Avian Anarchy
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling or Disney, 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, magically powerful Harry. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing.
Tom lazily opened his eyes. To his surprise, he realised that he felt well rested and overall better than he could remember having felt ever before – at least not in a long time.
'I am myself,' he realised in shock. 'I must get away, before the ghost returns.' With a flick of his wand, which fortunately was still under his pillow,' he cleaned and dressed himself, while his thoughts went haywire. 'I need to see Minerva. I must explain everything to her. But will she believe me? She'll have moved on in the meantime. No, it's better if I go to the Auror department at the Ministry of Magic and explain everything there first. They need to clear my name.'
'They won't believe you and throw you into Azkaban right away,' a small voice spoke up from the back of his mind.
'They can question me under Veritaserum,' he reasoned.
'What if they don't even give you that chance?'
'Well, if things are as they're now, I can't do anything with my life, and I have to hurry, before the ghost returns and realises that I'm myself for the first time in decades. I just have to take that risk.'
That decision made, he quickly apparated away.
HP
"My sleeping spell must have worn up." Ariana sounded absolutely devastated.
"Is it possible that your brother took him somewhere?" Sirius spoke up, causing the ghost to nod, miserably.
'I hope they'll arrest the idiot today, before he can harm more people,' Harry thought in absolute anger at the old wizard.
"No." Santa suddenly grinned. "Merlin just informed me that Tom woke up and went to the Ministry of Magic. He's just talking with Alastor Moody and a couple of Aurors."
Just then, a non-corporeal Patronus manifested in front of Amelia. "We need you immediately."
"That was Alastor Moody," Amelia said. "Santa, will Holly be able to take everyone to the ministry? I will use my Portkey and go ahead."
"Of course."
"Madam Bones?"
"Yes?" Amelia looked at Luna, questioningly.
"Will you please see to it that Ariana will be allowed to explain everything to Tom? I think that it is important for her."
"Yes, I understand." Amelia cast a reassuring smile at the girl, who was standing right next to Ariana, before he activated her Portkey.
Five minutes later, the sleigh took into the air heading to Diagon Alley, where Holly pulled into their private parking slot right behind the Leaky Cauldron shortly later.
By the time they arrived at the Ministry of Magic, Tonks was waiting for them and explained at the entrance that they were guests of Madam Bones and that she was already waiting for them.
'Thank Merlin, I wouldn't want you to leave your wand here,' Hedwig thought to him, as they quickly followed Tonks into the elevator that took them to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
HP
Tom was sitting in a meeting room opposite of Amelia and Alastor Moody. While Sirius and Minerva sat next to Moody, Harry, Luna, Ariana and Santa took the seats next to Tom.
"Ms. Dumbledore, will you please begin?" Amelia cast the ghost, who looked completely corporeal, a reassuring nod.
"Please call me Ariana. Dumbledore is my evil brother," Ariana said, before she turned to Tom. "Tom, I am sorry, but please hear me out. Nothing that I did to you I did out of my own free will. My brother Albus kept me under the Imperius curse all this time. Five decades or how long was it? I have lost track. Only last summer, Hedwig here," she pointed to the canine, who was sitting between her and Luna, "managed to prevent Albus from getting to me. Now finally, the curse has worn off just like my spell on you. I have told them everything, and we're both going to be free. Albus is going to have a trial and will hopefully be sent to Azkaban for ruining your life. I am so very sorry."
"Ariana," Tom replied in a soft voice, "if it was not your fault and it seems so, there's no need for you to be sorry. Thank you for telling me the truth. I wondered what all of this was about, but frankly speaking, I never suspected Dumbledore. Why in the world would he do such a thing? He made me corrupt half of the magical world, made me kill people among other horrible things? I thought he was the leader of the light."
Harry noticed that Tom's voice became louder as he spoke in understandable anger and that Luna's expression was that of her knowing smile.
"I have known Albus Dumbledore for many years," Alastor Moody spoke up, "and frankly speaking, I don't believe that he's evil. How would he be able to keep a phoenix familiar if he was?"
Paws rose from where he was sitting on Harry's feet and growled at his former boss.
"You disagree, mutt? Then explain."
Paws let out another growl at the older wizard, before he stepped aside and to everyone's shock transformed into his human form.
'My Dad,' Harry thought, happily, staring at the man who looked exactly like himself apart from the colour of his eyes in amazement. 'He did it. How cool.'
"Dumbledore is one of the most powerful wizards in the world. He kept his sister under the Imperius curse for more than fifty years. He must have had his brother under some kind of curse or oath as well. Otherwise, Aberforth probably wouldn't have helped him curse Ariana." Ariana nodded, eagerly. "Don't you believe him capable of putting a phoenix under some kind of binding spell?" He quirked an eyebrow at the old Auror.
Hedwig now transformed into her human form as well. "Dumbledore killed us. Not Voldemort. Voldemort never existed. It was all made up and set up by Albus Dumbledore. I will go and speak with Fawkes, as soon as you take Dumbledore into custody, and I will find out what he did to him."
