A Change of Fate
Chapter 10
(Hogwarts)
Daphne was thankful to be back on her feet and walking around if even for just a test of her mobility and recovery. Madam Pomfrey was watching her closely to make sure she did not collapse. Not that she minded and she had always known the nurse was dedicated to her job and was a very competent healer.
Astoria watched from her bed. She was still to weak to move or even attempt to get up. She had just had another pain potion given to her and would soon be asleep again Daphne suspected.
As she moved again she wondered why she had not seen any signs of the Headmaster. She had expected him to visit and try to play the kind old man that had so many people fooled. She knew from her parents that the old man was not as friendly or nonthreatening when he wanted something. She knew she had to be on her guard if he did eventually turn up. She hoped Harry was not under his thrall, as he had appeared to be during the first two years of Hogwarts. She had noted since third year that rift was growing between the two and she hoped that when she met Harry he would show he was his own person.
"You seem to be recovering well enough Miss Greengrass," Madam Pomfrey's voice cut through her thoughts and made her look up at the nurse. "I think you can indeed leave tomorrow morning as planned," she added.
Daphne nodded and headed back to bed, intent on getting a good night's sleep and then preparing herself for her first real meeting with Harry. She just hoped she would not be disappointed. She watched as Madam Pomfrey checked on Astoria again, she seemed satisfied that her sister was on the mend and gave her a sleeping drought before going to her office.
"Good night sister," Astoria mumbled before she fell under the potion's effects.
Daphne looked her sister over and was pleased to see the color had come back into her face and she seemed stronger than she had as she had first woken up. She turned on her side, closed her eyes and waited for sleep to claim her.
(12 Grimwauld Place)
Harry looked up as Xander, Jenny and the others finally returned, much to his relief. However he was surprised to see they had brought someone with them. She appeared to be about the same age as Xander and Tara and was quite attractive with her longish black hair and stunning brown eyes. She appeared very alert as she looked around the living room, taking in who was inside.
As he glanced to his side he noted how Ginny and Ron watched the newcomer with frowns on their faces. Mrs. Weasley and Bill soon appeared as well.
"And who is she?" Mrs. Weasley demanded to know, wanting to get as much information as she could on this newcomer for the Headmaster.
"A friend," Tara responded, not liking the tone of the elder woman one bit.
"We don't know her. You shouldn't have brought her here," Bill shot back, still angered by Fleur's rejection of him. The plans Dumbledore had put forward to him had been wonderful and he had easily gained the French girl's attention, but now something had gone wrong and she had pulled away. Robbing him of his very stunning girlfriend, as well as blocking any access he may gain to her fortune in the future.
When he first heard the plan he had been slightly apprehensive, but he had seen the logic of the Headmaster's plans and agreed to them. For them to not only survive, but also win this war they had to do things that may seem dishonest and evil. He glanced at where Harry was watching events and remembered what the plan was for him, if they could get Ginny close to him.
"No you don't know her, but we do," Xander responded with a glare. "And I will thank you not to tell me who I can and cannot bring to my house," he added, taking a few step towards the older boy. "You forget yourself, I can and will chuck the lot of you out of this house and forbid you to come back, if you do anything that threatens my friends or my charge and his friends," he pressed fiercely.
Mrs. Weasley did not like the way she was been spoken to, but knew there was little she could do about it. Thanks to the will made by Sirius this house belonged to Xander and his wife. She did not think Dumbledore would be pleased if they were removed from the property and so she placed a hand on Bill's arm to let him know to back off.
Bill glanced at his mother noting the look in her eyes and much to his annoyance he stepped away. He was beginning to get tired of playing nice with these newcomers and wished to take action, but he knew they could not just yet.
Fleur watched this confrontation and knew that in time it would come to a head on and they needed to be prepared for it. She decided to return home within the hour and find some more assistance, as well as checking for counters to any potions that they might try to slip them. She glanced at Harry and noted he too seemed to realize that a much greater confrontation was coming and this made her wonder what he intended to do about it.
"Now if you will excuse us, I would like to talk to Harry and the others alone," Xander spoke up again, pleased to see Bill back down.
It was clear who was been asked to leave and reluctantly the Weasely's left the living room. Jenny quickly sealed the room and with Remus' help, laid down wards to keep their conversation from being heard or listened in through magical means.
