Augustus Rookwood, Thorfin Rowle and Theodore Nott Senior were
stood at the edge of the ward line on the Weasley property. It had
taken a week to gather everything they would need to carry out their
mission but they were satisfied the plan would go off without a hitch.
Rookwood was a man of intelligence and refused to listen to Rowle's
suggestion of simply blasting their way in and killing everyone in
sight, much to the other man's chagrin. Instead he had devised a
cunning plan that would see the mission complete with a much
smaller chance of them getting killed or injured. Having worked in the
department of mysteries for many years he had been privy to
information and developments that the general public had not been
and although, due to various oaths, he could not talk about such
things, there was nothing preventing him from using such
advancements.
In his hand he was carrying one of these said advancements; a ward
transition implement. This item would cause the wards of a property
to simply reverse and depending on the type of ward, could simply
kill the occupants of the warded area.
The item did have its limitations however. It could only be used on a
certain sized area for it to work effectively. The Weasley property
was big so before he could use it he would need to significantly
reduce the reach of the wards, but that would only work in his favour.
The ward power would not diminish but would instead be more
concentrated on a smaller area, making them unstable but a very
deadly weapon.
The other problem was that the item itself was extremely difficult to
create, very expensive and the needed materials were near to nonexistent
and could only be used once. He had managed to steal this
one from the department many years ago and had held on to it just
in case the need ever arose.
He had spent much of his time here this week analysing the ward
scheme put in place by the cure breaker son and he was very
impressed by the work, it was second to none and the boy clearly
had no qualms about killing to protect his family, if his ward scheme
was anything to go by. The lethality of the wards would be his
families downfall however as they were assured to eradicate any
living creature that would be caught in them.
"My, my, my these are very impressive wards" he informed the other
two. "Rowle keep your foolish hands to yourself and do nothing, if
you fuck this up then we all die" he explained firmly.
The hulk of a blonde man just nodded and stood still. He was not a
man of intelligence but he understood that if Rookwood thought
something was dangerous, then it most certainly was not something
to take lightly.
Augustus began the process of shrinking the wards to a more fitting
size for the device. It took only a few minutes to complete and only
had to remove one additional proximity ward. He was about to
activate the item when he was halted by Nott.
"Shouldn't we see how many people are in there first" he suggested
in an overly oily voice. "It would not be satisfactory for us plan so
much to find that there is nobody home" he said with a raised
eyebrow.
Rookwood kicked himself mentally for forgetting the most simple yet
important thing.
" Homenum Revelio" he mumbled and frowned at the results. "How
many of them are there?" he questioned.
"There should be nine of them" Nott replied.
"Well there are only 3 on the property" Rookwood explained.
"Three will be enough" Nott said with a nod. "We want to punish
Potter, this will do" he finished.
Rookwood just shrugged and activated the device. He placed it
within the ward line itself and waited.
Around 30 seconds later loud screams could be heard for a few
moments and then the property was silent. They may have only
gotten 3 of the redheads but it would be sufficient for now.
(BREAK)
Albus Dumbledore along with the rest of the Hogwarts staff were
having a peaceful evening meal in the Great Hall, minus Umbridge, a
welcome absence to them all. Although Dumbledore enjoyed the
antics he would see from the students at meal times he had to admit
to himself that it was occasionally pleasant to enjoy a meal such as
this with his friends in which they wouldn't be disturbed by the drama
and noise from hundreds of noisy young witches and wizards.
He was currently sorting through the daily mountain of
correspondence he received when he came to a letter from the
department of education and examinations simply marked.
To The Guardian of Harry James Potter
He opened the letter and read the contents. He found himself very
surprised but could not understand why. He knew that Harry was an
exceptional wizard but this went beyond what he had expected from
the young man.
He shook his head and gave a little chuckle, garnering the attention
from the assembled staff members.
"It appears that young Mr Potter has taken it upon himself to
complete his OWLS already" he informed them.
"Surely he would not have been ready" Minerva intoned
disbelievingly.
"I think you will find Minerva, that with the right motivation and a
good enough influence, the possibilities of a determined young man
are endless" he said with a smile to the witch as he handed her the
parchment.
"Impressive" she whispered as she finished reading. "I very much
doubt that these will be beaten this year" she added. "It is a shame
that Miss Granger is so rigid in her approach and relies only on
information she finds in books" she continued. "She would no doubt
be a much better student if she was more flexible and would
formulate her own conclusions from her studies, something that will
have to change when she sits her NEWTS" she finished.
"Yes but it is something she will learn to do, that I have no doubt"
Dumbledore replied.
Minerva paused as something the older man had said finally clicked
into place.
"Surely Albus you don't think that Arcturus Black is a good influence
on the boy?" she asked sceptically.
"No Minerva I do not" was the firm reply she received. "I do not
believe that it is Baron Black who is his influence" he added. "Tell me
Minerva, who is it that young Harry reminds you of now?" he
questioned.
Minerva thought for several moments before she replied.
"Well he is not like his father very much and the only similarity to his
mother is the grades he has received" she mused. "If I had to say he
was like anyone then it would have to be his Grandfather" she
concluded.
"My thoughts exactly" Dumbledore concurred.
"I still remember that duel he had with the German" Flitwick piped
up. "He was a very impressive fighter" he added.
"That he was Filius" Dumbledore agreed.
"The man was quite the rogue" Minerva cut in. "But very dangerous,
I also remember that duel Filius I sometimes think I can still smell the
burns" she said wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"Yes but it is much better that Harry is like Charlus" Dumbledore
continued sadly. "He will need to be in the coming conflict and he
could certainly have much worse role models" he finished.
"The boy should be locked up" Snape spat distastefully.
"Severus" Dumbledore reprimanded firmly. "I have told you time and
time again about your attitude towards the boy, I would recommend
that you curb it" he advised the potions master. "I do not doubt that
Harry meant what he said about treating you with the same contempt
that he does any other that carries that mark" he advised knowingly.
