A/N
In this chapter I'll write about the Horcruxes. I'll change them a bit, not too much, but I wanted to have objects with a closer connection to Voldemort, not some history objects.
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Soul Questions
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Iona Abbey – 24th of November – Friday Afternoon
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Neville
"Slowly and carefully," Brychan Camwy urged. "You have to control it every second and the flow has to be very evenly the whole time to reach the best result."
Neville didn't nod; he had no time for such a gesture. Instead he narrowed his eyes and concentrated only even more than before.
Relax, the voice of his fiancée whispered in his mind. Naturally Hermione was right: he had to be concentrated but relaxed at the same time, not tense and strained. It was similar to those meditative exercises he used. The magic he drew from the leylines had to flow freely through his body, undisturbed and unchanged. Neville felt Hermione's smile, a reaction to his success in following her suggestion.
They had spent the last three hours at Iona Abbey, making use of the local leylines and peace. Since Madam Umbridge's departure it had become far easier to leave Hogwarts for exercises like these. Headmaster Flitwick happily accepted the necessity to train such exotic forms of magic and only wanted to stay informed about their progress.
"It's enough, Neville."
With a content sigh Neville stopped his strenuous efforts and stepped back. He felt a bit giddy after today's progress. After years of thinking of himself not being far above a Squib, he still had problems to accept the changes since the Congregation stepped into his life a year ago. He would always be thankful towards Ana Hernandez for detecting the misalignment between his mind and magical core. He would always be grateful to his friends and the Pinegrew family for healing his condition. Add the knowledge of his unusual family magic and you have an extremely happy boy, happy and proud.
With their mind link constantly strengthening, the four teenagers had begun to test the limits of their bond this month. One result had been the knowledge that they were able to use each other's wands, within limits. There were detectable differences: Harry and Daphne as well as Hermione and Neville were better at using each other's wand than any other. Hermione had the greatest problems while Daphne was the best at using a foreign wand. Harry could force any spell through Daphne's wand but had the feeling of overloading it every time. All in all: it was possible – an option for emergencies only, but still an option. A side effect was the appreciation Neville's friends felt about his enforced use of his father's wand. If this was how he had felt for three years, this feeling of casting spells through a kind of barrier, they really understood his lack of progress all the time before.
Today, with the good experiences about mixing Harry's talent at runes with the girls' spells, they had gone to Iona Abbey to try the same with Neville's Earthmight magic. They had been impressed by his performance, even Harry. Monsieur Delacour had started to train Neville in drawing magical energies from the ground in a slow and steady way. It wasn't a fast way to cast spells, certainly not usable in a fight, but the sheer amount of magic he was able to draw upon was staggering. Normally – if you would use the word in the context of something as exotic as Earthmight Magic – the energy was used to erect long-term spells like wards. Monsieur Delacour even told him about a friend who had used the magic to change the site of his tower to enhance some kinds of magic while dampening others. Since then Neville dreamed about Longbottom Manor, site of plant-magic. With Hermione at his side he had no doubt his dream to become true one day.
While wards were the most usual target of Earthmight enhancing, they had tried today to do the same with smaller spells. Daphne had used feather-light and expansion charms on a number of bags, while Neville used his abilities to enhance the spells. The result had been promising, not fabulous but promising. Like the other test with Hermione's transfigurations, it obviously needed some training to actually mesh those spells with Neville's Earthmight. Still, the difference was clear and measurable. The enhanced bags were twenty to thirty percent stronger than the ones spelled by Daphne alone. Now they had to wait and see if the duration was changed too.
Now however, they had been working on the last test for today, the most promising mesh in Hermione's opinion. Harry's runes were, like Earthmight, something cast in a slower way. It should be easier to infuse them with additional magical energy. Add the simple fact that Harry had always been far stronger than his friends, his ability to channel a greater part of their energy through their mind link, and she was certain the result to be awesome.
Harry grinned: "they feel really strong – a bit strange, but strong."
Hermione addressed her friends: "ready?"
Slowly they nodded, eyeing the runes around the staple of newspapers a bit suspiciously. In theory the fire wards Harry had erected should protect the newspapers from an Incendio. Brychan however had far more in mind than a single Incendio. "Go on."
With a small nod Harry raised his wand: "Incendio."
Like expected the spell was blocked by the wards and fizzled out of existence. However, his runes would have achieved the same goal alone. To really test the limits of the enhanced runes, the four friends started to bombard the newspapers with their Incendio spells, first alone alternately, then pairwise and in the end all four at once. Still the wards held, Neville's grin increasing with every attempt.
"Step away," Brychan Camwy ordered. He had intended to use a few minor elemental spells to test the ward, the fire whip among them, but the wards hadn't even wavered under the onslaught so far.
"Ignis terrestris!"
A roaring jet of flames hit the newspapers, engulfed them and died down after some seconds. A very pale Neville watched the spectacle, but relaxed when the target reappeared – unharmed. Three times Brychan used the spell. At the third time the wards wavered, but still endured. Brychan nodded with a content smile. Neville had to learn how to connect the finished spell to the Earth, allowing it to recharge. For his first attempt however this was really impressive. In a few years, Brychan was certain, these four teenagers would be able to do some really impressive magical feats together.
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Ministry of Magic – Office of Minister Cornelius Fudge
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"They'll demand your head, Cornelius."
