Book II :: Chapter 17 :: A Good Day
Thirty minutes earlier:
Stepping out of Witch's & Wands, Harry felt surprisingly happy and not because he just left a magical brothel. Then again he really shouldn't have been all that surprised that he'd feel better coming out of a brothel than entering one. However, in contrast, the first six businesses he had interacted with, this one made him feel right. Back Alley Brothels were neither safe nor very profitable for their workers and knowing he had just improved the lives of those inside put a little pep in his step.
A nice change of pace from strong arm tactics he had been implementing.
The sudden joy was quickly replaced, as he stood stock still while a spark of magic ran up his spine. Looking around frantically, Harry rushed into the shadows of the brothel and kept his robe up and over his face.
Something was coming, and it was responding to his magic. In silence, Harry waited until he spotted the source. A tall hooded figure with a cane. For a second Harry was perplexed until it dawned on him why he felt a twitch tickling the recesses of his mind.
"Ah, that's right. I did put a tracer on Malfoy's cane." Pondering as to why he was this deep in Knockturn Alley Harry remained still so as to remain undetected. However, a thought crossed his mind. This was a perfect opportunity. A chance to get information out of a senior wizard. And a chance to set up the pieces for Tom's return. With a sinister grin you would find on someone who knew he was set to win, Harry made off to follow Lucius Malfoy.
Picking up a thrown-away newspaper Harry ripped it off and using his blood as makeshift ink rewrote the rune he had applied to the wizard's cane. The effect was instantaneous as the paper grew taught in his hand, desperate to reunite with its sibling rune.
In a cold pursuit, Harry made his way through Knockturn Alley and towards an unpleasant-looking pub. He kept his posture low, slightly slouched, but not overly exaggerated. Just enough to hide his actual height but not his presence.
Stepping into the rowdy and dank bar, Harry ignored the inhabitants as he made his way over to the primary objective, the hooded figure in the corner. The man's thoughts rang loud in his mind as all his focus channeled into the man's mind without alerting him to his presence.
In the corner of the bar, Lucius Malfoy sat grumpily under his inconspicuous cloak. His attention split between his irritation and his surroundings. He scoffed as another low life stepped into the bar. It was all beneath him. The rat infestation, smelling of piss and water-downed firewisky that tasted like re-hydrated troll fungus powder. The rotting and creaking cheap floor boards. The inhabitants are not even worth mentioning or even permitted to live. He hated the pathetic and weak inhabitants of this place the most, but he endured.
His mind was more focused on the humiliation he was currently enduring. Something needed to happen soon, or else his pride would get the better of him. For the life of him, he couldn't fathom how that fool Greengrass could still rationalize resisting him. He was backed into a corner, losing his wealth, and soon his political power. Salvageable if only he gave up his daughter to his foolish son. A simple transaction that would give Malfoy full access to the whole of their family's magical knowledge and empower the Malfoy name with the history of the Greengrass family while removing power from the neutral party.
If nothing else, the artifact his former dark lord gave him would serve well at Hogwarts, far away from his hands and the foolish raids being performed by the ministry. Curse that Bones woman for making his life more difficult. If he was lucky the artifact would surely cause trouble at Hogwarts and kill that foolish girl. And to top it off, if he was lucky he could possibly even push for the removal of Albus Dumbledore.
While lost in his mind, Lucius failed to notice Harry's approach.
With purpose and with haste, Harry jumped on the opportunity while concealing his shit-eating grin within the recesses of his mind as all of the man's thoughts flooded in.
Lucius was left perplexed and peeved beyond measure as the stranger without so much as a word sat down before him. However, before he could say anything he was halted as he recognized the man.
"You seemed troubled today, Mr. Malfoy." Harry said with a whimsical smile. It took Malfoy a second to overcome his confusion before realization hit him.
"Mr. Returner. I wasn't expecting to see you here." Malfoy retorted with a hostile gaze.
"That makes two of us." Harry replied. "A facility of this-" Harry waved his hand lazily around "-nature isn't really up to my standards. But it has its uses. In this particular case, it offered me the opportunity to meet up with you."
"Yes, well. If you don't mind I am quite busy waiting for an associate at the moment so if you would kindly leave as it were." Lucius scathingly requested.
Harry couldn't help but grin slightly. "Is my presence here a hindrance to you Lord Malfoy?"
"If you were of... significant birth Mr. Returner I would not need to repeat myself. I am busy."
Harry shrugged. "Well, I suppose my significant birth would be inconsequential to you, considering your limited knowledge."
Harry hummed in understanding. "I see. Then I don't suppose you wouldn't wish to know of a possible opportunity to reduce Albus Dumbledore into a footnote of history then." The response was instantaneous. Lucius's focus was directed on Harry, the man before him, with curious interest.
"And what could you possibly know that would ruin Albus Dumbledore?"
Harry leaned in and in a hushed whisper stated. "What do you know about Harry Potter?"
With a raised eyebrow Lucius scoffed in annoyance. "The Boy-who-Lived is no one of importance."
Harry himself laughed as he agreed. The title was pointless indeed. "To people like us maybe, but the name holds weight in many other circles, including the Light Party. Tell me, do you know what became of Harry Potter after his parent's deaths? Albus does."
"Why should I care about a foolish boy and what he does as a child?" Lucius asked with fading interest.
"Well, I happen to know that the boy who lived was abused as a child while under Albus's rule, and I just so happen to know that the boy is gathering evidence to prove Dumbledore guilty of his crimes against him."
Oh, that was perfect, Lucius thought to himself. This tidbit of info was very useful if true. Leaning in with renewed interest, "And how accurate would you say this info is?"
