Hey everyone! Had a good roll with this chapter thanks to Callie. Hope everyone enjoys it.
As always let me know what you like or don't like, and remember to find me on Facebook as Re Maid. Profile pic of a mermaid reading a book!
In the Headmasters office, Dumbledore felt a shudder make its way through his body. Dread in his heart as the floo fireplace lit up green.
"Headmaster." The smooth dulcet voice had Dumbledore scowling as he looked up from his desk to see the last people he wanted to see after this last attack. Breathing deeply he schooled his expression into welcoming confusion. Standing he spread his arms wide as he stepped away from his desk.
"Lucius, Dion, Amelia, Sirius, what brings you to see me today. I really must insist you make appointments for these meetings, I am a very busy man you know." Dumbledore scolded softly, ignoring the scowls on their faces, "Hogwarts doesn't run itself." he chuckled lightly.
"We are here for a Professional matter… Headmaster, as representatives of the Board of Governors, the least you could do is use the titles of respect." Lucius sniffed as his cold blue eyes fluttered over the cluttered office.
"Please forgive an old man, but besides Mr LeClair here, you were all my students at one time, no matter how grown you get, I still see the bright-eyed first-year students." Dumbledore chuckled, even as he watched Dion closely, he still had his doubts about the ma. As he sat back down at his desk, waving his hand dramatically until four chairs were opposite his desk for the Governors to sit in. He had found that using basic Wandless and Wordless summoning charms always seemed to impress people and remind them of his power. Reminding the common folk of his power and even his defeat of Grindelwald kept them from questioning his leadership.
"Lord LeClair," Tom interjected smoothly with a smirk, he knew it frustrated the old man when he was forced to use proper titles. He liked to use their given names as if they were friends and to try and endear them to him. But it only disgusted Purebloods and high standing Half-Bloods, it was against social etiquette to call someone by name without permission. Only family and close friends could use given names. If you didn't have express permission, in an informal setting you would use the family name, in a formal setting, you would use their title and family name together. It infuriated many that Dumbledore ignored the etiquette of their world. Unfortunately, his mindless followers had mimicked him in his disregard for everything he claimed was 'Pureblood supremacy.'
"My apologies, Lord LeClair." Dumbledore nodded reluctantly. "I assume it is a French Lordship?" he asked, blue eyes twinkling. Although still a Lord, it did mean he wouldn't be able to join the Wizengamot and he would have less sway than his brother-in-law with the Ministry members. Tom's eyes narrowed as if knowing what Dumbledore was thinking.
"Yes, it is. But that is not what we are to discuss." Tom sneered, he had every intention of eventually claiming the Slytherin Lordship. He couldn't wait to see the old man's face when it finally happened. Unfortunately, he had to wait and bide his time, the Goblins had spent years constructing his false family tree and he wouldn't throw away their work by acting too quickly. Although keeping the appearance of Neutral, the Goblins had always stood by his side. Helping him forge his bloodline and identity was nothing to them. He needed to keep making alliances, for now, once he had the backing of the most powerful inside the Ministry, he would be able to claim the Slytherin lordship. With their backing when Dumbledore figured out who he was, it would be too late, no one would believe him.
"Of course. How may I help you today?" Dumbledore asked cheerily, keeping his facade up even though he wanted nothing more than to make them suffer for interfering at Hogwarts.
"You know why we are here Headmaster, you were told to keep us informed on these petrifications and any knowledge relating to who was behind them," Amelia took over briskly, in no mood for Dumbledore's nonsense. She couldn't believe how cavalier he was about his student's safety or his disrespect to those who had done nothing to gain his ire. Thankfully Severus and Remus had no hesitation with passing on the information the Headmaster was keeping from them. She had stepped through the floo into Severus' private quarters after he had left a message with her assistant. She had been impressed with the promptness, Dion and Sirius had already been there waiting for her and she had only taken a few moments to cancel her next meeting.
"I can assume you are referring to the unfortunate Petrification of Zacharias Smith, which I am unsure of how you have heard as I had planned to reach out to you later tonight." Dumbledore started, his blue eyes narrowing in suspicion. "My first concern was making sure every student was accounted for and calming them down before sending them back to their Houses."
"I am sure, Headmaster, that your delay in contacting us had nothing to do with knowing our plans if another attack were to take place." Lucius drawled with a small, almost unnoticeable smirk. His joy at the jab unflinching at the patent disappointed look Dumbledore gave over his half-moon glasses.
"You cannot be serious about shutting Hogwarts down?" Dumbledore gasped, too surprised to respond to the subtle jab at his motives.
"Unless you know who is behind these attacks and can hand them over to the proper authorities, we don't have a choice," Sirius spoke, his patience wearing thin already. He hadn't had much respect for his old Headmaster after learning it had been at his suggestion James and Lily gave up Harry. But with four students and cat Petrified, an Auror team should have been called in and started an investigation.
"As Governors for Hogwarts, our priorities are the student's safety and their learning," Dion added.
