Chapter 7 - Bad Memories
Albus watched on impassively as the supposedly most powerful wizard in Britain, the Minister of Magic, threw up over his shiny shoes and plush office carpet. The new Head of the D.M.L.E. at least managed to hold onto her breakfast. That greenish pallor though would lend even more credence to the often used amphibian nickname Albus knew Dolores hated with a passion. They had just left his pensieve after watching Harry's memory of Voldemort's rebirth, neither were taking it well.
It took a good ten minutes, a couple of cleaning and air freshening spells, as well as Cornelius being on his second glass of brandy, before the Minister of Magic was able to reboot his brain.
"So Albus, what are your young man's demands?"
All three people in this office knew Albus held a strong hand, he saw no reason to rub their noses in it at the moment. That may change however, depending on the response he got here.
"Demands, Cornelius? Harry doesn't have any demands. He would like to see his godfather, Sirius Black, receive a fair trial. Harry and his friends told you a year ago his godfather was an innocent man, a man sent to Azkaban without even being questioned. Pettigrew being instrumental in the Dark Lord's return lends credence to those claims of innocence. Harry isn't looking for any special treatment, just a fair trial of a man neither you nor Dolores had anything to do with wrongfully imprisoning over a decade ago."
Albus could see both liked that angle, he then sweetened the deal. "Since his godfather will voluntarily submit to questioning under truth serum at any trial, you can perhaps see why Harry is pretty confident of the outcome. He's so confident, he has offered to have his picture taken with you, as you hand his godfather that deserved Ministerial Pardon for wrongful imprisonment."
Cornelius couldn't hide his surprise, or delight, at hearing that. Dolores made no attempt to hide her nod of encouragement for Cornelius to accept the totally unexpected offer of perceived boy-who-lived support.
The wily old politician knew this pair wouldn't like the next bit nearly as much. "Harry understands better than most the monumental task he's faced with. You saw from his memory that the lad is also up to the task. He doesn't think a normal Hogwarts education will give him the tools he needs to complete that task however, so won't be returning to the castle come September. Instead, he and a few of his closest friends will have the best tutors we can find to help them prepare."
Here was the opening Cornelius was looking for, he quickly snapped it up. "That's all very well, Albus, but we're working in the dark here. If young Harry were to come into the Ministry and collect that prophecy, we would have a much better idea of how we could help him."
Knowing that Cornelius would go down this route, Albus had already prepared a suitable road block. "The Dark Lord only knows a piece of the prophecy, that was why he targeted the Potters - and Harry in particular - all those years ago. Voldemort would do anything to discover this Prophecy in its entirety, that must remain our ace in the hole. Anyone knowing the full prophecy automatically sees their name added to the very short list of people Voldemort would gladly torture to death to get that information."
Hearing Albus' opinion, and understanding the reasoning and sense behind it, saw Cornelius swallow the rest of his glass of brandy. Knowing the contents of this prophecy was suddenly not top of his to-do list. Following Dumbledore's advice just might save his life, and Albus had more of that advice to offer.
"I approve of the increased security inside the Ministry but would advise a twenty four hour guard be placed in the corridor leading to the hall of Prophecies. We need the alarm raised if the Dark Lord ever decides to come and collect it himself."
Seeing his request was going to be granted, Albus then pushed for more. "The Death Eaters who rushed to their Lord's side that night should, at the very least, be brought into the Ministry to face questioning."
Albus could instantly tell he'd reached the limit of ministerial support before either of them actually said anything. It was Dolores who handled the excuses.
"While I'm happy to accept there is enough evidence in that memory to grant Sirius Black the trial he apparently never received under an older administration, I cannot use that memory to start arresting respectable purebloods. It just wouldn't stand up in court, leaving us with egg on our faces. Their lawyers getting that memory classed as inadmissible evidence would halt any case in its tracks."
Knowing that would be the line the Ministry wouldn't cross, Albus was left with no choice but to accept it. "Very well. All that remains is to set a date and time for Sirius Black's trial, and have that dementor 'kiss on sight' order immediately rescinded. I will bring Sirius into the Ministry, and stand guarantor for his behaviour. I'm assuming I have your pledge he will be safe?"
"Of course Black will be safe, you have the Minister of Magic's word on that. Would tomorrow morning at ten be too short notice?"
With Sirius and Harry desperate for this trial to happen, Albus was certain they could easily make it for then. Lifting his pensieve, he left the Minister of Magic's office - not with all he had hoped for but rather what he expected to get out of today. To win this war though, that ministerial response wasn't nearly strong enough. If Fudge and Umbridge became too big a problem then they would have to be dealt with as well. Politically though, rather than the permanent solution the Order appeared to be planning for the Death Eaters.
-oOoOo-
Sirius had been worried how last night's memory reveal would affect Harry but seeing him at breakfast surprised the Marauder. He had of course heard from Remus that the four had spent a great day out yesterday, and observed for himself how close Harry was to Hermione and her mum. Sirius had no way of knowing Harry just had his best night's sleep in months - that didn't involve taking dreamless sleep potion.
The chat was light and funny, with the butt of whatever humour that was going around constantly shifting. Remus threatening he would soon whip them into shape, and then Emma saying they really needed a gym, cemented something that had been simmering away at the back of Sirius' mind for a few days now.
"Remus, we need to buy a house. One in a normal area, and also that we tell no one else about. We could set up this gym there and it would also give Harry, Hermione and Emma somewhere to go where they could be normal." Sirius didn't mention it would also serve as an emergency bolt hole should they ever need one, they all got that message loud and clear though from his insistence that they tell no one about it.
Thinking this was a great idea, Emma had a suggestion on how to make it happen quicker. "Instead of buying a house, it might be more practical to rent one, cheaper too. You just stipulate what length of lease you're looking for, what size, furnished or unfurnished, and it could be ready to move into by next week…"
"Emma, money is no object here - but time might be. I really like that idea."
Hermione then added to her mother's idea. "If money really is no object, Sirius, could we rent one that has a pool? Combined with a gym, that would be the best way for us to get in shape."
While hiding her blush quite well, Harry wasn't anywhere near as successful as his girlfriend. Thoughts of swimming with the aforementioned girlfriend was obviously the reason for that blush. Since this was the first time this summer Sirius had seen his godson acting like a normal teenager, he was always going to say yes to Hermione's pool idea. Harry though had seen a problem with that.
"If we have another place to go, one with a gym and pool, I don't think it would be fair if our friends missed out. I understand why you don't want anyone else to know about this, I really do, but we could end up spending a lot of time over there. Training, chilling or just watching a movie on TV."
The thought of introducing a measure of normality into their lives was fighting against keeping them safe until Sirius hit on a really simple solution. "Remus, we'll rent two houses. One with a room that can be turned into a gym - it also must have a pool - and another that no one outside the five of us sitting here knows anything about."
That idea was then kicked around the group until long after breakfast had come and gone, with everyone loving Sirius' suggestion the more they discussed it. Emma then volunteered to accompany Remus on his task, stating it would look better if a couple were trying to rent a large home. All in all it was a pretty happy bunch that Dumbledore walked in on.
His news of Sirius' trial put everything else on hold for now. Dumbledore couldn't stay because Amelia and Mad-Eye were coming to Hogwarts. All three of them intended to spend a few hours studying Harry's memory for every scrap of detail they could get out of it.
