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Chapter 90

February 30th, 1997

DARK MARK DECLARED ILLEGAL
Ministry performed cleansing of every department.
By Rita Skeeter

Anyone employed by the British Ministry of Magic received a small shock when clocking in for work this morning at the Ministry in London. Upon their arrival, any employee was stopped and checked for the Dark Mark under the sleeve of their left forearm. No one was exempt from this procedure and even Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister himself pulled up his sleeves to rule out any doubts.

Who is the mastermind behind this bold move that some may call a violation of privacy? Naturally, the answer is no other than Harry Potter, Hogwarts sixth year Student and dubbed The-Chose-One. Due to my outstanding connection to Britain's most famous magical hero, I was able to publish this exclusive interview just in time.

INTERVIEW:

Reporter:
Harry, could you explain in your own words what actually happened this morning at the Ministry? Depending on who I asked, I received a variety of contradicting statements. Perhaps you could shine some light on this incident?

Harry Potter:
Of course, Rita. After over a week of planning and preparation, this morning, the Ministry performed a sweep of all employees within every department. The main goal was to find people that have been branded with the Dark Mark and might be spies for Voldemort.

Reporter:
Do you mind explaining the background behind this? How was something of that dimension even organized without anyone catching wind of it?

Harry Potter:
Roughly a week after the mass breakout from Azkaban, I felt restless. The situation in our community got worse and Voldemort seemed to gain more power and influence every day. Something had to be done. It is difficult for the Ministry to counter the cowardly attacks on innocent muggles and citizens. What they can do, however, is limit the spread of information to the Dark Lord and ensure that his network of spies loses its effectiveness.

I shared my idea with the Minister and he agreed to think it over. 48 hours later, I was contacted, and we proceeded with my plan. The Minister and I met with Madam Bones, Head of the DMLE, and the three of us spend hours planning the sweep down to the smallest detail. First, we needed to make sure that news of our endeavor would not spread to those we intended to catch. Before sharing our plan with any further person, that individual had to prove his loyalty under the influence of Veritaserum. That is how we discovered Voldemort's first spy in the Auror Department already. After ensuring that no further Aurors stood in the Dark Lord's services, we also had the manpower to set our plan into action.

Reporter:
What exactly was the procedure like? What did an ordinary ministry employee encounter before his start of work this morning?

Harry Potter:
We restricted access to the ministry under the pretense that there was a problem with the floo-network. Therefore, employees only entered in regular intervals and no one could slip through unaccounted. Two Aurors or various individuals who had proven themselves trustworthy were positioned in front of each fireplace and greeted anyone that stepped through. People were required to pull up their sleeves and proof that they were not branded. We also had a practitioner of the mind arts on standby to look out for signs of distress or nervousness. After all, someone might be a spy for Voldemort but was not granted the... honor... to carry his mark yet. If nothing was found and the employee complied with the procedure, the individual was granted access to the Ministry and was allowed to go to work as usual.

Reporter:
Some might say that this is a strong violation of privacy, Harry. What legal ground did this strip search actually have?

Harry Potter:
I shall start by saying that carrying an unauthorized Portkey to the ministry was declared illegal in 1865. The Dark Mark is a very complex piece of magic with a variety of spells and charms intertwined in it. During the last war, even after capturing known Death Eaters, the Depart of Mysteries was unable to decipher and fully understand it. The reason for that was that the majority of spells were cast in Parseltongue. In his arrogance, Voldemort assumed that he was the only person left with the unique ability. By casting the Mark in a language no one else could decipher, he ensured that the magic inside it was never understood. That is until now...

Reporter:
I see, of course, Harry. You are a known Parselmouth yourself. I assume you assisted the Unspeakables in untwisting the Mark?

Harry Potter:
Actually, I did so a long time ago. I am sure your readers will remember me capturing Peter Pettigrew at Hogwarts in my third year to prove my godfather's innocence. Pettigrew wore the Mark on his forearm. Can anyone blame a 13-year-old student that his curiosity got the better of him? I don't think so... I cast a few simple detection spells on the Mark and soon discovered that it was cast in Parseltongue. From there on it was relatively easy to decipher it.

