Aaron Jamerson like to see himself as an unshakable man who had fully embraced his public duty to provide the truth, and only the truth to the Wizarding World. A man who was rooted firmly in the grey area of good and evil and would stood tall and defiant when someone would challenge his beliefs and urge him to spread foul lies.

That kind of man was something the Wizarding World desperately needed as the Ministry's dark and carefully guarded secrets were unrivaled with relentless vigor, and children claimed that You-Know-Who was back that the school board had sent a abusive, manipulative toad to spread Ministry approved propaganda.

Aaron wasn't a huge fan of the Ministry—Not anymore. Not after they had sentenced his little sister to death without a proper trail and forced the Prophet to write their poisonous lies instead of the truth—but he could understand the Minister's hesitance to agree with two children—one of which was notoriously famous for getting himself into trouble no child should be near—about the Dark Lord somehow coming back from the dead.

And even though Dumbledore believed his two students were telling the truth didn't mean Aaron trusted the elderly wizard. He used to, but over the past four years of Dumbledore failing to protect his students his belief had weakened and the rose tinted glasses his younger self had vigorously worn down before cracking.

But, hopefully with the end of term coming to Hogwarts everything would calm down and the public would relax a little, allowing the Prophet to breath a little easier and resume writing their articles and stories without the fear of getting their office burned down or yelled at by someone from the Ministry or worse, a wizard with a grudge against them.

With this thought in mind, Aaron nodded to himself and took a sip of his tea. Enjoying a brief bout of quiet before he turned in for the night.

Then his co-worker apparated into his room with earth shattering news that had Aaron's tea cup slipping out of his hands and crashing onto the floor.

"Dumbledore's fled from the Ministry and abandoned Hogwarts!"

It felt like a surreal dream as he walked into the Daily Prophet headquarters for his morning shift. Dumbledore abandoning Hogwarts to flee from the Ministry? The same Ministry that had nothing but flimsy accusations of Dumbledore supposedly trying to overthrow Fudge to throw at the world's greatest wizard's feet?

But it sadly wasn't a dream as he found himself whisked away to an emergency meeting mere seconds after he bid Gloria, the usually neat and orderly receptionist good morning and grabbed a doughnut from the refreshment table.

"Now, we need information—new information about what's going on." The head editor was rambling, his usually neat and tidy mustache a frazzled mess as he paced the room, "It's turning into dark and dangerous times what with You-Know-Who supposedly being back and Dumbledore doing…something! I don't know!"

"Which is the problem, no one knows what's going on." Grant, the head editor grunted. Shakily stirring sugar into his tea as Aaron glanced around the room. Feeling so very lost yet at the same time, very aware of what was going on now that he had read the rushed early morning Darily Prophet issue.

"Not even the students? I mean, we just have to wait for the Ministry to give the go ahead so we can question them and-," Bell, the managing editor started when James the opinion manager cut her off with a sharp. "How are we supposed to question them?! The only thing they know for sure is that Potter and his friends set up a club and not even they understood what was going on! In fact, we don't even know how many were participating since the list was destroyed in that toad's haste to catch them in the act!"

"Let's focus on something more important!" Samuel, the features editor interrupted. "Dumbledore had an Auror on his team by the name of Kingsley Shacklebolt who helped him escape from Hogwarts!"

A babble of surprise and shock rose up as Aaron kneaded his forehead and yelled, "Of COURSE he did! Dumbledore's a bloomin' legend! He probably has at least five Ministry workers in his back pocket!"

The noise abruptly quieted down as everyone processed this new piece of information.

"If…that's true then…why was he grooming Potter to help overthrow the Minister?" James asked.

"We don't know IF he was grooming Potter." Samuel corrected, "We just know that he favors Potter and possibly, Earthbound."

"That's not how the Mystic Informer is telling it." Bell stated tossing their newest issue onto the table and reading the blood red headlines with a trembling voice, "Dumbledore, neglectful headmaster? Or something much more villainous?"

"Hold on, aren't those the fellows who were getting onto his case about the dangers of the Tri Wizard tournament?" Aaron questioned.

"Yea, ever since that Earthbound kid joined, they've been heavily questioning Hogwarts and how they do things." James explained, "In fact, they were the ones who published that piece about how the Ministry used Dementors to try and silence Barty Crouch Jr. and almost endangered one of the champion's muggle mother and younger sibling in the process."

"They also exposed Umbridge and published the truth about You-Know-Who." Aaron recalled feeling sick as he spoke, "In fact, they've been publishing things that…that have been proven true months later."

A hush fell over them as everyone exchanged glances.

"Y…you don't think that they're right about Dumbledore being off his rocker…do you?" Samuel questioned, "I mean, before it was just nitpicking but now…"

"Well why would Dumbledore run?" James questioned, "It was a simple questioning after exposing Umbridge for blackmailing a student! Any sane person is going to want to have the questioning in a secure and private location after learning about that!"

"He didn't have to run. Dumbledore had power-,"

"Had?"

"Well, a lot of people aren't going to trust him now that he's run. I mean, sure the Ministry isn't to be trusted at the moment. But they changed their tune about Dumbledore training an army when someone theorized, he was trying to groom Potter."

"Wasn't Potter's father close to Dumbledore?"

"Maybe?"

"Actually yea! He was! I mean, Sirius Black is Potter's godfather! And he was friends with Lupin, that rat fellow and Potter's father!"

