'Hopefully Nott got the message loud and clear. Sometimes words are not enough. You have to show them,' Iris said. She looked down at the quivering figure of Nott on the floor, 'I don't think he'll be bothering us anymore.'

Pansy looked down at Nott and then back up again at Iris. She opened her mouth and then shut it again.

'How did you do that?' Harry asked her.

'It was weird. When Nott said those vile things it was like a trigger. I had this image emblazoned in my mind of the fire veil. We took a shortcut. We landed straight there. We didn't go through the star tunnel. I reckon that's going to be useful in the future.'

'No shit, Black,' Milicent said in awe. The adults were still too much in shock to reprimand her for swearing. They all had some choice words themselves.

'Your eyes went blood red too,' Ron said.

Iris nodded, 'I was actually seeing red. I saw what he truly is.'

'What's it like down there?' Mad-Eye asked her curiously.

'We only saw a bit of it. Lucifer said we landed in the seventh circle. The part we were in was kind of like the Grand Canyon. Really hot. Red skies. Five massive, blazing suns. Lots of people screaming. A few Demons were prodding Stalin with poker sticks. He's bawling his eyes out. Ha. Serves him right.'

Silence.

Albus sat on his chair and opened his drawer. He bought out a bottle of whiskey and several glasses. An unspoken agreement between the adults saw them each knock back a shot without comment.

Even Blaise was eyeing the bottle with yearning. He would be hitting the cheering charms later.

Crabbe sat in the corner staring at Nott with a terrified expression on his face.

'Lucifer said the veil will adjust depending on what the person has done. They have different circles there for different things. Nott is obviously destined for that circle as it took us straight there. Lucifer said that one is for those who have used excessive cruelty and violence against the innocent.'

Nott whimpered on the floor.

'Half of Wall Street is in the fourth circle,' Iris added, 'Lucifer did say if I wanted to leave anyone with them I just needed to let go of them and that would be it. They couldn't come back to Earth if I don't anchor them. If that veil opens and has accepted them through then that means they deserve to be there. When they have done their penance they are either put into the black hole and cease to exist or their soul is reincarnated. Satan guards that. He has the final say. When Lucifer informed me of Nott's history I thought it wise to return him. He wasn't alone when he committed his crimes. He is evidence.'

Draco had the beginnings of a determined expression as he looked down at Nott.

'I have to move to this shimmering wall to get back through the doorway. Lucifer showed me. They go on for miles. They divide the circles.'

'How did you know you could bring Nott back, Iris?' Harry asked. He had been wondering.

Iris looked at him as her grey eyes flashed with something Harry couldn't quite identify. For a brief second, she strongly reminded him of his Godfather, 'I didn't,' she said, 'But as Sirius is so fond of saying, 'What's life without a little risk?' When the veil flashed through my mind I also got images of what Nott has done. I saw him for what he is.'

Severus looked at her in silence, 'Never rile one of the Black women,' Albus' words echoed in his mind. He saw clearly both Sirius and Bellatrix in her then. Vicious when crossed, even when they were at school.

They all looked at her then as the room seemed to grow very small. Fawkes flew down to her shoulder and rubbed his head against her head as she smiled and stroked his feathers gently.

'Nott is already going to Hell or I wouldn't have been able to take him through that veil. Lucifer told me what he has already done in his short twisted life. He's already on their list. Years of redemption and I mean years, is his only hope of reducing his time there.'

'What has he done, Iris?' Draco asked quietly. He had an idea. Some of the things Nott alluded to had made him very uncomfortable. He had known Nott casually before Hogwarts. He had never liked him. The boy had always made his skin crawl the same way his own father's presence did.

Iris glanced around the room. She reached into her robes and bought out a piece of parchment. Walking over to Kingsley she handed him the paper. He looked down at it. His eyebrows rose as his eyes ran down it.

'Lucifer gave me this copy. Magical records are kept there of the most depraved of people's sins. These are the names of Nott and his father's victims. They used potions and the Imperius to do this. The more defenceless the better for both Nott Junior and Senior. Seven little Muggle girls were tortured and killed by them. The oldest was three.'

