Ch.20 - Summer of 1989

'FORMER DEATH EATERS ATTACK A.I.M.' by Francis Dewey, Senior Correspondent and Co-Editor of the Observer.

Diagon Alley, London — An attack on the Association for the Integration of Muggleborns (A.I.M.) centre took place last night, 1:00 AM on the 28th of July. The assailants were identified as Vincent Crabbe Sr. and Gregory Goyle Sr.

After the two assailants had destroyed the storefront and set fire to the building, they were caught in the act and apprehended on location by a patrolling squad of Hit-Wizards who were alerted by some witnesses passing through the alley at the time.

The resulting damages would cost around 5,000 thousand Galleons to restore according to estimates, even with the use of Reparo charm. Fortunately, there were no people in the building at the time of the attack.

The assailants, Mr Crabbe and Mr Goyle were among the former Death Eaters who were acquitted from all crimes during their trial after they claimed to be under the effects of the s 'Imperious' curse during the war.

To our readers who may not know, the Imperius curse, one of the three 'unforgivable' curses, takes away a person's free will. However, there are observable signs when a person is affected by the curse, such as milky eyes and gaps in memories.

This time, however, the Hit-Wizards who made the arrest stated for the record that they saw no signs on the assailants of being imperiused.

Members of the A.I.M. are demanding that the assailants be put on trial and sentenced with the appropriate punishment according to the letter of the Law.

Some citizens in Diagon Alley stated that the attack on the Association reminded them of the Death Eater raids during the reign of terror of 'You-Know-Who'. The Ministry has not yet released a statement regarding the attack and are unavailable to our journalists at the moment.

In the meantime, the Association and the Observer will be relocated to an adjacent building temporarily until repairs are completed.

For those who are planning to attend one of the Association's seminars or lectures, they will be held in a different venue as scheduled. Details are available on-site or through their Hermes communicators which the public can reach via the designation A-1000.

A week ago, moments after the attack on Travers family house, Alex and Mr Grant returned to the 'Arms' base. Alex had explained what he found out from the Travers patriarch about the impending attack they were planning on the A.I.M. centre in Diagon Alley.

Apparently, some purebloods were unhappy regarding the development of the Association in recent years. They were also unimpressed about their steadily dwindling profits when their businesses were losing customers due to the Association's endorsements of their rivals. So, Travers proposed a plan to destroy the A.I.M. building and make their position clear and warn its supporters. He was also hoping that the attack would endear him to the other Death Eaters families.

"What do you intend for us to do, Archon? Should we increase the guards? Perhaps we could strike them first," said Mr Grant.

"No, we'll let them attack," he said smiling. "Since they volunteered to help our agenda, it wouldn't be good to turn them down.

"You will inform the administration of A.I.M. and Mr Dewey from the Observer tomorrow. I want them to relocate anything of true value to the second floor of the Elysium Housing. I want any documents copied, and any on-going transactions uninterrupted. No personnel is allowed to stay overnight in the Association building.

"After that, you will contact Mrs Pearce to tell her that we need to have our Hit-Wizard agents to make sure at least two of them will be present in any night patrol on Diagon Alley. Your men will keep watch around the building every night disguised as passers-by. When they see our guests, they will call the patrolling Hit-Wizards and lead them to the attackers. They will only help the arrest if, and only if, the Hit-Wizards are having difficulties in catching the attackers.

"After that, Mr And Mrs Dewey will handle the rest. You men will watch the other members of the Crabbe and Goyle family just in case they make any sudden movements."

Mr Grant had listened patiently to Alex. "What about Malfoy? He must be involved in this plot," he asked.

"Yes, he must be. But, he is still too close to the Minister of Magic. We can't risk the success of this operation due to his relationship with the Minister. However, if it's just Crabbe and Goyle, I think the Minister can be pressured to act for us. There will be a time in the future to deal with Lucius Malfoy," explained Alex.

He knew that Lucius Malfoy was one of the Dark Lord's lieutenants. He will surely have to remove the man from the scene in the future. However, taking him out too soon might result in some paranoia among the purebloods. Alex had the mind of a hunter when it comes to Death Eaters, and just like a hunter, he didn't want to scare off the herd before he had properly cornered them like the animals that they were. At the very least, he had to maintain some time in between his operations against the pureblood supremacist to avoid creating a pattern that could lead to any suspicion about the existence of an organized group with plans against them.

The disappearance of the Travers could be left as some unexplainable occurrence. Unless people were absolutely sure about their fates, it would take a huge leap before they could suspect anything that could lead to them. Alex had also instructed the some of the people from the shadow team of the 'Arms' to spread around some rumours in Knocturn Alley that the Travers were spotted approaching some black market 'Portkey' maker. With luck, the purebloods would just suspect that the Travers had just ran from the country for good.

