Author's Note: I'm happy this chapter is done so quickly, and I want everyone to keep reviewing it. This chapter has more action in it than the others. Thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter.

"You're going to need a disguise," Ron said, staring at his best friend. The duo was preparing to go to Knockturn Alley to seek out Charlie Eastman so that they could question him.

"I know that," Harry said. "I'm temporary Minister, and Head of the Aurors."

"Yeah," Ron began, "but you're also Harry Potter." He thought for a moment. "I'll need one too I suppose. This red hair means Weasley from a mile away."

"Why don't I just use the invisibility cloak and you disguise yourself?" Harry suggested.

"Sure, why not? It's not like we're risking our lives just by going in to Knockturn Alley or anything." Ron said grimly.

An hour or so later, Ron and Harry found themselves walking down the street from Diagon Alley to the seedier part of the shopping area, known as Knockturn Alley. Harry was underneath his Invisibility Cloak, following Ron closely. He was taking special care not to bump into anyone.

The sky above Knockturn Alley seemed to be darker than that of Diagon Alley. It seemed to radiate some sort of darkness that Diagon Alley did not have. The shops sold much darker items, and indeed many of the items there, Harry recognized them as being cursed or stolen. If it were an ordinary day, he would have had them arrested, but he was there for a much larger purpose.

The Dragon's Den pub was towards the end of the narrow lane. The windows were very dark, perhaps from magic, perhaps from one too many fires inside. The sign looked to be decrepit, halfway falling down from its posting. The inside, matched the outside. There were several stools pulled up to the bar, as well as a couple of tables with a few chairs at them. A thick layer of dust covered the inside windows, and parts of the floor that were not stepped on. A couple of menacing looking people sat at random places in the bar, tall glasses of foreign smelling liquids in their hands.

Harry looked at Ron, able to read what his expression was saying. Which one is he? They both thought. Harry would have liked to said something, but besides the sounds of the wireless on the other end of the room, and the clanking of glasses, the room was quiet.

Ron's mind raced, as it appeared he had been standing there alone for quite sometime. Though he had changed his appearance, someone standing in the doorway for quite so long was still something that disrupted the mellow vibes of the room.

"I'm looking for Charlie Eastman," Ron said in a voice that Harry noticed was much deeper and rougher than his own. No one in the bar looked up or even made any indication that they had heard him. Ron walked over to the bar, taking a seat.

"I'm looking for Charlie Eastman," he said once more, this time talking only to the bartender.

"I don't know any Charlie Eastman," said the bartender who turned to walk to the other end. Ron stood up a little bit and grabbed the man's arm.

"I think you do know em," said Ron. "If you don't tell me which one of these miserable blokes he is, I'll blast this place apart until he finds himself." He swept his arm across the bar, knocking several glasses on the ground.

"You don't scare me," the bartender said, not seeming to be unnerved by the threat. He pulled out his wand, pointing it at Ron. "Now, I think it's time for you to go, before things have to get dangerous."

"I suggest you move that damn thing from out of my face before I move it," Ron threatened.

"Stup-"

In an instant, Ron had grabbed the man's wand, threw it across the room and had grabbed his entire arm and twisted it until all that was heard was a loud crack. Harry looked on, wishing that Ron had not gone that far, but still eager to find Eastman.

"I just broke your arm," Ron said. "Now, if you don't tell me which one Charlie Eastman is, I'll keep breaking things." Ron, still holding the man's arm looked up at the people in the pub who were watching. "You hear that boys? I'm handing out Lemon Drops and ass kicking's and I'm all out of Lemon Drops. Now, which one of you is Charlie Eastman?"

Harry applauded Ron silently. He knew that Ron had become a lot tougher through the years. He also knew that what Ron was doing now was not in his nature. Ron had changed his appearance a lot so that they could penetrate Diagon Alley. He had changed his hair color and given himself scars and tattoos across his body. Harry knew that his best friend was only doing this so that his outward appearance would match the fabricated attitude.

"I'm Charlie Eastman," said one of the men at the far end of the bar. Ron released the bartender and Harry followed Ron to the back.

"Why didn't you speak up when I asked for you?" Ron asked.

"I like to be needed, and you needed me," said the man. "Now, what did you need me for?"