"And you would allow him to attack me?" Snape asked
disbelievingly.
"It is out of my control" Dumbledore replied. "Harry is his own man
with his own morals, if you treated him with respect then you may
find that he is a powerful ally for you, you are after all seeking the
same end" he said to the man.
"He does not deserve my respect" Snape spat. "He is a mediocre
wizard who has gotten lucky a few times, and luck runs out Albus" he
replied.
"And Potter clearly understands that" Minerva interrupted handing
Snape the parchment she still held. "That is why he has been
studying and training so hard" she added with a glare.
Snape read the parchment and although he would not admit it he
was impressed by the whelp.
"Training, using dark magic you mean, you saw what he did to those
men" he said pointing a finger at the transfiguration professor.
"You are referring to his family magic" Dumbledore intervened
starting to become annoyed.
"Family magic?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow. "I was not
aware that the Potters knew dark magic like that, if they did I'm sure
the boy's father would have taken great joy in cursing me like that"
he added bitterly.
"Harry just like his father is not just a Potter, Severus" Dumbledore
spoke, shaking his head. "It just so happens that Harry has learnt the
family magic that James did not" he explained sadly.
"What the hell are you talking about Albus?" Snape asked
exasperatedly.
"Harry is also a Black on his father's side, surely you knew that
already?" Dumbledore asked the man.
Snape in fact did not know that. The Potters were a secretive bunch
and Regulus nor Bellatrix had told him.
"That does not surprise me" Snape intoned. "He is just as insolent as
his father and his godfather were and now he has learnt the dark
magic of the Blacks, great he will no doubt be the next dark lord" he
spat causing the others at the table to gasp.
"No Severus, he will not" Dumbledore responded firmly. "Harry is
doing what he has to do to end this and to make sure he survives, I
too was worried that he was becoming dark but after speaking to the
boy it clearly is not true" he added. "He does not enjoy the killing but
it is a necessity of war and there is no doubt that many more will fall
to his hands, but I for one support him and will be there for him if and
when he needs me" he finished resolutely.
The staff were suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Umbridge, a
couple of aurors and a very gleeful and triumphant looking Cornelius
Fudge.
"Ahh Albus, I am so glad we could catch you" the minister spoke
insincerely. "I have some very good news for you" he explained.
Dumbledore very much doubted that what the man had to say would
constitute good news.
"And what good news would that be Cornelius?" he questioned the
man.
"We will get to that momentarily" Fudge dismissed. "Let me ask you
Albus, when was the last time you took a holiday away from the
castle?" he asked.
"That would be 1973" Dumbledore answered. "I had the most
pleasant visit to Guernsey, it is quite a fascinating place" he added
fondly.
"Well then today is your lucky day" the minister replied. "It has been
brought to the governors attention that you have not had a holiday
away from the castle in many years and it seems that because of
this, the standards of the school have been dropping significantly" he
explained with faux disappointment. "So they have seen fit to give
you the rest of this school year off" he finished gleefully.
"Ahh" Dumbledore mused. "And I suppose that I have no choice?"
he asked, already aware of the answer.
"No Albus you do not I'm afraid, your holiday is to begin with
immediate effect" Fudge informed him. "We" he said indicating his
group, "are here to escort you from the castle and you are not to
return until the governors feel that you have had a suitable length of
time away, you are after all not a young man anymore" he finished.
"I see" Dumbledore replied having expected something like this to
happen. "It would appear that you have indeed found a way to oust
me Cornelius, very savvy" he praised.
"No Albus, it is not about ousting you" the man replied with a fake
smile. "It is to ensure that our children are under the best care
possible and the governors have seen fit to allow Madame Umbridge
here to see to your duties in your absence" he explained.
"But I am the deputy Headmistress" Minerva cut in annoyed.
"And you will maintain your post" Fudge responded. "There seems
little point in moving you around when it is only such a temporary
thing" he explained patronisingly.
"I see, well then as I have very little choice in the matter, I will of
course comply with your request" Dumbledore conceded with a nod.
"May I please retrieve some of my personal items, I fear as an old
man in the advanced years that I find myself in, some of them are
necessary" he explained with a smile.
"Yes you may" Fudge retorted a little annoyed. "But be quick about it,
I have other matters to attend to today" he finished looking at his
watch impatiently.
"Albus, you can't be serious?" Minerva asked the older man.
"No, Minerva Cornelius is right, it is time that I took some time away
to refresh myself, there are many wonderful places I have yet to visit,
perhaps a trip to Wales would be nice" he mused. "And remember,
we spoke of this" he added with a whisper to his long-time friend.
Minerva nodded.
"I know, Albus but I did not think it would happen" she said sadly.
"Just remember to do what is best by the students and it will all be
fine, the wards will keep you all safe" he replied firmly.
"Get on with it Albus" Fudge cut in angrily.
With that Dumbledore exited the Great Hall to pack his things, albeit
unwillingly. He knew the students were in safe hands with Minerva
and the rest of the staff but he was not comfortable entirely with the
changes the day had brought. It would give him more time to focus
on Tom but right now he was not causing much of a problem.
"I will be back soon enough" he said quietly to the castle itself.
(BREAK)
The past week for Harry had been spent training and avoiding
leaving the house as much as possible. Every day so far the media
had been writing about himself, Arcturus and Sirius and making
various speculations about the trio. He had so far been accused of
turning dark, truancy and even disgracing the memory of his parents
with his apparent alliance with the Black family.
He had received many requests for interviews which he of course
had denied having more important things to focus on. A few had
even had the gall to try and force him to attend an interview by
sending portkey's that would activate at his touch. Needless to say,
Arcturus had been furious and returned them with a few gifts.
They soon stopped arriving.
He had ventured out a few times in one of his disguises to get a feel
for the mood of the community and what he saw and heard annoyed
him considerably. Many still believed that Sirius was guilty and had
somehow managed get off on a technicality and others spoke of
Arcturus and how dark the man clearly was. He heard very little
negativity aimed towards himself, it seemed that the public felt sorry
for the 'poor little boy' he was and believed he was being taken
advantage of.