"I have always put my student's safety first." Dumbledore tried, how dare they question him. everything was for the greater good.
"It is done. Classes are cancelled and students will be confined to their common rooms and dormitories. I have already asked Sirius to head up the investigation. If his team finds no leads in two days, students will be sent home while the investigation continues." Amelia spoke quickly, unwilling to let Dumbledore interrupt them or sidetrack them again. Just as she finished the floo lit up green, a person's head taking shape for a floo message instead of travelling through.
"Headmaster!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked.
"Poppy? What in Merlin's name is wrong?" Dumbledore jumped from his seat, praying it wasn't anything the Board could turn against him again. Enough was going wrong as it was.
"You need to come to the infirmary, with Minerva and Severus. I have a first-year Gryffindor with a damaged core and magical exhaustion. I've managed to stabilize him, but the second-year Slytherins that found him are claiming they were all attacked and they found the one responsible for the petrified students!" Poppy breathed out heavily.
"We are coming through." Amelia stood immediately. Dumbledore felt his heart sink, this could not be good. Slytherins, surely they were the ones behind this, most likely attacked the poor Gryffindor and needed something to blame it on. No student would have been able to solve this mystery without help, he had wanted to use this to spin it in a way that would benefit him.
"I will send a Patronus to Minerva to meet us there," Dumbledore spoke trying to regain control of the situation.
"And Severus? I believe he is the Head of Slytherin and will be needed as well." Lucius interjected smoothly. Damn that man.
"Yes of course," Dumbledore said hastily, quickly sending off his Phoenix Patronus to find the two head of houses before leading the Governors through the floo to the infirmary.
He blinked his eyes open to see Madam Pomfrey already crossing away from the fireplace towards the group of students spread across three beds. One bed held the little Gryffindor first-year, Dumbledore felt himself start to panic. Quickly he hid his reaction behind worry and concern. It was Colin Creevey in the bed, if it wasn't for the glowing orb by his chest showing his life force he would've believed the boy to be dead. The very boy who had had the blasted diary Horcrux was now fighting for his life. Of course, he had known who had opened the Chamber, who had been behind the attacks. He had been dropping hints to Lily and Henry, hoping to use this to test Henry's powers. Unfortunately, the boy hadn't fallen in line. The stupid whelp barely even cared his friend Mr Thomas was in the hospital wing. He had been trying to figure out a way for himself to be the hero when the bloody Governors showed up. Everything was ruined.
Now Mr Creevey was in a healing sleep, and there was a chance he wouldn't wake up. A damaged core and magical exhaustion were serious issues for those under the magical majority of seventeen, and the poor child had both. He was at serious risk of becoming a squib or dying, all they could do now was continue the potion regime and wait. The other two beds had four Slytherin students sitting upright on each. Their robes in tatters, bruises visible on several faces, fresh cuts and scrapes on their arms, legs and faces. As he started to walk forward to question the Slytherin students who were younger than he expected for such a vicious attack, he could hear the arrival of the Governors behind him and suddenly he was unceremoniously pushed to the side violently.
"Hartford?! Hermione?!" Dion cried as he rushed forward, only then did Dumbledore have it click in his mind that the Slytherins in question were indeed Tom Riddle's children and their friends. Dion didn't falter in his steps until he reached the twins, swooping them into his arms.
"Draco?!" Lucius gasped as he followed his brother-in-law's actions, hands gripping his son's shoulders tight as he pulled him close. "Merlin, what happened here?" As he took in the state of his son, nephew, niece and their friends.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Dion fired off quickly, pulling back from the hug to look them in the eyes as he assessed them for injuries. Each hand cupping a cheek of his children, kneeling in front of them.
"That is what I would like to know as well." Dumbledore took his moment to speak up, he gave the Slytherin second years his most serious Headmaster expression. "Just how did Mr Creevey end up in this state? We will find out if you were involved so the truth from the start will be best for all." He demanded.
"Excuse me?" Dion snarled, spinning around to face the Headmaster, standing directly in front of his children. "How dare you imply they were behind this! They have very clearly been attacked!"
"I am just trying to find out what happened here tonight Mr LeClair." Dumbledore retorted.
"You are implying their guilt without even hearing their story! Look at them! They are the victims here" Dion cried, waving his arms wildly, eyes open in horror. Playing the part of the terrified and angry Father perfectly.
"You heard the Matron the same as us in your office. She clearly said they were attacked by whatever caused these petrifications. They are lucky to not be joining the students in the next room!" Lucius interjected just as furiously, silver eyes narrowing and lip curling in disgust.
