Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. He belongs to J.K.R. I am not making money from any of my fics.
Harry Potter and the Change of Fate
By: Uncle Potter
Chapter 10
The next day, Harry woke to Hermione gently shaking him. He opened his eyes and made out her blurry visage. He reached over to get his glasses and slipped them on. He looked back at her, her face was sympathetic. He could tell that she wanted to talk about what had happened last night, but was respecting his privacy.
"Hey" he said groggily.
"Hey" she answered. "Harry, I won't push, but if you want to talk…"
"I know, Love." he said. "Just not right now. It's too fresh."
She nodded, "I understand, Harry."
He smiled and she left him alone so he could get up and get ready for the day.
After his shower, he dressed in a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt and his trainers. He went downstairs and into the kitchen. That's where things went to hell. In the kitchen Vernon Dursley was trying his best not to go ballistic on the magicals already there. Seeing Harry was just too much for him and he exploded.
"YOU!" He screamed.
Harry looked up, "Me." he said lazily.
"THIS IS ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT, FREAK!" he yelled. "If you could just be normal-"
"Normal?" Harry asked coldly. "You have the nerve to talk to me about normalcy? How DARE you!"
Vernon opened his mouth to speak but Harry beat him to it. "Is it 'normal' to beat a child mercilessly for getting good marks?"
The other magicals in the room looked angrily at Vernon, daring him to answer.
"How 'normal' is it to bring a belt to a seven year old because he had the flu and was coughing too loudly?" he asked Vernon.
Vernon's face was turning it's trademark puce. It was apparent that he was trying to form some kind of argument.
"And if you are so 'normal', when was the last time you had to set your own broken bones, trying hard not to cry out, so that you don't get another bating?"
If anyone were to look at Sirius, they would have seen him contemplating another stint in Azkaban. Murder seemed like such a good idea.
"You see, I understand these concepts way too well, Vernon. They were lessons you taught me." Harry started to advance on the rotund man. "In the sixteen years that I've been alive I have been lashed with a belt, beaten by a man four times my size, starved, neglected, worked like a slave, locked in a cupboard, and nearly killed by the people who are supposed to be my family." Harry closed his eyes and shook his head. "I have been through all of this BEFORE I went to Hogwarts, and you have the nerve to accuse ME of not being normal? Just what do you think 'normal' means?"
While Vernon was trying to come up with something to say, he was punched in the face by Arthur Weasley. Everyone except Sirius looked at the Patriarch of the Weasley clan with surprise. Sirius looked like he wanted to continue what Arthur started. Meanwhile Vernon looked up from his place on the kitchen floor to see an angry Weasley.
"I cannot even begin to understand what kind of man would do that to a defenseless boy." he said icily. "Creatures like you disgust me."
Sirius lowered himself so that he could look directly into Vernon's eyes. "I just want you to know that, the boy you have been mistreating all those years is the only reason you are still drawing breath, Dursley. Because if it weren't for him, there are quite a few wizards and witches that would be out for your blood. As it is, It's taking everything I have to keep from adding to the body count of this war, myself." he rose and quickly left the room barely keeping his temper under control.
Harry, on the other hand walked up to Vernon and pointing his wand at the mans face. Vernon tried to back away but saw a light yellow beam leave Harry's wand. He almost screamed until he noticed the pain from Arthur's punch fade into nothing. Harry gave him an indescribable look and left the room, followed by Hermione.
"How he turned out to be the kind and caring young man he is, I'll never know." said McGonagall as she too, left the kitchen. Soon the only person left in the kitchen was a deeply disturbed Vernon.
Later, Harry was in his room alone. He was going over all that had happened in the past couple of days, as well as what he had learned from McGonagall. He hated the fact that he was forced to kill someone. It ate away at his conscience like nothing else. However, he knew that if he was going to survive this war, he was going to have to kill again. In fact winning this war depended on it. If he didn't kill Voldemort, he and many others would die.