Amelia's voice was carefully neutral, not betraying her inner feelings. Under different conditions she would be one of them, yelling louder than everybody else. Fudge had been a mediocre competent administrator so far, but even in times of peace he had never been someone to look upon. He wasn't a man of visions or backbone, not a man of ideas or even enough insight to choose his counsellors carefully.
Far too long he had followed the advice of Lucius Malfoy, this being the reason for the desolate condition of the Auror corps. There had never been enough money to hire sufficient numbers of newbies, the budget always too small to equip them as it should be. Only now, after several attacks, had she been able to get a bit more money. This and the new basilisk hide armours – thanks to Harry – had helped a bit. Still: another Minister would be a nice change.
However, he question was: who should it be?
They had discussed it for quite some time. The problem was that no side in this political quarrel was strong enough to succeed in getting their candidate on the throne. The only one with enough public support – at least at the moment – was Amelia Bones herself. However, in times like this it was far more important to keep her in her current position. Her official second-in-command, Rufus Scrimgeour, wasn't someone Amelia wanted to see at the head of the DMLE. He was far too much of a politician, far too close to some of the darker elements of society. No, Amelia and Kingsley had to stay where they were. Only: Fudge didn't have to know this decision. Let him sweat a bit in his fears.
They were sitting together in Fudge's office: Cornelius Fudge, Amelia Bones and Harry Potter. Cornelius had stared at the boy like a frightened hare at the beginning, but now he was far too depressed to care anymore. A mob of journalists was waiting outdoors, gathered to cut him into slices. For days he had been able to avoid the mob, to placate them with senseless statements about "I've always known" and "I wanted to prevent turmoil". Nobody believed him and now his time was up.
"I know, Amelia, I know," he whined. "What can I do?"
Harry felt a hint of pity, before he remembered all those awful things the Minister had done, not the least of them sending Hagrid to Azkaban in Harry's second year.
"Your past decisions, Minister Fudge, have been the wrong ones, obviously," Harry started. Brychan had advised them to allow Harry to make the initial offer. Fudge would see the smaller risk and the bigger offer in the boy than in the obvious concurrent Amelia Bones, more willing to accept the deal. "However, there is still hope… an opportunity."
Fudge now hung on his every word, causing Amelia to smile inwardly. Brychan had told her about Harry's behaviour at the Werewolf gathering. Seeing him now made her believe those stories. He wasn't a boy anymore.
"If you meet that mob of journalists alone, they'll nail you onto the wall. You'll lose your post before you have time to write your farewell note."
The Minister actually squealed now, reminding Harry of a six year old losing his favourite toy.
"One the other hand: if you leave this office with Madam Bones and me at your sides, showing our trust in your abilities, offering our support to your reign, this would change the whole thing, don't you agree?"
Minister Fudge hastily nodded and barely whispered: "would you do this for me, Harry-boy?"
Harry felt a bit sick but nodded towards Amelia Bones: "it depends."
Amelia Bones continued in his stead: "from now on there will be a few changes. No more lies in the Daily Prophet. You support an adequate budget for DMLE and Amos' Creature Department."
This point had been especially important for the four friends. Their promises to the Werewolf gathering had been honest ones. They knew that Amos Diggory would need far more money than he had now to actually help Werewolves and other 'creatures'.
Cornelius Fudge hastily nodded. Harry had the impression that the Minister would promise everything at the moment to stay in place. However, he had a condition of his own: "no new Inquisitor at Hogwarts. No interference at the school. Those are matters of the school staff, the Headmaster and the board of Governors. Give them a chance."
More slowly than before Cornelius nodded. He could do this. Hogwarts wasn't really important after Dumbledore's abdication. Other matters at hand had to be cared for first.
"Good," Amelia nodded. "Cornelius, I understand that we can't demand that you completely ignore your 'other friends'. However we expect you to stay neutral in this as much as possible. The DMLE can't operate if you stop every move with legal obstacles."
Cornelius paled a bit. Those other friends were his contacts around the pureblood families, those that had their fair share of Death Eaters and sympathizers among them. Until now he had used every opportunity to shield them from prosecution. This had to stop now, apparently. He wasn't dumb however. He saw the signs. Amelia Bones and Harry Potter were the rising stars at the moment. With every month more enemies of them turned up dead. His former friends were losing ground. To leave them to the wolves was a smaller loss than it would have been a year ago.
"I agree."
Cornelius Fudge felt good for a few seconds. With the support of these two heroes, he would hold the reins even firmer than before. If all went well, he would be seen as a hero, the Minister who crushed the Dark Lord. His smile vanished as Harry put a document in front of him. "Only a small insurance, Minister Fudge."
Fudge started to read the document suspiciously, his brows rising higher with every sentence. This document contained the truth about this conversation. That he had tried to hide the truth about Voldemort. The fact that he had sent Umbridge to unsettle Headmaster Flitwick. It ended with the agreement to help each other for the time being. If he subscribed this, he would be forced to follow the agreement for more than a few weeks, like he had intended.
"This is certainly not necessary," he tried weakly.
"It is," Amelia simply responded.
"Take it or leave it," Harry added. "It isn't my head they demand."
Fudge fidgeted for some minutes, while the uneasy silence around him was only broken by a few "Fudge, Fudge" calls from the outside. In the end he had no way out. He subscribed.
"Thank you very much, Minister Fudge."
A minute later the door opened and the mob of journalists saw their target, Minister Fudge, with two human shields at his sides, all three smiling, linking arms, showing to everyone: a new era has begun.
