The Mutt who Lived
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling, 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, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing.
Dolores made herself comfortable in her favourite armchair in her own house, pondering her situation. Although still officially being the headmistress of the primary school at Hogwarts, she could not get into the school anymore. Unfortunately, she did not even own a house-elf, whom she could send into the school to fetch her private belongings – which could mean trouble, considering that she had kept two blood quills in a drawer of her desk. She could not hope to get a job at the ministry anymore, considering that Amelia, the bitch who had seen fit to dismiss her, was the minister of magic now. 'Oh well, maybe in some years' time,' she consoled herself.
However, she was in the possession of one black hair from an unknown person. Sadly, it definitely was not Amelia's, as she had blonde hair. Hopefully, it was the hair of an Auror or an otherwise higher ministry employee, considering that Amelia probably would not receive criminals in her office.
She decided to head to the apothecary at Diagon Alley to purchase a dose of Polyjuice potion right away, before it became a known fact that she was not a member of the Hogwarts staff anymore.
An hour later, she was back in her comfort zone, carrying a small phial, which she placed into the bathroom together with the valuable piece of hair, which she decided to store in an empty glass until she would need it.
Finally, she returned to her comfortable chair, feeling delighted at the prospect of causing mayhem in the magical world that had done her so great injustice.
HP
On Sunday, Hermione, Harry and Draco helped Remus to get the eagle and the niffler settled into the horse stable, while Susan and Neville cared for Wonka, the chocolate frog spitting toad, in one of the greenhouses after efficiently convincing Pomona Sprout that it would be an adequate companion for plants in the greenhouse, which even gave out rewards for a class well behaved.
Pomona, who somehow had a soft spot for Neville, who was extremely interested in plants and often helped her in the greenhouses, had been unable to deny the child his wish. When Minerva came to see how the new animals were settling in, Wonka had his own area in a corner of the greenhouse, in which the Herbology classes took place. The toad seemed at least to be happy enough to spit out a chocolate frog for her.
'As disgusting as that toad is, the chocolate frog tastes well,' she thought in surprise, inwardly groaning in disgust, when Dobby tried to feed the toad a small cup of cocoa making a huge mess. 'Oh well, as long as Pomona doesn't mind, I don't really care,' she thought, inwardly shuddering at the mess.
HP
After pondering what to do and carefully developing a plot, Dolores Umbridge got ready to strike in the morning of Christmas Eve. Fortunately, while being a ministry employee, she had equipped herself with several useful items, such as a permanent Portkey to Azkaban, which of course originally belonged to the Aurors of the team that was taking guard of the wizarding prison, some empty parchments with the stamp of the Auror division, others with the signature of Alastor Moody, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Even an introduction into Azkaban for newbies in the team as well as a guide through the wards was in her possession.
She put all the corks from the wine bottles, which she had consumed during the last six weeks at her home, into an inside robe pocket after properly preparing them. Once more checking the parchment that allowed her to visit certain prisoners at Azkaban on December 24, 1984, she readied herself to take the Portkey. For the umpteenth time making sure that her plan was fool proof, she added the piece of hair to the potion that had been waiting in her bathroom for what seemed to be a long time.
'I just hope it's an Auror; otherwise, I might have to give up my plan and head to the ministry to get some more hair first,' she thought, before she gulped down the disgusting concoction in one large gulp.
A moment later, she stared into the large mirror, barely able to believe her luck. She looked like the spitting image of Auror Shacklebolt.
Activating the Portkey, she travelled to the office of the Aurors on guard, where, as could be expected on Christmas Eve, a sole Auror was doing his shift.
Quickly greeting him, she handed over the parchment, and to her relief, the Auror seemed to suspect nothing but called the Dementors back and allowed her into the high security prison.
Dolores AKA Shacklebolt quickly walked through the prison, knowing that she had to be out of Azkaban, before the hour was over and the potion was going to wear off, and distributed the corks – throwing one into each cell. It was not an easy task, as she could not have the Auror in his office notice what she was doing.
"Take it into your hand," she whispered to the prisoners, exchanging one or the other word with some of them.
When all corks were delivered, she returned to the office, profusely thanked the Auror and, before he could suspect anything, which he did not, 'probably because he's thinking about his Christmas party tonight with his wife and kids,' she thought in disgust, stunned him. She carefully lowered the wards around the prison, before she cast a Sonorus charm at herself and shouted the password to activate the more than forty Portkeys, which she had distributed earlier.
'Thank Merlin I was fast enough,' she thought, when she arrived back in her own living room, not a second too early, because the transformation into her own stature set in, as the Polyjuice wore off.
"Here, you're safe," she ensured the former prisoners. "No one at the ministry knows about this house of mine. My former colleagues only know my apartment in London."
HP
While at the MAMA, most of her extended family including the kids were decorating the large Christmas tree in the atrium, which promised to be much fun, Amelia was attending her last meeting at the ministry, before she was going to be on maternity leave for some time. Of course, she would remain the minister of magic; however, she had been told to only come to the ministry if it was inevitable. Otherwise, she would work from home for the time being, and she could not wait spending more time with Sirius and their extended family. Trying to not think about the baby that was supposed to be born in a few weeks' time, she concentrated on the meeting at hand.
