I do not own the characters, locations, nor situations described herein, those remain the sole property of J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: There's a poll on my profile page regarding the inflammatory information about one of the contracts revealed in the final scene. Go there if you'd like to show your (non-binding) opinion.
Chapter 10
-=aPBR=-
Amelia removed her head from the fireplace, "The Lovegoods should be here in a few minutes. Selene is brining both Xeno and their daughter Luna."
By now the only people in the room were Amelia, Andromeda, Ted, and Narcissa, since Amelia had suggested that, since Susan and Harry were going to be married eventually, they'd might as well be friends, and so had sent the young Lord Potter-Black-Rosier to play with the young Lady Bones.
"So, while we're waiting, what can you tell me about our chances of taking down Albus?" asked Narcissa.
"Slim to none," she said resolutely.
"That bad?" asked Ted. "I mean, we have witnesses."
"If it was anybody else, even Minster Bagnold herself, it'd be an open and shut case," explained Amelia. "The problem is, this is Albus Dumbledore. We all had him as our Headmaster, and our parents likely had him as their Transfiguration Porfessor, so most of our society sees him as an authority figure. Plus, he defeated Grindlewald, which places him in a nearly unassailable position of righteousness. Add in his positions as Chief Warlock and Head Mugawump, and unless he uses the Killing Curse in the middle of the Ministry Atrium or on the steps of Gringotts, he's untouchable, and even then, he'll likely get out of a trip to Azkaban with a comparable slap on the wrist."
"So it's hopeless?" asked Andromeda.
"Hopeless, no, I never said so, I just said it's pointless to try to convict him of killing a squib and a possible wizard, no matter how connected they are to the Boy-Who-Lived," clarified Amelia.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" asked Ted.
"Blackmail," answered Narcissa with a nod.
Amelia nodded, "It's not my preferred method, but I've already lost my Siri to that man's machinations, I'm not going to lose the Boy-Who-Lived as well."
Just then the fireplace flared green, and out stepped Selene Lovegood with her four-year old daughter Luna, and followed by Xeno Lovegood, a known eccentric, generally thought to be brought to lucidity by his loving wife.
"Ah, welcome to my home," said Amelia to her guests.
"Senior Auror Bones," began Xeno with a bit of a bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Call me Amelia, Mr. Lovegood." she replied.
"Well, if we're being familiar, then I insist you call me Xeno. Now, where is the young Lady Bones and Lord Potter-Black-Rosier?"
"Well, Lady Bones, my niece, is currently playing with Lord Potter-Black-Rosier," explained Amelia.
"Ah good," said Xeno. He then turned and nodded to his wife, "I'll take our Lunette to see her future husband and sister wife, and I'll be bask shortly."
"Xeno, let me get an elf to direct you," Amelia quickly added as Xeno took his daughter's hand and headed for the door.
"A wise decision, it might not be wise for me to get lost is here," replied Xeno.
"Buffy," commanded Amelia, and at that a house elf attired in a pillowcase emblazoned with the crest of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Bones.
"Yes M'tress Amy?" asked the elf.
"Show Xeno and Luna here to where Susan and Harry are playing, will you?"
"Yes'm M'tress Amy," said the elf with a nod. She then turned to the two Lovegoods, "If'n Mast'r Strange and M'tress Moon would follows me?"
After the three left Andromeda turned to Selene, who had said nothing since her arrival, "Selene, I'm glad you could make it, and I see now why Cissy only talked with you yesterday."
"He's a good man, a bit odd, but he loves me, and we were able to take care of a debt between our families when we married," said Selene with a sigh. "And after hearing about my cousin's son, I'm glad that he has no possible claim on my daughter, no matter if she'll have to marry Harry."
"It seems my Lord will be taking quite a few brides," said Andromeda.
"Oh, you've taken teh Regency Oath I see," said Selene with a smile.
"Yes, we both have," said Narcissa. "But today we have more important things to talk about."