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Hogsmeade – House of Auror Carmen – 26th of November – Sunday afternoon
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Daphne
They were waiting for the last guests to arrive. Harry and Daphne, Hermione and Neville were sitting on two of the couches, their tomcats on the laps of their mistresses. They were surrounded by family members and friends, all faces quite serious and concerned. This wasn't a happy, relaxed family meeting; this was a time and place to speak about the dark future.
Roxanne, sitting between her mother Agatha and her cousin Ana, sent Daphne a reassuring smile. It didn't fool her daughter for a second. Something was troubling Roxanne and Daphne was determined to get to the root of it. It had something to do with Spiritualist Nowles. The elderly Healer had been speaking with Roxanne before the meeting and was now sitting at the edge of the room near a window.
Alice and Augusta Longbottom, Sirius and Remus, Narcissa and Minerva – they all were waiting, their minds troubled. Narcissa used the minutes to calm her nerves a bit. She had been concerned these last weeks because of her husband and son's fate, the date of 'solving-the-problem' getting nearer with every passing day. Nine days, Narcissa mused, nine days until I'm free.
Minerva was happy to have been invited today. She was present in her role as Filius' deputy because his absence at Hogwarts would attract too much attention. Since her role in Albus' trial seven months ago, the four teenagers had started to trust her again, trust her enough to agree with her presence. Still she stayed close to Augusta the whole time, her only close friend in this round.
The door opened and the last four guests arrived. Not all of the others knew Croaker's face, unlike the one of Amelia Bones and her 'secretary' Brychan Camwy. The last person was a surprise to most of them, the sole non-human of the assembly: Ironsides.
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Hermione
Neville hugged his fiancée even more, feeling her shudder as she watched with wide eyes Croaker putting a small, charred book on the table in the middle of the room. She knew the book. It was a memento of a time a Basilisk had been running rampant at Hogwarts, of a time she had been paralyzed for weeks, partly thanks to former Headmaster Dumbledore's unwillingness to act, as Neville had proven last spring.
"We examined this book at the Mystery Department this summer. As you all already know, this book contained same very dark magic and forced Ginevra Weasley under its control, causing her to allow a Basilisk to run around Hogwarts, nearly killing several students, among them Miss Granger and Mister Potter. What we wanted to know was what kind of magic could achieve this."
He looked around, allowing them to think about it for a moment.
"With the help of Spiritualist Nowles and some books from the Black library," he bowed shortly in both directions "we have been able to solve the puzzle. This," his index finger tapped the book "is… or better was… a Horcrux."
A few people in the round paled; those that had at least an idea what he was speaking about.
"What is a Horcrux?" Harry asked. He had learned much in the last twelve months, but this was certainly nothing he had come across so far.
"A Horcrux is an object of Dark Magic," Hermione started with that neutral voice she used to paraphrase a book passage. "It is used to contain a small sliver of the caster's soul, protecting it even in the case of the caster's death. To produce a Horcrux the caster has to commit a murder, splitting the soul in the process. The benefit of a Horcrux is a supposed immortality, while the drawback is the danger of destabilizing the mind of the caster."
"Twenty points to Gryffindor," Narcissa stated, confirming Hermione's statement.
"So this is the reason Voldemort is still alive?" Harry wondered.
"This… among other things," Croaker affirmed slowly.
"He has created more than one?"
"Yes," Narcissa responded in Croaker's stead. Slowly she left her seat and put something on the table. It was a small locket. More exactly: it had been a small locket, because now it more resembled a heap of mashed metal. "Sirius allowed me to live at Grimmauld Place. Kreacher, my house elf, still deeply in love with his former master Regulus Black, created a small memorial, a room full of pictures and other things that reminded him of Regulus and Aunt Walburga. In this room I found something that drew my attention: this locket."
"I assume this is… was… also a Horcrux, given to the Black family to secure it, like he gave the diary into Malfoy's hands."
"Yes… and no," Narcissa smiled weakly. "It was a Horcrux. It is a locket that belonged to a girl that the students of Hogwarts know as Moaning Myrtle. She has been one of the first murder victims of Voldemort. Apparently he has a foible for keeping mementos. We only know about the original hideout of the locket, because Kreacher was part in creating it. Voldemort borrowed Kreacher from Regulus Black, a Death eater in the first war and Sirius' younger brother." Harry glanced towards Sirius. He knew that his younger brother had always been a sore point to Sirius. Now Harry detected something strange in Sirius' face: regret.
"We have never been close since entering Hogwarts," Sirius continued. "I became friends with James and Remus, while Regulus was sorted into Slytherin and followed mother's wishes as best as he could. Back then I kind of hated him for becoming a Death Eater. If only I had known…"
"Regulus," Narcissa explained "apparently changed his mind after a while. We don't know how and when, but he tried to leave the Death Eaters. Knowing that it was only a question of time until they found and murdered him for his betrayal, Regulus tried to do something right for once. With Kreacher's help he broke into the locket's hideout and stole it."
"He died there," Sirius' voice was dark of emotions. "The protections killed him. Kreacher only escaped because Regulus ordered him to flee. He demanded that Kreacher found a way to destroy the locket."
"We used a sample of the poison from the Basilisk Harry killed to destroy the locket."
"Was Kreacher allowed to do this?" Harry smiled as he heard Hermione's question. She stayed true to her character even now.
"We did."
