Chapter one
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore sat alone in his office, head in his hands as his long-time friend Alastor "Mad-eye" Moody left through the floo.
It was very late at night; such was the nature of these visits. The children had been in bed for a few hours yet, after quite possibly the most somber Halloween feast Hogwarts had ever observed. The reason Mad-eye had come was to debrief Albus on the Bones' situation. Never one for sugar coating, Moody had explained to the tired headmaster in excruciatingly gruesome detail exactly how the Bones family had died and Dumbledore was struggling to get the images out of his head.
'Perhaps a night cap and a dreamless sleep draught?' Albus mused sadly while Fawkes adjusted herself on her perch to get a better look at the headmaster,
concern somehow etched in the birds stance and features. Albus had just decided to set that course of events to action when a loud whistling came from one of the silvery instruments in his office.
He looked up sharply at the object, noting with dread that the steam being emitted was fading from blood red to grey before shutting off completely.
Eyes watering, and spilling over, Dumbledore slowly ambled over to the beautifully ornate yet hopelessly defunct piece of equipment before him.
The Potters had died. 'How?' 'HOW?!' He thought angrily as he wandlessly sent it flying across the room. Conspiracy theories whirling wildly in his head,
Albus called Fawkes to him to phoenix travel to Hagrid's hut. After explaining the situation, the headmaster sent the watery eyed keeper of keys off to assess the situation while he reconvened the order once again, to issue horrible news.
Dumbledore made it back to his office via Fawkes and first called on those who were in the castle. Minerva, in her surprisingly Slytherin green and silver colored tartan immediately stepped through to await the others, Filius quickly followed suite. Mad-eye was not where he was supposed to be, but on a hunch given the nature of their most recent meeting, was quickly found near literally drowning in liquor at the Leaky Cauldron. The Longbottom's were groggy and reticent to leave their infant alone, but obliged the request and shuffled through the floo as well. Peter was nowhere to be found, nor was Sirius, though the latter was hardly expected.
The bastard was probably off celebrating with Riddle himself. Now having the most pertinent members of the Order of the Phoenix present,
Dumbledore began explaining where their friends the Potter's had been, how and why. Following this, he explained what he knew of the situation that had presented itself only thirty minutes ago.
The Longbottom's already knew how and why and though they were easily more distraught at the fact that their friends had been betrayed and murdered, they couldn't quite hide the brief looks of relief that flitted across their expressions at learning their son Neville wasn't the subject of that terrible prophecy. This relief was not to last however,
as the reality of the situation sunk in. Alice, openly weeping at the loss of her best friend and her family, was the first to break the silence, "I demand to know who the secret keeper was Albus." She said in a tone that brooked no arguments.
"It deeply, deeply saddens me to say, my dear Alice, that the secret keeper was none other than Sirius Black himself. Alastor, it appears your suspicions of a spy were correct after all." Dumbledore replied, eyes completely bereft of the ever-present twinkle.
"BLACK! I'll KILL HIM WITH MY BARE HANDS!" Alastor shouted, vaguely waving his flask in the air as if trying to cast with it. More swiftly than one would have thought possible of a man with a peg leg, Alastor was in the floo shouting for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement headquarters and gone.
Though the meeting was not over, none could bring themselves to argue his departure. Instead, they found themselves silently supporting him.
Before any more drama could unfold, an itching sensation behind his left eye, triggered by the schools wards alerted Albus that Hagrid had returned,
though he could not identify by what method, nor could he decipher the indications that there was slightly more of Hagrid than usual. Even stranger yet,
Hagrid seemed to be heading toward the infirmary. "My friends, forgive me for calling on you and then leaving, but Hagrid has returned and I must speak with him.
Frank, Alice.." Albus had to stop for words failed him right then. What could he say? Realizing he'd paused for too long already, he settled on what meager comforts he could muster and issue, "I am so sorry for your loss. We shall meet later to discuss how best to honor their sacrifice."
With a few terse nods and no further ado, the headmaster extricated himself from the office and went straight for the infirmary.