"And Lupin was a werewolf who Dumbledore accepted despite the dangers he brought…"

"A werewolf who came back to teach students at the request of Dumbledore before they discovered that rat guy."

"Until Earthbound and Potter discovered the rat guy who murdered his Potter's parents."

Another hush fell over them as they exchanged looks.

"Yo…you don't think Dumbledore groomed others before Potter?"

"…I mean, he was rumored to be working with Grindylow decades ago. Had the same views about Muggles needing to be killed or controlled before he changed his mind. Or so the rumors say."

This time, an uncomfortable silence fell over them before Barnes, who had been taking notes on potential stories and listening to the chaos cleared his throat and softly stated, "Perhaps, we should focus on Umbridge and the girl she blackmailed. Start from the very beginning of this mess."


"Well…isn't this chaotic." Astra grimly thought, the former Astronomy teacher studying the morning issue of the Daily Prophet as his friend in America quietly talked his ear off on the phone as he prepared himself a proper breakfast.

He had predicted something like this happening. Umbridge digging herself in yet another hole, that poor Ravenclaw girl losing her magic to keep her head above Umbridge's blackmailing and the discovery of Potter's little club.

But…he hadn't seen how important Dumbledore's departure from Hogwarts would be, he didn't see the train of dominoes placed behind Dumbledore's action of abruptly fleeing from questioning until after they had begun to collapse.

"Hopefully, everyone is safe." Astra sighed, turning his attention back to his phone as he stirred blueberries into his pancake mix. "Sorry, I spaced out. What were you saying?"

"Dumbledore is taking too big a risk." His friend repeated, "He's throwing caution to the wind to ensure that THEY don't know about our shared prophecy."

"You believe that's why he fled? To keep quiet about that?"

"…"

"Fate?"

"It's only a lie if THEY don't know about it. We ourselves don't even understand the true meanings of those visions you got back in high school."

"True, but…"

"But nothing. Dumbledore doesn't explain anything and he's tying the wrong strings to his little project."

"And as usual, it vexes you to hell and back."

"Of course, it does. But that isn't important. What's important is the ordeal happening in the Wizarding world. Have you been questioned yet?"

"By Lily and Chip? Or by the Ministry?"

"Both."

"Lily and Chip practically broke into my house while I was asleep to get the inside scoop and the Ministry hasn't gotten to me yet. We've mostly talked about how I was hired and my thoughts on Dumbledore."

"…"

"Is that a problem, Fate?" Astra questioned, placing the bowl on the table and looking at the TV which was only on to play background noise. It was currently showing a news clip of a group of humans eagerly celebrating an event. Blissfully unaware of the Wizarding World quietly dissolving into hell in the background as they cheered and danced with one another.

"No. I got distracted by some threads."

"Who's?"

"Voldemort's. He's doing something—probably to counteract Dumbledore."

"Right, he has a secret just like ours." Astra recalled, glancing at an issue of the Mystic Informer resting on his counter and smiled at the connections he had made over the years thanks to it.

"Yes, those who look deeper on events may think Dumbledore is preparing an army."

"Isn't he?"

"Yes. And we shall let him. But not without a price."

Astra hummed in agreement, picking up the issue and studying the cover. It was an old one, dating back to the Tri-Wizard tournament and showing a picture of the champions standing in a line for a picture. The older students' smiles were bright and eager while the younger students were small and unsure.

"Why must wizards interfere with things they shouldn't understand?"

"I don't know Fate, I don't know." Astra truthfully answered as someone knocked on his door.

"Who is it?" he called not surprised to hear a tired, "Tyler Windchime, I'm an Auror from the Ministry."

"Be there in a second!" Astra replied sighing as he put the issue down and turned to the phone, "Got to go. Someone else is interrupting my attempts to make breakfast."

"I refuse to learn the backwards time system England has."

"You refuse to be a decent human being and check the clock." Astra corrected, rolling his eyes as his friend stayed quiet and simply said, "Stay safe. And be careful of those watching you." Before hanging up.

Allowing Astra to greet the young man with a tired smile, "I take it you're here to ask me about how I was treated by Dumbledore during my employment." He guessed, inwardly laughing at the young man's surprise before the man remembered that he was the real deal when it came to predictions.

"E-er, yes. If you don't mind."

"Of course not, these are troubled times and now the strongest wizard is off running from the law." Astra replied inviting him inside and smiling as the tea kettle whistled, "Would you like some tea?"


Wormtail really, really. Didn't want to be the one to break the news to the Dark Lord. No, he wished to be in his room far away from the possible dangers of getting killed or being on the end of his lord's temper tantrum—something he deserved to have given how everything was spiraling into chaos and disarray.

But he was the Dark Lord's right-hand man, even more so now that his beloved pet had gone missing. Presumably captured by Dumbledore and had done something to him through Nagini since he was stuck recovering after Potter had intruded in Nagini's head and given him a glimpse of what happened to those who crossed the Dark Lord.

"M-my lord!" Wormtail cried, pushing the door open to the decaying sitting room as some Death Eaters gave his back a pitying glance before making themselves scarce.

"What is it Wormtail?" the Dark Lord rasped, looking up from his tea and shooting him a frustrated glare. "I'm not in the mood to be bothered."

Lovely, he was in a grieving mood. Although, given how close he was to Nagini he really couldn't blame the man. Nagini had been his real right-hand man or er, snake and despite being a simple snake and she had easily carried out every task until that fateful night.

