasley said, hurrying to the door, giving wary
glances to Harry and Sirius. He was going to have to tell Albus that he
could no longer watch this hall. He knew the headmaster would try to get
him to continue, but his job was not worth risk.
"Arthur," Sirius called, halting his progress.
"Yes?" the redhead asked, as he stood poised to leave.
"Not a word, okay?" the dogman pleaded without pleading.
"Sure, Sirius. I won't tell anyone," Arthur said with a smile and then
scurried away.
"Fucking Dumbledore," the Unspeakable hissed, spitting on the floor.
Harry and Sirius shared a look. They too knew it was Albus, and they
both found it funny that the Headmaster wasn't as covert as he thought
he was. Not that they were going to tell him.
"Right," Sirius agreed with a hidden cough chuckle. "So, prophecy?"
"Come on," the man said, leading them to the Room of Prophecies.
When they entered, Harry looked around in awe. Sirius was right, there
were thousands of these things. Shelves upon shelves of glowing or dark
orbs filled the room. They were the only light in the room, and it was
eerie.
If he figured it right, the glowing ones were still active, and the dark ones
were complete. Add to the fact that there's no way they all came true. He
wondered how that worked. He knew from Divination, that prophecies
were touchy, tricky things. But why would anyone make one that never
came to pass? Did someone deliberately change the predictions and
invalidate them? Or was it the other way around?
He knew what a self-fulfilling prophecy was, but the details on how those
came to pass were muddled. Something like the butterfly effect. One
movement could force a prophecy to come true or defunct it.
For five minutes they quietly walked through the rows of glowing, or
dark, orbs. Finally, they came to where the one that was supposed to be
about Harry was.
The Unspeakable pointed it out, and the two men came closer to look at
it. It was glowing and there was a tag on it to indicate that it was about a
Dark Lord, and that it might be about Harry. It also listed the initials of
Trelawney and Dumbledore.
"Why is there a question mark after my name?" the teen asked, pointing
to the tag.
"Which Dark Lord?" was Sirius' question.
"We don't know for sure, that's why the Dark Lord in question is not
named, and why Mr. Potter's name is only guessed," the man said, his
arms folded in a resigned fashion. He whole body was slumped, like he
knew they were going to ask those questions, and he didn't have the
answers they wanted. "We're only going one what was happening at the
time it was made."
"How do we find out?" Harry asked, leaning closer to the orb as if it
would clear things up.
"There is one way to tell," the Unspeakable said, unfolding his arms, and
waving towards Harry.
"How?" Sirius asked, not liking that Harry might have to do something.
"If he can pick it up, then it's about him. But if it's not, then he needs to
drop it immediately. Or it will cause him to go crazy," the man said,
making sure they knew the danger.
"Right, um, I just need to pick it up?" the teen asked a nervous quaver in
his voice. His hand inched forward, shakily.
"You don't have to, Harry. We can wait to see of ole Tom comes and gets
it," Sirius offered, putting his hands on the teen's shoulder. He really
didn't want to take the chance. "Do you know what it says?" he asked the
covered man.
"Only the gist," was his answer.
"Give us that, and we'll decide what to do," the dogman said, subtly
pulling Harry away from the orb.
"We know it's about a boy who would was born 'as the seventh month
dies'. And we know that boy will be 'marked as his equal'. We also know
that it will be a kill or be killed situation," the man replied, shrugging his
shoulders. "Dumbledore was the one who pointed the finger at you, Mr.
Potter. After the death of your parents."
That was all they could get out of the people that had heard the
prophecy. Snape, before Albus got his hands on him, and Aberforth, who
only heard one line. Not Dumbledore, though, that man kept his lips
sealed. Trelawney, of course, didn't remember giving it.
"Well, shite," both Sirius and Harry said, glaring at the orb like it was its
fault.
"Well…" Harry started, reaching up a hand and rubbing his thinner scar.
"I think we should just leave it. We know it's here, and we know vaguely
what it says. I think that's enough for now," he explained. While his
Occlumency was good, it wasn't perfect. So, they'd just leave it here for
now.
"It's your call. If you want to leave it be, then we will. I'm not going to try
and influence you in any way. You know my thoughts about these
things," his brother said, still holding on to his shoulders, but giving them
a reassuring squeeze.
"Right, let's get you registered and leave this place. I don't like hanging
around here. It's unnerving," Harry said, turning towards the exit.
"You got it," was the reply as the other two men followed. They left the
DoM and were just heading for the DMC, but before they could get there,
they were stopped by none other than Minister Fudge and he pink lackey.
"Fudge," Sirius said curtly, "what can I help you with?" he asked, pulling
Harry to his side, keeping his arm over the boy's shoulder.
"Ah, Lord Black, I heard you were in the Ministry today," the pudgy man
said, holding out his hand. "I was just wondering why you were here," he
added, after they shook hands.
Sirius nodded to Umbridge, and answered, "Just registering my Animagus
form." He still held Harry close. His other hand closing around his wand.
"Hem, hem, and for that you needed to bring Potter?" the pink toad
asked, batting her eye at him like a smitten schoolgirl.
"That's Mr. Potter to you, Umbridge," Sirius snapped, making her cringe a
bit.
"Mr. Potter then," she said, simpering.
"Besides, he's been indoors most of the summer," Black said, trying to
keep his voice even, already regretting snapping at her. He wanted to
wait until he had more dirt on her to confront her. "I thought he could do
with a day out." He steeled his nerves not to shudder at her cloyish eyes
and voice. It would be a cold day in Hades before he even thought of her
in any way but vile. Years of abstinence be damned.
"Surly, the… child would have preferred somewhere more exciting than
here," she simpered. Her eyes hardened when she saw the boy give her a
funny look.
Harry felt a tickle of fear run through him. He in no way shape or form
liked this woman.
"We're going to do other things, Ms. Umbridge. Now if you'll excuse us,
we need to hurry," Sirius said, leading Harry away, or trying to.
"I was wondering," Fudge said, holding his hand up to stop them leaving,
"if you could find the time to speak about your lawsuits." He put on his
most charming smile, which made the other two men cringe.
"You will have to speak to my lawyer," Sirius said, pushing Harry past the
two blocking their way.
"Surely, you can see reason not to sue the Ministry," Dolores said,
reaching out to grab Sirius' arm.
"I'll thank you not to touch me," the dogman growled, snatching said
appendage from her grip. "I have no plans to stopping the suit. If you
want to speak more on it, talk to my lawyer," he spat and stormed off,
Harry in tow.
The two ministry workers moved aside, trying not to be slammed against
the wall from Sirius' pushing. Both shooting glares at Harry and Sirius.
"Shite, I hate those two. Now I'm really worried about what Tonks has to
tell me," Sirius grumbled as they turned a corner. "You okay?" he asked
his little brother, stopping to make sure no spells were cast on either of
them. Not that he thought they were, they were in the Ministry, but
better safe than sorry.
"Yeah, that Umbridge woman is creepy," Harry answered with a shiver as
Padfoot passed his wand over both of them.
"Yeah, stay out of her way if you can. She's behind most of the oppressive
laws from the last few years. I'll be making plans to stop her and overturn
some of them," Black said, tucking his wand away. "She also delusional.
She thinks that muggleborns steal magic from purebloods. She has no
proof, but that is what she truly believes."
"That's crazy," Harry said loudly, then got a sheepish expression and
lowered his voice. "I mean, why would she even come up with that?"
"I don't know, but I have an ace in my sleeve about her. If she causes any
trouble, I'll bury her," Sirius said, thinking on his aunt's blackmail book.
"Good, can we get out of here now?" the boy asked, looking around as if
the pink monster would jump out at any moment.
"Yeah, let's go," his big brother said as he moved on.
Once more they made it to the lifts and went to the Department of
Magical Creatures. Sirius registered and he wrote a quick note to Bones
to make sure that she told Dumbledore that Harry was fine where he was.
Not trusting the memo system, he called one of his house elves, after
asking permission, and gave the note to Dinky, who then disappeared as
ordered.
"Come on, let's go," he snarled at the fact that his nice day was now
ruined.
"Sure," was all Harry said, and they finally left the building.
"How about some tea?" Sirius asked, seeing a teashop a few doors down.
He wanted to relax a bit before heading home. While Molly was gone and
the house was quieter, there were still a lot of people there.
"Sure," Harry agreed, he rarely went out to eat, so this could be fun.
They made their way there and were soon settled at a small iron table,
with matching chairs.
"Hey, Sirius, why didn't we go into the Ministry all stealthily?" the boy
asked, looking around then picking up the paper menu.
"What? Like hide under your cloak, or something? Why would we do
that?" the man really wanted to know. Was Harry hanging out with
Moody too much?
"Well, yeah, I mean, you had all those people glaring at you, and you
think Malfoy might be trying to do you in. That and Ron still thinks the
same about the Ministry out to get me. And, we could have avoided all
that shite with Fudge and his toad crony," Harry stated, looking over the
menu. He wasn't going to mention Diggory. That, while sad, was a
highlight of their visit.
"Well, it's the Ministry," Sirius said like it was the answer to everything.
"Which might be trying to kill me," the boy rebutted. "And from the looks
on that pink woman's face, I'll lay bets it's her trying it." He pondered that
for a moment and thought maybe he was jumping to conclusions. Maybe
not, she was a sinister bint.
"Okay, I get that. And you're right, I could have done without the
disgusting, yet dastardly duo. But, during the day there are more people
there. I felt it was safe enough for us to go. And," he added, holding up a
finger, "I had my wand in my hand most of the time. It was just in my
pocket."
"Wait, you used that in the building, but didn't you give it to the guard?"
Harry asked confused, knowing that Sirius had given something to the
security officer.
"No that was my grandfather's wand," the man explained. "The one I have
in my pocket is mine. Ted got it back when Waters got me off."
"Oh, okay. Still…"
"Look we couldn't sneak in the DMLE, or the DoM," Sirius said, trying to
make the boy see reason. "They would have caught us right way. And
don't ask," he said seeing Harry open his mouth, "no, house elves can only
come into the building if you have permission to call them. They could
not have just 'popped' us there."
"Fine, but still, shouldn't we have kept a lower profile," the teen asked,
setting his menu down.
"We could have, but again I ask why? I mean we're going to have to face
them some time, why not now?" the older man said, he too setting his
menu down and waving the waitress.
"I guess," Harry pouted, not liking facing the public.
"That and I wanted to make sure that they all know I have nothing to
hide," Sirius said, watching the waitress come their way. He had been in
prison and on the run for quite some time. So, yeah, he was going to
look. "The more I'm out and about, the less people will be afraid of me. I
mean, come on, Malfoy is a Death Eater, and he has them all eating out of
his hand. Why should I hide? I've had enough hiding to last me a
lifetime," he added with a great deal of frustration, finally tearing his
eyes away from the nice-looking woman.
"Okay, but I'm still uncomfortable with going there," Harry said with a
sigh.
"Harry, your uncomfortable everywhere you go," his brother pointed out.
"Yeah but the Ministry holds a higher creep factor for me. I thought
someone was going to curse me from behind the whole time we were
there," the teen complained.
"Don't worry, we won't be going back anytime soon," Sirius said, looking
over the menu and smiling at the waitress as she made her way to their
table.
"Thank Merlin for that," Harry sighed, as he put his menu down.
"If what Tonks said about a problem was true, which wasn't much, then
we must worry about Umbridge," Sirius said, clinching his hands into fist.
At that moment, their waitress appeared, and they ordered some tea and
cakes.
"Why?" the teen asked when the woman left. "I mean, I know you said
that she believes some pretty out there shite, but why do we need to
worry about her now?"
"I'll tell you later," his brother stated, looking around the tea shop.
Soon enough, tea came, and they talked of unimportant happier things.
With full tummies, and brighter attitudes, the two went home.
"We'll see about getting you kitted out tomorrow, after Gringotts," Sirius
said, going up the stairs to change.
"Do we have too?" the boy whinged. He didn't really like shopping.
"You can't keep wearing Reggie's stuff," the man said, stopping on the
stairs.
"Why not? It's only going to go to waste if I don't," Harry disagreed. He
had no problems with hand-me-downs. He had worn them all his life.
These at least fit. "Dobby can adjust them to fit, and they aren't
completely out of style. It's not like the wizarding world changes fashions
that often."
"Well…" Sirius started, looking at his brother's determined face. "I guess if
you're okay with it, you can have Reggie's stuff, but you are getting your
own undergarments and socks," he stated, pointing a finger at the teen.
"Sure, I won't say no to new pants," Harry agreed with a shrug, then
finished going to his room.
"Glad we could work that out," Sirius mumbled to himself and he too
went to his room. He really wanted to get into something more
comfortable.
16. Chapter 16 The Mutual 'We
Hate Umbridge'
Chapter 16 The Mutual 'We Hate Umbridge' Society
So, I started this chapter thinking I was going to cover more, but it like every
other chapter, got away from me. Also, I had it mostly written when we had a
bad thunderstorm. The lights flickered, and I lost it. I had to start over, then
Word retrieved the other one, and I combined the two.
Thanks for all the reviews.
Hphphp
After showering and changing into casual clothes the two met on the
stairs. They both went towards the kitchen and chatted about their day.
No one else was around, probably hidden in one of the bedrooms. After
all, they had learned a bit these last few days.
Harry was just worried that they were plotting on his return to Hogwarts.
He'd pretty much made up his mind about that. He was just unsure how
his friends would take it. Still, he was going to stand by his decision.
They'd just have to accept that.
Making to the kitchen, they spotted Bill pouring over some documents.
"What's up, Bill?" Harry asked, sitting at the table.
"Just going over some stuff for work. Just because I took a bit of time off
my regular job, doesn't mean the goblins won't give me busy work," the
redhead said, tucking the parchment in his robes. "How was the
ministry?" he asked, reaching over and getting some tea.
"Informative," Sirius answered, pouring his own tea. "Met a few people
we needed to, and a few we didn't," he said, taking a sip. He added a bit
more milk and tried again. Better.
"Yeah, there was the Minster and his toady," Harry grumbled, grabbing a
biscuit. "Merlin, she gives me the creeps. All that pink, and that face,
worse is her voice," he added, shaking his arms, like trying to rid it of
spiders. "She sounds like Micky Mouse on helium."
"What?" the other two men said.
"Never mind," Harry sighed, vowing to take Sirius out to see a few
movies, or something.
Bill did a full body shudder. He too, didn't like that Umbridge woman.
"Damn, sorry you had to meet her. She's crazy, that one. She tried to get
Gringotts closed, stupid woman. She almost started a rebellion," he said,
glancing at Sirius.
"If she tries that shite again, I'll be there to stop her. That book has a lot
of blackmail material, and I can't wait to use it on that toad," Sirius said
with an evil smirk.
"Good for you," Harry stated, matching his brother's evil grin.
"Care to share?" Bill said, leaning forward a bit.
"Nay, I think I'll keep it for a moment. I'll let you all know at the meeting,
then you can use it at your leisure," the dogman stated, giving them a
wink.
"Sound good," Bill said, sitting back in his chair.
"Can I tell the others?" Harry asked, a hopeful look on his face.
"If they need it, then tell them. Until then, lets keep to us," Sirius said
with another wink.
"Alright, but if they need it, I'm spilling," the teen stated, folding his
arms.
"You do that," his brother said with a nod.
"I'll use it for the goblins. They would love to have dirt on her," Bill
stated, almost clapping with glee.
"Anyway, Bill, there's a meeting tonight," Sirius said, looking at Bill. "We
have some things to go over. Tonks says it's about Umbridge, speak of the
devil, so we might be using that blackmail material sooner than I
thought."
"Everyone?" the man asked, quirking his eyes.
"Not Ron or Ginny," Sirius said thoughtfully, rubbing his goatee.
"Hermione either, come to think about it. Remind me to remind her to
write her parents. Actually, I need to write them as well. Or maybe, Andi
can take her home and explain what's going on," he said thoughtfully,
then shook his head.
The Grangers weren't a problem, but he felt that maybe he could get Andi
to have them leave the country for a few years. They should be back from
their vacation in a week or so. He would see what they could do then.
"The twins should come if they want. They'll just listen anyway. This way
you can control the information," Harry added, looking towards Bill.
"Sounds about right," Bill said, examining Harry for a moment. "You guys
want to tell me what happened this morning?" he asked, peering at
Harry's diminish scar.
"Yeah, but let's go to the study, I have better wards there," Sirius said,
picking up his cup and leading the way.
They could hold the meeting there, but it just wasn't big enough. Then
again, he could put the same wards on the kitchen, but that would
interfere with the Floo. On the other hand, he could put temporary wards
up. Yeah, he'd do that. Now that he had a wand that was compatible with
him.
Both Bill and Harry grabbed refreshments and followed. They made it to
the study unmolested and took seats facing each other.
"Keep this under your hat, yeah? We did an adoption ritual this morning,"
Sirius started, knowing Bill would keep this secret. The redhead was an
honorable man, and he worked at the bank. So yeah, he could keep it to
himself. "Anyway, Harry here, said that 'magic' told him we couldn't do it
with Riddle in his head," he finished, picking up his cup.
Harry squirmed in his seat and tried looking elsewhere but Bill, who was
staring at him with a bit of awe. Then the teen firmed his jaw and glared
back. "It's not like I ask 'magic' to talk to me," he said gruffly.
"Magic… talked... I mean, why?" the confused redhead asked, never
having heard of such a thing.
"I just told you, I don't know," Harry snapped, still glaring at the confused
man.
"Can you explain what you were feeling at the time?"
"At first, it was like there was an argument in my head. 'Magic' was
fighting with Tom, and then I felt… I don't know, like I should just stop
them both. Then the voice said, that if I wanted to be related to Sirius, I
needed to let it do its work," Harry explained, scrunching his brow trying
to remember it all. "Then when Sirius was going to end the spell, it
warned me not to let him. Then it told me to fight. Like I would help it
end the battle faster," he finished, looking at both men to see if they
understood. "Right before it all ended, I felt like someone was hugging
me. Like I was loved," he added with a bit of a smile.
The other two were both in deep thought over what they heard. Each had
a look of deep contemplation, and their eyes were moving back and
forth, like they were reading over all the material that they had ever read
on magic, but not getting the answers they wanted.
"Right, well, that's different," Bill said, pulling himself together. "Did
anything else happen?" he asked, turning his attention to Sirius.
Sirius got up and got the vial from his safe. "This came from his scar. I
don't know if it's a horcrux or just dark magic," he said, handing the
container to the curse-breaker. "It still feels evil," he said, glaring at the
vial like it should spontaneously combust. How dare that be in Harry's
head.
Bill took it, placed it on a table, waved his wand over it and then sighed.
"It's not a horcrux anymore, but there's malevolent magic in there. Better
destroy it with the rest." He picked it back up and handed it to Sirius,
who put it back in the safe.
"There was a question I wanted to ask," Harry said, watching Sirius sit
back down. "I told Sirius a bit, but something strange happened while
'magic' was fighting the horcrux," he said and then went on to explain the
battle that had happened in his mind.
"That is strange," Sirius said, thinking about what he knew from Remus'
Occlumency.
"What was your question?" Bill asked, pondering over that form of mind
protection, over the one the goblins used. Maybe he could read the book
and then offer to teach the goblins. That might get him promoted. Or at
least a bit of gold. Not that he was greedy, but with a poor family like
his, every bit helped.
He'd have to ask Remus first. It was the man's invention. Oh, maybe
Remus could get some gold too. He really needed it now that Umbridge
had passed those werewolf laws. He'd have the man talk to the goblins to
see if they could get a ghostwriter for that book. That would be helpful to
everyone. Heck, he'd even volunteer.
"If someone dies in my head, do they die in real life?" Harry asked,
bringing Bill out of his thoughts. Harry was worried about that. What if
Snape or Dumbledore tried to read his mind and had to fight his aliens?
He didn't want to kill someone just because they were a snoop.
"That's a very good question," Sirius said, looking to Bill to see if he could
answer it.
"Yeah, really good. The problem is, I don't know that form of
Occlumency, so I can't answer it. I know it's thought that if you die in
your sleep, you might die for real. But that has never been proven. I
mean, how could it? You can't access someone's mind once they are dead
to find out what they dreamed of. Still, I wouldn't take any chances. If
someone comes into your mind, scare the ever-loving crap out of them
and get them out of there as soon as possible," Bill explained the best he
could.
"I know what you described to me, has me quaking in my boots. I don't
want to meet what's in your head," Sirius said, leaning over and mussing
up Harry's hair to lighten the mood. "Good job, Harry. You've thought of
something even Albus would pause at."
"Yeah, if I was going back to Hogwarts, I'd use it on Snape and
Dumbledore," Harry smirked, his eyes glazed at the image of Snape
running down the hall, screaming like a little girl. Then the picture
flipped to the Headmaster offering the aliens some candy and losing a
hand and then running like a girl. Well, that wasn't particularly funny,
but still, he chuckled.
"So, you've decided?" his new brother asked, leaning forward a bit to look
in Harry's eyes. He wanted to make sure that it was what Harry wanted.
"Yeah, with the prophecy and all, I think it's best to be trained by the
best. Maybe, I can catch up on a few of my non-magical studies too. I feel
like a right idiot when I talk to Dudley. And if you knew just how dumb
Dudley is, you would understand my pain," Harry said, giving a huge sigh
of relief, knowing he was making the right decision.
"We can do that," Sirius said seriously, leaning back in his chair. "If
Remus and Bill can't get you caught up, I'll hire a muggleborn, or
something."
"I can help with math," Bill offered, grinning at the teen. "Believe it or
not, it's mandatory to have at least your A levels to be a curse-breaker.
The goblins give you one year to get there. If you can't then you can't
work for them."
"Wow, I didn't know that," Harry said, thinking of his future. Curse
breaking sounded like something he could do.
"We'll set up a schedule with all those that are going to tutor you," Sirius
said, going over who he was going to ask. Bill and Remus for certain, but
would Moody and Andi want to help? Ted could give a few lessons on the
government, and Andi could keep teaching protocol. The problem was all
but Mad-Eye worked, and he wasn't sure if the one-eyed man would want
to come out of retirement, especially after what he had suffered last year.
"Good. But not until after the rest go back to school, okay?" Harry said,
not wanting to give up his summer.
"Okay, I'll get with everyone during the meeting tonight," Sirius agreed,
then shooed Harry out of the room with hand gestures.
"Bill, the twins want to stay here too. I told them they had to ask Sirius,
but I think they should g back to school. You know, to protect Ron and
Ginny. I can imagine Malfoy taking potshots at them," Harry said, looking
back and forth between the two men.
"I have no issue either way. If they want to stay here, if it's okay with
Sirius, they can. However, I do see your point. Still, Ron and Ginny are
good with a wand, so they might not be needed there," Bill said, going
over the many different scenarios.
"I'll talk it over with them," Sirius offered. "I don't have an issue either,
but I want to make sure that they know what they're doing. Besides,
didn't you want them to hunt the horcrux?" he said, looking at the oldest
Weasley child.
"Yeah, I kinda forgot about that," Bill said, rubbing his neck. "I'll talk to
them then. I really need someone of age there."
"Settled then, after the meeting tonight, you can use this room to talk to
them," Sirius said, clapping his hands to his knees and standing up to get
a butterbeer from the bar. It was too early to drink.
"Wait, why are we going to Gringotts tomorrow?" the teen asked,
standing up and then pilfering some cookies for him and his friends.
Sirius reached over and grabbed one for himself, then settled in his chair.
He took a bite before answering. "I have to grab something there, and
you need to look over your finances. I'm sure you haven't done that yet,"
he said, taking another bite of the chocolatey goodness.
"Am I going to be there for tonight's meeting?" the teen asked, wondering
to himself it this adult would treat him right.
"It's about you, so yes, you're going to be there," his brother said, nodding
his head. "Go on, find your friends and let them know you're staying
here. Better to get it over with now," he said, leaning back in his chair.
"Let the twins know that Bill wants to talk to them after dinner."
"Okay. I'm going," Harry said, hiding his treats in a napkin. Then shoving
the bundle in the crook of his arm.
"You can tell them what you wish, remember they're not Occlumens," he
reiterated, picking up his still hot tea. Magic was wonderful.
"I'll remember," Harry said and left the room. He wandered up the stairs
to the twins' room, which is where he thought everyone would be. They
were.
"Hey, Harry," came the greeting from most of them.
"What's up, guys?" he asked as he took a seat on the bed next to Ron. He
laid out the biscuits on the bed and gestured for everyone to grab one.
"Nothing much," Ron said with a shrug, snatching up a cookie. "It's dead
boring around here, now that Mum isn't making us clean. I've even
finished my summer homework," the boy grumbled, shooting a glare at
the twins when they started to chuckle. "Right funny you are. You've
finished yours too," he said to his lookalike brothers.
They just laughed harder and each reached over and snagged a treat.
Ginny just smiled and ate her biscuit. "I finished mine at the beginning of
the summer," she mockingly sniffed.
Harry reached over and put his hand on his best friend's forehead. "Are
you sick?" he asked, grinning like a loon. "Your homework is done, and it
isn't the end of August?"
"Leave off," the redhead said, pushing the other boy's hand away.
"Did you need help with your homework, Harry?" Hermione asked,
reaching and taking her share of the treats.
"Nah, I got it done a few days ago. Andi insisted," Harry said, leaning
against the bedpost.
"Well, that's good. Now none of us will be going back to Hogwarts
unprepared," Hermione said with a big smile.
"Yeah, about that," Harry said with a grimace. "I'm not going back," he
said firmly. "I don't feel right returning, and I can't shake the feeling that
it would be the worse year of my life if I did."
"Damn," came the joint reply. With only Hermione saying, "Really?"
"Yeah, Sirius and I ran into this woman at the Ministry, and she is
downright creepy. Her name is Dolores Umbridge. She dresses like a pink
toad, and it's gross to look at. But, when she looked at me, I felt worse
that when even Aunt Petunia does. Like she wants me dead," Harry
explained, making sure they knew to watch out for that witch.
"Yeah, Dad has talked about her," Ron said, sitting up straight and
looking at his siblings. They were all nodding in agreement. "He said we
were to stay away from her. Do you think she's going to be at Hogwarts?"
he asked in horror.
"I don't know for sure, but there might be a chance she is," Harry said
with trepidation. Maybe he should go to protect his friends.
His face took a downward thoughtful cast. His mind wandered on that,
while the rest were telling Hermione about Umbridge. He heard snatches
of conversation, but they were saying pretty much what Bill and Sirius
had said.
Ron smacked him in the head, bringing him back to reality. "I know what
you're thinking," his friend said, then narrowed his eyes at him and
pointed a finger. "Don't," he demanded.
"But…" was as far as he got when George butt in.
"No," the twin said, also pointing his finger in Harry's direction. "We'll go
back for our last year, and we'll watch out for these three," he said,
glaring at anyone to defy that statement.
"Too right," Fred agreed. "You're not responsible for the wellbeing of us,
or our family," he stated harshly.
"You're right. I know you're right," Harry said with a sigh. "It's just…" he
left it hanging.
"It's your 'saving people thing'," Hermione said with a smile. "We'll be
alright. I have a plan," she said conspiratorially. "You were part of it, but
if you're not coming back, I can pick someone else," she added
reassuringly.
"Leave it to you to make a plan," Harry teased. "Did you make a schedule
too?" he asked with a wide grin.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I did. Thank you very much," she said faux
snottily, sticking her nose in the air.
"Only you, Hermione," Ron said, nudging her with his foot.
"Don't worry, Hermione, we understand," the twins said, patting her
shoulders, a bit roughly, until she shooed their hands away.
"Yeah, you're the smartest witch I know," Ginny said, giving her friend a
smile. She really hadn't said much this summer. It wasn't that she was
shy. No, far from it. However, she learned in her first year, that being
silent makes people forget you're there. Then you learn more because
they talk more. Tom may have messed with her head, but the teen had
taught her some good stuff.
Not that she'd ever tell this bunch.
The therapy that she got because of Bill when they were in Egypt, helped
a lot. At first her mum and dad didn't want him to spend that kind of
money on her. Dumbledore had told them that she was fine. But Bill, the
moment he heard what had happened, he whisked her to the bank and
put her in front of a wizard healer. After an examination, the man
declared her possession free, but she needed a mind healer. So, Bill got
her one. She still wrote the man monthly.
She made a vow to herself that she was going to pay her brother back.
Still, she felt loved at his gesture. She was miffed at her parents, but they
worshipped the Headmaster. A bit too much, if you asked her. That could
be a bit of Tom talking, but it made sense to her. She hated that her mum
thought the man hung the moon. Her dad wasn't that bad, but he was
cowed by her mum.
"Still, it's good that you have a plan. I know we've had our share of bad
DADA professors. I hope your plan can help with that," Harry said,
getting serious. He really couldn't shake the thought that it was going to
be a bad year for everyone. He wondered if he could enlist the house
elves to keep an eye on the students. He'd ask Dobby later.
"It will," she replied, beaming at his confidence. Then she mumbled to
herself, "I hope."
"I believe in you, Hermione," Ron said, giving her an encouraging smile.
"Thanks, Ron, that means a lot," she replied, looking around the room for
something else to talk about. If Harry wasn't going to go back to
Hogwarts, then she needed to reevaluate her plan before she told them
what it was. "There is one thing you three can help me with," she said,
pointing to the twins and Harry.
"What?" all three of them said, then chuckled.
"I need a room. A hidden room," she stated, thinking over her plan.
"There are lots of rooms, but I don't know of any hidden ones," Harry
said, rubbing his chin in thought.
"We don't either. Like Harry said, there are tons of rooms, but hidden, not
so much," George offered.
"Hey, Harry," Ron said, making the other teen turn his way. "Call Dobby,"
he said, waving his hand like Dobby would appear.
"Sure, I have to ask him something anyway," Harry agreed, and called the
elf. Once they greeted each other, which caused everyone to laugh at
Dobby exuberance, he waved to Ron.
"Hey, Dobby, you worked at Hogwarts for a year or two, right?" the
redhead asked, smiling at the little guy.
"Yes, Dobby did," the elf replied, puffing out his chest.
"Do you know of any secret rooms?" he asked the question that was on
everyone's mind.
"Ohhh, Dobby knows a secret, secret room," the little guy enthused.
"Can you tell us where it is?" Ginny asked, smiling at everyone, just
happy that that was taken care of.
"Oh, yes, Miss Wheezy, Dobby can. It is being on the seventh floor, across
from a tapestry of a man trying to teach trolls to be dancing," Dobby said,
bouncing up and down like he was the happiest he'd ever been. Well,
except when Harry Potter had taken him as his elf.
"I think I know the one you're talking about," Fred said, picturing it in his
mind.
"Didn't we hide there once?" George asked, looking at his twin who
nodded. "I don't think it is big enough for what Hermione wants, Dobby,"
he said to the elf.