Upon arriving, Albus became disoriented. The scene before him was jarringly different than what he expected and it took him longer than he would care to admit to wrap his head around what he was seeing. Hagrid was wailing in the corner sipping on a calming draught which was to be expected, but Poppy Pomfrey was a storm of activity,
the eye of which appeared to be an infant. In his stupor, Dumbledore's first thought was of a student having given birth. Reassessing that, he remembered that no students under his care had been pregnant that year, nor any other year during his entire tenure and furthermore to the best of his knowledge, never even under headmaster Dipet's reign had a child been delivered at Hogwarts. Unable to stave off his confusion, he made his presence known by first clearing his throat, then doing so again slightly louder in-between shouts of misery from Hagrid so as to be heard. Poppy's eyes never strayed from her activities but she called over her shoulder
"Get in here Albus, I need you now!" Knowing Poppy, the situation must have been absolutely dire for her to call someone into her sphere of activities.
Madam Pomphrey was not one who asked assistance lightly. "What is the meaning of this Poppy?" Albus asked, figuring the quickest way out was through. Madam Pomfrey explained tersely, "Hagrid brought young Harry Potter here. He found him in the wreckage of the Potter's cottage! Albus please look at this scar.. I don't know what these readings mean." Eyes widening to near bursting at the revelation, Dumbledore performed the diagnostics that Poppy requested, plus a few more for his own investigative purposes. Perplexed further by his findings, Albus dug deeper into his repertoire and finally came to a terrible conclusion.
He performed the spell again, hoping he was wrong the first time but his efforts were to no avail. "Poppy, have you treated the boy? Is he healthy?" Albus asked calmly, belying the hurricane of emotions engulfing his insides. "Yes Albus everything else is fine but that's a curse scar! And it has properties I've never even heard of! Do you know what this is?" Madam Pomphrey implored.
Indeed Albus Dumbledore knew exactly what had happened to this poor infant, though he could not, nor would not bring himself to say it for fear of anyone else discovering the possibilities and implications. "I fear, Poppy, that young Harry here has suffered a great ordeal. There is not anything further we can do. I assure you though my dear, that while this scar will likely be permanent, the boy is in no imminent danger. Hagrid?" Dumbledore asked, garnering the half giant's attention.
"What has become of James and Lily? What did you see at the cottage?" Blowing his great nose into a shower towel, Hagrid replied "they're DEAD!
Poor Harry 'ere's folk 're Dead pr'fessor!" Dabbing at his eyes, Hagrid continued, "Looked as though someone got ole you-know-who though pr'fessor, saw 'im lyin there meself. Dead as nails, 'im. Sirius wanted ter take Harry off but I thought it'd been best if'n I was ter take 'im back here fer Poppy ter look 'im over.
Sirius agreed an' loaned me his motor wheeled thingy ter get 'im back 'ere quick-like."
Albus was seething at how close the boy had come to being murdered a second time tonight, though that may have been a kinder fate than what that scar indicated.
How could this be? Had it been an accident? But no.. The process to make a Horcrux was much more involved, it couldn't have happened by accident.
But how could Tom have died if Harry was a Horcrux now? How could Tom have died regardless? Surely Harry could not have 'done the deed' as it were.
Without answers and no means readily available to obtain any, Albus quickly assembled a plan of action. "Poppy, please watch baby Harry while I sort some things out.
I will be back shortly."
With a grim nod, Madam Pomphrey conjured a chair for herself and a sucker for Harry so as to quiet him. Seeing the immediate situation was under control, Albus left the school and apparated to Godrics Hollow to investigate himself.
What he found inside the Potter's home was sickening and he had to pause more than once to keep his composure, this would be a longer night yet.
After identifying James and confirming his death, Albus made his way upstairs to the charred remains of the nursery. Upon sighting the slightly burnt visage of Lily Potter, Dumbledore finally lost the battle with his emotions and let forth the small dry retching that had been fighting its way up his throat. Hiccoughing slightly at his turbulent breathing, Albus shifted his gaze to fall upon the blackened husk of what was the greatest enemy Wizarding Britain had ever seen. Through identifying charms,
he ascertained the fact that this was indeed Tom Marvolo Riddle and he was without a doubt, 'dead as nails'. Rage flooded through the headmaster as he again thought on the fact that Sirius Black had had the audacity to try to kidnap the young Harry Potter after his master failed to kill him.