"So he had two Horcruxes… at least. Do we know about others?" Harry asked.
"Yes," now it was obviously Ironsides' turn. "On demand of Madam Bones, Gringotts shut down the vaults of some convicted Death Eaters. Now their access on the money and items in the vaults is denied. However, we also examined the vaults' contents. In the vault of Rodolphus Lestrange we found another dark object."
The grizzled goblin lady put a cup on the table, nearly beaten in halves by some kind of blade. It looked neither extremely old nor precious, had been crafted from silver apparently and Hermione noticed some Christ symbols on it. It reminded her of a cup a priest would use for the Eucharist.
"My son used a goblin sword to destroy this object. We should warn you: the item tried to influence him, to scare him away, to sway him with promises. To destroy such an object is neither easy nor harmless."
"The DMLE is still investigating the source of this cup and the reason of Voldemort choosing it. So far we only know that it had once been in the possession of an Anglican priest who died twenty years ago under mysterious circumstances," Amelia Bones added.
"So we have one item hidden somewhere before turning up in Grimmauld Place, another one in Malfoy Manor and a third in the Lestrange vault. How many more could there be?" Harry asked, more than a bit troubled.
"It depends," Spiritualist Nowles answered his question. "Every Horcrux' creation is destabilizing Voldemort's mind."
"We assume this is the reason for his not too clever course of action this time," Brychan interjected.
"Because of this," Nowles continued "there is an upper limit to the number of possible Horcruxes. However the exact limit depends on the mind and magical might of the caster. In Voldemort's case we assume the limit is something between seven and eleven."
"So there could be another eight Horcruxes out there," Harry shuddered.
"In the worst case, yes."
"However," Brychan tried to calm them "he doesn't act like he has created the full number. More realistic it is to assume that he has created no more than five to seven Horcruxes."
"Still bad enough," Harry started and nobody dared to oppose. "Do we know about any other possible Horcrux?"
"In a way, yes," Nowles answered. "In most cases, the caster would choose an object to create a Horcrux. However, it can be a creature too."
"Nagini," Harry paled a bit. "That's the reason he fled: we attacked Nagini."
"Yes," Nowles agreed. "We strongly assume that Nagini is a Horcrux too."
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Daphne
This was bad. Four Horcruxes detected so far, this still left three others at worst. Harry's trail of thoughts was broken by Daphne's sudden, harsh demand.
"Spill, Mum. I know you. This is bad enough, but something else is troubling you. It's something about Harry, am I right?"
Harry looked up in wonder, puzzling what his girlfriend was speaking about. That she was dead right with her assumption told him a single glance into Roxanne's eyes. She was… squirming.
"Spill," Daphne repeated, even more forceful.
Roxanne sighed deeply, glanced towards Sirius and began. "It's about Harry's scar. We always knew that it isn't a simple scar. Somehow he was able to feel Voldemort. There had been some connection back at the graveyard. Harry felt pain as Nagini was wounded and there are those dreams."
Harry nodded slowly. The dreams hadn't left completely. He was able to block them most of the time through his Occlumency training and the impact was lessened through his bond with his friends, but they were still there in the background of his mind. More than once he had felt surges of anger through the scar and the last ones had been about the Department of Mysteries. He had discussed the matter with Roxanne and Nel. They had been certain that Voldemort tried to push Harry into visiting the Ministry, into looking for the prophecy about him. In a way he wanted to, because it concerned him not to know the exact wording. However, so far he had backed away, not wishing to play into Voldemort's hands.
"The scar," Daphne whispered hoarsely. "It's not a simple residue of Voldemort's magic."
"No," Roxanne shook her head sadly. "We think it's a Horcrux too. Perhaps created as an accident, but still a Horcrux. We assume Voldemort wanted to create another one that night. However as the death curse backfired, this happened."
"So I have to die too, before Voldemort is away for good?" Harry asked, his face pale but his voice steady.
Daphne and Hermione were even paler now, looked pleadingly around. Before the emotions could rise even higher, Nowles soothed the waves – at least a bit: "this won't be necessary. It only means that the whole matter is even more complicated than we thought. I meant it when I told Daphne that I'll show her how to treat you. However, because I don't really trust her obedience and patience in cases of mental healing…" She glared at the girl who didn't even blush. "I won't teach her to do so before she is ready. We'll start the actual training next summer, after her sixteenth birthday. Daphne should be ready one year later." Nowles looked Harry square in the eyes, allowing waves of calming magic to roll through the room. "You won't have to die, Harry. Daphne will be able to help you. However, you have to be patient."
"Okay," the deep breath that escaped his lips betrayed Harry's former tension. Slowly his face turned into a thoughtful frown. "So we can't kill him before then. We have to endure him for nearly two additional years."
"It seems so," Amelia responded a bit sorrow. With Voldemort around for an additional two years, this could mean many more victims.
"Can't we," Neville started slowly. "Can't we… I don't know… kill him nonetheless? Last time he needed more than a decade to come back."
"It would give us time. It would certainly be easier to deal with the rest of his fan club," Amelia agreed. She liked the idea. Yes, they had to go on after killing him, not stop like they did last time, but at least it would be easier, safer.
"What do you think, Nel?" Roxanne asked Spiritualist Nowles, unsure about the risks of such a strategy.
"This strategy has its own risks. What if there are Horcruxes only he knows about? Horcruxes we aren't able to find? That we destroyed three of them – four if we count Nagini – would weaken him after his return. Still – it is more a delay than a solution. However, I assume it would actually be helpful to get rid of him as soon as possible."
