The Mutt who Lived
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am merely borrowing the characters to play with them.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing.
"Could we go and pay Lestrange Manor a visit?" Regina suggested. "If it's as big as I remember from my childhood, we could well accommodate at least twenty muggle families to keep them safe until all Death Eaters will be gone. Brian and I could move there and take care of them," she added, seeming uncertain.
"This is a fantastic idea," Lily said, warmly.
"However, it's not practicable at the moment," Severus added in a soft voice. "First of all, Bellatrix is still able to enter the place, and you need to accept the ladyship over the family and dissolve her marriage to kick her out of the family to prevent her from entering the manor. Secondly, knowing the late Lestrange family, I'm sure that the manor is surrounded by muggle-repelling wards, which only the goblins can change for you."
"That's true," James agreed and suggested, "Lily or I can take you to see your account manager at Gringotts."
"James?" Lily enquired. "Could she change the Lestranges' account manager to Buckbean?" Turning to her friend Regina, she added, "We know that Buckbean is absolutely trustworthy and that he doesn't have problems with muggles at all."
James nodded. "Just speak with him, but I don't see a reason why it wouldn't be possible. We can go all together if it makes you feel safer," he added, smiling.
HP
On Saturday morning, Lily and James accompanied Regina, Brian and Christa to Gringotts and took Inu with them, knowing that he would better be able to keep them safe than any Auror.
Buckbean patiently listened to their story, before he replied, "In fact, Snaptooth is the account manager of the Lestrange family. However, as you, Mrs. Regina Lestrange, are the sole heiress of the family apart from your daughter, you may of course request a change of the account manager."
"Yes please," Regina spoke up in a firm voice. "I'd like to follow Lily's and James' advice and entrust you with our accounts."
"Very well," Buckbean agreed. He conversed with two younger goblins, who entered the room, when he pressed a button on his table, and accepted a thick folder from them, before he turned back to Regina.
"Mrs. Lestrange, are you willing to become the Lady Lestrange?" he enquired.
"Yes if that's possible even as a Squib," Regina replied, casting Lily and James a questioning look.
To Lily's relief, her expression softened some upon seeing them nod in agreement.
"Mr. Blair, would you like to become the Lord Lestrange?" Buckbean asked, causing Brian to stare at the goblin in apparent confusion.
"I'm sorry, Buckbean, but I'm a muggle," he said in a small voice.
The goblin leaned forward in his chair and enquired, "Does that matter?"
"No, it doesn't," James spoke up, "because your daughter is magical. Is that so, Buckbean?"
"Exactly," the goblin confirmed.
"Our son, who will only be born in three months' time," Regina spoke up, smiling, "is magical as well. "Poppy checked on him and found out that he has magic."
"Oh all right," Buckbean said, pensively, before he continued. "Unfortunately for the young lady here, that would make her brother the heir of the Lestrange family."
"That's fine. I'm going to be the lady of a different family in the future," Christa mumbled in a barely audible voice, causing Lily to stare at the girl in surprise.
'Is she a Seer?' she wondered, while her friends swore their oaths to the Lestrange family. She herself was able to sometimes see things, and she suspected her second godchild, Luna Lovegood, to be one as well. The girl had been attending the Unicorn class since September and had uttered things that made Lily firmly believe that she could see things just like herself. 'Christa too?' she wondered in surprise.
"How do you know that?" she whispered to the girl, once the ceremony was finished.
"Luna told me," Christa replied, smiling. "She said she knows, and I was very happy."
Lily nodded in understanding, smiling at the cute girl.
"Lord Lestrange," Buckbean addressed Brian, and everyone automatically turned their attention to the goblin. "You're not a muggle." Ignoring the collective gasp, he continued, "Did you notice the faint silver glow coming from the ring, when you swore your oath on the family?"
"Yes," Brian confirmed, hesitantly.
"The same as from Regina's, only that hers was more golden than silver?" Buckbean enquired.