"Harry, I've had a request from the Weasleys to view your memory of the Chamber of Secrets. I would have no intention of showing that to a full order meeting, rather just the Weasleys, Hogwarts Heads of House and anyone else you wished to see it." Hermione, Sirius and Remus all quickly admitting they would like to see it too saw Harry give what was becoming his signature move, a shrug of his shoulders.
"If it would help them or Ginny, I have no problem with that. I wouldn't want this going anywhere near the Ministry of Magic though." Albus quickly agreed not to do that, for reasons of his own.
As Dumbledore left, a stunned Sirius sat there staring in front of him. It was after a few minutes of this that Emma took command.
"Sirius, you don't want to walk into that trial tomorrow looking like a ragamuffin. You're Lord Black, and you should look the part. I can cut your hair, trim your beard, but you need the right clothes."
Snapping out of it, Sirius reengaged his brain. "Remus, there isn't a lot of different in our sizes. You could shop for me but Harry will need robes too. I don't suppose Dobby has seamstress as part of his skills?"
The elf appeared, slowly wringing his ears in distress at not being able to do what was needed. He of course suggested a solution to their problem. "Dobby is sorry but that was not a skill that had been needed before. Dobby has a friend, Winky, who is very good with clothes. She is also looking for a family. Winky not been liking living in Hogwarts."
Sirius was about to politely refuse when Kreacher appeared and changed his mind. "The House of Black does not have female elves. Mistress would never allow it."
"Dobby, tell your friend we would be delighted if she would consent to serving the Houses of Black and Potter. Kreacher is of course referring to the old House of Black, and my mother has no say in what happens in this house anymore. Some elves would do well to remember that."
The grin worn by the little guy was only matched by the scowl Kreacher now sported. "Kreacher will not share this house with a female elf. Kreacher would rather join his ancestors' heads hanging on the wall."
Being very firm, Sirius gave the old elf his options. "When you join your ancestors, it will be in a hole dug in the garden. I will no longer have such things hanging like trophies on my walls. Take them down today and you may keep them somewhere safe, until you decide you can no longer serve the House of Black. Take my Mother's portrait down too, or so help me I'll take a dagger to it. Go, Kreacher, and attend your master's business."
As Dobby eagerly popped away to fetch his friend, a sulking Kreacher shuffled out the room. The contrast between the two elves couldn't have been more stark.
Feeling nauseous, Emma couldn't hide her disgust. "I thought those heads were just hideous ornaments. You mean they are real house elf heads?"
"Former servants to the House of Black, until they got too old to serve. It just shows how twisted my family was, and Kreacher is. His greatest wish is to join them. You've all heard my crazy mother, and historically she was by no means the worst of the Blacks. I ran away to stay with Harry's father when I was sixteen, I couldn't stand the darkness any longer."
Dobby appeared with a terrified female elf. Winky threw herself prostrate onto the floor, her entire body shaking from fear was hard to miss. "Dobby is telling Winky her new master isn't dark but the Blacks are well known amongst the house elves. They is not a family a house elf would want to work for… Winky is disgraced elf, Winky deserves this."
The little elf sobbing as she said this was too much for Hermione. She was down on her knees on the floor beside Winky, trying to talk with the distraught elf.
"Winky, Sirius Black is a very kind Wizard. His godson is Harry Potter, both fight against the dark."
The little elf lifted her head and those large expressive eyes fixed on Hermione, desperate to believe what she was hearing. "Miss wouldn't lie to Winky?"
"Didn't Dobby tell you that?"
"Dobby did, Miss, but Dobby been hit too often by Malfoys. Dobby not being right in head. Dobby likes being free and paid, Winky wants a family. Even if it is House of Black. Better than the disgrace of being free. Winky hates being disgraced house elf…"
A quick glance to Harry was all Hermione needed to know he approved of what she was about to do. "Winky, would you prefer to be a Potter elf?"
The change in Winky's demeanour was dramatic. "Winky has a choice? Winky has never had a choice of anything before."
"Things are changing, Winky, they need to. You can become a Black elf, a Potter elf or stay free and work at Hogwarts. The choice is yours." The way Winky looked at Hermione, there was really no choice to be made.
"Winky is a disgraced elf. If the House of Potter would take Winky, Winky would work so hard…"
This time Harry took over. "Winky, I don't want you working too hard, your health and happiness is the important thing here. Welcome to the family."
You could almost see the self-perceived disgrace slip from the little female elf as she stood that bit straighter. Dobby on the other hand was jumping about like someone afflicted with Saint Vitus Dance. His wide grin broadcast to the whole room though that the little guy simply had so much happiness in his body, this was his way of dealing with the excess of that previously unaccustomed emotion.
A sneering Kreacher would currently give Snape a run for his money in that particular facial expression department. "No Black female elves, Kreacher still controls Black Manor…"
A fierce Winky soon robbed Kreacher of that illusion. "My master and mistress live here, in a house not fit for pigs. A house elf who lets his family home get into such a state should not be showing his face in company, never mind speaking to his master using that tone. Winky and Dobby will soon have house in shape, stay out of our way."
Sirius couldn't help but laugh at the change in this little firebrand. Gone were the tears and shakes, she stood ready to fight all comers for the honour of her new house. That Kreacher was no match for her was plainly illustrated as the old elf slinked away to wherever he had been previously hiding. Harry had to quickly intervene, diverting her attention away from a house cleaning crusade, and ask Winky if she could alter or make dress robes. Winky promised to have sets ready for her master and his godfather by this evening. She and Dobby popped away to get on with their master's wishes, leaving a still chuckling Sirius shaking his head.
"You have two exceptional elves there, Harry. I'm actually sorry she didn't choose the House of Black, though I can understand why. This is what we'll be faced with when trying to reform the House of Black, centuries of darkness are rightly attached to my family name."
Attempting to change the subject, Emma asked Sirius what he would do first when he became a free man. She originally thought that question was a mistake as Sirius got very retrospective.
"I used to lie in my cell, dreaming about that very thing for days at a time. Eventually, when it finally sank in I was never getting out of there, those dreams died. So much so, I can't even remember what they were." A grin then cut right through those morose memories. "Hey, we could go for a holiday!"
While not wanting to deflate Sirius' mood, Harry had to object. "If I want to be taken serious about the task and training I've asked for, I can't really then just bugger off on holiday. I'll tell you what you could do though. Yesterday was brilliant, a much needed slice of normality. If we could set aside one day a week to do something like that, I think it would help us focus on our training. We don't need anything too special, just being able to go out and spend time together was special enough."
They all could see the sense behind that approach, and Sirius would have loved to have gone with them yesterday. With a mock pout he accepted the compromise, with one proviso. "Fine, but we take three days off for your birthday, and that will be as special as we can make it."
As some ideas for days out were being batted around, Dobby announced they had a visitor. A delighted Arthur Weasley congratulated Sirius on his trial date, saying the news was already all over the Ministry. After hearing from Albus, he'd actually dropped by to ask Harry if they could see that memory tonight. "Bill is in the country and he always was Ginny's favourite. We think she'll cope with this better while cuddling into Bill."
Since they would probably spend tonight watching the clock slowly tick away the minutes until tomorrow's trial, Harry quickly agreed. When Arthur had to return to work, they added a couple of more names to who they thought should see tonight's memory too.
-oOoOo-
With all four heads of house jumping at the chance of watching Harry's memory of the basilisk encounter, Albus led the Hogwarts contingent into Grimmauld Place. He was rather perturbed to see Amelia and Alastor there too, though couldn't argue with Harry's reasoning that both these people would soon be involved in his training. It was more that they might actually guess some of his secrets that concerned Albus. He would have one eye watching the memory while keeping the other on their reactions to it. For all of his great age and learning, Albus was still looking for trouble in the wrong place.