"We will make sure to question Dumbledore under Veritaserum in any case," Amelia promised. "Alastor, take a couple of Aurors and arrest Albus Dumbledore. Keep him in a ministry holding cell until Monday morning, so that any possible antidote against Veritaserum should have worn off, before we begin to question him. Considering what he did, I am certain that the trial is going to take at least three days. May I ask everyone here today to appear as witnesses?"
"Of course, Madam," Santa replied. "May I suggest to also invite Aberforth Dumbledore, Severus Snape and my brother Merlin please? I suspect Aberforth to be under some kind of oath, and Severus Snape definitely is under an oath."
Amelia nodded in apparent understanding. "Thank you, Santa. We will have the Unspeakables present to lift any kind of curses, oaths and whatever. Now, what are we going to do with Mr. Riddle? We can't simply let you go."
"Can't trust the lad," Moody mumbled.
"That would be less the problem as the danger he'd be in if someone possibly instructed by Albus Dumbledore found him," Amelia replied in a firm voice.
"May I suggest that we take him with us to the North Pole? I will personally vouch for his safety."
Everyone agreed with Santa's suggestion, and the group including Amelia made their way back to the sleigh, while Moody and the Aurors who had been standing in the back of the room readied themselves to travel to Hogwarts and arrest the headmaster.
Just when they were about to land on the North Pole, Minerva suddenly slapped her hand against her forehead. "They've gone to arrest Albus, right? Then I must return to Hogwarts and take over. I'm his deputy after all."
"No, Minerva, please stay." The voice had been barely audible and soft.
'Was that Tom?' Harry wondered.
Minerva glanced at Tom and let out a small sigh. "I must at least go and inform Pomona Sprout and Filius Flitwick and ask them to take over for a few days. I'll return to the North Pole in two hours at the latest."
"Do you have your Portkey with you?"
Minerva smiled. "Thank you, Santa. I'm always wearing it on the necklace around my neck. Please excuse me now. I'll return shortly."
Harry followed Luna's gaze, seeing that Tom seemed disappointed. 'He still seems to care for her just like she does for him,' he thought in amazement. Suddenly, he felt inclined to kiss Luna and hesitantly leaned over, feeling incredibly happy, when she gently replied to the kiss.
"Poor Merlin," Luna whispered, when they trailed inside behind the others. "He liked Minerva, too."
'And why is Merlin going to be the one who will be disappointed?' Harry wondered, however, readily accepted that Luna just knew things.
HP
Tom could not believe his luck. 'I am free,' he thought, 'at least almost. Here, I am safe from Dumbledore and the ghost. Ariana,' he mused, as he absentmindedly observed on the screen together with everyone else how Albus Dumbledore was taken into custody. 'She is not a ghost now though. I wonder what happened or if it's just a charm that makes her look normal. I hope Minerva will return soon. Perhaps, she hasn't moved on but been waiting for me to come back to her.'
He was brought back to reality, when Amelia broke the silence. "Sirius, we should go and interview Aberforth. Ariana, would you be willing to accompany us?"
"Yes." The girl – only now did Tom realise how young she looked – seemed hesitant.
"Ariana, do you want Luna and me to come with you?" Harry spoke up in a soft voice, causing Tom to stare at the boy in surprise. 'He's supposed to be my nemesis?' he wondered. 'He's still a teenager. I suppose that Dumbledore is scared of both of us, because we might be more powerful than himself.'
Before he could even consider his action, he rose from his chair and stepped in front of Harry. "Hello Harry. My name is Tom, and I am very pleased to meet you."
"Hello Tom." Harry's voice was genuinely friendly. "I am happy to get to know you, too. I am very sorry for what happened to you and I wished we had found out earlier."
"I am glad that you found out and helped me when you did," Tom replied, returning the smile that the boy cast at him.
The small group left, and Tom readied himself to watch what was going to happen on the screen, when he realised in excitement that Minerva entered the room.
"Minerva."
"Tom," she said with a small smile playing on her lips. "Shall we head outside for a few minutes?"
Tom agreed and followed the girlfriend of his youth out onto the snowy grounds for a much-needed conversation in private.
"I am so sorry for what happened," Tom apologized, giving her a sad look. 'She looks older but still beautiful,' he thought. "I suppose that you've moved on in the meantime."
Minerva let out a deep sigh. "No, I haven't," she admitted. "I've never really believed that you did what you did, even if all the evidence spoke against you. Nevertheless, it was an absolute shock, when I heard the truth last night. I am very sorry for you, for us, but at the same time, I am relieved beyond belief that you didn't do what they said you did. I still love you, Tom. Still, I don't know if we can simply pick up, where we left around fifty years ago. Too much time has passed and too many things have happened…" She trailed off, when Tom leaned over to kiss her.
'Please, let me kiss you,' Tom thought, feeling incredibly happy when she did not only accept the kiss but replied to it. However, she then abruptly ended the kiss.
