Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise or anything associated with it. But many of the characters and some of the other elements in and of this story are (as far as I know) original creations.
Author's note: I will be posting this story one chapter at a time. Since my school schedule is pretty busy, I can't say how often I will be able to update. But, I will do my best to update regularly.
Harry Potter and the Great Abomination
Chapter 1: Dark Force RisingIt was a very pleasant morning in the village of Godric's Hollow. It had seemed that every night was pleasant and just right since about four years ago. The Muggles living there were never able to quite understand it. They remembered seeing a few strangers come in some months before the period of happiness and prosperity had begun, and they wondered if the two men had had anything to do with it.
The village had really come to life about three years ago when a lovely young couple, Harry and Hermione Potter, moved into the recently reconstructed cottage that the man's parents had lived in many years ago. The Potters had brought new life into the village with their youthful nature, and a lot of their enthusiasm and happiness rubbed off on the other residents. Their neighbors weren't sure what the Potters did for a living, but that didn't really matter.
Inside the cottage, the young couple was asleep in their master bedroom. Their three-year-old son James was quietly asleep in his bed, and their infant daughter Lily was asleep in her crib. Almost instinctively, Harry Potter woke up and rubbed his eyes. He squinted to look at the nearby clock and saw that it was about time for him to be getting up. He looked beside him to see his beautiful wife sleeping peacefully with her arm across his chest.
Ever since the new baby had come along, Hermione's sleeping schedule had not been routine, and Harry did not want to disturb her. He very carefully lifted her arm and quietly rolled out of bed. Harry tensed as he heard Hermione give a moan of protest, but then calmed when she fell back to sleep. Harry sighed lovingly at the sight of his wife, and began his morning routine.
He started by doing several exercises that he had been taught when he was trained as a Knight of the Order of St. George many years ago. He did fifty knuckle push-ups, then rolled over and did one hundred sit-ups. He then did some basic katas and stretches that he had learned and then put on shorts, socks, running shoes, and a tank top and ran around the village.
Harry enjoyed this time in the morning, especially at this time of year in the late spring when the days and nights were warming up. The sun was rising, and much of the village was asleep as Harry ran, the nice morning breeze running through his short and spiked hair. He liked his runs because they gave him time to himself to stop and think about his life and all that had happened. He thought a lot about the past, especially his time at Hogwarts. He often thought about other great events that had happened since then. His wedding and the births of his children were the memories he treasured most.
He also thought about his work. He had been an Auror for about two years now and was settling in nicely. He already had a big reputation to uphold when he had joined, and he did not disappoint. Minister Moody had talked with him and his partner Bill Weasley about becoming Obliviators, and Harry was fine with whatever the Ministry asked him to do. Harry only wanted to keep his family safe and make sure that what had happened to him would never happen to anyone else as long as he could help it.
His thoughts weighed heavily on him as he continued to run. After a while he could feel his heartbeat at an increasingly faster rate. His legs began to tighten as they continually pushed the weight of his body up and down and propelled him forward. He remembered going running and training with his old mentor and teacher Sean O'Sullivan, and how he was so surprised that anyone, much less a Muggle, could be as strong and fast as he was.
After a little more than thirty minutes, Harry sprinted to his home and walked in the door. He saw that Hermione was awake and in the kitchen. Harry contemplated going in and greeting her with a kiss, but then he thought differently when he realized how sweaty he was. Hermione heard him come in and went to greet him.
"Hello love," she said in a cheerful voice, "do you have time to have some breakfast before you go to work?" Harry nodded and Hermione continued. "Well then, it should be ready by the time you get out of the shower."
"Thank you my lovely," Harry said, and then he went for the stairs to go take a shower. He was stopped however by his wife posing a question to him.
"Hey, aren't you forgetting something?" Harry knew what Hermione was implying.
"I'm all sweaty," Harry answered.
"Do you really think I care about that," Hermione protested.
Harry conceded, "Okay, but don't blame me if your clothes get all wet."
Hermione smiled as Harry walked up to her and the two of them shared a long and tender kiss. The two of them found themselves falling more and more in love with each other every day, and they both looked forward to being with each other for the rest of their lives. After they broke the kiss, Harry left to take a shower.
After his shower, Harry dried off and got dressed for work, then went down the stairs to his waiting wife. There were two places set across each other on the table, and the plates had eggs, bacon, and toast. There were also glasses of orange juice by each plate. Harry sat down but stood up as he saw his wife enter with some napkins.