Harry started the memory from where he and Ron headed off to get Lockhart. Ron was again sitting beside Susan, his comment that he didn't remember being that small drew a few chuckles. Everyone in that room though knew exactly how serious the situation had been.
Watching as the famous Gilderoy Lockhart was ready to run away, rather than help rescue her daughter, ended forever Molly's infatuation with the handsome wizard. She thought both boys easily getting the drop on him finished off any glimmer of reputation the cowardly fop might have had left.
Harry and Ron forcing the git down the chute in Myrtle's bathroom had Minerva muttering 'fifty points to Gryffindor' as Lockhart's terrified screams shot back up the tube. The comment was heard however, with Filius' retort gaining a few sniggers too. "You're only awarding points because you wanted to throw him down there yourself."
This earned a few more chuckles while both boys slid down too. All humour died the instant the basilisk skin was spotted. Gilderoy getting ready to obliviate both boys started Molly's tears, more fell along with the tunnel roof.
Harry being forced to go on by himself, and then finding an unconscious Ginny, had more people than Molly in tears. Albus was watching Alastor and Amelia closely when Tom made his appearance. Tom's fire writing drew gasps of astonishment as the letters rearranged themselves to spell the message 'I am Lord Voldemort'.
Fawkes' brief song was the only relief for the people watching a child battle against a monster of dinosaur proportions. Hermione and Emma were again clinging to Harry, both had tears running down their cheeks over what Harry had to face. When the sword ended the beast's life, there was no cheering. All the watchers could see the fang sticking out of Harry's arm.
Young Voldemort's taunting of a dying Harry had Sirius and Remus on their feet, both couldn't help but shout abuse at the memory version of the Dark Lord. Harry yanking the fang from his arm and stabbing the diary with it had both marauders dancing a jig as Tom's taunting turned to screams as he disintegrated.
Fawkes was by no means the only one to shed tears, Molly breaking her heart after witnessing what these children had endured. The memory ended as a recovered Harry led Ginny out of the chamber.
Albus was still watching Amelia and Alastor, yet the attack caught him totally unawares.
Handing a distraught Ginny over to his father, Bill couldn't contain his famous Weasley temper any longer. He lunged at Albus Dumbledore, physically tackling the old wizard to the ground.
For Albus, having the wind physically knocked out of him was bad enough but Bill was twisting his wand arm up his back. The angry young redhead had his other arm around Albus' throat. He seemed determined to snap something that had the last name Dumbledore. The shock of the attack froze everyone, then Bill's angry comment added to the chill.
"I know what that diary was. How the fuck did Voldemort's horcrux get through the Hogwarts wards undetected?"
The twins and Ron didn't know what was going on here, there was no question though of what side they were taking. All three were on their feet with their wands drawn, ready to protect their brother. Funnily enough, their wasn't any rush from anyone else in the room to aid Albus.
Ron had some more information for his eldest brother. "I don't know what a horcrux is but Voldemort himself was teaching defence in the castle in our first year, Harry put an end to him then too."
Joining the dots out loud, whilst tightening his grip on the old wizard, Bill laid it all out. "A horcrux is made by placing a piece of your soul into an object. It's the darkest of magic and no one thought it possible to split your soul more than once. Voldemort obviously has or he wouldn't have been able to come back. This old bastard knew what had possessed our Ginny but never said a word. She should have been examined by specialist mind healers to check for any residue but that would let the secret out, wouldn't it. You obviously don't give a shit about our sister, a sister who was in your care at Hogwarts."
Albus managed to squeak out a 'Ginny's fine' but Bill wasn't buying it. "How could you possibly know that?"
In great pain, and in danger of blacking out, Albus let his greatest secret slip. "Harry has one in his head and he's fine."
It was almost as if the touch of Dumbledore now disgusted Bill. As he backed off the old wizard though, a stunning curse flew past him and ensured the headmaster wasn't getting up of the floor.
Harry gently lowered Hermione's wand arm. She was so angry, Dumbledore wouldn't be getting up anytime soon from the most powerful curse she'd ever cast. "He's not worth it, Hermione. That goes double for you, Sirius. You become a free wizard tomorrow, murdering Dumbledore would certainly change that."
Watching as Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione to calm her down, Ron just had to ask what everyone else was thinking. "Harry, how can you just accept this?"
"I've had plenty of training at it, it's the one thing Dumbledore made sure I had enough off. How many times each year did you, me or Hermione almost get killed? After discovering I have a godfather who wants me to live with him, Pettigrew escapes and Hermione and me need to save Sirius. Get taken into Hermione's home, really like her parents and then the Malfoys turn up. This is just another one of those times, Ron. We'll stick together and get through it - just as we always do."
"And what do you intend to do with the headmaster?" Severus might still have asked the question in his rather droll manner but it lacked the biting sarcasm that would usually accompany such a quip.
"The sad truth is we need him. I certainly don't trust him but we can't deny we need him, for his power and knowledge. Where we go from here I have no idea, about Dumbledore or this thing supposedly in my head. Bill, you seem to know more about this than anyone else. Any suggestions?"
Still coming down from what he'd just learned, and attacking Dumbledore, Bill had a slight touch of the shakes. His voice was steady though as he answered Harry's question with a bit of background knowledge. "Horcruxes and their manufacturer are thought to have originated from Ancient Egypt. Pharos thought they were gods and searched for a method of living forever. I've personally never came across one but you're not allowed to work in tombs in Egypt without knowing all about them. I recognised what that diary was, there is no way Dumbledore didn't. That's what made me so angry. He must have known but keeping that news a secret was more important to him than Ginny's life."
Glancing at the old wizard lying unconscious on the floor, Minerva added to the tale. "Harry, I asked Albus about your scar the night he dropped you off in Privet Drive. Albus said he wouldn't do anything, even if he could. Thinking back, he may have suspected what your scar was then."
Amelia had trouble dealing with that idea. "He's known for fourteen years, and what has he done? Dumbledore couldn't even deal with one that was in the castle, make that two if we're now counting Harry. I only have the vaguest notion of what a horcrux is, and asking for help might put that knowledge out there. What do we do next?"
With Hermione, Emma, Sirius, Remus, Ron and Ginny all simultaneously demanding that this thing must be taken out of Harry, the mood of the room was set. It was decided to revive Albus and see what he could add to the discussion, though Harry summoned the old wizard's wand first.
"You all just watched Ron and me almost being obliviated by Lockhart, I have no wish for a repeat performance with Dumbledore. Unlike Lockhart, I don't think we would be able to stop him."
It was a telling factor in just how far their trust in Dumbledore had sunk that no one objected to Harry's actions. The old wizard was levitated off the floor and into an armchair before being revived.
It took a somewhat groggy Albus a moment or two to recall the situation he was in. When he did, his hand slowly moved toward his wand - only to be halted by harsh laughter.
"Young Potter really has got your measure, Albus. He took your wand before we revived you. Seems he was right not to trust you." Moody's laughter was torture to Albus, hurting more than the attack by William Weasley. Albus was not used to being laughed at. That laughter paled into insignificance though when those harsh words stabbed like a dagger at his heart. Adding insult to injury, Albus Dumbledore was no longer master of the Elder Wand.
"Harry, what have you done?" Seeing the stares this drew, and not wishing to highlight the significance of his disarming, Albus quickly switched focus to Harry's friends. "You can't have children knowing one of the darkest secrets of our age..."
