A/N: I do not own Harry Potter & Co. or The Boondock Saints.
Chapter 10: The Game Begins
January 13th, 1999
The Leakey Cauldron, London UK
Sirius was waiting in a private room alone. Bill and Charlie Weasley were due to arrive any minute now. Though he trusted the information he got from Remus and Moody, he still would have preferred it if Kevin or one of his brothers were with him, but it was safer to leave them out of this meeting until he had some assurance that the Weasleys were not working for Dumbledore.
He opened the door to the room when he heard a knock. Standing outside were two young men, both appeared to be in their late 20s. But other than red hair and blue eyes, there was very little similarity between the two. Bill was taller, more lanky while Charlie stood a few inches shorter and had a more muscular build.
"Sirius Black?" Bill asked. He had never met the man before but he did recognize him from pictures in the Daily Prophet. Of course, those were just after his release from Azkaban so he had changed greatly since then.
Sirius nodded and reached out to shake their hands. "Bill and Charlie Weasley I presume. I was very sorry to hear about your family. Your parents were good friends of mine back in the day."
Bill and Charlie just nodded their acceptance of his condolences. They had received so many and it was too emotionally exhausting to deal with them constantly. Now they just wanted to get past the pain and put their lives back together again.
Sirius ushered them into the room before locking the door and casting a couple of minor wards to let them know if someone was trying to listen in on their conversation.
Charlie broke the silence after pouring himself a glass of fire whiskey "Mr. Black why did you want to meet with us?"
"Sirius, please call me Sirius. And before I can tell you why I wanted to meet with you, I'm sorry but I have to ask for a wizard's oath that you won't divulge anything we discuss today with anyone else."
Bill and Charlie looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. It was an unusual request but if they were just promising not to talk about their meeting then there was really no risk. Unless…"Sirius can we see your left arm?" Bill couldn't imagine being approached by a Death Eater after the attack or for that matter that Sirius would join up after everything that had happened in his life because of Voldemort but it paid to be safe.
Sirius grinned slightly at the request and rolled up his sleeve without saying a word. He even let Charlie cast a number of revealing charms to just to make sure. "Satisfied?"
"I'm sorry." Bill started only to be stopped by Sirius.
"There's nothing to apologize for. After what you have gone through and being asked to swear a wizard's oath, it's totally understandable."
Bill and Charlie then swore the wizard's oath. There was a flash of light as their magic sealed the oath.
"So what did you want to talk to us about? I assume it isn't about our parents since you wouldn't need an oath for that." Charlie asked curiously.
"I'm working with a group that needs your help fighting against Voldemort." Sirius said ambiguously.
Both men got a sour look on their face and Bill snapped "I already told Dumbledore we needed time. We're not interested in working for the Order of the Phoenix right now!"
"No, no, no I quit the Order years ago. I couldn't stomach following Dumbledore after he let me rot in prison and abandoned my godson. Fuck him anyway, he's more interested in trying to reform the murderers then he is in actually put a stop to them. Besides, the group I'm talking about is not the Order or the Ministry. We're not interested in arresting anyone. If the Voldemort and the Death Eaters want a war, we'll give him a war." Sirius finished fiercely.
Bill couldn't help but ask "What do you need us for?" Of the two brothers, he was the more cautious. In his line of work as a curse breaker you couldn't afford to rush into things. Charlie on the other hand was more of an adrenaline junky working on the dragon preserve.
"We need people that can handle themselves in tense situations and neither of you would still be in your current jobs if you couldn't do that. But more importantly, we need people that are familiar with curses and wards because we plan on attacking the Death Eaters' homes."
"So you need us to provide firepower and help take down any wards that are protecting the manors?" Bill clarified.
"Pretty much and there is the side benefit of getting revenge for your family."
Charlie pressed "You're really going to take them on, not just stun them and hand them over to the Ministry?"
"We've spent the last three weeks planning the assault on Walden MacNair's manor. Anyone there is fair game."
Charlie nodded to Bill this was their chance to do something and make a difference. "Ok, we're in but who are we working with and when are we taking down that bastard MacNair?"
"Well that more than anything is why I needed the oath. The other members of our team currently are my godson, Harry Potter and his two brothers."
"Harry Potter? Dumbledore said he disappeared. He's trying to force him to save the wizarding world from Voldemort, says he owes it to us."
Sirius asked in a cold voice "And what do you think?"
Charlie answered honestly "Why would he owe the wizarding world anything? We've done nothing for him and even if we had that doesn't mean that someone should have to put their life on the line unless they want to."