"Yes, I was wondering what that meant," Regina spoke up.
"It is simple," Buckbean said, matter-of-factly. "The more silver, the weaker the magic, the more golden, the stronger it is. You, Lord Lestrange, most likely are a Squib, but definitely not a muggle. Your wife's magic is too strong to be a Squib."
"No," Regina replied, sounding very sad. "That's not possible, sir."
Smirking, Buckbean handed her a wand. "Please try to cast the Lumos charm," he instructed her.
"Lumos," Regina said, concentrating on the tip of her wand like she could remember having done in her childhood in a faint attempt to prove to her father that she was a proper witch. However, the tip of her wand had never lit like her brothers' wands did. This time, it was different. It was not exactly bright, however, the light was there.
"I have magic?" she stammered with a combination of disbelief and hope.
"Congratulations Mum," Christa shouted and threw herself into her mother's arm. "You must be very happy."
"That I am," Regina replied, wiping a tear from her cheek, before she handed the wand back to Buckbean, who shook his head.
"I suggest that you keep it until it'll be safe for you to go and get your own wand," he told her. "This is your mother's wand, and it seems to work for you for the time being."
"Yes sir, thank you sir," Regina replied, seemingly overwhelmed by the matter.
"It might be possible that the oath you made triggered your magic," Buckbean added, pensively. "It is a known fact that family magic can be very powerful."
"This is absolutely fantastic," Regina replied, happily.
"Now, I suggest that all three of you, Lady Lestrange, Lord Lestrange and Christa, do not go out into the open without sufficient safety precautions," Buckbean warned them. "Bellatrix does not belong to your family anymore, she doesn't belong to the Black family anymore, and Arcturus certainly won't welcome her back into the family. She does not have a family name, and she'll be extremely upset about it and blame you. If anyhow possible, you must remain inside the school or inside Lestrange Manor, after my colleagues are finished with the warding. I shall let you know."
"Excuse me, Buckbean," Brian spoke up, "but we both work at the muggle university."
Buckbean shook his head. "Don't go there. Quit your jobs, your fortune is large enough to last for many decades anyway. If you wish to do research, do it at the school or at the manor, but don't go into the open."
"We will," Brian replied in a firm voice. "Thank you for the warning, Buckbean."
With that, they took their leave and swiftly returned to the MAMA.
HP
Ten days later, Buckbean sent a note that all changes in wards and safety precautions on Lestrange manor were finished and that the house was now ready for the Lestranges to move in and work on the realisation of their plan. He warned them, however, that a group of two dozen house-elves were still residing at the manor, who were extremely biased due to their bonding with the former owners of the manor.
"Buckbean suggests that we free the house-elves and look for other, young house-elves," Regina told Lily. "Sorry, but how do we do that?"
"Let's ask our elves if they can spare two dozen, and I am sure they can, as ever since we moved in here, they had one baby after the next, and by now, we have about sixty house-elves, and we can readily give you twenty," Lily replied, smirking. "Let me ask Gina, our head house-elf."
The head house-elf was all for it and put together a group of twenty elves of all ages and abilities for the Lestranges.
"Lisa here is the oldest of them and has the most experience. I suggest making her the head house-elf," she told Regina and Lily. "Lisa will be able to do the bonding for you if that's what you wish."
"Yes please," Regina replied, gratefully. "Thank you so much, Gina, Lisa and of course Lily."
HP
Shortly before Christmas, Regina, Brian and Christa moved into Lestrange Manor. At the same time, Regina, Lily and Minerva began to speak with the muggle parents of their pupils and, accepting the assistance of the Unspeakables, began to evacuate the muggle families to Lestrange Manor.
For safety reasons, Lestrange Manor was not connected to the public Floo network; the only fireplace with an outside connection was the one in Regina's and Brian's office, and even from there, it was only possible to travel to the MAMA, so that not only the three Lestranges but also the refugee pupils could travel to the school safely.