There was no way Harry was going to accept that. "Even although one of those 'children' was possessed by a horcrux - while in your school. What about the baby you abandoned on a muggle doorstep with one in his head? You've had fourteen years to come up with a solution to this problem, I think we all deserve to know how far you've gotten with that."
"That information cannot be shared willy-nilly…"
Harry once more continued his habit of interrupting the headmaster, and remaining calm while doing so. "To be perfectly honest with you sir, of all the people in this room I trust you least. I want this thing out my head and Voldemort gone. You could obviously be a great help with all of that but not if you withhold information or strike out with plans of your own. Are you ready to work with us?"
"Harry, things are not that simple. Should Voldemort hear even a whisper of what we're trying to do, he'll place them somewhere we can't reach."
Hermione was on Dumbledore in a flash. "Do you know how many he made?"
"I have a few theories…"
"Do you know where any of them are?"
"Again, I have researched this thoroughly…"
"So - just to be clear here - you don't know how many, or where any of them are? It's taken you fourteen years to reach that point too! How are we any worse off if, while researching that Ginny is actually fine and how to get that out of Harry, Voldemort discovers what we're up to?" Hermione tried to be as calm as Harry in her delivery but her emotions had bled through near the end. Emma held her close as Sirius took over the verbal bashing of Dumbledore, making no attempt to mask his anger.
"I will be a free man tomorrow and Harry is my godson. Neither you, the Ministry nor Voldemort himself will stop me trying to get that thing out of Harry. Arthur, anything you need to help your daughter is yours. Bill, your input would be very welcome too. That goes for everyone here tonight. If Albus won't help us then we'll forge ahead ourselves."
Severus then gave the group a starting point. "The Dark Lord was desperate to get his hands on the Black family library, that's why he was so keen to get his mark on Regulus. I don't know what happened to your brother but I do know the Dark Lord never got his hands on your library."
Having watched everything from a dark corner, Kreacher thought this might be a chance to complete his beloved master's last order. "With his dying breath, Master Regulus cursed the Dark One. He gave Kreacher an order but Kreacher was unable to carry it out. Tried and tried Kreacher did but he couldn't destroy the evil thing. It is in this house, can you destroy it for Kreacher and Master Regulus?"
After all they had seen and heard here tonight, that a house elf's words could shock them into silence was a major achievement. It was Harry who finally broke the silence. "Kreacher, I have already destroyed one of these, and hope to do the same to any more we can get our hands on. Could you show us your memory of what happened?"
Sirius came forward and removed the memory thread from the elf, they then watched as Voldemort ordered a distraught Kreacher to drink the contents of the font.
"The Draught of Despair, it causes the drinker to relive their worst memories. I would also wager that boat is charmed to allow only one person at a time to ride in it. Of course, the Dark Lord would not consider a mere house elf as a person."
No one disputed anything Severus just said, all eyes were on Voldemort as he placed a locket necklace into the now empty font. The font then refilled while he left a distraught Kreacher on the tiny outcrop of rock and took the boat back to the other end of the underground pond. After Voldemort sealed the cave, the elf disappeared.
Sirius was left speechless as his younger brother now appeared in the pensieve. "Master ordered Kreacher to return when the Dark One was finished with him, Kreacher has returned." The memory ended as Kreacher obviously passed out.
"Master Regulus looked after his Kreacher for three days, until Kreacher was well enough to return to the cave with his Master. Please don't make Kreacher watch that again, Kreacher can't…" Kreacher displaying love and devotion was a far cry from what anyone in the room had seen before, all except Sirius who knew the elf worshiped his brother.
"Kreacher, I really need to know what happened to Regulus - I need that memory. You don't need to watch, I will call for you when it's over."
Nodding, Kreacher stood still as Sirius removed a second memory from the elf. Just before he left the room, Kreacher had something to say. "Master Regulus knew what the Dark One had done, he wanted it destroyed. Kreacher would have stayed with his master but couldn't, he was ordered away. Kreacher will do anything to carry out his master's last order."
Playing the memory, it became clear at once what Regulus' intentions were. Sirius was in bits as his brother ordered the faithful elf to force him to drink the potion if need be. Kreacher's pleas to be allowed to drink it instead went unanswered. With a grin Sirius knew so well, his brother gazed down at the elf and explained his reasoning. "You're not yet fully recovered from the last time. I need you to replace the locket inside the font with this one, then destroy the other one."
"You bloody fool, Regulus, why didn't you come to us for help?" Sirius sobbed as his brother practically committed suicide before his eyes. The Kreacher in the memory cried nearly as many tears as Sirius but the font was eventually empty. With magic not working on the font, Kreacher had to practically climb inside it to do the exchange. As he got back down, the elf noticed his master had crawled to the edge of the pond and was scooping up water to try and quench his potion induced thirst.
"Master must come away from the water…" Kreacher was silenced as an arm reached out from the dark water and clamped on to Regulus.
"Kreacher, leave now and destroy that locket. That's an order, Kreacher. Destroying that locket is more important…" A dead hand clamping over his face ended anything else Regulus might say. After a direct order, a sobbing Kreacher had no choice but to leave - and that's thankfully where the memory ended.
The horror they had just witnessed affected everyone differently. Ginny was hiding her face in her father's chest while Ron once more had a crying Susan holding on to him. This time though, a horrified Ron appeared to be returning Susan's hug every bit as tightly. Harry was also being held tightly by both Granger ladies but his gaze was locked onto Remus trying to comfort a distraught Sirius. He called for Dobby to provide some much needed refreshments.
Dobby arrived with decanters of brandy and single malt whiskey, balanced on a tray with crystal glasses. Winky brought an ice bucket full of bottles of butter beer, for those considered too young to drink strong spirits.
A few minutes later, Moody raised his glass of brandy and proposed a toast. "To a brave man who knowingly gave his life so we might one day defeat the Dark Lord."
As everyone there raised their drink and toasted, Kreacher shuffled into the room with the necklace held out in front of him. Sirius took it from the elf before Albus actually had the gall to ask if he could have his wand back.
"I need my wand to scan that item. We need to confirm it is exactly what we think it is…" The old wizard couldn't hide his disappointment as Severus stepped forward and began casting spells on the locket.
"This is registering the darkest magic I have ever seen. We need to destroy this."
"Professor Snape, I have Sirius' trial tomorrow but I will be available any other time to go down to the Chamber of Secrets and harvest more fangs from the basilisk. We know they will destroy a horcrux, I figured you would be the best person to do any harvesting. You are also Head of Slytherin and a potions master, I would assume there might be other parts of the basilisk that could be useful to you too."
Severus thought he needed another drink after hearing that. "Mister Potter, parts of the basilisk can be quite valuable."
"Sir, as long as we have enough venom to destroy any more of these we find, you're welcome to the rest. All I would ask in return is that you help us destroy these things, and with the research to get this one out of my head."
After graciously accepting, Severus was able to honestly say that he would have helped with those aims anyway. Downing the last of her whisky, Minerva then tackled the elephant in the room - an elephant named Albus Dumbledore.
"I would like to say I speak for everyone in this room in supporting those aims too, Mister Potter. Sadly, there is one here I'm no longer sure about. Albus, you told me the night we left that baby with the Dursleys you wouldn't change Harry's scar. You've spent the next fourteen years playing your cards very close to your chest, and where has it gotten you?"