In the hours that he'd been in his room, Hermione had stopped in about a half dozen times to check on him and offer support. The last time she came by, Harry told her that he was starting to come to terms with everything and would be down soon. That was an hour and a half ago.
He had also been thinking about the Order meeting he was going to shortly. He knew basically what was going to happen. They were going to 'debrief' the mission. He also knew that Dumbledore was going to make him tell his side of what happened. Well, Harry decided on something else that should be brought up.
"I call this meeting of the Order of the Phoenix into order." Albus said as everyone settled down. "Last nights mission was a success as all three members of the Dursley Family are safe and sound within these very walls."
"They won't be for long if that walrus doesn't learn to keep his gob firmly shut." said Tonks quietly, inducing nods of agreement from those who heard her.
Albus continued, "Unfortunately, we have also suffered a casualty." His features took on a somber look. "Elphias Doge was a Good man and a valued member of the Order. As an informant he was invaluable, as a solicitor he was unstoppable, but his true value was that of friend. And he will be sorely missed. May we all bow our heads in a moment of silence for Elphias Doge."
Everyone lowered their heads. Some remembered fond moments, while others said a silent prayer for their fallen friend. Harry did neither. He didn't know Mr. Doge very well so he had no memories to call up. He also didn't think any god would care. He chose to sit quietly in respect for a man who willingly put himself in grave danger for the sake of three people that he didn't know. This only served to anger the teen more in regards to his 'relatives'.
After a moment, Albus raised his head. "Another subject we must discuss is what happened with Mr. Potter. It is confirmed that Antonin Dolohov is, in fact, deceased. Now, Harry, I know that you would rather not discuss this, and that it is difficult." he looked at Harry in sympathy. "However, we must know what happened."
Harry looked up at Albus darkly. He understood why he needed to tell him. He needed to know how Stable Harry was after all this. But he didn't have to like it. So Harry told them everything that happened including his thoughts as they occurred. He told them that he had no time to erect a shield that could stop that powerful of a curse and that his sword wouldn't be able to deflect it in that angle. When he was done, he had painted a detailed picture of his part of the mission.
Once Harry was done, Albus said, "Thank you for that, Harry. I believe we shall move on to new business." he turned to Snape, "Severus, Is there anything to report from Voldemort?"
Snape stood "The Dark Lord is very displeased with the failure. After his bout of… punishment, he has taken to his chambers. It would appear that he knows that there is a spy among his ranks."
"I see, Severus. Thank you." he turned to look to the rest of the group. "Is there any other new business?"
Harry stood. "Am I the only person here who thinks that I did the right thing last night?" he asked.
Albus asked nervously, "Whatever do you mean, Harry. We have all decided that you really had no choice."
"Yes I know, but That's not what I'm saying." Harry continued, "What I mean is, no matter how much I hated it or how much it tears at me, Dolohov won't be able to torture, rape, or murder again."
"Harry," Molly said scandalized, "Surely you don't mean that you're glad to have taken a life!"
"Of course not." Harry answered, "I'm still coming to terms with it. I hate myself for it, but I think it was necessary. Dolohov was a Raving lunatic. As long as he was alive, no decent human being was safe. With him gone, how many people are going to go through life not knowing what the cruciatis curse feels like? How many women will be able to save their virtue for someone they love? How many people are going to continue living, now that he's gone?"
"Harry this is a very dangerous way of thinking." said Albus. "To discount one life for any reason is a dark path."
"I understand what your saying, Albus." Harry said, "I'm not Happy about this subject. Not even a little. However, I'm not so much 'discounting' lives so much as trying to stop the death eaters from doing so. You know as well as I do that the ones we caught today will be out of Azkaban by next week. Voldemort already has the dementors there is no one there who can stop him from getting everyone in that prison out. Our little stun and arrest tactics are only delaying him briefly."
Harry looked around the room. Most of the older members appeared to understand, if not agree, what he was saying. Some of the younger members like Tonks, Hestia and the Marauders seemed to solemnly agree with him. Moody, on the other hand, looked like he was proud of him for realizing it.