He was certain that if Alastor failed, Dumbledore would be the very next in line to gift Sirius Black swift punishment.
After searching a short while for Tom's wand and coming up empty, Albus conducted a few investigative spells, noted the readings, and erected the strongest notice-me-not charms he knew for both muggle and wizard alike over the ruined cottage and left again for the school.
Dumbledore had not just seen but actually helped with the composure of the Potter's last will and testament and knew that Alice Longbottom was Harry's godmother, soon to be adoptive mother, but he was certain the boy would not be safe with them just yet. Albus needed to know more about the Horcrux in Harry's head first before he could endanger either the boy or the Longbottom's. Not only that, but with Sirius Black being Harry's God father and still at large, Albus was sure the boy was in imminent danger, seeing as Sirius would know about Alice as well.
Once the headmaster made it back to the infirmary, he noted the additional presence of Minerva, expression like weather-beaten stone; hard and watery.
"Albus, what have you found?" Minerva asked, desperate for better news than she had heard earlier. With a sad sigh, Dumbledore cast his gaze down toward his feet and replied, "It would seem that something went terribly wrong when Voldemort himself assaulted the Potter's tonight. James and Lily are dead.."
Albus took a moment to let that sink in, when he saw Minerva's expression shift back to hardened determination he continued, "But it would seem that when Tom attempted to strike their son Harry down, a large explosion of magic occurred, wrecking the nursery and destroying Voldemort's body.
In my investigations, it became apparent that the explosion was a wildly destabilized killing curse."
Dumbledore was careful not to say that Voldemort was dead, as he was now certain the despicable excuse for a wizard had made Harry into a Horcrux and, for all he knew, might have made more. Something about the situation gave Albus the impression that this could not have been Tom's first foray with a Horcrux. It was too uncontrolled. Through her tears, Minerva responded despondently, "Well Albus, shall I get Alice back on the floo?" As Minerva had also consulted on the making of the Potter will, she too knew that Alice was up to bat so to speak, for raising Harry. "Actually Minnie, I fear that until Mr. Black is in custody that would be rather unwise.
I seem to recall Lily had a sister with whom she did not get along?" Dumbledore replied whilst refining his plan as he went. Minerva replied heatedly, "Surely you don't mean to take Harry there?" disbelief plain in her features. "From what I've heard, Lily Potter's sister is one of the most miserably intolerant muggles in the whole of Britain?!" Seeing his favorite deputy head mistress' vehement retort helped harden his resolve, proving the finer point of his idea.
No one would expect the boy to go there, least of all Sirius Black, and he voiced that opinion.
Now understanding of the headmaster's devious plan, Minerva replied "That must be the most Slytherin idea you have ever had Albus. It is clever, I must admit, but mark my words; that boy will not be there any longer than he must." Hearing a loophole he wasn't in any way keen to capitalize on, Dumbledore nodded his agreement and enlisted the services of Hagrid once again. Before he sent the groundskeeper on this most disheartening task, he wrote a quick letter so as to satiate any questions the Dursley's,
if he remembered correctly, could have had. Once they departed, Albus made his way back to his office and private quarters, finally following through on his plans he had made ages ago for sleep. He would notify the Longbottom's of the plan the following morning.
-oOoOoOo-
Upon waking, Albus Dumbledore found he was quite disoriented yet again. This was because Fawkes was hovering over his head holding the Daily Prophet in her beak, fire quite literally in her eyes. "Well good morning my dear. Pray tell, what is the matter?" Albus asked of his familiar. Fawkes dropped the newspaper on Dumbledore's face by way of reply and flashed away in an angrier than usual burst of fire. Citing the headline as the cause of his phoenix's behavior, Albus absentmindedly wondered when Fawkes had learned to read, before shaking off his sleepy demeanor. Recognition lit through him and brought him on par with his familiar's feelings.
"Harry Potter – The Boy Who Lived!"
