Chapter Eight

"Interesting," Lucius Malfoy said as he finished reading the letter his son had sent him. He folded the parchment and set it aside before he steepled his fingers in front of his face as he sat in his wingback chair in front of the fire in his office. He knew something was afoot at Hogwarts again this year, yet unlike two years ago, this was not of his making. Though, he did wish he had a hand in it.

Someone had found a way to trick the Goblet of Fire into admitting the Potter spawn into the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Having discussed the tournament with the fool of a Minister, he knew what the tasks held. A smile crossed his face as he imagined the boy being eaten by a dragon. It might not be by his hand, but he would finally have his revenge for the brat ruining his plans to destroy the Weasley family, but for also tricking him into freeing his house elf. That was another sore spot him. That blasted house elf had assaulted him that morning, banishing him down the hall. All because he pulled his wand on Potter. If only he could find Dobby. He would make that poor excuse for a house elf pay in quite painful and creative ways. Ways that he had perfected over the years on random muggles he kidnapped from all over the country.

Just as Lucius was starting to fantasize about the current young muggle girl down in his dungeon that he was planning on playing with later, he felt someone cross the wards around his home. What really intrigued him about this was not only was whatever it was, was very small, his personally crafted wards informed him that it carried the dark mark.

Pulling his wand from his cane, Lucius stood up and turned around just as a small, mangy looking rat scurrying into the room.

"Well, well, well," Lucius said as he eyed the rat. "Isn't this a surprise… You know, many believe you to be dead."

Suddenly, the rat started to shift and grow until it was no longer a rat, but a short, fat, balding man with almost rat like features in his face do to his prolonged years spent in his animagus form.

"And many believe you to be a pillar of society," Wormtail said. "Looks like we're both liars."

"What are you doing in my home?" Lucius demanded.

"I bring word from our master," Wormtail said.

"Our master is dead," Lucius said. "Killed by that Potter brat years ago."

"Weakened, not killed," Wormtail said. "You should know better than anyone that our master is far to powerful for a mere baby to destroy. He hasn't told me what happened that night, but I do know enough to know that his mudblood mother played a role in his temporary banishment."

"I think your time as a rat has addled your feeble mind," Lucius said. "If the Dark Lord lived, he would have come to me."

"After you so openly declared that you were never a true follower of his?" asked Wormtail as he started to walk around the room, looking at the various artifacts. "That you were cursed into following him? I must admit, even I was surprised you and the others claimed that. I mean, so openly stating that you are of weak mind. Tisk, tisk."

Lucius was taken aback by Wormtail's words. Long gone was the weak, sniveling man that he had known years ago when he joined the ranks of the Death Eaters. Now before him stood a man of confidence.

"Why are you here?" Lucius asked.

"To inform you that our master wishes to meet with you," Wormtail said.

"Then let him come here," Lucius said.

"I'm afraid that isn't an option at the moment," Wormtail said. "He is still in a weakened state. Though, come this spring, that will no longer be the case."

"What are you talking about?" asked Lucius.

"Not my place to say," said Wormtail. "Now, shall we?"

"Allow me to get my cloak," Lucius said. However, before he could move, Wormtail grabbed his arm and he suddenly felt a pull behind his navel.

"You little shite," Lucius snapped when they arrived where the Portkey had taken them. "How dare you lay a hand on me, let alone transport me without my consent."

"Do not be angry at Wormtail, Lucius," a cold voice spoke from behind him. "He only acted on the orders I gave him."

"My lord," Lucius said as he quickly spun around, dropped to his knees and looked down at the floor, as none dared to look directly at the Dark Lord without his approval.

"Ah, so you do still serve me," Voldemort said. "And here I was led to believe that you had turned your back on our cause."

"Only a ruse, my lord," Lucius said. "Lies told to prevent me from being sent to Azkaban. In that time, I have continued your ways. I have positioned myself deeply within the Ministry of Magic. I hold many influential people within my pocket thanks to bribes and blackmail."

"I see," said Voldemort. "That is very good. And what of the object I swore you to protect?"

Lucius gulped nervously. After arriving, he had hoped his master wouldn't ask about that.

"I beg your forgiveness my lord," Lucius said. "But it was lost."

"Lost?" asked Voldemort. "Or given away to a young girl?"

Lucius glanced over at Wormtail, who stood in the corner, grinning like a fool. He would see that rat cut down for sure for his betrayal.