All went silent for a while, deep in thoughts about the right course of action. Kill him first and dispatch of the biggest danger, or look for the rest of his Horcruxes first, not knowing how many were out there and…
"He could create even more," Hermione interject. When all looked up, she continued: "So far he only knows about the destroyed diary, but how soon will he try to ascertain the fortune of the other ones? Sooner or later he'll know that some of them were destroyed, too. Eventually he'll start to create others, new ones to replace the others."
"She's right," Harry admitted. "We have to act soon. With Voldemort out of the way, the rest would be easier and we would deny him the opportunity to react to our actions."
"Isn't there a way," Daphne asked Nowles and her grandma "to capture his soul? I mean… if the Horcruxes prevent his soul from leaving this world after his death, it means it is still here somehow. Something that exists can be captured, I assume."
Amelia, Minerva and a few others, even Roxanne and Ana, wanted to decline that idea, however stopped as they noticed the expressions of Agatha and Nowles, how they exchanged looks like trying to silently attune.
"There is a way," Nowles stated very slowly. "Better: there was a way. A spell used to capture other wizards, back in the time of the Reconquista. It is a well-guarded secret among the older witches of the Congregation. Even I only know about the existence of the spell, not the actual nature or conditions."
Harry's mind staggered as he thought about Nowles, grizzled lady herself, speaking about elder witches. About what kind of age was she speaking? Methusalix' grand-aunt?
"But it is a possibility?" Daphne asked, her voice shaking. She wanted her Harry secure as soon as possible.
"It is a possibility," Nowles agreed.
"We'll think about it."
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Hogwarts – Quidditch pitch – First of December – Friday afternoon
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Luna
"Won't you get in trouble?" Hermione whispered to her blond-haired friend. The girls were sitting together between the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw portion of the stands: Hermione, Daphne, Astoria, the Patils, Lavender, Susan, Hannah and Luna. No boys allowed. They were here to cheer for Ginny at her first play as Gryffindor's seeker, determined to raise her spirits. With the Gryffindors playing against Ravenclaw, Padma and Luna were in a bit of a tight spot, but they had decided that Ginny's friendship was far more important to them than house unity and Cho Chang's death glares. Luna, without admitting it, even hoped for the black-haired beauty to lose this duel. Cho had been one of the girls that had harassed her for years, only stepping down after some serious threats from Harry and his friends, especially Daphne. Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of Daphne's hexes.
Instead of answering the question, Luna put her infamous lion hat on her head and grinned madly. As she pulled the string, the lion came to life with a mighty roar. Cheers and catcalls greeted her. Hermione hugged her smaller friend shortly before concentrating on the teams that now entered the pitch. With Katie back as the team's captain they all hoped and expected something good today, very unlike to the Ron-against-Hufflepuff disaster.
"Go, Ginny, go."
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Ginny
"Angelina passes to Alicia, Alicia with a double flip avoids the Ravenclaw double defence. Katie on the high right. Alicia throws the quaffle towards her captain and Katie… no, it was a feint. With the Ravenclaw keeper falling for it, the goals are wide open, Alicia throws… GOAL."
It had been like this for the last hour. The Gryffindor chaser trio made one goal after the other. Ginny, despite her desire to be a chaser herself, realized that this trio was something really special. She only hoped to be like that next year.
"Stay away from her you bloody git."
Ginny grinned as she heard Fred's yell. One of the Ravenclaws had more than once played dirty against the girls, earning him more than one bludger sent in his direction. He's lucky, Ginny mused with a wicked grin. With Daphne behind the beater club and Harry the target of his foul play, he would already be in the Hospital.
"Go home, little girl," someone suddenly sneered behind her. Ginny didn't even turn around, knowing full well that Cho only hoped to get a reaction from her. "You have no chance to fetch the snitch. Why don't you simply leave? Isn't there a potion waiting for you somewhere?"
Ginny whirled around. She couldn't help it, the last comment simply hit too close home. How dared she? Tears welling in her eyes, she saw Cho smirking broadly. The Asian girl had made the hit knowing full well how hurting it would be. Ginny's suicide attempt with that damned potion wasn't too far away, was still too fresh in her memory.
Before she could react like she wanted, before she could curse the girl or erupt into real tears, some chanting started down in the stands.
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"Ginny Weasley is our Queen,
A better player you've never seen.
High in the air, riding her broom,
Smashing her enemies like an angel of doom.
Ginny Weasley is our Queen."
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Ginny instantly relaxed, recognizing the voices of her friends. She wasn't alone anymore. The song was silly, but really nice. She saw the broad smile on Hermione's face, the mad happiness of Luna and the angry stare of Daphne, directed towards the 'Claw bitch hovering behind Ginny.
She's using one of her animal sense charms, Ginny realized. She heard what Cho had been saying. A cloud of butterflies whirled around in Ginny's stomach as she thought about what would happen to the bitch after the game's end. Now I only have to fetch the snitch.
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Alicia had goaled another four times, the score now 110 to 70. It really was her day, but now everybody stared at two other girls, one red-haired, the other black as the night. 'Ginny' and 'Cho' screams accompanied the girls, as they raced side by side through the air, their brooms close enough to exchange slaps if they wanted to. Cho had far more experience on her side, but Ginny had the better broom and was more daring in her motions.