"Such as?" asked Selene.
"How we're going to blackmail Albus Dumbledore," said Amelia resolutely.
-=aPBR=-
"Okay, where did this come from?" asked Selene, taking a seat on one of the many cushioned chairs, each seemingly made from human bones, though luckily not upholstered in anything close to leather.
"We realized that my daughter, Nyphadora, is still at Hogwarts, and he saw us when he attacked yesterday, so he knows I am involved, and so we need to make sure my daughter is safe," explained Andromeda.
"So," thought Selene, looking at the adults in the room. She noticed a Regent's ring on the hands of the women, but not Ted's. "I'm guessing that the second shoe to drop is that dear Bellatrix is going to be needed at Harry's third Regent?"
"How'd you know?" asked Ted.
"The rings," said Selene. "Plus if it was just your daughter it would simply be a matter of waiting until the end of the week and then going to the Prophet if he doesn't let her leave."
"Oh," said Ted and Andromeda in unison.
"Albus has taken a keen interest in Harry, and since Hogwarts is pretty much the only option unless we want to send them to Beaubatons or across the Pond to Salem, we need to make sure Nymphadora, Harry, and even Susan and Luna are kept safe from the Headmaster's machinations," explained Amelia.
"As well as secure Bellatrix as his third Regent," added Selene. She then added, "I assume you two are Regents Black and Potter?"
"That we are, so my dear sister will need to swear fealty as Regent Rosier, but at least it will supplant any loyalty she has to Riddle," confirmed Naricssa.
"Who?" asked Amelia and Selene in nearly the same unison as Ted and Andromeda had previously exhibited.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle, otherwise known as Lord Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and You-Know-Who," explained Andromeda.
"Yes, apparently he was the Heir of Slytherin before he was killed by Lily Potter, which means that Harry is not just Lord Potter, Black, and Rosier, but also the Heir of Slytherin, Gryffindor, and if you're believe it, Peverell," explained Ted.
"Peverell?" asked Xeno from the doorway. "Did you just say something about the Peverells?"
"Yes dear," said Selene, gesturing him over to stand next to her chair, "Ted was explaining that in addition to his extant Lordships, Harry is the Heir of three Houses in abeyance, Slytherin, through conquest, Gryffindor, and Peverell."
"Interesting," said Xeno, fingering a small triangular pendant.
"So, we put his attack on Privet Drive against the health and safety of the children as well as securing Bella," summarized Narcissa.
"Seems a bit thin for Blackmail," said Selene.
"Well, there were illegal wards on Privet Drive," added Amelia. "They contained the damage to just the house, killing Petunia Dursley née Evans, and her son, Dudley Dursley. That they were both descendants of Marcus Rosier, although Petunia was obviously a squib, means that we can put more pressure on him."
"We need more," said Xeno. "This is barely enough for an exposé, let along blackmail."
Ted and the three Regents looks surprised at his comment.
"What do we know of why he was there in the first place?"asked Xeno.
"Well, Petunia was Lily's cousin, though thought to be her sister, perhaps that's why," asked Narcissa.
Xeno shook his head, "It'd take more than that to get him sent there, even Albus couldn't swing that through the Wizengamot. They'd be clamoring to send him to a wizarding family. It wasn't until the third or fourth of November of '81 before Sirius Black was revealed as the traitor, so even he'd have been a better choice, since the Potters were close with Sirius."
Amelia and Andromeda both tried to say something at the same time, though eventually it was decided for Amelia to go first.
"Siri wouldn't have betrayed them, he wasn't like his family, didn't believe is the pureblood doctrine of Vol… Riddle," explained Amelia.
"Siri?" asked Xeno.
"I was engaged to Sirius Black until his death, after which point the contract transferred from myself and Siri to Susan and Harry," explained Amelia, "Since it was between our Houses, rather than individually."
"And you Andi?" asked Selene.