"So sorry but, Dumbledore is on the run from the Ministry." Wormtail blurted out, trying to keep his voice level as the Dark Lord looked at him in disbelief and rasped, "Repeat that."

"Sadly, there isn't a lot of information—it seems no one knows what's going on but, according to the Daily Prophet Umbridge exposed Potter's secret club and their questions tampered off into the officials believing that Dumbledore was grooming Potter and another student."

"Who's the other student?"

"…Sire, he's the Cosmic Squib."

Wormtail cringed as the Dark Lord looked up, his eyes wild with disbelief and anger as he hissed, "Him? Dumbledore is grooming him?"

"Supposedly, again my lord. No one knows what's going on." Wormtail repeated, "We have a few insights of our own thanks to Malfoy's son and his friends being a part of the raid, but they also don't understand what happened."

"Despite being there?"

"Yes. Malfoy's son is attempting to press for more answers, but it may take a while."

"A while…" the Dark Lord murmured, leaning back in his chair and studying a pile of issues from the Quibbler and the Mystic Informer. "That will give that enigma beast even more time to strike."

"Sire?" Wormtail questioned.

"He may have told me to stay out of his way, but it's clear that he doesn't intend on returning the favor." The Dark Lord noted, "Unless…Dumbledore is pushing him to be bolder."

"I…I don't think so. When I questioned Malfoy on his son's involvement in the club, he reported that he personally wasn't in the club but a few Slytherins were and noted that the cosmic squib wasn't really there. He attended the first few meetings but left."

"So…it is of his own accord?"

"So, it seems. Perhaps Potter is goading him into helping get the truth out?"

There was a long pause before the Dark Lord gave a bark of laughter, "No, from what little thoughts I can pull free from him I see guilt and annoyance aimed at the cosmic squib. He wishes for his help, but the cosmic squib has cut his ties with Potter."

"So…this is the cosmic squib's doing?"

A small nod, "Indeed. However, lately I've been seeing panicked dreams from Potter, revealing how Dumbledore isn't allowing the Squib to leave the school and being the old fool's downfall."

"Isn't allowing—he wants to leave?" Wormtail exclaimed, cringing when his master shot him an angry look.

"Of course, he does Wormtail. He's from that land filled with filth and has been thrown into a world that doesn't belong to him. He probably hates Dumbledore more than I do."

"That's…hard to believe." Wormtail admitted, his gifted hand opening and closing in an attempt to calm himself as his master hummed in thought.

"Perhaps, but it'll only be a matter of time before that old fool ties a noose around his neck and hangs himself. He always had a knack for poking his nose into the wrong thing at the wrong time and washing his hands free of them when he felt his job was done. In fact, the PSI user's hatred for Dumbledore may give us a valuable edge to use against him."

"Really? Even with your followers under heavy scrutiny?"

The Dark Lord nodded, "Indeed. After all, he's already pushed that failure of a Ministry worker into our clutches."


Umbridge felt like she was back in school as she walked up to the school board meeting. Her path filled with people staring and pointing at her, whispering behind their hands about something much worse than blood running in her veins.

Her grip around her handbag tightened as she resisted the urge to grind her teeth as someone quietly jeered at how she had to blackmail a mere child to get anything done in Hogwarts while another whispered that she should have just quit while she was ahead and stayed in line.

Their words ugly and vile poison as she turned a corner and avoided a runaway mail cart before stopping in front of a set of double doors, plastering an innocent smile on her face as she pushed it open and moved to greet the board heads when a cold voice cut her off.

"Sit down Umbridge." Corban Yaxley ordered, his eyes narrowed and his comrade's expression displaying nothing but seething annoyance at her latest screw up, "I believe we have much to discuss."

"Indeed," Miranda Coils agreed, her soft voice now as sharp broken shards of glass. "I thought the warning the Minister gave you was enough, but apparently we were wrong."

"And foolish to let only two professors keep an eye on you." Thomas Bunderbunch stated, pushing his glasses back up with a sharp gesture as Umbridge silently waited for a chance to argue her position. A woman—a newcomer obviously judging by her obvious her expression of hate was shaking her head in disgust. "We should have fired her the second her dirty deeds came to light. A mistake on our part."

"One that shall not happen again." Yaxley stated.

"Excuse me, but may I at least be given a moment to explain myself?" Umbridge interjected, her nails digging into her hand as Coils snapped, "Absolutely not! Time and time again you have gone not only against us but also the Minister himself. You should be grateful that you're even allowed to beg for a chance to still remain employed!"

"Indeed." Bunderbunch agreed, "It was one thing to be keeping a close eye on Dumbledore's rowdy students, but to blackmail another student and allow her to get grievously injuries to the point of losing her own magic? Even for a Slytherin, this is much too big to simply ignore."

Lose her own magic? Umbridge resisted the urge to scoff as she bluntly stated, "Miss Edgecombe is fine, merely suffering from a snake bite Mr. Earthbound has given her."

"Unlikely." The newcomer disagreed, "Mr. Earthbound has been proven to be absolutely horrible with magic and owns no pets. I think it's more likely that you summoned that snake and somehow hexed Edgecombe's magic to render her a squib."

This had her anger morph into a small ball of worry. She had heard rumors of wizards being able to destroy other's magic in battle. It had been the greatest upset during Grindylow's attack and when that girl—Belinda…?-lost control of her magic during a shopping trip and gravely injured those around her and somehow rendering many unable to use their magic. Surely, they didn't believe that she was one of those wizards?!