"Very" Harry replied bluntly. "While it may require you to delve into the putrid world of muggles, there was a recent arrest of a certain couple. The Dursley family. The muggles found evidence of wizard abuse that would make the Salem witch trials appear tame in comparison." Leaning in close Harry added, "And if someone did a little more, magically in-depth look into the investigation, and supposedly gathered evidence that shined Dumbledore in a poor light, then when a certain unimportant foolish boy makes his move against Albus for crimes against him... well..." Harry ended his sentence on an open end but not one Lucius couldn't see the advantage of.
"And how do you come about this info? Mr. Returner?"
"Let's just say through darker means that a certain old fool wouldn't approve of." Harry lied. "Means that informed me about the return of your old master."
Lucius instantly lost all his cold joy and felt a shiver run down his back. "What?"
Faking the intentional slip-up Harry chuckled, "Never mind. I suppose I shouldn't be spreading such rumors without irrefutable evidence."
"What do you mean old master?" Lucius scoffed. "The Malfoy's only rule themselves."
Harry shrugged. "They all say that. But we both know the truth of what he represented, what he is going to achieve."
Lucius raised an eyebrow at this. Picking up on the use of 'is' and 'going'. Active and future tense.
"What rumors have you heard exactly? As a member of the esteemed body of noble wizards, I can't ignore what you're suggesting Mr. Returner." Lucius stated. Harry looked around cautiously but nodded.
"I don't know if it's true or not but there are two rumors I've heard. First, rumor has it that a dark spirit of some sort is hunting and killing in Albania now this in and of itself wasn't all that important at first until I heard wind that it disappeared during June of last year and get this, the rumors first started up at about new years of 1982 a few months after the departure of a certain individual. After that, a professor who went there during June of last year returns to Hogwarts exactly when Potter joins and then disappears at the end of the year, right when the dark spirit rumors start up again in Albania." Harry insinuates, very glad that in his past life he told Ginny everything he was able to learn about the blasted man in his first go around in life.
Lucius was both intrigued but also skeptical and wouldn't quite say he believed what he was just told. "That sounds suspicious but I wouldn't say it was anything of note. Dark spirits come and go all across the world and are beneath the Ministry's care."
Harry shrugged. "As I said, it was only a rumor. But when paired with this one, it becomes slightly more unsettling." Doing his best to fake fear and a shiver Harry added, "Supposedly, He-who-must-not-be-named created himself a Horcrux."
Lucius froze in shock. A Horcrux... that was... it couldn't be. His mind instantly flashed to the diary.
"I don't know if it's true but if he did indeed make one, it means his return is still possible if not imminent. Although one has to wonder, if he didn't make an object into a Horcrux, where did he leave such an important object? Surely such a dark and important object would be protected by a trusted and safe location that he could have faith in."
The words hit Lucius hard as beads of sweat began to form on the back of his neck. The Diary... it couldn't have been.
Seeing the man's mind go exactly where he wanted it to, Harry silently cast a sensory temporal spell on the man before he said his goodbye.
"Good luck, Lord Malfoy."
With that Harry left. Lucius quickly regained his bearings and forced himself to move even as his mind weighed him down. With his staff in hand, like lightning he flew out of the bar, his head jerking wildly to hunt down the mysterious man named Returner. He needed more info. He needed to confirm the truth. Slowly it dawned on him that knowing didn't matter. If it was true, then he had... the diary, he needed to retrieve the diary. He couldn't let anything happen to it. No, he needed to confirm if it was true. He needed the diary.
As he ran with anxious steps Harry kept to the shadows out of sight and mind, completely forgotten by the world and even the lone man.
"Come now Mr. Malfoy." Harry mirthfully chuckled to himself as muttered the words tauntingly. "That's not the look of a man of high birth, nor the look of a calm and collected killer."
He watched as Lucius Malfoy came to a stop in the middle of the alley, slowly realizing that his plans had come back to bite him. His anxiety slowly transformed into fearful realization as Riddle's Diary passed through his mind with a sickening weight.
A pale shivering expression of fear, eyes wide with the dawning realization of where he stood.
Harry smirked as he watched the man disapparated on the spot, "It's a good look for you." With that, Harry continued on with his plans. His target was now completely distracted. Now he just needed to send a tip to the ministry of the location and means of access to the Malfoy's stock of dark artifacts. And once his wealth was gone, the only sliver of hope in regaining his fame and wealth would lay in the charges he would place against Albus should the worst happen at Hogwarts.
As Harry walked chalantly through the alley he couldn't help but palm his wand under his cloak. Tightening his grip on his wand Harry couldn't help the rising sense of disappointment in himself. Before he left he had cast a simple sensory stagnation spell. Back when he was considered a Dark Lord that spell could be cast on mass and freeze the perception of hundreds for hours on end giving him the appearance of spontaneous teleportation.
But back in the pub – he gripped his fist tightly on his wand – he could only hold the spell for a few seconds on a single target he was focused on. Pathetic.
"Thirty-four seconds... it held for only thirty-four seconds." He cursed. Without a doubt, he was definitely weaker now. Sure, thirty seconds was all he needed, but the truth was still damning when compared to what he was capable of.
Making this fact worse, he all but confirmed that the Dairy was at Hogwarts. And as if to mock him, it was in the possession of one of the two Greengrass sisters. If events played out as Ginny had told him they would, then events would be set in motion on Halloween.
With eyes focused well past the dark alley and towards the darker future, Harry just sighed as he knew that if the Chamber of Secrets did open then a thousand-year-old basilisk would be unleashed. The school would become a tomb for hundreds and with his current strength, he wasn't ready.