"Oh, no, Mr. Wheezy, it is being as big as you needs," Dobby disagreed.
"How?" Harry asked, he too remembering a room on that floor and the
Headmaster once told him of a disappearing loo.
"Yous needs to be walking back and forth three times, thinkings on whats
you needs. And the room will be appearing," Dobby said, still bouncing.
"Oh," was the collective response.
"Thanks, Dobby. I have another question for you. Can the elves at
Hogwarts keep an eye on the students? I have a bad feel about the new
DADA teacher, and I'd feel better if they could help," Harry inquired,
hoping beyond hope that they could.
"Dobby wills be asking thems. I is being knowing that they is being
limited on whats they can be doing. But Dobby will ask them to at least
tell a teacher if they is being seeing anything that needs to bes reported,"
the elf said thoughtfully, rubbing his large ears.
"That's great, Dobby. Thanks," Harry said, squeezing his elf's shoulder.
"Thanks, Dobby," the rest of the group added, all clapping the elf on the
back.
"Dobby must be going now," the prideful, yet embarrassed, elf said and
disappeared.
"Was that what you were looking for?" Harry asked, turning to his female
friend.
"That's exactly what I need," she gushed, still reevaluating her plans. With
this room, and the help of the elves they might just get through whatever
had Harry spooked.
"I'm glad," Harry said, then looking at his watch. It was three hours
before the meeting, so he said, "There's a meeting tonight at six, George,
Fred. You guys are invited, but the rest of you can't come," he added, to
the other three. "Bill said he wanted to talk to you about something."
"Oh?" they asked.
"He said after the meeting, but maybe he'll let the others know too. I'm
not sure how much is being shared, but Sirius is pretty good at not hiding
things," Harry said with a shrug.
"We'll ask him," Fred said, finishing off his cookie.
"before the meeting," George said, swiping another biscuit.
"What will you guys be doing?" Harry asked the other three.
"We can go over my plan," Hermione said with a shrug. There was no use
crying over spilt potion.
"Yeah," said the two gloomy youngest Weasley's.
"Buck up, guys. I will tell you what I can. However, you need to read this
book I have when I'm done with it. It'll protect your mind, then you can
know more," Harry said, trying to cheer them up.
"We can actually teach them," Fred said, hugging his little sister with one
arm.
"Yeah, they might learn better with verbal instructions," George said,
doing the same to his little brother.
"Great," Harry stated, rubbing his hands together. "So, what do we do in
the meantime?" he asked everyone.
"Lunch," Ron said, getting up from the bed.
"It's three in the afternoon," Hermione stated, aghast that they had missed
a meal.
"To the kitchen," the twins crowed, and grabbed arms and pulled those
still sitting up and dragged them out of the room.
"To the kitchen," Harry and Ginny agreed, letting themselves be pulled
along.
They made a lot of noise going down the stairs, but that was okay, they
were all happy. The ominous feeling Harry had forgotten, for now.
17. Chapter 17 Another Boring
Meeting
Chapter 17 Another Boring Meeting
Hphphp
An hour later Moody and Remus came through the Floo. Harry and the
other kids were still sitting at the table, just messing around. Harry and
Ron were playing chess. Hermione and Ginny were going over Ginny's
next year's DADA studies. The twins were watching the boys and giving
Harry some really bad advice, just to see if he'd take it. He didn't.
The two men staggered in looking like they needed a nap. Their clothes
were rumpled, and there was dirt on their face and in their hair, not to
mention on their robes. There were even bits of branches sticking out of
their hair.
"Harry, where's Sirius?" Moony asked, wiping the dirt and ash off his
shoulders, and looking around the room like the man he was asking
about was in the cupboards. You never knew with that prankster.
"In the study with Bill, last I looked," the teen answered, giving him a
quizzical look. "Are you two okay? You look like you fought with a tree
and lost," he said, smirking a bit when Moody glared at him.
"No, this is just from staking out a certain place. We found something,"
Remus said, still brushing off his clothes. Then he looked up and the
worried faces and added with a grin, "Don't worry, it's nothing bad. It
might actually be good news."
"Come on, Lupin, let's check in," the retired Auror said, stomping out of
the room. He had already cleaned his clothes and wanted to get the
report in so he could wash his hands and face.
Remus just shrugged, cast a cleaning charm, then waved to the kids and
followed.
They two came to the study and entered the open door. Alastor made
sure to close it behind them. He felt the wards on the room and added a
few of his own. Not that the news they brought back was overly
classified, but it needed to be talked out first.
"Well, we've got the lay of the land and it's good news," the one-eyed man
said, taking a seat across from Bill.
"That's good," Sirius said, releasing his tense shoulders. He had been
tensed for a while now, these two should have been back ages ago.
"We've enough bad news today," he added, waving them to continue.
"Right, so, we landed outside the trip zone, and cased the area. It's all
open area, except in the back, where there's an ornamental garden, with
topiary. A lot of topiary," Remus began, looking to Moody to continue.
"Malfoy being a bit of a showoff can work to our advantage. We also
confirmed that old Voldy is there as well and his horcrux. It seems he's
keeping his Death Eaters there as well. I think we might have made him a
bit paranoid, not that that was hard to do. Riddle has always thought the
world was out to get him," Alastor said, leaning back in his chair to
indicate that he was done.
"All good news, but what about the wards?" Bill asked, since it would be
him to bring them down. "Did you get the schematics down?"
"Yeah, that part was easy. It's the standard Malfoy Family Wards, with
the trip ward. If we can bring the trip ward down, it should be a matter
of an hour for you to bring down the major ones," Moody said, taking out
a piece of paper that he had made notes on.
"Wouldn't Riddle put up some of his own?" Sirius asked, thinking that's
what he'd do.
"No, it'll leave a signature and he's hiding at the moment. Fudge burying
his head in the sand is working to Riddle's advantage. The less people
think he around, the more he has the element of surprise," Moody
explained.
"How far do the main wards go again?" Bill asked, looking at the paper
he was just handed.
"Seventy-five feet out from the house. Then the trip wards end fifteen feet
beyond that," was the answer.
"These notes are really good, Alastor," the curse-breaker said, still going
over them. They were very concise, and he should have no problem bring
both wards down.
"There's a meeting in two hours," Sirius said, looking at his watch. "You
two might want to go and clean up, take a nap, get something to eat. I'm
not sure which, but take the time to relax," he added with a smile.
"Who's going to be here?" Moody asked, getting up from his chair. He
could use something to eat.
"Me, you, Remus, Bill, Tonks, Kingsley, Harry, the twins, and possible
Amelia," the dogman answered, picking up his tea and taking a sip.
House elves are wonderful creatures, they can keep your teacup full and
at just the right temperature. "Andi and Ted don't want to join us. Andi
said that if there was something they needed to know; Tonks would tell
them. They are just here to help with the kids."
"Good, I like the fact that Bones might be here. We could use her help on
a few things. She's got some influence that we don't. Not even you, with
all your money," the old man said, stretching out some kinks in his back.
He was far too old to be casting houses but needs must.
"Yeah, I have a feeling she and I are going to be working hand in hand.
I've got blackmail, and money. She's got political pull," Sirius agreed,
raising his cup up in an agreeing gesture.
"Too right," Moody said, and then left the room. The first thing he did
was hit the loo. Using the little sink, he cleaned up as best he could. Then
he wandered around looking for somewhere to settle his old bones. He
needed to eat and then grab a quick nap. He headed to one of the lady's
parlors, that no one used, called an elf, got food, then kicked back on a
fainting couch.
Back in the study, Remus got up too. "I'm going to talk to the kids. I want
to see what they've been up to. We haven't had much time to catch up,"
the ex-professor said, then putting words to action, he too left.
"Are those notes going to do you any good?" Sirius asked, putting his cup
down and standing. He wanted to walk around a bit. His legs were
asleep. He and Bill had been sitting too long, going over strategies. Like
what to do about Umbridge.
"Oh, yeah, like I told Alastor, they are very good," Bill said, folding the
paper and putting it in his pocket.
"Great, I'm going to join Moony in the kitchen, feel free to hit the library.
I'll tell an elf to open it for you. Who knows, you might find something to
make your easy job easier," Sirius said, heading for the door.
"I'll do that," Bill said, joining him.
Sirius did call Kreacher and had him let Bill in the library, then he joined
the teens and his friend. They spent the next two hours going over pranks
and Quidditch. Everyone was comparing notes, even Hermione. They had
thought up some elaborate schemes, that the twins couldn't wait to enact.
Dinner was served right before the meeting, those that were going to be
in the meeting Flooed in and sat drinking tea or coffee, whichever they
preferred. When dinner was over the kids, bar Harry and the twins, left.
But not without a lot of grumbling. Andi made sure they all headed
upstairs and got ready for bed. Not that they had a curfew, but at least
they were staying out of trouble.
Everyone that was going to the meeting was there in the kitchen. Sirius
and Alastor both put up some impressive wards. Amelia wanted to add a
few of her own, but trusted Moody to plug up any holes.
"Great," Sirius said, sitting at the head of the table, "everyone is here.
Does everyone know everyone else?" he asked, looking around to see if
they did.
There were nods all around. Even the twins knew everyone since their
dad work with most here.
"Amy, glad you could come," Sirius said, giving her a winning grin.
"Don't call me Amy," she snapped. "I happen to like my name, unlike
others." She mock glared at Tonks.
Tonks saw her look and shrugged. She made no qualms about telling
anybody and everybody that she detested her name.
"Sorry, sorry," Sirius said, not looking sorry at all. "Okay, Moody and
Moony have figured out that Riddle is hiding out at Malfoy Manor.
They've given the ward plans to Bill here. We're going to take our time
and suss it all out."
"I looked up a few things in the library," Bill said, pulling out Moody's
notes. "I am positive that I can circumvent them with little problem," he
added smugly.
"Who is this Riddle person, and why is he hiding? I thought you said
Voldemort was hiding there? Oh," Amelia said, as it dawned on her that
it might be Voldemort's real name.
She didn't like that they were working as vigilantes. However, they
couldn't work with the Aurors because Fudge was in denial. Damn that
man anyway. He tied her hands at every effort she made to fight a war.
Since Harry and Sirius had come to her office, she had been putting
things into motion, on the sly. But like she said, her hands were tied, so
she couldn't do much. Stupid politics.
"Yeah, we found out how Riddle, or Voldy as you know him, is still
among us," Sirius answered, pulling out the vial if stuff that came out of
Harry. He leaned over and handed it to her. "Like is said earlier, he made
horcruxes."
"And this is one of them" she asked, eyeballing the vial.
"It's the remains of one," Bill explained, watching her face to see her
reaction.
"Oh, dear Merlin, and you just handed it to me?" she gasped, dropping
the vial on the table.
"We've destroyed two, accidently, there are two here. The rest as you see
are going to be hard to get," Moody said, leaning back in his chair.
"Yes, Sirius told me this morning that they had been destroyed," she
agreed, knowing that if anyone could help, it would be Mad-Eye Moody.
"I looked over the list he gave me, and if you're right and they are in
Malfoy Manor, then yes, they will be hard to get to. Especially if… Riddle
is there," she said, adjusting her monocle.
"We're making a plan," Bill assured her. "Plausible deniability on your
part," he hinted, giving her a wink, when made her frown.
"I see," was all she said.
"Until then, Tonks, you had news," Sirius said, directing his and everyone
else's attention to the Metamorphmagus.
"Yeah, I heard a rumor that I'm sure is 100% true," the young woman
said, her hair turning a bright blue. "It's been bandied about the Ministry
that Umbridge is the one who sent the Dementors after Harry," she said
anger in her voice.
"Is there proof?" Amelia asked instantly, writing that down on her
notebook. She hadn't had time to look into it after they had left.
Honestly, she was more worried about Riddle. Now that Tonks was
offering her a lead, she might just be able to finally put that pink
monstrosity in prison.
"No," was the frustrated answer, making many of them frown. "What the
rumors says, is that she had orders from Fudge to silence Harry. Unless
she slipped up and left a written order, I'm not sure how you can pin it
on her."
"Wait, she wanted to kill me?" Harry asked angrily. "I don't even know
the woman. I've only met her once, and I can tell you that, yeah, come to
think of it, she seems the type."
"It's worse," Amelia said, putting her notepad down. "She's going to be
teaching at Hogwarts," she dropped that bombshell.
"Fuck," Harry said, throwing himself back in his chair.
"I'd say 'language', but I happen to agree. Whose bright idea was that…
never mind, Fudge, right?" Sirius said, his hands clenching in rage.
"Got it in one. From what I understand, Malfoy has been whispering in
his ear that Dumbledore wants his job and is forming an army of students
to get it from him. Nothing will sway him from this," Bones said, shaking
her head at the Minster's stupidity.
Everyone knows Dumbledore doesn't want that position. He had been
content with the three he had. He had lost two, due to Fudge, but Amelia
would bet her pension that those would be handed back to the man the
second that Voldemort was declared alive. She also knew that there was
no way to stop it.
In her opinion that was too much power for one man.
"Good thing I'm not going back to Hogwarts, but what of my friends. If
she's out to 'silence' me then she might use them," Harry said, a great deal
of defeat in his voice.
"Hey, Tonks, can you get some time off, say, I don't know, about a year.
Maybe, talk to your boss, Amelia *hint, hint*," Sirius asked, making
everyone perk up.
"I'm not changing my naughty bits," the Metamorphmagus stated firmly,
making quite a few of them chuckle. "I also don't think I want to spend a
year in the boys' dormitory," she added, huffing a bit.
"Yeah, that might be a problem," Alastor agreed.
"Well, what if you slept somewhere else?" Harry asked, thinking of the
room Dobby told them about.
"What do you mean?" Tonks inquired, lifting an eyebrow in question.
"Well, Dobby, my house elf friend, told me that there was a room on the
seventh floor that can turn into anything you wanted. So, you could have
it turn into a flat, or something, then you wouldn't have to sleep with
blokes," the teen said, tapping is finger on the table.
"Why have I never heard of the room?" asked both Remus and Sirius.
"Well, from what Dobby told me, it's a blank wall until you call it," Harry
tried to explain. "That's pretty much all I know about it. You'd have to
talk to Dobby to find out more."
"That's a great idea, but how would she get around the bed checks?" Bill
asked, remembering all the times he got caught sneaking around the
castle.
"McGonagall doesn't do bed checks," Fred said, wondering when that
changed.
"Yeah, she's never done one while we've been there," George agreed,
looking confused.
"Still, we might want to bring her in on this part of our plan. That way
she can run interference with Albus, and Umbridge," Moody said, adding
his two knuts worth.
"Good idea. No reason to bring her all the way in, but that might work,"
Sirius agreed. "Still, a vow would not go amiss. I know she's tight with
Albus, so I want some insurance that she won't go running to him," he
added.
"That would make it better, but I'm not sure I can pull being you off very
well," Tonks said, going over what she knew about the teen in her mind.
"If I put you on undercover duty, you can start tonight, that way you can
spend the next few weeks shadowing him, and get some of his quirks
down," Amelia said, liking the idea that one of her Auror would be in the
castle where her niece slept.
"I think," started Remus, "that you might not be there that long." He
rubbed his chin in thought.
"Why do you say that?" Kingsley asked, pulling out his own notepad.
"I think that Umbridge will break the law sooner, rather than later. When
she does, Tonks here can arrest her," the werewolf said, winking at
Tonks.
"Oh, I like how you think," the currently blue-haired woman said,
winking back.
"While you guys scheme this up. I'm going to pay a visit to the toad
tomorrow," Sirius said, his face set in granite.
"Don't go doing anything I'd have to arrest you for. You know that there
are quite a few people looking for a reason to get you tossed back in
Azkaban. Dumbledore being on the forefront," Amelia said, cleaning her
eyepiece. "Well, not really, but he does seem to be paying extra special
attention to you and Harry."
"What are we going to do about Dumbledore?" the dogman asked
exasperated.
"You leave Albus to me," Moody answered, his electric blue eye swirling
around in its socket. "I've known him longer than all of you, so I'll tend to
him and his pet Death Eater."
"Tonks," Amelia said, "while you're there, keep an eye on Snape."
"You bet," the Auror replied with a wicked grin. Payback is a bitch.
"What do you want us to do?" Fred asked, reminding everyone that they
were there.
"Yeah, besides watching out for the others, is there something we can
do?" George concurred.
"I have a spell I want to teach you two. There's a horcrux at the school
that needs finding," Bill said, pulling out a piece of parchment and asking
Amelia for her pen. "I was going to talk to you after the meeting, but…
well, see me then and I'll teach it to you, and you too, Tonks," he said,
reaching across the table for the writing implement.
Bones handed it to him, and he wrote the spell down, copied it twice and
hand it to the three. He then gave Amelia back her pen.
"Good idea," Remus said, nodding in agreement.
"Come see me tomorrow, Tonks. I want to talk to my brothers tonight,"
Bill stated, seeing they were reading the spell, "and I'll make sure you get
it down. If you find what we're looking for, just leave it there and call us.
I'm sure we can sneak into the castle to retrieve it," he added, glaring at
the twins.
"We will, no worries," Fred said, looking at the spell. It didn't seem hard.
"Yeah, if it's to do with Riddle, I don't want to touch it," George said, also
reading the spell.
"I've got some two-way mirrors I need to dig up. I've only got two, so you
two will have to share," Sirius said, going over in his mind where he last
left them.
"I can make more," Remus offered.
"We share everything," the twins said haughtily.
"Everything?" both Tonks and Harry teased.
"Yes, take that as you will," they replied, going cross-eyed at the teasing
pair.
"Just joking," Fred said, laughing at the looks on everyone's face.
"Yeah, we keep the naughty bits separate," George stated, he too
laughing.
"Thank Merlin," Bill grumbled, needing to bleach his brain on that one.
"Bill," Kingsley said, grabbing the curse-breakers attention, "what about
the one at Gringotts. You are our only lead there."
"I'm going to talk to my boss tomorrow. If I tell him what it is, who it
belongs to, I'm sure that there must be a way to get it," Bill replied,
rubbing the back of his neck. He wasn't positive that that would be the
outcome, but he had to try.
"That might work," Kingsley said, making a note.
"Sirius," the redhead said, bringing the other man's attention away from
teasing the twins, "it might help if you came with me," he said, looking
toward the older man. "I'm pretty sure someone in your family, or
connected to your family, is hiding it in their vault," he added, giving
him an inquiring look.
"I was going there anyway," the dogman replied with a shrug.
"Am I still coming?" Harry wanted to know.
"Why wouldn't you be?" was the rejoinder.
"Well if that… woman is out to kill me, aren't you going to keep me
here?" the teen asked, knowing that's what the Headmaster would have
done.
"Harry, you are fifteen years old, I think you can handle yourself with us
around. All you would have to do if trouble started was to get out of the
way," his brother told him. "I know Albus wanted to wrap you up in
cotton, but that's not the way life works. Hiding didn't help your parents,
or the Longbottoms. I don't mean to be tactless, but it is the truth," Sirius
said with a sigh.
"Alright, and thanks," Harry said, happy that he wasn't going to be
confined to this house. The thought of his parents was a bit of a downer,
but he could see the wisdom in those words.
"Anything else to discuss?" Sirius asked, looking around the room.
"Yeah, I have something," Tonks said, perking up a bit. "Mum wants to
know why you are still letting Malfoy have you seat on the Board of
Governors, and the Wizengamot."
"That slimy bastard has been sitting in my seat?" Sirius said, slamming his
hand on the table. "Whose bright idea… Fudge. I'm going to bury that
man, you just wait and see if I don't," he promised, angry and hating that
so much had gone wrong due to his illegal incarceration.
"Not that it helps, but those seats are entailed, so there might be a
precedent. You'd have to look, and talk to your lawyer," Kingsley stated,
going over what he knew about that type of stuff.
"You bet, I'm talking to Waters first thing in the morning," Sirius said, still
seething. "Actually, I'll Floo him when we're done."
"Hey, I thought Malfoy was kicked off the Board?" Harry said,
remembering what Dumbledore had told him. Well, not to him, but at
Malfoy.
"He bought his way back on," grumbled Tonks. "I'm sure he used
persuasion too."
"Oh, yeah, he's a bastard," Harry said, watching his new brother's face get
redder.
"I'm going to kill him," Sirius stated, still fuming. Who knows what laws
that Dark wizard passed using his vote? Or what he did under the Black
name to the school. Well, he'd find out and fix it, that's for sure.
"Go to the Ministry tomorrow, you were planning to anyway, and claim
them back. You might even be able to impose a penalty for the slight.
Like Shacklebolt said, talk to your lawyer," Amelia stated, reaching over
and covering his hand. They didn't need him going off half-cocked.
Sirius took a deep breath, once, twice, three times. He relaxed a bit and
looked at Amelia. "Thanks, I needed that. Well, that and a shot of
firewhiskey," he said, settling back in his chair.
"Good, now that that is over, I think we've done all we can for the night. I
have to get home, I don't want Susan alone longer than necessary," Bones
said, standing up and putting her notebook away.
Thanks to Harry's warning, she had beefed up her wards. Still, wards fall,
and Susan was there alone. If she continued to come to these meetings,
then she'd have to ask if her niece could come too.
"Yeah, I'm knackered," Remus said, giving out a jaw breaking yawn, "so
I'm headed to bed."
"Okay, meeting over. You can use the same rooms you did last night,"
Sirius said, everyone standing at his words. "Harry, Fred, George, you can
tell the others about Umbridge, but nothing else, okay?" he looked at the
teens.
"Not a problem," Harry said as the twins nodded.
"Maybe, we can have Hermione tell us more about her plan. She's going
to need to know what's happening on that front," Fred said, started to
leave.
"Can we tell them about Tonks?" George asked, putting a hand on his
twin's shoulder, making his brother stop for a moment.
"Yeah, that too, I guess. It's not like we can hide it," Sirius agreed, putting
his arm over Harry's shoulder and keeping him there while everyone else
left.
The twins nodded and left to talk to Bill, then they'd hunt the rest down
and tell them what they could.
"Are you sure you want to stay here?" Sirius asked one more time, after
everyone else left the room.
"Yeah, especially since that woman is going to be at Hogwarts. Are you
going to reclaim your seats?" the teen asked stifling a yawn.
"You bet your arse I am. And I'm going to make quite a few people's lives
a living hell," the dogman said maliciously.
"Good," was all the answer needed.
They headed out of the kitchen when a voice drew them back.
"Sirius, are you there?"
18. Chapter 18 Plans in Motion
Chapter 18 Plans in Motion
Thanks for all the reviews. I very much enjoy them.
Hphphp
Harry and Sirius turned around and looked at the fireplace. There in the
flames, was the head of Arthur Weasley. The man looked like he was
contemplating something. The two looked at each other, shrugged and
turned back to the fireplace.
"What's up, Arthur?" Sirius asked, making the other man's face jerk up.
"We just finished an Order meeting," Mr. Weasley said, making Sirius
scoff at the fact that none that were in Grimmuald Place had been called.
"There was a lot discussed, we settled on a few things, but I can't tell you
about them," he said, sheepishly, knowing that it was one of the reasons
the others had left, and all this secret keeping was making him wary of
Albus too.
"Figures," Sirius said, scoffing once more.
"Yes, well," the other man said. "I wanted first to make sure the kids were
okay," Arthur said, looking at the man he had entrusted his children too.
"Yeah, they're good. We just finished a meeting ourselves. Don't worry,"
Sirius said quickly, "the younger kids weren't there, just Bill and the
twins. Right now, I'm sure they are all either in bed, or heading to it," he
stated with a grin. "Andi is keeping a good eye on them," he finished with
a wink.
"Good, good. I'm happy to hear that. They aren't causing you any trouble,
are they?" the worried father asked.
"No, they're all good kids," the dogman answered.
"Great, thanks. I'll make sure Molly knows that they are in good hands,"
Mr. Weasley said with a grin. "Right now, though, Albus asked me to get
in touch with you," the redhead said, again looking like he was mulling
something over.
"Oh, what does he want?" Black asked, trying to think of any reason the
Headmaster would need him, when he made it clear he wasn't going to
follow him anymore.
"Well, I must confess, it's Harry he wants to talk to," Arthur stated,
glancing at said boy, who just looked confused.
"Me? What does he want from me?" Harry asked, shocked. Well, he could
think of many things the old man might want, actually. Like sending him
back to the Dursleys. That was not going to happen. Sirius' actions in
making him his brother, would cause any plans the Headmaster had to
fail.
"He wants Severus to teach you Occlumency," was the shocking answer.
"Oh, oh, I have to do this," Harry said, almost bouncing with excitement,
grabbing Sirius' arm, yanking on the man's sleeve and making Arthur give
him a queer look. "Come on, Sirius, this is going to be epic," the teen said,
pulling his new brother's arm and almost dragging him to the fireplace.
"Settle down, Harry, they're not going anywhere. That and I have to tell
Andi I'm leaving. Give me a moment, yeah," the other man said, pulling
his arm free. He then called Kreacher and told him to tell Andi where
they were going and that he'd be back soon.
With that done, the two went to the fireplace and Flooed to the Burrow.
They stepped into the living room. Well, Harry tumbled, but righted
himself as soon as he could. He glared at Sirius when the man laughed
and looked around the familiar room. There they saw that Albus and
Snape were waiting for them.
Arthur went and joined his wife on the other sofa, holding her arm to
prevent her from going to the two men. He didn't like the look on her
face and wanted to avoid an argument. She gave him a look and then
settled to watch. They had had many long talks since they left Head
Quarters, and she was put in her place by her husband. Still, she was a
middle-aged woman, who had been running a household with an iron fist
for an awfully long time. It would take a miracle to change her attitude
completely.
"Headmaster," Harry said politely with a curt nod. "Mr. and Mrs.
Weasley," he added, also nodding to them. "Snape," he said, trying to be
outwardly respectful, but inside he was grinning like a loon. He couldn't
wait to see their reaction.
Sirius followed suit, then stood by Harry.
"Harry, my boy, it is so good to see you," the old man said, his eyes
twinkling, like always. "I see that living with Sirius has done you some
good. I still feel…"
"Albus, not going to happen," was Sirius' immediate rebuttal,
accompanied with a hard stare.
"Very well," the old man sighed.
"What did you want from me, Headmaster? Besides, trying to send me
back to Durzkaban?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes at the old man.
"Harry, I hope one day that you will trust me again. I am only looking
out for you best interest," Albus stated, his eyes twinkling again.
"We'll see," the boy said, still watching the man's eyes twinkle, without
actually looking in them. He wondered about that weird phenomenon.
He didn't know anyone else's eyes that sparkled like that. Not even
Dudley getting presents.
"Potter," Snape barked, getting up from the sofa he had be sitting on. He
stalked towards the teen, stopping a few feet away, when Sirius imposed
himself in front of his younger brother. "The Headmaster has decreed that
I must teach you Occlumency. Much as I am loath to be around you for
any period of time, I do agree that this is a must. You will do as I sa…"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I don't need lessons," Harry said, not sorry at
all. He hated it when the man went on tirades. "Sirius taught me," he
added with a smirk.
"Like this mangy mutt could teach anything," the greasy-haired man
sneered, making Sirius glare.
Then that glare turned into to a smirk. "You can test them if you want,"
Sirius said, winking to Harry, who started choking, like he was holding a
laugh.
"Yeah, I think I've got a grip on it. Sure, why not, go ahead," the teen
said, after calming down, then looking the Potions Master in the eye.
Not hesitating for a moment, Snape lifted his wand, and snapped off the
charm, then delved into Harry's mind.
This time Harry had one xenomorph larger than the rest of them; the
others scurrying around like ants. With that larger one, as soon as he felt
the intrusion, he had it superimpose itself over the whole of his mind.
Making it look like it swallowed the sky. Then the image loomed over the
very pale man.
The alien opened its mouth and a tinier head came shooting out. Snape,
not expecting that, fell on his arse, and crab walked backwards out of the
thing's way. His wand firmly grasped in his hand, but for the life of him,
pun intended, he couldn't think of a single spell that would hurt… that.
He didn't even think the Killing Curse would be effective.
Then the little head opened its mouth and screeched. The whole of
Harry's mind shook with the sound. Snape felt the vibrations in his bones.
Like getting hit with an over-powered tickling charm. Terrified, he
dropped his wand and actually fainted, making Harry laugh in real life.
Snape was in the brat's mind for merely a second, that felt like hours, and
then he woke up on the floor, shaking. Every muscle in his body was
tensed in fight or flight mode. It took him a few seconds to realize he was
not about to be eaten.
"Severus, are you okay?" Albus asked, as he and Molly helped the shaken
man off the floor. "You just fell limp. Did something happen?" the old
man asked as they guided Snape back to the sofa.
"I've never seen anything like what is in Potter's mind," Snape said in a
shaky voice, rubbing his hand down his sweaty face. "It's is a creature
that would terrorize anyone. Even the Dark Lord," he added as an
afterthought. "I have no doubt the boy's mind is well protected."
"What creature?" Albus asked, thinking on what the man might have
possibly seen that would have rattled him so.
"I have never seen anything more terrifying in my life. And I have come
face to face with a werewolf," Snape answered. "I will reiterate, the boy's
mind is protected."
"Are you sure?" Dumbledore asked, hoping that wasn't true. While he did
need Harry to protect his mind, the insight given to the teen, judging
from the few times Harry had dreamed/envisioned the scenes from Tom's
eyes, were immeasurable.
Those gave them awareness on what Tom was thinking and doing. He
was hoping that Severus could train the boy to block Tom yet see into the
other man's mind. If the boy's mind was that well protected, then it was
all for naught. Perhaps not, maybe he could still get Harry to spy on Tom.
"Harry, while I'm sure that you have strong protections, perhaps you
could still attend these lessons," the old man asked, looking over his
glasses with wise eyes.
"Not a bloody chance in hell," Harry said, shaking his head at the obvious
ploy.
"Albus, I'm telling you that I can teach him nothing. I can't penetrate even
surface memories. If you don't believe me, then check for yourself," Snape
snapped, waving to Harry in a curt manner, as if daring the older man
too. There was a small part of him that wanted to see what Albus would
do when faced with that creature.
"No, I believe you, my boy, but there are still aspects of Occlumency that
I'm sure young Harry does not realize," Dumbledore pressed.
"No, I'm not letting Snape get in my mind again," Harry said firmly,
though he was still elated on Snape's reaction to his pets.
"Harry, you must realize that this is imperative…"
"No," was the answer, this time harsher.
"Why are you so keen on having Harry taught by Snape?" Sirius asked,
both he and Harry still standing by the fireplace. They weren't staying
long.
"Alas, it is not something I can reveal right now," Dumbledore said with a
sigh. He knew that Sirius was very protective of the teen. He would not
put it past the man to keep Harry as far away from Severus as possible.