"Everyone calm down." Amelia stepped in, even with her dislike and distrust of Dumbledore she couldn't believe the way he handled that, this is why she had wanted an investigation team here. The graduated Slytherins on the Board had mentioned Dumbledore's obvious bias, but she had never seen it in person before. He was essentially accusing twelve-year-olds of the attempted murder of an eleven-year-old. Thank Merlin for the young Gryffindor that Hogwarts couldn't hire just anyone with basic healing training. Although referred to as Matron due to her work in a school infirmary. Poppy Pomfrey was a fully qualified Healer, having been trained at St Mungo's and specialized in Paediatrics as well as having a Mastery in all five Categories of Magical damage. Most Healers inside the programme specialized in two, maybe three if they were ambitious. Basic entrance training takes six to eight months, then each specialization takes a year, or two if working part-time outside of training, to complete. After the training, you must work in that category for another year to claim a Healing Mastery for that category.
Amelia sighed gratefully as Severus and Minerva finally arrived for their students. Thankfully Sirius stepped forward and explained what was happening to the two heads of houses before Dumbledore could open his mouth again. He had come a long way from the arrogant young man she had watched leave Hogwarts and enter the Auror training. She had only been a qualified Auror for three years herself when Sirius and James joined the recruitment training, she had seen the growth happen in front of her. Amelia forced herself to take a deep breath, collecting herself before barking out orders.
"This is officially an Auror Investigation. It will be done by the books. Auror Black! I want your team here as quickly as you can rally them." Sirius nodded firmly before asking Poppy if he could use her office floo and disappearing with an unusually solemn expression.
"Professor Snape, your Slytherins will need to be interviewed for their statements and questioned. I need you to get their parents here before we can start, and I would like to start while it is all fresh in their minds." She continued, thankfully Poppy had started to heal the Slytherin students while she was talking. No need to keep them in pain, she would have all the injuries recorded, a simple spell for any healer, for them to review later.
"Now, Ame... Madam Bones, is that truly necessary?" Dumbledore cajoled, desperate to gain control, stepping in front of Severus, blocking his way to the floo.
"Yes." She snapped, her patience had waned and now he was deliberately hindering her investigation. "As Chief Warlock, I would expect you to understand that all protocols must be met in an investigation. Plus no minor can be questioned without a parent or guardian. Or are you saying that I, as the Head of The DMLE, should ignore our laws?" she found herself mimicking Lucius' sweet and deadly tone. No wonder the man used it so often, Dumbledore had gone blank and stepped aside, allowing Severus to move past him. It worked well.
"Lord Malfoy and Lord LeClair," Amelia called, turning back to face the worried Fathers who hadn't left their children's side. She smiled softly when she realised they had been soothing the other scared and hurt children and not just their own. "I can assume you want to be involved, and I while do believe with your training in the DMLE will be of use, I think you should be with your children. If we need you, or we find something of importance, you will be the first to know. But I will not drag you away from them, I will also approve any leave if you want it."
"Thank you Madam Bones." Dion smiled from the chair he was sitting in beside the beds.
"We are extremely grateful, and if we can ever return the favour," Lucius added with a smile and nod of his own.
The peace the infirmary had slipped into was broken by the unmistakable screeching that could only come from Black women and a rare few of the Black men.
"Where are my children?!" Cassiopeia's shrieking voice echoed from the office, the sound of heels clicking against the stone ground was loud in the silent room. Tom found himself wide-eyed in a flashback to when Walburga discovered that Orion, Cygnus and Alphard had taken a three-year-old Sirius and one-year-old Regulus to a muggle zoo. The three of them had named it the Night of the Banshee. Somehow Sirius and Regulus had slept through their Mother's shrieking for actual hours, Sirius himself had gone on to be one of the few male Blacks with the gift for it. Thankfully the infamous Black family madness caused by inbreeding had managed to avoid most of the Black's still alive. Sirius had a mild form, mostly seen in his complete and total lack of impulse control and inability to think before he spoke. But even Bellatrix had a mild form compared to the Banshee herself, Walburga. Although mostly untouched, tiny sparks of it could be seen in Cassiopeia, Narcissa and Andromeda's eyes if their children were threatened.
"I swear to Magic herself if my son has been seriously injured!" Narcissa's equally shrill voice joined her sister's, Tom was brought out of his memories as he noticed Lucius flinch at his wife's shriek. He chuckled darkly, ignoring the fact he was just as affected, gaining a glare from the blonde man beside him. The door from the office with the floo burst opened and both women strode in wildly. As always they were a breathtaking sight, both blondes striking in looks, but their pure blood grace and magical power levels enhancing their allure. For a moment they just stood there staring in shock at the state of their children, before fury etched across their faces. They stormed across the room, their open cut black robes flying out behind them, tied at the front by a thin corset ribbon crossing under their chest and stopping just above their waists.
Dumbledore sat in the corner seething as he watched the two women embrace their children, as they blushed and tried to fend their mothers off. He had to think of another plan. He couldn't let this get more out of hand. He had to pull this back into his favour. He watched like a hawk as the rest of the Slytherins parents arrived. Watched as the parents fussed over their spawn and got their charts from Poppy. Finally, Sirius and his team arrived, he knew he had to try and use his influence as Headmaster and the defeater of Grindelwald to sway this investigation. He stood up and cleared his throat.