"We should be okay to talk now," Remus said, as he took a seat next to Tonks, who smiled in greeting. The others all took a seat as best they could. Harry kept his attention on the newcomer.
"Ok, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine, her name is Faith," Xander began, indicating the newcomer who gave a small smile. "Now as much as this might annoy you Harry, Faith is going to be your bodyguard, whilst you are here," he quickly raised his hands to prevent Harry from responding, but noted that he looked annoyed. "We have to be careful Harry and ensure that you don't fall to one of the old man's plans and so she will watch your back and she will also be training you and Hermione in hand to hand and weapons combat," he explained.
"How will that help us?" Hermione couldn't help but to inquire.
"Do you think any of the Death Eaters know how to fight without their wands, Hermione?" Tara asked right back.
"Well not really," Hermione responded, as she thought of people like Lucius Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew. The idea of them using their fists was almost amusing, as was the idea of them trying to use a sword or a modern day gun.
"I assure you, if you lose your wand during a fight and you can get close enough to an enemy, with the knowledge how to use your body as well as any other weapon, you may possess will give you a great advantage," Tara explained and answered her own question with that.
"Whilst Faith trains you, I will also be training how to use my wand," Xander picked up the thread of conversation again. "Something tells me this fight is going to hit the fan very quickly. Most likely this Voldemort might already know you have new allies Harry and it does not take a genius to figure out that he will try and kill us if he can," he added.
Harry agreed with this, as he knew exactly how the Dark Lord thought. If Voldemort knew of Xander and Jenny's presence as his new guardians, he would not hesitate to set some plan in motion to remove them, even if it is just to inflict pain on him.
"We are also going to have to be a bit more watchful of those we know are loyal to the Headmaster," Fleur spoke up, breaking the brief silence that had fallen. "I would not put it past them to try and ensnare us with potions, which will control our actions and minds," she warned them. "I will be return home to see if my father can get his hands on some antidotes, we then can use to protect ourselves from such schemes," she continued.
Harry and the others who knew exactly what she was speaking off shivered a little at the idea, but knew she was correct. Jenny explained to Xander what Fleur had said. He frowned as he took in this information and it painted an even more dangerous situation.
"Is there a way to detect these potions in food and drink?" he asked.
"Yes, all Aurors are taught them, so if they go undercover they do not get compromised," Tonks responded. "We'll teach you, at least that way you won't get caught out," she added after sharing a brief look with Kingsley who nodded in agreement.
Kingsley was someone they could trust within the order, as Tonks' partner she had sounded him out and found he was not one of the blind followers of the Headmaster. This had pleased Tonks a lot. She would have been very disappointed and let down if he had turned out to be on the old man's side. To say Kingsley had been shocked by what Sirius had uncovered was an understatement, but as a dedicated Auror he refused to follow orders that broke the law and put people in danger.
That was not why he had joined the Order of the Phoenix, he had joined to fight the threat of Voldemort and his followers, but he would do it in a manner that was right and just. He would not sink to the levels their enemies are living on. That Dumbledore and some of the Order would do so was sickening. If he was honest he felt betrayed by the old man's actions, especially where they concerned Harry Potter. The teen had been through so much as it was in the short time he had been back in the wizarding world, so to learn the old man and others were plotting against him, just added to the injustice of it all.
Outside the living room Mrs. Weasley quickly told Bill to return to Hogwarts and report this new development to the Headmaster. Bill nodded and left, he planned also to discuss of maybe using one of the stronger love potions to recapture Fleur's attention.
Ron and Ginny went back to their rooms to discuss how to separate Hermione and Harry. It was not an easy task the Headmaster had set them, as the bond between the two was very strong and almost unbreakable. They were sure they could find a way somehow, if they looked at the problem close enough and did not act rashly. They sat down and began to play a game of wizarding chess each lost in thought.
(Spinner's End)
Severus Snape sat heavily on his warm sofa and continued to think over his options. The first was to carry out the orders Voldemort had just given him not three hours ago and somehow kill Potter's new guardians and the second was that he could inform Dumbledore and see what he wanted him to do, but he doubted the old man would do anything. He knew Albus wanted to get rid of the Harris' and if the worst came to pass, he would sanction allowing them to be killed as Voldemort planned. His last option was go reveal what was really going on to Potter himself and pray that he truly had his mother's mind.