Shaking his head to clear himself of those depressing thoughts he focused on the successes he had achieved today in his plans to return the favor he owed Draco. He successfully secured his wealth and an alliance of sorts with the Goblins, convinced several Knockturn Alley shops to sell out to him, and managed to confirm the location of where Lucius Malfoy kept the skeletons in his closet on top of directing his attention away from his activities. And as a bonus, confirmed that Lucius didn't pass off the Horcrux to a Hogwarts student.
Today was a good day for Harry. A very good day. What could possibly make it better?
oOoOo
Today was not a good day for Amelia Bones. In fact, the last couple of months had become a story of hard work amounting to nothing.
She wasn't blind when she took up the position of Head of Law Enforcement in the Ministry. She knew that the Ministry had many corrupt officials. She grew up as the Lady Bones after her parents died in the war against Gellert Grindelwald. Like them, she stood up against injustice and was raised on doing the right thing. She also knew that in order to do good one needed the power to act.
That was why she devoted her life to her job. As an Auror she could help and act. She could do good and see the outcome for herself.
It's because of this she accepted the position as Head of the Department of Law Enforcement even though she knew it would strip her from the field.
Smuggling, Slavery, Murder, Bribes, Corruption. Amelia saw all of it in the field and knew she would one day do something about it. But unlike her friend and coworker Alastor she knew that in order to change things she needed to both play the political game and acquire evidence that left no doubt of the crimes that were being committed.
This was her life's work. Years she committed to silently building up her evidence, tracking clues, and secretly confirming the crimes and transactions going on behind the scenes in magical Britain.
Several years of effort confirmed the most notable and suspicious individuals of being corrupt and gathering enough snippets of evidence to justify the raids necessary to acquire the evidence she needed to hold those wizards accountable for every crime they committed.
Several years amounting to the largest number of subsequent raids that late summer in August. At first, it appeared to be successful. Raid after raid brought down a group of witches and wizards guilty of everything from smuggling, to extortion, to the far extreme - breach of the stature of secrecy. The most damning was a human trafficking ring that they caught selling both live and dissected muggles.
That was both the best and worst day of her life. Coming to terms with the scene before her and that she managed to save twenty-three lives before they became potion ingredients for some far-off dark witch or wizard.
Yet even she knew that that success was just the tip of the demiguise. The mere existence of such a criminal operation was clear evidence pertaining to a much bigger racket that still remained unseen. But in following that trail she managed to find connections to many top managing corrupt officials.
Connections that hinted at the involvement of Macnair, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery, Copernicus, the Trow, Belgrin, Corxxs, and most notably Lucius Malfoy. The Trow twins, Belgrin, and Corxxs were easy enough to bridge a connection as the latter was a director of Magical Transportation, while the former two were involved in managing the records office. Positions that would explain how the racket remained unknown until now.
But the big catch would be Malfoy. If she could just get something concrete on the bastard then she could in theory take down a third of those who had been let free under the Imperius defense.
Like Alastor, Amelia knew what was required to gain the dark mark that Death Eaters wore. She knew they killed willingly, but without proof, it wouldn't hold up in court. She needed something and now she had an opportunity to take down the biggest fish in the net of corruption she believed existed.
Or at least she wanted to. She still had the authority to perform a raid on Malfoy manor, but not for much longer. After the raids on the Trow Mansion and Belgrin and Corxxs Estates, Malfoy had been pressuring Fudge to clamp down on her authority to hunt down and perform raids without evidence.
While it didn't work, Fudge, not wanting to rock the boat too much, compromised and stated he'd forbid further raids if she turned up no evidence.
Amelia knew that she now had a time limit. She had to act fast or else Fudge would cave to Malfoy's insistence and he'd get all his criminal activities hidden away or erased.
Alastor insisted she still had time, stating that Malfoy wouldn't destroy the evidence since booking was necessary for large-scale operations. But that didn't mean he couldn't hide it away where she wouldn't find it. The raids on the Goyle's proved that noble families indeed had plenty of secret rooms that she'd never spot without the freedom to investigate.
Hell, her own Bone's Manor had several such rooms within its confines.
Making matters worse for this particular day, not only was there a break-in at the Ministry's Department of Mysteries, the Goblins of Gringotts had apparently started a civil war within the halls of their own bank.
Either of these events happening would have been enough to demand her department's complete attention and give Malfoy the time he needed to prepare for an incoming raid. But both at the same time had all but stalled her ability to act and stretched her already thin department to its breaking point. Worse, Fudge all but pulled her away from both that morning due to a diplomatic meeting with a foreign emissary from the east.
This was odd in its own right since neither she nor her department had anything to really do with foreign diplomats other than security. However, since the two visitors showed up unannounced her involvement was non-existent.
No, her involvement came about because the Department of Mysteries was invaded and the silver-haired girl and her Leo print tuxedoed bodyguard wished to gain access to the Department of Mystery's Hall of Prophecy. This alone was suspicious enough considering the timing, but they also wish to meet with Harry Potter for an undisclosed reason.
In short, her day was like an easy bake tour of hell and it wasn't getting better anytime soon.
Or so it felt. Thus here she was, making her way to take a much-needed break from negotiating with the Goblins of Gringotts – who were not cooperating – at the leaky cauldron.
As she approached the pub, she was joined by Mad-Eye Moody and his apprentice Nymphadora Tonks.
Seeing them Amelia knew that their tasks were about as successful as her own attempts. Unbeknownst to Harry, his cutthroat backroom dealings in the goblin's obsidian chamber played a part in their failure to produce results.