Late last night on this most terrible of hallowed eves; You-Know-Who sought to destroy his latest victims, the last remaining vestiges of the Potter line, in Godrics Hollow. Under cover of darkness, the dark lord attacked and killed both James and Lily Potter. The most perplexing mystery however is this; following the murders of the two Potter's, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named cast the killing curse for what was to be the last time at one Harry James Potter, born only just over a year ago. Investigations are still ongoing and our sources are still hunting down information but we now know for a fact that when You-Know-Who cast the killing curse on Harry Potter, something caused the curse to backfire and destroy the dark lord! Harry Potters whereabouts are at present, unknown but what is most certainly known and shall be made known forever more is that we at the Daily Prophet and hopefully Britain as a whole are eternally grateful to both James and Lily Potter for their great sacrifice and to young Harry Potter for ending this tyrant's most abhorrent reign of terror…."
The article continued on, citing more highly sensitive and terribly accurate information. 'How did they discover these things already?!' Dumbledore thought angrily.
They even knew about the fidelius and Sirius! unable to completely reign in his ire, Albus rather huffily readied himself for the day and quickly conduct his morning ablutions before heading straight for the floo. Wanting to confirm the temporary fostering of Harry went well, Albus called on his Deputy Headmistress first.
"Good morning Minnie. I take it all has gone well?" Albus asked with a faux merry smile. Minerva stared back with a withering expression that seemed to say
"I cannot believe you just used that expression to describe this disgusting travesty of justice." though her vocal response was slightly kinder, it was not without a fair
amount of sarcasm, "If by well Albus, you mean that they did not outright murder the boy then yes."
Losing some of the merriment in his expression Dumbledore continued on, "Do you believe he will be alright for the time being? Surely they cannot be that terrible.."
Nonplussed at the Headmasters blind faith, McGonagall replied bluntly, "Yes, he will survive. Provided that he is out by the end of the week.
I will not abide by Harry living there any longer than that. It is my opinion that the Dursley's will do irreparable harm to that boy if he is there for an extended
duration of time." Wondering if Minerva might possibly be just slightly jaded, he wondered aloud what could be so terrible about the aforementioned family. Minerva though was not one for conceding even a centimeter, "You should have seen the way that woman was screeching after she read the letter Albus.
And the way they dote on that miserable child of theirs? I'll never understand how they could give an infant sweets for breakfast. All the while,
they gave Harry a lemon wedge for breakfast this morning. The boy couldn't even pick it up!" Sensing this was a battle he would gain no ground in,
Dumbledore reassured his Deputy Headmistress, "Well Minnie I assure you this will only be temporary. Harming the lad in any way is far from my intentions."
Minerva having won the battle, let it be known she intended to also win the war with her parting statement, "It better be Albus. I will remove him myself if I must."
With a nod and a good day the call was severed.
Before the headmaster could even so much as make his way toward the floo powder, his fireplace lit up again and out stormed one Alice Longbottom,
Daily prophet in hand and a sheepish looking Frank Longbottom in tow. "Where is he Professor." Alice demanded, barely restrained anger just below the surface.
Understanding he was again on thin ice, Albus calmly made his way back to his desk and tried to defuse his old students temper before she could get further around the bend. "Good morning Mrs. Longbottom, Mr. Longbottom. Lemon drop?" He asked, feigning clueless merriment. The anger broiling below flashed violently in Alice Longbottom's eyes as she shouted down Dumbledore. "Cut the act! Harry is my godson and I want to know where he is!"
While he folded his hands in his lap, Albus attempted again to calm his understandably irate guests. "Alice, Frank, please sit down. Allow me to explain."
As the Longbottom's complied, Dumbledore continued, "As you know, Sirius Black has not yet been apprehended. As im sure you are also aware,
Mr. Black was privy to the Potter's will and certainly knows that, following last night, Harry will make his way into your custody shortly.
What you do not know is that after the incident last night, Sirius arrived at their cottage in Godrics Hollow and attempted to abduct young Harry from Hagrid
before he disappeared." Shock now being the dominant expression on the Longbottom's faces also leaked into their voices as Alice and then Frank quietly replied,
"Is he safe at least? You must keep him safe Albus. I cannot even think about losing him too." Alice led heatedly and Frank followed mildly,
"When will you be giving him over?"
the Headmaster placated them both with his response, "Yes, I can assure you that Harry is safe and I plan to bring him to you once Sirius is apprehended."