"Lucius Malfoy," Voldemort said with a sigh. "You were such a trusted follower. Granted access to my inner circle. And how am I repaid? CRUCIO!"

Lucius fell to his side as he suddenly felt a million burning hot needles touch every single nerve within his body.

"It truly is a shame you have betrayed me and failed me so," Voldemort said as he watched Lucius writhe around on the dusty floor. "Plans have already been put into motion for not only my return, but for the death of all those who opposed me before my fall from grace. A fall which I have come to learn needed to happen. I believed myself invincible. One could say god like even. And while I had taken steps to prevent myself from dying, I still lived within a mortal shell. A problem I aim to rectify after I regain my former body."

Voldemort lifted the curse and watched as Lucius twitched on the floor as he curled up in the fetal position.

"Wormtail," he said, and the rat-like man rushed over and grabbed one of Lucius' arms and began to drag him over to circle of runes that had been drawn on the floor earlier.

"Sadly Lucius, you will not be there to see any of it," Voldemort continued. "But worry not… Once I return to my body, I will visit your family and send them to join you in death. Nagini?"

From out of the darkness, a gargantuan snake slithered towards her master, coiling itself around the base of the chair he sat in.

"Goodbye Lucius," he said. "Know that your death will have more meaning for me than your life ever did. Avada Kedavra."

The jet of green light struck Lucius where he lay, ending his life in the blink of an eye. Voldemort then pointed his wand at his own frail chest and began to quietly chant. A glowing ball of light soon came out of him and split in half. Using his wand, he directed the broken piece of his soul down into the snake while the other half reentered his body.

Once his broken bit of soul was within the snake, he could feel his connection with his familiar grow stronger, causing him to smile. He would defiantly need to explore this new connection further and see of what use it could be to him.

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Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, sat in her office going over the reports from the nightshift. Nothing more than the usual. A couple of drunks brought in to sober up in the tank. Mundungus caught trying to sell possibly stolen goods. A hag arrested trying to solicit a young boy. That last one made her shiver slightly. Hags had started to become a real problem of late in Britain. They would try to entice young boys, wizard or muggle, they didn't care which, into sleeping with them. Then after the act, they would cut them open and harvest their organs to be sold on the black market to be used for various dark rituals. She was defiantly going to need to bring this up in her next meeting with Cornelius. It was a problem that needed to be dealt with before it became too large for her department to handle.

She was halfway through the reports when an owl swooped into her office and landed on her desk, extending its leg to show a letter. Amelia instantly recognized it as a Gringotts owl, and quickly removed the letter. Once she did, the owl took flight and left her office. Obviously, no reply was needed to be sent.

Breaking the seal, she unrolled the missive and began to read, her eyes growing wider with each word. With a slightly shaking hand, she set the letter down on her desk and pulled out her wand, which she used to cast a serious of charms to see if the letter was authentic. It was.

Amelia then quickly got to her feet and made her way over to her private floo. "Gringotts, human/goblin relations office," she said after tossing in a pinch of powder and then stuck her head into the emerald flames. She kept her eyes closed until she felt the spinning stop, and then opened her eyes to see a man sitting at his desk, looking bored.

"Hello Robertson," Amelia said, nearly causing the man to fall out of his chair in surprise.

"Madam Bones," he said, once he noticed her head floating in the fireplace. "To what do I owe the honor of this call?"

"I just got a very interesting letter from Gringotts," Amelia said. "I want to know just who the hell there is playing pranks like this, because I can promise you, I do not find it funny in the slightest."

"What are you talking about?" Robertson asked.

"I just received a letter from Gringotts informing me that as of this morning, they have confirmed that James and Lily Potter are alive," Amelia said.

"Impossible," said Robertson. "If the bank issued such a statement, news of it would have come through my office."

Robertson gestured to his desk, which is when he noticed a sheet of parchment on it. He quickly grabbed it and read it. And while it contained the same information that Amelia had received, his had a few more details.

"Oh my," he said. "It would seem that early this morning, two individuals claiming to be James and Lily Potter arrived via the private floo entrance by way of Hogwarts, along with two other unnamed individuals. They were then taken to Ragnok Underskull the seventh's office, where they were met by a Gringotts tester, who tested their blood against the blood the bank keeps on file. It was a perfect match… James and Lily Potter really are alive."

"But that is not possible," Amelia said. "No one comes back from the dead. Not without some dark ritual."

"The tester checks for such things," Robertson said. "Believe me when I say that it is impossible to fool the blood test performed by the goblins."