"Although Edgecombe's condition is surprising." Umbridge stated, keeping the tremble out of her voice as she spoke, "I assure you, I had nothing to do with that. Nor did I have anything to do with her blackmail!"

"Oh really?" Yaxley raised an eyebrow and shuffled a few papers, "According to a testament from Marietta Edgecombe herself. She stated that you threatened her mother's position as a Floo Network Regulator and had her spy on Mr. Potter and Mr. Earthbound ever since the end of winter break."

She mentally cursed at the school board for using their over inflated egos for something other than letting that clumsy old fool run his school into the ground.

This was bad. Really bad. Her original plan was to throw Edgecombe under the bus, paint her as an overzealous fan girl of the Ministry who wished to help the Ministry and not her. She just supposed to be a person the right connections to ensure her mother's promotion and ease the chaos running rampant in the Wizarding World.

Now? She had nothing, her trump card had simply driven Dumbledore away and left her as the sacrificial offer to sooth the public's wrath. Especially since she had foolishly admitted to blackmailing Marietta while scrambling to get some leverage against the old coot.

And judging by the hard looks she was getting and the shuffling of paper they knew it as well. "Lucky for you Umbridge, none of your crimes are enough to warrant you a permanent stay in Azkaban." Bunderbunch was saying but his words became muffled as Umbridge saw her kingdom—her world born from sweat and her own vile Mudblood implode before her very eyes.

"-orry about your office, we have several trustworthy Aurors cleaning it out as we speak." Bunderbunch finished, "Have a pleasant retirement Umbridge."

"Y-you can't do this!" Umbridge exclaimed, her mask breaking as two Aurors roughly grabbed her arms and hauled her out, "All I've done is for the Ministry!"

"All you've done is doomed it." The newcomer sharply corrected, "It was because of your incompetence that we've had to backtrack and reveal things that shouldn't have been revealed! It is because of you that we've have to dirty our hands with Hogwarts' business and work to appease not only England parents but also Americans thanks to the stories being churned out!"

"If this is how you help people, I would hate to see how you would ruin them." Yaxley sniffed, flicking his wand and slamming the door shut as Umbridge struggled and tried not to scream in anger.

"Have a good day." One of the Aurors sneered, shoving her out onto the wet streets and disappearing back into the Ministry.

"They'll pay for this." Umbridge thought, dusting herself off and sharply turning away as bitter tears formed in her eyes. All of her hard work, all of the people she had used and destroyed to climb high in the ranks—gone. Ruined!

All because of two young boys who Dumbledore favored greatly. Two pitiful boys how had somehow pulled the entire school campus into their line of thinking and turned her own house against her thanks to their connections.

"They'll pay." Umbridge grumbled, bustling down the busy street in an attempt to walk off some of her frustrations before she went home to plan.

Potter might have had all of his secrets ripped out into the open but Earthbound was another bundle of worms waiting to be pried at. Sure, she couldn't reach him now that she was kicked out of Hogwarts, but she had taken the precaution of looking up his home address and jotting it down in her notebook.

He had already proven to be overprotective of his family given how angry he was with Fudge for allowing Dementors into Hogwarts without ensuring that everyone vulnerable was out of the way.

So now, she simply needed to figure out a way to sneak over to America, track down Onett and arrange a meeting with him and his mother to unravel his little net of secrets and—

"Excuse me miss."

Umbridge jumped moving to snap, "What?" when she realized she had stormed into a dark alley and was currently facing a man with a mark of the Dark Lord on the inside of his arm and pointing his wand at her throat. "Lord Voldemort wishes to speak with you."


Remus wasn't prepared for Friday morning. In fact, he didn't think anyone was as he sipped his tea and listened to Sirius give the second floor another thorough cleaning. Ever since Harry had agreed to live with Sirius the man had been cleaning non-stop and trying to figure out which room would be good for Harry to claim his as own.

It was a little annoying but hilarious as he and the other guests of the Grimmuald place assured him that he was doing fine and should probably take a break before he aggravates Buckbeck and Kreacher into breaking all of the cleaning supplies. Again. Despite being the two being from drastically different races and having different mindsets they had found things to agree on and managed to co-exist when Buckbeck had to stay inside.

Remus wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing when he spotted Buckbeck giving Molly a firm glare as she tried to throw out something Kreacher had been trying to protect moments before Sirius had dragged him away.

"I think I'll join Kreacher and Buckbeck in destroying the cleaning supplies." Tonks yawned, stirring some sugar into her coffee as Remus moved to pick up the newspaper.

"They'll happily accept you alongside the Boggart attempting to move back into the cupboard upstairs." Remus informed her, chuckling as Buckbeck—who was attempting to carefully force his way into the living room-gave a screech of agreement. Or perhaps a rallying cry for her to join. He wasn't sure.

"So, anything important going on in the news?" Tonks asked as Remus unfolded the paper and caught a glimpse of the headlines screaming, "Dumbledore! Possible-" when someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get it." Remus volunteered since Tonks was still out of it after watching a possible Death Eater's home. The Death Eaters had been eerily quiet as late, only a few followers carrying out Voldemort's will against muggleborns and whoever else he didn't like.

It was unsettling but Remus supposed that it was better to lay low after Ness and Harry had ripped the rug out from underneath them and created an uproar for the Ministry to get their act together. Although, perhaps forcing the Ministry to act so soon was a bad idea. It was nice that other people knew the truth, now but the Ministry also had to deal with Umbridge creating trouble and hurting kids while also preparing for Voldemort's return.