Seeing the sense in that, the Longbottom's moved the conversation along in the form of Frank offering assistance. "Is there anything I can do?
Surely the aurors are already searching. I know I'm supposed to be on leave but of course I'll do anything to help." Albus contemplated for a moment, his thoughts along the line of 'well why not'. A short moment later saw him make up his mind as he replied "Certainly Mr. Longbottom. I believe the auror in charge of the search is Alastor
at present. If you would like to join the hunt you will most likely find at least a liaison in your offices. Also, I believe now that Voldemort's vessel has been dispatched you may release the Fidelius on Longbottom Manor." One of the things Dumbledore loved about the Longbottom's was that not once, in all the time that he'd known them, had they ever so much as batted an eye at the use of the name Voldemort. He was also pleased to note that yet again, his audience hadn't cottoned on to his sidestepping to avoid referring to Voldemort as dead.
"Thank you Albus. We'll leave you be. I apologize for the intrusion." Frank said, leading his wife to the floo by hand. Albus called out to the retreating couple
in supplication, "Not at all my dear boy. Do be safe, you now have two children to look after." Nodding somewhat absentmindedly, Alice followed her husband through the floo. Now that the most pressing matters of the day were addressed, Albus headed directly for his private library. There was a great deal of research he needed to do.
-oOoOoOo-
'I WANT EVERY AVAILABLE BODY ON THE JOB! YOU THERE! SPREAD THE WORD TO THOSE ON LEAVE, SHITES CANCELLED AS OF NOW! We will track down this murdering, backstabbing, filth if it's the last thing I do." Moody growled as he tore through the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. His fervor and determination however,
led the hunt to an inevitable standstill. It wasn't that the department was impotent, it was just that Sirius Black was one of the absolute best hit wizards in over a hundred years and if the bastard didn't want to be found, you'd better bet he wouldn't be found. The only positive on their side at this point was the fact that Alastor "Mad-eye" Moody, wasn't just the best in over a hundred years, he was arguably the best of all time.
-oOoOoOo-
It took Dumbledore just over thirty nine hours to find every piece of information Hogwarts had to offer on Horcrux's. The reasons for it taking so long were accorded to the fact that you could not summon books magically from the restricted section and the incredibly obscure nature of Horcrux's in the first place.
Most books only ever had a vague reference to the things far less any hard facts. The Headmasters private library had a few more illuminating tomes on the matter,
but as Albus deplored the very idea of dark magic, his selections were limited. Despite the adversities, Dumbledore had still accumulated and inferred a fairly functional understanding of Horcrux's, including their nature, process of creation, beneficial aspects and pitfalls. It so turned out that, though one could conceivably make more than one Horcrux, it was rather like folding a piece of parchment; incredibly difficult to do an eighth time. This led Albus to a rather cynical thought process in which he briefly assumed the dark tosser had made his eighth and final Horcrux this past Halloween. Dispatching that idea as terribly depressing and also unlikely,
given the hints about what happened to those who attempted an eighth Horcrux, Albus went on to investigate the strange readings he acquired
at the Potter cottage that night. In his studies, he discovered an incredibly worn and old book on blood magic's. The book itself was a guess based on a hunch,
but when checked against the library log and confirmed that one Lily Potter had borrowed it around the time the Potters went into hiding, Albus felt he was onto something. Towards the end of the book Dumbledore made his breakthrough. The ancient spell fit perfectly and it saddened him deeply to think he must have found the cause of the demise of Tom Riddle. The spell wasn't necessarily dark, but the required situation to perform the spell was horrible.
One must know without doubt they would give their life for the person they wanted to protect. Furthermore, they must willfully sacrifice their magic to the benefactor prior to their death. Once the caster was ready to perform the spell, they had to enlist the service of another to kill them in cold blood,
all the while staring their benefactor in the eyes. Horrible indeed, but at least that was one mystery solved. The benefits of this were also not to be unappreciated as the protections afforded by the spell were unparalleled! 'Perhaps the boy should stay with the Dursley's after all..' Dumbledore mused, weighing the pros and cons silently
in his head. After a brief stop to the kitchens, Albus had one more lead he wanted to track down. Something about the library records from when Tom was a student was bothering him a great deal.
