If you want something done right. Do it yourself. Or that is how the old saying goes.
It's unfortunate that it was not one that was tightly followed in the wizarding world. The reason for this, who knows? Perhaps it has something to do with the laziness that magic causes. Or maybe even the social constructs and blood supremacy that has individuals acting as royalty. Whatever it is, it was a folly Dumbledore himself was guilty of. He had sent Diggle to handle the wolves wrongly assuming he wouldn't delegate the task to anyone else. Now he had to cross another two names off his list of supporters. Black and Lupin wouldn't trust him knowing he was responsible for the disappearance of wolves all these years.
When the prophet reported on the hospitalization of the Granger girl and Harry he knew it was time to act. They were a problem that needed to be dealt with immediately. Potter was supposed to be down trodden and pliant to his wishes. He was supposed to look up to him as some kind of savior or hero. He had spent nights laying awake wondering where it all went wrong and came up with the same answer every time.
It had to be the Granger girl.
It had made sense to keep her around before. She was unquestionably intelligent and was helping Harry through his classes. She would accompany him on his tasks and help get him to where Albus needed him to be. She should have been an awkward meek muggleborn. But that wasn't what he saw. No. There was something else there. She had too much confidence. She was too quick and knowledgeable. If he didn't know any better he would bet that when she stared him down that day years ago in the hospital ward that she knew he had been behind her parents death. The raw power he saw emit from her then was something he had never seen before. Not even from Gellert himself.
He knew then the girl was a liability and decided to use her death to further push Potter on his side. However she somehow got away from his plan and survived the black lake. Turning more against him. Because of this it was no issue to ignore Delores and her fixation on the little witch. Perhaps she could do what he was incapable of and break the girl's spirit. Yet again she managed to persevere and was there to lure Harry and the others to discovering his secret about the wolves.
Now he was going to have to become a bit more drastic. It was imperative that through it all his hands appeared clean. It was the only way he could get the public on his side once this was all over. No. He would have to make a statement here soon and place the blame where it ought to have always been.
It was messy, but necessary, and all for the greater good.
.0.0.00..00..00...0.00..0
No one looked twice at the matronly woman as she walked the corridors. Her friendly face luring them all into a sense of calm.
She walked right through the wards and into the room without being stopped or questioned once. Her muted brown robes were plain as to not be remembered. Her soft red hair peppered with more greys these days. The basket she brought was dropped unceremoniously on the floor as she approached the twin cots.
The beds were filled with sleeping children. The boy's messy black hair sticking up in all directions, his glasses sitting on the bedside table. Tiny snores escaping his mouth that was hanging open. The other beds occupant was wrapped firmly in a fuzzy blue blanket. Just her head full of unruly brown curls poking out from the top.
The witch stared at both beds for a moment. Making sure she was in the right spot when she pulled her wand.
Without a second glance or thought she swirled her wand in the proper motion. A cold hiss of the spell in the empty room.
"AVADA KEDAVRA."
...
Hermione sat forward in her seat, her curls drifting over her shoulder and tickling her knee. She had her brow slightly furrowed as she watched the demonstration in front of her.
"Do it again." She said ignoring the groan that came from one side of the room.
"Protego Undique!" Harry shouted just as two voices called out "Pervello."
There was less than a pause before Harry's voice cut through again.
"Ow ouch fuck, godrics balls.." He was saying as he hopped around grabbing his backside. "I hate that spell please for the love of all things holy, cast something else."
"Or, you could.. You know, cast your spell correctly." Malfoy snarked, not looking up from his book.
He sat on the three seater couch with Theo and Hermione tucked in the middle. They were sitting in the drawing room of the Riddle home watching as Harry was being trained, an attempt to get him on the same level as they were. Lupin and Black stood off to the side watching him, wanting to be involved with his instructions and also not feeling safe leaving him. On the other side of the room Thorfinn Rowle and Rodolphus Lestrange were snickering at the dancing teen.
Roddy had taught the three of them most of what they knew and had been dueling with them since the summer after second year. He volunteered to help Harry and seeing as he wouldn't take it easy on him because of familiar affection, Remus and Sirius both agreed. Thor was simply there to be his opponent, he had a mastery of wandwork that was unique to him and his dueling style that they knew Harry could pick up on easier than the subtle sneak attack the other Slytherins used.