With the girls only a dozen paces away, the snitch suddenly changed direction and charged towards the Ravenclaw stand. Immediately both girls turned around. Cho was a bit nearer to the golden winged ball, but as the snitch started to waver around, changing directions every few seconds, this didn't stay the same. Cho, being a bit taller and heavier than Ginny, tried to block her competitor's flight course, earning her some angry yells from below. Ginny wasn't willing to comply. Instead of slowing down to avoid a collision like Cho had hoped, she twirled around, flying a loop around the 'Claw and even accelerating all the time. Open mouthed Cho stared at her, losing precious seconds through her shock. Far too late she decided to follow Ginny as the snitch fast descended.
Cho was now more than two broom lengths behind Ginny, fuming, watching helplessly as the girl neared the snitch. Only to herself did Cho admit that she wouldn't dare to fly like this in Ginny's stead, not with the ground nearing so fast. Only the seekers among the spectators didn't hold their breath; only they knew that Ginny's manoeuvre looked far more dangerous than it actually was – at least on a broom like hers and to a Seeker with her reflexes.
She's good, Harry mused. She'll be a stunning Chaser next year.
"She fetched it." Cheers flared up in the stands. "Ginny Weasley fetches the golden snitch. Gryffindor wins 260 to 70. What a comeback after the disaster against Hufflepuff. Congratulations, Katie Bell. Congratulations, Gryffindor."
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Gryffindor Common room – a wee bit later
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Neville
Again he was a guest in this room; a room that wasn't his own anymore. However, Neville felt welcome, not in small parts thanks to the girl at his side and the happy mood today. The Gryffindor Quidditch team was celebrating their victory and, far more important, celebrating their captain and their new members.
Sure, Dennis Creevey had been their weakest player today. He was still too small and light-build to be a real good keeper. He hadn't the reach with his arms to defend the goals against a well-played offense. However, he had the heart of a lion and the reflexes of a cat. Katie believed in him and Neville – like the rest of the team and the Gryffindors – trusted her opinion.
Ginny's smile on the other hand had only once left her face since her catch. Shortly Neville glanced in Dean's direction and grinned. His former dorm mate wore a brilliant shiner thanks to the smaller but feisty girl. Again he had tried to make advances towards her, even dared to kiss her a minute after the victory, hoping she would allow it in the heat of the moment. Oh boy was he wrong. He came off well, in Neville's eyes. With Ginny's reaction only a few seconds slower, he would have experienced some pain in form of the twins' fists. George was still extremely protective of his baby sister and Fred still angry from the game.
I have to speak with Dean, very soon. He better doesn't try anything funny while making his rounds with Ginny.
Hermione had been extremely pleased to hear about Ginny's new prefect status and while Dean wasn't the best as her male counterpart, Ginny could do much worse – apart from his unhealthy infatuation.
No, the world of Gryffindor was okay at the moment. Hopefully it stayed like this for a while. Even Ron tried to behave, if only to avoid Ginny's wrath and to get back into Lavender's arms, who had still not forgiven him.
It remains to be seen if he really learned something.
.
Same time – rooms of Roxanne Pinegrew
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Ciddy blushed as deeply as a house elf could; Daphne and Astoria whirled around, putting a cushion here and offering a cup of tea there. This simply wasn't right. It was the house elf's duty to care for his mistress and not the other way round. However, there was nothing to do about it at the moment. The Pinegrew girls had been adamant in pampering their little friend after her return.
Ciddy was still a bit weak from her ordeal, but more or less healthy again. The Greek healers had been fantastic, working a little miracle with their tiny patient. Luckily, nobody had told the girls about the seriousness of her injuries. Only Paddoc knew and he wouldn't tell them. Oh no, Paddoc thought, while watching the weird scene, he would remain silent and do what he had to do. Terence Higgs wasn't a student anymore. He had been expelled. Now he wasn't protected anymore through the Hogwarts' wards. Paddoc was allowed to do what he had to do. Oh yes, the little boy would experience pain and fear, that for sure. Justice wouldn't be denied, not this time.
On another seat Luna was sitting with Crookshanks on her lap and Balou draped around her shoulders. Even both owls had somehow found their way into the room. Hedwig and Mandragora, both now cared for by Harry while he watched his girlfriend with a broad smile. They owls had not been amused this morning. Far too long the four teenagers hadn't visited them in the owlery.
"We had too much to do, Hedwig," Harry whispered. Yes, that was clearly an owl glare. "We'll be better from now on, promise." Hedwig hooted. You'll better be.
Daphne, while arranging a plate of cakes for Ciddy, glanced towards her boyfriend and Luna. The blond 'Claw had been a real good friend for Harry, especially this week. Like expected, Harry had been very troubled after the Horcrux discussion. Daphne knew that there existed the very real danger of Harry deciding that his own death would be the surest way to eliminate Voldemort permanently, that waiting was too dangerous. Luna's help had been immensely helpful to convince him of the stupidity of this idea. The blonde 'Claw even went so far to slap him for forgetting – if only for a second – the feelings of his family.
I'll only do it if it is the very last possibility, Harry had promised in the end. It had to be enough for now.
I'll have to find something special for her Christmas present, Daphne mused.