The headmaster knocked lightly but quickly at the head of Slytherin house's door. Without waiting for an answer he opened it and peeked his head in, catching Horace Slughorn standing and brushing caramelized sugar off his robes. "Hello Albus, can I help you?" Slughorn asked, seeming slightly peeved at the abrupt disruption. "Yes Horace I was wondering if I might have a word with you?" Dumbledore said as he made his way through the door. Somewhat disarmed by the intrusion,
Horace granted the Headmaster his audience. "Certainly, please take a seat." Doing so, Albus cut straight to the chase, "Horace, I was wondering if you remembered a student by the name of Thomas Riddle? I believe he was in your 'Slug Club' as it were, in the early fifties." Horace Slughorn's eyes widened in fear so briefly if you'd blinked you would have missed it, quickly settling into calculated ignorance. Voice quivering slightly, the resident potions master replied "Why Headmaster I can't say that I do.
Why ever do you ask?" Slughorn asked, bordering cheeky in his demeanor. Not fooled for a moment, though ready to pretend he was, Dumbledore responded,
"Ah Horace I was merely attempting to track down a missing library book. I reviewed the logs and found that you and he both lent that very book out once or twice and
I have need of it at present." Fear now an evident undercurrent in his face, Horace tried to end the discussion, "Terribly sorry old chap but I do not believe my memory serves to that late a request. Now if you don't mind I was just about to take my leave.."
Albus was not entertained by the verbal sparring and was actually rather desperate to know what young Tom had discovered. It was under the guise of this great desperation that Dumbledore justified his next actions. He'd found that when searching for a direct memory in someone else's head, simply saying what you were looking for went a long way toward dragging that memory to the 'center stage' of one's mind. Without prevarication, Albus locked eyes with his potions master and said "Horcrux's".
This had the visual effect of a painful stunner as Horace Slughorn violently shuddered and went white under the legilemens assault on his brain.
He was however quick enough to amend the memory in question at the last second before the Headmaster so rudely reviewed it.
In the edited version of the memory was a short conversation between a significantly younger and less stout Slughorn and an 'innocent' yet precocious Tom Riddle wherein, Slughorn shouted and raved and threw the boy from his office. Disappointed in his lack of success, Dumbledore released the professor and stood.
Not being quite able to stand at the moment, Horace leaned back and let forth the most aggressive expression he could recall ever making,
hissing rather than shouting though his volume began climbing in that direction, "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, never in all my years have I been so rudely accosted! I won't stand for this! I won't have it! Off with you I must pack! I resign you dangerous coot! How dare you!"
Surprised at the verbal lashing but thinking that it was not a heat of the moment decision, Albus nodded his head.
"I am truly, deeply sorry for the invasion professor Slughorn. This is of the absolute upmost importance and I could not, nor can I play games.
If you feel you must take your leave, I will only say that I understand. I do implore you though Horace, this is imperative to the fight against Voldemort!
You must relinquish your knowledge of this!" shuddering again in the same fashion as before at the name Voldemort, Horace recovered moments later and spat back,
"I do not care and DON'T SPEAK HIS NAME! I know nothing! I owe you NOTHING! LEAVE ME BE!" Though he was both shouting and defiantly on his feet,
Horace was more terrified than he'd ever been. Here he was standing against the great Albus Dumbledore, playing dumb in defense of his most shameful moment.
Unable to take any more, he himself rushed out of the office, not knowing where he intended to go, only that he had to get away. Dumbledore dipped his head in chagrin and disappointment; both in himself and the results he'd obtained. 'What a wasted and regrettable venture' Albus thought to himself as he slowly made his way back to his office.
-oOoOoOo-
"DROP YOUR WAND AND RAISE YOUR HANDS YOU BLOODY FUCK! DO IT NOW!" Mad-eye screamed as pandemonium rained down around him.