Albus thought he was going to be sick. He wasn't the only one. Pansy had a look of total disgust on her face at her housemate. Even Goyle's face had fallen in horror.

They all stared at the trembling figure of Nott in shock.

Albus put his hand to his mouth, 'I didn't realise. He's so young. I thought it was just threats. How was this not discovered by the authorities?' he whispered in shock.

Severus sighed, 'Because the Ministry bigwigs are full of disgusting cretins who couldn't care less about anything but their personal bank balance. Muggles are worthless to them. I doubt the Auror department would have been notified at any rate. They know Amelia and Aurthur actually do their jobs properly. It is common knowledge that cases like this are made to disappear by depraved high up Muggle officials in exchange for magical trinkets by the ministry. They don't want the bad press for now. I doubt very much they would bother to organise an investigation into the obvious signs of magical abuse of these girls, let alone prosecute.'

The Aurors went to argue with him but then found they had nothing to say to defend this accusation. They were only authorised to investigate crimes against members of the Wizarding World. Muggles higher up were responsible for notifying the magical authorities about crimes against Muggles. It predictably always ended in unsolved cases.

Kingsley looked again at the list. They couldn't help but notice his hand trembling as he then glared at Nott. He spoke to Albus, 'We'll take him out of Hogwarts immediately. None of the girls here will be safe otherwise. Whatever happens, whatever stunts the Ministry pulls, Nott does not come back here, Albus. My niece is here. I'll drag him out myself if he tries to get back in,' Kingsley looked absolutely enraged.

Albus nodded his agreement to the Auror. He had no intention of letting Nott back either.

They all looked at the pathetic figure of Nott squirming on the floor.

Severus looked at him in contempt. He didn't think Nott was going to be a danger to anyone anymore.

'Lucifer kindly let seven Devils give him a lovely welcome,' Iris smirked, 'They were very...charming. They were very sad to see him go. They can't wait till he visits again,' she added in a dangerously smooth voice towards Nott.

The adults in the room went very pale.

Nott wrapped himself into a tighter ball.

The others in the room watched Nott through narrowed eyes. They hadn't realised he was already capable of what he had been threatening Daphne and Hermione with. They all felt nauseous. He had been sitting with them in class. At mealtimes.

'We'll take him and his father in for questioning, Albus,' Mad-Eye said in his gruff voice, 'He's underage and a Pureblood so we can't give him Veritaserum I'm afraid but he looks shook up enough. We may get information out of him about his crimes. At least we can drown Nott Senior in the stuff.'

Hermione made a strange sort of garbled noise, 'But underage Muggleborns and Half-bloods aren't given that consideration, are they? I read about it. A loophole. A lot of the laws have them,' she was distraught at the evening's revelations, 'Don't you ever get sick of it? How unfair all this is?' she asked him.

'I do, Miss Granger. I get very sick of it,' Mad-Eye answered her honestly. The other Auror's faces echoed what Mad-Eye said.

The room was quiet for a beat.

Albus wasn't generally surprised by much. That Nott had already committed such awful crimes at such a young age had been truly disturbing to him.

'I think that is enough for the day,' Albus breathed out slowly as Fawkes went to comfort him.

'Come on Hermione. It's been a long day. Let's go. Draco. Do you want to walk with us? We can have that talk,' Iris asked. He nodded. With one last look at Nott, they walked out of the room.

The Aurors picked Nott up none too gently and removed him.

The room dispersed till just Minerva and Albus remained.

'Did you suspect?' Minerva asked him.

'No. I'm not omnipotent. I could see he had a mean streak. I thought with time he could perhaps improve. His father was also an unpleasant individual at school. One of those who had links with the Death Eater's back in the seventies. His file went missing during that week of the trial, along with many of the others in the confusion. There were a few nasty incidents with the girls at the school even back then. His wife supposedly died in a freak accident. Nott's father has friends in high places. Even evidence of their crimes may not be enough. The Ministry is all so warped and twisted. Harry, Iris and even Miss Granger in her first week clearly see right through its cruelty and idiocy already. The others will be joining the dots. They are not even teenagers yet, but they are not stupid.'