While none of them knew it, the goblin they were dealing with wasn't pro-change and was against the rising coup, aka the Potter-supporting faction. Thus the goblins that Amelia and Mad-Eye were interacting with weren't interested in working with wizards.
He was however an observant goblin who knew which side was winning and hid his personal agenda to avoid the fallout of blood like so many of his like-minded kin.
A good thing for Harry, as it kept his involvement a secret during the attempted negotiations.
"So? Were you able to figure anything out?" Amelia asked tiredly as she regrouped with the two.
"Nothing." Alastor grunted. "Goblins have their mouths clamped down harder than Lucius' mouth is over Fudge's-"
"ALASTOR! Please." Amelia interjects not wanting to deal with Alastor's comments or the image she was now forced to deal with in her head. "Facts Alastor. Facts."
Grumbling Alastor perpetuated. "Of course. Talked with the snot-nosed cretins. Goblins wouldn't spill a word. Just stood there in the bloody room and said the same old thing. Goblin business, keep out of it." Alastor reported bluntly. Tonks, seeing an opportunity to participate a little in the discussion added in a bit too cheerful tone, "The room was literally covered in blood by the way. Right red it was."
Amelia shook her head at this and Alastor grumbled to himself before continuing.
"Kept lying over and over again even as two goblins burst in and tried to kill him. Murdered them in front of us and told us again that it was Goblin business."
Amelia could only sigh, "I see."
So long as they stuck to that claim and no wizard casualties came about inside Gringotts the ministry was pretty much unable to do anything to resolve the situation. All they could do was what they had already done; reopen the bank, avoid casualties, and prepare for a possible Goblin uprising at worst.
"Bad enough those buggers keep complaining about all the damn portkeys." Alastor bemoaned under his breath.
"Portkeys, Alastor?"
"Didn't hear that?" Alastor asked, looking towards his boss. "The Ministry's been complaining to us about sending out some Aurors to track down a score of illegal portkeys.
Amelia sighed exasperatedly. "Isn't that under the preview of the Department of Transportation? Tell them to take care of it."
"Already did." Alastor snorted out. "Told the lazy squibs to do their damn jobs. They whined that there were too many."
"How many?"
"Somewhere along two hundred."
Amelia did a double-take at that number. Two hundred at once was unheard of. Who in the world would make two-hundred portkeys and use them all at once? The better question is, why? Amelia thought for a moment but was surprised her gut wasn't trying to sniff out a deeper connection. Normally her instincts for crime were spot on but this felt more like a prank than a crime. A distraction at worst but from what? Something local? Or perhaps it was an attempt to throw someone off their trail, whoever the culprits were.
Alastor, unaware of her inner dialogue, simply finished speaking. "So I sent out two of our new recruits to join their investigators and told them to piss off."
Amelia bit back her response. Alastor's attitude meant she was going to have more work smoothing out relations and dealing with complaints but she kept him for a reason. If nothing else, he did good work and kept shit far from her while she worked. Of course, it did pile up later but that was for later Amelia to worry about.
"I guess we'll have our work cut out for us then. Merlin, all of this is gonna keep us all in the office until Christmas at the earliest." Amelia complained. She was also lamenting the fact she'd have to give up years of investigative work and the chance to prove the guilt and crimes of Lucius Malfoy.
Moody, realizing she was right, slammed his staff into the floor in frustration, eliciting a loud bang through the pub and no shortage of grunts and yelps.
"Damn bloody pests. Can't do a damn thing without pissing on someone's truffles. Give me a Death Eater to take down over this shit show any day. Lest we can hex the bastards into the rut. Instead, the bastards have us running with our trousers down tripping over bureaucratic sludge that ain't even our jurisdiction. We shouldn't have to give two shits over portkeys or the Goblin's backstabbing and slaughtering each other yet the ministry sends us off at the first sign of trouble just to make a statement. To hell with them. Those robe wearing sacks of dung can go plaster their faces on their own billboards if they wanted that! Not come running to us for help after cutting our budget."
Moody paused his rant to take a swig out of his flask, the contents slipping down his chin in his frustration. "The worst thing about all this is those bastards know we were on their bloody tail. Knew we were close to finding a mark. I swear somewhere in this shit show of a bloody mess of a day, one of them bastards had their slippery fingers involved in this just to get us off their backs."
Alastor ignored the looks he garnered from the inhabitants of the bar and Amelia and instead just sat down at the first empty table he saw. Pulling out his flask he took another swig and heaved a heavy grunt as he flexed his good leg. The day's events were starting to make him sore which did nothing to help his mood.
As his mood was at its worst, his eyes swiveled about and he regained some of his composure with professional practice. Even as he got even moodier.
Moody grunted and looked at Amelia. "Looks like we have more trouble." He muttered while reapplying a firmer grip on his staff. Amelia looked at his eye and saw it looking toward his shoulder with a glare looking behind him saw the tall black-haired man that was approaching them with confidence in his step.
"Miss Tonks, what a pleasant surprise."
The words and approach of the mysterious black-haired man caught both Amelia and Moody slightly off foot as they hadn't expected their youngest to know this stranger. What's more, the man had an eerily familiar appearance to a skilled Auror who was currently dead.
Amelia raises an eyebrow in curiosity, while Tonks spewed out her coffee, which she had just picked up upon seeing him. Harry chuckles at the poor woman's shock. Her surprise wasn't without reason, after all, he was supposed to be at Hogwarts.
"Nice to see you are doing well. How is your father? I've been so busy as of late, I haven't been able to ask him how far along in his search he is." Harry stated while sitting down on a stool he pulled with him from the table next to them.