Minerva began using her fingers to count and illustrate Albus' failures. "You were terrified of this prophecy leaking. Doing so saw you and Harry cleared, with Sirius getting his trial tomorrow. You were ready to use your want to make sure none of us remembered what a horcrux was…" Albus was ready to protest but, looking around the room, changed his mind. Clearly no one here would believe his denial.
"Harry has destroyed one, and another just landed in our laps. As Miss Granger so elegantly just stated, you don't know how many he made, what or where any of them are. By that information leaking here tonight, we have one more ready to be destroyed and a recognised method for doing so. What I find unforgivable is your callous disregard for two children who were in our care."
Not giving Albus time to answer, Minerva turned to address Molly and Arthur. "I shall ask Poppy to recommend a mind healer to examine Ginny, with any cost involved being met by Hogwarts. We failed in our duty of care to your daughter, this is the very least we can do."
She then switched her attention to Harry. "Anything I can do, I will. Access to any books in Hogwarts is yours - and Miss Grangers. Albus will comply with that or four heads of house will be taking some of your memories to the school board."
"Minerva, I hardly think we need to go that far…"
The head of the pride rounded on Dumbledore. "You have shown time and time again Albus Dumbledore has his own agenda where Harry here is concerned. Since you refuse to share that agenda with any of us, we have no way of knowing what you are up to. We have clear goals here, goals you surely can't disapprove of. We would like your help but again the issue of trust stands between us. In this matter, none of us trust you. You need to go away and think on this Albus, I will return your wand to you later."
A defeated and deflated Dumbledore flooed back to Hogwarts, without wand or pensieve, while those left behind began to make plans to move on from here. Sirius limited himself to just that one drink. He had just watched as Voldemort cost him his young brother, Sirius swore to himself the bastard wouldn't get Harry too. He had no way of knowing everyone in the room was making similar proclamations to themselves.
Chapter 8 - Got Your Back
With his new hairstyle and trimmed beard, along with sporting a set of dress robes fit for any lord, Sirius sparkled under the harsh flashes of the amassed press photographs. The reason for that sparkle however wasn't even the Ministerial Apology - declaring Sirius Black to be a free wizard - that he held in his hand. No, it was his godson proudly standing next to him that made Sirius shine.
The Marauder also knew Harry Potter standing next to him like this would, in the eyes of the British wizarding community, legitimise his innocence far more than any piece of parchment with Fudge's signature on it. Albus standing scowling in a corner affected today's proceedings not one iota, which probably added to the degree of Dumbledore's scowl.
With the promise of a future financial settlement for wrongful imprisonment, Sirius was a seriously happy wizard.
The Minister of Magic was another seriously happy wizard. Yes Black would be standing between him and Potter in the pictures, pictures guaranteed to grace tomorrow's front pages, but at least Cornelius was in the frame.
He'd been a politician for far too long not to notice Albus seemed to be on the outs with this pair, that was all good in his book. If Potter needed a political minder to protect him from the Ministry bureaucracy and old family power games that would try and trip him up, he couldn't do much better than having the current Minister of Magic as a mentor. That such an arrangement would be a massive boost to Cornelius' public popularity was just the cherry on top.
After leading Sirius and Harry into the Ministry, Albus had played no further part in today's proceedings. He was not asked for his opinion, nor asked to vote on Sirius' innocence. Sirius' questioning under truth serum, in front of the full Wizengamot, packed public and press galleries, left the former prisoner of Azkaban with no case left to answer. With no charges ever being brought against him, the only thing he was guilty of was being an unregistered animagus, Sirius Black left the session with a Ministerial Apology - rather than the pardon Albus thought would be the result.
Albus was fingering the Wand of Destiny in his pocket. That he could no longer say this was his wand became evident to the old wizard the instant Minerva returned it to him this morning. One by one, Albus was loosing his advantages in his fight against Voldemort. His secrets were becoming known, though Albus thought it advisable not to mention last night that Harry standing and letting Voldemort hit him with a killing curse might be a method of getting that horcrux out of the boy's head. His position in the Order was currently at best described as tentative. Imparting that particular piece of knowledge to the group of Order members he'd met with last night would surely have led to his expulsion.
What really irked Albus however was not knowing for certain who the new owner of the wand was. William Weasley clearly defeated him in combat, though not magically. Albus didn't know who'd cast the powerful stunning spell on him but Harry had clearly taken the wand from his person.
If things got any worse for him personally, passing the Elder Wand on to its new owner - providing that owner was Harry - might be the last card he had left to play. His petulance at Harry's unreasonable behaviour that led to him not erecting protective wards at the Grangers immediately, or posting a more competent protector, had come back to bite Albus in ways he wouldn't have believed possible. That one poor decision was the precursor to all the bad things that had happened since. Albus couldn't help but be reminded of the old proverb 'for want of a nail'.
A shudder ran down his spine as the last line of that particular proverb saw a kingdom lost, Albus sincerely hoped that wouldn't be the outcome here.
A smiling Harry was ignoring the questions shouted in their direction by the press, even thought they had been told beforehand that neither he nor Sirius would be answering any of them. He was also ignoring Fudge's efforts to get closer to him, physically and politically. It kinda creeped him out a bit. Was the man so shallow that Fudge would think threatening him with Azkaban, only because he didn't happen to have a dementor with him, could be so easily forgotten about? That Harry knew Fudge had used that very same method to permanently shut Barty Crouch Jr. up meant there would be no forgiveness heading in the Minister's direction, far less any trust.
Harry wondered if that knowledge had played any part in Dumbledore's decision to spirit him away from Crawley that terrible night. The more he learned about Dumbledore however, the more he realised that trying to guess at Albus Dumbledore's motives for doing anything was a complete and utter waste of time. Those methods would probably only make sense to the old wizard himself.
The person Harry was having trouble ignoring was the supposed sensible member of the Marauders. Moony was behind the press pack and pulling faces at them in order to get either Sirius or him laughing. That such juvenile behaviour was actually starting to work on his godfather had Harry wondering if these two would ever grow up.
No one wanted Emma anywhere near this circus, with Hermione of course choosing to stay with her mother. Since Dobby and Winky were there with them, and he had his mobile phone in his pocket, Harry wasn't in the least worried about their safety.
They had slept in the same room last night again and, even after learning what was behind his scar, Harry had never felt more loved in his entire life. Hermione seemed to have been at his side ever since that night of the third task and Harry was missing her not being there now. Thankfully this was the final part of a day that had gone much better, and faster, than they could have hoped. They would be going home soon.
-oOoOo-
Emma was actually glad of this time alone with Hermione, it gave her an opportunity to have the mother/daughter talk she thought was necessary. It would be like no discussion she ever imagined having with her little girl.
"Dear, you know I like Harry, he's a fine young man. What worries me is the life he's been forced to lead, and the dangerous choices he now seems to be making. What really worries me is that you seem to be getting dragged into these choices too…"
It was a lovely summer's day so both ladies were in the garden, sitting under a tree about twenty yards from where Dan was buried. Hermione, rather than being upset, took both her mother's hands in her own and tried to answer her perfectly understandable concerns as sincerely as she could.
"Mum, I understand why you're worried and can't thank you enough for all the support you've given us - and also waiting until it was just me and you before bringing this up. Harry isn't dragging me into anything, I'm having to fight like hell just to get to stand with him. He would much rather I stayed safely at home with you. Sorry, but that's just something I couldn't do. This is all of our fight, and it's already visited our door."