The truth of the matter was that Harry didn't care what they thought
of him, his annoyance came from what he had heard about Sirius
from the misinformed morons on the street. No doubt Fudge and his
cohorts had been pulling strings again.
Harry and Arcturus were sat in the drawing and were discussing the
developments of the week when they were interrupted by the arrival
of a phoenix patronus materialising in the room.
"Harry would you and Baron Black be so kind as to join me at
headquarters" the bird spoke in the voice of Dumbledore.
Harry turned to the older man who was eying the patronus with
distaste. He averted his gaze towards the clock as the creature
vanished and growled.
"He knows how to pick his moments, the time is hardly decent" he
mumbled in annoyance.
"You know you don't have to come" Harry pointed out.
"I may as well it's not like sitting here is very productive" he
responded. "Twinkly-eyed old git" he added bitterly.
Harry had noticed that since he had gotten the information from
Pettigrew that the older man had become even more pessimistic and
cantankerous, if that was possible. It seemed that with the 15 year
long Horcrux hunt all but finished, Arcturus had very little to do. Harry
hoped he would find something for him to do to at least keep him
occupied, he then at least might be in a better mood.
The duo apparated away and appeared in the square opposite
Grimmauld Place. They entered the house to find it very quiet, the
only people inside were Dumbledore, Sirius and the newly returned
Marlene McKinnon.
As soon as they entered the room Sirius approached them dragging
a very nervous fiancé in his wake.
"Harry this is Marlene McKinnon, I'm sure I told you about her when I
was drunk" he said a little sheepishly.
Harry took the ladies hand and kissed the back of it gently. He then
proceeded to look at her critically before shaking his head.
"What is it?" She asked quietly.
"Well it seems that my godfather seems to definitely be punching
above his weight" he replied. "What would a beautiful lady of your
quality be doing with a mutt like that" he added jerking his head
towards the now gaping man. "You do realise he urinates on things
that he sees as his property" he finished seriously.
The woman turned red and giggled at the younger man.
"That was only once" Sirius whined. "I couldn't control the animal
back then and I could smell Moony everywhere" he said in
annoyance. "And you can get your own woman" he added pulling the
lady towards him. "There's a bloody queue of them out there lined up
and waiting" he finished pointing towards the door.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Harry asked, frowning.
"Oh you haven't seen it have you?" Sirius asked gleefully.
He almost sprinted to the kitchen table and returned clutching a
magazine which he handed to Harry, his eyes full of mirth.
"Why would I read Teen Witch Weekly?" he asked the man who was
clearly trying not to laugh.
"Just look" he said pointing to the magazine to which Harry complied
reluctantly.
Harry Potter: Heartthrob
"Oh this isn't good" Harry muttered, shaking his head.
The head shaking did not stop at all while he read the article, Harry
was simply horrified by what it contained. The article continually
speculated on his love life and 'how manywitches virtues' he had
claimed. They made him out to be some kind of Don Juan that was
systematically fornicating with the entire population of witches within
and beyond the country boundaries. They described him as 'a hunk
of muscle with the most enticing emerald eyes' and claimed that 'any
witch would be lucky to find herself on the arm of such a wizard'.
The icing on the cake for Harry was the appeal they had published
asking any women to come forward and share their experience with
the young man.
Throughout the entirety of Harry reading Sirius was roaring with
laughter to the point of tears. When he saw that his godson had
finished he placed an unconvincingly comforting hand on his
shoulder.
"Now Pup" he began in a false fatherly tone. "Don't you think that
you should consider marrying one of these young witches whom" he
pulled the article from the young man's clutches and scanned for a
quote. "you have used to holster your wand" he finished laughing
again.
"It's not funny Sirius" Harry hissed angrily. "None of it is true" he
added with a frown. "Where the hell did you get this anyway?" he
asked. "It's not like it's the kind of thing you would read" he pointed
out.
"I caught Dora reading it" he shrugged. "She seemed upset that she
was not one of your conquests or" he scanned the page again, "a
part of your harem of hot honey's" he roared again in laughter.
"That's enough you two" Arcturus cut in. "I don't give a damn where
or how Potter is getting his jollies we were asked here for a reason"
he finished questioningly looking towards Dumbledore who nodded.
"Yeah Albus. What was so important that we had to wait for these
two to get here?" Sirius asked with a frown.
"I am afraid I have some very bad news" he replied sadly his eyes
absent of the usual twinkle. "I just got word from Arthur that the
wards at the Burrow malfunctioned" he continued. "Molly, young
Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood were inside, none of them
survived" he finished with a deep sigh.
Harry sank into a chair at the table in complete shock. It couldn't be
true. Not Mrs Weasley or Ginny. He had no idea who Miss Lovegood
was but clearly she was an unnecessary casualty of the war.
Dumbledore watched as Arcturus whispered something into Harry's
ear and saw how the shock vanished and an impassive masked
formed in its place. He didn't like that the boy was bottling his
feelings but he knew and understood that there were times it was
necessary, particularly if people looked to you in difficult times for
guidance.
"Bill would have placed those wards" Harry said quietly. "He is one of
the best cursebreakers in the country, this does not feel right" he
finished shaking his head.
"They are my thoughts exactly" Dumbledore replied seriously.
"Something is amiss and I will get to the bottom of it" he vowed to
the gathered people.
"It's too much of a coincidence" Arcturus cut in. "Definitely his work"
he added thoughtfully.
"What the hell could cause the wards to attack its own occupants?"
Sirius asked.
"I'm afraid wards are one of the things I have little understanding of"
Dumbledore replied. "But I do not doubt that some of Tom's followers
are exceptional with them and certainly had a hand in it" he finished.
"I'm going to have to draw him out" Harry suddenly said.
"What do you mean?" Sirius questioned.