"Good answer…by the way he won't answer to Harry Potter. His name is Kevin MacManus and his brothers are Connor and Murphy. Just by way of friendly warning, they are extremely protective of each other so if you mess with one of them, you mess with them all."
Bill couldn't help it, he started to laugh. When he noticed the questioning looks from his brother from Sirius and his brother he calmed down enough to explain "Don't you get it? Dumbledore is convinced that he has to coerce Harry into saving our world. He would be horrified to know what you have planned; his savior is going to be no better than a Death Eater is his mind."
Charlie added darkly. "No your wrong. Harry will be worse than a Death Eater to Dumbledore because he is robbing the Death Eaters of their chance at redemption."
"Sirius, where has Harry been all this time and why is helping now?" Charlie added after a moment of silence.
"First of all, I'm not kidding when I say the he and his brothers will kick your asses if you call him Harry. Dumbledore tried that too and he got a bullet in the shoulder for it. To answer your question, Kevin grew up in Boston and had no clue about the wizarding world until he came over here earlier this year."
"Why didn't he go to one of the American magical schools?"
"That's really for Kevin to tell you but I will say that his magic works differently than what we are used to. He may have survived the killing curse but he didn't escape unscathed."
Bill read between the lines of Sirius' answer. They would only learn personal information on Kevin would be to get it from Kevin himself. "Did you know where he was all along?"
Sirius smiled broadly "No, I've been searching for him for years never had any real leads. Not sure if you know, but I left the wizarding world once I found out he was missing, it was just too painful to remain. So I took a position teaching history at a muggle university. Believe it or not, about two months ago, he walked into my office to get permission to take one of my classes. He had no idea who I was and it just went from there."
"That's amazing so when do we get to meet him?"
"Meet me here tomorrow morning and I will take you to meet with Kevin and his brothers. We will need to get your input on the plan too. None of us are that experienced with wards so we couldn't account for the time necessary to bring them down."
"We'll be here." Charlie said enthusiastically.
Once they had returned to Bill's flat, Charlie asked "So what do you think?"
"I think it's our chance to avenge our family. And it has the added benefit of pulling one over on Dumbledore."
January 14th, 1999
St. Paul's Cathedral, London UK
Sirius, Bill and Charlie had met in the morning at the Leakey Cauldron. They stayed long enough to have a light breakfast before leaving to meet with Kevin and his brothers. Charlie was surprised at their destination "We are meeting them in a muggle church?"
"Believe it or not, churches offer sanctuary to any who ask for it. It even protects them from being detected by magical means." Sirius explained. "I don't think many in the wizarding world even know about the protection and if they do, they probably disregard it since it is not wizarding magic."
Charlie and Bill could only marvel at their own attitudes. Even with their father, a self-professed muggle lover, they knew virtually nothing about the muggle world. Like Sirius said, if the situation was different they probably would have scoffed at the protection offered by the church as well. It would be something to think about when this was all over. Who knew what else the muggle world had to offer.
Sirius led them over to the elevator that would take them down to the Order's safe house. "Do you enter of your own free will?"
Bill and Charlie looked at him quizzically before nodding their heads.
"I need you to agree verbally."
Both agreed and then Sirius led them into the safe house. Marcus had explained that there were magics preventing anyone who entered willingly from disclosing the nature and location of the safe house. In order for the magics to work, the person needed to verbally agree to enter.
"What was that all about Sirius?"
"By agreeing, you won't be able to give away anything about this location. It's a safeguard."
Once inside, Sirius introduced the Weasleys to Kevin and his brothers. Luckily for the Weasleys Kevin had been given a clean bill of health by the doctor so he was no longer stuck in a knee brace anymore. As soon as it was off, he thanked the doctor grabbed his coat and left for the rest of the day. Connor was pissed when he didn't return until the morning but he couldn't miss the smile on his face or the slightly stiff way that he was walking. Everyone else was just glad to have the old Kevin back.
The six spent some time getting to know each other before getting to work. It was agreed that they would the Weasleys would stay for the time being. Time was needed to learn each other's patterns and moves so that they could work more effectively as a team.
A couple of days passed before the raid on MacNair's manor was discussed. In general, Bill and Charlie did not have any issues with the plan but they did help to refine it. Because of his area of expertise Charlie would be the one responsible for bringing down the wards. Originally Sirius had expected it to be Bill who it turned out worked more with curses than actual wards but he would be able to assist Charlie none the less.