"There are simply some things that must remain secret. Harry is not old
enough to understand."
"Then tell me," Sirius demanded, daring the man to say something stupid.
"I do not feel that you are emotionally stable enough," was the answer
that they knew was coming. "After your childish behavior these last few
days, I do not think that you can be trusted with vital information." The
old man was shaking his head, like he was so disappointed in the other
man.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Harry, you done?" the dogman asked,
looking at the younger man.
"Oh, yeah, that was great. I never have to worry about this slimy git
getting into my mind ever again. Take that as a warning to you too, old
man," Harry said, his grin wide enough to split his face. "For all you say
you care, the shite that you just spouted makes me think much less of
you. So much for gaining my trust," he said with a derisive snort.
"Do not disrespect the Headmaster in my house," Molly shouted. She had
been against Sirius coming here, but Albus insisted. For all their talks,
she was still upset that Arthur wanted the children to stay at the man's
house. And nothing she said would dissuade him.
"Sorry, Mrs. Weasley. I'll wait until he's not here, and then… talk to him,"
Harry said with a shrug.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Sirius said, grabbing some Floo powder.
"Arthur, Molly, Albus, Snape," he said, nodding to each. Then he threw
the powder in the fireplace and all but shoved Harry through, calling out
the address. He wasn't worried about yelling it out, anyone who didn't
know wouldn't hear. It was the nature of the charm to prevent that.
When they emerged, Harry fell to the floor laughing his arse off. He held
his stomach and curled into a ball; he was laughing so hard. Tears were
pouring down his face as he fought for breath. He couldn't wait until
someone did that again. Maybe he'd set up a few different scenarios.
"Come on, chuckles, let's get you to bed. We have a lot to do tomorrow
morning. I want to leave when Bill does. After Gringotts, you can come
back here. I don't need you at the Ministry. Maybe you can ask Tonks to
take you kids to a movie. I'm sure the Weasleys would enjoy that," Sirius
said, pulling Harry off the floor, who had finally gotten control over
himself.
"That sound good. I didn't think I'd be leaving the house the whole
summer," the teen said, still giggling, but starting towards his room. The
image of Snape fainting was just too funny.
"Yeah, just make sure you grab some money while we're at the bank. I
don't want you stuck in London, or somewhere, without a way back.
While I'm sure Tonks can Apparate you guys one at a time, it would be
too risky," the other man said, following his brother up the stairs.
"I will," was all Harry said.
They finished the journey to their rooms, and both did their nightly
routines, and quickly fell asleep. Harry with a huge grin, remembering
what he had done to Snape. The man was sure to have nightmares, unless
he took Dreamless Sleep.
The next morning saw everyone at the kitchen table discussing what was
going to happen that day. Sirius and Harry took great pleasure on
relating what had gone on at the Burrow, which caused almost every to
break out in laughter. Harry didn't go into detail about what was in his
head, but he did say that it was protected and once the twins taught them
the Occlumency they could compare notes.
Then they told the other kids what they had discuss last night, getting
approval from everyone seventeen and under, as well as Tonks. The
Weasleys were ecstatic about going to muggle London to see a movie.
They knew what they were, other muggleborns talked about them all the
time, but they had never seen one.
Sirius got up to Floo his lawyer and get some advice. He made sure to tell
Harry to get ready to leave in a half an hour. He had planned on calling
him last night, but the… request from Albus delayed that.
Ted and Andi got up to go to their jobs, and Tonks stayed with the teens.
Remus headed to the library, which Sirius opened to everyone, to see if
he could find a different way to kill horcruxes. Not that he didn't trust
Bill's way, but more options were better.
Moody decided it was time to face Albus and Snape. Harry had regaled
them about what he had done the night before, and Alastor wanted to get
the talk out of the way. He really didn't like what those two were up to.
There was no good reason for the old man to insist that Harry learn
something he already knew.
Sirius finished with his call and came back to the kitchen. Seeing that
Harry was ready, he and Bill went to the Floo. Harry followed, dragging
his feet. While he wanted to get out of the house, he really didn't want to
talk to the goblins. He wasn't even sure why he was tagging along. Sirius
was his guardian; he should be handling this.
"Come on, Harry, don't dawdle. We need to go," Sirius said, grabbing his
arm and dragging him the rest of the way. "You really do need to be
there," he finished, throwing the Floo powder in the flames.
"Fine," Harry said, then called out the address to the Leaky Cauldron and
stepped in. He, as usual, came out arse over teakettle. Bill just laughed,
and picked him up
"I'm going to get Andi to teach you how to Floo," Sirius said, stepping out
of the fireplace.
Harry just grumbled under his breath. Something about it not being his
fault.
"Alright, off we go," Sirius said, ignoring the nasty looks he was getting,
while Harry paid no attention to the contemplative looks thrown at him.
He knew the article would stir things up a bit, and now people were
confused about what to believe. He toyed with the thought of doing
another one, but other than Riddle being back, he wasn't sure what topic
to discuss.
Bill was looking at the two, back at the crowds, and marveling about how
they could ignore all the looks directed at them. The three made their
way to the bank and were soon climbing the marble step. Other than the
looks the trio were receiving, they made it to their destination
unmolested.
The goblins at the doors bowed to the group and soon they were inside.
Bill broke off from the two and headed to talk to his boss. He really
hoped that the goblin could help them. He had brought the vial as proof,
with Sirius' permission. He even was giving the go-ahead to tell his boss
where it came from.
Making his way to the back of the bank, he came to the correct door, and
knocked on it.
"Enter," came the answer from inside.
Bill opened the door and came inside. He made it way to the front of the
metal desk and stood at quasi-attention.
"What can I do for you today, Curse-Breaker Weasley?" the goblin asked,
setting down his quill. He waved his hand for the man in front of him to
take a seat. "I thought you were on light duty until the war was over."
"I am, but I found out something that Gringotts needs to know," Bill said,
rubbing his sweaty hands on his pants. Not that he was scared of his boss,
but he didn't know how the goblin would react to what he found.
"Oh?" came the inquisitive reply. The still unnamed goblin leaned
forward on his desk and folded his hands together.
"Yeah, umm," the redhead replied, pulling the vial out of his pocket.
"Horcruxes, as in plural. This is a remnant of one that came out of Harry
Potter." He placed the vial on the desk and sat back.
Bill was not completely surprised at his boss's reaction. While he hadn't
been sure, he did know they hated soul magic.
The goblin stood up fast enough to knock his chair against the wall. The
goblin's face was twisted with a snarl as he glared at the vial on his desk.
"Whose?"
"Voldemort's."
"Why did you bring that evil to the bank?"
"I wanted proof of what I said. Like I said, this is just the leftovers of one.
However, judging from the spell on another one we have…," he paused,
took a deep breath and, "there's one here at the bank," Bill said as calmly
as he could, knowing that the first reaction was going to pale in
comparison to this one.
Next came a lot of cursing in gobbledegook, while the goblin threw
things around the room. None of them came close to hitting Bill, but the
man made sure to sit very still, just in case.
"Sharpclaw," Bill said, holding up his hands to try and calm his boss. "I
think that one of the Death Eaters has it in their vault. I know Sirius
Black is here, and he can get into any vault belonging to his family. We
have a plan to collect all of these… items and destroy them," he said,
quickly and calmly.
Sharpclaw came from around his desk and moved to the door. He opened
it and started shouting down the hall. A few heads popped out of other
offices and one goblin took off running. Sharpclaw shouted some more
and a few more goblins shot off the other direction. With that done,
Sharpclaw closed the door, with a loud bang, and went back to his chair.
"Even with Black here, we need to talk to Ragnok," the goblin said with a
sigh. He shouldn't have exploded like that, but to learn that something so
vile was in the bank… Anyway, they knew how to handle cases like
these, it just took a bit of work. And lots of paperwork, dammit.
"Okay," was all Bill said, as he settled in a chair.
Meanwhile, Sirius and Harry asked for Harry's account manager, while
also asking if the Black manager would join them. They were led to a
room, that had a dark wooden table with six chairs. They took two on the
right side and waited.
They didn't have to wait long until they were joined by two well-dressed
goblins. Each holding a ledger.
"Greetings, Lord Black, Mr. Potter," the first goblin said, sitting across
from them with the other goblins. "I am Spikepoint, I will be handling the
Potter account. With me is Sliphook, he, of course, will be handling the
Black account."
"What happened to my old account manager?" Sirius wanted to know.
"He's dead," was all the answer they got. Truthfully, he had been
executed for not getting Sirius a trial. The dead goblin had been taking
payments from Malfoy to keep evidence from the Ministry. Among other
things.
By doing this, it kept the vault from being used, and if found out then
Gringotts could be charged with accessory in Line Theft. No matter what
type of stealing was happening, the most goblins abhorred thieves. Sure,
every now and then a goblin would do something stupid, but they were
usually found out, and their whole family suffered for ages. After all, if
they bred one thief, who knows how many untrustworthy goblins came
from that clan.
"Okay, so how does my account look? I know it hasn't seen an activity
since Grandfather died," Sirius said, pulling the ledger to him, when the
goblin waved him to do so. "Wait, what in Merlin's name is this?" he
almost shouted, seeing many withdrawals from the last few years.
"It seems your late account manager was giving out… loans," Sliphook
said with a wary look. "We will be calling them all in, once you give us
the go-ahead."
"Hell yes, I want them called in," Sirius said, still looking over his
finances. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but there was about a
quarter of his wealth lent out to Death Eaters. Some as close as a month
ago. He closed the book and looked at Sliphook. "With penalties and
interest," he stated firmly.
"It will be done," the vicious goblin said, writing a note.
"Now that that's done, I want to write out a will," Lord Black stated, his
teeth clenched.
"Right away," the goblin agreed, tapping his long finger on the table,
making some parchment appear. "We can write it out here, but you will
need your lawyer to validate it," he said, poised to begin writing.
Sirius waved him off and started dictating what he wanted. He made sure
that Harry was the primary recipient, while leaving some to the others
that he trusted. He made sure that the adoption was well documented in
the will, with notations that proof could be found with his lawyer, and a
copy in his vault. He would take this and that proof with him when he
went to the ministry, where Waters would meet him.
Meanwhile, Harry and Spikepoint were going over his finances. There
was nothing unusual in his books, though there had been many attempts
over the years for people claiming to be a Potter to get control. There
were also quite a few inheritances, that Harry had no idea why. He didn't
know these people, so why did they leave him money and house and
stuff?
When he asked, it was explained to him that they left it to the Boy-Who-
Lived.
"Can you put all that in a separate vault?" Harry asked, making some
plans on what to do with that money.
"Not a problem," the goblin said, tapping his finger on the desk and
getting the correct forms.
They all went over everything, though Harry did try to protest that he
didn't need as much money as Sirius made him withdraw.
"Harry, you are taking six other people out for entertainment, you will
need all of that," Sirius said, pushing the bag to the teen. It was full of
galleons and pounds. They were standing in the lobby and were drawing
a bit of attention, not that either of them cared.
The reason Harry was protesting, was that it had come from Sirius' vault.
After a few minutes of pushing the bag back and forth, Harry finally
snatched it and shoved it in his pocket. "Fine," he snapped, glaring at his
brother's grin.
At that moment, a goblin came up to Sirius. "Lord Black, you are needed,"
he said.
"Right, give me a moment," the man said politely then turned back to
Harry. "Will you be okay getting back to the house?" he asked, only a tiny
bit worried. It was only to the Leaky Cauldron.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes," he said, once again glaring at the man.
"Okay, go straight to the Cauldron and Floo home. While I'm sure you
will be fine in muggle London, I'm not so sure here. Remember, there
have been a lot of rumors about you lately. And… someone is trying to
kill you. Make that two someone's," Sirius said, rubbing his goatee,
wondering if he should walk Harry to the Floo.
"He can use our Floo," the goblin said, looking at Harry. He didn't want to
wait while Lord Black escorted the boy to the pub.
"I can?" Harry said, surprised.
"Yes, so come this way," the goblin all but snarled at being questioned.
Then he turned sharply and led the way.
Once Harry was back home, Sirius followed the goblin to where the
others were meeting. He got to the room and noted Bill and two goblins.
One dressed like an adventurer, the other like royalty. He cautiously
made his way to Bill.
"Lord Black, be know to Ragnok, King of the Goblins," Sharpclaw said,
bowing to his king.
"Oh, um, greetings, Ragnok," Sirius said, sketching his own bow.
The king waved him off and gestured for him to sit next to Bill. "We only
need you to give us permission to search the vaults of all those in your
family," the king started, pulling out a parchment. "This is a contract,
stating that we will not take anything from the vaults unless it is what we
are searching for. I have already sighed it, it needs your signature," he
said, pushing the contract to Sirius.
Sirius took it and looked it over. It was a quite simple contract, saying
just what Ragnok said it would. Bellatrix's and Narcissa's personal vaults
would be searched. If the horcrux wasn't in those vaults, they'd have to
come up with another plan. Seeing that there was no fine print, he
grabbed a quill and signed it, then pushed it back.
"Good," the king said, then started shouting orders to those outside the
door. "We are finished, unless you two have something else to tell us," he
said, looking at the two humans.
"No, that's all we needed," Bill said, getting up and bowing, while Sirius
copied him.
"We will destroy any of the vile things we find. Good day," the king said
in obvious dismissal.
The two wasted no time in leaving, soon they were in the lobby of
Gringotts. Then the two men headed out of the bank.
"What are you going to do now?" Sirius asked Bill as they stood at the
bottom of the marble stairs. He was glancing around Diagon Alley, and
was just smiling at everyone, creeping them out.
"I'm going back to the house. I still have some research to do. You?" the
curse-breaker asked, heading towards the Cauldron.
"I'm going to the ministry to raise hell," Sirius answered with his bark-like
laugh.
"Have fun," Bill said, chuckling along with him.
"Oh, I will," the dogman said a wicked smile playing over his face.
To that, Bill had no doubt.
19. Chapter 19 Confrontations
Chapter 19 Confrontations
Hphphp
Around the time the trio left for the bank, Moody decided it was time to
face Albus and Snape. He went to the Floo and called the Burrow.
Sticking his foot in the fireplace, because he really couldn't get on the
floor with his peg leg, he waited for someone to answer. Soon enough he
heard Arthur say, "What can I do for you, Alastor?"
"Is Albus there?" the one-eyed man asked, leaning over a bit so his voice
would carry.
"No, I believe he's at Hogwarts," the redhead said, thought Moody
thought he hear a bit of humor in the other man's voice.
"Right, thanks," was all Moody said, pulling his foot out of the fire. He
then turned to the people still sitting at the table. "I'm heading out. Tell
Sirius I'll be back tonight," he stated, with a curt nod to the kids.
"Okay," came the answer of many.
He nodded again and stomped out. When he got to the front stoop, he
Disapparated. He appeared at the gates of Hogwarts. Grunting with
frustration on having to walk all the way to the castle, he started his
journey.
About ten minutes later, he was no spring chicken, he came to the doors.
Right as he was making his way up the steps, Albus opened the doors.
"Ah, Alastor, what can I do for you today?" the old man asked, waiting
for his friend to ascend the stairs.
"I need to talk to you and Snape," the ex-Auror said, coming to the top of
the steps.
"Whatever for?" Albus said, leading the way to his office.
"Order stuff," was all the answer he got.
Albus sighed and continued walking. He glanced at his old friend and
tried to read his face. Nothing. There simply was no indication about
what his friend wanted to talk about. So, he silently led the way to his
office. He knew nothing he said would change that. Alastor confirmed
that with his next words.
"Don't bother, you'll get nothing from me until we are all safely
ensconced into your office," Moody said as he continued walking. Years
of experience with Albus let Alastor know just what to do and say to
handle the old man.
Dumbledore just sighed again and led on. A few minutes later they were
at the gargoyle. Giving the password, Albus stepped onto the rotating
stairs. Moody joined him; thankful they were self-rising. They entered the
office, and Dumbledore went to the fireplace and called Snape.
"You seem upset today, my friend. Can you tell me what is bothering
you? I can assure you that anything you heard has a good reason," Albus
said, trying to feel out what was bothering his longtime friend.
"Albus, you've known me for a long time, why do you think I would fall
for your grandfather act?" Moody asked, his face getting grumpier. He
really hated that Dumbledore would try and treat him like a newbie.
"Alastor, I am appalled that you would think that. I am merely concerned
that something I have done has upset you," the old man said, a contrite
look on his face.
Moody grunted and held his tongue. About that time, Snape finally came
through the Floo.
"What is this about?" Snape snarled, glaring at Alastor. "I have potions
that need tended."
"Sit down, Snape," Moody growled, pointing to an empty chair. This man,
he hated. There weren't many he could say that about, but this one, just
rubbed him wrong. He didn't like that Albus let him get by with so much
that should have seen Snape in Azkaban. That and from what he heard
from the kids, well, seeing the end of this abuser would be a pleasure.
Now, it was up to him to see if he could put the fear of Mad-Eye Moody
into him.
Reluctantly and with a great deal of sneering, Severus complied.
"Now that we are all here, Alastor, what did you need to talk to us
about?" the Headmaster asked, folding his hands together and placing
them on his desk.
"I have a few things to tell you, and ask you, that I feel you should know.
I'm not breaking any confidentiality with tell you, but don't ask what I
won't tell," Alastor started off, giving them a gimlet eye. "We know about
the horcruxes, as you know. We've found them all and are in the process
of obtaining them. No, I'm not telling you where," he stated, folding his
arms, almost daring one of the two to try and breech his mind.
"If you will not tell us where, then why tell us at all?" Severus sneered,
looking down his long-hooked nose at the man.
"I'm only telling you, so you don't do something stupid," he sneered back
with just as much loathing. "Like you're doing at the Ministry, Albus. I
know Black told you that it was fruitless to be there, but as usual you are
not listening," he added, giving Dumbledore a disappointed look.
"What we are guarding at the Ministry is quite important. You would
know that if you had not left the Order," Dumbledore stated, folding his
hands on his desk.
"I've done more since I left the Order than I did the month I was there,"
Moody disagreed, glaring at his friend. "Take Black's advice and keep
your people out of the Ministry."
"I will think on it. Now, if you do indeed know where the horcruxes are,
would it not be imperative for you to tell me? After all the Order could
help," Albus asked, ignoring the advice, and sliding his hands into his lap
as he sat back.
"No, I don't think you would, or even could, help. I think that you'd try to
take over and botch it up," Moody said, keeping his magical eye on the
other man's hands.
"I am deeply offended that after years of friendship that you think so
little of me," Dumbledore said, truly upset that one of his dearest friends
would think him so tyrannical.
"It's your action this last year that have led me to my conclusions. For
example, if you hadn't kept everything close to your chest, then we could
have stopped that mad man from coming back. And don't even say
anything about the thrice dammed prophecy. Only a fool would put the
end results of a war on a teen's shoulder." He glared at his friend.
"You know the prophecy?" the aghast Headmaster asked, hoping that
wasn't true.
"That is why I told you to quit guarding it. Black told us there was one. I
even recall him telling me that Harry does too," he threw that tidbit in
there to see how the old man would react.
"Harry knows the prophecy?" Albus asked, his face taking on a fearful
look.
Alastor wondered about that. Did he think the boy would go and tell
everyone?
"Of course, the boy-wonder knows. I am sure that he has told his
sycophants as well," Snape sneered, snorting at the look Moody leveled
him.
"No, he doesn't know the whole of it. And I can tell you now that and
neither they nor I believe in such hooey anyway. I thought you didn't
either, Albus," Mad-Eye stated, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Whatever do you mean?" the old man inquired.
"I mean, that you never have believed in divination in the past. I
remember the many times you told me it was all misleading," the one-
eyed man stated, looking at the ever-paling faces of the men in front of
him. "Yet, here you are trying to mold one to work as you want it. I've
known you a long time, Albus, yet I never before took you for a fool."
"I expect that hearing one given has changed my perspective," the old
man said, slouching his shoulders.
"That doesn't give you cause to ruin a young man's life," Moody accused,
then looked to Snape. "You have no excuse either," he snarled.
"Potter is an arrogant toerag," the Potions Master sneered.
"Really, because I've spent quite a bit of time around the lad, and I find
him to be quite humble," was the rebuttal.
"All Potters are arrogant," Snape rebutted as if it were fact.
"Look here, Snape…" was as far as he got before Dumbledore stopped
them.
"Enough, our opinion of young Harry is not up for discussion right now.
What I want to know is why you are denying me information that I can
use to end the war," Albus said a bit harshly.
"Doesn't feel good, does it? Having the shoe on the other foot," Alastor
barked, laughing a bit as he rubbed his chin. "You've been denying us
information for ages. I don't think you've told us the whole truth since
you started the Order back in the first war."
"Alastor, how can you accuse me of such? You know as well as I that
some information must never get out," the Headmaster said, looking
intently at his friend.
"Albus, young Sirius gave us one word, and in the space of two days,
we've uncovered more that the weeks we spent under your… regime," the
other man said, still keeping he eyes on the both of them. "We know
what, who, why and where. That's three times as many things than you
told us."
"Alas, I am sorry you feel this way, my friend. Would it be at all possible
to tell us what you know?" he tried again.
"I did. What you need to know, is what I told you. Oh, and by the way,
Sirius knows what you tried to do, going to Bones to see if she'd press
charges for kidnapping. It backfired; he has had his lawyer on this from
the start. I would strongly suggest you not try again," Alastor stated, a
smug look on his face.
Albus just nodded, it was a longshot anyway.
"So, you are just going to let those still in the Order die?" was Snape's
question, bring the other man's attention back to him.
"No, I'm giving you all a warning. If you don't have all the information,
then leave it to those that do. That means, quit guarding the prophecy.
As I said, Harry knows about it, and he doesn't care. The Unspeakables
know you're sneaking around, so just stop before someone gets killed or
arrested. I mean, do you really think anyone you have standing down
there could take on a Death Eater, let alone, Riddle? Or that they are
going to be let go for trespassing? Get it together, Albus, or you're going
to get people killed," Mad-Eye said, living up to his name while his
magical eye went berserk.
"Tom must not know…"
"It's guarded, closer now that a few days ago. Let people do their jobs,
dammit."
"I will take that under advisement," the Headmaster sighed, thinking on
what he could do with the free time the Order had. Now that Harry was
with Sirius, there was no need to guard him. If the prophecy was indeed
watched, there was no need there either.
Maybe, he could get his people to spy on Sirius' group. That way he
would find out information that they knew. Perhaps, he could get
someone in the group, or sway one of the members to turn back to the
Order. Remus, Nymphadora, or even Andromeda. He'd have to think
about it. As it was, he was very put out that his longtime friend was
withholding information.
"There are few other things that have come up that I'd like some answers
too," Alastor said, relaxing, as much as he was able, in his chair. "When
we went to Wiltshire, we found that the information we had on the wards
and the number of Death Eaters, was vastly understated. Any idea why
that is, Snape?" he glared at the spy with both his magical and non-
magical eyes.
"I only reported what I was told I could," the man said, sniffing
importantly.
"By whom?" was the question.
"Albus, of course," came the reply.
"You told him to give us false information! Merlin dammit, Albus, why?"
Moody raised his voice.
"I was trying to keep morale up. If the others know just how strong
Voldemort has gotten, they will not wish to stand against him," the old
man reply, sinking further in his chair. He was so tired of being
questioned like an unruly school child.
"That is the lamest excuse I've heard yet. Keep up morale is all find and
good, but if you go into a fight expecting five opponents, and seeing ten,
then you are as good as dead," the other man snapped back.
"It was never my attention to have to Order fight, Alastor. You should
know that," the Headmaster said, straightening in his throne like chair.
"I know you never used what Snape told you, but I thought you would
have at least used us to protect the innocent, or assist in the final battle,"
Moody said, going over what all the Order had done since this all
restarted. Which wasn't a whole hell of a lot. In the last war, they did go
out and fight, so what changed? He voiced the question.
"I… well… I cannot give you an answer you would like," Albus hedged.
Truthfully, it was the prophecy, but he knew his friend wouldn't like that.
"I have to say, Albus, I am very disappointed in you. You are leading
people to their death. I know for a fact that you've let the curriculum of
this school fall so low, that everyone, and I do mean everyone, has to have
remedial classes when they graduate. If they want to be healers, Aurors,
or even Heads of Departments they need to be taught how. Things they
should have learned here. You care more about your pet Death Eater,
than you do about those you're supposed to care about," Moody stated,
waving at the sneering man with a look of disgust.
"Hogwarts is a top-notch school," the Headmaster denied.
"No, it is not," Alastor scoffed, pinning the old man with a disgusted look.
"I looked it up, it's a second-rate school. You are taking away what makes
us magical and trying to conform the new generation into something else.
Why else would you cancel the culture classes, the rituals, and the
account management?" the one-eyed man questioned. They had all been
classes when he went to school.
"The muggleborn…"
"No, they are not just muggleborn, they are wizards and witches. They
are coming into a new culture, they should adapt. We are not the same,
we didn't celebrate the Christian holidays, like Christmas, Halloween, or
Easter, or whatever other ones they have. We celebrated Yule, Samhain,
and Spring Equinox."
"They are the same thing," Albus said, looking confused.
"No they are not. There is no ritual in the Christian holidays, not ones
that touch magic. You know as well as everyone that magic is an entity.
That it needs to be thanked. You took that away from the children these
last few decades and now most of those that graduate will never reach
their full potential, unless they self-study, or get a family to teach them,"
Moody growled, leaning forward as if to intimidate his friend.
"The muggleborn are more comfortable with what they know,"
Dumbledore tried again.
"So those raised in the wizarding world mean less to you then those not?"
was the angry question.
"I do not want the muggleborn to leave when they've finished here," the
headmaster replied.
"So you will leave generations of magicals stunted, just for the sake of a
few wary feelings? Are you daft?" Moody yelled, getting very upset with
what he was here.
"Those rituals were not helpful to anyone," came the rebuttal. "I decided
to make the muggleborn more comfortable in their new environment," he
added firmly.
"That wasn't your call," Alastor snarled, thumping his hand on the desk in
front of him. "Those rituals are a part of our culture and you have denied
them to those who come to us. Now, I'm not saying that we should not
progress, we are a bit stagnant at the moment, but that is because your
'conforming' has had every grind to a halt."
"Explain what you mean," Snape said, very curious to what the ex-Auror
meant by that statement.
"Rituals are needed to move forward. It is only when we can ask magic to
assist us that we can learn more about it. If we don't then we will studder
and die," was an equally firm reply.
"Hogwash," Snape said, folding his arms. "I evented spells all the time in
my youth."
"Right, and since you left, how many have you created?" the one-eyed
man asked, lifting his right eyebrow in inquire.
Snape said nothing.
"You are half the problem," the other man stated, giving the younger man
a disdained look. "You refuse to teach and come down on anyone that
doesn't help your cover. And don't give me that bullshit that you must
maintain your act. I know for a fact that you do it for pleasure. If you
didn't you wouldn't have hurt the society the way you have." He glared at
the Potions Master.
"I am only…"
"Bullshit," Alastor stated, slamming his hand on the armrest of the chair.
"Alastor, Severus has my complete confidence," came the tired or refrain.
"Don't you see, Albus? The two of you are a major part of why we are
stuck in the 1400's. We can't move on, because the lack of education and
the lack of magical celebrations are pitting pure-bloods against
muggleborn. If you taught what they needed to know, then there would
be more comradery. Perhaps not pure peace, but they wouldn't lash out
at one another as often. You have tried so hard to appease everyone, that
you've hurt everyone," he finished, taking a few deep breaths to calm a
bit. He hadn't realized that this was true until he put it into words.
"What would you have me do, old friend?" the Headmaster questioned.
"Either fix your mistakes, like get rid Snape, or make him do his job," he
tried to assert some feelings into that, to make Albus listen. "Resume the
lost classes, and try to find a middle ground, instead of taking away the
magical culture."
"Severus is needed. I cannot know what Tom is up to, if he does not do
his job," the other man protested. He was quite used to people demeaning
Snape, and his teaching habits, or lack thereof. They just didn't
understand what was needed. "Those classes would require teachers, that
the school just can't afford."
"You've just proved my point," Moody pointed out, sighing in
disappointment. "You are lying through your teeth. I've seen the ledger. I
know that you could do a great deal more than you are. You are almost
as bad as Riddle; you're just going about it in a different way and at the
opposite end. Instead of repressing the muggleborn, you are repressing
everyone else."
The Headmaster opened his mouth to deny it, but Alastor just slashed his
hand at him. He was done talking.
"I'm glad you lost a few of your positions, Albus, and I will do everything
in my power to make sure you don't get them back," he threatened, then
sighed again. He knew Albus would keep his own counsel, and he was
wasting his breath trying to change his mind about Snape. "I don't know
what game you're playing, but you need to stop," Alastor stated, glaring
at the old man who used to be his friend.
"Harry…"
"No, the fate of the universe does not rest on that young man's shoulders.
What of the Death Eaters, the giants, the werewolves, the vampires, or
whatever else Riddle gets to fight for him? Is Potter supposed to fight
them all, on his own. Dammit, Dumbledore, what is going on in your
head?" the one-eyed man shouted, leaning forward in his chair.
"I'm only doing what I know best for the whole of Britain. I know you
don't see that, but I truly am trying to make our world great,"
Dumbledore said with a sigh.
"Your vaulted 'Greater Good', isn't helping anyone. Take my advice,
disband your Order, or someone is going to get killed. And if they do, I
will make sure that is all rest on your shoulders. Reel in your pet,
reinstate classes," Moody said, leveraging himself out of the chair. "Heed
my words, Albus, or you will die disappointed and a disappointment."
He had had enough with this disillusioned old man. He once thought of
him as a great leader, but now that those tinted glasses were gone… well,
he'd do his best to train those that needed it. Perhaps, he could get
Arthur to let the kids come back to Headquarters when they've done with
Umbridge. They would certainly learn more. He might get the word out
that Hogwarts was repressing their children, and see if they didn't pull
the students out.
Something to think about later.
"Alastor, try to understand," the old man pleaded. He truly didn't see why
his old friend could not see it his way. He needed all the people he could
get to help him when the war was over. All hands would be needed to
rebuild what Tom would tear down. It didn't even cross his mind to stop
that from happening. Only that he would lead the rebuilding.
"Nope, I've heard enough," Moody replied, opening the door. "Oh, and
leave the kid alone. He's got all the help he needs," were his final words
as he left.
He started towards Minerva's office. While he was here, he might as well
tell her of their plans. First, he had to convince her not to tell Albus.
Hopefully, that wouldn't be too hard.