"Well I thought that after the Hogsmeade attack and the Azkaban
breakout that people would wake up and if they are now blaming
outright murder on accidents then I doubt they ever will, not unless
they see him for themselves" he explained.
"What are you planning pup?" Sirius asked gravely.
"He knows that I am alive right?" he asked.
When the others nodded their agreement he continued.
"Well now more than ever he is going to want that prophecy and he
will have people watching it constantly" he continued again getting a
nod of agreement. "Do you think he would trust anyone else to get it
for him?, especially if you three are with me" he finished indicating
the other men in the room.
"That's some smart thinking Potter" Arcturus intoned. "He would
have no choice but to come himself, he knows that between us his
Death Eaters would not stand a chance" he said a little gleefully. "But
it does need some fine tuning" he finished.
"How so?" Harry asked.
"Well we need to make sure that the building is quite empty to avoid
too many injuries or deaths" he began. "So that means a late night
visit" he continued. "We need to make sure that we are found by the
right people, so that means preferably Fudge and a bunch of aurors"
he added. "And you need to make sure that you can hold him off
long enough" he finished with a look.
"Why don't you just kill him, all of you together? And what bloody
prophecy?" Marlene asked.
"No" Harry said firmly. "I will kill him, it is my fight" he said glaring at
the other occupants. "And the prophecy is a meaningless thing to me
that means a lot to him" he added dismissively.
"That's just stupid pride talking" Marlene replied.
"No, Harry is right" Dumbledore interjected sadly. "It is his fight and
myself and Baron Black are too old to last more than a minute
against him now" he finished with a sigh.
"And Sirius understands that this is my fight, don't you?" he asked
his godfather who just nodded reluctantly.
"And you think you can beat him?" she asked sceptically.
"Not yet" Harry answered simply. "But I will be able to one day, for
now I just need to be able to hold him off and that gives me a chance
to see how much I need to improve" he added thoughtfully.
"You're mad" Marlene said shaking her head. "If Lils was alive she
would kick your arse for being so stupid" she added.
"Well she's not is she" Harry replied coldly and Marlene could see
the emerald fire ignite in his eyes. It made her shudder
uncomfortably.
"I'm sorry Harry I shouldn't have said that" she apologised genuinely.
"It's fine" Harry replied dismissing her with a wave. "We need to work
on getting Fudge out of office to, he is not a war time leader, shit, he
isn't a leader anyway" Harry said ruefully.
"He has indeed become quite the problem" Dumbledore cut in.
"What do you mean?" Arcturus asked.
"Well it seems that he has succeeded in having me removed from
the castle and has placed Dolores Umbridge in control of the school,
officially I am on an extended holiday" he explained.
"That is not good" Harry surmised.
"No it is not, but there is very little that can be done, he has had it
approved by the governors" Dumbledore replied.
"Well it does give you time to work on removing Fudge" Harry
mused. "I'm sure the two of you could come up with something" he
said gesturing between the headmaster and Arcturus who looked as
though he wanted to strangle the boy for suggesting such a thing.
Harry caught the look and shook his head.
"For fuck sake this isn't about you and your egos" he said irritably.
"This is about finishing this, and getting rid of Fudge can make it
easier" he continued. "You are both grown men, I don't care if you
don't like each other but you both want this, both are intelligent
enough to pull it off, and I'm sure that between you it will not be a
problem so just bloody well get on with it" he finished breathlessly.
"You are, of course right Harry" Dumbledore responded.
"I guess it is easier" Arcturus responded. "But if you talk to me like
that again boy, so help me I will curse you" he added looking at
Harry with venom.
"You always say that, but you haven't done it yet" Harry pointed out.
"Your day will come Potter" Arcturus retorted.
"Okay, we have a rough outline of what we are going to do" Sirius
cut in. "Is there anything else?" he asked.
"I think I will have to take a trip to Hogwarts beforehand" Harry
replied. "To get the last one" he added looking at Arcturus.
"Yeah with him out of the castle" he said pointing at Dumbledore. "I
don't think it is as safe" he finished grudgingly.
"Would you remind explaining what you are referring to" Dumbledore
asked.
Arcturus looked at the Headmaster critically before he answered.
"Horcruxes" he replied simply. "He has them" he added with a shrug.
Dumbledore was not entirely surprised that the other man knew of
them but he was surprised that he had them, if he heard correctly.
"How many have you got" Dumbledore asked neutrally but he was
feeling very nervous.
"Including that diary that Potter destroyed and the one inside him, 5"
he answered. "There is one more at Hogwarts" he added.
"I thought there might be" Dumbledore replied sadly. "But I believe
there are 7" he added.
"7?" Arcturus questioned.
"Yes, Tom is very superstitious and was very good at Arithmancy, I
initially thought he would have made 3 but from what you have said,
I believe it is 7" he explained.
"So there is another?" Arcturus asked disbelievingly.
"It makes sense that there is" Dumbledore answered. "I very much
doubt that the soul could be broken more times than that and
function" he explained.
"You seem to know a lot about these things for a light wizard"
Arcturus observed with suspicion. "How long have you been aware
of them?" he asked the older man.
"Since the end of Harry's second year when he handed me the diary"
Dumbledore sighed. "I have been trying to locate them ever since"
he finished.
"And what about the one that was in the boy, how long have you
known?" he asked angrily.
"I discovered it at the end of his third year after I ran a scan on his
scar once he had driven off the dementors" he explained. "I spent
the summer researching a way to remove it without killing him" he
added sadly.
"And?" Arcturus asked further with a raised eyebrow.
"I found a way to do it and was going to attempt it after the
tournament had finished, I did not know how long he would need to
recover and thought that having the entire summer would be
sufficient" he explained.
Arcturus nodded.
"And what short of being hit with a killing curse would have done it?"
Arcturus asked, clearly curious. "As far as I know they can only be
destroyed by fiendfyre and basilisk venom" he added knowingly.
"You are correct" Dumbledore agreed with a nod.
He sighed again before continuing.
