Chapter 11 – – An Assassin cost how much?
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The next class with Umbridge I obeyed all the rules, I raised my hand before speaking, read her crappy book and was a model student. Except that I had a smile on my face during the entire class.
"Mr. Black! What do you find so funny?" Umbridge croaked.
The Toad had latched on to the fly, "Why this Stinkhart, who wrote this, is terribly wrong about just calling an Auror when there is an emergency."
"This is a Ministerial approved book and quite in line with what you are required to do in case of an emergency. I believe you need a detention to get your attitude corrected."
"That may be your opinion but it doesn't make the author's opinion correct." I insured that my smile was larger.
"That just got you a week of detentions Mr. Black."
I just smiled.
That evening I knocked at the appropriate time on Umbridge's door and was told to take a seat. She then gave me the blood quill and told me to write, "I will not smile in class."
I wrote the line once to establish it was a blood quill and said, "You do know this is illegal as punishment."
"Just shut you trap and continue to write." She directed.
"No Toady, I think I am leaving, have a great night wondering what I will be doing to correct this atrocity or who I plan to contact." I left after dodging several curses. Well...I had seen it for myself...Rōshi...was going lecture my ears off for giving away any freebies.
The next morning, "Mr. Black please report to my office after breakfast." Dumbledore ordered. I could see the glee in Umbridge.
"I am sorry Headmaster but as I have informed your Deputy I have family business this morning at Gringotts, shall we meet perhaps late this afternoon?" Dumbledore just nodded but Umbridge looked like she wanted to leap over the table and kill. I just put a large smile on my face for her to see.
"Lord Black what can Gringotts do for you today?" RipJaw asked.
"I am going to ask that you do as Gringotts always does and refuse to answer any questions about my visit here today."
"I know you are aware that we would never confirm you even being here nor any of your business you conducted at Gringotts. What nefarious scheme are you plotting Lord Black?" RipJaw had an evil grin on his face.
"Let's just say that revenge is very good eaten cold, as a Goblin I once knew told me."
I then signed some Gringotts paperwork, there was always paperwork to sign even if I had just finished signing all the paperwork. I had made sure as many people had seen me entering the bank as the many that would see me in Diagon Alley this day.
/Scene Break/
I insured that I disturbed Hagrid when I requested entry through the gates of Hogwarts, assuming that Dumbledore's wards did not notify him that I had arrived in a normal manner. I was met at the entrance doors by Dumbledore, Madam Bones and four Aurors.
"Mr. Black we need to ask you a few questions." Madam Bones started the dialog.
"Yes Madam Bones what can I do for you?"
"Where were you today and what do you know about the death of Madam Umbridge?"
"Oh dear, you have caught me! I was hopping, while in Diagon Alley, that some one croaked the toad. I am exceedingly happy that someone has done me the favor, how was it done might I ask?"
Dumbledore was looking at me like I was something that just came in from outer space. Madam Bones was giving me the one eye death stare. I was smiling until..."He's lying of course, just like his father. The truth is something that they cannot speak."
"Oh put a lid on it Snape."
"That's Professor Snape Harrison." Dumbledore's automatic response was again uttered.
"Yea, Right!"
"It appears that some one entered Professor Umbridge's locked office and using a sharp instrument cut off her head. The head was found on her desk with a blood quill stuck in its eye." Dumbledore stated the words like he could not believe it happened.
"Ah! A fitting end for her blood quill, many a student will be resting better that it is not being used on them as punishment for class infractions anymore. It seems you have a whole school of suspects to choose from Madam Bones." I smiled.
/Scene Break/
Albus Dumbledore sat smiling magnanimously at the head table overlooking the Great Hall, his eyes twinkling madly as he surface scanned students as they entered the hall. It was a shame that the evil people already knew how to protect their minds. All Dumbledore got was scenes of broom closet meetings and how to skip out on essays or classes. This made him exceedingly happy as if you see no evil there is no evil. Now if he could only convince Harrison Black to face Voldemort. With the Elder Wand he would defeat the winning Dark Lord and become the greatest leader of the magical world since Merlin.
