The scene was one of utter perfection. The walls were just sparkling with clean. The floor was so clean you could see your reflection in it. And in the middle of this circular room sat an older man with wisp of graying hair. His days at the ministry were dimming. Yet, he had driven the wizarding world through its most horrific time and now one of his last actions here in office was to tell six young children that they were orphaned.
"So they are all dead? Both my parents?" Charlie asked quietly
"Yes, we are so sorry. But, it seems as if Sirius Black told You-know-who where your parents were." Bagnold said sadly from across his desk
"So where are we going to live now sir?" Charlie asked. He was quietly bouncing little Nora on his lap. His poor little sister was only two months old. She would never know her parents. Their parents. He was quietly trying to think how You-know-who could have found his father and mother all in one night. His dad had been out on a mission for Bagnold himself.
Bagnold looked quietly over the six Potter children. Tonight was a sad night; this was the first of many children he was going to have placed in the Wizarding Child Services.
Seven year old Charlie Potter, red headed brown eyed and lanky with a few freckles over his face was the oldest of the Potter clan. Bagnold remembered learning of Lily Evans pregnancy of Charlie. It had been unplanned she had been fifteen when she gave birth to him and while her parents had been willing to help raise Charlie till she was out of school. It was James that had must stunned Morton, everybody had expected James to skirt away from his responsibility and he had, well at least that's what everybody thought. Morton remembered that day clearly the day James Potter came storming into the Evans household mad as could be. He had been seventeen and had just learned that for the past 2 years Lily had hidden Charlie from him; and James was, if Bagnold could recall correctly, very vocal on how he would have been there for Lily and how he loved Lily no matter what. Always had. Always would. Of course everything had worked out for the best. James and Lily had been married the day after graduating from Hogwarts in a beautiful ceremony at the Potter estate.
Bagnold was drawn out of his memory by Dolores Umbridge.
"Excuse me sir, but um Professor Dumbledore is here" Dolores Umbridge said with utter annoyance if it was up to her, she would have put these damn children in a group home for the night and then sorted this problem out tomorrow.
"Hiya" chimed Fred and George together, it was amazing to Bagnold how these boys could firstly have so much energy this late at night and secondly how they were not sad that their parents were gone.
"Hello." Umbridge said shortly " Mr. Bagnold Dumbledore is waiting for you?" Dolores Umbridge, said
"Tell Dumbledore I will be with him in a few minutes" Bagnold said smiling. He watched as Dolores walked out the door as she glanced back for one last look at the Potter clan.
"Please, sir what is going to happen to us? We are all going to stay together right sir?" Charlie asked it was the first time he looked Bagnold in the eye. He was pleading; it seemed to be the only thing holding Charlie together right now. That maybe somewhere somehow somebody would take six children all under the age of seven into their home.
"Charlie" started Bagnold; he didn't even know how to tell this boy that he was about to have his siblings ripped from underneath him. Yet, he knew on the inside that it was the best. He could not have any of the Marauders children all together. Harry was the savior of the wizarding world and nothing and nobody would come in the way of this child once and for all defeating You-know-who. Because, even though he didn't want to believe it he knew Dumbledore was right You-know-who was going to come back and Harry was going to need to defeat him. Harry didn't need any distraction.
"We couldn't find a home to place all of you in; we will need to split you up." Bagnold said he took another deep breath and added
"Fred, George and You will go to the Weasley. Arthur and Molly are more than willing to take you three in and raise you three as their own. Nigel will go to your mother's half brother. Harry will go to your Aunts house." Bagnold said with a smile, he was hoping, praying that Charlie wouldn't catch on about Nora, but to no avail Charlie asked that deafening question.
"What about Nora sir? Surly she's going to some family right sir? Or Mooney house right?" Again Charlie's eyes were pleading
Bagnold took another deep breath and said "I'm so sorry Charlie, but we can't find a family to take her. She'll stay with me till we can find her a place."
Charlie nodded again. Thankful Bagnold thought Charlie had bought the lie. But, Charlie's mind was relaying faster than it ever had. He was trying to put the pieces together, things just weren't making sense. How could the Weasley's take in three extra boys when they could barely support their four? How come they weren't all going to their Uncle Jimmy's house a man who was extremely rich and had on numerous occasions told their mother to allow the children to come live with him?
"Well I guess that's it then." Charlie said quietly. He turned to Nigel and Harry who were lying on the ground playing with a little snitch that some Auror had given them that night. "I promise you two and you Nora that once I turn seventeen we will all be together again. I promise" he said
Bagnold smiled sadly as he stood up and walked to the door
"McGentry can you come here please?" In walked in one of the Auror's that worked with James. He had been one of the first Aurors to get to Godrics Hollow earlier that night.
"I need you to take this little boy to his Uncle Jimmy's house up in Belfast, Ireland. And for this little girl take her to the place we discussed earlier" McGentry simple nodded his head and picked both Nigel and Nora up. Harry seemed to know something was wrong at that point and started to cry for his twin. Charlie tried to calm him but he couldn't seem to get Harry to stop crying.
"Here now, Charlie hand me Harry. You three put your hand on this, yes right there Fred don't" Bagnold said frustratingly as Fred decided it would be fun to grab Bagnold's wand off the desk.
"That's George" Charlie mumbled looking at Harry in Bagnold's arm. He was starting to fuss louder. Charlie snorted it was if Harry knew something bad was going to happen. It was as if he knew this was the last time he was going to see his twin brother, the brother that Harry had been attached to since they were born.