"I found a ritual that would allow me to transfer the Horcrux from one
vessel to another" he said.
"It can't be that simple" Arcturus replied shaking his head.
"Indeed it is not" Dumbledore responded. "To transfer it from one
thing to another it has to be an item of equal power" he explained.
"We are aware of how powerful Harry is and I had to take that into
consideration, the young man had just driven off over one hundred
dementors with a single patronus" he continued. "Finding an item of
such power was not difficult in the magical world but I discovered it
would not work" he sighed shaking his head.
"Why not?" Arcturus asked.
"Well the Horcrux within Harry had been residing in a living vessel
and would need to continue to do so or it would simply break free
and seek the other un-housed soul fragment. Tom would then be
aware that someone had discovered his secret and he would be free
to make another, one that we would have no clue as to where or
what it was" he explained further.
"So you had to find a live vessel of equivalent power to Potter to
house it in" Arcturus stated.
"Indeed" Dumbledore replied with a nod.
"And?" the other man asked impatiently. "There are very few people
as powerful as the boy" he pointed out.
Dumbledore sighed.
"You would be correct" he said inclining his head. "That is why I was
going to transfer it to myself" he added.
The rest of the gathered party looked shocked at this proclamation.
Even Marlene who prior to this conversation had no idea what a
Horcrux was was dumbfounded.
"And what would that have done to you sir?" Harry asked sadly.
"It would have killed me at a reasonable rate, but it would have died
with me" he explained nonchalantly. "I am no longer as powerful as I
once was so I would have succumbed to it, though not as quickly as
most others" he pointed out.
"You would have really done that for the boy?" Arcturus asked
sceptically.
"Yes" Dumbledore answered simply. "Not only because the world
needs him much more than it needs me but because I care for him
that much" he said sincerely looking Harry in the eye.
Harry was very much touched by the sentiment the older man was
showing. He had to swallow back a lump but he knew that
Dumbledore could see how much it truly meant to him.
"Well I didn't know you had that in you" Arcturus spoke, shaking his
head in disbelief. "Any way, it didn't come to that" he pointed out,
lifting the mood a little.
"Thank god" Harry whispered.
"We need to get this plan of ours formed in to something more solid,
but it is late, we should meet again tomorrow" Arcturus suggested, to
which everyone agreed.
Harry and Arcturus made their goodbyes and apparated back home,
both retiring the instant they arrived. Harry would not sleep well that
night. He thought of the sentiment that Dumbledore had shown him
but his thoughts were plagued by the death of both Molly and Ginny.
He lay awake in to the very small hours weeping for the two
redheads, One, who had been very much like a mother, and the
other on her way to becoming a close sister. He would not forget
them and he would make those pay that had a hand in their untimely
ends.
(BREAK)
Daphne Greengrass had not had the peaceful holiday she had
envisioned. Not only had she had to tolerate her sister's continual
teasing about Harry Potter but she could not even get a respite from
the boy. He was plaguing her thoughts constantly and that had been
even before all of the articles had appeared in the newspapers. It
annoyed her to no end and she could still not understand why she
was thinking of him so much, there was even no escape from him
while she slept. She would dream about the day he saved her and
this had subsequently caused further problems. Her dreams caused
her to remember things that she had forgotten about entirely. The
thing that stood out above everything else was his smell, after one
dream in particular, that was all she could think of.
It wasn't the smell that bothered her per say, it was that the smell
could only be identified as 'Harry'. It was not a scent that was
comparable to anything else, it was just him. No matter how hard
she tried she could not get the boy off her mind and the lack of
control she had was what got to her most.
The day the articles started things had only gotten worse. Astoria
had happily read them all to her and that one in Teen Witch Weekly
had really bothered her. She believed what the article had said
knowing that any man as famous, popular and handsome, no, just
famous and popular would conduct himself in such a way as the
article described and she could not understand why she got a pang
in her chest whenever she thought of it.
For some unfathomable reason to herself she had kept all of the
articles, except for that one, and found herself looking at them
several times a day. She would read them and try to dislike the boy
but try as she might they just annoyed her and caused that
aforementioned pang to resurface. She hid the articles knowing that
her sister would just tease her even more and that she could not
handle.
She would be returning to Hogwarts the next day and was spending
her final day with Tracey who was trying to get her to talk. She could
see that something was bothering Daphne and was unrelenting in
her efforts to get her friend to open up.
"Daphne please just talk to me" she pleaded. "I'm your best friend
aren't I?" She asked.
"Of course you are" Daphne replied heatedly.
"Then why won't you tell me?, you know you can trust me" the brown
haired girl responded.
Daphne sighed. It was not something she wanted to talk about at all
but it was starting to become a real problem. She was barely able to
focus on anything else and she knew that going back to school she
would need to be able to concentrate.
"It's Potter" she said just above a whisper.
"I thought it might be" Tracey replied looking triumphant. "And why is
Potter making you act this way?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What way?" Daphne asked frowning.
"You've hardly been yourself these last two weeks" Tracey pointed
out. "It's like you're not even really here and you're stuck in there"
she said prodding her friend on the forehead who swiped her hand
away.
Daphne sighed again defeated.
"I can't stop thinking about him" she admitted reluctantly. "No matter
how hard I try not to I can't stop it" she added in irritation.
Tracey raised an eyebrow at her friend.
"What is it you think about?" she asked.
"The day he saved me" she replied quietly.
"And?" the other girl prompted.
"How safe I felt, how comfortable it was and how right it felt" she
whispered.
"That's not surprising, I'd feel safe in those arms" Tracey replied
causing her friend to frown.
"It wasn't like that" Daphne responded shaking her head. "I feel safe
with my Dad but this was different".
"So you like him?" Tracey questioned.
"No" Daphne replied vehemently. "I don't know" she added
uncertainly.
"Ok, I'm going to say a boys' name and I want you to tell me the first
word you think of" Tracey explained.
"I'm not playing that stupid game" Daphne said firmly.
