By gellerfan

NB: Thanks to JK Rowling for creating Potterverse.

Rated: +13

Spoilers: No

A/N

CHAPTER IX "THE MEETING"

Time kept passing by, and Harry was getting more frustrated every day because he wasn't able to convince Kingsley Shacklebolt and other Foreign Ministries that it was urgent to establish a course of action, but everybody seemed unconcerned of danger "Lithuania is far away" everybody said.

Albus saw his father struggling but he did not know how to help him. Besides, he was fully aware of the way that his father faced problems, and was closing himself and never saying a word. Every time he reached Harry the answer was always the same "everything is Ok, son, we are discussing it", so there was nothing Albus could do.

In that situation Albus faced practices with Sara as a way of scape and an awesome and amusing incentive, because Sara was forced to practice in real conditions, which meant that Holmov and Hassel really tried to hit them with their Bludgers and that Sara and Albus should try to interfere in Chasers' game while looking for the snitch.

Albus was fascinated in the way Sara seemed to foresee Bludgers direction even before Holmov and Hassel threw them, so he asked her at the end of the practice how she did it.

Sara just smiled.

"I must admit that my advantage over you is quite unfair. I've played with Tolya and Hassel for years, so I can foresee what are they gonna do before they threw the Bludgers, but even if you don't know the Beaters, you have to look carefully to them because there are always signs that will allow you to anticipate the move and win maybe a few tenths of second, but this is the difference between playing an offensive or a defensive role. I guess you never payed attention to Beaters".

"No, I only paid attention to the other Seeker".

"This is what most of Seekers do, but they're wrong".

"Glad to hear it, so I'm not that bad".

"You flew really well, but you still feel insecure when you mess between the other players, but don't worry, you will solve that through practice".

When they landed, the rest of the team were waiting for them.

"Good practice, really" said a smiling captain Holmov, and his sparkling eyes really meant it.

When Albus saw that, he felt that he had never been so happy and he needed to tell someone how he felt.

"I wonder what Julia and the rest of the group will be doing", and asked for an owl to write Julia.

Xxxxxxxx

The evening before, Julia, Tony, Pat and Ronnie had been working hard compiling information about events in Lithuania.

It was really late when Julia left the group, but Tony, Pat and Ronnie decided to stay and work a little more.

A few minutes later, Ronnie and Tony started laughing when they realized that Pat had fallen asleep in front of the screen.

"We must do something with sleeping beauty" said Ronnie.

"Help me to take him to bed. I'll owl his mother telling her that he will sleep here" said Tony.

When Pat was slept in a bedroom, Ronnie decided it was time to go home.

"Shall we meet us tomorrow?"

Tony shook his head.

"Look at Pat. We're all exhausted and need a rest".

"Ok, good night Tony, we'll be in touch" and Ronnie entered the fireplace.

Tony looked at Pat, threw a blanket over him and went to bed. He was so tired that fell asleep immediately.

Hours later, her mother woke him up.

"Good morning dear. It seems that you went to bed late, and I've found Pat sleeping in the other room"

"Sorry, mum, we didn't tell you, but Pat felt asleep in front of the screen, so we took him to bed".

"It's alright, but he will miss breakfast if he's not in the kitchen in ten minutes. Wake him up, please".

Tony entered the room where Pat was sleeping.

"Pat, mate, good morning" he said.

Pat opened his eyes.

"What are you doing in my room?"

"Wrong, you're not in your bedroom, because you fell asleep at home…"

"Oh, I remember. Mother knows?"

"Yours and mine, yes".

Pat yawned.

"I'm afraid this is gonna kill me. I'm still really tired" he said.

"We are all tired, so we will not work today, but before you leave we will have breakfast. Come on, Mum is waiting for us" and they went to the kitchen to have a well-deserved breakfast.

"Tomorrow we must try to find any clue about all this Lithuanian mess" said Tony.

"In fact, I have an idea" said Pat.

"Do you?"

"I read something in a newspaper. I'll show you after breakfast"

"Stop talking and eat your breakfast, Pat. Your mother will be waiting for you" said Tony's mother.

"Thank you Mrs. Blackburne. I'll show Tony one thing and I'll go home. Thank you for hosting me, by the way".

"You're welcome, and now eat your breakfast".

After finishing their breakfast, Tony and Pat returned to Tony's bedroom.