Reporter:
But Harry, what does this have to do with carrying unauthorized Portkeys into the Ministry building?

Harry Potter:
As the headline states, it is officially illegal to carry the Dark Mark now. However, not because of the reasons one might think. The Ministry does not have the right to ban a tattoo, no matter what the association behind it may be. Carrying the Dark Mark is illegal for a completely different reason.

Reporter:
I am certain you have all of us on the edge right now. Please, Harry, continue explaining.

Harry Potter:
I have voluntarily subjected myself to questioning under Veritaserum and proven that the Mark has a Portkey charm embedded in it. Death Eater can use it to either portkey to their Master or be summoned by him. Therefore, this morning, people were simply checked for carrying any illegal Portkeys, not for being supporters of the Dark Lord.

Reporter:
A true streak of genius, Harry. But what about people who have been branded against their own will? You might be too young to remember, but many people claimed that they had received the Mark under the Imperius Curse. How did the ministry tackle that aspect of the problem?

Harry Potter:
We all know that those trials were a farce and the perfect opportunity for people with enough Galleons to buy themselves out of harm's way. The most prominent example might be Lucius Malfoy, who had countless times denied any involvement with the Death Eaters, yet he was found in the Ministry last year, sporting a silver mask and casting killing curses at my Godfather.

However, again... The strip search was simply to detect people who might have an illegal Portkey. If a subject had only complied and explained that he was branded against his will, then the department would have sent him on paid leave and plans would be made on how to deal with an employee with an illegal Portkey.

Instead, the people that have actually been found to carry the Mark resisted the arrest, digging their hole even deeper. The majority of them even attacked the Aurors, giving us legal ground for a trial that involves Veritaserum. We caught them for carrying an illegal Portkey and we will imprison them for being a follower of the Dark Lord. It is rather simple actually.

Reporter:
Indeed, it is. I take it you have been successful then? How many people have been arrested this morning?

Harry Potter:
We found the Dark Mark on the forearm of 16 individuals, ranging from the Department of Magical Transportation all the way to the Department of International affairs. Every single one of those individuals resisted arrest. Three Aurors were injured in the entire process. However, luckily, they will make a full recovery. In addition, we apprehended ten further individuals who acted very suspiciously. There will be an interrogation for each of them, in which we will verify their involvement.

Reporter:
What will happen to those that have been found with the Dark and Mark and resisted arrest?

Harry Potter:
Legally, we can question them under Veritaserum for breaking the law and attacking first. If during those trials any information regarding their involvement with the Death Eaters is revealed, then we will take further action.

Reporter:
This all seems like a very successful and close cooperation between you and the Ministry of Magic. Does that mean you approve of their current curse of action? Will we so similar involvements from your side in the future?

Harry Potter:
I can't yet promise that. It is always wise to question authority. Only a year ago, the Ministry has dragged my name through the mud and depicted me as an attention seeker brat. However, I do not wish to take out my anger on innocent citizens, who unfortunately count to the majority of victims of this war. This collaboration between me and the minister was born out of a common desire to turn the war in our favor. If a similar opportunity arises in the future, I might make use of it once more.

Reporter:
Well, Harry, I think I speak for the entire population of magical Britain when I thank you and the other masterminds behind this wide-scale operation from the bottom of my heart. Do you have anything to add before we end the interview?

Harry Potter:
In times like these is the responsibility of every citizen to help however possible. Not all of us can fight and take out Death Eaters in a duel. Nevertheless, we can all do our part in leading Magical Britain into a peaceful future.

Harry cringed internally after reading the last words of his interview. He almost sounded like Dumbledore already. However, the act was necessary for convincing the public. He looked around in the Great Hall: Never before had the evening edition of the Daily Prophet created such chaos in the Great Hall. It was usually the morning edition that brought devastating news.

The announcement that the Dark Mark had been officially banned was greeted with cheers of enthusiasm at the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Table. The majority of Ravenclaws could not hide that the idea of simply banning the illegal Portkey aspect of it what a streak of genius, worthy of the founder of their house herself.