"Just do it, please" Tracey begged.
"Fine" Daphne agreed unhappily.
"Hmm" Tracey began. "Draco Malfoy" she finally said.
"Ferret" Daphne replied causing Tracey to giggle.
"Vincent Crabbe" Tracey fired quickly.
"Troll" Daphne answered without hesitation.
"Blaise Zabini" she tried.
"Conceited" Daphne responded causing her friend to nod in
agreement.
"Neville Longbottom?" Tracey questioned.
"Grandmother issues" Daphne said knowingly.
"Harry Potter" Tracey said as she saw that Daphne had let her guard
down.
"Just…Wow" Daphne whispered reluctantly. "Too many words come
to mind to pick one" she admitted.
"Oh come on Daph it's obvious" Tracey pointed out. "When have you
ever thought of a boy like that?" she asked.
"Never" Daphne replied simply. "Not that it matters" she added. "It's
not like it would ever work" she finished.
"And why not?" Tracey asked.
"You heard what Weasley said" Daphne answered. "Potter would
never be with a snake" she said dejectedly.
"And what the hell does Weasley know?" Tracey asked heatedly.
"The boy is a moron" she stated.
"And there's all those articles" Daphne pointed out causing Tracey to
raise her eyebrow again.
"And you really believe them?" she asked. "Come on Daph you're
smarter than that" she said to the blonde. "Or do you just want to
believe them so you have an excuse to ignore what you feel?" she
asked.
"I don't know, but they could be true" Daphne tried weakly.
"I doubt it very much" Tracey responded. "How did you feel when
you read them?" she asked.
Daphne hesitated.
"They made me angry" she admitted. "And it hurt a little" she added
quietly. "Right here" she finished pointing to her chest.
"Oh you've got it bad" Tracey exclaimed in disbelief. "It made you
jealous" she added knowingly.
"It did not" Daphne retorted vehemently.
"Yes it did" Tracey replied firmly. "I have known you all my life
Daphne Greengrass and I have never seen you show this much
emotion ever" she pointed out, indicating the conversation they were
having.
Daphne just sighed and shook her head. She didn't know what to
think, although she did feel a little better having spoken to her friend.
"You can't tell anyone" She pleaded.
"Oh come on Daph I wouldn't do that to you, no matter how amusing
it is" Tracey replied genuinely. "But you need to figure it out because
you can't keep doing this to yourself" she advised waving towards
her friend.
"I know" Daphne responded with a sigh. "But what should I do?" she
asked.
"That is up to you but an apology to the boy would be a good start"
Tracey advised.
"I'm not apologising" Daphne declared stubbornly.
Tracey just shrugged at her friend. This was something she would
have to figure out for herself. It was then that Ophelia entered the
room and informed them that lunch was ready to which Daphne
exited the room as quickly as she could. Ophelia grabbed Tracey by
the arm and looked at her questioningly.
"Boy troubles" Tracey answered simply.
"Ahh Harry Potter" Ophelia replied with a nod.
"I knew it was obvious" Tracey responded gleefully.
"A mother always knows" Ophelia sighed as the two left the room to
get lunch.
(BREAK)
The week leading up to the funeral of the two Weasley's had been
one of the worst for Harry in recent memory. It wasn't that anything
else had happened but a gloom had settled in on the young man that
he just couldn't shift. He had spent as much of his time alone as
possible, trying to distract himself through his training, but he was
angry and he found that his magic reflected his mood. Simple
blasting and gouging curses would obliterate the dummies he trained
with and wrought destruction throughout the room so he resorted to
his muggle exercises to try and cope but in reality he just ended up
feeling exhausted as well as down.
He had not seen the Weasley's. He had learnt from Dumbledore that
they were staying with Molly's aunt Muriel so that they could grieve
for their losses in some relative peace without being disturbed.
Dumbledore had also informed him that he was completely sure that
the wards had been tampered in some way but could not identify
specifically what had been done. Although it proved that it was not a
mistake that Bill had made with the wards he knew that it would not
make it any easier on the man knowing they had been used to kill his
mother and sister.
Harry had tried to plan his retrieval of the Horcrux but knew that he
was unable to plan effectively in his current mood and state of mind,
not until Molly and Ginny had been laid to rest properly.
On the advice of Arcturus Harry had learnt all he could about Dolores
Umbridge just in case he was tom encounter her on his excursion in
to the castle, something that Arcturus warned was a possibility. 'you
must plan for all eventualities' the older man had told him firmly.
He had learnt that Umbridge was certainly not fit to be a teacher in
any capacity and certainly had no place at Hogwarts. Her grades
were deplorable overall in her academic studies and her only saving
grace had been her fairly high standard of theory work, but with a
wand, anyone could see she was useless. She was bigoted also and
the more Harry read about her the more he disliked the woman. She
had introduced and backed bills that would allow employers to be
prejudice towards creatures and those inflicted with illnesses such as
lycanthropy and vampirism and other legislations that would prevent
them from having satisfactory lives. There was a small part of Harry
that wished he would encounter the disgraceful woman so he could
give her a piece of his mind.
But that would have to wait. As it was Harry was stood on some of
the land that the Weasley's owned, tucked away from the Burrow, in
which many people had gathered to witness Molly and Ginny being
laid to rest.
Knowing that he would only cause a distraction and take the
attention away from the people of whom this day was about, he
opted to attend wearing his invisibility cloak and stood away some
distance from the service. He knew there would be chance for him to
pay his respects when the funeral was concluded.
He watched as the members of the order of the phoenix and the
Weasley's in turn paid tribute to the duo. He watched as the coffins
were lowered in to the ground and the head stones were given their
inscriptions and he watched as the people gathered cried and
comforted each other. Harry cried with them, he did not even try to
prevent the tears. This was the first funeral he had ever attended
and he was sure it would not be his last. But he was damn sure that
he would prevent as many as them as possible.
