I am so, so sorry for the long break in between chapters. School started and I've been really busy. I want to thank my friend harmonicanoise for editing this story for me. And I want to thank all of my reviewers! You are my motivators! That being said enjoy the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Chapter 12
The Aurors who had been chasing her stopped and bent over, panting. Looking at each other in confusion, they all thought, what the bloody hell just happened?!
The second thought they all had was voiced by Mundungus, who was at the back of the pack and had only now just caught up, "Well she ain' no bloody Squib, that's fo' sure."
The Aurors were slowly recovering from their chase. As they started standing upright, James Potter thunked on to the ground with a confused look in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Prongs?" Remus asked gently.
"Haha, that rhymed Mooney," Sirius joked as he walked over, quite slowly as he was still panting. The laughter in his eyes soon died as he saw his friend on the ground looking so lost.
"Prongs?"
"I...it seemed...she was so...I don't know." James tried to explain that he felt a sense of familiarity, and now that it was gone it felt like a hole had been reopened inside of him. All that came out, though, was a bunch of jumbled words.
"Report back to headquarters immediately!" Alastor Moody bellowed to all of the people standing around.
Once they were all settled in, James said, "We need to call Albus."
"What for?" Tonks asked.
"I need a closer look at that girl. Maybe, using the Pensieve…"
"There was something familiar about her," Lupin said. The rest murmured in agreement. "I'll send a letter to Dumbledore."
Twenty tense minutes later, Dumbledore was welcomed into the house with the Pensieve tucked under his arm.
"Thanks for coming at such short notice," James told him, reaching for the bowl.
"Patience, James," Dumbledore reprimanded him. "You might not like what you are about to see."
"What do you mean?"
"James, I have been your teacher and friend for many years now, and if I may be quite frank, you have a tendency to dive into things head first," Dumbledore scolded him gently. "This girl has obviously had a troubled past. We need to be careful with this situation."
All at once, James felt like he was fifteen again, getting a detention from the teacher for putting frogspawn in his lunch. It was an uncomfortable feeling. Dumbledore, oblivious, began to hum a happy tune as he hung up his traveling cloak and headed into the kitchen.
When the Pensieve was finally placed on the table, there was not one pair of eyes that hadn't latched onto it. "James," Albus called. "Now is the time to show us your memory."
"Y-yes, okay." Still slightly abashed, James touched the tip of his wand to his temple and withdrew a silvery white memory. With a flick of his wand, it dropped into the basin. Dumbledore swirled the potion with his wand tip until the figure of a girl rose up from it, a girl with long, jet black hair and stunningly familiar green eyes that seemed to glow with a life of their own.
Lily gasped and clutched his arm. "James-"
"I know." James looked up at Dumbledore. "Could this be..."
"It is possible," Dumbledore answered. "We never found the body of your departed daughter. All we have is the Death Eater's words, which we have never trusted. I have long suspected that the Killing Curse simply rebounded. Your sacrifice for your daughter could have created a magic strong enough to deflect the spell. I would not have believed it before, but now the proof stands before us." There was a long, tense pause.
"How do you know?" Mr. Weasley broke in. "I know James is an only child, but you have a sister, right Lily? Maybe this girl is your niece."
"Petunia would have told me," Lily answered shakily. "She went on for hours when 'dear old Dudders' was born. If she had another baby, she'd talk my ear off. Besides, there's not a magical bone in her or her husband's body."
"We can never be sure. Arthur, could you pop over and check?" Dumbledore inquired. Arthur nodded and in seconds he had disappeared through the fireplace. When he returned he confirmed that Lily's sister had indeed not had another child.
"The real question is, why would You-Know-Who keep her?" Tonks asked.
"I have an idea." Dumbledore's expression was grim. "But right now, it is important that we find out the truth. We must question the girl further."
"We'll set a trap," Moody growled. "We took this girl for granted the first time, but this time, we'll be ready. I've got a few ideas rolling around up here," he jabbed a finger at his temple, "that might give this girl a run for her money. Here's what we can do…"
A few days, Order sessions, and creased foreheads later, their plan was complete. Now Sirius, Moody, and Lupin sat in an alleyway, going over the details one final time.
"Are you sure this will work, Moody?" Sirius asked, taking a deep swig of Polyjuice Potion. "George Harminian does not taste pleasant."
"I have faith in all of you," Moody growled. "It's time to get moving. You slackers have waited long enough. Just remember: Constant vigilance!" With that, he and Lupin took a swig of the potion and moved onwards until they reached a tiny out-of-order telephone booth.
"There it is," Lupin pointed out. "The entrance to the Ministry of Magic."
"Wow," Sirius exclaimed. "Smaller than I expected."
"That's just to ward off Muggles," Lupin explained. "You've never taken this way before?"
"It's easier to use Floo Powder." Sirius shrugged, which looked almost comical with his body becoming smaller and skinnier by the second.
"Less chitchat, more action," Moody growled. They crowded into the booth. Lupin managed to make his way to the phone, which was hanging by a broken chord, and typed in the number 62442. An automated voice spoke out of nowhere, causing Sirius to jump about two feet off the ground.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic," a calm woman's voice boomed. "Please state your name and purpose."