When the Observer article was published the next day, a lot of muggleborn sympathizers visited Diagon Alley to offer their help any way they could. The Association's people in Diagon Alley were doing what they could to garner more support regarding the incident. Their point was this, if the Association was not safe, then no muggleborn was safe. With the public sentiments on their sides, Alex hoped that could pressure the Ministry to take their side in the matter.

A group of people had also gone to the Ministry H.Q. to protest the Minister's lack of response regarding the attack against the Association. The article from the Observer had brought to the attention of the public that the assailants were former Death Eaters who were acquited after the Dark Lord was gone, much to the Minister's annoyance.

Even those who were not members of the Association were troubled by the implications. What if these wizards were trying to start something again? Everyone would surely be paying attention to how the Minister of Magic would handle the situation. It wasn't too long, when the minister himself, Cornelius Fudge, made an appearance to appease the crowd.

"I would like to inform everyone that the matter in Diagon Alley is being investigated by the Aurors under my order," he said aloud. "We will do whatever we can to determine the truth being this horrendous attack. I advise everyone to go back to their homes or to their job and put their trust in the Ministry."

"Hooray for Minister Fudge!" A voice shouted suddenly.

"Yeah, with the minister himself making that promise, we can be sure a fair trial will be conducted!" said another voice.

"Yes, trial for truth! Minister Fudge will surely bring us justice!"

"Fudge for Justice! Fudge for Justice!" they began chanting.

Cameras were going off. There were journalists that witnessed the entire thing took place. In the next day, the news was heavy with articles about Minister Fudge and his uncompromising attitude to the pursuit of justice. For once, the Daily Prophet and the Observer agreed on their articles. From how it sounded, the minister had promised to conduct a proper trial for the assailants to determine the truth about the attack.

The Minister was conflicted when he read the newspaper. He surely didn't promise a trial of all things. He figured that with the right compensations to the affected parties, the matter would resolve itself quietly. After all, no one was actually hurt. But now, he was reported in the papers that he would bring justice for the victims of the attacks. He was really beginning to doubt his memories of when he addressed the crowd.

However, he had also never experienced such accolades before. And, he felt good. He was known as a great compromiser. It was probably the reason he was elected as the Minister of Magic. When the ministry was in chaos with everyone throwing blame at one another after the Dark Lord's demise, he had stepped into the limelight promising that he would restore order and preserve the dignity of the Ministry. He had delivered on that promise, in a certain way. Shortly after his rise, the ministry was back to functioning properly, at least from the outside. Any scandal or controversies were swept under the rug and any outstanding trials were summarily concluded.

Now, however, they were calling him a 'Bringer of Justice'. To be perfectly honest, he enjoyed his newfound reputation. He felt respected and powerful, something he has always envisioned for himself.

Fudge knew that he would have to retire someday. It had been almost ten years since he first stepped on to his current position. He was more and more concerned about what would be the legacy of his tenure as a Minister of Magic and what would be his life like after retirement. If he could not be remembered as a great public servant, he would make sure to make his life as comfortable as possible.

Perhaps he had made too many deals early on in his career, but they were necessary at the time. Who gave Crabbe and Goyle the idea to do something stupid like attacking the Association. They weren't even considerate enough to die on the spot. Instead, they let themselves be arrested so that be he, the Minister of Magic, had to deal with the headache.

[AN: In the movies, Fudge pretty much disappeared after the fifth movie. In the books, he was the one who told the muggle prime minister about the death of Amelia Bones, his successor.]

The newspaper articles the following week had the same type of stories. They reminded everyone of what had happened in the last war and what could happen again if no actions were taken to bring the assailants to justice. They also liberally praised the firm stance of the minister against the prejudicial injustices in the wizarding world.

Alex was not above using a little bit of fear-mongering to get the reaction that he wanted from the public. For that matter, he also didn't mind making the Fudge as his unwitting hero. If the expectation of the public could force the minister to take the proper course of action, then it would be all worth it. The possibility that it could drive a wedge between the minister and some of his pureblood supporters was a bonus. Should that happen, Alex was prepared to have the Association declare their support for the minister.

He had given careful instructions to Mr Dewey not to lose the hard-earned reputation of the Observer, telling them to only use actual quotes from the minister. To effectively implicate the minister in their scheme, they used the reaction of the crowd or some public opinion to paint the minister as a muggleborn rights supporter. Of course, those people in the crowd that cheered for the minister were instructed to do just that prior to the protests.