It was with Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was her successor as the deputy head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and her two colleagues wanted to discuss the training and finances of the new Aurors with her. She was not even a member of their department, while being the minister of magic, but the two had asked her, as they valued her opinion, knowing how well she knew their department.
The meeting took more than three hours, and Amelia inwardly groaned, when Alastor and Kingsley simultaneously checked their watches.
"The wards at Azkaban are coming down," Alastor growled and quickly sent a Patronus to Rufus Scrimgeour to take a team and head to the prison to enquire what was the matter.
Ten minutes later, he received a Patronus from his trusted Auror, stating that Shacklebolt had attacked the Auror on duty and freed all prisoners.
"Rubbish," Alastor growled. "Kingsley, don't worry. Amelia and I know that you've been with us for hours now."
"Thanks Boss," Kingsley replied, seemingly as shaken as herself, not only by the accusation but also at the idea of all Death Eaters being free again.
Together, the three of them headed over to the department, abandoning their meeting for more urgent matters.
HP
On Christmas morning, the special Christmas edition of the Daily Prophet did not carry the overall expected headline 'Merry Christmas'. Instead, it shouted in red letters, 'Mass outbreak at Azkaban – all convicted Death Eaters gone!'
The news that an unknown person had impersonated an Auror and freed all Death Eaters from Azkaban also overshadowed Christmas at the MAMA. Nevertheless, the adults tried their best to hide their concerns from the children of the family as well as the few students, who had remained at the school over the holidays.
"The immediate problem is that the Death Eaters could corrupt their children, who are attending our school," Sirius spoke up, once the children were engrossed in opening their presents with Bill's and Charlie's help.
"We'll just have Inu check all students, when they come back," James replied, grimly.
"And what?" Remus spoke up. "If the children are corrupted, you'll send them back to their Death Eater parents?"
"No, but we need to take special care and speak with them about it and tell them that their parents are wrong," Lily replied, letting out a deep sigh.
"Much more dangerous are the daytime students, who are under the influence of their Death Eater father or mother every evening," Minerva added. "Please help us strengthen the wards first thing tomorrow morning, so that no one who is wearing the Dark Mark will be able to enter the school."
"Minerva?" Lily gasped, pointedly looking at Severus. "We should rather build up on Inu than on the Dark Mark. The wards should repel anyone, whom Inu would not approve." From the way the canine waggled his tail, she could see that he appreciated her suggestion and was ready to take responsibility.
HP
It took them hours to strengthen the wards, and the extended family was contented with the result, even if they did not have any method to test the wards. However, Inu assured them through Harry that they were safe now, and Lily trusted her canine baby with her life, knowing that he had saved her life at least once before.
To everyone's relief, Inu appreciated all students, who arrived back from their homes at the beginning of the New Year, and neither did the wards prevent any students from entering the school.
"I wonder where the Death Eaters are anyway," Amelia spoke up one day. "Moody, Shacklebolt and Scrimgeour have searched Malfoy manor and Lestrange manor; however, both were deserted, and there was no trace from any recent access."
"Do they have an idea who impersonated Kingsley at all?" James enquired.
Amelia shook her head. "No, not at all. I have an assumption, but it's merely a speculation from my side." Noticing that James and Sirius cast her curious looks, she admitted, "Dolores Umbridge. She came into my office complaining that the wards around Hogwarts wouldn't let her in anymore about two months ago. Ever after that, I didn't see or hear anything from her anymore. Oh well, that means nothing, I know, but still, I have a bad feeling thinking of the bitch." She remained pensive for a moment, before deciding that she could trust her husband and his best friend, who had even been her fellow Aurors until three years ago. "They found two blood quills in her office at Hogwarts."
On the common gasp from the two wizards, she continued, "Albus Dumbledore brought them to me sometime in December, and he also confirmed that he hasn't seen her for some weeks."
"Awful bitch," Sirius commented, grimly.
"Absolutely," James agreed, full heartedly. "That means that she's going to get a one-way ticket to Azkaban?" he added, wearing a hopeful expression.
"Yes, as soon as she's caught and had a trial," Amelia replied, smiling.
HP
On January 30, Regulus Edgar Black was born, only six hours separating him from Charlus John Potter, who was born on the following day. While Regulus was the spitting image of Sirius, Charlus looked like Harry with Lily's distinctive green eyes.
Just like when Dorea had been born two and a half years ago, Harry and Neville commented, "They are too tiny…"
"…There's no way we can play with them."
"… and Charlus and Regulus is stupid…"
"… can we name them Charly and Regi?"
"They're cute," Dorea contradicted and spent much time with the babies telling them stories, when they were awake. She was eagerly learning to read letters under Hermione's tutelage, whenever the five-year-old had time to teach her; however, she still could not read enough to read stories to the new-born twins – much to her chagrin.
Inu spent his days taking care of the babies, just like he had done when Dorea was born. He growled at anyone not belonging to his extended family, ready to strike at a second's motion.