Knowing them, they would focus on Umbridge instead of Voldemort to appease the crowd eager for blood.

Remus went through the normal procedures of identifying the visitor and was surprised to see Pepper Macbeth—an Auror working with them—huffing and puffing on the doorstep.

"Pepper? What's-," he didn't get to finish when she bustled inside and demanded, "Have you read the Daily Prophet?"

"Er, no. Not yet." Remus admitted, feeling worried as the short woman hissed through her teeth, "Why did it have to turn out like this, why?!" before moving to explain when Tonks rushed into the hall.

"Remus, we cannot let Sirius see this." Tonks whispered her eyes wide as she held the newspaper to her chest. Dumbledore! Possible Puppet Master Behind Potter's Bold Actions?

Remus blinked and then leaned heavily against the wall as he hurriedly read the main blurb before looking at Pepper, "What happened?"

"No one knows." Pepper replied before she corrected herself, "Well, no we know some things, but it isn't enough to paint a clear picture-,"

"What happened?" Tonks interrupted.

"Well, remember how Kingsley went with Fudge to investigate a claim from Umbridge about Dumbledore having a secret army?"

Tonks nodded as Remus blinked at how utterly ridiculous that was. Okay, not utterly ridiculous given Dumbledore's history with the Ministry but it felt like it.

"Well, Umbridge had no proof of that and it um…spiraled into a questioning about Potter and Earthbound's secret lessons which Dumbledore refused to answer or go into questioning to have a private conversation away from Umbridge who admitted to blackmailing a student and fled Hogwarts with Kingsley providing backup."

"…He did what?" Remus questioned, not believing his ears as Pepper flushed with embarrassment and added, "They er, also believe that Dumbledore is grooming Potter to be his successor. Possibly Earthbound as well."

"Why would they think that?!" Tonks exclaimed struggling to keep her voice down as Pepper fiddled with her messy red hair. "Well, Umbridge revealed how Potter and his friends keep getting out of repercussions when they break the school rules and that sort of lead down a pathway of wondering if Dumbledore planted ideas for Potter and his friends to utilize to create an attempt to overthrow the Minister and possible the Ministry itself."

"That's not true! Dumbledore didn't encourage Potter to rescue people and compete in the Goblet of Fire!" Tonks argued, her voice growing shrill as Remus moved to shush her.

"No, but it certainly didn't stop him from preventing Harry and Earthbound from competing, now did it?" Remus stiffened then sighed and turned around to face Sirius, who was looking thunderous as Pepper squeaked and inched behind him and Tonks.

"No, he did not." Remus agreed, something he often wondered about but didn't question given how it had worked out with everyone safe and sound with the added bonus of Barty Crouch Jr. arrested and locked away in Azkaban after extensive questioning.

"It also didn't stop him from allowing three other minors from competing in the Goblet of Fire." Sirius reminded them.

"Hold on, are…are you accusing Dumbledore of setting this all up!?" Tonks exclaimed looking horrified as Pepper tittered, "Well, to certain people this IS a big deal given how little they know."

"I'm accusing him of not doing enough Tonks." Sirius snapped, "I'm accusing him of letting Harry stay in danger! Did you know he was blackmailing Earthbound into going to those private lessons with him?!"

"He was?" Remus questioned looking at Tonks who looked confused as she replied, "Well, no. But surely Earthbound needed those lessons."

"What were those lessons?" Pepper asked.

"Occlumency." Remus answerd as Sirius snapped, "Something one of Earthbound's kind doesn't need!"

"And yet Harry felt compelled to rope Earthbound when he learned the boy wasn't going." Remus murmured something heavy settling in his stomach as Tonks looked at them in disbelief before turning to Pepper.

"What happened next Pepper?" Tonks asked, "Surely you know more than that."

"I know that Aurors are under heavy scrutiny and um…that we'll be retested soon." Pepper explained her fidgeting getting worse as Tonks and Remus looked at Pepper in cold shock.

"Wh…what do you mean? Is this because of Kingsley?" Tonks asked.

"The Ministry's wondering about how many people Dumbledore has on the inside." Pepper explained, "They've already started by firing Umbridge and it'll only be a matter of time before they start throwing out what they've learned from the students."

"The students? They're interviewing minors?" Remus asked.

"Have too, need to see if Dumbledore was actually grooming Potter and Earthbound." Pepper explained, "Plus um…there's the worrisome story about an Edgecombe losing her magic and turning into a Squib."

"Earthbound." Sirius guessed, looking grim as Remus leaned heavily against the wall.

"It…it could have been one of those things." Tonks weakly argued when Pepper shook her head no, "According to the girl, Earthbound attacked her with a snake when he caught her spying on her and ever since then she's been feeling awful until her magic stopped working. I mean, she can still do it but um…barely."

"And of course, Dumbledore won't throw him back to America, where he belongs." Sirius spat, "It's bad enough that Earthbound is feeling pressured to retaliate against possible enemies, but now…"

"Oh, and um, there's rumors that Kale left Hogwarts to distance himself from Dumbledore's crimes."

Kale? Oh, right Astra Kale. The squib Dumbledore had hired alongside Trelawney to teach Astronomy. He didn't know Kale very well, but he knew the man well enough to see his obvious passion for the stars and accurate predictions.