Had he been able to enter my or my wife's minds he would have seen our latest fight. Daphne was still royally pissed off to everyone's displeasure. The Ice Queen of Slytherin, who never said much, was now telling me how, how much and when. She was currently upset because I had told her to shut up and mind her place. The English purebloods had that in their culture but so did the Japanese culture. I was raised in that Japanese culture and had put my foot down. Daphne thought that I had ended Umbridge's reign of terror and was upset and telling me off on just how wrong I was. I was just starting my cleansing of Death Eaters and basically if she didn't stifle herself she could go back to her parents. At least her ranting was done in private or hissing that others could not overhear.
While many had their minds protected they were otherwise stupid and didn't keep their mouths shut from leaking some of that protected information. One such idiot was Draco Malfoy. His great father was part of Voldemort's inner circle and one day he proudly said that Voldemort was a house guest. This of course took a tedious hour of listening to him doing self aggrandize but that was what he said in the end. Fizzy had another trip to make, unnoticed through the wards of Hogwarts.
/Scene Break/
"Lord Black a word if you please." Professor McGonagall wanted my attention.
"Yes Professor?"
"Madam Bones would like a word with you in my office. She is currently waiting so follow me."
I did just that and chuckled to myself that she would never learn how to stealth walk as her stride could wake a sleeping Samurai with a hearing problem.
"Lord Black I have a few questions over the unfortunate death of Madam Umbridge."
Madam Bones stated the second I entered the room.
"What possible help could I possible be Madam?"
"The Ministry knows you are trained in the martial arts, I am here to ask you whether you were trained by the Iga or Kōga clans of Samurai."
If that was supposed to be some kind of shock value they had missed horribly, somebody was guessing. "I fear you have me at a disadvantage Madam. I am not part of your artistic conventional thoughts of someone dress in black with a red sash and having a black cloth wrapped around their face and head as to portray a sense of invisibility. I am just a kid who has had some martial arts training." I actually meant that a Shinobi dressed in whatever it took to blend in when spying or assassinating someone. If that meant to dress as a storekeeper or a priest then that's what got the job done. Dressing like some Kung Fu Ninja didn't get one past the front door of a lightly guarded residency.
"I think you are more than that Lord Black, you did take out multiple Death Eaters in Diagon Alley and I highly suspect Madam Umbridge as well."
"I never said I could not protect myself but you are spouting fantasies. My martial arts trainer says I am a poor student at best."
"I would like to let you know that the Ministry is still doing an in-depth investigation of her death."
"Might I suggest you question people in Diagon Alley as to my whereabouts at the time Umbridge was attacked."
I had missed the current Dailey Profit which was referring to me as an "on the loose killer" in the Diagon Alley attack. They even tied in the new investigation into the death of the Ministry of Magic's Undersecretary. Harrison Black was of course the new wannabe Dark Lord as all deaths were attributable to him, well they had to be right some of the time. What upset me was their hinting that all the children in Hogwarts were now in peril because of my presents.
/Scene Break/
I hoped that they were spending as much time in Diagon alley as I was just outside the wards of Malfoy Manor. Stealth walking would not fool the wards that I was now trying to get in with my toys. "OH! You stupid Malfoys."
Who ever put these very deadly wards only forgot to extend them deeply into the ground. After a frigid swim in the small lake and under the wards I was now approaching the main house. I almost let the cold, which is part of England year round, affect my stealth. A warning sign of my inattention was almost missing the shrubbery with winding routes leading to the main house while the walk ways were covered with gravel which also provided early notice of unwanted intruders. All I needed to miss was traps like trip wires attached to alarm bells or the magical equivalent.