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London – near Diagon Alley – 5th of Dezember – Tuesday evening
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Roxanne
"Good evening, Lady Pinegrew." The maître d'hôtel bowed deeply, his smile open and honest. Roxanne Pinegrew was a well-liked and well-known guest at the 'Crown and Dagger', a four star establishment – hotel, restaurant and nightclub all in one – near Diagon Alley. In the last few years it had become a meeting point of the neutral houses – with a few guests from both the light and dark side of the warring parties, who were able to behave.
Roxanne smiled back despite her tenseness. She liked Jason Tawney very much. He was discreet, polite and one of the first to call her 'Lady Pinegrew' again.
"Good evening, Lady Black."
Narcissa curtly nodded in his direction and followed her friend into the room. A dozen other women were waiting for them, having to reasons to be here today. The first and official one was to have a social gathering, an evening without bugging husbands and without their teenage children. Tomorrow would be an evening of family and behaviour again, socializing to strengthen the bonds between families and arrange marriages – tomorrow at the yearly Malfoy-Winter-Ball. Narcissa suppressed a snicker. Dear Lucius certainly didn't know that the date of the traditional ball, the sixth of December, had a very special meaning in the Muggle World. Luckily nobody ever mentioned it. Else he would change the date in an instant.
The other, more important but very unofficial reason to be here was to build an alibi. Who would dare to insinuate their involvement with Amelia Bones declaring their presence at this meeting?
"Good evening, Roxanne. Good evening, Narcissa." Amelia Bones greeted the younger women very cordially, even going so far to hug them shortly. "You're alright?" She asked the barely, not-yet-divorced Lady Malfoy.
"Have to be," Narcissa sighed. In this circle she was allowed to show her emotions a bit more openly than usual. "I hate the idea of the ball tomorrow: seeing him, smiling to his friends. Can't you simply storm the whole thing with two dozen Aurors and round them up?"
"You have no idea how much I'd like to do that," Amelia reciprocated with a wicked grin. "Regretfully I can't – now."
Narcissa huffed. "You better hurry. I have the feeling that dear Lucius will try to announce the engagement of Draco and the Parkinson daughter." She glanced towards Roxanne.
"I heard the rumours," Mrs. Abbot, who had been talking to Amelia beforehand, nodded. "What do you mean with 'he'll try'?"
Narcissa stared angrily, her face shifting into a malicious smile. "Because Draco has changed this year. He won't roll over and say yes only because his father wants him to. He likes Pansy, but he loves Astoria. No, Lucius will sooner get a fist in the face than a yes from my son."
.
Narcissa followed Roxanne making her round. She was willing to allow her the lead this evening, her mind too much on those events that were happening at the same time somewhere else. Would all go as planned?
Roxanne greeted Andromeda Tonks and Alice Longbottom. It was weird, with Andy's similarity to her older sister Bella, to see her so close and comfortable with Alice Longbottom. However, both women had connected very fast two months ago and helped each other very much since then: Alice to recover from her decade of insanity, Andy from her long absence from society, which only ended after Sirius accepted her back into the Black family.
Another unusual guest was Mrs. Brown. Lavender's mother, formerly belonging to Molly's circle and being an ardent supporter of Dumbledore, had changed after a long and heated conversation with her daughter. Too much had happened, too much that simply didn't match with the story Molly told her. The last straw had been the story about the Patil Twins. A few days ago she had met Roxanne and apologized for her former behaviour. With some trepidation Roxanne accepted the apology and invited her. For now Mrs. Brown stayed mostly silent, smiled shyly and kept close to Mrs. Patil.
"Shanta," Narcissa greeted her cordially, hugging her far more closely than she did with Amelia before. She actually liked the Indian woman, even adored her somewhat for her grace. Until now she hadn't been allowed to show it openly because of Lucius' racism. Now however this had changed. Narcissa pointed towards the traditional dress the Indian woman wore. "Too bad, I so hoped to see you in one of your stunning saris. You look so fantastic in them."
Shanta Patil was a bit stunned, still not used to the openness of Narcissa. Roxanne had told her years ago that Narcissa's behaviour had nothing to do with her real opinion, but it still felt odd. "Next time, dear Narcissa. Perhaps we can meet sometimes and go shopping together."
"You think I could wear a sari too? Isn't my… derriere… a bit too…"
"Absolutely not, Narcissa."
Roxanne grinned. She was happy to see her friend relax. That Shanta was now the centre of attention was a bonus. Narcissa and Roxanne had agreed to do more than before to make the mother of the Patil twins feel welcome. How could house-elves, Centaurs and Werewolves feel welcome when the birth in another continent was enough to be treated like second class? No, the wizard society had to change and one special obstacle would be removed today.
.
Pinegrew Manor – same time
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Cyrus
If you needed one word to describe the state of mind of one Cyrus Greengrass, it would be something like disgruntled, depressed or crestfallen. In any case, Cyrus wasn't happy about his future. Only eighteen months ago the world had been his to take – or so it seemed to him back then at least. He had an obedient wife, his younger daughter was engaged to the scion of one of the richest and most influential houses of Britain and his elder daughter – it had only been a question of time until she had a fateful accident, ridding him of her unacceptable behaviour and shatter the self-confidence of his wife and his mother-in-law in one stroke.
This at least had been his plan.
What an idiot he had been.
The plan went downhill with the appearance of Harry James Potter. In the beginning it even seemed to be something good to invite the Boy-who-lived into his family. While hated by most of the pureblood families because of his part in the Dark Lord's disappearance, his fame and fortune could spell wonders in Cyrus' name – or so he had hoped.