"Are you alright Harry?" Hermion sighed rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"Yes, just that hex stings!" He complained, missing her contempt at his whinging.
"Well if you don't want to feel the pinch, I suggest changing your casting. You are not doing the correct wand motion.. Draco is right."
Her words caused others to groan, Theo doing so while dropping his head against the back of the couch. He mumbled under his breath something relating to here we go.
Draco's face broke into a wide grin as he finally sat his book down turning his head to look at her. She saw the mischief on his face and had to fight not to return the smile as Draco was few and far between in a playful mood. Most of his humor was him making fun of someone, but this was different.
"Do say it again." He crooned.
"Draco is right." She repeated with a flourish of her hand.
Harry had his face burrowed in his hands as he tried to ignore them. Malfoy and he would never see eye to eye, so in turn they lived to annoy each other.
"Stand up straight Harry!" Hermione called over to him standing up and making her way to him.
She moved to stand behind him reaching her arm out and closing her hand over his on the wand. She ignored the snickers from the couch at what was probably an emasculating position for Harry to be in, but she couldn't be bothered. She had learned this way from both Thor and Dolly and while she knew they did it as an excuse to get closer over the years it was still a good way to feel the correct movements.
Slowly she moved his wand hand down in a straight line before making a sharp circle motion at the end. She did it two more times puppeting his hand before she took a small step back.
"You have to imagine the line down to be the center point of the circle. That's crucial to the shield manifestation. The literal translation is all around, if the circle doesn't go all around the line there is no shield."
A small nod in Thorfinns direction had him holding his wand copying the action she had just shown Harry. Before Harry could blink four spells were cast at him. One from Rodolphus that mirrored the same vibrant orange that Remus and Siris sent his way, meaning it was a strong hex. The other a deep magenta that had Thor scoffing at Hermione. The spells sizzled out around the barrier with a hiss.
"Cutting it a little close there princess." His deep voice chastised her.
Hermione shrugged. "I had faith in you." She smirked. "Your wand work is phenomenal."
Thorfinns chest puffed out as he let out a deep chuckle.
"Hear that gents, the lady can't get enough of how I work my wand.. I'm sure you are all capable of reading between the lines on that!" He wiggled his brows earning him a rapid barrage of curses sent his way that he had to quickly dodge and block as he laughed out his apology.
Harry was standing there shaking his head, unsure of how he even got there.
"You lot are crazy." He huffed.
"Some people never go crazy." Theo said from his place on the couch, calmly picking up his book.
"What truly horrible lives they must lead." Hermione said, offering a kind smile to her friend before patting Harry on the cheek and moving back to her seat.
"Bukowski." Remus offered to a confused looking Harry and Sirius. The latter of the two muttering something about being surrounded by nerds.
...0
This was the second time this week she had felt the wards shake. Someone or something was very determined to get into their keep. She looked down the hall and wondered if her grandson was attuned enough to feel the disturbance. SHe doubted it as he had not emerged from his room since she had shut down the estate. He had been surprised she had taken such drastic measures but he didn't understand. He was young and assumed they were safe, but she knew better than anyone that war came looking for you, and she wouldn't make the same mistakes again.
She had vowed to remain neutral, but it seemed she was going to be taking a side soon. For some her decision wasn't acceptable, and that in itself was a problem.
The wards shook again, this time strong enough to disrupt some of the frames on the mantle. She heard a creak of a door and knew it would only be a minute before her grandson was upon her and she would have to explain. Before the footsteps reached her the floo flared to life with an incoming call. She moved to the couch, having only allowed a small amount of people access.
"Augusta, are you there?" The voice called out into the room.
"I am here Euphemia, what can I help you with?" She addressed the Fawley matriarch that she had attended school with.
"I have just heard from my Nathaniel, there was an incident at Mungos. Molly Weasley has been arrested for using an unforgivable. They don't know for certain but they believe she was under the imperius."
A gasp behind her had her turning to see her grandson paling before her eyes. Neville looked horrified at the news. She climbed to her feet and approached him.
"Get dressed Neville. We have somewhere to go." She said before disconnecting the floo and calling her elf.