"Well, what did you find, Pat?"

"I was reading Kaunas Chronicle when I found this" and Pat showed an article to Tony.

"Valdomaras Adomaitis, the famous Lithuanian gamekeeper, has announced he will start a world tour. His objective is to take a look to some interesting creatures in Central Asia" Tony read "I don't catch it, Pat".

"He is a gamekeeper, so he knows how to deal with magical creatures. He left three months ago".

"I guess he vanished since then"

"Yes. It could mean something"

"We should check it, and now tell me we you've got something about the victims".

"I've got the list, but I couldn't stablish a theory"

Tony read the list carefully.

"Impressive. Good work, Pat. We will work on that tomorrow"

"Not today?"

"We're really tired, so we would commit mistakes. Go home and sleep, mate".

"Ok. See you, Tony".

When Pat was gone, Tony decided that a visit to Diagon Alley could be a good idea, and so he said goodbye to his mother and left. As he always did first walk through bookshops, but the truth is that this time the walk was not repairing because he wasn't thinking as usual.

"I have a bunch of stupid theories but not a valid conclusion, and I feel today I will not find the solution on my own, so I need someone to discuss about it"

And as always happened when Tony really needed to discuss about anything, he had to talk with Julia, so he owled her.

"I need someone to discuss with. Have you got a minute for me?. I'll be at the Leaky Cauldron"

The owl returned a few minutes later with the answer.

"The almighty Tony Blackburne needing someone, this is an offer that no Ravenclaw could refuse. Please give me ten minutes".

Ten minutes later Julia arrived to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Over here, Julia" Tony said, and Julia sat in front of him.

"I thought it was our free day".

"Pat and Ronnie deserve a free day, but you are like me, if you have a problem to solve, you won't stop till everything is clear".

"Have we got any clue?"

"We could have something. Pat found out Reading a Lithuanian newspaper that a gamekeeper departed and no one has news about him since his departure three months ago".

"Gamekeeper, so he could take care of magical creatures. I guess you suggest that he was kidnapped"

"Kidnapped, Imperium Curse or he is our man, although I don't find it credible. That travel was quite convenient, because no one would make questions for a while, so the one who kidnapped Adomaitis could use him for training the Laumés".

"Don't discard the third option, although it's highly improbable. What about the victims? Did you find a pattern?"

"Not still. If I were the murderer my first victims would be chosen randomly, just to check if my creatures work well, and only then I would focus on my real objectives"

"Sounds logical".

"But this is just a nice theory. If we want to solve this we will need help"

"From Lithuanian Ministry"

"Of course, but they will not listen to two know-all Hogwarts students, we need our Ministry"

Julia's face turned serious.

"You are trying to manipulate me, Tony Blackburne, You're trying to reach Harry Potter via Albus"

"If I tried to manipulate anyone I could have talked Albus. It would have been easier, isn't it?" Julia said nothing and looked down. "We can use the fast track or I can owl Professor Jorvik, our Head, asking for a meeting, and you know he will listen to me and will arrange a meeting with Mr. Shacklebolt himself. It's not for me, you know it's not my style, and we're talking about murders, so it's not like dealing with a bully at Hogwarts. Look at me and refute my arguments if you can, Julia O'Connor. There are at the Ministry and at Hogwarts many wizards who are better than us in DADA, who fight better than us, but I defy you to find two wizards with our brain working as a team, because you and I are used to work together. This can be a war like our fathers suffered, Julia, and if our leaders have no brain people die. Soldiers must be brave, but officers must be clever, and it didn't happen last time".

Julia's eyes showed how angry she was, but she knew his logical was irrefutable, as always.

"It's clear that you don't like Gryffindors" Julia said.

"I don't like them taking the lead. Gryffindors like frontal assaults, and this is the mark of incompetents. You must know your enemy, find out which is his objective and react. Last time we were lucky than Voldemort wasn't clever enough, or at least his army wasn't. Maybe this time we will not be as lucky. If I'm correct this time the evil seems to prefer indirect approach, and it means he has a certain brain".

"He or she, you sexist".

"Oh come on, I'm talking with you to deal with all this, and as far as I know you're a girl, so I don't underestimate women".

"About the meeting, I will do it, but you're asking me to manipulate Albus".

"You will manipulate him if you don't tell him the truth, but he must know it, that's fair. It's not about power".