Hermione glancing at Dan's final resting place soon had tears in both their eyes. "To the people who came after us that night, I'm nothing but a filthy mudblood. They try to imply I'm inferior yet their children have academically finished behind me every year since I started Hogwarts. Malfoy has hated me since we first met. That hatred skyrocketed when I had my wand on him last year, and then smacked him one. Regardless of my relationship with Harry, Draco Malfoy was always going to come after me - and he wouldn't be alone. This is the world I live in now, and I'm really sorry I never told you about certain dangerous parts of it. To me, having friends who liked me for who I am was far more important than any backward, unsubstantiated bias based solely on my parentage. I always intended to warn you when the situation got too dangerous. Things just happened much quicker than anyone thought, even Dumbledore was surprised by the speed of it."
Taking a deep breath to try and calm her emotions, emotions that threatened floods of tears again, Emma tried to explain her deepest fear to her daughter. "Darling, I'm proud of you in so many ways. You have always had the courage to follow your convictions, even when you were little. You have a young man there who would face down the very devil himself to protect you. Watching those unbelievable memories makes me think he might be able to pull that feat off too. Then I think about anything happening to you, or Harry, and my sensible side gets thrown out the nearest window and fear takes control. I can't lose you too, Hermione, I just can't…"
Losing her emotional battle, a now sobbing Emma was clinging onto Hermione, and threatening to never let her go. Holding onto her mother just as tightly, Hermione understood exactly where her mother was coming from. Her mum had lost the most important man in her life, and so had Hermione. The mere thought of anything happening to Harry too tied her insides up in knots. There was no way she was loosing him as well. It was the Death Eaters' turn to suffer losses, see how they liked it.
Finally getting herself back under a semblance of control, Emma was wiping her eyes with a hanky. "We should be sitting here talking about appropriate behaviour for you and Harry, and I mean sex - not fighting a madman and his murdering minions."
A blushing Hermione answering "Mum, let's not." soon had both of them giggling.
"We're a pair of emotional wrecks. It would seem the men in our lives were the sensible ones."
"Harry never used to be. Ever since that night in the graveyard, there has been a very noticeable change in him."
"Hermione, just watching Harry's memory of that night changed everyone who saw it. Haven't you noticed people treating Harry differently?"
"That's business as usual for Harry, mum. One minute everyone hates him, then they're all falling over themselves to be his friend. Our Minister, who we both saw threatening Harry with Azkaban, will now try to be his best friend - it's sickening."
"What about this thing in his head? Is it going to affect him?"
Adopting Harry's now signature move, Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "We don't know, and Harry says he's not going to waste energy worrying about it. We have a trip to Hogwarts' Chamber of Secrets and then training to organise. Harry will keep himself busy, leaving the people who know what they're doing to do the research into a possible solution. Harry says it's been there nearly fourteen years so why worry about it suddenly attacking him now, or something similar. You know I've always been driven but when Harry really focuses on something, he leaves me in his wake. I'm going to have to work like mad just to keep up…"
Seeing what was really bothering her daughter, Emma took some action. Kissing Hermione on the cheek, Emma then explained what was blindingly obvious to everyone else. "This is no summer romance, Hermione. Your young man isn't going to run away. I'm terrified of you losing him, but it won't be like like that. That's one thing I'm not worried about. Well, let's just say I have a whole different set of worries there but you're both sensible…"
In a tone instantly recognisable by parents of teenagers the world over, Hermione managed to stretch one word almost into a sentence. "MUUMMM…."
-oOoOo-
Cornelius just had a stellar day, he was expecting pleasant dreams tonight. What he actually got was his worst nightmare, a nightmare with red eyes that appeared to glow with malevolence. The real nightmare however was the fact those evil eyes were still there and Cornelius was now awake.
"Good evening, Minister. I hope you don't mind me dropping in like this, without an appointment. I really wanted to speak with you and didn't think your office was the best place to have this conversation. Don't worry about your wife, Wormtail has that situation well in hand."
A quick glance saw his wife, who was also awake and lying next to him in bed, now had a silver hand wrapped around her throat.
"I gave my faithful servant that hand so it is mine to command. If you lie to me, those magical metallic fingers will crush the life out of your good lady. Do we understand one another?"
Nodding his head, Cornelius admitted to himself he couldn't lie to this madman if his life depended upon it. He also wet the bed for the first time since being a toddler. How had Potter been able to defy those eyes?
"Good, now I want you to tell me this prophecy that is in your Department of Mysteries."
"I don't know it…" Cornelius was interrupted as that silver hand ripped his wife's nightdress from her body like it was tissue paper. Nudity was soon the least of his wife's problems as the owner of that silver hand then cast the torture curse on her. Those screams echoed right through Cornelius' being.
The curse was soon lifted and that sibilating voice once more tortured Cornelius. "Shall we try to answer that question again?"
"I swear I don't know it. Dumbledore wouldn't tell me and Potter only came to the Ministry for Black's trial. None of them trust me with their secrets…" There were no screams this time but Cornelius felt sick as that silver hand ran up and down his wife's savagely unclothed body. She was trembling but the horror reflected in her eyes told Cornelius her body was still reacting to the torture curse, not what was happening now.
Expecting this answer from the Minister of Magic, he wouldn't trust this politician either, Voldemort then got to the real reason for his visit. "That is unfortunate, but Lord Voldemort can be merciful too. I am going to ask you to do one little thing for me. You will carry out this order or Wormtail here will fully enjoy your wife the next time we visit. Wormtail can be quite the artist, with the proper motivation I provide. He understands if I don't like his efforts, I will torture him - purely for educational motives."
Seeing that the Minister of Magic was now his, without even having to cast the imperio curse, the Dark Lord pressed home his advantage. "If there is a next time, we'll kill the guards - not stun and memory charm them. Then Wormtail will have all night to see if he can impress me. You will of course be at my side, watching everything. That should be a good introduction for what I will then do to you..."
A slight smile pulled at the corner of the Dark Lord's lips as the Minister of Magic begged to be allowed to follow his orders. Those orders were rather simple. The state Fudge had gotten himself into, those instructions needed to be simple.
-oOoOo-
Emma gasped in amazement at her first sight of Hogwarts. Dumbledore had made the group traveling from Grimmauld Place a portkey that took them inside the wards, allowing Emma to tag along too. Hermione was looking forward to showing her mother around the Hogwarts library, and maybe check out a few books to begin her research project.
When her mother had asked if Hermione was doing this purely so she could see Hogwarts, her daughter's reply had the ring of truth about it.
"Spending a day with you in my favourite library in the country or slide down a filthy tube to hack bits off a decaying giant reptile - not a hard choice for me mum."
A chuckling Remus advised Hermione not to use the term 'hacking' within Snape's hearing.
After spending another splendid afternoon together, mother and daughter both looked up in some surprise as Harry, Sirius and Remus eventually joined them. A pair of quiet Marauders and Harry heading straight to Hermione for a hug drew a remark from Emma. "As bad as that?"
It was Remus who finally answered. "Probably worse. First time in my life I really cursed my heightened sense of smell. We came back up almost an hour ago but have been scrubbing in the Gryffindor showers for most of that time. Dobby had to bring us fresh clothes, with orders to burn the other ones."
Hermione felt the involuntary shudder that passed through Harry before he spoke. "Snape and Dumbledore were like kids let loose in a sweet shop, they were far too excited to be affected by little things like smell and rotting flesh. Flitwick never moved a muscle, just stared at the basilisk - he might still be down there. McGonagall and Sirius also have heightened senses of smell. I thought it was horrendous so I never wish to experience what their noses gave them. The three of us and McGonagall got out of there and left them to it."