The patrolling guard was dispatched easily as I was now entering the side door. I was wondering how old the place was when I almost stepped on a 'nightingale floor'. That floor rested on metal hinges and was designed to squeak loudly when walked over. I used my Tekko-kagi (hand claws) to walk the walls past the noisy flooring and the wards covering the floor a few feet past the noisy flooring. The wooden walls made for a good grip with a minimum of noise.
Further down the hall I came upon two Death Eaters who had their backs to me. One joined the headless hunt thanks to my Wakizashi while the other let out a gurgled sound when my Bo-shuriken (throwing dart) imbedded in his neck.
I was expecting dozens of Death Eaters in the place as I approached what looked like a ballroom. The area was pleasantly void of guards. As I Shadow walked into the ballroom I saw at the far end a throne like chair, filled with a snake like being, with a black robed individual kneeling at his feet. The ballroom was otherwise empty.
"You have served me well Severus. I need the potions on this list as soon as possible."
"Yes Master."
"Tell me is the Old Man still in the dark and professing his save the world mantra?"
"He is Master, he also fails to see all of your faithful in Slytherin house."
"And how is young Malfoy getting along with his assignment?"
"Master, he is refusing to let me help or tell me of his progress."
"Yes he is quite arrogant; tell him I want to see him at his next break or Hogsmeade visit."
"As you command, My Lord."
"And what do we have here sneaking along the walls?" Voldemort asked as he raised his wand.
I never thought I was visible in my shadow walking but at least I was better at shadow walking than my walking on water.
Severus Snape was a cautious and sly individual, which was how he was able to survive both Voldemort and Dumbledore. What he saw was a short man stepped out of the shadows with a black hood covering his head; he wore a long black leather coat, black clothing with black boots. Snape approved of the wardrobe but the fool was in the presents of the Dark Lord and would soon be dead. Snape's attention was drawn to what the short man lifted from under his leather coat. Even Snape, who had lived most of his life in the Wizard World, recognized the man was lifting the deadly shape of a sawed off shotgun. Not only was it deadly looking but that the barrels now looked like huge tunnels, soon to deliver an even larger and deadlier Muggle type death.
Snape threw himself to the side as…BOOM! BOOM! filled his ears. Crab walking on all fours he knew his shorts would have to be changed if he lived long enough.
I now found that there was indeed a few Death Eaters in Malfoy Manor as they came rushing into the room. They were expecting on irate Dark Lord not me heading straight at them. I was now tossing the rest of my Bo-shuriken and striking with my Katana as I exited through the Death Eaters and out of the ballroom. I did leave a couple grenades for the remaining Death Eaters. I had also left a few sticks of muggle dynamite earlier on a timing device in the broom closet in the hallway.
I magically activated a few incendiaries in the Manor as I exited as well as those I had placed on the grounds. I rushed to the lake to swim under the wards and hurriedly escape this pureblood's fun house.
/Scene Break/
That night Daphne found me on the couch of our quarters staring into the fire. I was wondering if I was lucky enough to have ended the major part of our problems or whether there was more to come.
Daphne took one look at me and I knew I was in for verbal hell. But then she seemed to change an instant later.
"Come on Lord Black let's get you out of all that leather and see where you are bleeding this time." Daphne was trying to make light of my condition. I was not seriously hurt but there were some cuts bleeding slightly. While I was invisible to the naked eye when shadow walking, glass and debris from an exploding building were blind in their movement.
"So what were you up to tonight that you failed to inform me about?" Daphne asked as she gave me a kiss and helped me remove all my stuff. It was hard to say that I was out for a casual stroll when she is pulling knives, swords, explosives and other paraphernalia off my bleeding body. With all the weight that I carried I had done more of a walk on the bottom of Malfoy's lake than swimming.
"Well dear I just attacked Malfoy Manor and blew a few holes in the Dark Lord for a bit of light entertainment." I was expecting a verbal assault but I got…
"I guess I just have to keep you respectable in public and hope you return in private."
Daphne then dragged me to the bath, fixed my cuts and dumped me in the tub. She then had her way with me to my delight.