The night before the attack, Bill finally asked a question that had been bothering him for a while. Even though the brace was gone, Kevin still needed to continue his rehab exercises to strengthen his knees. Currently, he was exercising in a large room that held a number of pieces of exercise equipment and free weights. "H…Kevin, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
Kevin grabbed his towel and wiped the sweat from his face before quirking a small smile in his direction. "You almost called me Harry didn't you?"
Bill blushed before nodding his head apologetically. "At least I caught myself. Just don't tell your brothers, I don't think my ears could take it."
Laughing softly, Kevin nodded "Yeah Murph isn't afraid to let someone know when they've screwed up. So what was your question?"
Bill took a deep breath, Kevin and his brothers could be intimidating when they wanted to be and often were without really trying to be. "I was just wondering why you and your brothers were willing to risk your lives to save a world you've never known."
Kevin was silent for a moment as he considered his answer. Bill and Charlie deserved the truth; they were going to be risking their lives by fighting by their side. Of course, it was to avenge their family but it didn't change the risk they were taking. So after some thought, Kevin began describing their life in Boston and the events that had led them to London.
"You really believe that you were given a mission by god to deal out retribution on his behalf?" Bill asked skeptically.
Kevin shrugged you had to have faith to make this kind of leap and obviously Bill's if he had any had been shaken by the death of his family. "Whether you believe it or not, it is something that my brothers and I have seen and believe in. How is it any different than believing in prophecy? Personally I find this more believable than the idea of someone dictating the future in cryptic riddles."
"I suppose." Bill conceded reluctantly. "Regardless it doesn't really change anything anyway. The Death Eaters need to be dealt with as does Voldemort."
"Do you really think that all of these people here, people who have pledged their lives to God and to doing his bidding are delusional?" Kevin pressed.
"Yes…no…I don't…" Bill didn't really know how to respond. It would be nice to think that there was some higher power out there but why would God allow such creatures as Voldemort to rise.
Kevin answered Bill's unasked question "Free will Bill, it's all about free will. Connor, Murphy and I, we had a choice. We could have refused the task that was given to us but we chose to help, to do our part. Everyone else in the Order of the Garter will tell you the same thing."
Bill was silent. "Bill we don't expect you or your brother to share our beliefs. We didn't ask you to help us in order to convert you. We asked for your help because we need your assistance nothing more. Just think about it, magic is real, prophecy is apparently real, is it really so hard to believe that my brothers and I have been asked to undertake a task that no one in the wizarding world was willing to do?"
"I don't know Kevin." Bill didn't say anything else; he just wandered out of the room, a contemplative look on his face.
January 22nd, 1999
MacNair Manor, Outskirts of London UK
A little after 10pm that evening, Kevin, Connor, Murphy, Sirius, Bill, and Charlie arrived just outside the perimeter of the wards surrounding MacNair's manor. Each of the wizards had used side-along apparition to bring Kevin and his brothers.
Charlie got to work immediately, his wand moving in a complicated patter as he began tracing the edge of the wards before bringing them down. The wards began to shimmer with a soft blue light. Murphy, Connor and Kevin began to place explosives along the outer edge of the wards. If all went to plan, they would herd the any Death Eaters with MacNair towards the explosives.
The explosives were wired to a trigger that Connor would control. After the explosives were placed, Connor and Kevin moved off to one side were there was a small rock outcropping. Connor moved into position, he propped a hunting rifle on top of one of the rocks and took aim at the front entrance.
Kevin knelt down and concentrated on accessing his magic. He formed an image in his mind and pushed his magic out to fill that image, to bring it to life. A swirling disk of gold light appeared above their heads. As the disk began to spin faster and faster gold light flowed away from it arcing down to connect with the earth to form a translucent gold dome. Another few seconds passed and then the dome, Connor and Kevin appeared to waver for a moment then fade from view.
Inside the dome, Kevin wiped the sweat from his brow. The dome had taken a lot out of him. Using magic was still pretty new to him and it tired him out fairly quickly.
"You ok Kev?"
"Just give me a minute. I'm beginning to see why they use wands if it helps them avoid exhausting themselves all the time."
Murphy and Sirius had moved to a copse of trees and taken up position. Sirius would cast a disillusionment charm that would hide them until the attack began. But he paused while he and Murphy watched in awe as Kevin and Connor faded from view. "Guess he's getting the hang of magic." Sirius remarked.
Murphy didn't look too happy about that. Sirius had learned enough about the brothers to get a feeling for what was bothering him. "He's never going to leave you and Connor."