HP
On the following Sunday morning, Lily, Harry, Neville, Dorea and Inu went to Hogwarts to visit Amaterasu, while James remained with Charlus. Before they left, James looked at the Marauders' map as usual; however, noticed in surprise that the one of the two Barty Crouchs, who had constantly remained in Crouch's personal quarters, was gone.
"Oh no, we should have asked Hogwarts about him a long time ago," he groaned, and Lily promised to head to the founders' quarters and ask the castle about Crouch.
When she told Hogwarts the story about the two Barty Crouchs, the castle remained pensive for a moment, before she replied.
"Barty Crouch, who is the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor this year, kept someone prisoner in his private rooms," she said, only to add, "I think that his house-elf looked after the person, but a few days ago, the person managed to overcome the elf. I don't know how and why, but he stepped into the fireplace and left. Professor Crouch then gave his house-elf clothes, and she's now being looked after by the Hogwarts elves. I'm sorry, dear, but that's all I know," she added in a soft voice.
"Thank you, Hogwarts," Lily replied, smiling. 'How strange that the prisoner's name was Barty Crouch as well, and why in the world would Crouch have a prisoner at all?' she wondered and quickly took the children home, so that she could talk about the matter with James, Sirius and Amelia.
HP
"They only other Barty Crouch I knew was his son, Barty Crouch Junior," Sirius replied, pensively. "But as far as I know, he died at Azkaban."
"We should tell Moody about it in any case, considering that Crouch Senior kept someone prisoner at Hogwarts," Amelia said, grimly. "As the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he's the only one who can simply question Crouch under Veritaserum."
"I'll call him over," James promised and headed into his and Minerva's office, from where he floo-called his former boss and asked him to step over into the MAMA.
HP
The old Auror listened to what James had to tell and promised, "I'll go to Hogwarts and question the old fool under Veritaserum. Don't tell me that after putting his own son into Azkaban, he somehow rescued him and kept him prisoner."
"We'll send Godric Gryffindor over to the headmistress' office and watch," James replied. "Thanks Moody."
"As if we didn't have enough problems with all the Death Eaters escaped," Moody replied, gruffly; however, James knew his former boss well enough to not mind the tone.
"I know, and I'm sorry, but we thought we'd let you know," he replied, sighing.
"Well done. Thanks for the information," Moody said, before he took his leave.
HP
A few hours later, Godric showed the extended family the memory from the portrait in the staff room.
Moody stepped out of the fireplace in the headmistress' office at Hogwarts, closely followed by his deputy, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Molly Weasley greeted them in apparent surprise.
"Aurors Moody and Shacklebolt," she said. "What brings you to Hogwarts today?"
"We urgently need to speak with Barty Crouch," Moody informed her and Dumbledore, who was sitting in front of the headmistress' desk.
"And why might that be?" Dumbledore enquired.
"You may stay and listen; however, if you don't allow us to question Crouch during the next ten minutes, you'll receive a one-way ticket to Azkaban," Moody growled, impatiently.
Dumbledore sent out a phoenix Patronus, and a short while later, Barty Crouch appeared in the office and greeted them in apparent surprise.
"Kingsley, Veritaserum," Moody ordered his deputy, causing Crouch to heavily protest.
"Why in the world would you want to question me? Are you out of your minds?" Crouch growled.
"Because I can," Moody replied and, as soon as Shacklebolt had administered three drops of Veritaserum onto Crouch's tongue, began to question him.
"What is your name?"
"Barty Crouch."
"Whom did you keep prisoner in your private rooms at Hogwarts until a few days ago?"
Ignoring the collective gasps coming from Dumbledore and Weasley, Crouch replied, automatically, "My son."
"Did he not die in Azkaban two years ago?"
"No, my wife died, and I brought him home in her stead. It was her last wish, and I was unable to refuse her."
"How did you keep your son prisoner?"
"My house-elf, Winky, took care of him," Crouch admitted. "Apparently, she forgot to put him under a spell last Tuesday, and he escaped."
"Do you know where the escaped Death Eaters are hiding?" Moody asked.
"No, but my son is probably going to look for them. Perhaps Winky will still work for him, as I gave her clothes."
"Fine," Moody finally said and motioned his colleague to administer the antidote. "You're going to have a trial in a few days' time, and I believe that I don't have to tell you that the punishment for hiding a convicted murderer is a one-way ticket to Azkaban."
With that, Shacklebolt took Crouch away with a Portkey, and the memory ended.
HP
"Ah, serves him right. I could never stand him," Sirius was the first to comment, and James nodded his agreement.
"I'm not sure," Amelia spoke up, pensively, while feeding Regulus. "He's not evil. He did something bad, but he did it out of the love to his late wife. I know that he loved her very much and would have done everything for her. I don't think that he deserves to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban, and I'll tell Moody as much."
"Amelia," James said in a firm voice, "now that you're a mother, you're going soft. Of course, he must be put into Azkaban at least for a few years."
"He's right, Meli," Sirius confirmed, grimly.
HP
At the same time as the meeting took place, an owl travelled from Malfoy Manor to Dolores Umbridge's house in a small village near Hastings.
tbc...
Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome.
Next chapter: "Muggle families".