"Gran, what's going on, what was that shaking, what is going to happen to Mrs. Weasley?" Neville asked, panicking.
She shook her head with a tut. "Get dressed Neville, all will be explained."
...0.0.0
"Do you ever think it's odd that all of our healing potions taste like rubbish?" Harry asked, kicking the drift of snow as he walked. "Its as if the wizarding world wants you to b punished fr getting injured."
Hermione chuckled, pulling her scarf closer around her neck. The snow was slowly falling again, adding to the inches already on the sidewalk. The muggle salt had only managed to melt down the first layer making the walk back to Grimmauld place slippery and sludgy. She turned her head to respond seeing Harry absentmindedly rubbing his shoulder where he had tweaked it earlier training.
As part of an apology slash reward for him getting through the training today without throwing a fit she agreed to accompany him on a walk down to the muggle corner market near Grimmauld to pick up some of the chocolate covered peppermints he was so fond of. Remus and Sirius, while not thrilled that they wanted to be on their own, eventually caved and allowed them the freedom knowing they needed some time to themselves. They too had gone for a run to get supplies and were supposed to be meeting the teens back at the house soon.
"Well Crouch Jr. said that jis polyjuice tasted like goblin piss. Which I found odd, Theo and I both have used dragon piss as a comparison before jokingly but he seemed pretty insistent it was goblin, making us wonder if he had ever tasted it before." She gave a grimace followed by a cold shiver. "Knowing what I do of him now I wouldn't have been surprised to learn he had."
Harry made a gagging sound that had her chuckling.
"The more I hear about him I find myself glad to have only known him as Moody. He sounds like a right nutter." He added, popping his head back to toss another sweet in.
They climbed the stairs to Grimmauld slowly, as the bottom of the stoop was covered in a thick layer of ice. They didn't pause before opening the door and entering the hall. Harry was speaking about something but Hermione couldn't really hear or understand him because her eyes were focused on the overturned umbrella stand in the foyer.
That's odd. She thought. She knew it was upright when she had left, and she and Harry had left after Sirius and Remus. She figured perhaps Kreacher could have knocked it over, but even as subpar as an elf as he was, she couldn't see him leaving a mess that he himself made. Especially not so close to his dear mistress's portrait.
Harry not sensing that she had slowed to a stop continued on his way in. She had taken a deep breath allowing her animagus senses to pick up on any sound within the old house. With a start she leapt forward after Harry pulling him by the back of his jumper as she threw him behind her.
Her wand instantly in front of her, poised for the attack she called out.
"Who is there? Show yourself?"
Harry stared at her like she had finally gone mental. He couldn't see or hear anyone and ws concerned as she had just manhandled him between her and the wall and he had nowhere to move. He was prepared to move her out of the way when a feminine chuckle had his head snapping to the back of the room.
A disillusionment charm dropped and in its place stood an older lady that Harry did not know but thought looked a bit familiar. Of course it was hard to take in too many of her features as on her head was the largest and ugliest hat he had ever seen. The thing had a stuffed vulture upon it. Harry felt Hermione stiffen even further.
"Madam Longbottom." She said uneasily. "May I ask how you got in here?" Harry noticed she had not lowered her wand, nor had the older witch.
"I brought her." A new voice said and when Harry saw the witch he pulled his wand a hex on the tip of his tongue as he tried to move Hermione behind him.
Hermione looked at the new arrival in shock when she felt Harry move and immediately knew what conclusion he had come to. Reaching out as fast as she could she pushed Harry's wand arm away making the hex he cast hit the wall beside them, and missing the witch.
"It's not Bellatrix Harry." Hermione said quickly to calm him. "It's Andromeda Tonks. Narcissas older sister."
Harry's wand barely lowered. "Still doesn't explain how they are here though."
Hermione agreed silently, looking across the room trying to see if she was missing something She thought she saw a small shimmer of a disillusionment spell off to the side but didn't call attention to it. The house was kept under the fidelus, with an exception to the blood wards no one should have been able to enter unannounced.
"Kreacher." Hermione sighed and there was a pop and the aged elf appeared.
"The young miss called?" He asked in his scratchy voice.
Hermione shook her head. "Not intentionally, I was just answering Harry on how Andromeda and Mrs. Longbottom arrived at the house. I assume you brought them through the wards." She looked down at the elf who only shrugged.