Minerva shook her head, 'What is this world becoming, Albus?'

Albus stroked his long beard, 'I remember the Second World War. It is not becoming anything. The cruelty of many in the human race has always been there. The fashions change of course. The music. But the core of human nature never does change. Some always crave wealth and power at any cost. But, Minerva. I must be honest. This feels different in some ways. All of these events in the past seem to be linking up with each other. The prophecy, my vision. All of this has been planned by a higher force. For what reason I cannot say. Even Gabriel does not know.'

'Iris has been given a very powerful gift, Albus,' Minerva teetered around the obvious, glaring issues, 'Can she be trusted to use it wisely?'

'I think so,' Albus said shortly, 'Fawkes is fond of her. He is a good judge of character. In my vision, Iris was fighting alongside Harry. Not against him.'

'I see so much of Sirius in her, but her eyes when she pulled Nott into the veil….,' Minerva whispered, 'Riddle's eyes were like that before his ritual. Perhaps they are again.'

Albus gave a small smile, 'Yes. I imagine it would be quite terrifying when blood-red eyes are looking directly at you in front of a scarlet red and gold veil spitting fire.'

'She pulled that boy into Hell, Albus. Actual Hell,' Minerva questioned again, 'She introduced us all to a Dark Angel as if we were at a Greengrass dinner party.'

'Yes. She did rather do that,' Albus chuckled.

'Why are you so blase, Albus?' Minerva's voice rose.

'What is the one thing Tom is frightened of, Minerva?'

Minerva paused. 'Oh,' her eyes met his as a spark of realisation lit in them.

'He is frightened of death. His one weakness. His very self styled name screams it. Voldemort. Flight from death. He wants to escape the consequences of his actions. People talk. That is inevitable. With young Miss Brown and Miss Patel in attendance to this evening's revelations, soon everyone in the school will know for certain that Iris can move between different worlds. It is time for them to know. Tom knows for certain that Harry and Iris will eventually be coming for him. Harry is a known threat to him. Iris will represent death to him. Although they don't know it yet, he will be much more frightened of them than they of him in times to come.'

Minerva sank back down in the chair. She mused on this for a while. And then she smiled, 'Payback,' she said.

'Indeed, Minerva. When the time is right I do not doubt for a moment that Harry and Iris will be the last two people he will see on Earth. He has created his own nemesis.'

Albus poured them both another shot of whiskey.

'Do you remember Sirius and Bellatrix when they were at school, Minerva?'

Minerva gave an expression between a grimace and a grin, 'I do. The Black family offspring have always been memorable one way or another.'

'Neither of them has ever been subtle. Act first, think later. Iris pulled Nott into Hell without any hesitation. She showed no mercy once she knew what he had done. Yes. She is very much a Black. That is her real power.'

'No mercy, Albus?' Minerva asked him hesitantly.

'Gellert was shown my mercy. He unites now with the worst amongst us to cause more misery and pain to the innocent. I feel responsible that he has helped them flourish. That has been another of my regrets. How many more of the innocent will suffer because of that impulse?'

'You cannot blame yourself, Albus,' Minerva exclaimed.

'Ah, but I can,' Albus said with sorrow, 'They get the luxury of growing old. Their victims not at all.'

'I thought you were against revenge, Albus.'

'Is it really revenge when it is to prevent sadism and protect others? The fate of our world rests in very delicate hands, Minerva.'

'Surely the Muggle militaries will unite to fight this? It cannot rest on a few people's shoulders to resolve this,' Minerva said.