"I scrubbed from head to toe - multiple times - and still feel dirty. Over a decade spent rotting in Azkaban and that is still the worst thing I've ever smelled. You ladies so made the right choice, I wish I had stayed up here with you."
"Well, we girls had a lovely time..." Emma tried not to giggle at their misfortune, she really did.
Hearing Emma giggle put a grin on Harry's face. It was a sound he would like to hear a lot more of. The screams of the locket horcrux being destroyed down in the chamber was certainly not something any of them were grinning about at the time. Having such a vivid reminder of what was actually in Harry's head really brought home the seriousness of the situation.
Basilisk venom is not only highly toxic, it's also very acidic. After Sirius called for Kreacher, keeping their promise to the old elf, the locket was placed in a small glass flask. The venom was then added to the flask, bubbling away as it slowly worked through the silver locket. There was no ambiguity surrounding the exact timing of when that protective layer of silver was breached. A piercing scream reverberated around the chamber for the second time in just over two years. Having seen Harry's memory of that event, everyone inside the chamber recognised that another horcrux had been destroyed.
Watching Krecher do a little jig while chanting 'die, dark one, die' was just another disconcerting memory to add to the multitude they had been collecting recently. The smell really was terrible so, now that the horcrux had been destroyed, four of the party made their way back out of the chamber.
Harry fully intended to tell Emma and Hermione the horcrux had been destroyed, and the method they used to do so. They didn't need to know the graphic details of its demise, they were already worried enough over the one in his head. Hermione squeezed him tighter, causing Harry to look her in the eye. A raised eyebrow asked the question and Harry's slight nod answered. He should have known his girlfriend was on the ball, and Hermione spending the afternoon in Hogwarts library with her mother now made far more sense. Like Harry, she was desperate to protect Emma from as much of this as they could.
Neither Sirius nor Remus had that luxury and, while the smell really had been atrocious, the locket's screams disturbed them a whole lot more. That research project was now top of their 'to do' list, to hell with any secrecy. Getting that thing out of Harry was their only concern.
-oOoOo-
Tonks was a little early for the mission meeting she had been ordered to report for. She sat and chatted with the other two aurors already there, quickly discovering they had no more idea what this meeting was about than she did. As people entered in dribs and drabs, Tonks was racking her brain in an attempt to discover the connection - if any - between this group of aurors. She thought that might give her some kind of clue what this job they were about to be handed could be about but couldn't see any pattern. They were a range of ages and experience, four witches and six wizards. Other than their basic auror training, Tonks couldn't think of anything else they had in common that would see them chosen as a group to go on a mission together.
Her internal alarm bells started ringing when Tonks realised something the ten aurors now in the room actually had in common, none them were purebloods. Since everyone currently in this meeting room had been ordered to attend, Tonks couldn't see any way that fact could be merely a coincidence. Wondering if they were forming a squad that would interact with muggles, Tonks knew her speculation was at an end as Dolores Umbridge entered to give this briefing personally.
"Good morning everyone." Dolores then stood there and waited until every auror present had said 'good morning' back before she would continue. "The other day, Sirius Black's trial proved beyond doubt there had been at least one innocent person in Azkaban. While this administration wasn't involved in Black being shipped off to Azkaban, we were delighted to play a part in proving his innocence. This got us thinking however, can we say with any degree of certainty that Black is the only innocent person behind Azkaban's impressive walls and defences?"
With a feeling of dread, Tonks was sure she had figured out what their mission was going to be. That didn't mean it was any less shocking when Dolores finally told them about their assignment.
"We are going to be transporting prisoners to the Ministry, where all will undergo questioning while under the influence of truth serum. Only then will this administration be able to say with confidence that all the prisoners in Azkaban deserve to be there. We will be bringing them to the Ministry in batches of ten and you will each be personally responsible for a particular prisoner." Removing pieces of parchment from a file in front of her, Dolores cast a spell that saw a different piece of parchment fly off to individual aurors.
It seemed like only half her mind was listening to the objections being raised all around her, Tonks was staring at this piece of parchment in disbelief.
A one-to-one auror / prisoner ratio was against current regulations for prisoner transfer.
Twenty people on the transfer boat was too many, barely leaving them room to use their wands if the prisoners tried anything.
All of the names each auror was given had already received trials, trials that were a matter of record and left no room for any ambiguity on the verdicts.
Umbridge dismissed each and every one of these very valid points Tonks' fellow aurors made, simply saying they could follow orders or she would find people who could. Tonks knew she had an iron clad case here, she raised her hand and a now disgruntled Dolores reluctantly nodded for her to speak.
"Madam Umbridge, I'm afraid I must refuse your order. Not to do so would see me placed in Azkaban myself. The name you gave me is a family member, my mother's sister. The regulations are very clear on a matter like this, I cannot be made personally responsible for this prisoner..."
The other points raised were guidelines their new boss was ignoring, this was actual law. The entire room held its breath, waiting to see if Umbridge would break the laws of the land on this matter - laws she was supposed to be in charge of enforcing.
As the piece of parchment with Bellatrix Lestrange's name written on it left her lap, Tonks let out a sigh of relief. That relief was short-lived however, Umbridge had merely swapped her aunt for a different death eater, Augustus Rookwood. The auror that was now personally responsible for getting Bellatrix Lesrange from Azkaban to the Ministry appeared ready to lose his breakfast.
"I assume there are no more questions?" Not giving anyone time to ask any more questions, Dolores gathered her stuff and left. Shouting over her shoulder that the boat would leave the dock at 2pm.
The aurors sat their in stunned silence, only the sight of Senior Auror Shacklebolt lifting the disillusionment charm he'd obviously cast on himself shifted the stupor that had descended on the room. Shack signalled for silence as he locked and then sealed the door. Catching on, some of the aurors began casting silencing charms around the room. When they were complete, everyone attempted to talk at once until the Senior Auror gained control of the room.
"I don't know what she's up to but this smells worse than a tub full of week old fish heads. What we do know is that Umbridge is Fudge's favourite, so taking this complaint higher would be a complete waste of time - and careers."
No one disputed the Senior Auror's reasoning but Tonks had something else to add. "Shack, with the boat not leaving until two, it will be getting dark by the time we return to the dock with the prisoners. Here's what's worrying me - is this just incompetence on Umbridge's part or something far more sinister?"
With that thought now out there, the grumblings became more focused - focused on their survival. Shacklebolt summed it up rather simply. "Aurors lost their lives putting some of these people in Azkaban in the first place, no one here should be put in danger on this fool's errand. If there is the slightest sign of trouble, I want your reports to read 'prisoner killed whilst trying to escape'. Harry Potter showed us a method of dealing with Death Eaters without the need for unforgivables, that's the method I want you to adopt for this mission. I would much rather inform their families they lost a loved one, rather than having to speak with yours. We are aurors, we're trained to work as a team and watch each other's backs. I think that training is going to be very important on this mission."
It was a grim but determined bunch of aurors who eventually left the meeting room. Tonks hung back to talk with Shack. "Did you notice that none of us chosen for this mission were purebloods? That has to be deliberate."
"Umbridge's views on blood purity are well known, I'm sure it's deliberate. The aurors she chose would either resign or accept a stupidly dangerous mission, a win-win for Umbridge. These are the worst of the Death Eaters being transported, with not a hope in hell of any of them being found innocent at any re-trial. There is something more behind this, which is why I was standing in the corner disillusioned. We both know Umbridge is up to something, just not whose side she's on. I'm going to contact Amelia and Mad-eye, see what they make of this. You look after yourself, Tonks, and we'll have your back."