"You don't know that!" Murphy whispered harshly.
"Yes I do Murphy. All you have to do is look at Kevin to know how he feels about you and Connor. He may be learning to do magic now but do you think he's going to just throw away everything that he has with you and Connor for that?"
Murphy shook his head and admitted to himself that Sirius was right. Then he smiled "I'll kick his ass if he tries."
There was nothing else said and the two men turned their attention to Bill and Charlie. Both Bill and Charlie were working together now to bring down the wards.
"If two wizards could bring down wards, then why bother with them?" Murphy asked.
"It takes a very powerful wizard to work with wards. The training is very specialized and there are few that make it through. Most of the wards on the manors today were put up years ago."
"So you're saying that if Bill and Charlie hadn't been willing to help us we would have been screwed."
"More or less."
"Won't they know what's going on inside?"
"They should, wards are typically tied to an object kept in the heart of the manor. Most likely an alarm will go off when the wards fall and they should feel the magic itself change and collapse."
"But what about the anti-portkey or anti-apparition wards you mentioned that Aurors frequently use?"
"The Aurors use stones that have been imbued with the wards. The stones usually only have enough power to operate for an hour or two so they are not useful in protecting a manor. The stones first created years ago were more powerful but the secret of their creation has been lost so the Ministry still uses the original stones which are slowly weakening."
Another 20 minutes passed before the wards flared and turned a bright solid blue. Then like a piece of glass, they shattered, the fragments evaporating into the air.
True to Sirius' prediction, the occupants of the home must have sensed the wards falling because a group of robed figures emerged from the front entrance not a minute later. The warning klaxon of an alarm could be heard when the door opened.
The lead figure saw Bill and Charlie and pointed them out. The other Death Eaters spread out and began to approach the Weasleys, spells flying from their wands. Jets of varied colored light lit up the dark countryside.
Bill and Charlie didn't even get a chance to return fire. It was everything they could do just to dodge or transfigure barriers to protect themselves.
Murphy took aim at the Death Eater nearest to him. Taking a slow breath to steady his hand, he squeezed the trigger on the rifle. The loud report from the rifle and the bright muzzle flare attracted the attention of the Death Eaters. They didn't even notice that one of their number was lying on the ground with the top portion of his skull missing.
Like Bill and Charlie, Sirius began frantically transfiguring stones into walls to block the incoming killing curses. He heard a pair of gunshots and chanced a look towards the direction of Connor and Kevin. He felt a second of jealousy when he noted that their invisibility didn't fade with the attack. Sirius was drawn back to what he was doing when Murphy pushed him down. He looked up when Murphy collapsed screaming in pain when he was hit by a dark red spell.
Another pair of gunshots echoed in the night felling another Death Eater. There were still 4 left including MacNair. Shields sprang to life deflecting the next shots from Connor and Kevin. Feeling more confident, the Death Eaters move closer. MacNair now was the only one casting offensive spells; the other three were focusing on shielding. More rounds from the rifles ricocheted off the shields.
MacNair, enraged by the attack on his home, decided to go for whole sale destruction. Blasting curses burst from his wand to spread in a wide swath across the area. Dirt, stone, fire, and smoke was everywhere but one spot. Kevin's shield though still invisible was pushing away everything making them stand out. A malicious grin split MacNair's face and he threw a pair of blasting curses at the area. Both impacted solidly with the dome. There were no explosions, but the air rippled for a moment and a wave of golden light spread out from the points of impact. The dome shimmered into view but remained solid.
Kevin and Connor paused for a second and then started opening fire with their pistols forgoing the power of the rifles for the speed the pistols offered. The bullets visibly impacted on the shields created by the Death Eaters with a loud ping but failed to penetrate.
MacNair began attacking with renewed vigor but he was only one man. So he decided to focus on the Weasleys since they were the most exposed.
Meanwhile, the MacManus brothers and Sirius began throwing everything they had at the slowly advancing Death Eaters.
MacNair changed his target when the Weasleys retreated behind Kevin's shield. He hammered it with another blasting curse. The dome rippled and collapsed when he hit it was a killing curse a few seconds later. For a second, MacNair paused; the shield had stopped the killing curse. Sensing an advantage, he and the Death Eaters surged forward to press the attack.
Connor smiled and hit the trigger to the C-4. An explosion ripped through the earth showering everyone with stone and dirt. The sound was deafening this close and even huddled behind the rocks, Kevin and Connor were thrown to the ground by the blast wave.