Regina and Brian had both given up working at the university. Brian spent the whole day at the manor caring for the refugees and at the same time continuing his computer research, while Regina assisted him and also spent several hours each day at the MAMA to study magic. The MAMA staff happily took turns instructing Regina in the various subject.
HP
On January 31, exactly one year after Charlus Potter, Jonathan Lestrange was born. With black hair and blue eyes, he was the spitting image of his late uncle Rodolphus; however, he was a happy baby who laughed at everyone. The brightest smiles received his sister Christa though, who was over the moon with joy over her little brother.
"The girls are no fun…"
"… They only ever care for the babies," the twins complained to Lily one day.
"Yeah. I want Mione to play with me," Dorea added, indignantly.
"That's true," Draco agreed to the siblings' tirade.
Christa, Hermione and Susan had much fun looking after Charlus and Jonathan and spent every free minute assisting Lily and Regina, who used to bring Jonathan with her to the MAMA during the day.
"I'll tell you something," James spoke up. "Let's go flying."
The twins, Draco and Dorea immediately agreed. Only Inu growled in annoyance at the idea of flying.
However, Sirius quickly transformed into his canine form and barked, =Let's go for a trip to the shore=, and Inu happily joined in.
HP
Several months passed, and nothing was heard about possible further attacks on families of muggleborns, which assured the extended family that they had evacuated everyone who needed it.
The Unspeakables, on the other hand, spent the time researching the area around Hastings, and on a stormy day in May, Arcturus led his colleagues into the Umbridge house.
The trained Unspeakables quickly overwhelmed and stunned the round twenty Death Eaters as well as Dolores Umbridge, who apparently had not expected an attack and did not even have their wands ready.
Everyone but Umbridge was given a Portkey right into the death chamber, while Umbridge was transported into a ministry holding cell, which was equipped with all safety precautions. It was even warded against Animagi, as there was a rumour that Umbridge could be a toad Animagus.
HP
Arcturus, who was a regular visitor to the MAMA due to his close friendship with Minerva, informed the extended family about the matter, before the Daily Prophet even had a chance to shout it into Britain's magical world.
"Complete rubbish if you ask me," Minerva commented on Arcturus' explanation. "Her magic is not strong enough to become an Animagus."
HP
'Umbridge arrested – twenty Death Eaters put through the veil', the read headline screamed first thing the following morning.
At Lestrange manor, where many of the muggle parents if not all were following the Daily Prophet on a daily basis, the question arose if it was safe enough for the families to return to their homes.
"Please remain here at least for the day and give me some time to ask the Aurors or possibly the Unspeakables about the matter," Regina told them in a firm voice. "Considering that at least twenty more Death Eaters, among them several dangerous ones, are still on the loose, I believe that it's still not safe for you."
To everyone's disappointment, the Aurors and Unspeakables agreed with Regina's assessment, and the refugees still remained at Lestrange Manor.
"I'm sorry if we sound ungrateful," the mother of Dean Thomas, who was a pupil of the Lynx class together with Harry, Neville and Inu, addressed Regina. "We're very grateful and happy to be here. Lestrange Manor is a wonderful place, and we really feel safe here. It's just that we miss our own home."
"I can understand you all too well," Regina replied, smiling, as she tried not to think about the fact that the rooms, where the Thomas family was residing, had once been her own flight of rooms, before she had been kicked out of the family at the age of six.
HP
Finally, the day of Umbridge's trial arrived. The whole Wizengamot was gathered, when Umbridge was led into the room in chains flanked by two Aurors on each side.
Regina had taken up the Lestrange seat for the first time and was excitedly sitting between Lily and Minerva, looking at the witch in absolute disgust.
'She was the one who freed my brothers,' she thought, grimly. 'It's her fault that they're both dead now, that Hermione's parents are in hospital and that our manor is full with muggle refugees.'
Moody, as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, led the trial and requested use of Veritaserum, which the Wizengamot granted unanimously.