"Such a gentleman," Hermione smiled as she walked in and set the napkins on the table before taking her seat, which her husband came to hold out and push in for her.
"A lady like you deserves one," Harry said before giving Hermione a brief kiss on the lips.
The two of them sat down and began to eat. They often did this and enjoyed some conversation before Harry would go off to work. This morning Hermione spoke first.
"Why didn't you wake me up to come exercising with you?" she asked.
"Well," Harry began, "you just looked so peaceful there, and I know that ever since Lily was born you haven't been getting much sleep. So I thought it would be best to let you sleep."
"Next time," Hermione said in disgust, "wake my pretty little arse up," she put her hands on her stomach, "I need to lose the remnants of Lily's tenure in my womb."
Harry smirked at this; he thought it was great how Hermione had a sense of humor about the whole ordeal of being pregnant and the subsequent weight gain. He wondered how Ginny was taking the aftermath of giving birth. She had given birth to her first child about the same time Lily was born, which had been a few weeks ago.
"Okay," Harry said, "I promise that tomorrow morning, no matter how pretty you may look, and no matter how much you might protest, I will wake you up and put you through the morning routine."
"Thank you Sir Harry," Hermione said with a smile as the two of them returned to their breakfasts.
"Oh and by the way," Hermione said after a moment, "Regal arrived while you were out and delivered this." Hermione held up a piece of parchment that Sean's faithful courier falcon had delivered. Harry took it and read it.
Harry and Hermione:
I just wanted to check in and see how our old friends were doing and if Hermione is having the same trouble as I am losing the weight from carrying the baby. At my request, Sean took me to the Slaughterhouse the other day and put me through the workout of my life. I can't see how he does it everyday, my muscles locked up so much and I was in so much pain that I felt like I was giving birth again. We are having the baby Christened Kellen Michael O'Sullivan and will be having the ceremony at the Monastery. Keep in touch, and Sean and I wish you the best.
Sincerely,
Ginny.
Harry smiled as he finished reading. "I find it hard to imagine Ginny going to the Slaughterhouse," Harry commented.
The Slaughterhouse was the name Sean's trainer Sal Bagstram gave to the gym he owned and operated in Blackrock, Ireland. Sal's business had increased substantially after Sean started winning Heavyweight Championships and Sal put up a sign reading "Heavyweight Champion Sean O'Sullivan Trains Here."
"Maybe we should go through there," Hermione said, "if what Ginny says is true than it would be a really good workout."
Harry swallowed a bite of his bacon before answering. "I've said before that it's best to keep contact with Sean to a minimum. He's a celebrity in the Muggle world, and if someone were to see some friends of his disappearing and doing magic—it would jeopardize everything between the Wizarding and Muggle worlds."
Hermione nodded in understanding, Harry had made this point before when Hermione had wondered aloud why they didn't see more of Sean and Ginny. All of them met occasionally at the Burrow for Weasley family reunions, Harry was invited since he had been like a son to the family during his tenure at Hogwarts.
All of the Weasley children were now married and starting families. Charlie had married a woman named Sonya that he met in Romania, Fred and George married the Patil twins, and Ron and Demelza Robbins got married about a year after Harry and Hermione.
At about that time, Harry finished his breakfast, then brushed his teeth and prepared to apparate to work. Hermione was there to see him off. The two of them shared a kiss before Harry walked out the front door and made his way to a secluded area a short distance from the grounds of his house. The house was protected so that people couldn't apparate in or out of it, so Harry had to journey a little ways away from it to apparate.
In an instant Harry was gone and found himself at the familiar street corner that he had first visited when he was fifteen and was summoned to the Ministry of Magic for a disciplinary hearing. Now he visited that booth most every day, as an employee.
Harry gave a quick search to ensure that his entrance would go unnoticed, and then dialed 62442. The familiar voice came to him through the air.
"Good morning, please state your name and business."
"Harry Potter," Harry answered, "reporting for assignment."
In an instant, the floor below him disappeared and Harry found himself in the underground and the Ministry of Magic Headquarters. He made his way to a flight of stairs and ascended them to the second floor, where his cubicle was located. Harry walked down the hallway, exchanging hellos with some of his co-workers along the way, and came to the dual cubicle that he shared with his partner Bill Weasley.