The shields held just long enough to protect the Death Eaters from the explosion but shattered when they were hit by the blast wave. Being closer to the blast zone, the Death Eaters were stunned for a moment by the sound and the sheer destruction before them.
Murphy and Sirius were the first to recover. Murphy snapped off two shots, catching one of the Death Eaters in the chest and head.
Sirius for the first time in close to twenty years cast the killing curse. Part of him recoiled at the need but he went ahead anyway. "Avada Kedavra!" and a jet of sickly green light struck the second of the Death Eaters that had been shielding. The man was hit in the leg but collapsed to the ground dead anyway.
MacNair managed to dive to the side avoiding the incoming curses from Bill and Charlie. The last Death Eater wasn't so quick on his feet. He was hit in the chest by Kevin; his wand fell from his hand. His hands flew to his chest as he sank to his knees and fell forward face down.
Connor's shot grazed MacNair's head as he was diving. It left a blood gouge along his temple. Before he could stand or move again Connor's next shot caught him in the side of the head. MacNair almost seemed surprised that a muggle weapon would kill him even as the opposite side of his skull disintegrated and blew outward. His body slumped to the side twitching for a few seconds before finally stilling.
No one moved. The only sound to be heard was the heavy breathing coming from the 6 men.
Murphy couldn't help but break the silence "Fuck, that didn't go quite as well as we planned now did it?"
Connor and Kevin were the first to laugh, accustomed to Murphy's morbid sense of humor. Wheezing a little from his laughter Connor added "It was awfully rude of the Death Eaters to fuck things up like that. Didn't they realize how much effort we put into that plan?"
Sirius and the others stared at them like they were crazy. But it was hard to ignore the banter between the brothers; it lightened the mood and distracted them at least for the moment from the fact that 8 men were dead.
Finally Kevin asked "Well should we see if Walden MacNair is among the not so dearly departed?"
Bill and Sirius grimaced at the prospect. Except for the man hit by the killing curse, the other bodies were not in good condition. Rifles could apparently do a lot of damage to the human body. Charlie was less affected from his work with dragons but still felt a little queasy.
The group spent some time examining the bodies. As it turned out, Walden MacNair was the man in the lead that had been killed by Connor. None of the wizards recognized the others so they were either new recruits or simply not very notable in the Death Eater ranks or the wizarding world in general. With the help of Sirius and some sticking charms, they placed coins on the eyes of each Death Eater before they began apparating the bodies to be found in Diagon Alley. Because it was late, there was virtually no one there, and the four trips that were required for Sirius and Charlie to bring all the bodies went off without a hitch.
In the mean time, Bill and the brothers checked the manor to make sure that there was no one left inside. A few quick spells at various points in the house and soon it was a roaring inferno. The six men watched it burn for a few minutes before returning to the safe house at St. Paul's for a few well earned beers.
DMLE, Ministry of Magic, London UK
Amelia was working late again. It seemed that all she did lately was sit in the office coordinating the defense against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. At times she wanted to wash her hands of the entire situation and move her family to the US or anywhere else far away. It wasn't that she was a coward or weak, but it seemed like she spent half her time fighting the corruption in the Ministry to get anything accomplished.
Her blood pressure rose in anticipation when the door to her office opened and a perfect example of Ministry ineptitude strode in. Annoyance caused her eyes to narrow, she was the man's superior he should not have barged into her office. "Auror Dawlish I assume you have a good reason for barging into my office." Her voice was cool but there was an undertone that left little doubt in Dawlish' mind that she wouldn't hesitate to tear into him if need be.
Dawlish's normally ruddy features paled slightly when he realized what he had done. "I'm sorry Ma'am. But we just got word that the bodies of 8 pure bloods were left in Diagon Alley."
Pure bloods? Were they Death Eaters or their victims? It wasn't normal for the Death Eaters to leave their victims to be found without the dark mark. "What was their condition? And how do you know they were pure bloods and for that matter what does it matter?"
Dawlish held back his reply. Of course it mattered if they were pure bloods. Pure bloods were the crème of wizarding society and it galled him to think that someone had disposed of them like trash to be found by any passer-bys. Despite evidence to the contrary, he was not an idiot, Amelia Bones made no effort to hide her disgust at the current status placed on blood in their world. "They're all dead. The bodies are being examined but whatever was used looked like some form of concentrated Reducto. There were bloody holes in some of the chests and a few were missing large portions of their skulls."
"Do we have any idea who did it?"
"No, we could only detect spell residue on one body, ironically it was the one with the least amount of physical damage."