As much as he wanted to he did not approach the crowd. Both Sirius
and Dumbledore knew he would be there but this was not the
moment for him to offer his condolences, he would have that chance
later. He waited for the crowd to leave and approached the freshly
filled graves. He said nothing, but conjured a rose for each one and
placed them in front of the stones. He allowed himself to cry a little
more and was stunned as he heard a voice behind him.
"You see now what it is we face" Dumbledore said sadly.
"But I can't save them all" Harry replied downheartedly removing his
cloak.
"No you cannot" Dumbledore answered simply. "That is not your
responsibility Harry, no matter how hard that is to accept" he added.
"People have to be responsible for themselves and their actions, you
are only one man Harry and try as you might you cannot save them
all, as is the burden of being a man such as you and I" he continued.
"People hold those like us accountable for casualties and will aim
their grief at us because they simply cannot face that they could
have, in fact done something to prevent what has happened" he
finished knowingly.
"Nothing could have been done to prevent this though" Harry pointed
out.
"Again you are right" Dumbledore responded with a bow. "But it does
not prevent the grief and it does not make it hurt any less" he
explained.
Harry just nodded in response knowing that Dumbledore was right,
no matter how difficult it was to admit, he was right. He was only one
man and he could not save anyone. It was not just up to him to fight
this war and those who did not want to live under a regime created
by Riddle would have to do their part to stop it from happening.
"I'm sorry professor but I have one more stop to make" Harry said.
"Ahh, young Miss Lovegood" he replied knowingly with a nod. "If you
wouldn't mind the company I will join you, she was after all a student
of mine" he added.
Harry was grateful for the offer and gladly accepted with a nod. With
that the two apparated the short distance to the Lovegood home.
They arrived on a large expanse of land in which a very obscure
tower-like building was situated in the centre. Harry could see there
were two men standing a short distance from them and he and
Dumbledore approached.
"Albus?" a man dressed in yellow robes questioned as he
approached the headmaster.
"Xenophilius" Dumbledore greeted the man with a warm handshake.
"I am very sorry for your loss, I hope we are not intruding?" he asked
gesturing to his companion.
"Not at all" the man replied and caught sight of Harry. "Mr Potter, I
was not aware that you knew my Luna" he said addressing Harry
with a bow.
"I didn't know her personally sir, but I wanted to pay my respects" he
responded with a humble bow.
"Thank you" Mr Lovegood replied genuinely and offered his hand
which Harry took. Upon taking his hand Xenophilius pulled away
quickly and rubbed his hand.
"My apologies Mr Potter, I was not expecting to feel such strong
magic from you, I should have known though" he added knowingly.
Harry was confused and looked at Dumbledore for an explanation.
"Ahh, Mr Lovegood here is very adept at feeling magic" he
explained.
"And yours is exceptionally strong Mr Potter" the other man cut in.
"So protective, yet dangerous, you must have particularly good
control of it" he said nodding.
"I like to think so sir" Harry replied.
"Anyway, it was not me you came to see, we have already buried
Luna" he said trying to control his emotions.
"Do you mind?" Harry questioned gesturing to the grave he could
see.
"Please" Mr Lovegood replied allowing them to pass to visit the
grave.
"What were her favourite flowers?" Harry asked the man who was
now losing control of his composure.
"She liked Lillies" he replied with a sob.
Harry took out his wand and conjured a dozen of the flowers
bunched and tied together with a yellow ribbon to match the man's
robes.
"Thank you Mr Potter" Mr Lovegood said gratefully. "It seems that it
is just me now" he intoned sadly. "You see Luna lost her mother at a
very young age and it was just us" he explained. "Her mother was
such a gifted witch and Luna was the same, but this was the first
year that she had made some friends" he continued. "She was an
eccentric girl, but brilliant in her own way" he finished.
"I'm sure she was" Harry replied. "And losing her like this must be
very hard for you".
"Was it truly an accident?" the man asked. "I know young William is
excellent at what he does, I find it hard to believe that he would
make such a mistake" he finished confidently.
Harry looked towards Dumbledore who sighed.
"No it was not an accident, the wards were purposely tampered with"
he explained.
"I thought as much" Xenophilius responded. "Was it him?" he asked.
"Yes" Dumbledore replied simply.
"So he is back" he stated. "Luna said as much but I didn't want to
believe it" he added shaking his head. "You will stop him won't you
Albus?" he asked the headmaster who shook his head.
"I am afraid not Xenophilius" he said sadly. "I couldn't stop him now
even if I wanted to" he explained. "I am far too old and not as quick
or as powerful as I once was, I fear that Tom has surpassed me now"
he continued. "It will be up to those younger than myself to stop him
and young Mr Potter here will be at the forefront of that" he finished.
He turned to look at Harry critically and nodded his approval after a
moment.
"As is your right Mr Potter" he began. "None have suffered at his
hands as much as you have, please stop him" he finished pleadingly.
"Please don't let my Luna have died as nothing but a step towards
his success" he begged and began to sob uncontrollably.
Harry could feel a rage heavy set in as he watched the emotion the
man was experiencing. It all came back to Riddle, it was all because
of him. Harry placed a hand on the man's shoulder causing him to
look up.
Xenophilius could see a brightly simmering emerald fire and could
feel the magic pulsing through the boy. It was powerful, yet
comforting.
"I will sir" Harry vowed. "I will stop him if it is the last thing I do" he
added quietly.
They spent a little more time with the man and his companion, who
turned out to be a priest who had conducted the funeral of the young
girl. After listening to the man tell stories about his wife and daughter,
Harry was reminded of that moment he had witnessed on the ferry to
France between the young girl and her father. It seemed much more
important to him now, that small moment. Not that he had taken it for
granted but now after meeting a grieving father who had lost his
daughter it truly put into perspective how important those moments
were.