Body parts, rubble, blood and hair splattered haphazardly about staining the walls of nearby shops and the remains of the street and curb. A muggle water spout had burst and was blasting water all over his squad of aurors as they moved in. Aside from the muggle contraptions wailing, the only sound was Blacks hysterical laughing/sobbing. "BWAHAHAHAHAherAUGHHHHH! BLOODY FUCKING RATS BWAHAHA. KILL ME MOODY! PLEASE!" Black wept as he tossed his wand in compliance.
Unfortunately, moody was moving to make the actual arrest when one of the newer recruits went in and snapped the recently relinquished wand. "HEY YOU FUCKIN TOSSER! You just destroyed evidence!" Moody shouted, both angry at the greenie for his idiocy and grimly satisfied that the wand could never again be used to hurt or betray people. Once the magic dampening cuffs were on, Sirius leaned back to look moody in the good eye while its magical counterpart surreptitiously whirled about, monitoring their surroundings. Sirius' eyes were half crazed but the grief in them was unmistakable, "Please kill me Moody I can't live without them." He begged quietly.
"Should've thought oh that before you sold yer soul to the devil." Moody said, unfazed. He would ensure the full weight of the Wizarding world came down on Sirius Blacks Head.
-oOoOoOo-
Albus had skipped dinner again in his pursuit of knowledge. Specifically knowledge about how to destroy Horcrux's. He knew how they were made and how they were used, what vessels usually worked best and even who discovered them, but he had only found two references to possible solutions and neither of them was viable.
He needed to remove the Horcrux without harming Harry and lighting him on fire or sicking a basilisk on him seemed to be a tad overkill. After some critical thinking,
Albus surmised that the only probable reason Tom would have to steal the book he did was to cover up something, and Albus figured he knew exactly what that
something was; how to destroy a Horcrux. Albus knew that he had to have that book weather it had what he was looking for or not and eventually wrote to every relevant establishment he could think of that might have a copy. He was prepared to pay whatever price it cost to get his hands on it and annotated that fact in his letters.
The headmaster was just sending out his last owl for the day when he heard what sounded like a baby crying in the hall down the stairs to his office.
When the gargoyle guardian warned him that Professor Mcgonagall was heading his way 'in a righteous fury' with a baby in arms, he knew his night was going to be more interesting than he would have liked.
His door slammed open moments later and Mcgonagall stormed in, chest heaving and face contorted in a rictus of rage, baby Harry tucked under one arm.
Minerva conjured a bassinet beside her and swiftly placed Harry in, then she erected some silencing wards from the outside in, so as to protect baby Harry from her rant. "ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! NEVER IN ALL MY YEARS HAVE I BEEN MORE FURIOUS!" Her Scottish brogue rendered her thunderous words nearly indecipherable,
but Dumbledore had become something of an expert translator in his years beside the woman.
"THERE I WAS OUTSIDE THE KITCHEN IN MY ANIMAGUS WHEN LITTLE HARRY ASKED FOR A BISCUIT FROM HIS COUSIN. A BISCUIT!"
The look of absolute indignation and the situation as a whole had confused Albus considerably, though he was wise enough to allow her to finish without interruption.
"When that BRAT of a cousin of his started crying that WALRUS OF A MAN SMACKED HARRY SO HARD HE FLEW OUT OF HIS CHAIR!" Dumbledore went from confused to equally enraged in a fraction of a second. 'How could someone hit an infant!' he thought disbelievingly. "Minerva what did you do?" Albus responded,
surprising himself by hoping she had done horrible and illegal things, he barely managed not to make that known in his expression and tone.
"WELL I BLASTED DOWN THEIR WALL, STUNNED THEM ALL AND TOOK HARRY THAT'S WHAT I DID!" Minerva shouted back defiantly, hands landing on her hips following her erratic hand gestures that accompanied the statement. "Minerva that was terribly reckless.." Albus intoned, though he contorted his tone so that the words were of encouragement rather than chastisement. "IT WAS AND I CALLED THE OBLIVIATORS ALREADY." Minerva shouted, not in anger but in bewildered confusion.
Recounting her actions had the unforeseen effect of reminding her exactly what she'd done and the implications of those actions.