"Sirius Black was Harry's godfather," she explained. "I doubt he could have betrayed them without it costing him his life and magic."
"So, was Sirius Black framed?" asked Xeno.
"And more importantly, did Albus know about it? He sent an innocent man, and a Lord of the Wizengamot, to Azkaban," asked Ted.
"Why didn't this come out at the trial?" asked Selene.
"There wasn't one," said Amelia sorrowfully.
"What?" exclaimed the rest of the people in the room.
"Albus claimed that Sirius was the secret keeper, combined with his killing of Peter Petigrew, and Bagnold and Crouch just forced it through without a trial. I was just a Junior Auror at the time, barely a year out of training, so I couldn't risk my job to speak up. I had assumed it would have come to trial once things settled down."
"Even Lucius got a trial," said Narcissa. "Sure, he bribed his way out of it, but it still happened."
"Perhaps someone bribed it so that Sirius wouldn't get a trial?" asked Xeno.
"That's a possibility, he was, to use one of his favorite sayings, the 'White Sheep' of the House of Black," said Amelia.
"So, we need to figure out how much Albus was involved with Black's lack of a trial, as well as how Harry ended up at a muggle home in Surrey," confirmed Selene.
"But what about our daughter?" asked Ted.
"Right now we need more information, I'm sorry. Albus can't hold her past the end of the month. If she'd not home by the first of July, the Monday after next, then we confront him," explained Amelia.
"We could use some more allies," said Andromeda with a sigh.
"Well, you got me and the Lovegood through the contracts, perhaps we can collect some more in the same fashion," Amelia pointed out.
"That means a trip to Gringotts," said Andromeda. "Any contracts should be in the family vaults there."
"It'll only be the Black and Potter contracts, since without a Regent, we can't get access to the vault," added Narcissa.
"Should we get the children?" asked Xeno.
"We should be able to get them in less than an hour or perhaps two tops," said Andromda. "So, really, just Cissy and I need to go."
"I do need to return to work," commented Amelia.
"Who takes care of Susan when you're at the Ministry?" asked Selene.
"The elves, plus the Abbotts live nearby, and they've always been close with the House of Bones," explained Amelia.
"I'll stay and watch over them," volunteered Ted. "I mean, I know Susan hasn't had a strong male in her life, and I'm likely to be Harry's as well, so I might as well get used to it. I've already taken the day off from the practice."
"We can stay as well," offered Selene. "Xeno's got until the first to get the Quibbler out anyway, so he's got time."
"Well, since we're practically family anyway," said Amelia cautiously.
"Would an oath suffice?" asked Ted.
-=aPBR=-
Two hours later, the two youngest Black sisters were comparing notes in the lobby of Gringotts.
"Bones, as expected," said Narcissa, looking over her notes on a piece of parchment. "Greengrass and Davis as well here in Britain, and interestingly enough, a Delacour from France. Also, Potter."
Andromeda looked over her list, written on one of the papes of the paper notebook she always carried with her, "Yeah, I have a Black as well. Granger, though apparently it was dormant for a while in a squib line but was reactivated in '79, Patil, and quite interestingly, one between the Weasleys and the Potter, set up after Lily and James' deaths by none other than Albus Dumbledore under his authority as Chief Warlock."
"He can do that?" asked Narcissa.
"Seems it was a rider amendment on one of the bills shortly after the end of the war. And the contract itself is interesting, since it allows the Weasleys to pay for their children to go to Hogwarts," explained Andromeda.
"I've always wondered how Author was planning on paying for that brood of his to attend. I'd always assumed it was under one or more of the various scholarship programs, but I guess extorting the House of Potter worked just as well," spat out Narcissa.
"We don't know it's extortion," said Andromeda. "I know that the Potters worked closely with Albus during the War, as did the Weasleys and the Prewetts."
"Well, let's get back to the Ossuary and get in touch with our Lord's future in-laws, shall we?" asked Narcissa.
-=aPBR=-