Harry continued, "I'm not saying that we go hunting them. That would make us as bad as them. But they are starting a civil war. This is not going to be solved with sending the death eaters to a corner and making them think about what they've done."
He was interrupted by Snape, "Getting a taste for blood, Potter?"
Albus started to say something but was cut off by Harry, who calmly said "Get out."
Snape looked at him surprised. "What did you say to me, Boy?"
Harry didn't flinch. "I said to get out. I've had enough of your shite, Snape. For five and a half years I have taken your snide comments, insults to my father and verbal abuse. And now, you come into MY home and disrespect me. I will tolerate it no more!"
"Harry, Severus is an important member of the Order." Albus said, trying to diffuse the situation.
"Not really." said Harry. "He just told everyone here that Voldemort knows there's a spy in his ranks. Do you honestly think he'll get any useful information now? In fact, he's probably at the top of Voldemort's suspect list considering how close he is to you. As a potion master, he's a great ally to have. However, as a spy, he's pretty much worthless." he said this as he looked directly at Snape. "Now either sit down ad shut the hell up, or get out of my house, BOY!"
After Snape left, Albus asked, "Was that really necessary?"
"Yes." Harry answered simply. "He had an over inflated sense of importance. He seemed to believe that he didn't have to deal with consequences. I wonder why he would think that, Albus." Harry looked at Albus in such a way to show that he knew the reason.
"AS I was saying," Harry continued " the death eaters aren't the slightest bit afraid of us. And they shouldn't be. They got better numbers and won't be stunned for very long before a buddy revives them. For every one of them we stun, they kill one of us. If we keep going as we are, our numbers will keep falling while their numbers either stay the same or rise. This will just lead to the extermination of anyone who opposes Voldemort. I'm sorry that I can't be as idealistic as you are Albus. It sickens me to think of taking another life, even though I have to if I want to live through this. I wish that we could just tell them to stop and end this. But I can't. Logic dictates that Voldemort is going to make this as bloody as we allow him to make it. His followers truly enjoy killing and torturing people. If we don't stop them permanently, they'll continue to do so." he looked at all the thoughtful faces. "That's all I've got to say. Excuse me." he hurried from the room.
Two hours later Remus found Harry in the kitchen with a cup of tea and a blank expression. It tore at his heart to see his pseudo-nephew go through yet another hardship. The young man has been through so much, and yet, he was far from through. But Remus made a promise to Harry that he would be there when Harry needed to talk. And boy, did he need to.
"Hey, Cub." he said quietly.
"Hey, Moony." said Harry.
Remus sat down trying to think of a way to get Harry talking. Harry beat him to it.
"Why do they hate me, Moony" he asked sadly, "I've never done anything to them. All I ever wanted was a family that loved me. Why do I have to have relatives that completely hate me?" tears were threatening to drop, partly from rage, but mostly from misery.
"I'm not sure, Cub." he said honestly. "I guess your uncle is just afraid. He used to be a stand up bloke, but when your parents died he just let that color his judgment. As far as your aunt, well, I would say that she was a little jealous of her sister. Lily was brought into this new wonderful world that Petunia just couldn't be a part of. She could do magic and see all of these wondrous things and, I guess Petunia may resent that."
"You're wrong , sir." said another voice from the doorway. Harry and Remus turned to see petunia in her dressing gown looking sad and regretful.
"I was never angry with Lily. That was the excuse I used, but it was always your world that I resented." she clarified.
Seeing the sad look upon her face as she looked at her nephew, Remus made a decision. "I think that you two are overdue for a chat. I'll just be in my room." and before Harry could protest, he was gone.
An uncomfortable silence surrounded Harry and Petunia. Each was lost in their own thoughts. Harry was uncomfortable being in the presence of his aunt, who had made him suffer a life without any resemblance of love or affection. Petunia, on the other hand had just finally come to understand exactly what she had subjected this young man to. And he still saw fit to save them from a horrible fate.