"I'm sorry, Tom. I can't do that right now. Please give me some time to think. This is just a bit… abrupt." Stepping back a few steps, she transformed into her feline form and dashed away, leaving Tom to stare at her retreating form wearing a sad smile. 'It's not as if it wasn't understandable. I was someone else for fifty years. It's worse than if I had been away this whole time. How could she accept me just back?'
He slowly walked back to the workshop, deeply engrossed in his thoughts, when he almost ran into Merlin.
"Tom."
"Yes sir?"
"Don't worry. Minerva will come around. I only came back to life a few years ago, and she somehow caught my attention. We have been having lots of interesting conversations, and she was even my date at the Yule Ball fifteen months ago. However, when I tried to get closer to her, she bluntly told me that she loved someone else, even if she'd never been able to get together with that person again. I am certain that she will come around, and I wish the two of you all the best."
Tom smiled, feeling very much reassured by the ancient wizard's words. "Thank you very much, sir." He slowly followed the other wizard back into the screen room, where everyone was observing the questioning of Aberforth Dumbledore.
HP
Taking Ariana into their midst, Harry and Luna followed Amelia and Sirius into the Hog's Head.
"Aberforth Dumbledore," Amelia spoke up, "may we ask you to close the inn for an hour. We wish to have a private conversation with you."
The old wizard gave her a sharp nod and with a flick of his wand locked the entrance door. Looking back at the group in front of him, his eyes widened in either shock or recognition.
"Ariana? Is that you?"
"Yes."
"How…?"
"It's merely a concealment charm," Ariana admitted. "I'm still only a ghost."
"Mr. Dumbledore, we would like to ask you some questions. Why did you allow your brother to cast the Imperius curse on your sister, over five decades at that?"
The old wizard returned a look of pure confusion that made Harry wonder what was wrong with him.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talking about," he replied in a firm voice that did not really match his expression.
Amelia and Sirius exchanged a look. "Confundus charm?"
Sirius nodded. "Mr. Dumbledore, we believe that you're under a certain spell as well. May I cast some spells to make sure if we're right or wrong?"
"What if I do not agree?" The old wizard returned a challenging look.
Amelia's expression hardened. "Then you will be arrested for tolerating criminal methods in your own house and will undergo a trial just like your brother."
Aberforth nodded and turned back to Sirius. "Go on then."
Sirius cast a couple of spells, and Harry observed in surprise how each of the spells returned into Sirius' wand in green colours, before finally one returned in red. 'What was that?' he wondered. 'Leave it to an Auror to cast spells, which I've never heard of.'
"Confundus charm," Sirius whispered to Amelia. "Let's cast it together."
Together, they cast a complicated looking spell, before Sirius repeated his earlier spell, receiving a green response. He then let his wand sink, and his expression turned to a grim smile.
"Mr. Dumbledore, we found a Confundus charm, which we have cancelled now."
"Thank you very much," Aberforth replied, letting out a deep sigh. "I'm afraid my brother is not as light as he lets everyone believe."
"We noticed that." Amelia's expression was grim. "However, he will undergo his trial from Monday onwards, and I am certain that he will not return to harm you or your sister anymore, as he will receive a one-way ticket to Azkaban in any case."
"Thank you very much for your help." Aberforth then turned to his sister. "Ariana, will you stay here again?"
Ariana shook her head. "No. Sorry, Abe, but I will stay with my friends, where Albus can't find me."
"Aren't they going to be at Hogwarts once the holidays are over?" Harry found that he sounded somehow gruffy and recalled how he had behaved, when their group of friends entered the pub during their first Hogsmeade visit two and a half years ago.
"No sir, we're students at the Selective Academy of Magical Sciences," he said in a firm voice, before he left the pub, closely followed by Luna and Ariana
Amelia and Sirius took their leave and followed them outside.
"Be careful. Albus is a phoenix Animagus," Aberforth said; however, the door already closed behind them.
"What did he say?" Amelia cast her husband a questioning look.
Sirius shrugged. "No idea. He wasn't very helpful anyway."
Harry turned to view his godfather. "He was better behaved than when we went to talk to him once during our Hogsmeade visit."
HP
On Monday morning, Ariana, Harry, Luna, Santa, Minerva, Merlin, Remus, Tom, Hedwig and Paws boarded a sleigh that took them to Diagon Alley, from where they swiftly walked over to the Ministry of Magic. Claire, Severus, Annika, Dudley and Cassiopeia were going to watch the trial on the screen together with Merlin's portrait.
"We wish to attend the trial of Albus Dumbledore," Santa stated at the entrance.
"I'm afraid that this trial is going to take place under exclusion of the public."
"Then please call Madam Black-Bones or Lord Black here. Professor McGonagall is going to take her seat on the Wizengamot, and the rest of us are supposed to attend the trial as witnesses."
"All of you?"
"Yes. All of us."
'Thank Merlin Mum and Dad turned themselves invisible,' Harry thought, as they were finally allowed inside the ministry, when Tonks arrived to collect them.
"Much excitement in the Wizengamot chamber today," Tonks moaned, as she led them to the courtroom, in which they trial was going to be held. "Just because of just one special guest."
tbc...
Thanks to the kind readers for your feedback for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think about this chapter.