Naturally, the only table that showed no signs of enthusiasm was the Slytherin's. Harry's eyes roamed over the fifth to seventh-year students, watching for signs of discomfort. Not all of them managed to hide their shock as well as Malfoy, who only let his demeanor slip for the fraction of a second.

Nevertheless, all in all, he was very proud of how the entire operation had played out. It was relatively easy to convince Scrimgeour of his plan and Madam Bones had brought in a few valuable ideas as well. Then, it was only a matter of finding enough trustworthy individuals. In addition to the Auror Department, Harry had asked the Order and, of course, Fleur for help.

Altogether, they had the manpower to actually apprehend the suspects and make sure no one could slip by. It was not explicitly mentioned in the article, but Harry and Head Unspeakable Croaker had been the experts in the mind arts that assisted the entire operation. They had been on standby the entire time.

Whereas Harry was feeling if the magical signature of anyone leaving the fireplace felt familiar, Croaker has used passive Legilimency to scan the employees for signs of nervousness or strong Occlumency shields. Their combined efforts lead to the additional ten individuals that behaved very suspiciously.

Even Harry was surprised by the outcome of the operation. He would have expected to find between five to ten Death Eaters. However, the fact that Voldemort had already managed to infiltrate nearly every department besides the Unspeakables, showed how imported this cleansing had been. Now, it was just a matter of interrogating the suspects.

Unfortunately, neither the Minister nor Madam Bones had agreed to Harry's suggestions to simply execute the suspects after their undoubted guilt was proven under Veritaserum. Instead, it was decided that they would be kept in ministry holding cells until they could be transferred to Nurmengard Prison.

That was more than fine with Harry. He had experienced the wards of the prison a few more times now during his visits to Grindelwald. He doubted that Voldemort could break anyone out of there. In addition, attacking an ICW facility would lead to an international incidence, which was something the Dark Lord had avoided so far.

Suddenly, the whispers all around him died out and Harry looked up at the staff table, where Dumbledore stood up. Harry groaned. He knew what followed and even though Dumbledore had informed him personally about his reasoning a few hours ago, he still did not fully agree with all of it.

"If I could have your attention for a few minutes please." Dumbledore waited until it was completely silent on all four tables before he continued:

"As most have will have noticed, the Dark Mark has been declared illegal by the Ministry of Magic this morning." Cheers erupted once more from the Gryffindor table, while a few Slytherins scowled.

"The reasoning behind it is explained pretty well in the very article I spot in front of most of you." Dumbledore spoke up and winked at Harry: "To summarize: It was found that the Dark Mark contains a Portkey charm, which is illegal to carry inside the Ministry without proper authorization."

The students nodded their understanding. Pretty much everyone had understood the reasoning, even though it was nothing but an elaborate trick to catch followers of the Dark Lord.

"Now, many of you may ask about the responses of our school to this recent development, since Hogwarts is independent and does, after last year's unpleasantries, thankfully no longer abide by Ministry regulations.

A few people chuckled at that. Indeed, Umbridge might be gone for good, but her ridiculous educational decrees were not forgotten.

"First of all, let me explain that the wards around the castle are significantly stronger and older than those of the Ministry with the exemption of the Department of mysteries, perhaps."

His own eyes and that of a few other students flickered over to Harry. The boy ignored them all.

"No Portkey will ever be able to function within these wards. I can give you my word for that. Since this has always been the case, carrying a Portkey inside the school has never been declared illegal, as a rule like that would be abundant. It simply seemed unnecessary..." Dumbledore slightly raised his voice, due to the murmurs of frustration. "... to change this rule. The Dark Mark is therefore not illegal within Hogwarts as of yet."

Even louder shouts of anger and frustration could be heard by now. It was obvious that the majority of Hogwarts students demanded similar legislation as in the ministry.

However, Dumbledore did seem even slightly concerned: "I might be old, but I am nowhere naive enough to believe that there aren't those within the walls of this castle that have been branded with the Dark Mark already..."