Harry was about to get up and leave when she started talking. "There was a time that I truly loved you, Harry." she said blankly. "You and Dudley would play together when your parents would come visit. I would tickle you and laugh along with you." a tear fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek as she smiled sadly. "You were such a happy baby."
"What happened?" asked Harry. "What did I do to change that?"
She shook her head. "You did nothing." she said. "As I said, I was never jealous of Lily. I loved my little sister more than anything whilst growing up. But then she got her letter, and your world took her away from me. Not just once, but every year she became less my little sister, and more of a witch. As the years went by, we started to fight more. That first year I even wrote to your headmaster asking to attend your school. Did you know?"
Harry shook his head, amazed.
"I did, knowing that I can't do magic, but I was hoping to be with Lily. I now know that it was impossible but I was infuriated that they would take her and leave me alone. Things got better when she graduated. I was already engaged to Vernon, but she came by quite often. She said that she wanted to get to know her sister again. Soon after, she introduced me to her fiancé, James.
"We were at each other's weddings. She even asked me to be her matron of honor. I declined due to being quite pregnant with your cousin. But I was truly happy that she had wanted it. Then Dudley was born and she became the 'worlds best aunty' as she called herself she was so attentive and playful. A month after Dudley was born, she told me that she was pregnant. Vernon and I were so Happy for her and James. It was then that The two men started to become close. They shared a bit of a bond with Vernon giving helpful bits of advice when dealing with pregnant Evans women." she smiled
"You were born and our worlds seemed to be complete. When you were a baby, You and Dudley were wonderful together. Always playing together and giggling. While you were playing with Dudley, your parents were telling us about your world and the civil war that they were involved in. I, of course was frightened for my sister, but she said that Dumbledore had a plan to protect the three of you. But…" she choked back a sob. "The following Halloween, that protection failed. Your parents were attacked. And your world took my sister away from me again." she sobbed as she finished. "I'm so sorry about what happened after that. I found you on my door step the next morning with a note. I knew what happened. For the first few months, we tried. We really did, but Vernon got more and more frightened about wizards and magic, while you just reminded me more and more of my baby sister. Soon Vernon's fear turned to hate and I couldn't stop him from what he started to do to you and we overcompensated with Dudley.
"There is no excuse for the way we treated you, Harry, so I won't try and make one. All I can do is tell you how sorry I am for it, and say that I never hated you. It was just too painful to love you." finished with her monologue, she buried her face in her hands.
The two sat in silence for a few long minutes. Harry thought about all that she said. Logically, he could almost understand. Grief does strange things to people. And unresolved grief can change one completely. But at that moment he was emotionally that little five year old who cried himself to sleep when his aunt, whom he loved, told him that she could never love a freak like him.
But here she was, explaining everything to him and asking him to forgive her. He was torn. On one hand, this was the woman who hurt him more than anyone else. She called him freak and made it plane that he wasn't wanted. On the other hand, she was his aunt and, as much as he didn't want to, he loved her. So he mentally debated with himself and finally spoke.
"You have hurt me so much, aunt Petunia." he started. "All I ever wanted from you was to be loved. I understood that I wasn't your son, and Dudley was. I understood that he would always be your first priority, but would it have hurt you to hug me once in a while? Or to comfort me after I had a nightmare?"
She said nothing. She just sat there remembering ll of the times that she heard him cry in the night, telling herself to go to him, but not able to bring herself to do so.
"However, I know now that it would have hurt you to." he said monotonously. "I don't like it. But I kind of understand. And I think that someday, I could forgive you.."
Surprised, she looked up to him, hope filling her eyes.
"Maybe, once this Voldemort business is over, we can start over, I think I would like to see the Petunia That my mother loved."
Her tears that were slowing came back as relief filled her. "I… I would like that very much, Harry. Maybe I could take you and Dudley to dinner, sometime."