Hphphp
Sirius was waiting in the atrium for his lawyer. He looked at that hideous
statue again, and his fingers itched to blow it to smithereens. The two
exchanged parchments when they met. Then Sirius headed towards the
Minster's office to… talk to a toad. His lawyer went to meet Bones, to
make sure everything was documented.
As he made his way to Umbridge, Sirius was laying out his discussion in
his head. He needed to make sure that that woman was well and truly
frightened of him, without out right threatening her. That probably won't
happen, she did seem full of herself. He was going to need to lay all his
cards on the table. Well, the trump cards anyway.
Upon reaching his destination, he stopped to blink his eyes a few times,
the office was pink. Completely and utterly pink. It made his head hurt.
Umbridge wasn't in the office, so he went to hunt her down.
He found her trying to intimidate one of her co-workers. That woman
seemed to think she was more important than she was. He knocked on
the doorframe to the office. "Umbridge, I want to talk to you," he stated
firmly, like a Lord should.
"Lord Black, have you come to drop your suit against the Ministry?" she
simpered, turning to meet the man face on. The one she was berating
could wait. If Black was going to drop the charges, Cornelius would be
happy.
"Let's talk in you… a meeting room," Sirius suggested, he didn't want to
have to be in that office if he could help it.
"Do I need to inform the Minster?" she asked, batting her eyelashes, like
she was flirting, which made Sirius do an internal full-body shudder.
"Why don't I tell you what I have to say, then you can decide," he hedged,
gesturing for her to lead the way.
"Of course,' she said cautiously. Nevertheless, she led the way to a small
meeting room.
The two entered and sat across from one another. Sirius took a piece of
parchment from his robe, laid it on the table and slid it over.
She looked confused, until she picked it up and read it. Then a look of
horror showed on her face, and she dropped the parchment like it had
stung her. The only thing written there was two words: Ellen Cracknell.
She looked warily at the man in front of her.
"What do you want?" she asked fearfully.
"Nothing much, just for you to do your job, and your job only. If I find
that you are interfering with me and mine again, this," he picked up the
parchment and waved it in her face, "will become public," he said, taking
the piece and putting it in his robes.
"I have always done my job," she protested, still staring at where the
parchment had been hidden.
"No, I think you do far beyond what is required for an Undersecretary,"
he rebutted, keeping his voice calm.
"I don't know what you mean," she denied.
"Listen to me, woman, I know what you did. I can't prove it, or you
would not be sitting here," Sirius stated, leaning into her personal space,
as much as the table would let him. "If I hear even a sliver or rumor that
you have overstepped yourself again, well, just take this as a friendly
reminder that you have skeletons in your cauldron, and leave me and
mine alone," he threatened.
"I will do what is necessary to protect the Ministry," she stated firmly. She
would not be threatened, she was stronger that that. Her position
protected her. On the other hand, if that name was made public, it might
just be the end of her career.
"Then I will bury you," came the reply. "Do you think this is all I have on
you? You must not know my family well if you think I came to you
without protection. Listen to me, you toad, don't hurt anyone I know,
Harry knows, or their families. Or I will pull your oversized ego off and
blast it with every blasting spell I know," he said, getting up from the
table, kinda hoping that she disregarded his warning. He would take
great pleasure in seeing her hang.
"Don't think to threaten me, Black. I know things about you as well. Your
family has done many shady dealings that I could bury you too," she
stood, putting her fist on the table, heaving herself up, and leaning
forward.
"Oh, you foolish woman, there is nothing in my tree that could hurt me
as much as I could you," Sirius said, barking with laughter. "Go ahead,
tell the world what they already know."
"I can go after Potter," she made her first mistake.
Sirius drew his wand and dug it into her many chins. "Then you will be
dead," he said, his voice like ice.
She looked into those icy grey eyes and panicked. Closing her eyes so she
didn't have to see her upcoming death, she took a breath. She was the
undersecretary; she would not be intimidated. "Fine, we shall see who
had the bigger wand," she said, backing away from the man.
He let her go, he had made his point. Now, it was up to her to see how
quickly and hard she fell. "Glad we understand one another," he said,
leaving the nervous woman in the room as he made his way to the
Minster's office. Not waiting for the secretary announce him, he opened
the door.
"Black," the portly man behind the desk uttered, off footed.
"Fudge, I am here to serve you these papers. Not only am I suing the
Ministry, but my ward, Harry Potter, is suing you, personally, for slander.
If you do not cease and desist, then we will make it a criminal matter.
Good luck with that. Oh, and my lawyer is good. You will be left
knutless," Sirius said all of this with a smile as he threw the parchments
on the desk. Then he faux tilted his hat and left. Leaving a stuttering man
behind him.
Now that he was done throwing his weight around, he felt good.
20. Chapter 20 Swapping Info
Chapter 20 Swapping Info
I'm receiving reviews that I'm either too hard on Hermione, or too soft. I've left
a rant on my ffn profile, so I don't take up much space here. This AN was left
on chapter 6 too.
Remember this is unbetaed, I do go over the chapters, but if you see anything,
let me know. I have no problem fixing mistakes.
Hphphp
Sirius entered Grimmuald Place the same time Alastor came through the
Floo. They both looked at each other across the kitchen and sighed.
"Fudge and Umbridge," Sirius said, sitting at the table and grabbing a
teacup that just appeared. "Thanks, Dinky," he called out. There was a
'Welcome, Master,' then a snap and they were alone again.
"Albus and Snape," Moody grunted as he too sat, but he pulled his flask,
and took a deep draw from it.
"Do you think yours went better than mine?" Black asked, pouring
himself some tea.
"Nope, I'm sure it was about the same," the other man grumbled.
"Damn," the younger man cursed. "So, neither one of us got what we
wanted," he guessed. He knew that the two he threatened today would
ignore him until he did what he said he would. They were politicians
after all, he was sure they got threatened on a daily basis. Still, he was a
Black, so that might make a difference.
"You're probably right, I know at least Albus will ignore half of what I
said. Not sure about Snape though," the older man said, rubbing his chin.
"Did you tell him we were hunting the horcruxes? Albus, I mean," Sirius
asked, sipping his still hot tea.
"Aye, I did. Though I didn't say what or where," Alastor said, slumping
down in his chair a bit. Arguing with Albus always took a lot out of him.
That and he wasn't getting any younger.
"Just to recap," Sirius said, putting his empty cup on the table, and
watching it refill while he talked, "we have a ring, a necklace, Harry, the
diary is gone, and the goblins are taking care of whatever is in the bank.
That's five, we know that there are three more, including Riddle, and
one's at Hogwarts. Do you think we should inform Albus?"
"Nah, if I thought that, I'd have told him while I was there. I did some
looking around, but without Bill's spell, I couldn't find anything. That and
I didn't want to stay too long, the old man would have gotten suspicious,"
Alastor said, giving and irritated huff.
"Probably for the best. I didn't tell Umbridge to stay away from Hogwarts.
Just to leave me and mine alone. I'm pretty sure that she's going to ignore
that, like I said, just to try and push me. With Tonks taking Harry's place,
I'm hoping she'll do something stupid and wind up in my old cell," Sirius
confessed with a malicious grin.
"Like you said, probably for the best. I'll have to grill Tonks on a few
things," Moody said, rubbing his stubbly chin. "We're going to have her
watch Snape too, right? Are we looking for blackmail, or expulsion?"
"Me, I'd like to never see that bastard again, preferably laying in a ditch
somewhere, but that's a pipe dream, so let's go with expulsion," Sirius
said, thinking hard on what Tonks could use to get this done. She had the
man for Potions years ago, so what could she use now, that she couldn't
use then.
"Why are you so hung up on Snape. I thought it was you that did him
wrong all those years agon," Moody said, his brow furrowed.
"Oh, I did, I'll never deny that I sent him to face a werewolf. But, let me
ask you this; if I told you that if you wanted to see a werewolf, and
where they were hidden, would you be stupid enough to go there? I
surely thought old Snivellus was smarter than to try and face Moony on
the night of the full moon. Yet, even though he was stupid enough to do
that, I was accused of attempted murder. I'd bet it is one of the reasons
everyone believed I betrayed James and Lily. So, no, I have no sympathy
for that man," Sirius said, his voice filled with anger and hate.
"Aye, but you got a slap on the hand, if I heard correctly," was the
rebuttal.
"It was still put on my school record as a prank gone bad. That and Albus
doesn't let a moment go by that he doesn't remind me that I could have
gone to Azkaban earlier, had he not intervened," the other man said, a
snarl on his face.
"Yes, Albus is prone to do that," agreed Alastor.
"Anyway, I'll have Tonks ask Amelia what to look for with Snape. Do you
think she can handle all of this?" Sirius asked, getting away from the sore
subject.
"Yeah, I trained her myself. Besides, I'm going to rely on the twins to get
the horcrux. According to them, and the other kids, they know the castle
better than anyone," the old Auror stated, his eyes gleaming with…
something. "I'll tell her to keep watch on the teachers. Snape especially."
"Did you let McGonagall know about Tonks?" he asked, he didn't want to
talk about Snape anymore. He really did hate that guy, and not just
because of childhood rivalries, but the man's treatment of his new baby
brother, along with all the other people he knew that had that man as a
professor. If you could even call him that.
"Yeah, she didn't like it at first, until I told her some things about what
the Order is and is not doing. She got in a right strop, and decided to
help us out," Alastor said, taking another swig of his hipflask. He'd let it
go. There was no need for him to get involved with those two men.
"How much did you tell her?"
"Only that Tonks was going to be posing as Harry, and that she was going
to keep an eye on the new DADA professor," was the casual answer.
"No, I mean about the Order," Sirius clarified.
"I know what you meant; I just chose not to answer you. There're some
things that I know that would make you more mad at Albus than you are
already. You would put the whole operation in danger if you go storming
off to mete out punishment," the older man practically snarled.
"Fine, I get that, but when this is all over, I want to know," the dogman
grumbled.
"We'll see," was the noncommittal answer.
Just then the kids and Tonks came home, making a lot of noise.
"How was the movie?" Sirius asked, letting them all sit down.
"That was the wickedest thing I've ever seen," George said, Fred nodding
along as they dazedly came into the room and just sat down stunned.
"How did they do that?" Ron asked, his eyes still wide with awe at what
he had seen. He had been asking since they left. Hermione had tried to
explain it, but they were surrounded by people, so she told him that she'd
tell him later.
"Please, don't answer that, Hermione," Harry begged, knowing it would
be a long discussion.
"I won't, not yet anyway," she agreed. She would take the Weasleys aside
later and tell them what she knew about movie making.
They all settled down and the kids told Sirius about their afternoon. The
Weasleys waxed poetic on the movie they saw. Which was The Mask.
They went on and on about how it must be magic and would not be told
otherwise. To them there was no other explanation. Harry was kinda
regretting that they didn't watch The Lion King. But then again, they
might think that was made with magic too.
He was glad they had gone to eat first. The magical raised, especially
Ron, loved the pizza and fizzy drinks. So, they at least got to enjoy that,
before their minds melted. Still, it was kinda funny, their reactions. He
couldn't wait for them to see Star Wars, or any of that story line. Right
now, he just smiled and sat back and watch Hermione explain once more
that the movie they saw was not made with magic.
Tonks and Sirius were getting kicks out of their reactions. Sirius wasn't
helping any by constantly stating that it was 'movie magic'. Hermione did
level him her best glare, not that it stopped the man, but it did make
Harry and Tonks laugh.
It was a good day.
Hphphp
While Moody and Padfoot were having their tête-à-tête, Snape was
harrowing Dumbledore. He had been dying to ask this question for a
while but had had little chance to catch the old man alone. So, he was
going to take advantage of the fact that they were here now.
"Why didn't you tell me about the horcruxes?" Severus asked, his voice
smooth as silk, hiding his anger at being denied like everyone else. "I
have been loyal to you and your cause for years. Did you think that I
would jump and do the same? Do you really think so little of me? You
know that I want the Dark Lord gone as much, even more so, than you
do," the greasy-haired man ended up snarling at his mentor.
"Now, Severus, you know I hold you in the deep confidence. I merely was
not putting temptation in your path," the Headmaster cajoled, moving his
hands in a calming gesture.
"How could something I already know about be tempting? If you had
merely asked me, I could have helped you hunt them down years ago.
When did you find out?" Snape snarled, getting up and pacing in front of
the old man's desk.
"I had my suspicions for years, but they were only confirmed during
Harry's second year," Albus sighed, rubbing his fingers down his nose,
hoping to prevent a headache from forming. He hated taking headache
relievers.
"That long?" the other man almost bellowed at him. "Why? Why did you
not inform those in your trust? Dammit, Albus, this must stop. No one is
going to trust you if you keep vital information from them. We are
putting our lives on the line for you, count!" he said, slamming his hands
down on the desk, making parchment, ink wells, and quills fly
everywhere.
"It was not my intention to cause discontent. I was merely trying to
prevent this news from leaking to outside sources. If Tom knows that I
know, he might take drastic measure to hide the ones that he has," the
Headmaster stated, now rubbing his temples. Yes, that headache did
appear.
"That is a load of hippogriff dung," the Potions Master snapped. "The
Dark Lord was not capable of doing anything until last year. This could
have been over before it started," he said, taking a deep breath and trying
to get his emotions under control. "There are spells that tell where these
vial things are hidden, and nothing the Dark Lord can do will stop that. It
is soul magic," he snarled, the look of loathing on his face.
"Do you know this spell?" the Headmaster inquired, intrigued that there
was such a thing. He had no knowledge on this. His eyes squinted a little
from the pain in his head. He really wish people would stop yelling at
him.
"I do not, however, I do know who does," Severus said, pinching his nose
in frustration. "I would have asked them immediately had I known."
"Will you ask this person now?"
"Oh, I would, but you drove him away with your need to keep secrets,"
Snape said, sneering at the old man with a great deal of disgust.
"All I can do is apologize," Albus said, giving up and retrieving a
headache potion from his desk.
"Fat lot of good that does. What else are you not telling me?" the younger
man asked, straightening his non-creased, robes.
Albus sighed again. He took the potion, closed his eyes and waited for
the pain to subside. He then glanced at the young man that he trusted,
mostly. "Harry Potter is a horcrux," he stated heavily.
"Merlin damn it, Albus," Snape said, losing control over his emotions
again. Occlumency be damned. "What have you done about it? Because
as far as I can see, you have done nothing," he added, fixing the other
man with an almost hateful glare.
"There is nothing for me to do. The prophecy says that only Tom can
vanquish Harry, or visa versa. The two of them must battle in the end,"
the old man explained, meeting Severus' eyes and not flinching once.
"You are a fool," was all Snape said as he twirled around, robes flaring,
and left, magically slamming the door behind him. He stormed through
the castle, heading straight to McGonagall. If anyone could get ahold of
the mutt, she could. He hoped.
The portraits gossiped as he passed, spreading the word that the Potions
Master was in a snit. They ran from frame to frame, giving out warning
to anyone in the halls. Soon enough, Severus was outside Minerva's door.
He knocked briskly twice and entered.
"Severus, what can I do for you?" she asked, primly, not getting up from
her desk where she was doing her never-ending paperwork.
"Can you get ahold of Black?" the dour man asked, settling in a chair,
watching her scribble away.
"I can," was all she said, though she did look up.
"There's something he needs to know. It's about Potter," he stated,
pinching his nose, for it was now he that was fighting off a headache.
Unlike Albus though, he reached into his robes and took the potion for it
right away.
"Let me see if I can call him," she offered, setting down her quill and
moving to the Floo. She threw the powder in, but Snape couldn't hear the
address. The only reason she knew it was because Sirius had given the
address to Moody, who gave it to her. With permission, of course.
She talked to whoever answered for a few moments, removed her head
from the fire and stepped back. Just a moment later, Moody stepped
through. After the talk he just had with Sirius there was no way he was
going to let these two men meet anytime soon.
"What do you need, Snape?" the grumpy man asked, sitting in a chair on
wall. One set aside for those serving detention.
"Where is Black?" was the reply.
"You don't want to be in the same room with him right now," was all the
old Auror said, stretching out his bad leg.
"Fine, Minerva, could we borrow your office for a few moments?" Snape
asked, his eyes never leaving the other man.
"If I must," she sniffed, and left.
"Potter is a horcrux," Severus said bluntly, because even if he were a nice
man, there is no good way to say that.
"We know, it's gone. Albus tell you?" Moody said, drinking from his
hipflask.
"Yes, how did you remove it? For the sake of curiosity," the younger man
asked, leaning forward as if to catch the words sooner.
"I don't know really. All I know is that it's gone," Moody said, shrugging
his shoulder. "You can tell Albus if you want. We're down two, but don't
tell him that," he said, giving the guy the benefit of the doubt. Not that
there was much the spy could do with that. "Well, three if you count
Riddle," he added with a shrug.
"You know where they are?" Snape had to confirm. He knew that this
man, and William Weasley could do the spell he mentioned to Albus. Oh,
he knew a few others, but they were the type that could tell the wrong
person, the Dark Lord, and he would be dead.
"Yep, should have them all before long. We'll leave the one around Riddle
till last," Moody said, giving him enough to hang himself if he turned spy.
He didn't think the man would. He knew that Riddle had killed the love
of his life, so… They might have use for him after all. He'd talk it over
with the others. "Do us a favor, Snape, leave the boy and his alone. They
are working on this for us."
"Do you require my help?" was the actually honest question.
"Best not, if you're to be around Riddle, then best keep you nose as clean
as it can get," Moody replied. "Though, it would be best if you kept this
entire conversation, bar that bit about Harry, to yourself."
"Fear not, I am not going to tell anyone, not even Albus, what you have
just told me. I would caution that Potter keep up on his Occlumency. His
defenses are solid, but if he relaxes them, he is an open book," the greasy-
haired man said, standing up and leaving the room.
"Right," Moody grumbled to himself and Minerva came back in.
"Did you learn what he wanted?" she asked, settling down at her desk
and picking up her quill.
"Yeah," he sighed, lumbering out of the chair. "I'd best get back. Black is
going to want to hear this." With that he Flooed to Sirius' house.
"What did Snivellus want?" Sirius asked, not really caring but curious.
"Albus told him about Harry," was the vague answer.
"What about me?" the boy in question asked as he friends all turned to
the ex-Auror.
"Never you mind that now. I'm sure if you think really hard you can
answer that question yourself," Alastor said, giving him a pointed look.
Harry blushed and it did only take him a second to figure it out. Now, he
had the gazes of everyone seventeen and under. He just smirked and
shrugged. They all sighed in frustration and went back to talking about
which movie they wanted to see next.
"Did you tell him?" Sirius asked, keeping is vague.
"Aye, I did. He deserved it, since he tried to warn us. We might want to
put whatever nefarious things you've got percolating in your head on the
backburner," Moody suggested, ending the topic.
"Right, fine, I'll leave the greasy git alone," the other man conceded.
Bill came in the house right then, nodded and winked to the older men
and winked at Tonks. So enough, everyone else was piling in the kitchen
and they all discussed their day. Most of the adults were smiling at the
Weasleys, they did enjoy it the first time an all magical family got
exposed to the cinema. It was always a treat how they reacted.
"There's a meeting after dessert," Sirius announced, watching Andi, Tonks
and Harry argue with the house elves about cooking dinner.
"Okay," was the reply of many adults.
"Harry, you don't need to be there," the dogman said, getting the boy's
attention. "You already know what it's about," he finished, nodding
towards him to see if he understood.
He broke away from his argument and nodded back.
The rest of the night, before the meeting was just one joyous family get
together.
Hphphp
Okay, short chapter. But you know me, I might come back and add to it. If I
do, I will make sure to let you know. It has been a minute, so I thought I'd get
this out to you.
21. Chapter 21 Making Plans
Chapter 21 Making Plans
I was going to say something here, and it was important. Oh well, it'll come to
me. Enjoy.
Hphphp
The meeting got underway as soon as the teens all trooped upstairs. Andi
and Ted, as usual, went with them. They felt that they would be better
served to tend the children, as well as keep up their jobs. Not that they
needed them, now that Sirius had brought them back into the family, but
still.
Sirius watched them leave and as soon as the doors sealed, he sat at the
head of the table wondering how he wound up with the leadership of this
unnamed group. "Alright, everyone, settle down. First, I have something
to say. I talked to Fudge and Umbitch, I did tell them to leave me and
mine alone, as well as a few other things, but I don't think they took me
seriously."
"What else did you do, besides threaten them? Which by the way, I'm
going to ignore," Amelia asked, hoping that she did not have to arrest this
man tonight.
"I served Fudge some papers," Black said with a shrug, then grimaced, "I
warned him to keep Harry away from his vitriol. He didn't listen. He'll
find out tomorrow that he is an idiot. There was an article that was
supposed to be printed in tomorrow's addition of the Prophet?"
"How did you find out? I mean if the paper doesn't come out until
tomorrow, how did you learn about it?" Tonks asked, grabbing some of
the leftover dessert.
"Oh, well, I have an in there," the dogman said, smugly, "and they sent it
to me. It looks like my warning made the man stupider that I thought he
was. Waters will be serving him papers in first thing in the morning.
Amelia, that means were making it criminal, so heads up on that."
Madam Bones, Head of the DMLE, looked like Yule had come early. "I
don't know whether to kiss you or hex you."
"Why would you want to hex me?" the confused man asked, knowing he
was handing her a criminal on a silver platter.
"Paperwork," was all the answer that was needed, making anyone who
had ever done paperwork, cringe, while the others laughed.
"Sorry," Sirius chuckled. "Also, I will be taking up my seat on the Board. I
sent my confirmation in earlier this week. I made sure to tell them that
Malfoy should have never sat in my chair. I let them know that I will be
there, and there will be a reckoning."
"What about the Wizengamot?" Kingsley asked, sipping some strong
coffee. His working with the group and doing his job was taking more of
his sleep time than he liked. But it was infinitely better that working with
Dumbledore had been. His vision was clear on that now. No more rose-
colored glasses for him. Albus was not the man he thought he was.
"The Wizengamot is not scheduled until after the kids go back to school.
So, I will take that seat back then. I'm done. Who else has news," he
asked, sipping some firewhiskey.
"We scouted Malfoy Manor," Kingsley said, pointing between him and
Bill. "There's no new news there."
"Damn," was the comment from quite a few.
"Alright, Tonks, how's your shadowing going?" Sirius asked his baby
cousin.
"Alright, I guess. It's different being a boy. Not that I'm changing
completely but being even half-male throws my balance off even more.
That and I can't fly as well as Harry, so I'm going to have to quit the
Quidditch team," she added, looking at the twins.
"We'll make up some excuse that Harry had a magical accident this
summer. We'll hash it out before we go back," Fred said, with George
nodding along. George was already writing down some scenarios on a
piece of parchment, with Fred leaning over and pointing at things to add
or change. "If need be, we'll even take the blame and call it a joke
product gone wrong."
"Let me see what you come up with before you implement anything,"
Moody said, leveling his good eye at the two teens.
"Sure," Fred said, nodding in his direction.
"No problem," George agreed, not looking up from his musing.
Remus looked up from what he could see of the parchment that the twins
were writing on. "Tonks, I think we can also come up with a few things to
help your balance. One, is take the same dance lessons that Harry is
taking. Or two, we can create some shoes that will keep you standing. Or
both," he said to the young woman with an encouraging smile.
"Both, I think," she answered, thoughtfully. Truth be told, her mum never
made her take lessons. It was always thought that she was too clumsy.
"Good, good," Sirius said, looking around the room. "Does anyone have
anything else?"
"Snape told me that Albus told him that Harry is a horcrux. I set him
straight, but the fact is that he came to me with that information. So,
while I still want you to watch him, Tonks, try and see if he's… I don't
know, changed, or no longer Albus' sycophant," Moody said, pinning her
with his magical eye.
"I can do that," she said slowly.
"Great," the leader of this band of vigilantes, "who has time to teach
Harry what he needs to know? Andi has etiquette," he added. "Ted is
going over laws and such."
"I do," said Bill, Remus, Shacklebolt, Alastor and strangely Amelia.
"Amelia?" Moody questioned.
"I can come in the evenings and teach him some Auror tricks. Not that
you can't, Alastor, just that I want to help," she said, shrugging her
shoulders. It would take a bit of her time, but she wanted to stay in the
loop.
"Alright, I think we've covered everything. Kings, you and Bill, keep a
lookout on the Manor. Report any illegal doings to Amelia. Remus, you
and Moody keep in contact with the underbelly, not Fletcher, see if you
can get any news on what's going on there. I don't want to be surprised if
Riddle gets up and army of… 'dark' creatures," Sirius said, handing out
assignments.
"What will you be doing, Black?" Moody asked.
"Amelia and I are going to keep an eye on the Ministry," he answered.
"We have a lot of people to keep an eye on. The place is crawling with
Death Eaters. Makes me what to test the field and see if I can… never
mind," he said when he spotted Amelia glaring at him. Then he got a
wicked idea. He looked at the twins, who uncannily looked up, he
nodded and winked.
They smiled.
"We're going to get some pranks together with Tonks here. We might
come up with some stuff that will be helpful in a fight," Fred said, folding
the parchment he and his brother had been working on. They played it
off like they hadn't just made a deal with the devil. That's alright, they
liked this devil.
"Yeah, with her input we could do some major damage," agreed George.
"We'll put our heads together tomorrow," Tonks said, nodding her
agreement.
"Let us know what you come up with at the next meeting. I know you
guys want to open a shop, and I'll help fund it. If you get good grades,
and help Harry, or Tonks in this case, at school," Sirius offered, thinking
on how smart these two kids were. They had to be geniuses, to do what
they do. Not even the Marauders had come up with some of the stuff they
did. Though, the Marauders were more charms and transfiguration, while
the twins were more potions and, if he had to guess, alchemy.
"Truly," Fred said, excitedly.
"That would be wicked," George agreed.
"I'll even pitch in," Alastor said, shocking everyone. "What, I have gold,
and I'm not betting on seeing the end of this war. I have no family, and
these kids are doing good. Why not?" he huffed.
"Right, that's it for tonight, we'll meet again in a few days. If something
comes up, just message one me or Alastor and we'll call another one. Not
that most of you aren't staying here anyway, but Amelia and Kingsley
need to be informed," Sirius said, standing and putting his glass in the
sink.
Hphphp
Time went on, and many things just kinda stood still. While the teens and
Tonks went out to see movies, after they all made sure that the summer
homework was done and checked. It was a good time for them, but not
such for the adults. The Weasleys were getting better about being in the
nonmagical world. They were seeing more and more why their dad was
fascinated with them. Though, they could also tell that their father was
completely clueless.
From what they were learning, their dad never really got out into this
world. It was more like he was learning by reading through a fishbowl or
something. The man didn't even get what they were telling him about
during their daily chats. It was kinda depressing. But they vowed to get
the poor man some educational literature. Maybe that would open his
eyes.
While the movies they watched were sometimes violent, Hermione and
Harry assured them that, no, muggles don't have spaceships that can
blow up the earth. That was a fun talk. Ron didn't sleep for days; he was
so worried. It took Harry taking him to the library, where they got on the
computer and Ron could read just how far every country was at in the
space race. So while he still fretted, it wasn't as bad.
Susan came along with her friend Hanna. They didn't want to be in the
manor when Amelia wasn't around. These two girls were more versed on
the nonmagical world than the Weasleys. Though, they too had a lot to
learn. Still, it was fun to have more people. That and the adults were
teaching them too get away if there was trouble.
They never left the house without at least one adult with them. Be it one
of the elder Tonkses, Tonks or Sirius. Amelia didn't go that often. She had
too much work to do.
The group was at an impasse on getting the horcruxes. While they knew
there were two at Malfoy Manor, including Riddle, the wards were just
too risky to break until they got the other horcrux. As it was, the adults
were making battle plans to storm the manor, for when the twins found
the one at Hogwarts.
Dobby helped immensely when Harry pointed out that he used to be
their elf. Sirius and Moody sat the elf down and drew up the blueprints of
the place. Dobby knew were every hidden nook and cranny was, and he
had no problem selling his old master out.
It was planned that when the look-a-like boys did find it, they would call
Kreacher and he would retrieve it for them. Then when the adults had it
in hand, they would then raid Malfoy Manor. Even Amelia was on board
with that. She couldn't join, but she was going to look the other way. She
warned Kinsley and Tonks not to get caught. She could not help them if
they were indicated in any way.
They agreed, though, Tonks pointed out that she was going to be at
Hogwarts. Probably, that all depended on how soon Umbridge messed
up. The wagers were ten to one that it would be the first week. If that
happened, then Tonks could leave. Which she would have to do anyway,
because she would be the arresting officer.
Andi and Ted would stay at Grimmuald Place and destroy the horcruxes
they had. As soon as they got a Patronus message to do so. There was a
fresh stock of Basilisk venom, which Dobby had got from the Chamber.
There was enough to do that job, and plans were made to see what could
be salvaged from the rest of the corpse. But that was for later.
The biggest debate right now was whether or not to bring Harry. Since he
wouldn't be in school, and they were going to do their best to train him.
It was an open suggestion that he should be there to fulfill the prophecy
that no one really believed it.
There were ideas, on how he could use his invisibility cloak to stay in the
background and kill the snake, which they were 85% sure was the last
horcrux. If he did, then anyone could kill the Dork Idiot. Since they didn't
know the wording of the prophecy, they figured it was close the heck
enough.
"I want to help," Harry said for what seemed like the millionth time.
"I know you do, and you will. But we've got to train you up a bit. Right
now, Riddle is laying low, and Dumbledore it being useless, so we will
use this time to get in some fighting lessons. None of the dueling shite,
real fighting. Moody and Moony are going to start those when the others
have gone off to Hogwarts," Sirius repeated for the millionth time. Yes,
they had this conversation before. It wasn't that they were being
obstinate, just that Harry wanted to get it over with now, while Sirius
wanted to be cautious. His days of running headlong into battle were
over.
"I know, you've said that, but I just feel like I'm wasting my time doing
nothing," the teen complained, being stubborn as usual. "Those tricks you
guys have been teaching us are only for getting away. I need to be able to
fight. I know I said I wanted to wait for the rest to leave, but can't we
start now?"
"Yes, we can," Sirius said, giving in, yet smirking. "Tonks!" he called up
the stairs.
"What's up, cousin?" the metamorphous asked as she descended the steps.
"Can you change into Harry? I know you've been following him around
for weeks now, but I want him to see what he'll look like when he learns
to fight," the dogman said, folding his arms that smirk still playing on his
lips.
"What? Sirius, you're not making sense," Tonks said, seeing the man was
up to something.
"No, no, go ahead, I just what him to see how far he has to go," Sirius
stated, waving his hand for her to get on with it.
"In the basement?" she asked, turning that direction.
"Yeah, that'll work," was the agreed answer.