"I need to talk to you," Ron said.

"I've never seen you a day before in my life, and you want to talk to me?" He asked. "What do you need?"

"What?"

"People only come to me for one thing: information. So if you're coming looking for me, that's what you want."

"Maybe," Ron said. "But I'm not saying another word here. You never know who could be listening.

"You're right about that, I suppose," he said. "Where are we off to then?"

"I know a place," said Ron, grabbing Charlie by the arm. "Ready?"

"Sure, why the hell not?" Responded Eastman. The three vanished with a loud crack.

They reappeared in a dark room, housing only a table and a few chairs. A fire was lit and the door was locked. Ron directed Eastman to one of the chairs while Harry took off his cloak, and Ron undid the charms on himself.

"Great," said Eastman, "just great. Of all the blokes to find me, I get found by the Minister of Magic and a damn auror."

"Stop complaining, Eastman," said Harry, taking a seat. "We need some information, and I hear that you're just the person to give it to me."

"And don't try to apparate, it wont work," said Ron, also taking a seat.

"What can you tell us about Vespa LeStrange?" Harry asked.

The man stared at the pair before him, surveying them up and down. He knew that it would be wise to cooperate with them, but he was never one to snitch.

"I know that I can't tell you anything about her," said Eastman.

"What the bloody hell do you mean?" asked Ron.

"I mean," Eastman began, "that I won't say a word about her."

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Word's gone out around the alley. Anyone who says anything about her will wish they were dead."

"You know we could use Veritaserum or some other way to get you to tell us the truth, right? Harry said.

"And who's to say that I haven't taken precautions against that already?" Eastman smirked. "Potter, how are the kids?"

Harry stood up and grabbed the man by his collar, throwing him against the wall. "Look here," Harry said, "This little investigation in as far under everyone's noses as I can make it. No one in that pub knows where you are. I could beat your ass all day long for mentioning my kids and no one would know about it."

"Well, well, seems like I've hit a nerve," Eastman said. "I'm not telling you a word about Vespa, and I mean it."

"What do you know about those attacks?" asked Ron. "I know that you said something about them to someone."

"I know that she wasn't at a single one of em. I know that they were all carried out at the same time," he said. "Let's look at that little fact. 14 attacks all carried out at once. 14 neighborhoods all destroyed at one time. That means that 14 different squads had to be at 14 places, which means-"

"The bitch has an army," said Ron. He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temple.

"What else do you know?" asked Harry, feeling so very eager to hear more.

"Potter, give me a good reason to help you," Eastman said. "You could torture me, but I know your type. You won't go too far with it, if you even have the courage to do it."

"Eastman, I could throw you in Azkaban for not cooperating with a Ministry Investigation," said Harry.

"Azkaban doesn't scare me," he responded.

"I didn't want to have to do this," said Ron, summoning a folder. He opened it and threw pictures down on the table. "We did our homework on you, Charlie Eastman. We ran a little search for your name, and it came up a bunch of times. It seems that you have a little problem betting on Quidditch. You owe money to some very powerful foreigners. From what we can tell, they've been looking for you, and if you don't tell us what we want to know, they might be able to find you."

They could both tell that Ron's words had struck a cord with Charlie Eastman. A line of sweat broke out at his forehead. He looked nervous now. "Well, seems like you've backed me into a wall," he said.

"Seems like it," Harry said. "Now, talk."

"I don't know much about her," said Eastman. "She's a well kept secret, that one. I know for a fact that she is old Bella's daughter. I don't have the slightest inkling as to who her father is."

"That's a good start, keep going," said Harry.

"She wants you dead, Potter. She wants it more than she wants her next breath. Don't ask me why though. I just know that's what she wants. She idolizes the Dark Lord."

"Who are her followers?"

"She's following in You-Know-Who's footsteps. She's trying to rally the purebloods, and she's doing a damn good job of it. But you won't be able to figure out who she's got in the army of hers. The only person you might be able to get is her right hand man."

"What's his name?" asked Ron.

"No," said Eastman, now appearing to be quite scared. "I'm not talking about him."

"Why the hell not?" asked Harry, pointing to the pictures on the table, showing Eastman with many foreigners.