Harry gave her a small smile. It was small, but it reached his eyes. "I think that would be a great place to start." with that he stood. "Good night, Aunt Petunia." he said as he left the room.
"Good night, Harry" she whispered after he left. She suddenly felt much lighter than she had in fifteen years. She could almost feel Lily smile down at her.
The next day found Harry and Hermione in the great hall at Hogwarts, eating breakfast. Well pretending to eat, anyway. What Harry was actually doing was pushing food around on his plate and brooding. Hermione was watching him with sympathy. Merlin knows what he must be going through. Everything he said at the Order meeting made perfect sense, though coming just hours after being forced to kill that death eater must be hell for him. Not that he'll talk about it.
Harry had been getting a lot better about expressing himself lately. That is until Saturday. The order had to go and save those horrid relatives of his, and look at how they thanked him. Calling him those horrible things. If the unforgivable weren't illegal…
She tried to get Harry to open up but, it was no use. It was just like before. He just stopped talking after the meeting. It broke her heart to see him like this. What could she do to help him. She decided that maybe she could talk to Ron. Yes, Ron might be able to help get through to him.
"What do you mean 'killed'?" Ron asked incredulously
"Just what I said, Ron." explained Hermione, "He did it to save Tonks. Dolohov was going to use the same curse that he almost got me with in the department of mysteries. Harry didn't have time to shield so he stabbed Dolohov through the chest. And after that his relatives tried to attack him and… oh it was horrible, Ron."
Ron furrowed his brow in thought. "So what do we do?"
"I don't know." she said dejectedly. "He won't talk about it or anything else. I've tried."
After a few more moments of thought Ron said, "Try not talking about it. Talk about studies, quiddich, your girl problems, or anything else. If he doesn't want to talk about it, there's nothing to be done about it. He'll eventually come out of it, that's what he does."
Hermione looked doubtfully. "That doesn't sound too productive, Ron. He needs to talk about this. If he doesn't, this will eat away at him, Ron you KNOW what he's like!"
"Yeah, Hermione, I do." Ron raised his voice, "But he needs to get this sorted out in his mind first. He's not like you or me. He never had someone to talk to about his problems growing up. So before he 'burdens' others with his problems, he has to deal. H doesn't know any other way. So stop pushing him."
After a moment or two of tense silence, Hermione said "I'm just so worried for him." a tear slid down her cheek. "He's hurting and alone and I can't do anything about it."
"Not yet, Hermione, but I'll bet Dumbledore has an idea how to help him." Ron theorized. "Maybe we could talk to him, yeah?"
Hermione nodded sadly and the two Gryffindors set off to find the venerable headmaster.
/
Dolohov was dead.
She was in shock at the words. Antonin Dolohov was one of the most brutal and sadistic of the Dark Lord's servants. That son of a bitch delighted in screams and suffering. But nothing made him hard like his victims' helplessness. He reveled in rape and torture of defenseless women. He got off on the cries of their husbands and fathers as they were forced to watch helplessly. He was one of the Dark Lords most faithful, because he loved these things almost as much as Voldemort himself. He loved it even more than Belatrix did while she was crazy.
The loss of such a demented and dangerous creature as Dolohov didn't bother Bella. She was Rather glad that the bastard was dead. No, what bothered her, was that her Lord was feeling guilty about ridding the world of such a scourge. She understood that Harry had never killed a human being before, but she hated that he had to feel like this on the account of that mad man.
As she worked tirelessly to find a way to heal the Longbottoms, she decided to talk to Sirius. He had killed in the last war. He understood. Maybe he could help their Lord. She hoped so. She didn't think that Harry would accept council from someone like her. She also figured that she probably didn't have much time left for this world after Harry told Young Lord Longbottom about her.
/
Albus Dumbledore had never felt so old in his life.
He had hoped to end the war quickly with few casualties to both sides. He loathed killing. It seemed such a waste to remove such potential from the magical world. And such a burden to the person forced to do so. He wanted to protect his Order from such a burden.
Alas, it was not meant to be.