The young man and the headmaster left the Lovegood home feeling
truly humbled. Harry knew he had done the right thing by visiting
because if anything it had steeled his resolve further and caused the
words of the headmaster he spoke at the graves of Molly and Ginny
to set in. He could not hold himself accountable for every
catastrophe, both Arcturus and Dumbledore had told him and he had
even witnessed it in the pensieve with what his grandfather had
allowed to happen to him by carrying his guilt the way he did. It
made him truly appreciate his grandmother even more who always
managed to keep her husband thinking clearly and not burdening
himself with things he could not control. His grandfather had learnt
the hard way, but harry would not allow things to come to pass for
himself in that manner. He understood his limitations although he did
not like them at all. But he was one man after all as Dumbledore had
said and there was little he could do to change them. He had his
responsibilities and they were his to face but it was not up to him to
accept the responsibilities of others. He would fight for all of them but
they had to fight for themselves also, it was the only way that they
would win.
(BREAK)
Dolores Umbridge was feeling very happy at Hogwarts despite
having to put up with the disgusting children here. With Dumbledore
out of the way she had managed to take control of the castle and
even subdue the children to a manageable degree. She had her
inquisitorial squad on continual patrols and the staff had also been
quelled in their continual attempts at interference. She had Cornelius
to thank for that. Not only had he given her the headmistress position
he had even provided her with 3 of his personal guards to ensure
there was no resistance. If there was then the perpetrators would
find themselves expelled instantly and if the staff was stupid enough
to try to intervene then they would find themselves dismissed from
the castle just as quickly rendering the small amount of protection
they gave the students completely useless. How could they protect
them when they were not here to do so? Yes she had seized the
hold on the school that she wanted to. There was however, one
small problem.
She knew from since before Christmas that a certain group of
students had been meeting in secret, discussing who knows what,
and though she could not prove who they were she had her ideas,
but their luck was going to run out soon enough. All she had to do
was wait, one of them would slip up and when they did they would all
be made to pay.
She rolled one of her treasured blood quills through her fingers and
smirked at the thought of seeing them suffer. 'Yes, they will pay for
disobeying me' she thought to herself.
(BREAK)
A week had passed since the funerals and Harry found that since he
had grieved he was starting to feel much better, though the rage he
felt towards Riddle and his followers had not subsided, he doubted
that it ever would and secretly hoped that it wouldn't.
Arcturus and Dumbledore had been spending a lot of time together
discussing their plans and seemed to be working well together,
surprisingly. The two men had helped Harry complete his plan and
he was ready to enter the castle via one of the secret passageways,
he of course would be using the map and his cloak knowing that he
could enter and roam the castle at will undetected. He had been
studying the map and had noticed that there was always a presence
in the corridors, a few labels he did not recognise and some he knew
too well. The Slytherins seemed to have gained some kind of
authority from what he observed as there was always some of them
present from fifth year and up in the corridors. The rest of the houses
seemed to spend all of their time away from lessons in their common
rooms or dormitories, something that Harry found odd. Overall the
castle seemed to be much quieter than he was used to but he did
not dwell on it, it would certainly make collecting the diadem much
easier.
(BREAK)
Hermione Granger had been working very hard since the students
had returned to school to arrange a meeting between the usual
attendees, it had been quite some time since the last. Life in the
castle had simply become unbearable it resembled more of a prison
than an educational establishment. All incoming and outgoing mail
was scanned and read before it was allowed to make its way to the
intended recipient. Umbridge and her squad of sycophants had well
and truly taken control of the castle in Dumbledore's absence, an
absence that was questionable at best as the students had not been
given an explanation as to why.
At first the students had been relieved by the presence of the 3
aurors thinking that they would rein in and prevent Umbridge from
being as terrible as she was but that relief had been short-lived. The
three men were just as bad as she was and would report students
for the most trivial thing and enjoy seeing them being punished.
Hermione could not understand how these men were aurors, the
forefront of protection in the magical community.
Ron and the twins had returned to the castle shortly after the funeral.
Hermione suspected that they weren't finished grieving but from
what the trio had said they could no longer stand living with their
great aunt any longer. They had been subdued and very quiet since
they had come back and it was a sad sight to see, particularly with
the twins, who were always able to lift the mood of the students no
matter how bad things were. There had been an announcement of
Luna and Ginny's deaths but it was executed without emotion and
seemed more of a footnote at the end of the other less meaningless
announcements at the return feast.
It had taken almost 3 weeks to set the meeting up and here they
were now. There were no smiles and many of the students looked
tired and completely disheartened.
"Does anyone have any news?" Hermione asked the group.
"We can't even get mail without it being invaded" Susan Bones
sighed irritably. "I tried to speak to my aunt about everything but she
was barely home all holiday because of the problems with Azkaban
and the whole Pettigrew thing" she explained.
"All I know is that this place is unbearable now" Tracey cut in.
"Malfoy and the rest of her squad are even making our common
room and dorms miserable" she continued exasperatedly. "We can't
even do our homework without them breathing down our necks and
having a private conversation is impossible" she complained.
"What can we do about it?" Neville asked.
"Nothing unless you want to be expelled, you heard Umbridge talk
about her zero tolerance policy, she definitely means it" Hannah
Abbott answered.
"We have just under two months to get through" Hermione tried. "At
least we managed to get all of our spell work down for our OWLS
earlier on in the year" she added clearly relieved by that at least.
"I bet Potter is glad he didn't come back this year, he seems fairly
happy" Astoria said with a grin.
"Shut up Tori" Daphne hissed through gritted teeth.
She figured that her sister was taking advantage of the fact they
were away from Malfoy and his cronies and could openly bait her
sister.
Before anything else could be said there was a sick and sweetly
voice heard from the doorway.
"Oh dear" the voice simpered. "A group of students meeting without
permission and admitting to breaking the rules, tut tut" she
continued. "Round them up" she commanded the group who were
stood in her wake waiting for the go-ahead to bring them in.
The students who had been caught did not hesitate and began firing
spells at Umbridge and her group knowing that they now had nothing
to lose. They managed to break free from the room and split up to
confuse their pursuers. Things were finally coming to a head at
Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.
(BREAK)