"Vespa is dangerous because no one knows what she can do. He's more of a threat because I know what he can do. You've seen his work too. Those four muggles that were killed, he did it for fun."

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "You seem to know an awful lot about them for someone who's not in their little group."

"What can I say? I'm a well informed man," he said, regaining his cool and leaning back in the chair.

"You're a little too well informed. Who's your source?" asked Ron.

"I don't reveal my sources," he said simply.

"Fine," began Harry, "one last question. Who attacked my children?"

"I don't know, but I do know that it won't be the last time that it happens," he said.

Ron and Harry stepped out of the room, closing and locking the door behind them. They needed to talk about what they had just learned.

"He knows more than he's saying," said Ron. "I think we should use Veritaserum. All his talk about taking precautions against it was just to save his own ass."

"You're right," said Harry. "I want to know who this guy is he's talking about. Plus, he hasn't really told us much that we hadn't already known."

"Let's go back in," Ron said.

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Vespa stood at the front of a large room. Standing directly to her left was Anton Nightstar. They both were facing a large crowd of people, all waiting very patiently for the woman to speak.

"Tonight," she began, carefully choosing he words, "we will liberate Azkaban Prison."

A murmur went through the crowd. Clearly they had not been expecting this to happen. They thought it would be just another routine meeting. Vespa had other plans. The only person who she ever kept fully informed of everything was Nightstar.

"We will be leaving shortly," she continued, holding up a hand to silence the crowd. "The Dementors will be of no concern to us. Security has been increased since they learned of our threat, but this is of no concern to us. We shall simply overwhelm them. Be sure that you do not harm any of the prisoners."

The crowd kept silent. They looked to one another, none of them daring to speak. Finally, one of them raised their hands.

"You have a question," said Vespa.

"Yes, my liege," said the man quietly, wondering if he should even dare to ask. "How do we get to Azkaban?"

"No need to fret," said Vespa. "You will do well to ask questions." She looked at him and saw a relax look come into his eyes. "And yet…Crucio," she pointed her wand at him. He dropped to the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. "You are all dismissed," she said. "You will feel the mark burn when it is time for you to go."

The crowd vanished with a few loud cracks. The man on the floor continued to scream in pain while Vespa spoke to Nightstar.

"You will lead them," she said. "I must take care of the Dementors."

"Very well," he responded. "Do you really think he will know anything?"

"I believe he should," she responded. "And even if he doesn't, liberating Azkaban will certainly do nothing to help boost the morale for Potter."

"The place could just be a myth though," he reminded her.

"And if it is, we shall deal with it."

0000000

"Has anyone solved the Scavenger Hunt Clue yet?" asked Albus, sitting in one of the comfy arm chairs in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Why are you worrying about the clue?" came the voice of a very concerned looking Rose. "Shouldn't you be more worried about who attacked you? And what about all of those attacks?"

"Rose, there's no way we can tell who it was," said Albus.

"But you said you thought you saw someone right before you went into the woods," she exclaimed, trying to make her cousin see her side.

"Yeah, I probably did see someone," he said, thinking back, "and that was probably the person who attacked me. But my dad will figure it out."

"Albus Severus Potter!" said Rose quite loudly, catching a few stares from others in the room. "Your father has more than enough things to worry about, or have you forgotten the 4 pages of the Daily Prophet we read this morning?"

"No, I haven't forgotten," said Albus quietly. "You're right."

"So, it looks as though we've got a mystery on our hands," said Jonathan, speaking for the first time.

"So I've been doing a little research," Rose began, breaking the silence, "and I asked Aunt Ginny, and she told me that Professor McGonagall checked the wards, and they had not been disturbed or anything. So that means-"

"That whoever attacked us was already inside the wards," finished Albus.

"It could have been a Professor," suggested Jonathan, catching strange looks from both of his best friends. "Rose, who found us?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Hagrid had gone into the forest to gather some unicorn hairs when he found you three," she said.

"He didn't really look around or anything," she continued, "he just brought you up to the school and Professor Longbottom helped him bring you to the Hospital Ward."

"Why was he out so late?" asked Jonathan.

"Good question," she replied.