-oOoOo-
The training room at Grimmauld was finally complete, with Sirius, Amelia and Mad-eye running their six trainees through their paces. Harry and Hermione had been joined by Susan and the three youngest Weasley brothers. Molly had reluctantly agreed to the twins and Ron attending, however she had dug her heels in over Ginny's supposed participation.
They were starting with the basics - spell selection, speed of fire and accuracy. The dummy's set up at one end of the room were taking a pounding before Shack interrupted them.
A quick explanation of what happened in the auror briefing had the three trainers just as worried as Shack.
"At her trial, Bellatrix boasted her master would return and free them - before killing everyone else. There is not one shred of doubt over her guilt so this is nonsense - or genius, depending who's calling the shots." This had the other adults asking Mad-eye what he meant by that remark.
"Why storm Azkaban to free your followers when you can get the Ministry of Magic to deliver the ten most rabid of your Death Eaters straight into your arms. I can see no other reason behind this, can anyone else?"
"What can we do?" Harry's question drew a reply from his godfather none of the trainees liked.
"Your input to the planning stage would be appreciated but none of you will be involved in anything else. This is only your second lesson, you're nowhere near where we would require you to be before authorising your involvement in any mission." With Mad-Eye and Amelia agreeing with Sirius, the six were left without a leg to stand on in arguing their case.
"I asked for training because I knew I wasn't ready to do what I needed to. I really then can't go against the opinions of the people giving us the training I asked for." Harry's admission settled the matter, and relieved his godfather who had been getting himself ready for their first fight.
Shack enquired where Remus was, Sirius saying he was running an errand with Emma saw Hermione offering to contact them. Before they could ask how, an astonished Shack, Amelia and Mad-eye watched as this young witch was able to chat with her mother using a device that would easily fit in a pocket.
"Yes mum, I'm positive everything's fine here. No one's hurt, we've just started our training session. Can you put Remus on? Auror Shacklebolt want's to speak with him."
Handing the black auror her mobile, Hermione giggled as he tried to emulate what she had been doing but held the phone upside down. Once he got that sorted, he quickly passed on the news to Remus who promised they would be home as soon as possible.
Seeing the possibilities immediately, Amelia was the first to ask where she could get hold of one of these devices. "When the Death Eaters attacked someone's house, they used to disconnect the floo and place anti-apparition wards around the property. The people inside couldn't escape or call for help. Having a device like this at least solves one of those problems."
Shack and Mad-eye understood Amelia was primevally thinking of Susan's safety but they had both spotted the tactical implications of having members of the Order gain access to these. They wanted to know what limitations these devices had.
Hermione was in her element, dispersing information to people who were really interested in what she had to say. "We don't think they will operate in areas of high magical use, places like Hogwarts or the Ministry of Magic. The only other limitation is keeping them charged - with electricity. The chargers are in our house and Dobby pops over there every few nights to plug them in. If mum and Remus were successful today, that soon shouldn't be a problem…"
Sirius could also see the tactical side of this, and his idea of renting two properties was now looking better and better. Almost every member of the Order who they supplied with a phone would need access to the first house to charge them.
Emma charged into the room, immediately engulfing Hermione and Harry in her arms. "Tell me you're not going on this mission?"
"Emma, we agreed we would only go on missions when our trainers said we were ready. They all agreed we're not. We will be sitting beside you when this mission goes down."
Hearing that from Harry, Emma then needed a seat as the relief almost had her legs folding under her. After being brought up to speed regarding the unfolding situation, Remus then asked the question that none of them really knew the answer to. "Do we bring Dumbledore in on this?"
-oOoOo-
To say the squad of aurors were tense easily qualified as the understatement of the year. The word 'tense' hardly did justice to their condition on their journey out to Azkaban. On arrival, they were greeted by the sight of a very angry warden. He'd been flooed his orders but was checking their set against his, looking for the slightest anomaly or discrepancy that would present him with an excuse to stop this crazy prisoner transfer. Not finding any, the prisoners being transferred were manacled and restrained to such a degree that they had to be levitated onto the boat.
In such a confined space, her crazy aunt had soon homed in on the name Tonks.
"You must be Andi's brat. My traitorous sister, that abomination she left her family for, and any spawn they produced will be amongst the first to feel my master's wrath when he returns. Those who refuse to bow before my master will all die. This time we'll do it right…"
A silencing charm shut the bitch up but Bella's evil grin wouldn't be denied. She had achieved her goal of having every auror on the boat frightened for their lives, and all her fellow Death Eaters ready to pounce if an opportunity presented itself.
As the boat finally approached the stone dock sticking out into the little bay, there was no sense of relief on board. All recognised that if there was going to be an attack, this was where it would most likely take place.
The boatman had also been affected by the disgusting cargo his craft was carrying. Wanting to get this filth off his beloved little boat as quickly as possible, he had pushed the needles into the red from the moment they had cleared Azkaban's jetty. This resulted in the quickest crossing he had ever made, and the sun slowly sinking as he guided his craft into its mooring.
Due to the position of the tide, the dock was actually higher than the deck. That was nothing new for this boat, the charmed mooring ropes shot out automatically and secured the craft. With the engines now stopped, the quiet dusk gave them a brief moment of hope before a lone voice destroyed both their hope and the quiet.
"I would like to thank you for returning my most faithful followers to me, but I probably won't." The Dark Lord and about twenty of his masked followers were now standing on the dock, laughing down at the boat's passengers a good ten feet below them.
The silencing charm cast on Bella had worn off a while ago, her triumphant scream of 'MASTER' was the last sound she ever made. Standing with her wand already drawn, as were most of the aurors, Tonks was not afraid to admit she was terrified. Her hateful aunt's victory yell threw an internal switch in the young auror. Tonks, while still frightened, was now fighting mad too. Her silent piercing curse ensured her aunt would never lift a wand against her parents - or anyone else's.
Blood spraying from Bella's mouth froze the laughing Death Eaters on the dock for a split second, Tonks knew this was all the time she was ever going to have. She cast her most powerful blasting curse not at the Death Eaters, but up at the dock they were standing on. The dock was constructed from compiled and compacted rocks, that were then encased in a layer of cobble stones. The blasting curse pulverised a large chunk out of the dock but, more importantly, saw a hail of deadly shrapnel plough into the bunched Death Eaters.
A cry went up on the boat, 'for the Light'. This saw a few more aurors adopting Tonks' tactics and firing blasting curses at the dock, those who didn't were busy ensuring none of their Azkaban prisoners escaped - alive that is.
An angry roar from the now bleeding Dark Lord was followed by a powerful curse flashing from his wand. The curse was so powerful that the bow of the boat was instantly destroyed - with Death Eaters and aurors alike finding themselves thrown from the boat's deck and into the sea. With the boat rapidly sinking, and those aurors still on board were being forced to dive into the water, the tide of battle had dramatically turned.
The Death Eaters still standing on the dock were now effectively shooting fish in a barrel. At least they would have been if they weren't suddenly under a barrage of deadly curses from two different sides.
Looking around, Voldemort temper flared once more. While he and his followers were standing on an exposed rocky pier, they were now under fire from wizards and witches that had cover around the small bay. That these people were also playing for keeps, not one stunner had yet been cast at them, surprised the Dark Lord. Recognising Dumbledore as a member of the attacking group left him now with no option other than to order those of his followers still able to retreat to do so. Lord Voldemort then left the scene with murder on his mind, the slow and painful murder of whoever had leaked his plans.