However, the boy had other things in mind, obviously. Within a year he was able to drive a wedge between Cyrus and the rest of his family. Agatha barely spoke with him, Roxanne was very open in her critics, Daphne despised him and Astoria – sweet, innocent Astoria, paragon of an obedient pureblood daughter – had changed into a kind of nightmare for her father.
The worst however? Lucius was within a hair's breadth of dissolving the engagement. It would not only shatter Cyrus current plans, but also destroy his position among his peers. Nobody would take him seriously any more. He knew that without Lucius as his close friend he would slide down the social ladder within days. All because of that damned boy. Why can't he simply die in some quiet corner?
With a deep sigh Cyrus grabbed his sherry glass and took a deep gulp. Should have stayed with the Firewhiskey, he mused sleepily. His mind working on a solution for this horrid situation, he didn't notice the glass slipping his grasp and falling to the ground. He didn't notice anymore how his eyes closed. He especially didn't notice the two figures that entered the room. The taller one would have astonished him, frightened him even – if Cyrus were awake. Luckily he wasn't, so he didn't have to handle the fact that another Cyrus Greengrass was shortly watching his sleeping body.
"Thank you, Ciddy." The tall figure nodded to the much smaller one. "You'll take care of everything until I return?" He asked while he took the wand from his sleeping alter ego, the wand he was able to use since their duel two months ago.
"Certainly, Sir."
"See you later." With a soft pop 'Cyrus' disappeared.
.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah Burke was not nearly as depressed as Cyrus, but he wasn't happy either. He had hoped to have a nice evening at the 'Golden Goat', a seedy tavern in Knockturn Alley, but so far it had been boring. Still he wasn't willing to call it quits for today, instead ordering another Firewhiskey, hoping for something interesting to happen. His alcohol-fuddled mind didn't grasp the weirdness of him being here tonight. It didn't realize that his presence was a result of a cleverly placed compulsion charm.
However his silent prayer turned reality as the door opened and allowed someone to enter the bar room. This someone had been in his little shop a few weeks ago, Jeremiah remembered. Like back then he was disguised, disguised good enough to fool those drunkards around them but not good enough for him, oh no, not good enough for ol' Jeremiah.
He was distantly related to Caratacus Burke, one of the two owners of 'Borgin and Burke', not close enough to get a piece of the rich Burke cake, but close enough to be allowed to handle his own small potion and poison business. Oh yes, he remembered that fellow and his buy of a raping drug. Now he was here tonight, renting a room with an own fireplace. So he expected some – perhaps even willing – guest, Jeremiah mused.
Grinning evilly he watched the man ascending the stairs to his room. Perhaps the idea hadn't been so bad to visit the bar tonight.
.
'Cyrus'
So far all had gone as planned. Cyrus was sleeping, he had his wand. Now he had to wait a few minutes in this disgusting room before he departed via floo. The drug dealer, whom he had allowed back then to see through his outer disguise, had been in the bar room and noticed him. With this there would a witness connecting Cyrus to this floo.
Another witness would be waiting for him on the other side, another witness who would have been happy to help voluntarily. However, to avoid the spilling of secrets through the use of Veritaserum, they had decided to use another layered compulsion charm on Ophelia Nott. It was safer, for her as well as for their little group. Not even Voldemort would see anything else than what Ophelia would believe to be true. She would be safe.
Placing Cyrus' wand in his wrist holder he opened the floo connection, the connection that allowed him to enter the manor like it did to Cyrus. Old friends are always welcome, he smirked. Payday for how you treated Cissa.
.
Lucius
Lucius watched the naïve women without showing his amusement too openly. Ophelia Nott had entered his manor tonight, overeager to soothe the waves between him and her brother. Everybody knew how much Nott senior tried to get back into Lucius' good graces. Everybody knew it and felt despised, but none more so than Lucius himself.
However, he had to admit that he was impressed by Ophelia's loyalty. After the attack on Pinegrew manor, after the attacked the Dark Lord had ordered her to take part, she had been more than a bit angry with her brother. She still didn't like Lucius very much, this he was sure about. It only made the plan which was rolling through his mind at the moment the sweeter. He would convince the 'lady' to share his bed tonight, promising her to accept her brother back if she 'accommodated' him. Not that he really intended to actually change his behaviour afterwards, but a man had his needs and with the divorce hanging over him like an executioner's sword he had to be careful.
No, the silly woman was a sweet fruit ripe to be picked and pick her he would tonight.
A chiming sound caused him to frown deeply. The sound announced the arrival of someone entering his house via floo. Only a handful of persons were allowed to arrive without his special invitation and none of them would do so without serious reasons.
"Please excuse me for a moment." Without waiting for a response Lucius Malfoy left his guest and turned to the sitting room were his new guest would be waiting for him. He didn't squander another thought on Ophelia Nott for now. He didn't notice that she waited a few minutes before she left her seat and followed him, part two of the layered compulsion charm kicking in.
Only a very poor witness wouldn't be at the place where the action was.
When Lucius entered his sitting room, his wand drawn as a security measure, he saw himself confronted with an unexpected guest. He noticed the distraught appearance of the man. He noticed the wand Cyrus Greengrass had placed on the table, stepping back to prove his harmless intentions. What Lucius Malfoy didn't notice, while he relaxed a bit and lowered his wand, was the small charm that was placed on a useless wood stick on the table, making it appear like a real wand.
"Hello Lucius."