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"No one can apparate directly onto Azkaban," Vespa began. She was addressing her followers once again. Hours had passed, and they were preparing for their raid on Azkaban prison. "Therefore, you will wait on the shores a few miles away until I give you my signal."

Though they did not know what the signal was, none of them dared to ask what it would be. The man who had asked her a question earlier was not standing among their ranks, and wherever he was, they did not want to be.

As they stood there, a few of them wondered whether or not they should even attempt it. Last time someone had rallied people like this, it was You-Know-Who, and though his intentions had been noble, and his skills prodigious, he had fallen. They wondered if she would end up the same way, and would they, like the Death Eaters of old, would end up imprisoned at the very prison they were going to break into.

"You know where to go," she smirked. "Now go and wait."

Several loud cracks were heard as the room emptied, leaving only Nightstar and Vespa.

"Aren't you going?" asked Nightstar, wondering why Vespa had not yet began her quest to the prison.

"I have other means of travel," she said. She turned to the window, staring at the moon for a second. "Bombarda," she whispered, blowing out the window and its glass. She gave Nightstar a last look before jumping out the window.

His eyes widened with shock as he rushed to the window, only to see Vespa flying north on what appeared to be a black cloud beneath her.

0000000

"Do you think he has a class now?" asked Jonathan.

"No, classes are done for the day unless you have astronomy," Rose reminded them. "He won't take kindly to us questioning him." She sounded worried.

"We won't make it seem like we're questioning him," said Albus, already planning out what he would say in his head. "We can just make it seem like we're curious about what happened."

They reached their Head of House's office and knocked on the door lightly. At first there was no response, but after another knock, they heard his voice inviting them in. They walked into the office, avoiding the many plants all around and each took a seat.

"What brings you here this evening?" He asked, sitting up intently. "Albus, Jonathan, are you feeling alright?"

"Much better now Professor," said Jonathan.

"That's just what we wanted to talk to you about," said Albus. "We were wondering…what happened after Hagrid found us? Rose filled us in on what she heard, but since you were there, you would know."

"You're so much like your father, "said Neville, "finding mysteries in everything. Harry always a hunch, and he was always right." He smiled, staring at Albus, his eyes glazed over. "I was on my way down to the Greenhouse. As you'll learn about in your 6th year, if you still take Herbology, Solaris flowers, will only grow if planted the night before the full moon and tended to with a special potion. Hagrid busted through the front doors, half carrying the three of you and I helped him to levitate you up to the Hospital Wing. I notified the Headmaster and your parents and waited for them to come."

"Did anyone inspect the spot where we were found?" asked Jonathan.

"I looked around this morning," he said. "It appeared that whoever attacked you dragged you lot closer to the front of the forest, almost like they wanted someone to find you."

"Professor," Albus began, "I saw someone that night."

"Really?" asked Neville, leaning forward, more intrigued.

"I…I'm not sure who it was, but I'm definitely sure that someone was there."

"Well," Neville began, "the matter is being looked into. Everyone is a bit on edge now, because somehow the news has gotten out that the wards had not been disrupted or tampered with in any way."

"Professor," Rose spoke up, "does that mean that whoever attacked them could still be on the grounds?"

"Yes," said Neville.

00000000

Vespa arrived at the prison, glaring at the menacing building. Azkaban was extremely tall and the building itself sat in the middle of the island upon which it sat. It gave off the feeling of desperation and despair.

Vespa landed directly on the front of the island, noticing the chill in the air and wondered whether it was coming from the Dementors or the cold October air. She looked up in the sky, noticing the flock of Dementors floating down towards her. They stopped in front of her, approaching quickly.

"Stop," she said, though they did not stop. "You understand me, I know this already. I am here to make you an offer. You join me and my group, and we shall let you have free reign over the muggles. All the feelings and emotions that you can handle."

The Dementors stopped their advances, staring at her. She assumed they were communicating as some sounds were coming from them. She was not just going to wait for them to make up their minds. Waving her wand, she summoned a large coffin. Using her heel to kick open the box, she revealed the man who had questioned her earlier inside. He was conscious and was scared out of his mind.

"Please….don't," he pleaded through sobs. "I'm sorry…" He cried hard, looking around wildly and feeling the chill of the Dementors.