It had been horrible to read about how Kale was accused of allowing Trelawney to use his predictions and pass them off as her own but…he had never understood why the man had left Hogwarts. Nor why Dumbledore had advised them to keep a close eye on the man.

Kale didn't know anything about the Order of the Phoenix and he seemed more focused with Earthbound than Potter, so he wasn't a Death Eater. But…He supposed that Dumbledore knew best.

"What for?" Sirius asked, "Harry told me about that, but no one could figure out why other than trying to make it easier for the Ministry."

"Well…apparently he suspected something about Dumbledore or didn't wish to be manipulated. They're still getting his side of the story." Pepper explained, "Again, we know some things but not everything. And all Auroras are being barred from interviewing the students."

"Smart," Sirius grumbled, folding his arms as Remus took a deep breath. "We're going to have to be careful. With Dumbledore on the run for seemingly no reason they'll be turning to those Dumbledore closely knew."

"Like us." Sirius explained as Pepper paled and reached into her pocket, "Actually, they've already started that after being given a theory by the Daily Prophet."

"What?" Tonks questioned as Pepper pulled out a notice began to read it, "Attention all Aurors, those who have not yet been recalled for retesting or have completed their retesting should be on the lookout for Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. After hearing a compelling theory, it is vital that we bring them in with questioning."

"They want me as well?" Sirius asked, looking surprised as Tonks shoved her hands into her pockets and said, "Makes sense, Dumbledore did pull some strings to allow Lupin into Hogwarts and you were his best friend."

"But they'll try and arrest me!" Sirius spluttered, "I mean, they don't even believe I'm innocent!"

"I questioned this and um…they said they were willing to wavier it and possibly push for your innocence if you arrived for questioning." Pepper explained, "They even said it would be fine if you brought a trusted comrade along as moral support."

Sirius blinked, looking thoroughly bewildered as Remus bit his lip. With no answers and the need to appease the public the Ministry was doing their hardest to ensure that they checked every rock for anything close to Dumbledore's motives.

They may not be able to accuse him of planning a coup without proof, but they could get him for other charges. Charges like child abuse or neglect.

But the question was…should they go? Or should they remain hidden? This surely had to be a trap but…

"Dumbledore…what are you trying so hard to protect?" Remus wondered, suddenly wishing that Dumbledore hadn't been so mysterious with their plans held tightly to his vest.


Allen Mackerson was not prepared for this Saturday. When he arrived at Hogwarts, he figured he would just be keeping an eye on things, comforting the students that the Ministry were doing their best to fix their mistakes and ensure that Umbridge didn't get her way anymore while being a good professor.

He did not expect to uncover a possible attempt of grooming two students who were well known by the public and he certainly didn't expect to be put in charge of Hogwarts after Dumbledore fled from Hogwarts.

The Minister's reasoning was sound. They couldn't leave McGonagall in charge, not when she was obviously one of Dumbledore's right-hand woman and the head of Gryffindor. But they also couldn't pull someone else in to fill in that role. Not without earning more of the public's ire since they were going to be bringing in reporters from the Daily Prophet to interview the students closest to the event with a teacher and their head of house overseeing it.

So, he was chosen given how little work he had outside of classes and how neutral he was on the whole mess. He didn't like Dumbledore, but he could admire his work. Allen honestly couldn't believe Dumbledore would go so far as to prepare to successors to overthrow the Ministry but…

He honestly couldn't believe anything Dumbledore did given how mysterious the man was. Before, being mysterious was fine. He was an elderly wizard who had been in the wizarding world's greatest battles and had helped defeat the Dark Lord. Now? It left people wondering how much they knew Dumbledore as they tried to defend or rip his legacy apart.

Allen took a deep breath and adjusted his robes before looking at McGonagall and the chosen reporter for the Gryffindor students. The Daily Prophet had sent four reporters to interview most of the four houses before heading back and trying to make sense of their statements. And now it was time for Earthbound's interview which would hopefully shine some light on the matter.

"Are you ladies ready?" Allen asked, trying not to fidget as McGonagall gave a sharp but small nod and the journalist managed an upbeat, "Yup!"

McGonagall had been the first to be interviewed and…she hadn't taken to kindly to the theories the Daily Prophet had come up with during their agonizing wait for Thursday.

By the end of her interview she was practically spitting flames and giving him a glare for working with the group who had forced Dumbledore on the run in the first place.

"It's not OUR fault Dumbledore didn't want to arrange a private location for a meeting. Hell! He could have just held it in Hogwarts if he had asked!" Allen bitterly thought as a prefect opened the door and ushered Earthbound into the room. When he had spotted Earthbound on his brief tour through the school, he had been wary of the young man. He was much different than any student he had met before.

After all, not many could say they met a bulky but tall boy with light black eyes and an intense air of cautiousness around him despite appearing so casual and quiet. Then again, after hearing Umbridge's complaints Allen figured he could chalk up most of Earthbound's attitude to 'PTSD'.

"Good evening Earthbound." Allen greeted, gesturing for him to sit as he and McGonagall stood behind the journalist, "Miss Berga will be interviewing you on the events that happened Monday night. And possibly, your involvement with Dumbledore."

At the man's name Earthbound's eyes flashed with a mixture of emotions, none of them positive as he tightened his robe and slowly nodded.

"So! Let's start off with some easy questions! What was the Deterrence Aegis?" Berga started her quill at the ready as Earthbound eyed it then looked up at her.

"The Deterrence Aegis was simple. It was a place for people to learn the real Defense Against the Dark Arts during a time when it was obvious that something big was going to happen." Earthbound answered, his voice slow and steady.