"I'm sorry, but this is quite rude of you to just join us without so much as an invitation. I don't know who you are, but I ask that you leave us." Amelia states, too tired to deal with this brazen youth. That and this man was suspicious and a half. He looked just like James Potter but carried a very different atmosphere around him. Not the confidence or youth or boldness of James. It was a cold, calculated, cunning that was born of experience and confidence. The smile was chilling but not unwelcoming.
It was unsettling, all of it.
Harry's grin turned to a thin line, an expression of seriousness that reminded Amelia of her old Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts and sent a wave of worry down her spine.
From his coat, Harry pulled out a vial from his jacket and with his finger he touched his temple and pulled out a thick long string of silvery mist. Plopping it into the vial and corking it Harry placed it in front of Amelia Bones. Amelia was shocked, not just because of what he did but in that not only did he ignore Alastor's loud warning but continued his actions under wand point without a care in the world.
"In that vial is where you will find evidence to convict Lucius Malfoy of several crimes. Enough to destroy his reputation and render it irreparable."
And that was all she could take. Amelia was left flabbergasted to the point of disbelief.
At first, she was just turned off by the man's brazen and rude behavior, but then she watched him extract memories without a wand, using only his finger to do so. Doubling the shock, he was now telling her that this vial now contained evidence of Lucius Malfoy's crimes.
Alastor raised his staff and shoved it across the table, drawing their attention towards him. "Why should we trust some schmuck who doesn't have half the manners of a house elf? Pretty sure you should make yourself scarce laddie. Smells like a trap Bones. I say we take 'im in."
Harry saw the hostility in the man's eyes but had to smile in appreciation. His poise and aggression were real, threatening to trigger his own hostility in self-defense but having left his legitimacy unhinged from his encounter in the back alleys, he could call the professional hunter on his bluff.
"I don't think I will." Harry replied firmly. "I think I'll stay because I still have some business and as for why you should trust me..." Harry leaned in to stare down the old hunter, "You shouldn't."
Raising his finger Harry pointed it at Moody's staff. "Put that toy away Mad-Eye, before you ruin the nice bar room."
"Put it down Alastor." Amelia commanded, having seen what magic this young man could achieve even without a wand. That finger might as well be loaded. Alastor looked at her but seeing the glare he did as she told him, though with a disgruntled grumble. "I don't know who you think you are, but memories aren't viable in any trial let alone of any use to us." Amelia informed the man before her, not too trusting of the unknown individual.
"That's where you're wrong." Harry countered pointing at the vial. "Those memories aren't so you have evidence, it's so you can get to the evidence." Harry corrected, picking up the vial.
"A certain individual you have been chasing the coattails of for about a month now, has all his incriminating evidence hidden away. Without knowing where it's located, you'll never find it even if you raided this person. This vial tells you how to gain access to his more dubious activities. Any evidence you find during the raid, is completely viable in court or am I wrong in the assumption?"
Amelia paused as she took in his words. "How do I know what is in here is legitimate?"
"You don't." Harry replied.
"How do I know this isn't a trick?" Amelia asked.
"You don't." Harry replied again lazily.
"Why should I trust anything within this vial."
"Because I know it to be true." Harry replied. "And should you believe, you will have everything you need to take down the bastard before he could slip away?"
"How do you know this evidence will still be there by the time we can perform a raid." Amelia asked.
"Because there is too much to be moved. Most of it can be kept hidden and only one or two items would have left traces that could be hunted down. Those items are no longer there, but other such things like the skulls and leftovers of magical rituals... those aren't easily moved." Harry's grin turned vicious. "Nor can ongoing rituals too."
"What do you gain from this?" Amelia asked. She knew she was dealing with a snake. The man before her was just like Malfoy in many regards, illusive, evasive, and curt in his words. Yet her experience was telling her they weren't cut from the same cloth.
Harry smiled for the first time since they began talking business. Holding up three fingers Harry spoke, "Three things." Counting down as he went, he held his hand as each finger counted down his demands. "One, I want you to perform the raid in exactly three days. In exchange for this lead towards the desired evidence I want you to raid his mansion in three days. Secondly, I want you to keep away from the investigation currently underway by one Ted Tonks. And lastly, I want you to arrange a meeting between Sirius Black and Harry James Potter."
Amelia's eyes shot wide and narrowed in on the man. "Why would you want that?" For the first two, she could conjure some ideas of why he'd want her to agree to. The first was control, the man clearly had plans and he didn't want her raid to interfere. That or he wanted a distraction so he could act with impunity while the raid happened. The second she could assume was again him wanting some control over a case but she didn't know what case Ted Tonks was investigating at the moment. A glance at her youngest Auror told her whatever it was, was big and that she needed work on keeping a poker face. The third request however made no sense, except for one clear idea.
"You want to give Black a chance to finish the job he started!?" she accused her own emotions getting ahead of her.
"Black is innocent." Harry rebuffed.
"He was tried and convicted for the murder of Lily and James Potter!"
"He didn't kill them."
He betrayed them. He was their secret keeper."
"Says who?" Harry countered.
Growing annoyed Amelia retorted, "He was witnessed murdering twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew!"
Harry paused for a moment and sighed sadly. In a voice that almost sounded defeated Harry sighed, "All that was left was a finger, right?"
Amelia, seeing the calm man almost shrivel up, nodded. It wasn't defeated, he just looked sad... disappointed. Slowly the man backed away a bit. Watching the man's odd behavior she saw no reason to trust him. There was no way she could allow Harry Potter to meet with Sirius Black.
"May I borrow your fork?" Harry asked.
"um, excuse you?" Amelia asked flatfooted. Did he just ask for a fork?