A desk with opposite places for chairs highlighted the cubicle. Bill had not yet arrived, so Harry took his own seat. He looked around the cubicle and took in all that he and his partner had in there for decoration. Some of the things in there were identical; they both had clippings of them and Sean at the ceremony where they had received the Medal of Uncommon Valor. They both had pictures of their families on the cubicle wall and wedding portraits.
There were some differences though; Harry also had pictures of him with all of the men who had served as mentors to him. He had one with him and Dumbledore, one with Sirius, one with Lupin, and one with Sean. Bill had a photo with him and his family from the last time that all of them were together. Harry was still looking around when his partner arrived and took his seat across from Harry.
"Mornin' mate," Harry said as Bill entered. Bill's appearance had not changed much since the Battle of Hogwarts where he had killed Greyback. He had gotten older, and his children were taking their toll on him, so he did look a little older. He still had his long red hair and still tied it back in a ponytail.
"Mornin'" Bill answered Harry, "have you been here long?"
"No," Harry answered, "I just got here a few minutes ago. But I would like to know what kept you, you're usually in before now."
Bill smiled. "Moody was right about you making a good Auror, you're perceptive as well as skilled. Speaking of Moody, he wants to see us in his office."
Harry nodded in understanding and stood to his feet as Bill did the same and the two of them walked down the hallway until they came to the door to the Minister of Magic's office. Bill was about to knock when the two of them heard the familiar gruff voice of their superior.
"Come in," Moody said, as Bill was about to bring his hand forward to knock on the door.
"I'll never get used to him and that magic eye of his," Bill said, to which Harry nodded in agreement and understanding.
The two of them entered the Minister's office. The front and side parts of it were decorated with wanted posters and portraits of past ministers with whom Moody would sometimes consult. Harry recognized many of the same items Bartie Crouch Jr. had in Moody's office at Hogwarts, and Moody had two artificial legs mounted behind where he sat. Behind Moody's desk were several full-sized mirrors. Each one of them could be used to contact someone who had communication with the Ministry. Moody had several so that if needed he could communicate with multiple persons.
The mirrors were generally reserved for field operators in the Auror or Obliterators offices, leaders in the Order of St. George (specifically Michael O'Connell of the Ireland branch), and Headmistress McGonagall at Hogwarts. Moody waved Harry and Bill over to his desk. They approached the minister; they had been through this procedure before and knew that they would be receiving a special assignment in a few moments. They would be proven to be correct as Moody began to speak.
"You both know what to expect," Moody began in his usual growl of a voice before scratching what remained of his nose, "so I will not delay. There was an attack at St. Mungo's a few hours ago." Moody paused for a moment to let this register and sink in with the Aurors in front of him. "A doctor was murdered and some vials were stolen from the storeroom reserved for their experiments."
Bill was a little more confident than Harry, so he voiced the question that was on both of their minds. "With all due respect Minister," Bill said in a very polite and respectful tone, "why are you giving us this assignment? This sounds more like something for the Obliviators." At this point Moody rose to stand on his leg and lean against his desk before speaking once again.
"That would normally be correct Weasley," Moody began, "but it is believed that this was the work of a wizard. There are no signs of violence other than the corpse, and the murderer was able to enter the facility easily enough. From what we know thus far, it seems like the doctor was killed by the Avada Kedavra curse."
Harry and Bill paused for a moment at this news. It had been years since one of the unforgivable curses had been used. After the Battle of Hogwarts left Voldemort dead and the Death Eaters severely crippled, activity by Dark Wizards had declined dramatically. There were a few minor incidences, and there were several prominent Death Eaters on the loose, but this was the first major criminal occurrence in years.
"Do we know if it was a Death Eater?" Harry asked.
"I was getting to that," Moody barked, "this was found at the scene of the crime."
Moody held up what looked like a card or envelope. Harry and Bill immediately recognized the one thing that was on it. They had both seen it in the sky so many years ago at the Quidditch World Cup—the Dark Mark.
"As you can see," Moody continued, "this is now an Auror investigation. I want the two of you working on this case. I believe that you will be well suited to it." Harry and Bill nodded in understanding and compliance. "Now then," Moody continued, "I want the two of you starting on this as of five minutes ago, now get out of here and to St. Mungo's at once!"
Harry and Bill excused themselves and went back to the cubicle they shared. They both grabbed their wands and Harry grabbed a notepad and a pen. The two of them made their way to the elevator and back into town. There was an alley not far from the phone booth where most of the Aurors and Obliviators would go to avoid being seen by the Muggles when they apparated. Harry and Bill arrived, and in another instant were gone.