"Don't push, Tony. I will think about it"

"As you please, but don't wait too long".

"You will never change, Tony".

"Oh come on, Julia", suddenly Tony laughed "Wait a minute, do you think I'm trying to difficult your relationship with Potter? Is that it?"

Julia said nothing.

"I wish you the best, Julia, and I'm not the best for you".

Tony stand up.

"I really appreciate you, Julia, but I need to know if you're gonna help or not"

Julia looked at him.

"I will, but I hope Albus would understand it"

Tony just smiled.

"He will. We're not doing anything bad. We just want to help".

"A.M.T.B.G." Julia muted.

"Sorry?"

"Ad Maiorem Tony Blackburne Gloriam".

"Oh, like Jesuit motto, Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam. Funny".

"We're not your pawns".

"If I was hungry of power, I wouldn't have discussed with Malfoy".

Julia looked at him, but she didn't believe what he said.

"You think it was just a façade, or that I didn't want to share power with Malfoy" said Tony" I must admit that I want things to be different. I don't belong to an old and rich family like Malfoy or your Potter. Having a brain means nothing in wizarding society, even with Shacklebolt. Ron Weasley as an Auror when he didn't finish Hogwarts, just because he's Harry Potter's best friend, can you believe it?. Everything is about connections, not meritocracy, and we Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff love to study and work" said Tony.

"What about Hermione Weasley?" asked Julia.

Tony laughed.

"I've never met her, but my mother says that she doesn't understand how she and Ron Weasley became a couple, because they have nothing in common, however, I see your point and I accept she has a brain, but let's be honest, there has been wizards with her brain and never had her position. It's good to have someone there with a brain, but she's there because she's a friend of Potter and married with a member of an old and proper family".

Julia smiled.

"You're a bad guy, Tony, and a danger"

"Maybe I'm dangerous but I'm not selfish. If I were selfish the Malfoy route would be easier for me, but I've got friends, and I have to look for them".

"So you're not very different from Potter or Weasley"

"I have a brain, and Ronnie and Pat are not Ron Weasley, Julia, so I am different".

Julia smiled sadly.

"I don't know how I'm gonna handle the situation, but I'll owl Albus"

"Great"

"I'm leaving. What are you gonna do today, Tony?"

"Nothing special, just visiting bookshops, reading Ignatia Wildsmith's book again and try to find someone who knows about Baltic magical creatures".

Julia smiled

"Sounds like my typical free day. By the way, you could write Hagrid".

"Hagrid is just a gamekeeper and I'm looking for a specialist".

"Ok, I'll try to find one. We'll keep in touch"

"Bye Julia"

After leaving Tony, Julia got home trying to find an idea about how to convince Albus to arrange a meeting with his father without risking their relationship. They didn't considered that they were dating, but their meetings were every time more frequents.

Julia was in front of empty parchment trying to write Albus in a casual way when she saw an owl coming.

"A letter for me, and it's from Albus" she said, and she started to read the letter.

"Hello Julia, I'd like to have a coffee with you. I have a lot of thing to talk about. Are you free this afternoon?"

"Well, now I don't need to write this letter" whispered Julia as a sign of relief, and then she wrote back her answer "Ok, I'll see you at four o'clock in our usual place".

At four o'clock, Julia arrived at the Moka Café, where Albus was waiting for her. They started to talk about Albus practice because he was excited about his progression.

"Albus, I have to ask you something"

"Sure, what do you want?"

"Well, the boys, and me, we have been thinking…" Julia was shocked to realize that she, who always spoke precise and logically, was now stuttering.

"Julia, which is the problem?" asked Albus.

"We… we would like to have a meeting with your father concerning the Laumés".

Albus laughed.

"You means Tony and you?. Then I should warn my father, because maybe he should be accompanied by a couple of Aurors".

"That's serious, and it's not only Tony and me. Pat and Ronnie would attend too. I would be glad if you could be there too"

Albus laughed again.

"I'm a good son, and a good son must defend his father, because I'm afraid he will be in danger. However, if I have to convince him I should know more about what we're gonna talk".

Julia explained to him the recent events.

"Great" said Albus "and I have a name".

"Sorry?"

"Luna Lovegood, now Luna Scaramander. She could help us, and she's a friend of my family, so there will be no problem. You see? It wasn't difficult. However, I will suggest to celebrate the meeting at home. An official meeting would be more difficult and Dad would have to give some explanations".