The two men followed Tonks down the stairs, to a much-improved
basement. Gone were the implements of torture and cells. In their place
was a workout room, and a sparring room.
"How do you want to do this?" the metamorphmagus asked, changing
into Harry. They had been working on her balance for weeks, and it
showed. She no longer stubbled when she changed. And her dancing was
coming along great. She should have done this years ago.
"Just a bit of a spar for now. Nothing over fifth year stuff. Also, make him
dance," Sirius said, his grin never faltered, if anything it got bigger.
"Do you have any idea how weird it is to stare at yourself, knowing it's
not you?" Harry said as he crossed to room to stand opposite of his
double.
"Ask the twins," Sirius said, barking with laughter.
"Prat," Harry said, lifting his wand.
"Ready?" the not-Harry said, lifting her/his wand was well.
"Bring it," the Boy-Who-Lived said, getting into a fighting stance.
And she/he did.
Hphphp
Okay, another short chapter, but I felt it needed to stop there. Also, I have
obtained employment, so updates will be sporadic. My whole schedule will be
changing, so I don't know when I'll have time to write.
I have 30 stories on ffn, 15 on AO3, including this one. Go read them. Some
of them need loving. Poor Snape, no one cares who killed him. I feel sorry for
the poor man.
Anyway, I'll be back when I get back.
22. Chapter 22 You Have Much to
Learn
Chapter 22 You Have Much to Learn, Prongslet.
So that job fell through at the last moment. A bit of a bummer, that.
Anyway, the reason it has taken me so long to get this one out, is that I'm
fighting my muse. And she isn't happy. I have an idea for a Harry Potter/
Walking Dead story, and I've been putting ideas to 'paper' for days. So, getting
back to this one has been a battle. It takes every bit of will power I have to not
write that one running through my head.
Hphphp
Tonks wiped the floor with Harry. Well and truly. Harry hadn't lasted five
minutes, and she made him get up and try again. At least twenty times.
But now, he was wiped out. The poor boy was laying flat on his back,
arms spread to his sides, eyes closed and breathing hard. She was
ruthless, much like her mother, only with a wand and not a book, or
music.
She was also being mean and laughing at him. Twit.
"That's what you need to learn," Sirius said, leaning over the prone boy, a
smug smile on his face. "You will not learn it in a few weeks. It'll take
years to get as good as her. Decades to get as good and me, when I get
back up to speed, and Moony. Even longer for someone of Moody's
caliber. Old as he is, that man is a beast with a wand. I won't even touch
on Riddle or Dumbledore."
"How am I supposed to defeat—" Harry started, his arm over his eyes.
"You're not. We know that there's a prophecy that might state that it's
you, but Harry, we ignored that for a reason. You know all about self-
fulfilling prophecies. I know you learned at least that much in
Divinations. The others and I are doing our best to make sure that you
don't have to fight anyone," Sirius said seriously.
"Fine," Harry said, huffing out the word, uncovering his eyes and glaring
at the man. Not because he was angry, more because he was being put on
the sidelines. Ah, teenagers. Harry huffed again, and then tried to sit up,
but his body said 'no, rest, stupid', so he fell back down. "You will teach
me, right?" was the almost plea. He turned his head towards his brother
and smiled. "Even if I don't have to fight him, odds are that I will face
him in some capacity."
"I said I would, didn't I?" his brother answered, reaching down and
helping the teen sit up, then joining him on the floor. "If you find yourself
face to face with Riddle, I want to make sure you know enough to get
away."
"You're not bad for a going on fifth-year student," Tonks said, morphing
back to her original state. "You are actually pretty good, for a fifteen-
year-old. But, you need to learn to duck and dodge too. I'm not sure how
you survived Riddle five times, but it wasn't you dueling skills. If what
you believe will happen, happens, then yes, you need to be able to get
away," she added with a knowledgeable nod of her head.
"I know," Harry sighed, leaning against Sirius. "It was luck mostly."
"Potter Luck is legendary," his older brother agreed, nodding his head
sagely, though a grin split his face. "Your dad could get into the weirdest
shite. One time he found himself hanging from the Astronomy Tower. No
idea how he got there, but as luck would have it, pun intended, his
pajama pants were caught on a jutting brick. He was able to pull himself
up with little problem."
"Did you guys ever find out who did it?" Harry asked, feeling empathy
with his dad.
"No, but we narrowed it down to either Lily or Snivellus."
"Oh, why mum?" the tired boy asked, sitting up straight.
"Your mum hated your dad until sixth year. This was in our third. He
would constantly badger her for dates, or lay into her for being friends
with Snape," the dogman answered, with eyes misty from the memories.
"The arguments those two got into were legendary."
"Sounds like Ron and Hermione," Harry mused, wondering if would end
up married like his parents.
"Yeah, it does. I don't know how many times I've made that comparison,"
Sirius said with a chuckle.
"Wait, Snape was friends with my mum?" the boy exclaimed, falling
backwards to land on his elbows. That was a shocker. To think his mum
was nice to that… person.
"Yeah, didn't you know that?" was the question. "I would have thought
someone would have told you by now. Wasn't Remus your teacher for a
whole year?"
"Yeah, but I didn't find out his was my dad's friend until almost the
middle of the year," Harry explained.
"Hmmm, I'm going to have to ask him about that. I'm sure the answer
will start with 'Dumbledore said,'" Sirius said with a bitter bite to his
tone.
"Probably," Harry agreed. "Still he was friends with mum?"
"From before Hogwarts. Your dad on the other hand was hated enemy,
well, as much as an eleven-year-old can be. I have to say, the things we
did to Snape, looking back were pretty bad."
"Did you bully him?" Harry asked tentatively.
"Yeah, I'd say we were tough on him. I would apologize to the man, but
there isn't anything I can say to him to change his mind. He's been
festering those feelings for years. I'm sure if James knew that he would
someday take it out on you, we would never had done what we did,"
Sirius said, hanging his head a bit. He still didn't like Snape, and the man
was a bastard of high caliber. But, they were out of line as teens.
"I guess that's why he hates me. I don't know whether to feel sorry for
him or pity the fact that he has become what he despises," Harry said,
thoughtfully, looking back on all his interaction with the Potions Master.
"You are a kid, it's his fault he's a right arse. Since you're not going back
you don't have to worry about him ever again," Sirius almost growled his
response.
"Hey, Sirius," Tonks interrupted, getting off the wall and sitting on the
floor next to Harry, "what ever happened to you two suing Fudge. I mean
that was weeks ago." She had been standing at the door to let the two
talk but decided that they needed to switch subjects.
"What article?" Harry asked, turning toward Tonks.
"The one that Fudge tried to have printed about Sirius here. Something
about him being to blame for all the shite that they've been saying about
you and the Headmaster," she explained, tapping her wand on her knee.
"He's was even going as far as to say that Sirius had confounded you in
your third year. So, it was plausible that he was doing the same now."
"Yeah, I tried to tell him that Sirius was innocent, but Snape told the man
we were confounded, and that Sirius has always been a bad apple," Harry
said, anger lacing his voice.
Now that he knew the history, somewhat, he could understand why the
Potions Master hated Sirius, but that didn't mean he liked the man. Or
that he would forgive him for not listening to him and his friends.
Because now that he thought about it, the man just wanted to see Sirius
dead. He didn't care if he was innocent.
"Right, well, it was all poised to get custody of you away from him. I'm
not 100% sure, but I'll lay bets that it was either Malfoy or Dumbledore is
behind it," she added thoughtfully.
"You're probably right. I got it stopped and put Waters on it, but the
stupid man got Lucy to pay others off. More than likely to cover his own
involvement. Fudge is on probation though, and it's going as evidence for
my lawsuit, which is still being stalled by red tape." Sirius was both smug
and upset.
"What red tape?" Harry asked.
"Bureaucratic bullshit, mostly," his brother said, sighing at the injustice of
it all.
"How did you stop the article?" Tonks asked, leaning forward and resting
her elbows on her knees.
"Well, I've purchased the Daily Prophet, so now there will be no more
articles that are defamatory," the older man said, twirling his wand with
his fingers. "Skeeter is a thing of the past. She will never print another
article in the Prophet, and if she's smart she'll go abroad."
"Wait, you bought the Prophet?" Harry asked, completely floored by that.
So many surprises in one night. At least this one was a good one.
"It wasn't easy. I had to use quite a bit of my aunt's book, but I got it
done," the dogman said, once more looking smug. "Didn't you notice all
that vitriol had stopped?"
"Yeah, I just thought they were tired of dragging my name through the
mud," the teen said, wiggling his shoulders to get the kinks out. He tilted
his head side to side, and heard his neck pop. Sighing in relief, he just
relaxed.
"Nope, I required them to take a vow," was the still smug reply. "Which is
why Skeeter is gone. She couldn't tell the truth if you Imperiused her."
"Ain't that the truth," Harry grumbled, rubbing his nose under his glasses.
"Don't let my mum hear you use that word. 'It's not proper'," Tonks said,
changing her face and voice to match her mum's.
"I wonder why the book list isn't here," Harry said, ignoring Tonks with
practiced ease. She had been trailing him for weeks now, and she was
getting pretty good at being him.
Sirius said he was trying to find a pensieve so they could see his reactions
to others, like Malfoy and his gang of thugs. Not to mention Snape. It
would all be for naught if that man got wind of what they were doing.
Sure, he told Moody something important, doesn't make him a good man.
"With Umbridge joining Hogwarts Merry band of professors, I'll bet it's
taken her this long to find a worthless book," Sirius said, standing up and
heading for the door. The other two joining him.
"Why do you think that?" Tonks asked, bringing up the rear.
"She's useless. Since she can't teach, she'll need something that will make
her look smart," the dogman said with shrug.
"Probably," the other two grumbled, walking up the stairs to the kitchen,
one dead tired, the other mildly winded.
"We need to get your stamina up. Knowing all the spells in the world
doesn't do a thing if you tire this quickly," Tonks said, putting her arm
around his waist, giving him something to lean on.
"One would think that all those stairs at Hogwarts would make the
students fitter. I mean, there's millions of them," Harry said, using her as
a crutch.
"Yeah, but you get used to them after first year, so you're not putting
anymore effort into exercising," she said, using her free hand to pat his
head.
"Fine," Harry grumbled and then went to his room. The other two did the
same.
Another week went by, with Harry training almost 24/7. Well, not quite,
but it felt like it. Seems the adults had taken him at his word and started
a harsh training regimen. The other teens joined in when they could,
which was often. Most of them were happy for something to do, but they
weren't sure if exercise was better.
Ron, Hermione and Ginny took to it at a slow pace. They had never done
anything like this in their lives. Hermione had always put the least
amount of effort in P.E. She was not an athlete, so did not consider it
something she should participate in. It was the only class she ever got
below a high score.
Still, they trudged on, and were getting better by the day.
The twins, on the other hand, took Tonks down two times out of five.
Their chaotic style was not something she had run across before. It was
like dueling monkeys on a sugar high. They were everywhere, and they
were noisy. Constantly taunting her and each other. It was… interesting,
to say the least.
Though, it did give her some practice for when she would have to fight
someone like her aunt, Bellatrix. Hopefully, that will never happen. That
woman was crazy before Azkaban.
During that week, Sirius did score a pensieve and he and Tonks got to
learn what the Golden Trio got up to their first four years. It was an eye-
opening experience. She would now know how to react to his teachers,
acquaintances, and enemies. She knew just what to do to trip Umbridge
up as well.
Harry had no filter on his mouth. If he thought it, nine times out of ten,
he said it. Since that woman was going to be there to catch Dumbledore
in the act, and debase Harry, so to speak, it should be easy to get in
trouble.
Finally, the book list showed. Sirius took one look at it and scoffed. "Like
I said, a useless book. You would do better buying a fifth-year defense
book and glamoring it to look like this trash," he said, throwing the list
on the table.
"Is it really that bad?" Hermione asked, studying the titles on her list to
see if she had any of them. She did, about five.
"It is," stated Tonks, reading Harry's list. This was going to be her first
foray into being Harry. She was going to do his shopping. He was going
under glamor, and not with the group. He would be with Remus, and
they would get the books needed for his tutoring.
"That book is all theory. There are no spells, or defensive moves. It's all
theoretical. It's like the Ministry doesn't want you guys to learn how to
defend yourselves. Remember, Umbridge is there to prevent Dumbledore
from forming an army," Sirius said, rolling his eyes at the stupidity of the
man.
"If Moody ever caught me reading that book, he'd burn it from my hands.
That's how bad it is. I have no idea how it even got published as a
schoolbook," Tonks said, putting the list on the table and watching their
reactions.
The twins' lips thinned; they would probably follow Sirius' advice.
Ron and Ginny were torn, they didn't want their family to spend money
on a worthless book, but they didn't want to get caught either. If that
woman was as bad as Tonks and Sirius said, then who knows what kind
of detention she would force them to do. And wasn't it sad that they
would fear punishment from their school.
Hermione looked like she was just going to grab every book in the store
that was associated with the OWLs. She wasn't going to let some faux
teacher ruin her perfect grades. She already had a plan in mind to help
those in her house, and maybe others as well.
"Well, not sense dillydallying, let's go to Diagon Alley," Sirius said,
hauling himself out of the chair. Then lifting an eyebrow that the others
were too slow in his opinion.
"Wait, we don't have any money. Dad was going to give us some after he
got off work," Ron said, looking around the room like his dad was going
to pop out of the fireplace.
"Don't worry, I've got you covered. Your dad can pay me back later,"
Sirius said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Are you sure?" Fred asked, giving him a hairy eyeball.
"You're not trying to give us charity, are you?" George asked, also
suspicious.
"No, I'll make sure that your dad knows how much he owes," the man
prevaricated. So, what if what Sirius thought the man owed, and what
the cost was, wasn't the same. Who would know?
"We're watching you," the twins threatened. Not that they were in any
way serious. After all, they could afford to buy their own stuff, what with
the profits they've had so far on their mail order joke products. The closer
it got time for school, the more orders they got. Sirius had let them be
added to the mail wards so they could make some money. Who was he to
stand in the way of budding entrepreneurs.
"Go on, get ready," Sirius said, ignoring them with practiced ease. He
waved his hands shooing the teens along. Harry and Remus weren't going
today, they would go when Hogwarts started, so Harry was a bit miffed
that he was staying put. But he did understand the need for Tonks to go.
He really hoped nothing happened.
Hphphp
Another short one, and mostly filler. But now we've led up to Hogwarts. If all
goes as planned, and my muse quits fighting me, there should be no more than
five more chapters.
23. Chapter 23 Not Quite As
Planned
Chapter 23: Not Quite As Planned
Okay, sorry it took a moment to get back to you guys. But I cut the tip of my
finger off and couldn't type. It's better now.
That and I really couldn't get the HP/WD story out of my mind. So, I put the
first two chapters up for that as a teaser. It's called Walking Dead Utopia.
I took two of my unfinished stories off my list. I have no idea when I will get
back to them. So, they are going in my archive until I get them started again.
It was not an easy decision to make, but I feel better not having them hang
there neglected. That and most of the reviews for them are about updating,
and that gets tedious after a while.
Okay, so here's the next chapter.
Hphphp
The gang all came down the stairs. Tonks dressed in some of Harry's
better clothes. She might have to pretend to be him, but she'd be damned
if she were going to dress in his cousin's old hand-me-downs. Though,
Harry now wore Regulus' stuff, they were trying to make it as believable
as possible, so some older stuff was called for.
When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she morphed into the Boy-Who-
Lived. These past weeks had made this a smooth process. The hardest
part of it all, was Harry's scar. It took days for her to get it right. Even
though the boy's scar was nothing but a white line now, no one outside
this house knew that.
"Looking good, Tonks," Harry said, teasingly.
"Don't you know it," she said back, winking at him.
"Wait, before you guys head out, who made prefect this year?" Harry
asked, a bit shocked that neither he nor Ron got a badge. He was
completely floored that Hermione didn't have one either. Even if she
wasn't the smartest girl, which she totally was, he didn't see either
Parvati or Lavender being responsible enough for that position.
"Oh my, with all that's happened, I forgot that that was this year for us,"
Hermione said, grabbing her letter out of her purse.
"Yeah, me too, until just now," Harry admitted.
Ron was looking at his letter as well. "Well, it's not me, I don't think," he
grumbled.
"Good job, that," the twins said, patting him on the back proudly.
"Bugger off," the youngest male snapped.
"Language," said the three females.
"Leave him alone, you two. It's not nice to rub it in like that," Ginny said,
standing up for her brother.
"We're just taking the mickey," Fred said, smiling and holding his hands
up in surrender.
"Yeah, just playing," his twin agreed, grinning like a fool.
"Oh, there's a postscript on the back. Professor McGonagall says that
there's a dispute about the Gryffindor fifth year male prefect, so it will be
announced at the feast," Hermione said, reading the small note.
"Probably because I told her what Tonks and we are up to," Sirius said
thoughtfully, rubbing his goatee.
"Oh, does that mean it would have been Harry," the bushy-haired girl
asked, her face brightening.
"Well, I don't want it, even if I was going back. The last thing I want is
that type of responsibility. I mean, I get enough crap from being on the
Quidditch team since first year," Harry groused, remembering all the flak
he got for being a teacher pet, or some shite. It wasn't like he asked to be
on the team. He didn't know anything about Quidditch then, only what
Ron had told him on the train. "Besides, I can see it now, 'he only got it
because Dumbledore believes his lies', or something along those lines," he
added, his face taking on a full scowl.
"I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad," Hermione said, biting her lower lip like
she didn't completely believe that. "I wonder who the fifth-year girl is,"
she said, looking around the room like the walls would have the answer.
"I'm sure you got the badge," Ron said, smiling at his best female friend.
"However, they're probably right, and it was Harry, until he went and
ruined it for them. So sad," he added, mockingly pouting at his other
friend.
"Too right," Harry said, nodding like it was not made in jest.
"Well, now that that's settled," Tonks said, giving a meaningful look to
Sirius, which looked strange since it was Harry's face.
"Right, let's get going," the dogman said, heading to the Floo.
A great deal of happy murmuring was heard as the teens, Sirius and
Tonks went the fireplace. It only took a matter of moments for the room
to be empty of all but Harry. Remus was in the library, and the other
members of the group were scattered about doing either their jobs or
watching Malfoy manor.
Harry sighed and went to join Remus. He thought again that he hoped
nothing happened.
Meanwhile the group of teens were chattering happily as they went about
getting their school supplies. They made a great game of testing Tonks in
her role. She did a great job of being Harry Potter. Right down to the
exasperation of those that either were staring at her like she was going to
go postal, or coming up to her telling her that they believed her and what
a nice 'boy' she was for saying those nice things about Cedric.
It was a trying time, they had to got through all that in every store they
entered. Tonks' acting skills were getting quite a workout. She was just
glad that Malfoy or his cronies weren't around. She wasn't sure if she
could stand up to that with this big of an audience. On the train it would
be different, the others would do more about taming the little git, then
she would. She was going to play wounded hero, and sulk most of the
trip.
They hurried as much as they were able, going in and out of each store as
quickly as they could. It made it easier that Sirius would tell each cashier
to charge it to his account. Putting his key on the receipt, and then
moving on.
Each of them took Sirius' advice and got the grade five defense book.
Hermione bought the other one, so she could read it and tell the others
what it said. Just in case there was a pop quiz, or something.
They were just finishing their purchases in Flourish and Blotts when it
got very cold. Sirius shivered, and huddled to the ground, until the twins
came to him and lifted him up. They stayed by his side giving him words
of encouragement, but he was completely blanked out, until Ron shoved
chocolate in his mouth. Then he shook his head and looked fearfully at
the window. It was dark, like clouds had come and covered the sun.
The teens, now that Sirius was feeling better, ran to the windows to see
what was happening. They knew what it was, by Sirius' reaction, but they
needed to know if anyone was stopping the Dementors from feeding.
There wasn't. some were trying, but not succeeding.
Tonks, still as Harry, was going to run outside to stop the Dementors that
she saw was about to kiss a man. The man next to him did get a mist
Patronus off, but it only held the creature back.
"Tonks, wait," Hermione hissed, while grabbing the metamorph's elbow,
making her glare at the younger girl. "Do you know the Patronus?" she
asked quickly.
"Yeah, Harry's been teaching me," the Auror said back, pulling herself out
of the other girl's grip.
"Is it a stag?" the bushy-haired girl asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"No," Tonks said slowly, then realized why Hermione asked. "Good call,"
she said as she rushed to the store's loo. She quickly transfigured her
clothes, morphed into herself, then ran out to go deal with the
Dementors.
Many people were running into the stores and only a few were trying to
keep the five creatures away. They were having some luck when Tonks
came to the scene. She immediately fired off her Patronus and soon had
them flying away. It was all over in less than five minutes, but she had to
stay until the on-duty Aurors showed up, so she could give her report.
The teens didn't join her, on the advice of Sirius. He held them back at
the store when they wanted to fight.
"No, there's too much political bullshit right now. If you guys get
involved, that will just make it harder for what you have to do at
Hogwarts. More people will be watching you and you wouldn't have time
to do what's needed. Remember, you're our eyes and ears at the school.
Don't go blowing it now for something Tonks can easily take care of," he
lectured, making sure they stayed put.
He was still shaking; he knew that he may never get over his fear of
Dementors. But, by Merlin, he was going to find out how the hell sent
them to Diagon Alley, when it was full of families. If he had it right, it
was that Umbridge bitch. He was going to gut her, and make it look like
and accident.
Well, probably not, but by Merlin if it was her, he was going to blow her
cover sky high. She would never live down the damage he was going to
do to her. Maybe, he could find out where her father was. It would be a
nice family reunion. But where… in the Great Hall, the atrium of the
Ministry, or even right here in Diagon Alley during the Yule/Christmas
shopping. Decisions, decisions.
The teens did stop and think, they hated to admit it, but he had a point.
They had no idea who would come to the scene. It could be someone in
Malfoy's, Fudge's, or Dumbledore's pocket. It was too big of a risk.
Sure enough, a few moments later, someone that was beholden to each of
those factions was there. Making a mess of the crime scene, and generally
be a nuisance of themselves. Tonks and Shacklebolt were having a rough
time getting the witness reports, with everyone trying to be more
important than they were.
Seeing that they weren't going to be asked anything the group finished
their shopping. Tonks, when she saw they were leaving, just gave a quick
nod to Sirius that she would fill them in later, and then she left with the
Aurors.
Back at the house, Harry was starting to get worried. He wondered if he
was going to feel like this the entire time the others were in school. He
knew that if something happened, he was going to blame himself for not
being there. It was one of his faults that he was working hard on
correcting, but after being blamed for everything that went wrong in the
Dursley's house all his life, it was going to be hard to kick.
"Harry, sit down and quit pacing," Remus said, putting the book he was
perusing. "They'll be fine. They've all gotten good enough to avoid
trouble. Besides, Tonks and Sirius are with them. If you were there, there
would be more issues. Tonks can duck out at any time. Don't worry about
her." He was one of those that was tasked in helping him get over his
'survivor's guilt' problem.
"I know, I just can't shake the feeling, is all," Harry said as he thumped
down into a chair. He grabbed a book, looked at the title then threw it
back on the pile. "I can't concentrate," he grumbled.
"Why don't you go down to the basement and do some spell work," the
werewolf suggested, picking up his cold tea and making a face when he
sipped it.
"Sirius and the others don't want me down there by myself," the boy
whined. It wasn't that they didn't trust him, it was the fact that he tended
to train himself incorrectly. Then they had to break him of the bad form
and retrain him. He didn't understand why that happened, but since it
did on a regular basis, he complied.
"I'll go with you. I've pretty much tapped out of what I can find here," the
other man said, putting the disgusting tea down and standing. He was
working on how to get into the Malfoy manor. They had plans to get to
the house, but they were working on what wards to throw up so that they
could trap those in the house. Bill had some great goblin wards, but was
barred from showing them, or even using them, under his employee
contract.
The Black wards tended to hurt the victim and the caster, since they
required some sort of sacrifice. That was not something any of them were
willing to do. However, they were hopeful that there was something in
this library that could be helpful.
Moody was going through all his old books and notes. He remembered
something, vaguely, and was trying to find it.
All in all, they were going to be prepared come hell or high water.
This was the Darkest of Dark Lord in centuries. They weren't going to
take any chances. When the kids were in bed at night, they all tended to
spar. The first time they did it, it was an eye-opening experience. Most of
them sucked, big time.
All but Kingsley and Tonks were out of practice. Him, because he never
thought he needed it. Sirius because of Azkaban. Moody, because he
spent a year in his trunk. Bill was okay, but he spent more time taking
down curses than fighting, so he needed it as well.
"Alright," Harry sighed, making the werewolf come back out of his
thoughts, putting his hands on his knees and standing as well. "I'm on
offensive stuff now," he added, a bit hopefully.
"What year?" the older man asked, leaving the room.
Harry followed right behind him. "Well, we're not really doing so much
as which year, cause we're starting from year one, but doing all the stuff
they don't teach at Hogwarts. So, I guess, maybe, year four," Harry said,
thinking hard on where he and Sirius and Tonks had stopped last night.
"I can work with that," Remus said, leading the way down the stairs. "I
talked with Sirius the other day. I owe you an apology," he said softly,
paying particular attention to a spot on the wall in front of him. Like he
didn't want to see the expression on Harry's face.
"About?" the boy asked, knowing what it might be, but wanting to make
sure.
"When I taught you in your third year, I was told by Dumbledore that you
had expressed your opinion that it hurt too much to talk about your
parents. I took him at his word. Even going so far as to ignore the way
your eyes lit up whenever I mentioned your dad," the werewolf sighed,
still looking at the wall as he walked.
"There are times I hate that man. I mean, who the hell does he think he
is, putting words in my mouth," Harry said, balling his hands into fist.
"I know, and I am sorry. I figured it was hard for me to talk about your
folks, so it was not out of the realm of possibilities that it was hard for
you as well," Remus explained, stopping at the bottom of the stairs and
turning to look at Harry.
"I guess I understand that. Sirius says it's hard for him too. He said, the
more he talks about them, the easier it is. But in the beginning it hurt,"
the teen said, looking at the floor.
Remus tilted his chin up and smiled. "Well, now that we know that, we'll
just have to talk about them more often, yeah?"
"Yeah," Harry said, a smile splitting his face.
24. Chapter 24 Hot Chocolate For
The Win
Chapter 24 Hot Chocolate For the Win
Okay, so I felt this chapter was too short, so I added a bit to it. I'm not up for
writing a full one. So, like the Walking Dead Utopia, this one is added too.
I hope you all are doing well. I want to thank those who wished me luck on
my surgery. Right now, it is scheduled for the beginning of Dec. I know, but I
live in a small town and the Doc is only here once a week. Anyway, I might be
a bit longer getting back.
There's a poll on my ffn profile. it has little to do with this story, just a
question that bugs me.
Hphphp
Harry heard the group Floo in, and he rushed up the stairs, taking them
two at a time. Remus was not far behind him. As he skidded into the
kitchen, he noted that they were all pale, pinch-faced and drawn. "What
happened?" he questioned, going to his brother, who looked the worse of
the bunch.
"Dementors," they all said, sitting in the nearest chairs. Sirius was shaking
still and ordered Kreacher to fetch some hot chocolate. After a moment
cups appeared around the table. Everyone grabbed one and started
sipping. Even Harry and Remus, who had been at the house. Hot
chocolate was a cure-all for everything, according to Remus.
"Shite," Harry cursed, picking up his cup, a frown marring his face.
"Where's Tonks?" he asked, looking around. He took a sip and glanced
around the table waiting for someone to answer.
The elves popped in and distributed more chocolate, liquid or otherwise.
Dobby was setting about refilling the hot cocoa, since Sirius and Ron
gulped theirs down, not caring how hot it was.
"She had to change into herself and fight the Dementors. Good thing you
helped her with that. Can you do that for the rest of us?" Hermione
asked, taking a small bite of some candy, closing her eyes at the feeling
of warmth that spread throughout her body.
"You leave tomorrow," Harry pointed out, rubbing his brother's back,
trying to snap the man out of the daze he seemed to be in.
"Right, I meant, when we are all together again," she said, still basking in
the warm feeling. "I know the basics, but I'm having a bit of difficulty
getting the memory right," she confessed.
"Yeah, I can do that. I know how hard it is to get the correct memory.
How about we communicate over the mirrors while you're at school?" he
offered, giving his friend a small smile.
"That would be wonderful, Harry. Thank you," she said, returning his
smile with a glowing grin.
"By the way, are you joining us for the Christmas holiday? I mean, aren't
your parents going to want you home. You've been here all summer,"
Harry inquired, realizing that her folks might be miffed that their
daughter was missing from their home for the better part of the year.
"I am going to see them the first week of break," she said, tapping her
chin in thought. "They're still out of the country, and Sirius said he can
get me a portkey to where they are. So, they're not as upset as you would
think. They know that they're in danger, and they have taken a… job, I
guess you can call it, overseas for the next five years. I had to promise to
spend more time with them once this whole war is over."
That bit of news had both Harry and Sirius sigh in relief. Hermione was
the only one who had parents that could not defend themselves. Well,
Neville's parents were pretty much in the same boat, but they were
protected in St. Mungo's. If all hell broke loose than his grandmother
could transport them to their manor. Thinking on that, Harry decided to
write Neville with that bit of advice.
"Oh, well, that's good, I reckon," the dark-haired teen said, nodding his
head in agreement that her parents were safer out of the country. "Why
did they decide to leave?" he asked, looking to his brother, who seem to
come out of his Dementor coma. "Did you have something to do with it?"
"I did help them," Sirius confessed, his face still pale but he was feeling
more like himself. "When they tried to stop my post to you, I got in touch
with the Drs. Granger, and gave them the news that Riddle was back and
that they might want to leave. At first, they were upset that their
daughter was in danger, still are I'm sure, then they realized it would
hamper Hermione for them to stay. So, they took a volunteer job in
Africa, I think," he added, taking a huge hip of his cocoa.
"And I, for one, will be ever so grateful to you for being one of the only
adults to think of my parents," Hermione said, grabbing ahold of his arm
and squeezing it. "Now that I know what you did, I feel like an idiot for
thinking that you only ever thought of yourself," she said, her eyes a bit
misty.
"It's alright, Hermione, I understand," the dogman said, finally getting
some color back in his face.
"Right, now that that is settled, what now?" Ron asked, eating a huge
chunk of chocolate, then talking with it still melting in his mouth.
Something, he never grew out of, no matter how many times he was
chastised. "We got all our books and stuff. And we have the house elves
to pack them, so what say we have a going away party tonight?" he
asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Who would we invite so last minute?" Ginny asked, after she slap his
head for talking with his mouth full.
"I guess, we can ask everyone who in the know about Harry's secret. I'm
sure they could use some down time too," the youngest male redhead
shrugged.