On his own matters, Alex was also very busy. He had arranged an apprenticeship for Katie under a Potions master member of the Association. Katie was happy to share the news with him via owl post when she had received the offer. Of course, she didn't know that it had been arranged for her, after all, it was also due to her talent. Alex couldn't really force anyone to accept an apprentice in the Association unless they were actually members of the Order. Katie had gotten the offer due to her own accomplishments in the study of Potions not to mention her short tutelage under Dumbledore in the field of Alchemy. Alex merely had to put her name forward. He didn't mind doing as much for his friend.

Alex and Katie had gotten close throughout the years. To other students of Hogwarts, the two of them always seemed serious. Alex had the mentality of an adult due to his circumstances. Katie has always been mature mentally for her age. She had very few friends in Hogwarts and only spent her time doing what truly interested her. She was very comfortable in her own skin and never bothered to change her attitude to be more pleasing to others.

Alex had always admired that about her. Mentally, he was an adult, with cynic tendencies, who had experienced dejections and hardships in his life. He was glad to see a clever girl who acted prudently for her age.

She had grown into a beautiful woman. She had plenty of would-be suitors when she was in Hogwarts. Smart and beautiful, she was the ideal girl for many Hogwarts boys. But, the only boys that she hanged around with were Clay and Alex. One is the leader of the Hufflepuff gang and the other was the illustrious captain of the quidditch team. It would certainly be intimidating to any boys to even think about asking her out.

If at first Alex had treated her as a child with good prospects, now, what he felt for Katie was a genuine friendship. Perhaps, even more than that. Even he wasn't immune to her charms.

She was tall and she had a slender body. Her facial features were fine and her blue eyes were stunning. Her skin complexion made her look delicate with the redness of her cheeks and nose. Her red hair, in contrast, was wilder and she kept it in a simple tie most of the time, not hiding how her jawline meets her slender neck.

What made the most impression on Alex most was the redness on the back her fingers and on her collarbones. Also, she always seemed focused when speaking to him, always on point, and always looking at him eye to eye. [AN: See my note regarding characters appearance.]

As for Clay, Alex had arranged a business agreement between the Derbyshire Farms and the Rosewood Farms that would let the two farms profit for years to come. Clay was also taking advantage of his membership in the Association. He had invited the other members of his Hufflepuff gang to join A.I.M. Some of them were purebloods and halfbloods. They attended as many seminars and lectures as they could.

Soon enough, Alex expected Clay to gain a leadership position in the Association even if only among the younger members. He had gotten closer to Nymphadora Tonks during the last term as he guided her to take on the leadership position of the Hufflepuff gang for the next school term. Alex was happy for his friend. Also, he was hoping this could change Tonk's fate in the future.

As for Alex, he had moved permanently to his country house in Norwich where Mr Baxter could take care of his everyday needs. He had given Grandpa Joe a retirement fund so the old man could spend his remaining days with ease. He had a closer relationship with his grandfather than he did in the other timeline, perhaps it was the unusual maturity he possessed. However, he also knew that he couldn't take his grandfather in the new stage of his life. The old man was set in his ways and it would not be kind to drag him in Alex's ever-changing life.

Alex's time was spent with duelling quidditch practices. He had also made some progress in studying the orb of cursed fire orbiting his magical core with constant meditation. From his observation, he learned that the fire was partially self-aware. It rewarded him every time he had acted on his violent impulses. In this way, he could absorb the fire into his own core quicker. Alex certainly understood the necessity of acting with violence at times, but doing so just to please the fire would adversely change his personality in the end.

He had to force the orb of fire under his control or risk losing control of himself. So, he started researching a method, a ritual or a spell, that would help him to safely integrate the power of the cursed fire into his own.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note

I made some changes and re-formatting in some of the previous chapters. They usually involved the format of the internal dialogues, paragraphs, and some grammatical errors that I corrected. I will be updating the previous chapters in batches, starting with the first five. As a result, some of your paragraph comments may have been erased. I want you to know that I always read all the comments and I appreciate them all.

To help your visualization of the characters I made a comparison of them to certain well-known actors that I personally based their appearance on. Alexander looks like the actor Dan Stevens from 'Downton Abbey' with black eyes, dark blue eyes, and no stubble on his face. Katie looks like Rose Leslie from 'Game of Thrones' and also 'Downton Abbey' but with a more athletic body and brighter shade of red for her hair. And Clay looks like George Mackay from 'Ophelia' and 'Captain Fantastic' with brown wavy hair long enough to cover his ears.

Disclaimer:

This work is not for profit. No copyright infringement intended. All recognizable characters, plot, setting, etc. are the property of J. and/or Warner Bros.