"May I borrow your fork?" Harry asked this time wandlessly lifting her fork before she could reply.
Amelia watched as her fork wandlessly floated into his hand without waiting for her to respond. She watched as he took the fork and in his hand melted it into a goop of metal which pooled onto the wood table. She watched the metal reform as he stabbed it with his own fork and it reshaped around it into a sharp razor edge akin to a guillotine blade.
Before she or Moody, or anyone knew it, they all watched as Harry raised the knife and slammed it down on his finger. Blood splattered everywhere and took both experienced Aurors by surprise. Tonks shrieked out at the sight but bit her lip when Harry sent a cold glare at her. Yet this wasn't what surprised Amelia the most. It was that the man ignored the injury and let go of the newly made blade, picking up the finger and handing it to her as if he felt nothing at all.
"Just, a finger." Harry replied knowingly.
Amelia could only stare in shock as suddenly pieces were clicking, leaving her mind racing to find a counterargument.
"Are you bloody insane laddie!?" Alastor asked, rising up to either mend or attack the individual before him. So dismayed that he completely failed to take account of his apprentice's response.
Shocked at the lad's commitment to proving Amelia and himself wrong. Shocked at the lack of hesitation in his actions. The calm disregard for his own life. The lack of evidence of any pain or suffering in his demeanor. The whole bar was in shock and uproar at what he had done in front of them.
His outburst pulled Amelia out of her own stupor. "You need to get that hand treated! Stop the bleeding." Pulling out her wand she was met with his hand.
"No need." Harry said as he summoned his own finger from her hand wandlessly and put it back on his stub of a knuckle. A simple severed finger was child's-play for him. With a soft chant that sounded almost Buddhist to her ear, Harry molded his magic into thin threads within his body. Piece by piece, Harry stitched his severed nerves and blood vessels together. Stitching the bone and muscles next he slowly sewed his flesh together and after five minutes of dumb silence, his finger was firmly reattached.
It was the most shocking display of medical magic anyone present had ever seen, performed wandless and painlessly.
Looking up at the stunned onlookers Harry replied, "I'm no good at healing magic, but stitching a limb back on is as easy for me as breathing for no one knows the relation of the human form to magic as well as I." Turning to glare at Amelia he repeated himself. "Arrange a meeting."
Amelia wasn't sure what to do. This was the last straw. Her day was stressful enough as it was but she had just watched a man cut his finger and stick it back together right in front of her, just to prove a point. A point she had to admit was viable.
Standing up, Harry put his stool away. "Feel free to keep the vial. All I ask is that you comply with my first two requests for now. An arranged meeting can be done later but make sure you raid you-know-who in three days from today, and you stay away and don't interfere with Ted Tonks's investigation."
"Wait!" Amelia shouted standing up. She couldn't let this man leave just yet. Before she could get a word in, the barkeep interjected with the group.
"I'm gonna have to ask you to either leave or get a private room. You lot chopping off fingers and shouting is scaring the other customers."
Harry nodded and smiled shyly. "I can see that." He spared a glance at Amelia and reading her mind knew what she wanted to say. At this moment he had her attention and interest. "I think we'll take you up on that private room offer. What do you say, Madam Bones?"
Seeing his willingness to keep talking Amelia agreed with an affirmation of desiring a private room.
With a quick exchange of gold and an apology for the abuse of his utensils, Harry followed the two Aurors and Nymphadora – trainee - to the private room provided by Tom.
In the small isolated room, Amelia set up a wave of privacy charms along with Alastor as Harry entered. Harry watched with interest as they waved their wands and silently cast the charms that would ensure their discussions remain unheard. With each passing Harry mentally heard and recited each spell they said within their own mines. Silent spells, after all, were only silent to one's ears.
"That should do." Amelia stated, ignoring Moody's grunt behind her.
"Could do with a good ten more..." he grumbled to which Harry chuckled aloud. "I agree, however, time is not on your side." Harry said aloud to Alastor as he slowly turned to face Amelia with a more serious expression. "I happen to be busy today and do not have the freedom of ten more spells."
"Then I'll cut to the chase." Amelia spoke forth. "What were you thinking, cutting your finger off like that?"
"It conveyed my point pretty clearly." Harry stated. "Sirius Black is, in all likelihood, innocent."
"Do you have any proof?" Amelia asked.
"A Witness testimony who has seen Pettigrew alive and well." Harry replied.
"Who?" Amelia demanded. "Pettigrew is dead and there were no witnesses that night."
"I wasn't there that night, no. I have however seen Peter with my own two eyes, alive and well. Who better to attest to his well-being than the man himself?"
"That isn't proof, anyone could claim-" Amelia started but Harry cut her off, "And I can bring Pettigrew in for you, alive and contained."
This sparked Amelia's interest. "If Pettigrew is alive, there is no evidence of him having done any criminal act. Even if he is alive, being alive isn't a crime. While it is suspicious and deserving of questioning, we can't arrest a man who isn't guilty of a crime."
"What about if he's an unregistered animagus?" Harry countered. Amelia did not expect this statement. "The rat is unregistered. Arrest him and charge him. Sirius Black was never tried. Arrest Pettigrew and announce to the world he's alive and that Sirius was never given a trial for the crime. The world will want answers. Potter will make sure they demand answers"
Harry presented them with a piece of paper. "This is a Geass Scroll, a non-lethal absolute binding contract. Whatever is written on this paper, signed by two parties will, not must, will be upheld. There is no law against its use and it isn't bound by blood. This can't incriminate Peter but if you can get him to willingly sign it, you can get him to tell the truth about that night."