A silence followed this statement, as the majority of students from three tables looked over to the last one, with its members dressed in green.

"However, the school is not allowed to strip search any students, save for those that have reached adulthood already and only with valid reason. As I explained, the Dark Mark does not work as a Portkey within Hogwarts. Voldemort can therefore not use it to instantly summon a follower towards him. Regardless, should any student be discovered leaving the grounds and follow such a call... Then we have more than enough reason to perform a search and further legal actions will be taken. You have all been warned. With that, I wish you a good night."

The benches were pushed back as the few hundred students stood to leave the hall. Harry was still deep in thought. He understood Dumbledore's reasoning for doing things the way he did so far. Dumbledore would rather keep anyone with a Dark Mark here within the castle, so he could keep an eye on them.

At the same time, Dumbledore could not outright ban the Dark Mark, similar to how the Ministry had done it, because one of their esteem professors was branded himself. Kicking Snape out of Hogwarts, probably concluded the man's death. The only reason Voldemort left the man alive, was to have a spy close to Dumbledore.

What Dumbledore underestimated, however, at least in Harry's opinion, was the threat of having easily impressionable young Death Eaters, desperate to prove themselves to their new Lord, in a school full of children. One only had to take a look at Malfoy to see how that might end.

Luckily, Katie Bell was almost fully recovered by now, but Harry would never forget seeing Fleur gasping for air with blood and foam leaking from her mouth. He forced the image away and headed back down to the Chamber. It was time to make a plan on how to deal with Malfoy and the rest of the junior Death Eaters, before something worse might happen...

Malfoy Manor - Wiltshire, England

"Crucio!" The Dark Lord was enraged and unleashed his fury on the man who had been unfortunate enough to deliver the message to him. The courier screamed in pain and twisted on the floor. With a flick of his wand, he ended the spell. That had been a mistake... It was foolish to torture his own followers, especially in such close proximity to anyone who might overhear it. The rumors about him punishing Death Eaters by killing them had spread already within his ranks. Circulated by no other than Harry Potter...

"How many?" The Dark Lord turned his crimson eyes back to the man who was twitching on the marble floor, panting heavily.

"All of them, my Lord." The man gasped: "All 16... And also, any other of our spies..."

Fury surged through his every vein, but he forced himself not to slash the wand forwards and end the man's life. He would have done so previously, but he could not lose any more followers. Though their number had grown recently, it was still nowhere near what he wished.

"Leave!" The Dark Lord hissed: "And summon Dolohov and Greyback!"

The man gave a deep bow and stumbled out of the room. The Dark Lord snatched the copy of the evening Daily Prophet from the nearby table, where the courier had left it. Harry Potter's bright green eyes and handsome smile smirked up at him. 16 of his followers had been discovered with the Dark Mark in the ministry. In addition, those that have promised themselves to the course but have not taken their Mark yet had been discovered as well. Discovered by Harry Potter.

The boy had planned this move in silence ever since their last encounter at Azkaban. Now, not a single spy of his remained undetected in the Ministry. The Dark Lord cursed. Something like this would have never happened if he still held influence in the Wizengamot. However, his main advocators had been killed, their voices and arguments could no longer be heard in the chambers. Malfoy, Avery, Nott, and Selwyn had been heavy promoters for the Dark Fraction in the Wizengamot. With all of them gone, recently passed legislation was heavily in favor of the neutrals and lighter fraction. How could this happen?

The answer smirked up them. His followers, his Death Eaters, the members of his inner circle had been taken from him. Taken by none other than Harry Potter.

How he loathed the boy, who caused him more trouble than anyone else since his rise to power. Even during the first wizarding war, no one had dared to be such a thorn in his eye. His hand was forced. He needed to do something. Something to show the wizarding world that any move they made against him was answered with bloodshed and death. The boy would pay... They would all pay for this... His musings were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in!" He called and watched as the two men entered the dark living room at Malfoy Manor.

"My Lord." They each gave a deep bow. Voldemort decided to address Dolohov first.

"How are the new recruits faring, Antonin?"