"I know I can," mumbled Sirius, then perked up a bit and left the room.
"Well, that seemed to bring him out of it. Thanks, mate," Harry said,
beaming a smile to his friend, only to cringe at the melted chocolate
around his mouth and down his chin. "Gross, Ron. Seriously, wipe you
mouth," he said, picking up the nearest piece of cloth and threw it in his
friends face.
The rest of the group laughed at the byplay.
Harry, who had always tried to find a way for Ron to stop eating with his
mouth full, got a sly grin on his face and said, "You know, Ron, you're
never going to get a girlfriend if you don't start using those manners that
I know your mum taught you. Birds don't like ill mannered people. That
and I'd hate to date one that does. Can you imagine that?" he said as he
shuddered at the thought.
"Too right," said Fred, clapping his younger brother on the back.
"Those hormones will be kicking in soon, if they haven't already, so you'd
better get a move on one cleaning up your manners," George added,
smirking at Ron.
"As I girl, I can say that they are right," Ginny added, grimacing at the
chocolate that still lined Ron's mouth. "Really, Ron, Mum taught you
better."
"Hmmm," was all the younger redhead had to say as he glanced at his
female friend, noting the look of disgust on her face. He quickly used the
cloth to wipe his face. Then Fred took pity on him and cleansed it with
magic.
Hermione agreed with the others. It was one of the things that she
disliked about the redhead, his lack of table manners. Nothing she or his
family did, or said, seemed to stop that. It was beyond frustrating.
Perhaps, Harry hit it on the nose, and this would help.
"Remus, can you tell us a bit more about the OWL requirements, so we
know what to study?" Hermione asked, changing the subject away from
the embarrassed boy.
"Well, if rumor is right and you get Umbridge, then you will need to self-
study. Even if it is for only a week or so," the werewolf said, grinning to
himself. "So, I would recommend reading the books you got today." He
shrugged, like it was obvious. "There are a few in the school library that
will give you extra insight. I'll write up a list tonight."
"That would be wonderful," the bushy-haired girl said, beaming at her ex-
professor.
"We can also use that room Dobby told us about. That way even if Tonks
gets rid of the Toad, then we can still have somewhere to practice.
Wouldn't want the junior Death Eaters to know we're practicing," Ron
said, finally swallowing before he talked.
"That's a marvelous idea," Hermione said, grinning at her friend. It fit
nicely with her plan anyway. Even if Harry was staying here, she could
still help her fellow year mates. This was one of the most important year
for them, and with the shoddy instructors they had, bar Remus, and if she
was reluctant to admit, the false Moody, they would need all the help
they can get. All she had to do was make so those forementioned Jr.
Death Eaters didn't crash the party. Something she was going to have to
think hard on.
"Yeah, it is," Harry agreed, glad they would have somewhere to do what
they needed.
"Okay, so, you lot, go upstairs and get your stuff put away, come back
down and we'll have a nice dinner. Sorry Ron, no party. Fidelius,
remember?" Sirius said, coming back to the room. "I did invite your
parents, but Molly started in on me the moment I Flooed, so you guys are
to go see her after dinner, alright?"
The Weasley children all agreed that would be proper.
"Right, I forgot about that spell," the glum boy said, chugging down the
rest of his cup and wiping his mouth. If what Harry and the others said
was true, he would have to watch his p's and q's. It wasn't like he didn't
know them, he just never really cared before. But the birds would want
him to at least be neat, well, he could do that. Probably. He hoped. No,
he had a strong will. He was a Gryffindor after all.
They all went upstairs and put their things away. A few washed up and
changed into something more casual. Trooping back down, they gathered
for dinner.
Tonks showed up a bit later and told them that no one was in trouble for
the Dementors. The final record was that they went rogue. She did say
that Bones was going to be keeping a closer watch on the 'request' that
needed to be filled out to even think of 'recruiting' the demons.
While slightly good news, the kids were still pissed off that someone was
getting away with today's fiasco. No one had a clue as to why they were
there, but Tonks figured it was Umbridge trying to get Harry in trouble.
Since she had Harry's glass frames, with plain glass, they all thought that
maybe there was a tracking charm on them.
That said, Tonks and Remus fussed over said frames, and sure enough
there were three tracking spells. This caused a lot of cussing.
Sirius was the most pissed, berating himself for not checking in the first
place. The strange thing was, he had no clue how or when it had been
applied. He had gone over all Harry's stuff when he showed up. Was it
when they were in the Ministry? Possible. Now he felt like a right idiot
for now checking as soon as they came home.
Dinner that night was a boisterous affair. They all had a great time over
some Beef Wellington with the fixings, and a large chocolate cake for
afters. The Weasley kids all went home for a few hours to see if their
parents would be meeting them at the station, or did they want them to
just Floo over. It turned out that Molly had already packed lunches and
was only waiting for them to recognize her as their mother again.
They kids were unsure how to feel about that. They loved their mum, no
doubt, but to lay the guilt on them for staying safe, when it was their
dad's idea, well that just rubbed them wrong. Still, they gave her hugs
and told her they loved her. Then accepted the offer that they all meet at
the station in the morning.
The next morning was an orchestrated chaos. Everyone had their trunks
packed, but they all seemed to forget something, mostly pets. Ginny and
the twins sat on their trunks while they waited for Ron and Hermione to
say good-bye to Harry.
A few tearful minutes later the everyone but Harry and Sirius were gone.
The other adults accompanying the teens.
"Are you 100% sure this is what you want?" Sirius asked before it was too
late for Harry to change his mind.
"It is," the teen said with a firm nod.
"Okay, well let's get back to work," his brother said, putting a hand on the
other boy's shoulder and steering him to the dungeon where they
practiced. Harry looked at the cold Floo and then shook his head and let
himself be lead away.
Hphphp
The train ride was quiet, the group were sequestered in a compartment
with Neville and Luna, who everyone but Tonks and Hermione knew.
They talked of casual things, before the train left the station.
Malfoy made he yearly foray into the 'Potter' compartment, but Tonks
quick wit soon and a confused blonde almost running for the hills. Ginny
told the girl quietly that what she had done was not a 'Harry' thing.
Tonks thanked her and settled in to do a bit of meditation to get in
character. She made sure to put a brooding mask on, making it seem
more like Harry.
Several boring hours later they were at Hogwarts. Every Gryffindor was
sitting at their table waiting for the feast to start. Ron was even keeping
quiet and not whining about the sorting going slow.
When the food appeared, they all had their fill, and Dumbledore stood to
make a speech just as the pudding disappeared. When he introduced the
DADA professor, he was interrupted by an ugly woman dressed in pink,
the group paid attention. This was one of the reasons that Tonks was
here, to make sure that this woman didn't hurt anyone.
The speech the Toad gave was downright disgusting. Tonks, Ginny, and
Hermione, probably others as well, bristled at the blatant propaganda
and made note to find out how to stop this woman. If Tonks couldn't get
her out of the castle soon, Hermione's study group would have to be
formed as soon as possible. Not that she wasn't planning on it anyway,
but the damage might have to be mitigated right away.
McGonagall announced the prefects, which for Gryffindor fifth years
were Hermione and Neville, much to the shock of everyone. Tonks was
glad, but Ron was miffed. Until the Deputy Headmistress announced the
Quidditch Captains, who in this case was Katie. Ron was just glad it
wasn't 'Harry'.
There was a bit of an ordeal before the Gryffindor fifth year boys went to
bed. Tonks pulled off a Harry impersonation quite well. Self-righteous
anger was easy to do. Especially, when she agreed with the Boy-Who-
Lived about how their society treated him. She could see now that Harry
had the right of it. Good thing he wasn't coming back to this school. She
figured that she'd tell them to sod off far sooner that Harry had.
Ron was a lot of help, in that he threatened the Finnegan boy and stood
up for his best mate.
It could have been a lot worse, she supposed.
On the way to the Great Hall for breakfast, 'Harry' was stopped many
times by people telling 'him' they believed him. There were quite a few
Hufflepuffs that thanked him for the article. She noted they though they
were pleasant, they didn't apologize for their treatment the times they
weren't as pleasant. One more check mark for Harry never to return.
The schedules were handed out at breakfast and all the fifth years
groaned. It was a nightmare of a day. All the worst classes were at the
start of the week. Snape, Trelawney, Binns and Umbridge. Only
Hermione was exempt from Divination. For some reason all the fifth year
Gryffindors took that class. The females of that year actually enjoyed it.
"Think of it this way," Tonks said, putting the parchment in her history
book, and looking at Harry's friends, "you'll get the worst out of the way
sooner." She shrugged and finished her eggs.
"I guess that's one way to put it," Hermione agreed, drinking the last of
her pumpkin juice.
"Still," Ron countered, "it's going to be a bloody nightmare." He slammed
his head on the table and groaned. A few others looked like they wanted
to do the same.
Classes were going okay, though Tonks made note of how awful Snape
treated the students, sure she had had the man, but she could see the
difference on how he treated Hufflepuffs to Gryffindors. It was outright
abuse, and she had no clue why the man still held his station. She was
going to tell Bones what was going on. If the Ministry was going to
interfere, then they bloody well should do it right.
After three grueling, not to mention boring, classes, it was time for
DADA. They all filed in and took the seats they usually did. The pink
woman was at the front of the class, wearing a saccharine smile. Not one
single person believed she was as benevolent as she was trying to
portray. Still, they kept quiet and looked to the front.
When the bell rang and the door closed, Umbridge started her speech.
Hermione took exception the curriculum and called the woman out on it.
An argument soon began and for some reason only 'Harry' was given
detention. Not at all on purpose, no.
"Detention, with me, tonight, at seven, Potter," Umbridge said with a
vindictive smile on her face.
Tonks countered that smile with a Black Family Crazy Smile™, which
looked worse on Harry's face. "Perfect," she purred and left the room.
Umbridge felt a cold chill go down her back and wondered if she should
carry out with her plans.
Hphphp
Everything that was glossed over you can take that it was the same as canon.
I'm not going to rehash Rowling's story. Don't worry, it'll change soon enough.
25. Chapter 25 The Toad Bites the
Dust
Chapter 25: The Toad Bites the Dust
Okay, so the operation went well, I think. I've not had my postop checkup yet.
But, I'm feeling better. It still hurts to sit, but a bit at a time is not bad. This
chapter is short, I posted it to let you know that I'm back and that this story
will probably be done in an few more chapters. Then I can work on my
Walking Dead/Harry Potter crossover.
I didn't take the time to reread all the chapters, mostly because I do that at the
computer, and sitting through all 24 chapters is not something I can do right
now. So, if I messed up something, or forgot that I wrote a person out ages ago
and they show up now, could you please point that out to me, and I'll fix it.
Hphphp
That night, after dinner but before 'Harry's' detention, Tonks and the
twins did the spell to find the horcrux. It was something they wanted to
get over with as soon as possible. The sooner it was done, the sooner the
war would be over, hopefully.
The charm worked and they followed the beam of light, using the
Marauder's Map, that Harry had lent them. It wasn't far, it was even on
the same floor as them. Walking along, making sure no one was around
they soon came to an empty corridor. They located it on the seventh
floor, but there was no door to where it was pinging.
"This must be the room that Dobby was telling us about," Fred said,
waving to the tapestry of the dancing trolls.
"You may be right, my uglier twin," George agreed, he too looking at the
funny picture of trolls in tutus.
"Alright," Tonks said, nudging them out of the way. "I pace in front of the
wall three times, right?" she asked, still looking like Harry.
"You have to think about what you need while you're pacing," Fred said,
standing on the opposite wall, leaning back with his arms and ankles
crossed. His brother in the same pose.
"Okay, give me a moment, yeah?" she said, thinking hard on what they
wanted. 'I need the horcrux,' she thought over and over in her mind while
pacing.
Soon a door appeared and the trio of troublemakers when through,
wands drawn and ready. The room was bare, bar a pedestal. On the
marble column was a tiara, or maybe a diadem. It was a nice looking
one, though old and tarnish. It was silver, and there were wings of a bird,
that they thought was ravens, wrapped around to the back. Words were
written between the wings. 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.'
"Isn't that Rowena Ravenclaw's?" George asked, have seen in on the
statue in the Ravenclaw dorm. There wasn't anywhere in this castle that
he and his brother hadn't explored. Well, except this room and they were
going to abuse the hell out of it this year. If Sirius was serious about them
needing to have good grades to get their shop, then this room just
became the highest priority.
"Yeah, looks like it," Fred agreed, peering close at the words on the
crown.
"Kreacher," Tonks called, hoping the elf could get in this room that
seemed to be sort of an off to the side dimension. Like it was one step
away from reality.
A second later the old elf popped in with an iron box. "You is calling
Kreacher?" he asked, warily eyeing everyone. Sure, his life was better,
but he could not overcome a lifetime of prejudice. It had been drilled in
his head since birth that people like these three before him were less than
trash. To Mrs. Black, even he was higher on the totem pole than them.
Still, he had been given orders that even thought he thought it, he
couldn't express it.
"Yeah, I think this is it," Tonks said, still looking at the lost treasure and
very glad that it didn't have to be destroyed.
"Kreacher will be taking it to Master," the elf said, snapping his fingers
and floating the diadem into the box. The box snapped shut and the elf
sketched a small bow and left.
"Well," Tonks said, looking around the now empty room, "that's that, I
reckon. If I can get Umbitch to screw up right away, then I can be out of
here tonight," she finished smugly. Not that she didn't like posing as
Harry, but she wanted to be in on the takedown.
"Ah, does ickle Harrykins want to go home?" Fred teased, leading the
disguised woman out of the room.
"Stuff it," Tonks said playfully, shoving his hand away.
"Have fun torturing the toad," George said as the twins took off running
to make the tower before they were missed. Not that they were ever in
the dorms before curfew, but this night they wanted an alibi. You know,
just in case.
Tonks whistled as she moved toward the DADA room. She was happy
that everything got done in record time. She hoped that her boss would
let her go home. She wasn't lying when she said that she wanted to help
stop the war. With only two horcruxes left, that could be as soon as next
week. This put a bounce in her step as she thought up ways to 'torture
the toad', as George put it.
She showed up just in time for her detention. She was still wearing that
Black Family Crazy Smile, and it was still creepier on Harry's face,
because she wanted to put the woman off her groove. She took a seat and
stared at Umbridge, not blinking once. Her eyes were magnified by the
glass in her glasses. They did that so that no one could guess that they
were just glass.
"Potter," the woman started, getting out of her seat and walking towards
the boy. Her face was in her superior smile, like 'Harry' was a bug and
she was a foot.
"Mr. Potter," Tonks said, blinking owlishly.
"I beg your pardon?" Umbridge said, her smile dropped, and a look of
shock came over her face. She was completely affronted at being talked
back to by a teen. One she despised more than other teens. It upset her
plans that the little bastard didn't just die via Dementors like she wanted.
Nor did he use magic to get away. She had no idea how the boy did it,
but he didn't 'break' any laws doing it.
"My name, to you, is Mr. Potter," the metamorphmagus, stated, still
smiling. "We are not friends, I would hope we were not enemies, and you
are a teacher. Therefore, the professional way to address me in 'Mr.
Potter'." If anything, that smile got wider.
"Who do you think you are, you little ruffian? You have no right to talk
to me like that," the teacher said in a high shrilly voice.
"Sorry, Madam Umbridge, I know you're new to teaching, I was only
trying to help," Tonks said, in the most insincere way possible.
"Quit smiling at me, boy," the teacher demanded, sniffing the air like she
smelled something bad.
"No, I don't think I will," Tonks said with a shrug. "Detention?" she asked,
raising an eyebrow. Her hands were folded on the desk, for all she looked
like a proper schoolboy waiting for his teacher to get on with it.
"You will be writing lines," Dolores simpered, handing her a parchment
and a black quill. It was her smile that was now unnerving.
"Ink?" was the blunt inquiry.
"You won't need it," the toad said, still smiling, though it did get creepier.
"Oh, well, okay then," Tonks said, and then asked, "What am I to write,
and how many?"
"'I must not tell lies', and until it sinks in," was the answer as the fat
woman turned to go to her desk, making it look like she was doing
something besides planning torture.
"Okay," Tonks said slowly, putting quill to parchment and writing the
letter 'I'. She felt the pain in her hand, looked and saw a straight line,
trickling with blood. She slammed the quill down, stood from her desk,
putting her fist on said desk she leaned forward and looked the woman in
the eye with nothing but hatred showing.
"Something wrong, Mr. Potter," the pink woman asked, with a tone that
ice would melt in. As if she was daring the boy to make a big deal of it.
With all the things that happened to the child over the summer, she
really thought he would sit and take his punishment. She had had second
thoughts after Black threatened her, but her 'mother' was long dead now,
and he would have a hard time proving it. Though, her 'brother' was out
there somewhere. She couldn't find him to shut him up. It's a good thing
that she bribed, and threatened, her father to leave the Ministry. It would
do no good if people knew she was a half-blood. That and the man had
been a janitor of all things.
After Black had left that day, she and Cornelius had talked, and they
came to the conclusion that man was blowing hot air.
"You bitch," the disguised female snarled, still wearing Harry's face. To
hell with the plan. This was completely out of line and she wasn't going
to put herself in pain just so she could draw it out. She had no idea what
in Merlin's name this quill was, but the fact that it caused pain and drew
blood, which is a major taboo, was enough for her to arrest the woman.
Speaking of which, Tonks took the parchment and burned it right in front
of the woman. There was no way in hell that she was going to leave her
blood on anything.
"I beg your pardon?" Umbridge said, standing up to glare at the child.
Then she started giggling. It was disturbing. She figured that she had the
brat right where she wanted. He was about to attack a teacher. That was
reason for expulsion.
"You planned on torturing me? You unmitigated bitch," Tonks snarled,
putting the quill in her robe pocket and pulling her wand. "You, Dolores
Umbridge, are under arrest," she said, pointing her wand at the
flabbergasted woman.
"You can't arrest me, boy. You're not an Auror," she said, raising her
wand to the teen in front of her. This was not going as planned. He was
supposed to just sit and do what she told him too. She held the higher
ground here. She had power over him. He was a student; she was a
professor. Weren't they supposed to sit and take it?
"Think again," Tonks said, and fired a spell at the despicable woman.
Umbridge didn't even have time to point her wand correctly before she
fell face first on her desk. The loud crack that sounded when her head
hit, just made Tonks smile. The trickle of blood was nice too. Tonks lifted
the fat woman up in the air, settled her into the chair behind her, and
wrapped her up in rope.
She then went to the woman's office and Flooed her boss at home. Amelia
said that she would be up late for the next few weeks, waiting for Tonks
to call her. If she hadn't heard from her by then, she would come and see
what the hold up was.
"Madam Bones," Tonks called when the Floo connected.
"Tonks?" the monocled woman asked, turning in her chair to see.
"Already? You've only been there a day."
"What can I say, Harry is good at getting in trouble," Tonks said, waving
her boss through. "I expect Dumbledore will be here any minute. I'm sure
he has the Floos monitored," she added, taking her head out of the fire.
Amelia stepped through and the two women went to the classroom.
Umbridge was just starting to wake, since Tonks didn't hit her with a
powerful spell.
"Amelia, I want that boy arrested!" she shrieked, wiggling in her ropes.
"Do you see what he has done to me? You're going to pay for this,
Potter!"
Tonks just ignored the woman and pulled out the quill. She was still
wearing Harry's face and still trying to act accordingly. If Dumbledore
did show up, they didn't want him to know that she wasn't Harry. It
would make the man more relaxed if he thought that he could sway
Harry to come back to his way of thinking. They didn't think they could
arrest him, but if he slipped, which was unlikely, they could use it
against him.
"She wanted me to write with this," she informed her boss, handing the
quill over and showing the red mark on the back of her hand. "It draws
blood as it writes," she added, glaring at Umbridge through her fake
glasses. "I'd show you the parchment, but I followed protocol, and burned
it."
"Good job, not many would have thought of that," her boss said, giving
the metamorphmagus a nod. She then peered closer at the quill. "I've
heard of these," she said, looking the black quill over and waving her
wand over it to diagnose what it was.
"Really, I didn't receive anything about these," Tonks said, thinking that
there would have been a memo to be on the lookout for one. But then
again, Umbridge was in Fudge's bunch of brown-nosers, so it might be
only those at the top to know. She, for all she was good at her job, was
still a rookie.
"That woman," Bones explained, nodding her head in the tied-up woman's
direction, "has been rumored to be using this thing on underlings. There
was no proof, but now…" she trailed off, giving Umbridge a nasty smile.
"He planted it," the desperate woman said, glaring at the still disguised
Harry.
"She would not lie to me," countered Amelia, making Umbridge look at
her funny. "Tonks," was all the head of the DMLE said, not taking her
eyes off her prisoner.
Tonks morphed back into herself and said, "Got you." She morphed
quickly back and just sneered.
Umbridge shrieked and tried once more to get out of her bonds. It was
futile, and Amelia hit her with a stunner. Just then the door opened, and
in came Dumbledore.
"What, may I ask, is going on here?" the old man said, trying to take in
the scene. 'Harry' was standing next to Amelia, who was holding a dark
artifact in her hand. His DADA professor was knocked out, while tied up
to her chair. "Harry, my boy, whatever is the meaning of all of this?" he
inquired, looking over his glasses at the boy. Something seemed off about
Harry. Was it because he didn't trust Albus anymore, or was it something
else?
"She," 'Harry' said, pointing at the tied-up toad, "tried to torture me for
detention. Madam Bones told me this summer, that it my DADA teacher
tried to hurt me this year, like every year before, I was to call her." It was
the cover story that they had cooked up when this whole scenario was
being planned.
"I did not know you were in contact with the head of the DMLE,"
Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eye. "Why did you not come to me?"
"You've never helped before, so why would I think you would now?"
'Harry' said, giving a careless shrug. "I mean, every year my DADA
professor has tried to do me in. You never stopped it, or Snape, come to
think of it. Not to mention the years of abuse, via students and professors
alike, that you just let play out. So why in all that holy would I come to
you?" she finished off, having got her jab in.
"I never knew until it was too late to help you, Harry. I tried my best to
make sure that you, and all the students in this school, were safe,"
Dumbledore said, genuinely believing what he was saying. He left the
abuse part alone. He knew he was in the wrong there, but he felt that it
would make Harry get thicker skin. One should not let the feeling of
others effect their actions. He knew Harry was going to be a hero. And if
the boy thought he had it bad now… well, time will tell.
"Not by my reckoning," the 'boy' said, once again shrugging. "Your past
actions have shown me that I cannot trust you, even with telling me the
correct time."
"I am terribly sorry that you no longer trust me, Harry. What can I do to
make it up to you?" the old man asked, sincere in his question. It was like
a blow to the gut to him that the boy would had once looked to him like
a grandfather, now looked at him with disdain.
"Don't interfere," was the casual reply.
"This is my school," the Headmaster said, "it is imperative that I know
what is going on."
"And you will," interrupted Amelia, who was waving her wand at the
woman tied to the chair. "After my investigation," she finished with a
note if finality. "After all, you let her in the castle with implements of
torture."
"I would never," the aghast man said, putting his hand to heart.
"This," the older woman said, holding up the quill, "was invented by her,"
she pointed to Umbridge, "with no other thought in mind but to torture.
It uses blood of the victim. I don't have to tell you that that is a capital
offense. She will not be walking away from this."
"That's good news," Tonks said, glad to hear that the bitch would die.
"Right," Amelia said, with a determined look, knowing that it was going
to be a battle to the end. However, she was up for it. "I've been looking
for evidence for ages, now that I have it, I'm not going to let you
interfere."
She stuffed the quill in an evidence bag, sealed it and put it in her
charmed pocket. Only she could get in that pocket, and only her death
would break the spell.
"I will do all I can to help," the Headmaster stated, hoping that his offer
would make Harry see that he was a good man.
"You want to help?" Amelia said, lifting the chair that housed the teacher
and making her way back to the office. "Don't" she finished as she made it
to the door.
"Do you need me anymore, Madam Bones?" 'Harry' asked, following to
the door, but going no further.
"No, go back to your dorm. Don't answer any questions on what went on
here. That means you too, Albus. This is now a criminal investigation,
Harry is not to talk about it, at all," the Head of the DMLE stated, putting
Floo powder in the fire and levitating the chair in. "Go on, Harry. I will
be with you either tomorrow, or the next day. No one, you hear. Not
even your friends," she leveled Tonks a look.
The 'boy' sighed and slouched out of the room. She had been hoping to
go home today, but there must be a reason Bones wanted her to stick
around for a while.
"Amelia," Albus started as he watched Harry leave.
"No, Albus, I will talk to you tomorrow," she said, whirling around and
entering the fire. "Department of Law Enforcement," she called, and
disappeared in green flames.
Dumbledore sighed and looked around the now empty classroom. Harry
wasn't wrong in that all the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors had
at one time or another tried to kill the boy. He just hoped whoever
replaced Umbridge would not do so. With another sigh he left the room.
He had work to do.
Hphphp
I've said it before, and I will explain it again. Dolores Umbridge was the
inventor of the Blood, or Black, Quill. She is a sadistic person, who should
have been killed off in the fifth book. She may not be magically powerful, but
evil people don't always need power to be evil, they just need a brain. She
would not have advanced as high as she did, posing as a pureblood, if she
didn't have one. She is evil.
26. Chapter 26 Burn, Bitch, Burn
Chapter 26: Burn, Bitch, Burn
I added a bit to the last chapter. Using someone's blood without their
permission is a capital offense. Umbridge will burn… lol. (insert evil laugh)
Once again, a reminder that this is unbetaed. I will, as usual, go over it again
tomorrow, or when I start the next chapter, and more than likely the errors
will be corrected.
Hphphp
The first thing Tonks did after reaching the dorms, besides waving away
the curious looks, was run up to Harry's bed. She wasn't going to sleep
here, but she had to wait until all the curtains were closed before she
snuck up to the Head Boy rooms. She whipped out a mirror and called,
"Padfoot."
The mirror glowed bright for a moment and then died down. It took a
minute or two for the man to answer.
"What's up, Harry?" Sirius asked, using his brother's name just in case
those not in the know showed up.
"You'd better get to the Ministry as soon as you can. I got Umbridge right
away. She tried to torture me using a quill that wrote with my blood.
Bones said that is a capital offense, but you know Fudge, and probably
Malfoy, are going to try and stop it," she said in a rush, throwing up a
silencing charm, which she knew she should have done at the start, but
had forgotten in her rush.
"What? Already? Damn, girl, you work fast," the flabbergasted man said,
though his smile was huge.
"Damn right, I do," she said with an impish grin. "Get going," she added
and disconnected.
Now that that was out of the way, she made her way downstairs to join
her friends. Well, Harry's friends, but they had been working together all
summer, and she was close to them as well. She reached the group of
people by the fire and was amused to see the Weasleys were all regaling
their dormmates with tales of the movies they saw all summer. The twins
were over at the other side of the common room, doing the same with
upperclassmen.
There was a great deal of denial shouting, along with just as much
laughter. As one group or another tried to get their voices heard. While
prejudice was not ramped in the Gryffindor dorms, there was still a huge
divide between muggles and magicals. So those that had never seen or
heard of a movie, were debating with those that had.
At the younger years side of the room, many of the muggle-born and
half-bloods were smiling indulgingly at Ron's and Ginny's enthusiasm.
They never thought to take their pureblood friends to see movies. But if
this was the result, maybe their summers just got busier. It would go a
long way to helping those not in the know understand half the stuff that
came out of the mouths of those who did. That divide would get smaller.
Now if only the muggleborn could learn of more of this culture… a
debate for another time.
"What's up, Harry?" Ginny asked, wondering why the 'boy' was here so
fast. Detention should last much longer than this.
"I can't talk about it, but, needless to say, there will be a new DADA
professor tomorrow. Or the class will be canceled," she said with a shrug.
There was a lot to impressed whistling, along with some cheering, at that
statement. The debate shelved for another time, while the Gryffindor's
celebrated the loss of the toad. No one liked the bitch.
Tonks just smiled and preened a bit at the attention. She felt good after
putting that toad in her place. It was good attention, for now. If she
learned anything this summer, while view Harry's memories, it was that
crowds can turn in an instant.
Hphphp
Meanwhile, at Grimmuald Place, Sirius was getting ready to head to the
Ministry. He had already called those who needed to know. He even
recruited the help of Madam Longbottom since she was on the school
board. They were all on standby, waiting to see if they needed to storm
the Ministry.
Since he took up his seat, it had been one political game after another,
but with her help, she and Sirius had cleared all the bad rubbish off said
board and were now working with those that weren't under either,
Fudge's, Malfoy's or Dumbledore's influence. It was a breath of fresh air.
Next week the board was going to go over the current curriculum and
overhaul it. Moody had been right, there were no classes that taught
wizarding customs or rituals. All the wizarding holidays had been erased
from the school. Sure, there was a magical theory class, for first years
only, but it was so incorrect that it made Sirius cringe.
Pushing it aside, not that he wasn't going to use this faux pas as an
excuse to bury both Fudge and Dumbledore, but he needed to get going.
Harry was in a daze. His eyes were staring blankly at a spot on the wall.
He was amazed and confused that Tonks had done what he didn't think
could. She stood up to, and took down, a teacher. Something he had been
dreaming of doing since he met Snape. Well, he did stand up to the
greasy git now and then, but it never got him anywhere but detention.
He learned after the first few times, that it was futile to argue.
Then again, Tonks was an adult. Maybe she possessed a demeanor that he
didn't have. She was a trained Auror, so maybe that was it. He didn't
know, but he felt all his past efforts to do the same as she did in one day
were lame in hindsight. He knew he had an anger problem, and Andi had
been working with him on that. His Occlumency was better, and it did
help a lot. But, he was still prone to jumping first and thinking second.
Still, even with all the training the Tonkses and his brother had given
him over the months, he had to wonder if he would have stopped
Umbridge from torturing him, or if he would have just sat there and did
the lines. It was a major blow to his confidence that the answer didn't
come right away.
He was extremely glad that he had at least made the right decision to not
go back to Hogwarts. Even when Tonks left, he was staying here.
McGonagall knew this, she wasn't happy, but he wasn't overjoyed with
her past performance either. So, she could suck it.
"Alright, Harry, I'm off to see that justice is served. Why don't you finish
that book Remus gave to you, and then head off to bed," Sirius said,
going to the fireplace and throwing in the powder.
"Um," Harry said, then he shook his head to clear the mental debate he
had going. "Alright, good luck," he finally said, then turning his attention
back to the DADA book in front of him, he tried to concentrate on
reading.
Sirius cut him a searching look, before he stepped into the flames. He
could see that this was a blow to Harry, and he told himself that he
would have a nice chat with the boy as soon as he got back. He sent
Harry a reassuring look and Flooed away.