"Are they still in the bank?" Amelia asked.

"I don't know," Robertson said. "I've been in my office since I got here. Believe me, the goblins aren't the most friendly towards me, since my position was one forced on them during the last treaty that was signed over three hundred years ago. In fact, my predecessor gave me a piece of advice. Watch out for any goblins that may try to stab me in the back… Literally."

"Can you find out if they are still there and let me know?" Amelia asked, cutting the man off before he decided to continue to ramble on.

"I'll floo call you just as soon as I find out," said Robertson.

Amelia nodded and pulled her head out of her end and stood back up just as the door to his office burst open.

"Amelia, what the bloody hell is going on?" Cornelius Fudge asked as he stormed into her office, waving a sheet of parchment in the air. Obviously he had received the same notification about the Potter's.

"I'm already looking into it," said Amelia. "And thank you for knocking by the way."

"Looking into it?" asked Fudge. "What is there to look into? It's obviously they are some kind of frauds. I want them arrested right now."

Amelia rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to stave off the migraine the man was starting to create. She hated dealing with Fudge when he got himself into a holier than thou mindscape.

"Cornelius," she said as she pulled out her monocle and placed it over her eye, "I just got off the floo with Gringotts. They administered a blood confirmation test. They really are who they say they are."

"Then it's dark magic that has brought them back," said Fudge. "So send out your aurors with orders to destroy them according to the law."

"Don't you dare spout off the law to me," Amelia said, a slight edge to her tone. "I've forgotten more laws than you've taken bribes to ignore them."

Cornelius was taken aback by the witch before him. Not that she had accused him of taking bribes, because he had. Quite a few of them since he had taken office. It was the fact that she knew about it at all. He had been so sure that he had been careful in keeping it a secret.

"Now… I am in the process of trying to meet with them," Amelia said. "However, since their identities have been verified and confirmed by Gringotts, as according to the treaty we have with them, we have to acknowledge that they truly are James and Lily Potter. So, my suggestion is you return to your office and get one of your little sycophants to draft up a press release and be ready to send it off to the Daily Prophet. Because people will find out. Sooner rather than later, and it will be best for the Ministry to at least give the impression that we know what the hell is going on."

Fudge mulled over what Amelia had just said. If he spun the story just right, he could even gain some more popularity from the voters. He could already see the headline for that night's special edition of the Prophet.

"You're right," Fudge finally said. "I'll get my people working on it and get it printed in tonight's edition of the paper. Or better yet, a press conference. Hearing the words directly from me would be much better for my re-elec, I mean for everyone's morale."

Without even waiting for a response, the Minister quickly turned and walked out of the office.

Amelia went back to her desk to sit down, when another owl arrived. Unlike the first one, this one was known to her.

"Hello Artemis," Amelia said.

The owl hooted and lifted its leg.

"A letter from Susan, I see," she said as removed the letter.

Dear Auntie,

I am so mad right now, I could scream. In fact, I have. Multiple times, along with many others in my house. As you already know, they are having the Tri-Wizard Tournament this year at Hogwarts. Well, last night was the night they selected the champions, and the most amazing thing happened. Cedric Diggory was picked to represent our school. A Hufflepuff finally getting a bit of the spotlight. Finally, everyone will see that we're not just a house full of duffers. Or so we all thought. Just as Professor Dumbledore was about to send the rest of us off to bed, the Goblet of Fire spat out another name.

Harry fucking Potter.

Yes, I swore. Chastise me later for it. Right now, I'm so mad, I don't care. Somehow Potter has managed to cheat his way into the tournament. He's stolen our chance to finally prove our house to the rest of the school. Everyone in my house is beyond livid right now. A few even want to curse him for it. Not that I will be doing that, as you've raised me better than that. But the way I feel right now, I don't think I will do anything to deter others from doing so.

Aside from this injustice against our house, things are going well this year…

Amelia finished reading the letter from her niece about how her classes were going, friends, and a young wizard she had developed a crush on. However, that was the furthest concern on her mind. What she was wondering was just what the hell was going on at Hogwarts. This wasn't the first time her niece had made mention of something happening at the school and the rumor that Harry Potter was somehow involved. Now this. Plus, she remembered Robertson mentioning that the Potter's arrived at Gringotts through the floo system via the school.

Perhaps it was time for her to make a sudden appearance at the school and find out just what was going on.