As loath as he was to admit it, Harry was right in that regard. Sending the Death Eaters to Azkaban was of little use. Voldemort had proven that he could, and would, collect them at his leisure. The only place that Voldemort could not easily access was Hogwarts, and that was unacceptable. No, unfortunately, the time for capture has passed. To stop them on a more permanent basis may be the only answer.
Tom's men were killing innocents daily. They were killing for sport and pleasure. Albus could no longer sit back and preach about peaceful solutions while people are being brutally tortured and murdered. No, Tom had forced their hand and made this into a war. It was now time for a call to arms.
And as for Harry. If there was any doubt upon his character, one would only have to see his anguish in taking another man's life to prove that it was sound. Albus did not know if he would live to see the end of this war, but if he did not, he took comfort that he would leave the magical world in the capable hands of Harry Potter.
/
Neville Longbottom sat in the Great Hall thinking about the changes in his life recently.
He remembered his time before Hogwarts. He was a bit clumsy and more than a little shy. He was also afraid that he was a squib, due to not having much in the way of accidental magic. Yet his Gran would tell him stories of his father and how brave he was. She would tell him of the times that he and his mother had fought several death Eaters alongside the Potters. As though they were meant to rid the world of evil. So Neville desperately wanted to become a powerful and brave wizard so that he could honor them.
His first few years at Hogwarts didn't show much promise for him other than getting sorted into Gryffindor. Yet he made contact with the people who would later help him become who he wanted to be. He had trouble in his classes. Thankfully, Hermione would help him with his course work. But his practical application left much to be desired.
Then came last year. Neville never thought he would be thanking the toad, Umbridge, but if it wasn't for her, Harry would have never started the DA. The DA had helped him in ways that no Hogwarts Professor ever had. Thanks to Harry's lessons, Neville was building confidence that he didn't know he was capable of. Harry's positive reinforcement as well as his patience helped Neville learn more than he thought possible. He even got an O in his DADA OWL.
The thing with the DOM was another matter. Harry tried to stop them from going, but he wasn't about to let Harry go fight alone. It seemed that Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Luna agreed with him. This adventure also helped Neville, though he didn't know it at the time. Riding a thestral that he couldn't see was weird and frightening, but he would do it again for Harry.
The battle through the Department of Mysteries was something that he would never forget. He had a broken nose which caused his spell casting to suffer tremendously but when his father's wand was broken, that didn't matter. It may have looked like he was muggle fighting only to save his own life, and it would be partially true, but he was really trying to avenge the loss of the only real connection he had with his catatonic father.
But even this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. You see, in the summer, his Gran finally took him to Olivander's to get a wand that was well suited to him. This caused his magic to flow more freely and his spells to be cast much more easily. Now he was considered to be one of the better students in some of his classes. He even took to helping some of the lower years in defense. It seems that while he was a prodigy in herbology, he was quite gifted in defense thanks to Harry. Many of the DA members didn't know it at the time, but Harry got most of them far past the OWL level, and in many cases past NEWT level.
So when He learned that DA was going to be a fully supported class and not a study club, he signed up immediately. If Harry was going to teach like he did last year, he wanted-no needed to be a part of it.
The first thing Harry did in his class was to issue them uniforms. Neville didn't immediately understand the reason for them, but said nothing. He learned the point behind them on the first day, when Harry had them exercising like mad. Never had Neville sweated like that, nor was he ever as sore as he was after. But apparently you get used to it. Over the course of the last month he lost quite a bit of the fat he had been teased for in his first four years. He also noticed that he had more energy than before. Since the start of the new DA, he had taken to doing many morning exercises that Harry recommended. This caused him to feel healthier as well as turn the head a few witches.
Another change in his life was that of Luna. While they have yet to formalize a relationship yet, they are getting closer to it. At first he had a bit of a crush on Ginny Weasley, but after they both thought about it, decided that they probably wouldn't work. She was a bit too wild for him. He rather liked to relax at home or tend to his greenhouse, while she was a Weasley and took after Fred and George. Luna, however, was serene and casual. She was exactly what he needed in a girl.