"I wasn't involved in it other than giving Potter moral support, but they've been meeting for most of the school year. I've just been that one guy who helped rally everyone together."

"So, you had more than just Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs joining? I mean, Gryffindors' are a given but…" Bergia purposely trailed off, trying not to overstep as Earthbound adjusted his hat—his baseball cap Allen noted.

Earthbound often went without a hat, even in lessons where one needed a hat. But it was obvious that he deeply valued that hat that was a size too small. "Is that a security blanket of some sort?" he wondered, biting the inside of his cheek of being presented untrustworthy to the boy. Well, young man.

After this was over, he would profusely apologize for dragging him into a mess he was barely in and the Ministry making it harder for his treatment to be considered legal. He may not understand PTSD very well, but it was clear that his guardians felt that he needed some outside help on the road to recovery.

"I'm good friends with Karma and a lot of other students think I'm chill since I don't have the same bias most people have when they grow up with magic." Earthbound answered, "I think that while most see Slytherins as 'evil'. I just see them as people who are smarter but aren't afraid to take the 'wrong' path in life to get things done."

"Ah, that's right you're from America." Bergia recalled, moving to press for more when Allen stopped her, "Save it for later Ms. Bergia. We're interviewing Earthbound on why and how he is connected to the Deterrence Aegis."

Bergia flinched but nodded in agreement, "My apologies."

"No problem." Earthbound replied, relaxing a little but his eyes gliding over to the left—where McGonagall was.

"So, it's true that they were Slytherin students in the Deterrence Aegis?" Bergia asked.

"Besides Karma? Maybe. Frankly…I don't want to say much on the matter." Earthbound admitted looking a little uncomfortable, "A lot of Slytherin kids have high expectations from their parents and…admitting they were there might get them in more trouble than it's worth."

"I mean, you saw how determent Umbridge was to get the leaders of the DA to admit they were working with Dumbledore. If anyone knew the Slytherins were with them then they might use that as kindle." Earthbound finished.

"That is true…" Allen thought as Bergia nodded in understanding, knowing how some parents were about telling their kids to get into certain houses to 'uphold their honor'. Even his own mother had been hellbent on informing him to get into Gryffindor to carry his grandfather's legacy. It had broken her heart when he was chosen as a Ravenclaw and was happy to be a Ravenclaw.

"You don't trust Umbridge." Bergia noted, "I understand it's for good reason but why do you think the others are against her?"

"She's even worse than a snake." Earthbound said, his eyes glowing with anger as he gripped his robe, "She uses and manipulates everyone. Even from her own house to get results. It's a no brainier that everyone wanted to learn from someone competent, even if it was from someone they deemed an enemy."

"Oh?"

"None of the Slytherins like Potter and his friends—not even Karma. To them, he gets away with everything seemingly because he's the chosen one and apparently, Dumbledore's pet. They only put up with him since he was the only one willing to teach them and had experience fighting people."

That…was new. When Bergia had been interviewing the Gryffindors had been hellbent on insisting that Potter and Dumbledore barely spoke to one another and that Potter's supposed target of the previous headmaster's favoritism had been from all of Potter's heroic deeds. Even those who were less unsure of themselves agreed with the older students' statements and replied with envy at Potter's success but Earthbound…Earthbound had responded with muted venom. But was it aimed at Potter or Dumbledore? Allen wasn't sure who.

"Do you agree with this?" Bergia questioned.

"I…I don't know. I'm a terrible student who's barely scraping by in school." Earthbound admitted, glancing down before he looked back up with a determent glint in his eyes. "But I do admit that I can see why people feel like that. Especially if you're a Slytherin. Potter's popular, even if he doesn't realize it and it can be so frustrating to see him do things that would get them expelled and then being rewarded for it. I mean, yea it's nice that Potter's getting something in return for being put in danger but…"

Earthbound trailed off, realizing he was entering a territory he wasn't sure he wanted to enter.

Bergia simply nodded and moved on, "You don't seem to be very fond of Dumbledore."

"I'm not. I'm from American where I grew up believing that anything crazy that happened was because of aliens." Earthbound replied his voice shaking a little when he said aliens, "I didn't even know I was a wizard until two years ago when Dumbledore sent me that letter. And then the next thing I know I'm getting dragged into Potter's mishaps because he's the main topic and I have no clue how anything works."

"Your parents are muggles?"

"Yup."

Bergia glanced at Allen and Professor McGonagall, silently asking if she should keep heading down this path. Allen shook his head no and flashed the number two.

"Do you think Dumbledore saw something in you that most didn't?" that got an immediate reaction from Earthbound, his occasional fiddling with his robe turning into a tight grip around his leg and his eyes darkening before he took a deep breath and leaned back.

"If he did. I'm not sure what." Earthbound curtly answered, his tone encouraging Bergia to move to the next topic, "Do you think Dumbledore was preparing you and Potter for something?"

There was a long pause as Earthbound mulled over his answer, his eyes drifting over to McGonagall as if asking for advice like many had done previously before snapping back to Bergia, his mind made up.

"Yes, I do." He answered, his eyes darkening once more and not clearing up as McGonagall flinched. "I'm not sure what he was planning to do with us but honestly? I don't trust him as far as I can throw him."