Albus gave a bitter laugh, 'I have watched the Muggle world closely over the years. It is a mess. It is run by mad, greedy, wrathful men. They delight in their bombs and their nuclear prowess. Their powers to destroy stroke their over-inflated egos. Their governments spend the public's money on space travel and tanks. Toys for big boys whilst their children starve in the streets. They applaud each other for their decimations of cities. Men in white coats invent new and more innovative weapons to kill as many as possible. They do so love their arms sales. The pollution of their oceans and lands increases. The ozone burns. Cancer rates increase rapidly as they poison and destroy all that has been built over centuries. Their drug companies make trillions and sell life-saving drugs that cost them pennies for thousands. They profit off the suffering, the dying. All their perverse human experiments. They fight trifling wars to justify their exorbitant military budgets. The Oligarchs. Their billionaires. Take, take, take. They tear down their forests, decimate nature, they abuse the animals. Many fight this but I fear the future of the planet is in jeopardy. Riddle will certainly use the Muggles. He despises them. He will turn on them once they have served their purpose. Tom is erratic but I do know for certain he will not share power in the end. When he is ready he will eventually take over their wealth and power. He aims to rule the Earth for Infinity. It will truly not be a world worth living in at all if that is to happen. That is if they haven't destroyed it with nuclear by then.'

Minerva closed her eyes as she let this sink in, 'This is a bloody nightmare,' she whispered.

'When you consider even Lucifer is concerned about the balance on Earth then that should wake many people up.'

'How can we trust the dark side, Albus?' Minerva whispered.

'Their futures depend on the light also. If there is no balance on Earth and this New World Order becomes a reality it will consume the light entirely. There can be no future. The world will be destroyed. Gabriel told me that all life begins here, Minerva. The destruction of Earth is unthinkable. It was not as bad at this before. Since the greedy Muggles have found a way to make money from war more have been fought in two hundred years and more have died in that time than through the whole of human history.'

Minerva clenched the glass in her hand, 'All this is about money?'

'Indeed. Never underestimate the lurid depths that the establishment and profiteers will sink to acquire it. That and power. They create false divisions amongst the people. They have set cousin against cousin countless times. In the Second World War did you know in all those years not once did any train tracks going into the concentration camps get bombed? They generated a lot of global profit,' Dumbledore practically spat the word.

Minerva paled. 'They knew? The allies?'

'The military followed orders. Wars are fought by brave men and women. Their elite still play puppeteers. Money and Power. That is all they care for. No matter who gets hurt,' Albus sat back, 'Still, I shouldn't talk like this to you. It has been a long evening. I'm tired, Minerva. I'm over a hundred years old and I am so tired of seeing the same barbaric violence over and over again. I saw the world fresh this evening through Miss Granger's eyes. She asked Moody if he ever got sick of it. I would answer the same as him. I have had a lifetime of experiencing and witnessing injustice. I am sick of it.'

Minerva stilled. She had never seen Albus so bitter.

'We are on the brink of what will be a war like no other in history. This is going to make the Hell that was the Second World War look like a warm-up act. Riddle and Hitler have set a demented agenda. They have already begun. Nott is one of the hundreds of thousands on the earth already straining at the leash. Millions soon. I would not blame Iris in the slightest if she went to Equilibrium one day and never came back. She won't though. She's like her father. So is Harry. They are going to fight Riddle and his followers with all that they have.'

'Really?' Minerva said in surprise.

'Really. She's already shown a lot of daring and nerve in her first week. I am already impressed by several of her year mates too. A true Gryffindor will fight to the end. They are the young lions. I'm an old lion now. A part of me has felt tempted to ask her to take me through the veil, Minerva. To take me through and then let go of my hand. It would be that easy. I won't of course. She wouldn't do that either. My duty is to the school and those in it. But, late at night...,'

Fawkes trilled softly. Minerva couldn't think of anything to say to this admission.

'I have a very good idea of what lays ahead Minerva. Anguish. Pain. Heartbreak. Equilibrium may well be our only salvation if Riddle accomplishes even half of what he has planned,' Albus said softly.

They sat quietly in comfort and finished the whiskey Albus had bought out earlier.