"You said they were pure bloods, what were their names?" It was wrong, but she hoped they were Death Eaters. From all accounts, he had not been as successful this time around in recruiting pure bloods to his cause but she knew that there were many sympathizers out there. Perhaps this would send a message.
Dawlish rattled off the names of 7 minor pure blood families. Amelia had to fight her sigh of relief because each was a known supporter of Voldemort. It was the last name that caught her attention. "Walden MacNair?"
"Yes ma'am. This is a blatant attack on the Ministry and on pure bloods. He was a respected member of his department and an upstanding member of our world." Dawlish asserted.
Amelia began to realize that she may need to pay more attention to her own backyard than she realized. She had become accustomed to working with the likes of Kinsgley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody so it was something of a wakeup call to see the blatant prejudice in her own department. "Did you think to check their arms? Were any of them marked?"
Dawlish had the grace to look embarrassed. "Ummm, we didn't check." He mumbled.
"My god man, the body of Walden MacNair, a known Death Eater was found in Diagon Alley and you don't think to see if the others are marked?" She asked incredulously.
Dawlish replied hotly "That was never proven, he was under the Imperious curse."
Amelia rolled her eyes and once again picked up her reports that she was finishing up. "Dawlish, go check their arms for the dark mark and report back to me."
Dawlish recognizing the dismissal turned on his heel and left Amelia's office.
Another note was scratched on the report in front of her absently while she replayed the meeting with Dawlish. It was time to clean house. Men and women like Dawlish had no place in serving the DMLE. It wasn't their beliefs, it was the way they let them affect their performance on the job.
An amused chuckle could be heard from her office after she had received a note from Dawlish informing her that the men did indeed have the dark mark branded on their arms. She even noted that the paper was torn in a few spots showing Dawlish's feelings on the matter.
Quickly, she penned a note to her contact at Gringott's. It seems that the DMLE had just received another supplement to their funding for the year. Most of the Death Eaters that had been found this evening did not have any significant wealth but Walden MacNair came from a very old family and it would be quite a blow to have the Ministry confiscate those funds.
Close to an hour later, the remaining reports were put away for the night, Amelia prepared to leave. Her departure was delayed by the abrupt arrival of Cornelius Fudge. Sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose, Amelia sank back into her chair. "Cornelius, it's been a long day what do you need?"
Cornelius was dressed in an absurdly bright green suit with his trademark bowler hat clutched in his hands. "Amelia what is this I hear about a massacre of pure bloods in Diagon Alley?"
Amelia wanted to groan. Obviously Dawlish or some other like-minded individual from her department had informed Cornelius of the bodies. She deliberately remained silent while conjuring herself a cup of tea. "What does it matter if they were pure bloods? Don't you represent all the wizards and witches of England?"
Bristling at the rebuke Cornelius pressed on. His arms flailing energetically as he said "This can't stand. To think that pure bloods could be harmed and left on the street like some common …" He trailed off as he tried to think of a comparison.
"Mudblood?" Amelia supplied helpfully.
Cornelius unmindful of the tone of Amelia's voice jumped on the word "Yes, like nothing more than a mudblood. It's disgraceful and I want to know what you intend to do about it."
"I intend to thank whoever was responsible and have already ordered that the deceaseds' Gringott's vaults be seized." She replied sweetly after taking a sip of her tea. Her expression was bland, betraying none of the humor she saw in the situation.
Cornelius' hands clenched tightly around his hat and his face took on a deep red color. "What?! I'll have you booted out of office for this." He declared hotly.
Openly amused now "Cornelius who in their right mind would try and remove me because of 8 dead Death Eaters, pure blood or not?"
Cornelius puffed his chest up in victory. "I know those men were found dead in Diagon Alley. How could you possibly know they were Death Eaters?"
"It's simple really; they all bore the dark mark on the left arm. In the absence of any mitigating evidence I have declared them Death Eaters and their estates are being confiscated as we speak."
"But they must have been under the Imperious curse." Cornelius argued weakly.
She had finally had enough. Cornelius may be something of a racist but for him it was all about the money, everyone knew it just no one could prove it. "It's amazing how many pure bloods are under the Imperious curse. It doesn't speak much to their strength of will now does it? Oh and Cornelius, I hope for your sake none of those men made donations to your campaigns because if they did it will just be another nail in your coffin."
Trying to save face, Cornelius said apologetically "Clearly I was given inaccurate information. My apologies Amelia."
"I'm sure you were, now if you don't mind, it's been a long day."