"That's great"

"And now, let's talk about anything else" said Albus.

When Albus got home, he mentioned to his father his conversation with Julia. Harry was surprised with the conclusions and said that he had to think about it. He was really interested because he trusted Albus, but he had to be sure, so he owled Hogwarts looking for references. Harry said nothing to his son, because he knew he was involved with Julia.

Neville Longbottom sent back to Harry Headmaster Page's answer which gave favorable references about the four students, but Neville wrote himself an advice to Harry "Be careful, they could be students but O'Connor and Blackburne are really sharp. Don't think they are just kids like Albus or James".

Harry was shocked when he read that, so he wrote again to Page proposing the schedule of the meeting. Hogwarts Headmaster and the Heads of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Houses would attend the meeting. The kids didn't know that.

"I guess Professors will be allies, but I should bring someone from my team".

Once he decided how the meeting will be, Harry told Albus that he finally agreed the meeting at Grimmauld Place the following day.

The following day at ten Headmaster Page and Professors Jorvik and Jones, Heads of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Houses, emerged from fireplace.

"Welcome to my house, Headmaster" said Harry.

"Thank you for inviting us, Mr. Potter, although I must admit I only accepted because of you. We're going to talk with some of my students and we could do it at Hogwarts in a few days" said Headmaster Page.

"I have my reasons, Headmaster, and Grimmauld Place is more discrete. I walk you to the meeting room".

When they all took seat, Harry spoke again.

"Well, let me introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They work in the Ministry and could be useful in this meeting". Ron and Hermione Weasley saluted the visitors.

"Oh really?. However, Mr. Potter, you must realize that we are talking about our students. They could think you put them under pressure. I will listen to them but I warn you that I will defend them, unless you could demonstrate they did something wrong".

Harry took a look to Professors Jones and Jorvik, who clearly supported Headmaster Page's point of view. Harry had tried to bring Neville, but Page -a former Hufflepuff- decided that only the Heads of Houses involved could attend the meeting, so Harry knew he would have no allies there, because the Heads would support their students, unless it was against Hogwarts interest.

"Don't worry, Headmaster. We're here to listen what the boys would say". Suddenly someone knocked the door and Ginny entered.

"They are all here" said Ginny.

"The four?" asked Harry

"Yes, but Harry, may I talk to you for a moment?" asked Ginny.

"Excuse me" said Harry.

Harry and Ginny left the room, so they could talk privately.

"Albus wants to attend the meeting. Talk to him" said Ginny.

Harry whispered and called Albus.

"What's the matter, Al?

"Nothing, I just want to attend the meeting. Julia will be there and I want to support her. Any problem?"

"You know who is there, right?. Besides, you're not part of that group"

"This is just partially right. Tell me why I shouldn't be there, unless it's an ambush, but if I'm not there, they would think it's an ambush".

"No, of course it's not, Al".

"Then I will support Julia. I will not speak, but I will be there. I have certain ideas, and maybe they could be useful, but if Mum doesn't want to…"

"It's not like this"

"She doesn't like Julia, I know. What about you?".

"I don't know her so I can't judge, but we're just worried. Julia and Tony could be a bad influence".

"And Chinhua, and Paul Wolffe. There is life outside the Burrow and Grimmauld Place, I'm not an adult but I'm old enough to take my own decisions. Am I allowed to attend the meeting?". Asked an angry Albus.

Harry was shocked. It was the first time that Albus confronted him.

"As you please, but after that we'll have a talk, and if I think that any of my guest doesn't want you there you will leave immediately".

"Fair enough".

"Wait here, Albus, we will call you".

Harry entered the room.

"I think we could commence this meeting" said Harry.

"Yes please" said Page.

Harry left the room and returned with the five students, Albus, Julia, Pat, Ronnie and Tony, who looked with surprise to their Professors and Headmaster.

"Please, sit down" said Harry.

Julia looked at her group. Pat and Ronnie were a bit surprised but calm because they were sure that Martha Jones, the Head of Hufflepuff, would support them. Tony had an ironic smile, and she realized that, if adults needed that act, the group could handle the situation. They had Jorvik too.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Potter" she said, and then she muted "Tony, please sit to my left, and you Albus, to my right".

And the meeting started.