Oh yes a lot has changed in the last year.
/
Sirius Black was not having a good day.
He was in his study while his formerly deranged cousin was in the basement and his godson was in his room torturing himself. It was odd how alike the two were. Looking at the surface you would see no similarities. (especially if you didn't know that Bella wasn't insane anymore) However they have much in common.
For instance, Harry isn't the only black haired person in the house currently torturing themselves over things they have done. Sirius had spoken to Bella quite often over the last few weeks and she is more agonized than Harry. True she has caused much more harm than Harry could imagine, but the point stands. Also, before the hands of fate took her from him, she had a personality much like his godson.
When Bella was younger, she was an outgoing friendly girl. Sorted into Raven claw (isn't that a surprise) she was one of the top students in her year. Her parents weren't happy about her school house, but it was better than Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. She had a few close friends that she was loyal to. Oddly enough Lily Evans was one of those friends. Sirius believed that this was the reason she was forced into that contract with hat curse. The idea that TWO of daughters of black was cavorting with Mud bloods was unacceptable.
Funnily enough, before the contract, Bella was trying to get her parents to contract her to James. She had quite a torch burning for the handsome Gryffindor chaser. James even thought about asking her out on one of the many occasions that lily was not willing to talk to him. Sirius kind of wanted it to happen as well. Nothing against Lily, but if James would have married Bella, they would be family. Of course that didn't happen. James finally won the girl of his dreams and his father drove Bella guano. How Sirius hated his parents.
Now, Bella is in the basement, forced to suffer for the things Orion Black forced her to do through that thrice damned contract, and there was little to nothing that Sirius could do for her. Just like Harry was in his room suffering for a decision that was forced upon him by Antonin Dolohov. The similarities are unfortunate, but there.
"Sirius?" he heard from the door behind him.
He turned to look at the woman. 'speak of the devil' he thought as he stood to face her.
"What is it, Bella" he asked.
"Well, I think I found a way to help the Longbottoms." she said nervously.
He looked skeptical. "And…?"
"It would involve an intensive potion and physical therapy regiment." she said.
He still looked skeptical. It was obvious she wasn't telling him everything. "What else is it, Bella?"
She fidgeted a bit "Well, there's something else. But I don't think any of us will like it."
Sirius braced himself, "What won't we like, Bella?"
"It will be necessary to cast thwhwhw" she mumbled.
"What was that, Bella?" he said anxiously
She fidgeted again. "They'll have to cast the cruciatis curse on them." she said quietly
Sirius stood there stunned for nearly a full minute before asking "Why, prey tell, would they need to cast the cruciatis curse on them?" with forced calm.
Bella took a deep breath "There are two purposes for the curse." she stated, trying to sound professional. "One is it acts as a beacon. It is a memory that can call them back to reality. And the other is that it jars subconscious into focus and allows them to follow said beacon."
Sirius looked doubtful, "This would work?"
"Almost one hundred percent sure." she said confidently.
"Alright let's say we try it and it doesn't work, what would happen to the Longbottoms?" he asked
"Nothing, theoretically." she said. " The potions act to light a path back to reality, while the curse basically sends on their way. If it doesn't work, they will remain lost in their own minds."
"You had this verified?" he asked.
She nodded. "I sent my research to three separate mind healers in America, Germany, and Japan. They all said that it would work." she handed him several parchments.
"Sirius perused the pages and nodded his acceptance. "I'll introduce this to St. Mungo's and the Wizengamot immediately." he looked up at her smiling, "Great work, Bella."
She smiled in relief. "Thank you. Siri."
AN: there it is. A little shorter than I would have liked. There is a lot of stuff in this chapter though. I am very sorry that it took so long to upload. I have been very busy. I have a wife and two boys that I have to spend time with as well as work. So life comes before fan fiction, unfortunately. As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And I'll try to get the next one up sooner.