Disclaimer: The characters and worlds upon which this story is based belong to JK Rowling and all relevant copyright holders

A/N: We set off for Albus' fourth year at Hogwarts and the tale begins to twist and turn. I hope you enjoy the journey

1:Prologue

The small room was illuminated by the glow of the moonlight passing through the small window. It illuminated the shadows of seventeen robed men sitting around a long, narrow table. One of the figures appeared to be rather animated. He sat at the head of the table and everyone listened as he spoke. "The debate is over" he said loudly. His voice was deep and clear, assertive. "Remind me of the facts once more Mr White"

"Yes Mr Red. Parker was killed, the Killing Curse. The Aurors arrived and he fled. Kealy witnessed everything and he escaped. He has since been arrested and released with a court date early in the new year."

"Thank you White" the man named Red said. "Pink," he said, addressing another of the men, "get the ballot paper. It is time to vote everybody" A man, presumably pink, withdrew his wand and tapped the table twice in quick succession. In front of each of the men appeared a piece of paper.

"Vote yes for him to remain, no for him to be removed" Red said again. Each of the men withdrew their wands and tapped their paper. A few seconds later, the sheet of paper folded itself in half and then in half once again. "Orange, Yellow," Red said nonchalantly, "you know what to do". Both of the men, Orange and Yellow tapped the table in unison. The pieces of paper all moved towards the centre of the table slowly. The silence was deafening. The squares of parchment stopped in the centre of the table. They formed a pile in the middle of the table. The two men named Orange and Yellow tapped the table once more. Nothing happened for a moment or two and then the pieces of parchment burst in the flames. There was little to no smoke from what was clearly a magical fire.

The sounds of lungs being emptied and filled once more was the only sound that filled the rooms as the paper continued to burn. It took a few minutes for the magical fire to eventually burn out but when it did, the ashes left were arranged in very peculiar way. Each of the men peered towards the centre of the table. The ashes that remained spelled out the word 'YES'.

"Well there, we have our answer" Red said. "That is the meeting for tonight unless any of you have a burning desire to discuss some matters" Nobody spoke for a few seconds and Red looked ready to leave until White spoke.

"Now that Parker has been killed, I would like to know what my role is"

"Well that's a very interesting question. It is correct that you are the only member of the Senior Council that does not currently have an active role in our plan. You will work closely with me. Your experience will be vital and for the early days, I want to know absolutely everything that Parker told you and everything you know about his actions since our meeting of August last year. You will prepare a report to be read at this year's August meeting and you will then be assigned a more long term task." Red replied

"Thank you" White said. "That is all I have for tonight"

"Can we go home now or does anybody else have any queries?" Red asked. The group was silent once more. Red nodded his head, "very well" He tapped his wand of the desk. It sounded like gable as it made contact with the table. Seconds later the room was filled with the scraping of chairs on the floor and then the room was filled with several loud cracks and pops as the men disapparated. Only White and Red remained. Red nodded in White's direction, turned on his heel and dispparated.

"Red" White called but it was too late. Red was gone and White was left with only a loud crack and his own thoughts. He wasted no time and he himself then disapparated.

The meeting had finished but the lateness of the hour didn't bother Kingsley Shacklebolt as there was a crack from outside the door. The newly retired Minister of Magic pushed open the door to reveal the empty room. He scouted around it, looking for any trace that there had been people here. The black pile in the middle of the table caught his attention. He walked over and looked at the ashes. "Yes" he muttered tracing a finger in the air above the letters. "Yes" he muttered once more. He looked at it once more before quickly disapparating.

Kingsley Shacklebolt landed on a cobbled walkway and his feet hit the ground in mid stride. His blue and purple robes billowed as he tread the air. His stride was long and purposeful and he soon arrived at his destination. The house was narrow but towered high above Shacklebolt. He entered through the old, weather worn wooden door and into the narrow, dark but immaculately kept hallway. Two people could walk abreast in the hallway an no more. Kingsley Shacklebolt had no intention of allowing anyone to walk beside him as he strode down the centre and through the last door at the end of the hallway. There was a group sitting around a small round table. There was one free chair and Kingsley sat on it. "Yes" Kingsley said and then moved on. Nobody asked any questions so they must have understood Kingsley's cryptic answer.

"Why haven't we included Potter yet?" asked one of the figures. It was a female voice and it wasn't pleading but sternly, almost stubbornly asking a question.

"Potter," Kingsley replied, " is the Head Auror. He is closely monitored, most likely a lot more than when I was Minister and it is too early to get involved for Potter. We need him yes, but if he is no longer Head Auror then we won't have the accessibility to men and leads we have if he is in his current position" Kingsley argued and the group seemed to see his point.

"The sooner Potter is on board the better. It is his son that has been involved in everything in recent years. Albus is just like his father; he might not all go looking for trouble but trouble usually finds him" the female voice said again.

"Speaking of Albus," another voice said, "I think he should be involved with us. He knows more than any of us"

There was a knocking at the front door. It sounded all through the house. The room fell silent. The knock on the door turned to a loud rap, like a stick pounding the door three or four times. Kingsley whispered. "Get out of here, I'll talk to them. Go, all of you" The gathering all disaparated quickly, leaving Kingsley Shacklenolt alone. He exited the room and walked through the hallway once more and opened the door.

"Ah," he said as the door swung open, "were you trying to take the door of its hinges?" he asked.

"No but I thought that your hearing was deteriorating in your advanced years" Harry Potter said.

"What can I do for you?" Kingsley asked, inviting Harry inside.

"Just answer a quick question. I don't intend to stay. I just want to know when you were Minister, how much leeway did I really have in running the Auror department? Are all my moves watched closely? Scrutinised?" Harry asked.

"When I appointed you as Head Auror, I gave you a lot more leeway than your predecessor. I trusted you and knew you would do an excellent job. With the new Minister, you probably are being closely watched because I know she intended to evaluate everyone, you included. I would think that you are being watched closely, they perhaps know that you're here tonight. She is very analytic so your department stats will be evaluated, I am sure, and you will most likely be judged from them"

"Okay, well thanks Kingsley. I just wanted to know" Harry replied.

"Understandable. Goodnight" Kingsley said, his deep voice echoing into the dark night.

"Goodnight" Harry said, moments before he turned on his heel and disapparated from that spot.

A/N: Until further notice, I will post a new chapter every Saturday.