"Their training is going well, my Lord." The man reported: "A few of them have talent and are promising candidates. However, they lack experience and practical application."

"They will have the prospect to gain both soon enough." The Dark nodded satisfied: "How many have joined my ranks since my return?"

"30 in total, my Lord." The man bowed: "The majority are rather young, a few have not even finished their OWLs yet, since they were expelled shortly before."

"See to it that they improve quickly, Antonin. I want them to train as often as possible. Share your expertise with them. You may leave." The Dark hissed.

"I will, my Lord. You have my word." The man gave one last deep bow and exited the room.

Voldemort grimaced. Antonin had been his most experienced fighter along with Bellatrix. However, he had been heavily disappointed when the world-dueling champion was beaten by a mere boy of 15 years. Then again, he could not raise these concerns because to the rest of the world it seemed as if he himself had been beaten that same day in the ministry.

But he himself knew that Potter had only gotten lucky. In fact, Potter had revealed something the Dark Lord had pondered about for quite some time... There was only one possible location where Potter could have found the knowledge to absorb his spell.

Somehow the boy had managed a feat of which he had been certain only he himself was capable of. The boy had found the Chamber of Secrets and the old Tomes of his descendant, Salazar Slytherin. That had been a heavy strike against his ego. A young Tom Riddle never had enough time to go through every piece of knowledge the legendary chamber held.

Unfortunately, after he attacked the worthless mudblood with the Basilisk, the Chamber had closed itself from him. Back then he had tried his best to overpower the ancient wards, but he had simply been too young and too inexperienced to do so...

Now, he was denied access, but perhaps the legendary Chamber still allowed someone possessed by his Dairy to enter. It was something he would ponder over later. First, he needed to question Narcissa Malfoy on the location of the Dairy anyways. Lucius had died before the topic came up again. Perhaps he shall summon the woman later tonight...

"My Lord?" said the other man still standing in front of him. The Dark Lord's eyes flickered over him. Greyback was a big, rangy man with matted gray hair and whiskers, whose black Death Eater's robes looked uncomfortably tight. He had a voice like none other. A rasping bark of a voice. The Dark Lord wrinkles the slits that were left of his nose. He could smell a powerful mixture of dirt, sweat, and, unmistakably, of blood coming from him. His filthy hands had long yellowish nails.

It was truly a shame that he was forced to rely on a foul beast like the one standing in front of him. But, alas, now more than ever Voldemort needed manpower, and Greyback and his pack would be sufficient.

"How is your pack faring, Fenrir?"

"They are hungry, my Lord." The man barked: "We have not feasted on fresh flesh since the last full moon."

"You shall have an opportunity for that soon." Voldemort inclined his head, ignoring the stench coming from the beast in front of him. "In the meantime, make sure you keep your pack at bay. We cannot have any stray wolves running around the neighborhood."

"You promised us to feast on your enemies, yet you keep us locked up in the dungeons like some filthy dogs." The man protested: "You should know that my men a starving and hunger is the most primitive desire of the wolf... Soon they won't care what they feast on..."

He realized his mistake too late. Greyback gulped as the air was cut from his throat. An invisible hand strangled him: "You dare threaten Lord Voldemort?"

With a wave of his hand, he dropped the man to the floor, where he whimpered like an injured dog, his yellow eyes glaring up at him.

"Leave now! And remember your orders. An opportunity will present itself and you will all have your feast. But not until I say so." The Dark Lord hissed.

Greyback crawled towards the exit as Voldemort grid his teeth. He knew of the man's secret desire to turn so many wizards and witches that he could create an army big enough to overthrow the magical population. He would never let it come to that. Greyback was but a means to an end. Nevertheless, he would have to tighten his leash on the dog or risk him running stray and losing his allegiance... That could not happen...

Potter had taken too much from him already... He admitted that he had underestimated the boy severely. At barely seventeen he proved to be more of a threat than anyone else in magical Britain. Still, the Dark Lord was certain, that in the end, he would succeed. He had no equals. Time and time again, it was him, who pushed the boundaries of magic further and further. His recent stunt at Azkaban only demonstrated that.