"Something like this won't even be applicable in court." Amelia countered, still suspicious of the document. "Does this even work as you say it does?"
Harry smirked. Taking the paper back, Harry pulled out an auto-quill from the shadows of his cloak and let it write a short line.
"You want proof, here you go."
Sliding the paper back to Amelia the parchment had a single line on it.
In exchange for ten sheets of Geass Scrolls, Amelia Susan Bones will strip completely.
xReturn Returner x_
"Are you trying to insult me!" she shouted out enraged at the impotence.
Judging from your reaction, that would prove my point. Harry spun the quill in his hand while ignoring the two wands pointing at his face. "This is an act you will never do, and is practically harmless. I don't care if you sign it, this is for your benefit. Experience trumps all."
The passivity of his words calmed Amelia down somewhat as she glared at the parchment. He wasn't wrong. She would never strip in public like this and not before such a suspicious individual. It would prove the validity of his claims. Still, she had never heard of a Geass Scroll before and wasn't even sure if the parchment was charmed to fulfill such lofty claims. Worse it almost sounded like the Imperious Curse.
"Wouldn't touch it if I were you." Moody stepped in, his eye fixed on the parchment with an angry glare. "Parchment is spelled up all right. Not even Gringotts contracts have this much magic inscribed into it." His eyes rose to focus on Harry, his staff-like wand pointed firmly at him.
"There you go." Harry replied. "Semi-proof of my claim. If you don't trust my word, ask the young trainee." Harry gestured to Nymphadora. "As I said, we are acquainted through her father's work. Both he and I are working on a problem for the Young Heir Potter, a fact that Miss Tonks can attest to."
"Is this true?" Amelia asked. Tonks seized up a bit, uncomfortable by the whole situation. She was still unsure why Harry was here, outside of Hogwarts. She knew he could sneak out but she hadn't expected him to be out today of all days. What's more, he was boldly sitting in front of her boss and just by being here was already making her out to be suspicious just by knowing him.
"I mean, yeah. I know my father was working on a task for him to investigate the possible crimes of-"
Harry slammed his hand on the table drawing three wands towards him. Unconcerned by the wands pointed at him Harry calmly spoke. "No offense to the company you keep, but I don't trust Alastor Moody with that Information, Miss Tonks."
"Oh? Afraid I might not like what you say, boy?" Alastor said with a smirk.
"No." Harry rebutted. "I'm afraid you'll let a criminal get away."
Moody hardened the grip on his staff as his hair stood on end as Harry's magic flowed off him and caused his side of the room to darken slightly in his presence.
"Who are you to think I'd let some criminal get away. Half of Azkaban is full because of me. Let me stun the bastard Bones, he's clearly suspicious."
"Try it and you'll lose everything I'm offering." Harry sniped back, a wild hungry look in his eye and grin.
"Stand down Alastor." Amelia said firmly.
"Come on, I'll blast 'im out before he can so much as mutter a statement." Alastor growled out.
Shooting up, knocking back her chair, Amelia turned to the aged Auror and glared down harshly at him. "I said, to stand. Down."
Alastor looked between her and Harry and, gnashing his teeth in frustration, did as he was told.
Sitting back down she calmed herself and noticed the man too calmed himself and pulled his magic back under control. The room creaked in relief. "I apologize for my silence, Amelia Bones. But the case we are building will be all for nothing if the criminal in question becomes aware of it.
Amelia however surprised Harry by asking for a blank Geass Scroll instead of an explanation. That she could get from her young Auror or from Ted himself.
Harry blinked silently for a good minute, but pulled a spare out of his cloak. Taking the scroll Amelia began to write down on the parchment in an auto ink quill she carried for on-the-field notes. When she was done, she handed the parchment back to Alastor who raised an eye at what was written and smirked a knowing grin at the girl.
"Clever girl, using me as a guinea pig."
When Amelia was done she signed the parchment and shoved it back over to Harry. Taking it and repositioning it so he could read it Harry had to admit this was a creative way of proving his point.
Upon signing, Return Returner will inform those present during the signing of the nature of his work and secure the silence of all present in the meeting.
"You appear sure of this will work so surely you won't have any problem signing it yourself." Amelia stated with a grin.
Harry nodded in agreement. "A few loopholes exist, but I approve of the idea." Putting his pen down and clearing the script with his finger Harry reworded the contract so that it was more clear of what was to be revealed and for how long the silence would be kept. It took a few minutes and after reading it herself with Alastor the two agreed that the scroll was harmless to them and could sign it without concern. All four present signed the contract which amounted to three things. Harry signing with his alter-ego's name could not lie to her about the contents of what he wishes to reveal and similarly the three Aurors would be unable to tell anyone of what they hear unless he himself, Mr. Tonks, or Harry Potter, permit the knowledge to be spoken freely.
Upon its signature, the three turned to Harry and he quickly spoke.
"I am investigating the criminal actions of Albus Dumbledore on the behest of Harry James Potter alongside Edward Tonks. Peter Pettigrew is alive."
Moody was the first to speak abruptly. "You've already said that laddie! Where's the proof? We've had you sign your flimsy paper but that doesn't prove anything.
Harry smirked and pointed to the original parchment before Amelia. "Thus why I wrote something so absurd on the first document." Harry said while picking up the currently signed parchment and stashing it away in his cloak. "I'm well aware of the effects of a Geass Scroll. It is why I'm certain you won't be able to inform that bastard that we are conducting a private investigation into your friend, Mad-eye."
It wasn't missed by anyone that Moody ignored the declaration that Albus was involved in a criminal act. That was a shocking statement and a half but the fact still couldn't quite stick. It was hard to imagine Albus Dumbledore as a criminal. Sure he skirted the law, she knew it was frustrating to work with the man as he ran to the beat of his own drum but it didn't feel real.
