The sanbox belongs to JK and Marvel. I'm just digging holes.
CHAPTER 25: FOLLOWING ORDERS
MINISTRY OF MAGIC
DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
FRIDAY EVENING
Sam sat in front of Madam Bones desk and looked at the others joining him and Amelia.
Madam Bones, Alastor Moody and Albus Dumbledore had been called after Sam explained that he had intelligence on an attack by Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
"Alright, Belknap. What is going on?" Mad-eye demanded once it was established what the meeting was about.
"Simple. I got word that old moldyshorts is getting ready to really announce that he's back in style. Death Eater style, that is." Sam told them.
"You have to tell us then. We need to evacuate and set up an ambush before he's ready for it." Mad-eye said.
"I'm afraid I must agree with Alastor. We can evacuate the targets and then capture Tom's followers when they attack." Dumbledore chimed in.
But Sam stepped in and cut him off before he could say anything else.
"You can shitcan that idea right now, Albus. Let me explain the rules of engagement to you. Because we aren't going to ask these idiots to a tea party. They are going down hard and fast." Sam told him angrily. "You want to sit here and play patty cake with these morons and offer them redemption. But redemption is something that has to be earned. So when they show up, this isn't going to internationaal dueling school rules. This is a straight up fight. They will be met with equal force. And every adult that is capable will be there to fight for their own right to survive."
"We cannot stoop to their levels. We have to try to bring them back to the light." Dumbledore tried to pontificate.
"Blow it out your robes, Albus! If they aren't willing to fight for what is theirs, then I'll be damned if I fight for them. It's that simple." Sam told him.
"I have to agree. As of now, this is a weapons free fight. If they start throwing unforgivables then take them out hard and fast. They either give up or they go down. There's no middle ground." Amelia voiced her agreement.
"But Amelia, this will just result in more of a loss of life. We cannot stoop to the level where we become murderers as well." Dumbledore argued.
"Albus, are you trying to piss me off? Because I'm not going to put up with anymore of this crap. Not to mention that one of the targets is your favorite lackeys and they're already on my shit list. I won't protect them and neither will Harry. But you will be busy helping in Diagon Alley." Sam commanded.
"Who is this target? Why are you telling me that I can't help them?" Dumbledore demanded.
"Because the good of the many has to outweigh the good of the one. Besides, someone else will be there to protect them. You will meet him and introduce him to the Weasleys tomorrow morning." Sam explained, taking them by surprise.
"Arthur and Molly are the targets? Then I will be there to protect them personally." Dumbledore said as he stood and tried to draw himself to his full height.
"Albus Percival Wulfric BRIAN DUMBLEDORE! YOU WILL OBEY MY ORDERS OR YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF IN HER MAJESTY'S GAOL! Do I make myself clear?" Sam finished as he stood up straight from where he had been leaning against the wall.
"I won't allow you to put an innocent family in harm's way." Dumbledore pontificated.
"Oh, they're far from innocent, as I'm suure you know Headmaster. But that will be discussed at another time. For now do as you're damned well told or you and I will dance." Sam warned.
"You're threats mean nothing to me. I am the most powerful wizard since Gryffindor!" Albus blustered.
Sam took one look at him and started to laugh at him, almost doubling over.
"I don't see anything funny about this, young man!" Alastor grumbled.
"Come on, Mad-eye. This old fool is caught up in his own hype! He doesn't have near the power he thinks he does." Sam laughed.
"What are you talking about?" Amelia asked.
"All that Dumbledore has going for him is knowledge. Not power." Sam said, finally sobering as he turned to Dumbledore, "Why don't you tell them the truth about how you really defeated the so-called dark lord Grindewald? Or where the phrase the 'Greater Good' really comes from."
All of them turned to Dumbledore and looked at him as they waited for an answer. But Albus merely shook his head and refused to say another word.
"Good. Then you will go with me to protect Diagon Alley. A friend of mine will help protect the Weasleys and another will be looking after the third target." Sam said with an air of finality.
"Alright, everybody. We'll meet back here by 6:00 am so that we can get everybody in position. All able-bodied fighters will be here and then teams will be assigned. That means you will bring your Order of the Phoenix as well as the professors that are capable. Do you understand, Headmaster?" Amelia Bones said as they all stood around the office for a minute.
"Yes, Amelia. We will be present." Dumbledore said as he followed Moody out of the office.
Amelia and Sam waited until the office was clear and once the door was closed, they cast several privacy and revealing charms that showed where Dumbledore had listening charms to find out what they discussed.
"I'll hang that old fool out to dry when this is over! I'll use his guts for garters!" Amelia ranted as she was disabling the charms.
"Relax Amelia. We'll handle the old fool later. For now, we need to deal with the rest of this mess. You're home is the third target and Voldemort set it up as a test for Harry." Sam said, then explained just exactly what the whole situation came down to.