"House belongs to a blood traitor now so Kreacher answers calls to other blood traitors. My poor mistress would be heartbroken to see the company her son keeps." He shook his head sadly before popping out.
Hermione and Harry both stared at the spot the elf was in wonder. He really was a right piece of work.
"Well. If we can all agree this is a friendly meeting I would suggest we all lower our wands. I am going to send a message to Sirius so he knows what to expect and doesn't come in slinging hexes." They lowered their wands while Hermione's fox took the message before bounding out of the room.
She called Tully next requesting a tea service for them all and led them to the sitting room.
"Ok I think it's time you explain this little visit. We can wait for Sirius if you'd like, but I would advise against cancelling the disillusionment charm you have on our other guest. You'll find I am not one for parlor politics, if you have an issue I suggest you speak plainly on it. I hope you didn't come today intending to pull anything over on us, I know by reputation you are both formidable witches, but your days of being the smartest person in the room have come to an end."
Augusta Longbottom's eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch as she looked the small witch over. Not surprised to see she still had herself positioned in front of the Potter boy as if to shield him from any attack. She had heard from Neville how close the two of them were so she was intrigued to see it in action. She spared a glance to Adroeda to see the younger witch smirking at the teen. Oh yes, she would find her amusing. She had every bot of the Black temper and gusto without the insanity it normally came with. Well at least hopefully.
With a nod they dropped their spells and Neville emerged in the room looking wide eyed and frightened as he was being held closely to the side of the pink haired auror they knew only by name.
"Neville, Auror Tonks." Hermione extended a nod in their direction not surprised by their appearance.
The bubble gum pink haired auror chuckled, it was raspy but kind.
"No surprise you and Sirius get along so well." She laughed. "You remind me a lot of him to be honest."
"I'll take that as a compliment cousin." The deep voice said from the hallway and Sirius made his presence known as he and Remus entered the room looking surprised and leary at the new guest.
"Drom, Lady Longbottom. Pleasure to see you again. Can't say I am not surprised though, what brings you to our humble abode today?" Sirius asked casually, taking the seats between the two sides. As calm as he seemed it didn't go unnoticed that his hand hung casually over where his wand rested. Ready to make a move should an attack come from either side.
"Sirius, Lady Longbottom came to me for guidance and support. The wards on her property are being attacked and she felt the need to flee. But before that we got grave news that we had to check in on ourselves." Andromeda answered.
The raised brow was all she needed to continue.
"It would seem that not long ago Aurors arrested Molly weasley." She continued despite the sounds of shock. "She was carted away from St. Mungos for use of an unforgivable. They ar saying she attempted to murder Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. But seeing as they both stand before us now, we know something is adrift. There is already speculation she was held under the imperius."
She looked closely at the four faces of shock and despair in front of her, it seemed her and Augustas line of thinking was correct. They had no idea.
"This and the wards being attacked at Longbottom manor would point to the work of dark wizards, more specifically the dark Lord himself. However, Augusta informed me of the truce she had come to with Ms. Granger. That as long as she got first rights to my deranged sister that the Longbottoms would not choose a side. A wise choice Ms. Granger if I do say so myself and also flattering to the house of Longbottom to recognize a worthy potential adversary. So it was with this knowledge that we made the decision that someone is working very hard to make it seem like the Dark Lord is working hard. And the only person who fits that mold is Dumbledore. He came to both me and Augusta searching for allegiance. Augusta turned him away before, stating her only goal was to see Neville through adulthood. She lost her son to his war before, so she wouldn't offer her grandson up." She patted the olde witch's hand.
"I on the other hand told Albus my support came in the form of my daughter. Nymphadora is a member of Albus's order and has been beneficial in getting us the inside information. The Weasleys are still loyal to Dumbledore. He has been offering them monetary relief for years and it has created a sense of dependency in their eyes. They feel like they owe him."
A throat cleared and the auror spoke. "The problem came a few day ago. Albus held a meeting and requested that the older Weasley boys join the order. They refused. Bill because he is contracted with the goblins for gringotts and the order requires a wizard oath that he would hold them above all and that would renege on his employment contract. Charlie because he is in Romania and didn't feel right giving either side the access to the dragons to manipulate. Percy has stepped away from the family as he has found himself wrapped in the ministry red tape. Albus refused the twins even access to a meeting saying he didn't trust them to take it seriously and did not trust their relationship with you." She looked pointedly at Hermione.