Amelia had given their group permission, after a vow not to abuse it, to
Floo to her office. So, he did. When he stepped out and brushed the small
bit of ash off his shoulder, making a mental note to get the house elves to
clean it, he nodded to Bones.
"Amelia," he said regally, playing the part of Lord for now.
"Black," she said back, also nodding. She then waved for him to sit and
they waited. Amelia knew that the Ministry was not secure, there would
be no talks of clandestine meetings while in the building riddled with
spies.
It didn't take long before a portly man wearing a green bowler hat
showed up. He stormed through the door, marched right up to the desk,
put his fat fist on it and leaned over to get in the face of his Head of the
DMLE.
She simply smiled at him and pushed his forehead until he was a good
arm's length away.
"Amelia, what is the meaning of arresting my Undersecretary?" Fudge all
but bellowed, puffing up like a blowfish.
"Fudge," Black said menacingly, "shut it and sit."
The coward jumped, not having seen the man, and did just that. While he
might have sway over Bones, he was terrified of Black.
"Your Undersecretary was caught using a quill that drew blood. That is a
capital offense. She not only tried to get blood out of the heir to the Black
family, but he is a minor. If I could kill her twice, I would," Amelia said,
without an ounce of trepidation. She knew she had the upper hand here.
"And if you think for a moment you can hide her behind pureblood laws,
you are sadly mistaken," Sirius said, poised as a Lord should be.
"Madam Umbridge is a pureblood," Fudge sputtered out. He knew Amelia
had tried to lie about the woman's blood statis before, but he had asked
Dolores, and she assured her that she was indeed a pureblood.
Sirius smirked. He felt a little bad about not warning Umbridge's mother,
but he couldn't find her. However, when he did comb London's papers
and found that that evil woman had killed her mother, well, he couldn't
save the poor woman, but he did get the brother to run. But not before
he had cajoled the man into getting the police report, and Umbridge's
real birth certificate. Which he was currently pulling out of his pocket.
He didn't say anything, just handed them to Amelia, who took them and
looked them over. She smiled and handed them to Fudge. He took them,
glanced at the parents' names, paled considerably and sputtered. He
didn't say anything, instead he rose, gentle put the papers down and ran
from the room.
"You won't find her!" Amelia shouted after the fleeing man, making his
falter for a moment, then resume his running.
"As much as I hate the prejudice, it works here," Black said, wearing his
family's smile.
"Please, don't smile like that. You remind me of your late cousin," Bones
said, though she too was smiling.
"Fine," the dogman pouted. "Where did you hide her?" he asked instead.
"I'm not telling. Only I and one other person, knows where she it. All I
will tell you is that you have nothing to worry about, that woman is
going down," the Head of the DMLE said, picking up the papers that
Sirius gave her and giving them a once over.
"Good," was all Sirius said, straightening a nonexistent wrinkle in his
robes.
"You go home, and I'll get the Veritaserum, and get all I can from her. If
Fudge is smart, he's running for the hills," Bones said, shuffling the
parchment and papers on her desk. She needed to have all her ducks in a
row for this. There was a way to kill the woman twice. Once Kissed,
twice the Veil.
"I hope he's just stupid enough not to warn Malfoy. We needed that man
where he is. Of course, even if he is warned, he probably won't run. The
Dork Lord won't let him. Probably even torture him if he suggests it.
Voldy doesn't like cowards. However, if he does get a warning, he might
beef up security. Maybe we should set our sights on raiding tomorrow,"
he added thoughtfully, rubbing his goatee.
"No, I want Tonks in the school for at least another week. If I have it my
way, then Snape will disappear into my cells too," Bones said, closing the
folder she had been organizing.
"You know he did warn Moody about Harry's you know what," Sirius
reluctantly said.
"I know, but I want all he has to tell me about both sides of… well, you
know," she said, gathering everything she needed and stood. "You go
home, and tell everyone who needs to know, that Umbridge's hours are
numbered. There won't even need to be a trial, but I'll call an emergency
meeting. We'll get it done tonight," she finished as she made her way to
the door.
"Got it," was all Sirius said as he Flooed away. When he stepped into his
house, he noted that Harry hadn't moved the entire time he was gone.
Sighing, he sat across from his brother and took the book he wasn't
reading away. He closed it and set it aside. "Want to talk about it?" he
asked the younger boy.
"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I get that Tonks is older and smarter than me,
and that she's received training that I haven't, but I feel like everything
I've done in the past is just… I don't know, stupid," Harry said, putting
his head on his folded arms.
Sirius tapped the down head. When Harry looked up, he smiled. "It's all
part of growing up. Don't you think I didn't do some stupid shite when I
was younger. Merlin, the stuff we pulled at school would have gotten us
locked up, if Dumbledore weren't so prejudice against Slytherin. I mean,
for all the man talks about equality, he really is blind to his own faults,"
the dogman said, trying to cheer the boy up.
"I know, it was the same for me. But at least you didn't have a more
prejudice teacher to counteract all of Dumbledore's. I mean, Snape would
let his House get away with murder, probably try to blame the victim, if
it were self-defense," Harry said, both sad and angry.
"Oh, don't rule out or Slughorn, the man was a genius at potions, but he
was such a 'collector of people', that he let those he thought could further
his goals get away with a ton of shite," his brother countered. "I know he
taught Riddle, and that he told the boy more about the Dark Arts than
DADA ever did. Moody told me that Riddle was one of Sluggy's pet
projects. Remember, Moody went to school with our Dork Lord. He's
been going over his memories of that time, and there have been quite a
few insightful things."
"Really, like what?" Harry asked, his interest perked.
"Nothing you haven't already found out on your own, or that we don't
already know," the other man answered with a shrug. "That he's a half-
blood, that he's was Slytherin's heir, that he turned to the Dark Arts.
Though there was a bit about how he may have obtained, some of the
things he used a horcruxes. But that's all water out of the cauldron. The
information is of little to no use," Sirius said, waving his hand like it
wasn't a big deal.
"Oh," was the disappointed rejoinder. "I was hoping for something I could
use; you know, to taunt or something. You know, to stall or something,"
Harry said, thinking about all he knows about the evil man.
"You could still use it all, the man is a powder keg ready to blow. The
angrier you get him, the better. People mess up when they are angry.
Which is why me and Andi are trying to get yours under control," his
brother said, reaching over and ruffling his hair.
"Yeah, I've been mulling that over in my head since you left. I know
Tonks got to do what she did, because she doesn't jump ahead like I do,"
Harry said sullenly.
"Don't worry too much, you are getting much better," Sirius said, standing
from the table and jerking his head to the door. "Come on, we'll spar for
an hour or so, that'll get your mind of stuff," he suggested, making Harry
smile and get up too.
"Yeah, that might be just what I need," Harry said, following the other
man to the training room. "What's going to happen to Umbridge?" he
asked as he all but skipped down the stairs.
"That bitch is going to burn," Sirius said then laughed manically.
"Good," Harry said, thoughtfully. While he didn't know the woman,
rumor, and what happened tonight, showed that she was the one in the
Ministry trying to do him in. Ron was going to be a nightmare when he
found out that he had been right. It wasn't often he got one over
Hermione. With that thought he shrugged and felt okay about that. For
once, Ron could be the hero.
27. Chapter 27 After and Before
Chapter 27: After and Before
Okay, let's try this again. I'm pretty sure I'm all healed up, so hopefully I can
complete this soon. I do note, however, that I'm a bit impatient on my bad
typing, I blame dyslexia, so it might take a few days to finish a chapter.
Anyway, here's the next chapter. If you find that I've made a mistake or
forgotten that so-and-so did such-and-such, please let me know and I'll fix it.
Enjoy.
Hphphp
Harry went to bed feeling a lot better. He was glad that he had Sirius in
his life. The man was Merlin sent and made a great big brother. It was
with a clear mind that he dreamed of the future.
Sirius, unfortunately, could not retire for the evening. He had to get back
to Ministry to sit his and Harry's seats. The trial would probably be short
and sweet, since Umbridge could not use the pure-blood laws to protect
herself.
It was Karma really.
If the woman hadn't pushed Fudge so hard in passing all those laws that
protected the elite, then she would have stood a better chance of
defending herself. However, she was the one to push that all laws that
labeled non-purebloods, and creatures, or those with creature blood, to
be treated as lesser people.
'Sucks to be her,' Sirius thought as the listened to the woman spill all her
secrets.
The plethora of sins that came out of that woman's mouth was enough for
everyone in the room, be they pure-blood or not, to go green. Since most
of the Death Eaters that held seats were in hiding it was easy to see that
no one was swayed by her. Fudge was noticeably absent, and that was a
relief. If Sirius knew the man at all, he would have blustered until he was
put down, or fired. Well, more like voted out, but still.
The trial was as quick as he had thought it would be. There wasn't even a
need to debate. The woman was guilty of so many crimes that she was
Kissed and pushed through the Veil. The conclusion of the questioning
led to a lot of arrest and arrest warrants.
It was a tired man that fell into bed that night, but a satisfied one. He
couldn't wait for the paper tomorrow.
Hphphp
Tonks snuck back into the fifth-year boy's dorm at six in the morning.
Having already showered and changed in the en-suite of the Head Boy's
room, she just had to wait until at least one boy woke up and gave her an
alibi. Not that she was doing anything illegal, but she didn't want
Dumbledore to catch on.
She closed the curtains and waited for Ron to tell her that it was all clear.
The boys didn't get up for another hour, which she used to study a bit.
She wasn't long out of Hogwarts, but she didn't want to appear better
than Harry usually did. So, she read to see how much she would have to
dumb herself down.
Soon the boys started stirring and Ron gave the all-clear about ten
minutes later. They all trooped down to the common room where they
met up with Hermione.
"So, do you think that what you couldn't tell us will be in the paper this
morning?" Hermione asked, tucking the book she had been reading away
and following the 'boys' out of the common room.
"Probably," Tonks said with a shrug. "I mean, I can tell you that Bones,"
"Madam, Bones," Hermione chastised, only to be ignored.
"was here," the metamorph said, leading the way to the Great Hall.
The twins sidled up to her and tried to get more of a picture on what
happened. They knew that she had done something and were a bit cuffed
that she wasn't spilling.
Soon they were all sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast and
gossiping. There was wide speculation when it was noted that the pink
toad was absent. Everyone who had ever been around Harry in any way
was shooting glances at 'him'. They all knew that if there was something
happening in Hogwarts, that Harry was more than likely the one in the
middle.
Tonks was about to stand up and declare victory over the toad, when a
parliament of owls flew in carrying a copy of the Daily Prophet.
The headlines read. Umbridge Found Guilty: Fudge Disappears.
The article that followed said that she had been accused of Black Magic.
The quill that she had used was shown to the Wizengamot and declared a
Banned Item. It went on to tell how the Wizengamot had come to a
verdict so fast, that it beat any verdict on record. There were plenty of
comments on how the woman was universally hated at the Ministry. The
only person who tolerated the Undersecretary was Fudge. And they were
78% positive that it was because she was blackmailing him.
Most of the crimes that Fudge was accused of piggy backed Umbridge's
own crimes. They were all listed in chronological order. The bribes he
took, who he took them from, and why there were given in the first
place. That put the kneazles among the pigeons. Now there were people,
like the Malfoys, who were persona non grata at the Ministry. Bones was
noted to say that if these 'people of interest' did show, they would be
questioned thoroughly. Pure-blood or not.
The whole Wizengamot agreed, after seeing that the laws were pushed
due to bribery, that for this everyone would be held accountable. Well,
after Bones arrested quite a few of the men and women there, for the
same crimes as Fudge and Umbridge. A committee was set up to go over
the laws from the last six years. The time Fudge was in office.
At the moment, there was no Minster, and the article said that they had
picked the eldest Wizengamot member, a Lord Hartstein, to hold the spot
until the next election. They wanted to appoint Madam Marchbanks, but
she was not willing.
Upon reading this, there were cheers heard all over the Hall. The
teachers looked on with disapproval. Sure, they were glad the toad was
gone, but children should not celebrate the death of another human.
McGonagall looked over the student body and noted that not everyone
was cheering, only those that had family in the Ministry. She figured that
they must have heard about the vile woman from home. Still, death was
not a good cause to celebrate. Unless it was You-Know-Who's.
"Harry," Hermione hissed, "don't, please. It's just not right." She was very
uncomfortable with celebrating a death.
"I know, but I just can't help it. I mean, she was going to torture me,"
'Harry' said, settling down and giving 'his' friend a grin. "Thanks for
asking and not demanding," 'he' added, putting a comforting hand on her
arm.
"You're welcome," the bushy-haired girl said, her face still sober.
"Look at the Headmaster and Snape," Ron said, leaning over the table so
he could be heard without shouting.
"Damn, I haven't seen anyone's face that pale since I first met Malfoy the
younger," Tonks said, looking over at the Slytherin Table and seeing said
boy go just as pale as Snape. She then turned to look at Dumbledore.
The old man did not look happy, and she knew it was because he never
condoned the killing of people. In his eyes all were worthy of
redemption. Someone really needed to tell that man he was not God. Or
even Merlin. She paused at that thought, and really looked at what she
knew about Dumbledore. If you lined up what he had done for the last
ninety or so years, it really didn't add up to much. So why did people
believe that he was the second coming of Merlin?
Then she shrugged, it really didn't matter.
She heard some of the comments directed at 'Harry', and smirked. As she
listened, she started to eat her breakfast. The article didn't mention Harry
by name, only that a minor was the one who caught her. So, of course,
anyone who had been in the school for more than a year, knew it was all
Harry's fault.
Now all she had to do was get Snape. If what she had heard about the
man was true, that should be easy. While Harry was just learning to
protect his mind, though from what Sirius told her, Harry had the best
shields she had ever heard of. Anyway, she also had good shields, so the
first time that man even skimmed her mind, he was going down.
Hphphp
Meanwhile, Amelia was at Grimmuald Place talking to Sirius. Harry was
with Remus doing his own schoolwork. He planned on passing as many
OWLs as possible, and Remus was a great teacher.
"I thought about what you said," Bones started, sipping the tea that was
offered. "I think you're right. We need to move as soon as possible. I have
Kingsley and Moody standing by. We're just waiting on word of the
horcruxes. Once they are gathered, then we'll move," she finished, setting
her cup down.
"Alright, you'll be happy to know that the twins and Tonks found the last
one, bar the snake. If we're right on that. I know that I'll have to pay
special attention to that reptile," Sirius said, standing and putting the
empty cups in the sink.
"That's good to know," was all Amelia said, though her thoughts were
going wild.
"Yeah, I'll contact Bill when you leave, and we'll set it up. What I want to
do is, have Harry here to 'kill' the horcruxes, while we take out the rest of
the Dark Idiots. I know I want a piece of both Malfoy and Riddle," Sirius
said, settling back down at the table. He lifted his eyebrow questioningly.
As if to ask if she could work with that.
"Sounds like a plan I can get behind. Does he already know the spell?"
she asked, still planning how to pull off this attack.
"Yeah, Bill and Remus have been teaching it to him all summer. He wants
to go and fight, but he is just a kid. And as much as I hate to agree with
Molly, kids have no need to fight in wars," the dogman sighed, running a
hand down is face.
He just knew that he was going to have to fight with Harry about this,
again. But he was going to stand firm. Harry would be doing his part by
destroying the rest of Tom's soul. Even that was too much for Sirius to
feel comfortable with, but he compromised.
Tonks was supposed to be here with Harry, but if she were staying in the
school, he'd have to ask Andi. While his cousin didn't want to be involved
with the fighting, he was sure she would stand by Harry to see the deed
done.
"Why don't you call a meeting with all those in the know, while I get
some of my best people to be there. After all being a Dark Lord is a
crime, and so is siding with one. We will be making many arrests that
day," Amelia said with a satisfied smirk.
"Does that mean we need to use stunners?" Sirius asked, not sure how he
felt about that.
"If they fire killing spells, then by all means, retaliate in kind. I will make
sure that no one gets arrested for defending themselves. However, and I
can't stress this enough, if anyone is caught torturing someone, they will
face justice. There is no cause for that, at all," she said firmly.
"Don't worry, even if Snape is found there, or Pettigrew, I won't. I'll make
sure the others know as well," he said almost wistfully, like he had just
been denied a dream. "Oh, and I have a surprise for everyone. Thought
I'd let you know that I've found a way to make tonight a lot easier," he
added, a shite-eating grin on his face.
"You're not going to tell me, are you?" she asked with a sigh.
"Nope, but I will reiterate that it will go a long way in getting us through
the wards," he answered, his smile getting wider.
"Fine," she huffed, getting up from the table, "keep your secrets," she
finished as she reached the Floo.
"I will, ta," was all Sirius said, also standing to get his part started.
"Pfft," she said, calling out to the Ministry and disappearing in the green
flames.
Sirius just shrugged and left. He figured he'd bother Harry for a minute,
then get started on what needed done before tonight. As it was, he was
going to have to visit a few people. So, yeah, a minute or two with his
little brother was what he needed to get started on the stressful things
with a calmer disposition.
Later that day, Sirius, and all those in the know, were sitting in the
kitchen of Grimmuald place. Harry was sitting to his left, while Amelia
was sitting to his right. The mirror was in the middle the table.
Suspended with a hovering charm. Tonks' normal face could be seen.
"Okay, we are happy to report that the twins and Tonks found the last
horcrux, barring the snake. So, it's just a matter of bringing down those
wards," Sirius said, giving everyone the smile, his family was famous, or
infamous, for.
"I don't like that look, Padfoot," Remus said, leaning away from his
friend, so he didn't get caught in the crossfire of whatever scheme the
man had up his sleeve.
"What? This look?" Sirius said, trying to look innocent.
"Yes," said half the table.
"Fine, spoil my fun," the poor picked on man said with a pout. It wasn't
there long, as the Black Family Crazy Smile™ made its debut. "I found
something in Regulus' room," he said, holding up a black disk. "Kreacher
had informed me not long ago, that there were things in that room that
my little brother was hiding. He said that most of it was to keep it out of
the hands of old Voldy. There were a few other things he hid from my
dear old mum," he added, his smile not waning in the least.
"Oh, what is it?" Harry asked, leaning forward a bit to look at the disk.
"This, my dear brother, is a ward scrambler," the older man said, holding
it out for everyone to see.
"What!?" was the exclamations around the table, bar Harry and Tonks.
"Yup," the dogman said. "As far as I know, there are only three in the
whole world. I have no idea how Reggie got ahold of one, though I would
bet half my vault that it was hidden in this house somewhere," he added,
flipping the disk like a coin. "Knowing my dearly departed parents, it
would not surprise me if they used this for some of the darker things my
family is infamous for," he added, putting the disk on the table.
"How do you know it works?" Tonks asked via the mirror.
"I went to visit the Dursley's," was the casual answer.
"I'm not going to have to arrest you, am I?" Amelia asked, not really
bothered it.
"Nay, there was no one there, but there were enough of the blood wards
that I could test this out. Harry, you will be happy to know that the
vaulted wards around the Dursley's house are no more," the older man
said, grinning like no tomorrow.
"Well, I wasn't planning on returning there anyway. Where were the
Dursley's, I wonder," the Boy-Who-Lived said, thinking hard on what
might have happened to them.
"Don't know," his brother answered. "For all I know, they were simply out
to dinner. I mean, does it really matter? You're shot of them," Sirius
finished, then looked around the table. "Bill, catch," he said, tossing the
disk to the curse-breaker.
"You know, I have been in this business a long time, and I would have
given my first year's pay to have one to these," the redhead said,
examining the disk to see if it was something that could be copied.
"It would have cost you first three year's pay," Moody said, looking over
the man's shoulder to see what's what.
"We really don't have time to debate all this," Bones stepped in. "We need
to get things set up so we can get this done fast. Harry, do you know the
spell to clear the horcruxes we have here?" the older woman asked,
turning to the boy who didn't want to be left behind. She could see that
much from the look on his face.
"Yeah," the teen said, folding his arms and slouching in his seat.
"Good, I want you to wait for my Patronus. When it shows, you will know
the snake is dead, do the spell as quickly as you can, and we can end this
war before it starts," she said in a no-nonsense voice, quite used to
despondent people. For all Aurors were grown people, they tended to
pout quite a bit.
"Fine," Harry huffed, knowing that even if he wanted to sit under the
Cloak, like they had planned from the start, he couldn't. Sirius had talked
it over with him many times, and he just wasn't prepared to fight a room
full of Death Eaters, and challenge Voldemort. As it was, the prophecy,
whatever it said, would probably come to pass when he 'killed' the
horcruxes.
"Good, and thank you," Bones said with a curt nod. "The rest of you know
what to do. The only reason we hadn't gone before was because we
couldn't plan around the taking down of the wards. Now that Black had
found this do-dad, we can get those wards down before the Death Eaters
can rise from kissing Riddle's robe," she finished, nodding to Bill
questioningly.
"Not a problem," the curse-breaker said, tucking the disk in his front
pocket.
"Good, then go home, kiss your loved ones, take a shower, spar, whatever
helps you relax. We leave at dusk," the Head of the DMLE said, getting up
to make her way home.
"I'll stay here and let you know if Snape leaves. I have Dobby keeping
tabs on him," Tonks said, nodding in Harry's direction, acknowledging
that he had given his elf permission to help her.
Not that it was something difficult to do. Even though Snape had warned
Moody about the horcrux, that didn't negate the years of horrible
treatment in the Potion Master's class. There would never be any reason
that Harry would drop that. Sirius had told him about the man's
obsession over his mum, but that was just creepy in his book. He did
wonder if it was Snape hanging around his mum when they were kids
was what made his aunt to hateful.
'Who knows?' was his final thought on that. Both those people had made
his life hell, and he wasn't going to waste any more time thinking about
them.
"Good," Sirius said, standing up and nudging Harry to do the same. "We're
going to practice that spell," he said, taking Harry elbow and leading him
out of the room.
"I can walk, you know," Harry said, taking his elbow back. "Why are we
going to practice that spell? I already know it," the boy complained.
"We're not," Sirius said, leading him to Reggie's old room.
"Then…?" the question was left hanging.
"You'll see," was all the answer he got.
"Sirius," Harry whinged.
"Just kidding. No, I found something else in here," he said, going towards
the wall with the bookcase.
"What?" Harry asked, following behind.
"This," Black said, holding up a book that had a red cover on it.
"What is it?"
"A Prankster's Guide to Pranking," Sirius said, handing the book over. "I
left it here when I ran away. I guess Reggie found it and hid it, so my
mum didn't burn it, or something," he finished, wandering back to the
bed and sitting down.
"You guys wrote this?" Harry asked, thumbing through the first few
pages.
"Yep, it took us most of fourth year, but we got it printed that summer.
Only five copies, one for each of us, and a master copy. We were going to
sell it, but the war started really revving up around then, so it got kinda
forgotten. What I want from you, it for you to read it and tell me if it's
sellable."
"Sure," Harry said absently as he continued to read.
"I'll come get you when it's time," his older brother said as he left the
room.
"Sure," was the vague answer.
"I think this will work great," Sirius said, smiling to himself as he all but
danced down the stairs. "Really, great," he said, giving himself a pat on
the back for getting his brother's mind off what was going to happen that
night.
Hphphp
The next chapter might be a minute. I seem to have developed Writer's Block.
I'm working on it.
28. Chapter 28 It's Begun
Chapter 28: It's Begun
I had a rant but, it was deleted. Suffice it to say, if you don't like what I've
done, go elsewhere. Also, if you're a guest and leave derogatory remarks, you
will be deleted.
You're probably not going to believe this, but I have been suffering from some
annoying ailments, again. I shouldn't say again, they are new things. It's like
one thing finishes and something new pops up.
Guys and gals, I am so tired of Fate shitting on me… never mind.
Let me just say this, if I haven't written in a week or so, them more than likely
something in my body is preventing me from doing so. Hopefully, I should be
done soon.
It's age, I reckon. Oh well, I'll do my best to keep up.
Hphphp
Hermione and Ron were sitting in the common room talking to Tonks.
"Harry," Hermione said, looking around making sure they were being
paid attention too, but casting a silence cone to be sure, "if you've done
your task, why are you still here?" she asked, hoping that it was
something to do with the group she was going to start.
Since there was no DADA teacher at this time, it would be imperative to
get something started so that everyone wouldn't fall behind. However,
Hermione was honest with herself enough to know that she knew more
than most, but the last four years told her she would be a terrible
teacher.
'Harry' leaned over just a bit, not worried about being overhear, but
making it look like 'he' was keeping secrets, which was a very 'Harry'
thing to do. "Snape," was all 'he' said.
"Oh, I thought he was on our side," the bushy-haired girl countered.
"He might be, or there might be another reason. All we know about the
man is that Dumbledore vouches for him. He had done nothing to prove
he leans either way. I think, for one, that he plays the devil's advocate,"
Tonks said, leaning back in her chair with a casualness that Harry rarely
pulled off. That boy was just to uptight.
"How will you find out?" Ron asked, hoping that they did catch his most
hated teacher. It wasn't so much that Snape was head of Slytherin, it was
the man was a right bastard.
"I'm hoping he does his little mind reading trick," Tonks said, then got a
thoughtful look. "Hey, did 'I' give you that book on Occlumency?" she
asked, not realizing that maybe Harry had given to his friends.
"Oh, yeah, we got that ages ago," Ron said, nodding along with his words.
"'You' gave it to us right after 'you' got it. We just didn't want my mum to
know. I know she wasn't at the house, but I wouldn't put it past her to
find us doing something she wouldn't like. It's a mum thing, I'm sure.
Also, the twins finished the book a while ago, so do don't worry about
them," he added, looking over at his mischievous look-a-like brothers.
"I wasn't," Tonks denied, casting a fleeting look at the twins.
"I found that book most useful," Hermione said, tapping her finger on the
chair with nervous pent-up energy. "The things I can do with my mind
now would boggle any pureblood that tried to read it," she said a bit
smug.
"I'm glad it worked for you guys. I read it myself and I can tell you it is
much easier to do than what they learn at the Academy. I had Remus
help me a bit," Tonks said, blushing at bit, which made Harry's pale skin
stand out.
"Um, Harry, you might want to tone it back a bit. You're blushing like a
girl," Ron said, noticing that they were attracting attention.
"Oh, right," Tonks said, getting back into character.
Hermione dropped the silence cone, and they talked about mundane
things until it was time for dinner.
They made their way downstairs and sat at their normal table. Tonks was
quick to note that Snape jerked as if hit. Then the man got up and went
to Dumbledore, then hurried out of the Great Hall. She exchanged looks
with Ron and Hermione, then looked back at the Headmaster, who was
all but staring at her.
"Cover for me later, yeah. If anyone asks, then tell them I'm off studying
somewhere, or, you know, trying to discover the secrets of the school, or
something," she said, in a whisper in Hermione's ear.
All Hermione did was nod once, then they resumed dinner.
Hphphp
Meanwhile outside the wards at Malfoy Manor, was a group of people
hoping to end a war. It was dark and clear out, so they were pretty well
hidden. There was no moon, which everyone was thankful for.
Each had a pair of spelled glasses, or goggles, to see in the dark with.
Getting them wasn't a problem, since the DMLE had those on hand.
Amelia had brought enough for everyone.
They were all sitting outside the outer ward, waiting on Bill to get the
scrambler working.
Bones, Shacklebolt, and a man named Proudfoot, were there to represent
the Ministry. Amelia didn't trust anyone else. She had been iffy on
Kingsley, but the man vowed to keep this night's activity to himself. They
all waited in the dark, back-to-back in triangle formations of three. Sirius
Alastor, and Remus were covering Bill. They were only the seven strong,
but they had surprise on their side, they hoped.
Bill was so focused on what he was doing, that he didn't even note the
people around him. He was completely absorbed in his task. The ward
scrambler wasn't difficult to use, but it was time consuming. Every step
had to be meticulously done, which was one of the reasons so few were
made. Most people wanted in and out in quickly. As it was, this took at
least five minutes to set up and activate. If you rushed it, the wards
would trip, and you'd be noticed.
"Amelia," Sirius whispered to the woman in charge.
"What?" she hissed back, making sure to show that she didn't like that he
was making noise. Sometimes she hated working with amateurs. Oh,
Sirius had been an Auror back before he went to prison, but it seemed
that he had forgotten everything taught to him.
"Did you tell Albus?" was the quiet question.
"No," was all she said, looking at him puzzled. Why in all that was holy
would she even think on telling the Headmaster?
"Oh, okay, good," Black sighed. He didn't really think she had, but it was
a tense moment, and he wasn't thinking completely straight.
This was the defining moment in keeping Harry out of this 'war'. Last
thing he needed was for Albus to come and try to stop them from doing
what needed to be done. He hadn't even thought anyone would tell the
man until now. He glanced questioningly at everyone else, getting shakes
of no in return.
"Quiet," hissed Moody, his eyes never leaving the manor in front of them.
No one said anything else.
"Got it," Bill said quietly as he stood. He brushed his hands on to his
trousers, standing and getting his wand out. He joined Amelia's group
and made ready.
"Go, go, go," Amelia said with urgent quietness, waving her hand in an
'get moving' motion, and rushing everyone forward.
Bill was in the lead, while he had taken his time with the outer ward, the
inner one was going down in a blaze of glory. They didn't need to be
stealthy for that one. Now that the trip ward was gone, Voldy and his
DE's would think they were further away.
BOOM! went the wards.
"Go," Amelia shouted, then called to the manor, "Tom Riddle, you and
yours are under arrest."
She knew it wouldn't help but one had to obey the law. Especially, if one
was the law.
A score of men and woman in black robes poured out of the house. Most
of them didn't have masks, so it was easy to identify them. Narcissa took
the lead, having learned of her sister's squibbing, had turned her to her
husband' cause. She had always believed in blood purity but was smart
enough to know that inbreeding was a thing. So, when she learned of
Bella's death, she wanted revenge. Anger drove her forward now, while
the others spread out.
Most of the Death Eaters were caught flatfooted, seeing that their
opposition was so close to the house.
All seven of the attackers sent a barrage of spells to the unsuspecting
'victims'. If you could call those like these people a victim. Not one of the
attackers had any sympathy as they mowed down half of Riddle's
minions, bar those like Narcissa and Greyback. For someone who had
thus far stayed out of the fight, Narcissa was one hell of a fighter.
Said woman avoided the first volley, sending deadly curses in return.
That was enough for the attackers to go lethal. The Death Eaters were not
expecting that. They were to use to the Order firing disabling spells. A
good half of the defenders were down before they could blink. Most of
them won't be getting back up.
Two of the Death Eaters had already broken off from the fight and ran
back into the house. Amelia let them go, figuring they going to do the
futile thing of warning their 'Lord'. Like the man didn't already know they
were there.