When he was done, he watched her carefully as she tried to decided who would be her backup for the day.
"Amelia, I hate to say this but you can't have any of the Aurors that you know abused Harry or that follow Dumbledore for help. If you do then I can guarantee that Harry isn't going to be putting up as much of a fight." Sam explained.
"But won't the Dark Lord appear at Bones Manor?" she asked, worried.
"No. Tis is a test to see if Harry will really protect you and your family after the declaration that he made in the paper. So he won't come to your manor. But we aren't going to tell him about the other targets. That's why I'll be taking the Alley and another friend will work with the Weasleys. That way we'll be able to follow the Queen's standing orders and not risk Harry's progress. Harry needs a portkey that will deliver him to your manor and then return him to his point of origin. That way he doesn't have to run into anybody that could set him back." Sam explained.
"I see. But why aren't you going to protect the Weasleys? Or at least let Dumbledore protect them?" Amelia asked.
"Because right now the Weasleys are on my shit-list and Harry's. Our friend is the only one who would be willing to protect them from your dark lord. Best leave it at that." Sam warned.
Amelia took all of this in and had to wonder what the Weasley family had done to earn that kind of emnity.
"Alright. I'll produce the port-key to Bones Manor and expect Harry in the morning. But where is He-who-must-not-be-named going to appear?" Amelia asked, concerned.
"He is going after the Weasley family. But the person that is going to be there will ensure their survival." Sam promised.
"How can you be so sure? If he is close to Harry, then why would he help the very people that turned their backs on him?" she asked.
"Because he has his own code of honor. He is dedicated to protecting life now, but I can tell you that if any of those Weasleys try any of their high-handed tactics, he'll put them in their place in a hurry." Sam warned her.
"I'll try to explain it to Arthur in the morning when we introduce them." she agreed.
"Then it's time for me to get back to my quarters. I'll see you in the morning." Sam said as they dismissed the privacy charms and he walked out of her office.
STARK TOWER
SAM'S WING
Sam port-keyed into the main receptiion area for his quarters and headed straight for his lab. Fleur was sitting by Hermione's bed and studying the readouts that Sam had pointed out to her before he left.
"Well, what do you think? How is she progressing?" Sam asked.
"She is starting to act logically again, but I'm afraid the bond needs to be completed soon or we will lose her altogether." Fleur admitted, worried.
Granted the Veela hadn't liked or even cared about the girl because of the things she had put Harry through. But that didn't mean she wanted the girl's death on her conscience.
"I see. There's not much I can do about it now. But after the current problem is dealt with, maybe we can come up with an answer." he said thoughtfully.
"Have you decided what you're going to do?" she asked.
"Yeah. But I have to go talk to Harry first. If he is willing then you will be going with him for backup. Are you up to it?" he asked.
"I'll be ready. I've been training with Tasha. So I think I can pull my weight on this." she agreed.
"Great! Now all I have to do is make sure that Harry is on-board. I'll be back as soon as I can." Sam said, taking his port-key out to Aaron's place where the sun was still high in the sky.
Standing in the front yard by the barn, he sent off a patronus. A few minutes later he was once again facing a wolf patronus speaking in Aaron's voice.
"We out on the west forty, hard-head." it mocked him.
Sam apparated out to where the west forty gate stood and spotted them with old fashioned hoes, pulling weeds out of the cornfield.
"HEY! HOW ABOUT YOU TAKE A BREAK!" he said using a sonorous to amplify his voice.
Both of them looked his way and then started walking towards him.
Once they reached him, Sam leaned on the gate and looked at the two of them. He could see that Harry was starting to look a little better from his time in the son. Plus the anger lines seemed to be fading slightly from the young mages face.
"So, how's it going out here?" Sam asked as his gaze travelled from one face to the other.
"About as well as you could expect, I guess." Aaron said.
"What about you, Harry?" Sam asked.
"I'm fine." Harry gave his old stand-by answer.
"Close enough I guess. But I've had time to deal with everything we talked about on Wednesday." he told them.
"What did you guys finally decide to do?" Harry asked.
"We're going to help them deal with these three attacks, at least." Sam told him.
"What about me? I told them to leave Madam Bones alone and they aren't listening." Harry said as he looked at the two of them.
"You made yourself clear that you would stand by Madam Bones and we calculated that into everything. But the choice is still yours. If you don't want to do it, you can still keep out of it." Sam told him.
"Come on, Sam. Don't try to do a Dumbles on me." Harry said as he looked at the older man, "Besides I've learned a thing or two in the last couple of days. I've had some time to think things over."
"Mind sharing with the rest of us?" Aaron asked.
"Hey, it's all your fault. You introduced me to muggle music." Harry said with a grin.
"Huh? Wha..? What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked in confusion.
"I like my music." Aaron said defensively.
"Hey, I'm not knocking it. But there are a couple of songs that you introduced me to that really got me to thinking." Harry chuckled.