Amelia sat there contemplating the parchment before her. There was no way this could work. First, she had never heard of such a contract before. Yet the man before her appeared completely confident in the magic at work. While Moody was spawning words of discontent in defense of Albus, Amelia took up the pen.
"Girl what are you!?"
Mad-eye cut his rants short as he stared in disbelief as Amelia signed her name to the initial parchment. The one he showed them first and had been left unsigned.
Harry and Moody just stared at her with looks of surprise.
When nothing seemed to happen, with a triumphant grunt Mad-eye snorted out, "Well, think it's funny wasting our time laddie?"
However, Harry didn't miss the reason why nothing was happening. Pulling out ten sheets of blank parchment Harry handed it over to Amelia Bones. "Ten sheets." he said simply.
To the room's surprise. Suddenly Amelia stood up and started stripping, both to her shock and her associates. Her robe was the first to go and fall to the floor, pooling around her feet.
"What do you think you're doing girl!?" Mad-eye exclaimed his eye whirling between her and the Man he was starting to suspect was an actual threat.
"She's stripping herself of her clothes." Harry answered keeping his eye on Moody while Nym stared at the absurdity of her boss stripping in front of them. Amelia was surprised at the ease at which she removed her clothes. She understood that she shouldn't but a sense of pride she recognized was telling her to uphold her end of the deal. Her conscience was telling her this was the right thing to do, that not doing so would make her a liar, and betray her ideals. It was a feeling that was natural and what's more was very different from the Imperious Curse. Under the curse, everything would feel good, right, and perfect. Yet this magic didn't strip her of her thoughts or awareness. It simply gave reason as to why she was stripping and dulled the insecurities that argued against her. They were still there, but she couldn't force herself against them. Rather, every inch of her soul was telling her this was right.
Little did she know, she wasn't wrong. Harry did though. The contract was soul-binding. It was a pact of action and rejecting or resisting while possible, would do harm to one's soul as it struggled against the bindings. He didn't lie as there was no blood involved.
With the last belt and button on her uniform removed the constricting leather opened up to reveal equally professional evening wear. A black evening dress lined with silver buttons matching her exterior uniform. As the last silver button popped from her dress her undergarments composed of a matching set of purple muggle-ware became apparent. Even with a strip of red across her brow, Amelia also stripped from these to reveal the skin and form of someone ten years younger than her age would imply. In fact, Harry could tell she was reaping the benefits of his alchemical elixir. If Harry had to guess, judging from the effects he could see, she was reacting quite well to the potion. For someone nearing forty or fifty years in age, she appeared to have the body of a late twenty or early thirty-year-old.
Her skin was flush, a peachy white with small hints of scarring from years in the field. What scarring existed was faded and not naturally, rather Harry wagered they were quite prominent before taking his potion, and were fading like a transition scene as the potion healed over the wounds consuming them.
"Do you believe me now?" Harry asked much to her embarrassment and amazement. Amelia hadn't believed him but now she did. Having stripped herself out of her clothing, even in hindsight she couldn't believe how effective the document was in ensuring the deal was made. Even now after the fact she couldn't argue against stripping before them even as a small part of her argued she should have. What's more, had the wording been different, say only tell the truth before the court, Amelia was sure she would never make the connection that she told the truth due to this slip of paper.
"It.. is clearly different from the Imperious Curse. I couldn't fight it. No, I didn't fight it. I just did." Amelia stated, picking up her clothes from the ground without much haste or concern. She was more concerned with dissecting the magic that affected her.
"That is because you agreed to it. The Geass scroll only works when compliance is written. The signer must choose to agree. The Imperious Curse doesn't care if the recipient complies thus there is discord between action and choice. Thus why it can be resisted. The scroll doesn't force you to strip, only ensure you strip as your signing shows you agreed to do so. And unlike a curse or vow, the contract is sustained by both parties and as such ensures those in the pact can't betray it. It didn't compel you to strip, rather, it helped you ignore the reasons why you shouldn't so that you would commit."
Amelia frowned at that. "So like the curse you could force me to kill with this."
"Possible but not in the way you're thinking." Harry replied. "It can only compel someone to murder if they agree to murder. Unlike the imperious curse, signing this would result in someone killing only if they themselves were okay with killing. You felt the reasons for not stripping in your mind but ignored them. The scroll only increased the will to strip, in no part did it force you to. Murder is the same. If one is staunchly against murder then the scroll will dull the reason to not murder. So long as there is the slightest reason why one would murder the contract will uphold. The drive to murder, or strip in this case, was entirely yours." Harry explained. "This isn't mind control, rather it's closer to mind temperance. A slight numbing of thoughts that would betray the contract, a reshaping of pride and honor one could say."
"So this could compel someone to speak the truth in a court session." Amelia said aloud, putting on her dress and buttoning it up.
"Play to Pettigrew's fears. Tell him Sirius never got a trial, that he broke free. Ask him to speak to the court, to speak the truth and sign an agreement of lawful protection in exchange for the truth. Lawful protection after all doesn't apply to criminals. It doesn't need to be the truth, he just needs to be uninformed enough to think it is."
"He'll believe he's condemning Sirius Black, but by signing the contract he'd be forced to tell the truth of the events of that night. Even if it condemns him. He'll sign it thinking he can lie, when in reality he will speak to his own detriment." Harry continued on.
"And this is your desire." Amelia asked.
"Yes and no. Yes, I desire this, but I'm not the only one." Harry answered.
"Mr. Potter as well." Amelia conjectured.