He had to admit Potter had shown far more of his mother's cool thinking lately than his father's arrogance and rash actions. He had survived every attempt on his life and foiled every plot the Dark Lord had started, as well as outwitting Lucius.
Getting up he headed to his drink stand and made himself a fire whiskey before he returned to his sofa. He sighed, because he knew whatever he chose to do, there would be no going back.
Could he hold onto his grudge against Potter just because he was the son of the man he hated, if it meant he would lose his own life? Then the thing that had constantly prayed on his mind came back to him, what Lily would think of his actions towards the son she had sacrificed herself for and it was a question, he knew he had no good answer for at all.
Maybe here was a chance to finally make Lily proud of him and prove his love for her, even if it meant throwing away all of his original plans and throwing in his lot with Potter and his friends.
He downed his drink in one go, knowing it would not be easy and he doubted Potter would be very trusting of him, but in the end it may be his last best option to survive the war. His oath to protect Lily's son also played a factor in his final choice. He knew Albus believed he would ignore such an oath because of his hatred for James, when in truth there was nothing he would not do for Lily or even her memory.
(Hogwarts)
Dumbledore listened to Bill's report and frowned as he realized Harry was getting more and more support, thanks to his new guardians. It also seemed he could not truly count on Tonks, Remus and even Kingsley to obey him without question. This angered him beyond anything else, as he was Albus Dumbledore the defeater of Grindelwald, the person who had kept Voldemort from conquering wizarding Britain before Harry and his family was attacked. 'Who did they think they were to defy him?' He thought angrily.
"Did you manage to get any information on this newcomer?" he asked and forced himself to concentrate on the problem at hand.
"No, all Harris would say was that she was a friend of theirs," Bill replied a little intimidated by the Headmaster's cold look in response to what he had been told. "We were kicked out of the living room and threatened with being exiled from headquarters along with the rest of the Order and we did not think you would want that," he added.
"You did the right thing in backing down," Dumbledore responded, as he removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We cannot afford to be locked out of headquarters and leave them in there to do gods knows what," he added. "Tell your family to keep out of their way, but to watch them as carefully as they can. They are to listen into any conversations they have, if they can," he ordered. "Do you understand?" he asked.
"Yes sir," Bill quickly responded with a nod. "What about Fleur?" he inquired, moving onto the second topic.
"For now continue to try and to convince her to restart your relationship," Dumbledore answered. "I will talk to Severus about brewing some love potions later on. If your sister also fails to get close to Harry, I think maybe Miss Granger could also be used in this manor by young Ronald and that should keep her away from Harry and it could even convince her to break her friendship with the boy," he mused.
Bill nodded in agreement and he quickly came to the conclusion that Ron would love to have control over Hermione. He had complained for a long time how the girl seemed to flaunt her superiority over him and made him look like a fool in front of his fellow students. He stood and left the office and headed back to the hall, passing Professor McGonagall who seemed surprised to see him here. He kept his face passive and kept on moving, as he knew she did not know of the plans the Headmaster had put in place and defiantly would not approve of them, if she did know.
(Riddle Manor)
Bellatrix quickly headed back to the meeting hall as she felt the summons from her master, as expected he was already on his throne awaiting them. Soon the hall was filled once more, but this time Voldemort did not make them wait. It seemed something had happened, something important she would guess.
"Plans have changed, we attack Azkaban tonight," Voldemort told them, his tone one of anger and frustration. "Peter has found out that the fool Fudge plans to send a large Auror force to reinforce the prison, as early as tomorrow if he can. We must strike and free those who were captured, as well as see if we can recruit anyone who wishes to join us," he continued, coming to his feet and glaring down at them. "The dementors will lead the way and we will follow. Kill every guard and anyone else foolish enough to get in your way," he ordered. "We will make a statement out of this attack and that is no prison will hold us and that they can keep us chained nowhere, we will always escape," he finished.
Bellatrix looked around and watched as the newer Death Eaters cheered and yelled in support of the Dark Lord's words, as usually he had the ability to inspire his followers. She knew as well as her lord did, that the prison would not be so easily taken, still she was eager to get into the fight and left to make her preparations, as did the other older members leaving the young ones to cheer their lord.