"When Molly and Arthur refused to press the matter with their children Albus grew irritated. The last thing he said before he left was he hoped it wouldn't come down to having to force their hands. And now not even three days later Molly is in custody. It's all a little too suspicious."
Sirius turned and looked at Hermione, knowing that she would be processing these facts as quickly as he was. He knew this was a huge step for all three of these witches to make and one that wouldn't go unnoticed.
'They will be in danger now.' She projected into his head and he nodded at their aligned thoughts. 'She is your family, if you trust her I trust her. I'll keep them safe.' She told him and he gave her a small smile of thanks.
"Madam Longbottom, is there a way to check on the status of your wards now? An elf you could call perhaps?" She asked and the elder witch nodded.
With a loud pop a haggard looking elf appeared looking frightened.
"The wards be down Mistress, theys comes in the house lookings for yous. We protected what wes could but theys was angry when you wasn't there." The elf said alternating between pulling her ears and wringing her toga in her hands.
Augusta nodded. "I expected as much Milly. Please keep an eye on the manor but leave with the others in any sign of trouble. The manor can be rebuilt, you cannot."
Hermione feeling her heart swell at the positive relationship between master and elf spoke up.
"If you run into any trouble please seek out my elf Tully." at her name th lf popped in. "If she is unavailable then Dobby will help you." The second elf popped in.
"Either of them can take you and the other Longbottom elves to the safety of either my home or Malfoy manor. Where I can promise you will be treated respectfully and given tasks to complete until it is safe for you to return home."
The elves nodded to each other before leaving. Tully stayed a bit long to drop off chocolate muffins to Remus with a kiss to his brow that had Nymphadora chuckling.
"Drom, Madam longbottom." Sirius started. "It's not safe for you to go back right now. Tonks will be putting herself in danger by staying in Albus' line of fire, but we can't ask that you do the same." He finished and Hermione nodded.
"We have room here, but with Bellatrix on the loose stil I find myself unenthused with her thought she could cross the blood wards at any time. So.." He drifted off with a look to Hermione.
"We have room at my home. And you will all be welcome there. Its secret kept and my bloodline consists of only two people so we don't have to fear anyone dropping in uninvited. I do have to forewarn you though that some of the people who visit frequently may not be your idea of pleasant company. But I find it necessary to relay the fact that none of us are the enemy right now."
"Will Neville be safe there?" Augusta asked after a long silence.
Hermione and Harry both looked at the blushing boy who had sat quietly the whole time despite his confusion.
"I would be willing to take a vow." Hermione answered honestly with a real smile Nevilles way. "Neville was my first real friend, I would protect him to the best of my ability regardless, but I would never allow a guest in my home to be in danger." She said before wrinkling her nose a bit in thought. "I would want him to train with us though. So I wouldn't promise he wouldn't get a few aches and pains from that." She added ignoring Harrysmumbles about his bruised backside.
"I think that would be good for him." Augusta nodded, patting Nevilles knee. "I know you said Bellatrix is missing and that you have others hunting her. But I find myself concerned with whom else we could come across. I don't know you Ms. Granger but even a fool can see you aren't just a normal muggle born witch. I find myself unconcerned where your bloodline traces to as long as my family sees the end of this mess. Magic is Magic, there is no light or dark it just is. I need to know we aren't making a mistake tossing our lot in with yours."
Hermione nodded, trying not to cringe under the witch's hard look. She took a small sip of tea before clearing her throat.
"Besides the vow, I can offer you a piece of information." She started and saw the witches lean in closer. "The home I am offering to you now to use has only seen one death. It was fiery and awful and knowing how painful it was, if I was given the opportunity to resurrect him and bring him back just to do it all over again I would. That man was Barty Crouch Junior. I watched him turn to little more than ash."
Augusta Longbottom sat her tea cup down and adjusted her vulture hat primly. Ignoring the look of shock on Neville's face she graced Hermione with an honest smile.
"Very good Ms. Granger. When can we move in?"