"Did you free the Death Eaters from Azkaban impersonating Auror Shacklebolt?" he enquired.
"Yes," came the automatic response.
"Why did you do that?"
"To give the magical world what it deserves and to have the Death Eaters kill the muggleborn and half-blood scum."
"In spite of being a half-blood yourself?" Moody asked in apparent disgust.
"Yes."
"Did you copy the book of magical children at Hogwarts and give the names and addresses of the muggleborn children to the Death Eaters?"
"Yes."
"Did you use the blood quills on your students at Hogwarts?"
"No, because I only had one student, and he was a pureblood."
The questioning went on and on, and Regina felt sicker by the minute. 'Thank Merlin,' she thought, when Moody finally stopped the questioning and the Wizengamot decided on the verdict.
In the end, it was decided that Umbridge was going to be taken to Azkaban, where she would receive the Dementor's kiss later the same day.
Just when the Aurors took her away, Regina saw from the corner of her eyes how Arcturus pointed a wand at her, seemingly muttering a silent incantation.
'What was that?' she wondered, however, was brought back to reality upon hearing Lily's voice.
"Thank Merlin," Lily said, what everyone else thought, and – to Regina's relief – everyone agreed.
HP
'They're going to give me the Dementor's kiss?' Dolores thought, feeling extremely upset. 'Maybe I'll get a chance to do something to the Aurors and get away,' she consoled herself, when all of a sudden, her vision failed.
She suddenly saw herself being pushed through what she assumed was the veil, only to arrive in a beautiful garden. It was full with flowerbeds with small, pink roses, and cats were running around everywhere. The sun was shining, and birds were singing. 'If that is beyond the veil, it's not so bad,' she thought, happily, when a slowly growing noise penetrated her ears. It sounded like a roar, and she curiously looked around, only to freeze in shock upon seeing a dinosaur head in her direction. It was at least ten times as big as herself, and she felt herself being picked up by the animal's enormous mouth and swallowed as a whole. Just a moment later, the dinosaur spat her out onto the grass in clear disgust, and the scene commenced again from the beginning.
The dinosaur had just eaten and spat her out for the ninth time, when she was rudely awakened, as she fell onto the ground. She realised that the Aurors had just stepped away from her, leaving her to a Dementor. The black creature leaned down, and a moment later, she knew no more.
HP
Unfortunately, Umbridge had not been able to give the Aurors a clue as to how to find the remaining Death Eaters. It only came out – what they already knew – that they were hiding at Malfoy Manor.
To the extended family's relief, the Death Eaters remained quiet, however, and no further attacks on muggles, muggleborns and their families took place.
The only attempted attack occurred around Lestrange Manor, where all the surrounding fields were burnt due to an attack with fiendfyre. Thankfully, the wards around the manor blocked the flames, and when Moody checked out the scene, he found a sole burnt figure in the fields, the Dark Mark still faintly visible on the person's arm.
"Bellatrix Noname," he growled in recognition.
HP
On the day school began again and the six-year-old trio and their friends had their first day in the Griffin class with Linda O'Brien, Inu suddenly growled at Theodore Nott, causing the teacher to observe the boy, alert.
'Inu, what's wrong?' Harry thought to his familiar, who continued to stare at Theodore, growling.
'He's evil,' Inu thought back. 'Like the Death Eaters, even if not as bad.'
Harry quickly excused himself to go to the toilet and, as soon as he reached the washing room, called Dobby and informed the elf about what Inu had told him. "Please inform Granny Mina about it immediately," he instructed the elf, who nodded in understanding.
HP
Minerva listened to Dobby's explanation in horror and immediately contacted Arcturus.
"Do you think it means that Nott Senior has been living with his wife and son and no one realised it?" she enquired.
"Possibly," the Unspeakable replied and promised to take his team and head to Nott Manor right away.
tbc...
Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome.
Next chapter: "Inu to the rescue".