"As a token of good faith, take his soul," she said. More Dementors from above came down and began to feed on the man. She could see him crying more and more and did not feel any remorse. "I take it that I now have free reign over this prison," she said. She turned from the Dementors and walked to the shore and began muttering very quickly. She needed to stay focused and make sure that she did this quickly. It would take much concentration for her to break the wards at the prison, and as soon as she broke through them, she knew that the Auror's inside would be notified.

"…Apparatus Attero," she finished muttering. She tried to apparate, and did so successfully. She sent her mark up, high into the sky. It was a giant pentagram.

She knew that within a few seconds, her followers would arrive. She rushed to the doors of the prison, blowing them off their hinges and staring at the shocked Aurors for a moment before killing them both.

Her heart pounded from the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She was excited and so eager to kill. She blasted yet another door out of her way as she heard her people coming up behind her.

"Stupefy," shouted one of the aurors.

"Protego," she countered quickly, conjuring a shield so powerful that it knocked the auror back on his bottom.

"Petrificus Totalus," she muttered. She walked over to the man and kicked him hard in his face. "Crucio," she then muttered to the body bound man. It was quite a sight to watch as his eyes were bulging out of his head. Had he been able to move his body, he would have been screaming and writhing, but instead, he could only lie there, perfectly still.

"Do you know where he is?" came the voice of Nightstar. "I've already broken the drones into groups and they're doing what they need to do now."

"Yes," she said. "He's on the highest floor."

They ran wildly through the prison, killing aurors in more gruesome manners as they went. The Dementors made their way into the prison, where Vespa had left them a few Auror's to feed off of.

Finally, they reached the top floor of the prison. They knew that this floor housed most of the former Death Eaters, and indeed, they saw some of the names on the outsides of the cells.

"There's Mcnair," she pointed out. Every one of the prisoners looked to be a shell of his former self. "That's Avery…and there's Carrow, and her brother. And this," she said, pointing to one of the last cells on the floor, "is our man. Anton Nightstar, I'd like you to meet, Rodolphus LeStrange, the man who should have been my father."

"Who are you?" asked the man in the cell. His voice was so hollow and sounded like a death whisper.

"I'm your wife's daughter, and I need your help."

"How can I help you?" he asked, staring at her through yellowing eyes that sunk into his face.

"I know you and your wife were never that close, but I know that she discussed something with you," she said.

"Something like what?" he wondered.

"I need you to tell me where the Serpent's Lair is," she said. His eyes widened and something that looked like the beginnings of a smile were playing at the corners of his mouth.

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"He didn't know anything," said Ron. "He really did take precautions against Veritaserum. Do you think someone tipped him off about us coming?"

"No, I doubt it," Harry said. "Knowing so much stuff probably makes him a target to a lot of people."

"So, we really don't know much more than we knew before," Ron said. "We need a name, and we need someone to give it to us."

"Harry Potter! Minister Potter!" came a loud yell from the fireplace. Harry and Ron turned to the fireplace, only to see the head of one of the healers from St. Mungo's.

"Yes, has something happened with Kingsley?" asked Harry, kneeling down to the fireplace.

"I have both good news and bad news concerning him," said the man.

"Well give us the bad news first," said Ron.

"Okay, Mr. Shacklebolt has taken a turn for the worst. We are doing all that we can, but the situation looks to be dire," said the man.

Harry and Ron looked at one another, each showing a feeling of concern on his face. "What's the good news?" asked Harry, neither one of them seeing the flash of red light outside the door.

"We've identified the poison that Kingsley contracted. It was a very dark magic poison, and frankly, we do not understand how he got it."

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"You see," the man began, "the poison that he has, must be administered in two parts. The first part can be given through an open wound, and in that stage it's dormant. But the second part has to be ingested."

"Ingested?" asked Ron. "As in, someone had to give him something? Kingsley went to see-"

"Charity," Harry concluded, drawing his wand and rushing to the door.

Harry opened the door to his office, and the sight that saw him shocked both him and Ron. Hermione was lying face down on the ground, apparently stunned while Charity had he wand pointed right at her.

"If either of you take one step closer," She said in a dangerously menacing voice, "I swear to Merlin that I'll kill Mrs. Weasley here."