"Okay, you've lost me. What the hell?" Sam said wide-eyed.
"Look, it's going to take me a long time to deal with my problems. And I'll probably have a long road to get to normal, if I ever do. But I gave my word and I'm going to keep it." Harry started.
"Okay. What the hells does this have to do with music?" Sam demanded, losing patience.
"One of the songs that I heard said you have to stand for something. It mentioned that what you do during the day, you have to go to sleep with." Harry said cryptically.
But Sam was starting to get the idea and he wanted to hear Harry finish his thought.
"So? What's that got to do with anything?" he pressed.
"Well, I don't know anything about my family. But I know who I want to be. Even with what they did to me for telling the truth, I've never lied to any of them. So when I gave Amelia my word, I have to stand by it. The rest of them can go to hell, but I won't break my word. I'll fight for the ones that fought for me." Harry said, his ire slowly growing.
"Okay. Then we need to get ready for this." Sam said, amazed at what he was hearing but glad that the young man was slowly starting to come to grips with things one piece at a time.
"Sounds good. I can promise that the only person you have to see is Amelia and her niece. The rest won't even need to know that you're there. And Fleur is going to be your backup. Are you okay with that?" Sam asked.
"Is she still training with Tasha?" Harry asked carefully.
"Among other things. You will have a couple of Aurors for backup. Madam Bones made a portkey that will take you to Bones manor and back to the place you started from. Then you don't have to worry about running into the others. Oh, and the rules of engagement are simple. Put the bastards down hard and fast after they attack. You have to let them throw the first spell, but after that their asses are ours." Sam told him as they walked towards the house.
"I can do that. But what sre you going to do about the other targets?" Harry asked.
"Why do you care?" Sam asked.
"It's just that there are probably going to be a lot of kids there and they don't deserve to get killed because their parents are cowards." Harry told him.
"Don't worry about it. I've got that one covered." Sam told him, thinking about taking Natasha with him.
"Okay. But who's going to tackle old snake-face? Is Dumbledore going to deal with him?"
Sam couldn't meet his eyes because this was something that he'd worked out with Aaron a few days ago and he didn't know how to tell Harry.
Finally Aaron cleared his throat and looked at the wizard as they trudged along.
"Harry, I'm going to be there. You don't want to be and Sam can't be because he'd probably kill them for a number of reasons. I'm the safest bet." Aaron finally admitted.
"How? You can't go out there! That nutter will kill you without thinking twice. From what everybody was saying when I left they were claiming I'm the only on who can kill him." Harry argued, worried about his new friend.
"Easy there, slick. I don't have to kill him. All I have to do is stand him off long enough to take out his goons. If he loses enough of them he'll back off." Aaron said.
"How are you going to do that when you don't use magic?" Harry asked, not understanding.
"Trust me, Harry. I'll be fine and we can talk about it later. For now we have to get ready to go kick their scaly asses back into the swamp, okay." Aaron said to reassure him. "Now why don't you two pop to the house and put your tools away. I'll be right behind you."
Taking the cue, Sam side-along apparated Harry to the house where Harry put away the hoes and headed into the house to change into some jeans and a t-shirt.
Sam went into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of tea, then poured two more and set everything on the table.
Harry walked into the kitchen and looked at Sam as he sat down at the table. But the worry was clear on his face.
"What's up, kid?" Sam asked.
"Are you sure that he's going to be okay? I don't want him to get killed because of me." Harry said, ducking his head.
"Trust me, champ. If they can get a hit on him they deserve to crow. That man is hell on wheels when it comes to a fight." Sam said, grinning.
"Who deserves to crow?" Aaron said as he walked into the kitchen and sat down with them.
"I was just telling the kid that if the Dark idiot or his death puppies get a hit on you then they earned the right to boast." Sam said as he grinned up at Aaron with a challenge in his eyes.
"Thanks for jinxing me, meathole. Now I'll probably have to play pop goes the jackass." Aaron said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Damn! It gets worse, we have to be at the Ministry at 6:00 am their time." Sam told them.
"Gee thanks. Where are we supposed to bed down?" Aaron asked, growling at Sam.
"Stark tower. I've got my own wing and we can get a little rest there before we pick up the toys Tony put together for us." Sam explained.
"Fune. Let me get my kit and I'll be ready to go. You better grab anything you want with you in a fight, Harry. We won't have time to come back here before the trip." Aaron sighed as he led the way out of the kitchen.
Harry followed him and they returned to the living room where Sam portkeyed them to his wing in the tower. He showed Aaron where he would sleep while Harry set of in search of Fleur.
Sam spent the rest of his time gathering up the things that he had Tony design for them and getting them to the right people, then he found Natasha and talked to her about watching his back in the Alley.
A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to one reviewer. You're right. If a frog had wings he wouldn't bump his ass so often. Maybe neville should have told trevor that.