And even if he were to fail in a direct confrontation with Potter, he always had his safeguards, something the boy would never learn about... Unless... The Dark lord frowned, with the death of Bellatrix, her husband, and his brother, the Lestrange vault would fall to the closest relative, which must have been Narcissa Malfoy, sister of Bellatrix, unless he was mistaken. Well, that is only further reason to call the woman and ensure the safety of one of his most precious possessions...

He called for one of the many Malfoy elves and ordered for the woman to appear before him quickly. Barely a minute later, she emerged.

"My L- Lord." She gulped heavily and bowed. Voldemort looked in disgust at the woman before him, nothing but a shadow of her former self. She could still be considered a beauty. However, her long blonde hair was in dismiss, her skin looked rather unhealthy, and she had lost so much weight that she reminded him more of an Inferi than of the proud witch from the house of Black she once was... Talking about the house of Black.

"I have called for you to ensure myself that with Bellatrix's unfortunate passing, the contents of her Vault were transferred to yours, as her closest blood relative." He whispered dangerously: "I assume you made the necessary arrangements with Gringotts?"

"M- My Lord." Narcissa whimpered, feeling his anger: "The vault of my sister was passed to her closest male blood relative... It was passed on to my cousin Sirius."

He did not even need to dive into her thought to know that she spoke the truth... The Dark Lord wanted to scream, he wanted to tear apart the frail woman in front of him limb by limb, but what good would it do to him... Still, all was not lost yet. He doubted that Sirius Black would be knowledgeable enough to discover what the tiny golden cup truly harbored.

After all, the man had turned his back on his family and never showed any interest in the Dark Arts... No, the Cup was probably safe and secure, somewhere within the depth of Gringotts. Nevertheless, it irked him that he could not ensure himself of its protection. Then again, he only needed to kill Black and his godson, Harry Potter, for the Vault to change ownership back to Narcissa again...

"I have another request and I advise you to be honest with me. No one can lie to me." He hissed.

"I would never, my Lord." Narcissa gulped heavily and dropped to her knees as Voldemort's cold magic swapped over her.

"More than 20 years ago, I gave Lucius a book for safe keeping... a small Diary. I wish it returned to me. Now..."

Narcissa's eyes spun from left to right. The Dark Lord could tell she was looking for a memory.

"My Lord, I can't give it to you." She stuttered in fear: "My late husband told me it was destroyed by Harry Potter almost four years ago."

"Legilimens!" Voldemort's crimson eyes bored into her grey ones as he tore through her mind, looking for the memory. Then, he saw a glimpse of an angry Lucius Malfoy, cursing Harry Potter under his breath while sharing with his wife that he had been blackmailed into freeing an elf and depositing a few thousand Galleons into the Potter Vault. A few sentences later, he also mentioned that the Dairy had been destroyed...

Voldemort roughly pulled himself out of her mind, as Narcissa slummed forward, having lost consciousness during his brutal intrusion. Glasses around him exploded while the tapestry on the walls caught fire and vaporized in his all-consuming rage...

His Dairy... his second Horcrux and the linkage to his noble ancestry had been destroyed due to the carelessness of Lucius Malfoy. And it had been destroyed by Harry Potter...

The Dark Lord knew not how the boy had archived such a feat. No second-year student could cast Fiendfyre. It must have been Basilisk Venom then... But the great Serpent would never volunteer to aid in the destruction of its former master. He needed to find out what actually happened in Harry Potter's second year... Perhaps it would help explain how the boy had found his ancestor's Chamber...

More importantly, however, were his other Horcruxes, his safeguards, the creations that prevent something as weak as death to stop him from archiving eternal glory. He would check on them... all of them. His familiar, Nagini, was safe and secure here in Malfoy Manor. But the Ring might be at risk. There was always a chance that Dumbledore would discover his connection to the Gaunts. He would visit the cave as well and make sure one of his servants at Hogwarts checked for the Diadem...

And then, Harry Potter would pay for everything he had done...