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What was going on was that chaos was just getting ready to erupt within the school. Having not been down to the Great Hall for breakfast, Dumbledore had missed the growing tension between the students. Most notably between those in Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. The students in Ravenclaw didn't want to have anything to do with what was going on, while the students in Slytherin whispered and plotted, waiting to see what would happen, though silently hoping that Hufflepuff would win this sudden and new unspoken war between houses.

Even the staff at the head table seemed on edge, waiting for the inevitable spark on this powder keg of a situation to suddenly explode.

Suddenly, that spark walked into the Great Hall, and his name was Draco Malfoy.

Draco walked into the Great Hall flanked by his hired thugs… Friends, Crabbe and Goyle, each of them carrying a crate in their thick arms. Instead of heading for the Slytherin table, he made his way over to the Hufflepuff table.

"Good afternoon my fellow students," Draco said.

"Shove off Malfoy," Hannah Abbot said as she gave the white haired boy a distasteful look.

"You wound me Abbot," Draco said as he placed a hand over his chest. "I only come to show my support for Diggory."

"Bullshit," said Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"No, it's true," said Draco. "In fact, me and mine spent all morning making these for anyone that wants to support the one and only true Hogwarts champion."

Draco reached into the crate that Crabbe was holding and pulled out a button, which read "Support Cedric Diggory – The True Champion" and had an image of Cedric's smiling face in the center, which occasionally winked.

"Wow," said Susan Bones as she took one. "Thank you Malfoy. Maybe you're not a complete little toe rag after all."

For a brief moment, Draco's eye twitched and a return insult danced on the tip of his tongue. However, he held it back and smiled, knowing that the best was yet to come with his little plan, just as soon as Potter showed his stupid face.

"I am simply just misunderstood due to Potter and his ilk," Draco said. "Sadly, he brings out the worst in me."

"Yeah, he's having that effect on a lot of people lately," Hannah said as she took a button and pinned it to her robes.

Soon, the contents of both crates were handed out to everyone at the Hufflepuff table, the Slytherin table, and a few students from Ravenclaw. The only table completely devoid of the buttons was Gryffindor, whom all the students looked like they wanted to curse every single student wearing a button.

Meanwhile up at the head table, Dumbledore was thinking that perhaps after lunch, classes be postponed for a short bit while he gathered the staff for a meeting.

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"Thank you all for joining me," Dumbledore said as he looked around the room at the members of the Hogwarts staff. "I know most of you have classes to be teaching right now, but there are a few things that must be addressed right away. First is the issue between the students. Since last night, tensions have been growing."

"You mean since Potter cheated his way into the tournament," said Snape.

"Severus, I will warn you know, it would be best if you curtail your animosity towards Harry," Dumbledore said.

"I will not bow down and suck up to that brat just because of his fame," said Snape.

"That isn't the reason why," said Dumbledore.

"Then why?" asked Snape.

"I wanted to discuss the student situation first," Dumbledore said. "However I guess fate has demanded that I bring up the other issue instead."

"Albus, what is it?" Professor Sprout asked.

"Late last night, something strange, yet joyous happened," Dumbledore said. "Through magics of old and by the Powers That Be… James and Lily Potter have returned."

Everyone in the room stared at the aged wizard as though he had finally gone off the deep end.

"I'm sorry Albus, but could you repeat that?" Flitwick asked.

"James and Lily Potter have been brought back to life," Dumbledore said. "They arrived late last night, and early this morning, traveled to Gringotts where they were given the blood test ritual, which confirmed their identities."

The entire room exploded into near chaos as everyone tried to talk at the same time. The only one to remain quiet, besides Dumbledore, was Professor McGonagall, who had known about their return after she had brought Harry to Dumbledore's office in the middle of the night. Though even after seeing them herself, she still had trouble believing it. Even going as far as convincing herself last night that it was just a trick of her imagination and being over tired. It was the only way she was able to get back to sleep last night.

Snape was a mixture of feelings. A part of him was overjoyed, as it meant that he had another chance to see Lily again. While another part of him was enraged because his nemesis had returned. And loathe he was to admit it, James was just slightly a better duelist than he was. Something he was sure to be reminded of when the man found out how he not only had been treating his son, but that he was the one who had informed the Dark Lord about the prophecy which set him after their child and cost them their lives.

"Gibble," Snape quietly said over the sound of everyone still talking, and a house elf appeared next to him.

"Yes Professor, sir," the little house elf said.

"Gnomish vodka," the potion master said. "And bring the bottle."

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A/N: Next chapter… Wands and Lily learns the dark truth of Harry's childhood.