Allen sharply inhaled at the blatant show of hate, but he couldn't blame the boy. Being yanked out of your home country and forced to attend a magical school which seemingly had no rhyme or reason for existing wasn't very pleasant for those unaware of their magical blood. For Earthbound it must have been ten times worse given how he was 13 and from a completely different continent with different cultural rules that could clash horrible with Europe's.

"Y-you don't?" Bergia questioned as McGonagall gave Earthbound a hard stare, as if warning him to think wisely of his next words.

"No, I don't. I have a lot of personal reasons not to believe Dumbledore." Earthbound replied, his tone terse as he returned McGonagall's stare.

"Would you like to share those reasons?" Bergia asked, frowning as Earthbound hesitated before adjusting his robe. "N…no. I may hate and distrust Dumbledore but…I don't hate him enough to ruin Potter's life."

"…What?" Allen questioned, feeling sick as Earthbound looked up. "Hold on, could you clarify that? Please?"

"Oh yea? Why do you need me to-," Earthbound started when he realized what he implied, "Oh, OH! Um, it wasn't like that sir. At least, I don't think it was." Earthbound rambled before he hurried to explain, "You see, Potter and I had a huge argument on the train to Hogwarts. I was much more…cynical at the start of the school year so it was easier for me to speak with an 'open mind'. I said that I wished Hogwarts would close and Potter got really angry at that, stating that it was…"

He hesitated glancing at Bergia before looking up at Allen, "Could…could we not put this part in the paper?"

Bergia whined in protest but quickly put her quill and notebook away without any prompting from Allen.

"He said that Hogwarts was his home away from home and…I think he's been living in a messed up household or something since my first year here—when Potter was sneaking out to Hogsmeade—it was because a guardian wouldn't sign."

"Just because a guardian wouldn't sign the form doesn't imply that Potter has unfit parents." McGonagall stated, but she sounded a little nervous.

"Maybe not, but when you combine that with the statement that Hogwarts his is home away from and how overzealous he was to protect Dumbledore it puts up a couple red flags." Earthbound rebuked, "I may be wrong, but I knew someone with a less than ideal household. They took care of him, sure. But he wasn't cared for like every other child."

"So…you believe Potter to be abused?" Allen questioned.

"Maybe? I…I don't really talk to him anymore and I joined in his third year. I don't know him that well despite what others may think." Earthbound admitted.

"I see, one last question—this one for the press." Bergia started, "What were the secret lessons Professor Kale and Snape gave you?"

Another bout of hesitation but this time he didn't glance at his feet or McGonagall instead he glanced at his robe before taking a deep breath and saying, "O-occlumency. Potter was having weird premonitions about what the Dark Lord was supposedly doing. I didn't get them but since we were both there when he was reborn Dumbledore thought it was better to be safe than sorry."

"Occlumency? The Dark Lord can enter people's minds from afar?!" Allen exclaimed looking at McGonagall who pursed her lips before slowly answering, "No, but Potter is a special case. Since it was his blood that brought him back, it left a small mental connection between the two of them. Something Voldemort may have been using without Potter realizing it."

"I…see." Allen murmured, feeling as if his world had been flipped upside down as Bergia asked, "Do you know why Professor Kale was there? He is rumored to be a Squib-,"

"Rumored?" Allen interrupted, "It's public knowledge that he's a squib ever since he joined Hogwarts."

"Well, no. According to some students they have seen Professor Kale perform small acts of magic, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary." Bergia clarified, flipping through her notebook as Earthbound adjusted his hat. "I sort of thought he was a wizard to since he used some magic to break up our fight on the train. But I guess he just found a way to fake it."

"Fake it." Allen repeated, never had there been a case of a Squib utilizing a wand and a spell. Perhaps it was an American trait but…he highly doubted that. But he also doubted that Mr. Kale would lie about his status in magic. So…how did he manage to fake magic?

"Right, as I was saying." Bergia interjected, "Why was Professor Kale there?"

"He showed up to our lessons later, when it became clear that Potter struggled with the subject." Earthbound answered, "He was moral support since having someone enter your mind is very uncomfortable."

"And you didn't struggle with the lesson?"

"No. I know how to relax, and I was content with learning something instead of trying to utilize it for the greater good."

"Greater…good?" Bergia repeated, her words causing Earthbound to flinch as he fiddled with his robe. "Yea, I think with everyone always going on and on about Potter being the 'Boy who lived' and his victories against Voldemort he figured he could use the connection against Voldemort. And at first, it worked. That was how he found out Mr. Weasley had been attacked."

"He saw the Dark Lord attacking him?" Allen asked, wondering just how deep Potter was in Dumbledore's web of mysteries and lies.

"Um…No. He was in the attacker's mind, so he didn't see anything of value. At least, that's how I understood it. We didn't talk much over Christmas break, so Ginny told me everything." Earthbound answered before asking "Are…we done here?"

"Yes, thank you for your time Mr. Earthbound." Bergia chirped, happily shooing the boy out before glancing at them.

"Well, this certainly shines a lot of light on things." She stated, dipping her quill in ink as Allen nodded and glanced at McGonagall who was looking less than thrilled at Earthbound's statement. Looks like they weren't on good terms despite Earthbound being a surprisingly well-behaved Gryffindor.

"Probably because she's Dumbledore's right-hand woman…" he bitterly thought, moving to grab a cup of tea while he collected his thoughts before summoning the next student.


7 of 12!

Everyone's losing them minds while Dumbledore's off digging a giant hole for himself. But surely this can't get any worse for everyone tangled up in this mess!