"Oh okay, well whoever you are just put your hand right there. Yes, yes now don't move. Charlie, Molly will meet you okay and I promise you the others will be alright okay." Bagnold said with a smile and all he got back was a nod. As the three boys left Bagnold seemed to let out a huge gasp of air, one that he didn't know he had been holding in.
Bagnold turned to the door, and decided to save Dumbledore the walk and go out into the foyer where Dumbledore would be waiting to pick Harry up.
"Bagnold! I just heard the news; please tell me it wasn't all of them not all the Potters? Please Bagnold, I heard James was out on a mission and that the children all of them survived that it was just Lily who passed away. Please tell me that's the truth?" Dumbledore cried. Bagnold had never seen Dumbledore like this, he had never seen Dumbledore anything less than calm and collected, but in this very instance Bagnold learned that Dumbledore was truly human. Bagnold took a deep breath he knew this would be the hardest part, if he could trick Dumbledore the rest of the night would go smooth.
"I'm sorry Dumbledore. They are all dead except Harry Potter, I pulled him out of the rubble myself we've taken the rest of the bodies to the morgue they will be buried tomorrow. However, we found none of the children's body. Merlin only knows what the Death Eaters have done to them. But, it seems as my Healers said that Harry survived the Killing Curse, and that he vanquished the Dark Lord. At least for now." Bagnold said with a sigh, now to wait and pray that Dumbledore would fall prey to this story and take Harry and have him grow up alone in his aunt's house, and later on become again the wizarding world's savior.
"Merlin" Dumbledore said as he dropped into the chair behind him.
"Merlin, I should never have allowed Black to be their secret-keeper. Do you have Harry?" Dumbledore said
"Yes, yes I have him right here" Bagnold said handing Harry to Dumbledore. As Dumbledore was checking Harry over Bagnold decided to lay the foundation for the rest of his plan.
"Well that's not all Dumbledore. You have heard about the Lupin, Blacks, and Pettigrew's haven't you?" Bagnold asked. He knew the answer to this question, and deep down inside he knew once he told this story there was no going back.
"No, I haven't Morton. Please tell me what happened to them?" Dumbledore asked
"Well, apparently Izabella heard of Sirius plan to kill the Potters. So she ran to warn Peter Pettigrew apparently through Sirius killed her and their children. It was a horrible scene the scene we saw when we got to the house. Children dead all over the place, yet they seemed to be the lucky ones Izabella was tortured to death." Bagnold said this all while shaking his head and watching Dumbledore hoping praying that he was too distraught to ask too many questions.
"Oh Merlin no." Dumbledore said, it seemed to be all he could get out. Bagnold could tell ever warning sign ever red flag Dumbledore ever had about Sirius was coming back to haunt him right now.
"Anyways" Bagnold continued "After Sirius killed his family, and then sold the Potters out to You-know-who. He told the Death Eaters where to find the Lupin family, and well they are all dead except Remus it's a pity he didn't roam close to home on the full moon. Maybe if he had his family would have been safe." Bagnold let his voice trail off
"And Peter?" Dumbledore asked.
"It seems as if Peter has disappeared. We think he went after Sirius Black himself." Bagnold said.
"Good Merlin, what have I done" Dumbledore moaned into his hand. Harry who had gone unnoticed this entire time chose right then to start to cry out. Both Dumbledore and Bagnold stared straight at Harry. Bagnold carefully watched Dumbledore he seemed to be muttering under his breath, trying to make some sense out of all of this.
"Well at least we have Harry; I should go get him to his Aunt's house. I need him to live in the Muggle World he'll be too much of a celebrity here. He can live a good life with his Aunt and Uncle" Dumbledore said, he seemed to be composing himself nicely now. Bagnold just stared it was always an amazement to him how Dumbledore could so quickly come up with a new plan, no matter what the situation was, it was as if Dumbledore had went through every single outcome in his head and how he would manage each one.
"Very well" Bagnold stated "I have much to do tonight, too many calls to make I don't even think I'll have enough time to celebrate with the rest of the wizarding world"
"Yes, yes well I guess I will see you in the near future then?" Dumbledore asked
"Yes" Bagnold nodded as he watched Dumbledore walk out his office foyer with the young Harry Potter in his arms.
Yet, standing off to the side out of plain view was Dolores Umbridge. For once in her life she was having the urge to do the right thing. To go tell Dumbledore what had really happened that night, that all the children were alive and that James was alive. But, all she could get out was
"Are you sure this will work?" said Dolores it was the first time that Bagnold had ever heard a hint of fear in this toads voice.
"We'll see about that Dolores. Everything I am doing is for the good of the Wizarding World just remember that." Bagnold said with a slight smirk on his face as he turned his back on Dolores. He started to chuckle because deep down inside he knew he had won. He had tricked the famous Albus Dumbledore into believing him, everything else would be a piece of cake and one day when he had left the ministry for good and Harry Potter was running it he might come across some of these files and he might find out the truth. But, it wouldn't matter then You-know-who would be vanquished for good and the wizarding world would be living in a state of Utopia.
"Go home Dolores, get some sleep I know you don't want to be here anyways, and remember this secret must die with you and me. Nobody ever knows about this, do you understand" Bagnold said shooting one last look at Dolores who was already grabbing her stuff to leave.
"Yes sir, see you tomorrow" Dolores cheerfully said to him,
"Thank Merlin" she thought to herself "I finally get to go home"