"Please Minnie do not fret. Given the situation, I think it best we not inform the aurors until after they've left the Dursley's home. The muggle couple may not survive should the aurors discover this development in their presence." Dumbledore said as he conjured an overly plushy chair and gently pushed her into it.
He was about to summon one of the house elves for tea when Moody made an appearance in his fireplace.
"Caught 'im Albus. Crouch is throwin 'im in Azkaban as we speak." Nodding to himself, Dumbledore couldn't help thinking that there was not a better time for the capture to have been made. Little Harry could not possibly go back to where he'd been since the incident.
All of his researching of Horcrux's was making itself useful in that moment as well, as he now knew that the Horcrux was nothing more than a malignant, though contained problem for tomorrow. The Longbottom's would be safe watching over Harry. Albus replied to Moody, regaining the trademark twinkling eyes as he spoke,
"Very good work Alastor. If you don't mind, Minerva and I must make use of my floo so we can get Harry here off to meet his new parents."
With a nod of his own, Moody acquiesced, "Aye. Good day headmaster." he said as he disappeared again and the flames went back to normal.
"Well Minnie it would appear your timing is rather impeccable." Albus said with a satisfied smile and a now mightily twinkling eye. Watching the relief spread across Minerva's face was like seeing the sun rise. Perhaps if he was half a century or so younger.. But no. They were coworkers. A relationship would be wholly inappropriate.
"Shall we?" Albus said, offering his left hand while he canceled the conjuring's and summoned Harry with his right. They made their way over to the floo and called for Longbottom Manor, but just as they began to swirl into the floo system, screams of agony made themselves apparent.
-oOoOoOo-
"WHERE IS OUR LORD YOU RAGING BINT!" Bellatrix Lestrange shouted at Alice through the latter's screams of agony. She released the Curcio so as to allow Alice a chance to reply. "He up and got himself offed by a one year old! Some great lord!" Alice shouted, though pain had distorted her voice to make it sound more like a breathy whimper. Frank had stopped screaming a few moments ago and she was worried because though she could not see her husband, she could see Rodolphus and he was still holding the spell. Barty Crouch Jr. of all people was off coddling her son. She started to yell for Barty to leave her bloody son well enough alone but she only managed to let the name loose of her lips before Bellatrix Crucio'd her again. Bellatrix held the spell so long that Alice's vocal chords had actually torn and she could no longer make sounds.
When the spell stopped she thought Bellatrix had gotten bored and was switching tactics, but there were noises she didn't understand happening around her now
and she was shaking so hard she couldn't focus. She thought she heard Dumbledore's voice shouting curses but she couldn't be sure.
All she could see behind her lidded eyes was the flashing of spell fire. It took what seemed to her maybe ten seconds before the flashing stopped but she was so disoriented she thought it could have been hours. She finally managed to wrench her eyes open when she felt a familiar hand desperately grasping her own.
She turned slightly so as to confirm who the hand belonged to but then Dumbledore was whispering near her ear "do not fret my dear Alice, everything will be alright. Everything will be alright." He kept saying over and over again. She drifted off into unconsciousness, her body desperate for the opportunity to repair itself.
-oOoOoOo-
Sirius Black, Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr. And More Apprehended at last!
Saturday evening was both a victory and a terrifying loss for the light. While Aurors were busy apprehending Sirius Black, The Lestrange's and Barty Crouch Jr. were caught viciously torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom in their home, Longbottom Manor, by none other than Albus Dumbledore and Minerva Mcgonagall of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. Our sources say that the Longbottom's are in critical condition at St. Mungos….
The front page of the Daily Prophet lay unread on the bed-side table next to Alice Longbottom. She had awoken some thirty or so minutes ago but hadn't gathered the energy to actually move yet. She knew in some small corner of her mind that she must be at St. Mungos. Only the hospital could produce that terrible smell of antiseptic and
bad food. She mused to herself about how most wizards wouldn't even know what antiseptic was.
She wondered how St. Mungos still managed to smell like it in light of that fact. Perhaps it was just hospitals in general?
She went back and forth like this just a little longer until she drifted back off to a dreamless sleep.