"George Harminian, Department of Magical Cooperation," Sirius announced. His high squeak of a voice made Lupin turn away with an unlikely case of coughs.
"Barnes Mittwilde, Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Moody said next, his new giant black mustache twitching in his signature growl.
"Newton Trumball, Department of Magical Games and Sports," Lupin finished, his now pudgy face newly flushed from "coughing."
The telephone booth started to rattle and descend deep into the earth until the doors opened with a ding and the voice said, "Welcome back, employees of the Ministry."
The three barely had time to register the glory of the somehow sunny Atrium when a tall, muscular man came running up to them, Arthur Weasley behind him. "Trumball, Mittwilde, why'd you take the visitor's entrance today?" the tall man asked. "Floo powder not working?"
"Something like that," Lupin/Trumball agreed.
"Well, you're needed back at the department. Come on!" The man beckoned him forward.
Arthur Weasley waited until the man was a safe distance away before asking, "What did you do to the real employees?"
"They're taking a day off from work," Sirius/Harminian explained, winking. When Arthur looked appalled, he continued, "It was the only option. We know He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has infiltrated the Ministry. This goes all the way to the Minister, who you told us just yesterday is definitely Imperiused."
"He's fighting it," Arthur countered.
"Which is why this plan is the best for all of us," Sirius argued. "This place is going to get a lot Darker if we don't do something soon."
"Fine," Arthur conceded. "But you had better get to your places. This is starting to look suspicious."
"Agreed. Constant vigilance!" Not-Moody muttered before disappearing into the throng of witches and wizards.
The members of the Order in the Ministry separated quietly, each in different directions. Lupin marched forward until he found his victim: a small, tweedy man with a blank look in his eyes.
"May I talk to you for a second?" he asked.
The man's eyes remained clouded. "Of course." He sounded as if he was in a dream.
Lupin led him down into a deserted corridor. He took a deep breath. "Let's see if this will work." He tapped his wand twice on the man's head, suddenly able to feel another wizard's spell on the man's body. Then, he did a complicated motion over the man's head, held his breath, and said, "Libertasio!"
The man's eyes became clear, and he stumbled forward in shock. "What...where am I?" he wheezed.
"Nice job, Moony." James appeared around the corner, two baffled-looking witches following behind him.
"Wow. Two?" Lupin lifted an eyebrow.
"Tonks couldn't make up a good excuse to leave her assignment, so I cured Linda Hopkirk for her." James grinned and gestured for the woman at his right. "Amazing, the spells Dumbledore can invent. I haven't quite got the hang of it though - it'll be a couple hours before these two are fully back to normal."
Suddenly, an alarm blared through the hall. "Looks like Moody's done his part," James noticed. "We'd better go."
Moody sat before the Minister of Magic, pointing his wand between the Minister's eyes. "Stand down, Minister," he ordered. "I'm helping you."
Rufus Scrimgeour placed his head in his hands. "No…" he mumbled. "I…" Suddenly, he stood up ramrod straight and slammed his hand down on the corner of his desk. Alarms blared from every direction. Through the Minister's door, Moody saw someone push up their sleeve, expose the Dark Mark, and press it. Good, Moody thought. This plan might work out after all, if those other screwballs don't muck it up.
Speaking of screwballs… Seven Aurors came rushing into the room, James and Kingsley Shacklebolt included. "Minister!" one of them cried out.
"Take him away!" the confused Scrimgeour pointed at Moody, whose disguise was wearing off fast. Immediately, a short, balding man grabbed at Moody's lengthening arms.
"Pickering, stop!" Kingsley Shacklebolt cried out.
"Shacklebolt, were you a part of this?" Pickering pulled out his wand. "Stand down, or I'll curse you!"
"Pickering, we're on the same side! The Minister is Imperiused!" James stepped forward, holding out his own wand. Pickering's eyes flickered with doubt. Then, slowly, his wand started to slip down towards his pocket.
"There you go, Pickering," James coaxed. "See, that wasn't so hard."
"No! TRAITORS!" Suddenly he was firing beams of red light in every direction. Three Aurors fell to the ground, Stunned.
"Alright, then. I see how it is." James nodded to Shacklebolt, Moody, and the newly arrived Tonks, who was clutching at the door, panting.
"What did I miss?" Arthur and undisguised Sirius and Lupin appeared behind her.
"Enough," Moody growled. He elbowed his captor in the face, stole his wand, and Stunned him back. "Take the Minister and go!"
Sirius transformed into a dog, slamming Scrimgeour against the wall. He slumped over, unconscious. "Sorry, Minister," Sirius apologized as he slung him over his shoulder. "Never really liked you anyway." Then, he Apparated back to the Atrium. The others Apparated next to him, just as they had planned.
"We've got company," Shacklebolt announced. "Right on schedule."
Tossing back a silky mane of jet black hair, Jem Lynn Riddle strode into view.
"Don't worry, Minister." She smiled. "I'll save you."
Thank you for reading!