As fight raged on it was clear that Sirius and Amelia's people were
winning. Riddle had yet to come out of the house, neither had the two
Death Eaters. Which made Sirius concerned, so he whipped out Harry's
invisibility cloak and snuck past the fighting. He quietly crept toward
where he knew the ballroom was. Figuring that ole Tom would have set
up shop there. The man was pretentious enough.
He heard hissing and peeked around the doorway. It was a scene that
would have made him laugh any other time. Voldy was arguing with his
snake. At least that is what it looked like. That and it appeared that the
man was losing. The snake was coiled up in front of the Dork Lord, only
standing high enough to be in Tom's face. It was clear from the
expression on Riddle's face that they were fighting.
Sirius, instead of laughing, line up his wand and fired a cutting curse.
The curse hit true, and Nagini was dead before old Voldy could react.
Sirius fired off a few more shots, then ran to get to an empty room. He
quickly took out his mirror and called the house.
"Harry, it's done, your turn," was all he said in a hushed whisper. Then he
put the mirror away after disconnecting it.
Then he laid in wait, while the Dark 'Lord' moved around the house
casting a revealing spell in each room he entered. Sirius knew the Cloak
would hide him, but he needed to wait until the idiot was mortal. So,
after Tom left the room he was hiding in, he snuck behind him and
followed the frustrated man around the house. Any other time, Sirius
would have found this hilarious. Okay, he did think it was too funny, but
he had enough control not to laugh.
He was going to use the memory for his next Patronus.
He did wonder where those two Death Eaters went though. He really
hoped they weren't calling for back-up.
Hphphp
Earlier.
Harry had been waiting on pins and needles for the okay. His wand was
hovering over the items, and his face was so tense, Andi was afraid it
would break. The mirror was laying on the table in front of him, just
waiting for the signal. If Sirius got the snake, he'd use the mirror. If
Amelia did the deed, then she would send a Patronus.
"Calm down," Andi said softly, putting a hand on his arm. "If you make
your arm tired now, you will not be ready when it is time."
Harry took a deep breath and lowered his arm. She was right, it was
getting tired.
"Wotcher," came a voice from the doorway.
"Tonks, what are you doing here? I thought you were keeping an eye on
Snape," Harry said whirling around, almost falling in the process.
"He left," she answered with a shrug. "As far as I know, he's with Riddle,"
she added, going to give her mum a hug. "Since he's probably going to be
arrested, I figured I'd help here," she finished, taking a seat next to Harry.
"I've got the gang covering for me, just in case I'm wrong."
"Oh, okay," Harry said, not sure how he felt about Snape being in the
fight. Just because the man warned them about the horcrux, didn't make
him a nice man. For all Harry knew Snape might have made an oath
about making sure Harry survived, or some such rot.
"I, for one, am glad you are here," Andi said, getting up and heading
towards the door. "I did not like to be here," she said, stopping right
before leaving and turning to them she explained. "When I married your
father, I gave up 'dark magic'," she said, nodding to her daughter. "While
the spell that Harry is doing isn't 'dark,' per se, it isn't 'light'. It makes me
uncomfortable being around those objects as well. I don't know what
they are, but they give off an evil feel. So, no, I am glad you're back,
Nymphadora, so that I may remove myself."
"I get it, Mum," Tonks said. She knew that after the Blacks had kicked her
mum out, the older woman had sustained on only doing spells necessary
for her work and keeping house. It was kinda sad that so much was lost,
but even though her mum was now brought back into the family, she still
only wanted to be surrounded by 'light' magic.
"I don't get it, but it is your choice," Harry said, scratching his head.
"Thank you for almost going against your principles."
"You are more than welcome, Harry. I would do anything to prevent a
war, even bending my morals, if needs must. Those can be brought back,
the dead cannot," Andi said, giving the boy a small smile. Then she
nodded her head and left.
Harry turned towards Tonks and lifted an eyebrow.
"I'll explain another time," she said, shaking her head. "We need to be
ready for the signal," she added, moving so that she was next him.
"Right," was all he said.
They didn't really talk after that, but there were a few words of
encouragement from Tonks, here and there. Like 'any minute now,' or
'you can do it, Harry,' things like that. Every time Harry got antsy, Tonks
would try and sooth him. If she could, she would do the spell, but it was
decided that even though they don't know the exact words of the
prophecy, they wanted to make sure Harry had a part in Tom's demise.
Right when Harry was about to cry out in frustration, Sirius's call came
through. The message received; Harry cast the spell on each of the items.
One by one a ghostly image of Voldy appeared, screamed and died. It
was almost anti-climactic for Harry and Tonks, but at least now they
knew he was mortal. It had taken longer than anticipated because Harry
had to use Parseltongue on a few, like the locket.
"It done," the boy said, slouching in his chair. Tonks did the messenger
Patronus to give Sirius the go-ahead. "Do you think they are alright?"
Harry asked when she was done. He was glad she took that initiative
because he was beat.
"I'm sure they are. They've been training for this day for weeks now. Sure,
that's not terribly long, but they put their all into it. That and most of
them are veterans to war. I know all but Kingsley fought in the last one,"
she answered, trying to be reassuring. She, like Harry, wished she were
there as well. It was her job, however, to keep the teen here. For all he
too had been training, he was nowhere ready to face a man with decades
more experience.
"We can spar," Harry offered, knowing that there was no way he was just
going to sit and wait for them to return. Sparring would take his mind off
things. He had thought about reading the book that Sirius gave him last
night, but after about an hour reading it the night before, it didn't really
keep him distracted. He didn't let his brother know that though. It had
been a nice gesture.
Hphphp
I know it's a bit short, but my hand is in a brace, so yeah. Enjoy.
29. Chapter 29 So Long Tom
Chapter 29: So Long Tom
Oops, I put Bellatrix in the last chapter. Someone pointed out that I had
squibbed her in the beginning. So, I replaced her with Narcissa.
Hphphp
The battle was dying down. There were only two Death Eaters, and
Tommy boy, left to deal with. Voldy had yet to make an appearance
outside the house. Narcissa and Lucius were the only ones still fighting.
Lucius was fighting to kill, and his wife copied his moves. They may not
be in a love marriage, but both took family very seriously. Therefore,
they would win together, or die together.
Amelia did always admire that about purebloods. Her family was much
the same, having been raised on the same principle. Still, she wasn't
going to let their teamwork bring her down if she could help it. She could
see by the way the blond man was fighting that he had spent the last
decade or so just playing politics. During the last 'war' Lucius was a man
to fear, but now, his wife, who never fought before, was doing better
than him.
Kingsley was down. He was bleeding badly, but Remus was attending to
him, while Bill was keeping them covered. The man, Proudfoot was also
down, but he was just disabled. Moody and Amelia were fighting
Narcissa and Lucius.
Moody had just blasted Lucius in the leg and quickly tied him up. He
nodded to Amelia who was still fighting Narcissa. Seeing she didn't need
his help, he started gathering all the Death Eaters, be they dead or not,
and putting them in a group. He then had them sit side by side in a
circle, backs facing each other and made a huge rope to tie them
together.
Hphphp
Meanwhile, in the manor. Sirius was still sneaking around. Not that those
fighting knew that, but they were sure the man would not have left them
to fight if he were not busy doing something necessary. At the moment,
he was trying to find out what happen to the two Death Eaters that had
snuck away. He was peeping around corners, still staying with in cursing
distance of Tom.
Just then three things happened all at once. A Patronus flew in,
Dumbledore showed up, and Peter in rat form scurried to his master.
Sirius was about to throw off the cloak when Dumbledore decided that it
was time he talked to Tom.
Sirius stayed hidden, watching and waiting for his opening.
"Tom, tonight you will pay for your crimes. That is the Head of the DMLE
out there fighting your men. She will be arresting them shortly. You will
soon follow. Give up now, and perhaps she will be lenient on you," the
Headmaster said, like he was the one who planned the whole thing. The
old man had his wand pointed at the noseless man.
Riddle raised his wand and sneered. "Dumbledore, how kind of you to
present yourself to me. It saves me the trouble of tracking you down."
Both men were grandstanding, which they were both well known for.
Neither wanted to throw the first curse, since Voldy was known to fear
Dumbledore, and Albus was known for giving second, third, or however
many chances to the wrong people.
The fact that the Headmaster thought that this… being could be saved let
Sirius know that there was something terribly wrong with the old man.
Perhaps it was time he retired. Permanently.
Sirius scoffed and pulled out his mirror. He activated it on silence mode.
Which meant that those on the other side could hear it, but they couldn't
be heard. Right now, he was hoping Andromeda would be paying
attention. And that she would write down what was said, so her husband
would have evidence.
Little did he know that Tonks was doing just that, after she heard the last
sentence from old Voldy. She nodded to Harry to listen in, and they
leaned forward to hear everything.
The two men were still going back and forth, both saying nothing, while
incriminating themselves all the same.
"Tell me, Dumbledore, where is your hero? I hear that Harry Potter has
turned against you. Not that I blame him, you are an interfering old man.
Who doesn't know how to keep his big nose out of other people's
business," Voldy said, glaring at the man who had made his life
miserable, for as long as he could remember.
"Tom, why do you wish to know?" Albus asked, truly wondering what
Voldemort was thinking. Did the man know the full prophecy? He knew
that Sirius and Harry had listened to it. Did Voldemort learn it from
Harry's head? Was the boy still connected to Tom? Severus had said that
he was not, but if Harry had not died, then how was the horcrux
removed? He had a hard time believing that he had been wrong for so
many years.
"That is my business old man. Once again you are poking your nose in
where it doesn't belong," Voldy sneered, watching his sniveling underling
cower towards him. Like he'd protect the weakling.
Sirius looked to the side and saw Snape lurking in the shadows. That man
was very good at staying hidden until he wanted to be seen. If there was
one thing he could give the man credit for, it was that Snape was one of
the best spies Sirius had ever seen. None of the others, during the last
war, had lasted as long at Snivellus had. If nothing else, Sirius was
impressed with that.
Peter took that moment to fully change. "Master," the mousy man said,
finally getting the courage to speak, "we're losing."
"What?!" Voldemort exclaimed, not fathoming for a moment that his
people would lose to a bunch of tree huggers.
"They went lethal, Master. They are killing the others. We were not
prepared for that," Peter said, hiding behind his master, without
appearing to do so. Spineless man that he was.
"That's very unlikely, Peter. It Aurors are not allowed to kill," Albus said,
as if he was in control of the others. Severus had said they were fighting
back with force, but he knew that the Ministry would never condone
deadly force.
"Yet, they are," the ratman said, squeaking more than speaking. "I saw
them with my own eyes," he protested further, still hiding behind the
man who could care less if he died or not. "A good half of us were dead
before we could even fight back."
Sirius took the time to get behind Peter, so he would be in the position to
take him out the moment he transformed. There was no way he was
going to let his old friend escape this time.
"If they are fighting out there, why are you in here?" Tom asked, not
turning from the old man, but making it sound like a threat, just the
same.
"I came to protect you," Peter whimpered, unconvincingly.
"Leave, Wormtail. Leave now or die by my hand. You had better be going
to help your comrades, or I will find you and you will wish yourself
dead," the Dark 'Lord' said, making the coward cringe.
Peter transformed and was heading out to do as he was ordered, when
suddenly he couldn't move. Then for some unknown reason, he was being
dragged across the floor, though no one seemed to notice. Once he
reached the person capturing him, it went dark.
Sirius tucked the rat in his pocket. He spelled the opening shut, so that
there would be no accidental escape. Then he fired a stunning curse at
Snape, making the man fall to the ground. Both the men, who were still
facing off, looked at the down man, then back at each other, then
thinking they now had a common enemy, they both turned and started
casting revealing spells.
"Whoever you are, come out now and I will be lenient," Tom said,
peering at corners like they would reveal the culprit.
"Harry, my boy, how did you get here? Last I saw you were at school,"
Dumbledore said, correctly guessing that the Invisibility Cloak was at
play, but incorrectly guessing who was using it.
Sirius remained silent. They had made sure that the Cloak could not be
seen. Moody had found all the spells on it and removed them. Though he
was loathed to do so. It would now hide from anyone, including Moody,
which, as said, the man didn't like but agreed it was necessary.
Everyone jumped when there was a large explosion outside the room.
The windows lit up like it was morning. Then the light faded. They didn't
move from where they were, but they did look towards the wall the
sound came from. That was when Sirius took his shot. He fired a piercing
curse at Voldy and got him right between the eyes.
The Dark Lord dropped, never to get up again.
Dumbledore rushed to the man's side. Not believing for a moment that he
was dead. Unless he knew Harry had done it, then to him, it was not
over.
Sirius knew it was a cowardly move, but they also knew that if
Dumbledore knew who killed the man, then there was a good chance that
person would wind up in Azkaban. Well, maybe not, but having stayed at
that 'resort' once before, Sirius was not eager to take the chance.
As it was, had not the old man been here, he might have faced the Dark
'Lord' in combat. Perhaps it was better that it played out this way instead.
As much as he would have liked to duel the now dead man, he wasn't
sure he would win. After all, he had spent 12 years in the worst place on
earth. There wasn't much he could have done in there to stay in shape.
Not to mention that the Dementors would have never allowed it.
"Harry, I am so disappointed in you. You know that this is not the end,"
Albus said, rising from his inspection of Tom. "Tom will rise again. You
are only putting off the inevitable," the old man droned on.
Sirius decided not to engage in talk with the old man. Harry had an alibi,
so he wasn't worried about the Headmaster trying to make the boy out to
be 'dark', or some such rot. He didn't care what the old man said about
him, he had permission to go lethal from Bones. Still…
While the old man prattled on, Sirius was making his way towards the
door. Moving slowly as to not make a sound. He wanted to get to Amelia
before Albus did.
Speaking of Bones, she and Moody ran into the room right at that
moment. They both stopped short at seeing the dead man on the floor.
"Albus, what in the blazes are you doing here?" Moody asked, firing off a
spell that wrapped the dead guy in ropes. They weren't going to take any
chances until he was thrown through the Veil.
"Severus warned me that a group of people were trying to take down
Voldemort. I decided to come and lend a hand," the old man said.
"Did you kill, Riddle?" Amelia asked, roping up Snape for good measure.
"No, I do believe that young Harry is here," Dumbledore said, looking
around the room trying to locate the Cloak. He didn't understand, he had
spelled the cloak to always be visible to him. It was only practicing good
responsibility. He couldn't have a child running around the school
invisible.
"If you're looking for Harry, you won't find him here. He is at home
where he belongs," Bones said, floating the two tied up men in front of
her, while she made to leave the room. She knew it was Sirius, but there
was no way Dumbledore could prove it. That was the way they had it
planned. Whoever got the Dork Lord, would stay out of it.
Meanwhile Sirius had left the room and was now running back in it, like
he had been outside the whole time. "Sorry, I didn't come sooner. I found
the rat, and needed to capture him," he said, playing like he was out of
breath.
"Good, hand him over, and he can be tried with Snape," Bones said,
nodding to Moody to take over floating the two men.
Moody did, while Sirius undid his pocket and handed over the stunned
rat.
"Severus has my-" was all the Headmaster said, before he was
interrupted.
"I don't care," Amelia snapped. "You are not an Auror, or even a Ministry
worker anymore. Therefore, you have no say in the matter. I am not the
men of old that worship the ground you walk on, Albus Dumbledore. If
this man had committed crimes, he must pay for them," she stated firmly,
all but snarling in his face. "There is nothing you can do to stop that. No
man is above the law, not even you. Get that through your head." She
sniffed and folded her arms, as if daring the man to say different.
Albus pulled himself up to his impressive height, and he looked down his
nose at her. "I am Albus-" he said, before being interrupted again.
"We don't care," Sirius said this time, looking down his nose at the taller
man. "You were not part of the planning that went into tonight. You were
not invited, and you took no part in the fight. You have already said, it
wasn't your spell that killed Voldy, so you can just keep your mouth shut
and let us finish what we came here for," he said, before spinning around
and stomping out of the room. Much like a teen who was told to keep his
music down.
Amelia and Alastor followed behind, not giving Dumbledore any more of
their time. they had stuff to do tonight and fighting with Albus was not
part of that. The first thing they had to do was throw Tom Riddle, aka
Voldemort, through the Veil. There would be no chance of him
recovering from death this time.
Not that he could, but it paid to safe.
Dumbledore stood where they left him. His Machiavellian mind going a
thousand miles a minute. This was not the way it was supposed to end.
Harry was the one who was supposed to make the final blow that would
end the Dark 'Lord's' reign of terror. Albus had planned it for years. Every
step was important. How did it all go wrong?
He would never know.
Hphphp
Okay, another short one, but still messing with my hand. Hope you enjoyed.
Also, I want to thank each and everyone of you that took the time to review/
comment. My tablet won't let me reply, and the only time I'm on my computer
is when I'm writing. So, thanks from the bottom of my heart for all the support
you've given me throughout this story, and my others.
Also, I was asked if I say the Dork Lord on purpose. Yes, yes, I do. It is
demeaning and meant to point out that the man is not a Lord of anything.
30. Chapter 30 Is It Over?
Chapter 30: Is It Over?
Hphphp
Harry was pacing back and forth in front of the door of Grimmuald Place.
He was waiting anxiously for the team to return from the battle. The
mirror had cut off when Sirius went to the Ministry, at Amelia's request.
They had taken down every word, and they made sure that all three, that
were in the house, had a copy. They didn't want to take any chances of
someone, who will not be named, would make the evidence disappear.
They also stored with the documents, their memories of listening to the
byplay of Albus and Tom.
Harry's head was going a thousand miles a minute, waiting for some
news that everything was okay, and everybody was alright. Andi was by
his side also waiting for news for evidence to make sure everybody was
at least alive. Tonks had gone back to Hogwarts, to see if the Headmaster
said anything. She was sure the old man would pull her aside and
question her whereabouts. Good thing she had an excuse.
Suddenly the door opened, and Sirius and Remus walked in.
"Well?" Harry blurted out, not even giving them time to remove their
cloaks.
"You know Riddle is dead, what else do you need?" Sirius said, teasing
him a bit.
"Come on, Sirius, be serious," Harry said, giving him a cheeky grin.
"I'm never serious, yet I always am," the dogman laughed.
"Okay, you two, enough byplay," Andi said, walking towards the kitchen.
"I want to know what happened after you got to the Ministry," she added,
going to the stove and putting the kettle on.
"It was pretty dull, actually. We got there, scared the living crap out of
everyone, by floating the Dork Lord through the lobby. Bones made sure
that everyone present knew that the man was dead, and not coming back.
She claimed that she didn't know who killed him, but was positive that it
was not Harry," Remus explained, sitting at the table and resting he head
on his folded arms. It had been one hell of a night. "Everyone on our
team survived but only just," he added, as an afterthought.
"That is good to hear," Andi said, taking cups out of the cupboard with
her wand.
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "What happened then?" he asked, turning back to
his brother.
"We took Voldy down to the Dept. of Mysteries and were met by the
Unspeakables. They showed us to the Veil Room, without us even asking,
mind you. Once we got there, Amelia just floated the boy through. It was
anticlimactic," the older man sighed.
"What did you expect to happen? Death to show up and thank you for
killing off the man who ran from him?" Harry asked, giving his brother a
queer look.
"Maybe," Sirius said, sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"What about Snape? I know you got him, so what happened to him?" the
teen asked, looking at Remus's head, then back to Sirius. His brother
looked just as tired as his wolfy friend, but he seemed more determined
to answer Harry's questions.
"He's locked up for the night. Amelia said she was too tired to play games
with him. That and time in the cell will make whatever he's taken, which
we are sure he has, time to weaken. There are potions that will counter
Veritaserum."
"Oh, I didn't know that." the boy said, thinking hard on what that would
take. Still, Snape was a master of potions.
"Anything else we should know?" Andi asked, bringing a tea service to
the table, with lots of sweets to boost their energy, if they could get up
enough to actually eat them.
"Malfoy's, the seniors, were the only ones left standing, and Moody got
them with a very powerful Lumos," Sirius explained, glad he knew were
that light had come from. For a while there he thought the muggles had
dropped a bomb. From what Lily had showed them once, in a book, it
looked pretty much like that.
"Oh," Harry said knowingly.
"The exploding sound you heard on the mirror, was Lucius's wand when
he tried to counter-curse blindly. His hand will never be the same. Not
that it mattered, he's going away for life. So's Narcissa. I was upset to
hear that. And now that I know she didn't carry the Dark Mark, but was
planning on it, I booted her out of the family. I don't know what to do
about Draco, but that's a problem for another time," Sirius finished, all
worn out now. He joined Moony with putting his head down too.
"Can't Draco live with Pansy? I mean, aren't they betrothed or
something?" Harry asked, sitting with his tea, not pouring Sirius or
Remus any. It looked like they could use a nap.
"Maybe, we don't know. Most of the Death Eaters that died have kids at
Hogwarts. There were a few still alive, and Remus ported them to St.
Mungo's," Sirius said, turning his head sideways so that he wasn't talking
to the table.
"But all of you are alright, right?" the teen asked again, just to make sure.
"Yeah, we're good," was the mumbled answer from both men, before they
started softly snoring.
"Shouldn't we make them go to bed?" Harry asked Andi, worried that
they might wake up with a crick in their necks.
"They'll be fine for a little while. Let's finish our tea, and if they have
roused by then, we'll float them upstairs," she said, looking fondly at the
two Marauders.
"If you say so," Harry said, picking up his cup and grabbing a pastry. His
eyes not quite leaving the two men.
Just then Moody Flooed in, he took one look at the sleeping men,
snorted, said "Later." Then he stomped upstairs.
"I guess we should leave the rest until morning," Andi said with a sigh,
then finished off her tea, nodded to Harry and levitated Remus up the
stairs. "Good night, Harry," she said as she left the room.
"Night, Andi," he answered, eating the rest of his pastry, and then doing
the same for Sirius. After tucking his brother into bed, he went to bed
himself. He was just glad it was over. It was, wasn't it?
Hphphp
Tonks made it back to the castle before Dumbledore. She quickly made to
the library, where Hermione was waiting for her.
"Quickly, take these," the bushy-haired witch said, shoving a pile of books
into 'Harry's' arms. She then grabbed 'his' elbow and started out of the
room. "Thank you, Madam Pince, we got what we were looking for," she
whispered quietly to the librarian as they passed the check out desk.
"Be sure you bring my books back unharmed," Pince said with a bit of
heat.
"Don't I always?" Hemione said with a huff. Five years she'd been coming
here, and no matter how gently she treated the books, this vile woman
reacted the same. It was almost a ritual, for her to keep her temper. She
had lost it a few times on the woman. She, of course was banned from
the library for a week, until she protested to a teacher, usually Flitwick,
and they reinstated her privileges.
"Come on, Hermione, let's get out of here. I'm beat with all the reading
you made me do," 'Harry' said in his typical fashion.
"Oh, alright," Hermione said, sweeping up the checked-out books and all
but stomping out of the library.
As the two were making their way up the stairs to Gryffindor tower, they
were stopped by the Headmaster. "Harry, my boy, after tomorrow's
breakfast hour, I would like to see you in my office," the old man said,
looking over his glasses in a knowing manner.
"Have I done something wrong?" 'Harry' asked, looking lost and confused.
"I mean, I've been in the library with Hemione all night," 'he' added,
pointing to 'his' best friend.
"Yes, we were studying DADA since we don't have a teacher at the
moment," Hermione added, lifting the books for Dumbledore to see. They
were, as noted, DADA books.
"Ah, the tenacious of the youth. Good show, to you both, and ten points
to Gryffindor for taking the initiative," the old man said, carefully looking
at the titles. "Nevertheless, in my office after breakfast. I find I like Sugar
Quills this month," Albus added, turning around to leave the area. He had
a bit to think about. He was sure the two were lying, but they had
rudimentary Occlumency shields. The like of which he had never come
across outside of a werewolf.
"Fine," 'Harry' huffed, and then stomped up the stairs. Hermione in 'his'
wake.
When they got to the common room, they both fell into chairs next to the
fireplace.
"Well?" Ron asked, picking up one of the books, noting the title and then
dropping it back on the table. He already had that one.
"As far as I know, it's over," Tonks said, with a huge grin.
"Really?" came the cautious question from three teens, who were all
leaning forward to hear what was to be said.
"Yes," she confirmed. Then she too leaned forward, Ginny, Ron,
Hermione, and Neville, were almost touching heads as they all met in the
center. "I heard the whole thing, Sirius was invisible, and while Riddle
and Dumbledore were being witty, he took a shot and bam, one dead
Dark Lord," she said, leaning back with a smile.
"Thank Merlin," Ginny sighed. Neville nodded in agreement.
"So, why does the Headmaster want to see you, if you weren't there?"
Hermione asked, picking up a book and skimming the pages. She was
trying to look normal.
"Like I said, he didn't see who did what, so he automatically assumed it
was 'me'," 'Harry' stated, shrugging a shoulder.
"Well, let's hope our alibi worked," Hermione said, closing the book and
standing. "I'm headed to bed. It's been a nerve-wracking night. Good
night, all."
"Night," came the acknowledgments of the rest of the group.
"I'm beat too," Tonks said, going up to the fifth-year boys' dorm. She
closed the curtains and waited until they all went to sleep. She hadn't
done much, but like Hermione said, it was nerve wracking to wait for
news. Once all the boys were out, she snuck to the Head girl's room. It
took all of five seconds for her to be in the land of Morpheus.
Hphphp
The next morning, at Grimmuald Place, everyone was in much better
spirits. They were eating a typical English Breakfast, when Tonks Flooed
in. She tripped as usual, but that didn't stop her from laughing.
"Nymphadora, what is so funny?" her mother asked, waving her wand
and cleaning up the juice the young woman had knocked over with
practiced ease.
"I just left Dumbledore's office, let's just say he is not happy with me,"
Tonks said with a grin, sitting next to Remus and filling up her plate.
"Caught you out, did he?" Moody asked, waving his wand over his food.
After all this time, no one took offence that he did so.
"Sorta, I mean, I did let him know who I was. After about an hour of him
accusing me of killing Riddle," she said, with a self-satisfied smirk.
"You let him go on for an hour?" Harry exclaimed, thinking of all the
times he folded within minutes of being in the old man's company.
"Trust me, he's got nothing on Moody here," she answered with a snort.
"So, what, you told him, and he booked you out?" Sirius asked, putting
his beans on his toast, making Andi sniff at his non-pureblood behavior.
"Actually, I had to run for it," she confessed sheepishly.
"Why?" was Harry's question.
"That old bastard tried to use Legilimency on me. He wanted to know
what I know about where you are," Tonks said, folding her arms at the
affront.
"Not that it would do him any good. This place is still hidden," Sirius
said, smugly. "He hasn't been able to find it since I booted him out ages
ago."
"I know, and I know it's protected, but it made me so mad at his casual
use of Legilimency," Tonks huffed. "So, when I say I had to run, it was
because I was so angry that I almost got into a duel. I had to hightail it
out of there before I could get myself into something, I knew I couldn't
win," she finished with finality.
"Have we heard from Amelia yet," Ted asked, speaking for the first time.
"No, and I don't expect to until she's finished questioning Snape," Moody
said, eating the last of his eggs.
"Oh, well, I guess we'll just have to wait," Harry said, drinking the rest of
his orange juice. He hated waiting.
"Don't worry, Harry, I'm sure news will come soon," Sirius said, knowing
that Amelia wanted it all in order as soon as possible.
"Sure, I get that," Harry said, picking up a scone and lathering it with
cream. "I just hate waiting," he added.
"I'll head to the Ministry," Moody said, standing to do just that. "I'll Floo
as soon as I know anything," he finished, then stomped to the Floo.
"Thanks, Moody," the teen said, stuffing the rest of his breakfast in his
mouth.
Hphphp
An hour later, Moody and Bones came through the Floo. Amelia made it
to the table first.
"Well, you'll be happy to know that Snape is going to be going away for
quite some time," she said, as she reached across the table, and grabbed a
cup of tea. It had been a long night and she wanted fortification.
"Really," Harry said, looking in her direction. "Why?"
"Well," the Head of the DMLE said, "I can't really tell you everything. It's
still an open investigation, but what I can tell you is that he has not been
completely honest with everybody for the last 10 years. While, what
Dumbledore said was true, Snape was a spy, he was a double spy." She
took a deep sip of her tea and sighed in satisfaction.
"Oh," the teen said, a confused look on his face.
"I always knew it," Sirius said, "That slimy bastard was always self-
centered. If there's one thing we learned, going to school with that man,
is that he will always look out for himself."
"I guess," Harry said, thinking about what he truly knew of Snape. All he
really knew that the Potions Master had once been friends with his
mother. He knew that they had gotten into a fight, and that they had
separated. he didn't know if they had ever made up after that, but it was
doubtful. He knew that his professor and his father, and friends, didn't
get along well. Above all, he knew that Snape was a bastard towards him
and his friends. Not much good could be said of the man.
"Wait, didn't he try to warn us?" Bill asked from his place by the fire.
"Yes," Bones answered with a nod. "I didn't say he was completely evil or
anything, but even good men break the law." She shrugged, like it was
just the way it was.
"Oh," was a collective answer.
"Don't think too hard on it, Harry. You'll just give yourself a headache,"
Remus added as he moved into the room.
"So, is that it? Does that mean it's all over?" Tonks asked, sitting next to
Remus.
"Let's see," Sirius said, lifting a finger, "One, the Dark Dick is dead for
good, all his little trinkets with him. Two, I'm free. Three, Harry is free.
Four, Snape it in jail. Five, all the Death Eaters are dead or in jail. Six,
Dumbledore is muzzled." He had lifted a finger for each point. And then,
he thought hard for a few minutes. And then added, "What else is
important?"
"Nothing that I can think of," Harry said, with a big smile.
"I think that covers all the important stuff," Remus said, giving Tonks a
knowing grin. Now that it was over, they could explore the feelings they
were having.
"It's all neat and tidy on my end. Umbridge dead. Fudge, like Dumbledore
is muzzled. All the bad guys we know about are, like Sirius said, dead or
in jail," Amelia said, finishing her tea.
"Thank Merlin," Harry said, heaving a huge sigh and then smiling bright
enough for everyone to feel his happiness.
"Yes, thank Merlin," his brother said, getting up and pulling Harry out of
his chair, where he proceeded to hug the stuffing out of him.
"It's done," Andi said, hugging her husband.
Hphphp
Okay, so this was a bitch to write, half dictated, half typed, because no matter
how good your program you still have to use you hands to get it right. Let me
know if I missed anything important. And I will endeavor to come back and
fix it.
Lame ending, I know, but with all the shit that my body is putting me
through…
I'm calling this complete.
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