Ministry of Magic
Greg Jugson had been a death eater in the last war and fought on Voldemort's side. He was not a member of the inner circle so he was not privy to much of what went on in it. He had been sent on many missions, mostly as a scout. He had cast an unforgivable or two at times but mercifully none had been the killing curse. He had seen so much death in the first war that he was disenchanted with it. He had joined Voldemort after being impressed with his grand plans of pureblood supremacy. He knew that death and bloodshed would happen but he had no idea that it would be to such an extent. Too many families had been wiped out of existence just because they did what they thought was the right thing to do. When Voldemort was vanquished, he had been relieved and went about living his life as if nothing had ever happened. He had prayed every day that Voldemort would not come back but he did.
Mercifully, there was recourse available to him to stay out of the war courtesy of Lord Black. He was a powerful wizard who had beaten the Dark Lord in a two hour long duel and yet emerged victorious. When the Dark Lord came out into the open, Jugson had gone into hiding. He presumed that he would have to hide for a long time but his heir had found a way out, a way by which he could attain some semblance of respect for his family name.
He knew where the floo entrances to the ministry were located. He had the letter of reference from Harold Peverell in his pocket which was his ticket to freedom. True, the ministry might cast him into prison or even execute him for his past crimes but he hoped to sit out the war in some safe house. In any event, he would not die in this war or aid in killing wizards to fulfill the dreams of a filthy half-blood who cared nothing for the lives of his followers.
As soon as he exited the floo, he crumpled to the floor as the wards stunned him. An Auror in the Atrium calmly bound him with chains then levitated him in a stretcher and took him to Alastor Moody.
When Jugson regained consciousness, he was in the accused chair before the War Tribunal. General Longbottom was addressing him, "Greg Jugson, you came to the ministry bearing a Letter of Reference from Lord Black. It specifically states that you willingly submit yourself to a veritaserum trial before the ministry can offer you any help. Do you agree?"
He readily agreed, "Yes, I agree to the proposition, General Longbottom."
Frank motioned for an Auror standing in the corner who administered three drops to him. After waiting for a few seconds to make sure that he was under the influence, Frank motioned for Gawain to proceed.
Gawain Robards asked him, "What is your name?"
He replied monotonously, "My name is Greg Jugson."
Gawain asked further, "Are you an animagus?"
He shook his head, "No, I am not an animagus."
Robards was convinced that the potion had taken effect. He asked the next question, "When did you join Voldemort?"
He shuddered a little before answering, "I joined him just a little after I graduated. A lot of people in my year were joining him. My father wanted me to make him proud. Not to mention, my house's liege lord the House of Black was fighting on his side so I had to join him."
Gawain asked, "What did you do in his service?"
Jugson answered, "I was one of his foot soldiers. My sole occupation was to follow orders. I was used mostly for scouting missions. A few times, I was sent into a fight."
Gawain asked, "Did you ever cast an unforgivable?"
Jugson answered, "I am ashamed to admit it now that I cast the cruciatus curse a few times and an imperio once in his service."
Gawain asked, "Have you killed anyone?"
Jugson answered, "I never killed anyone."
Gawain asked, "What do you know about his position at the moment?"
Jugson answered, "I have received news of him from some of his followers by owl post. I know for a fact that he is out of Wizarding Britain for now. He is not expected to return for at least two months. "
Gawain turned to Frank, "I have no more questions for him at the moment."
Frank announced his decision, "Greg Jugson, being a death eater is a crime punishable by life in Azkaban. Using any of the unforgivable curses carries the same sentence. Have you anything to say for yourself before I pronounce sentence?"
Jugson sat up straight and looked frank in the eye, "Minister, you may pronounce any sentence you see fit. Just so long as I never have to serve that maniac again, I am content."
Frank shared a look with Moody and Amelia. They nodded their agreement before Frank spoke again, "When you came to the ministry, you carried a letter from Lord Peverell. Although this tribunal is under no obligation to honour those terms, we have agreed to do so. For the duration of the current conflict, you will be in the care of the Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries. You will give them your full cooperation. When the conflict is over, if you have honoured the terms of this agreement, your wand will be returned to you and you shall be released. If, on the other hand, you fail to cooperate or attempt escape, you shall be punished to the limit of the law. Are we agreed?"
He nodded, "I agree with the decision of this tribunal."
Fourth floor
The Order of the Snow Leopard was meeting for urgent business. That business being an impending attack on Draco Malfoy, who was involved and how to thwart it. Harry knew that Crabbe and Parkinson were in on the plan with Nott but they did not know about Goyle. Their problem was that they were not certain how many were in on the plan. Daphne had told him that those three were in it for sure. The problem was that if there were more, there was no way to know, unless Harry started reading everyone's minds but that was illegal, immoral and distasteful to Harry. If he started doing stuff like that, it was a very short and slippery slope to being no better than Tom Riddle himself. They would just have to find a better way to expose the conspirators.
Harry looked around the table. The smartest, bravest and most trustworthy were here, Hermione, Ronald, Neville, Susan, Hannah, Conrad Du Vant, and Daphne Greengrass were all here. Harry only had the barest details of the plot. He had to work with that.
Harry addressed them, Thank-you all for coming. There is a problem. I am counting on all of you to help me solve it. I assume that you have all heard about the coverage of the trial of Lucius Malfoy in The Daily Prophet? He publicly denounced the so called dark lord during his testimony. Voldemort (to their credit, his friends did not shudder) is not one to take such insults lying down. In retribution, he has, by whatever means, ordered the death of Draco Malfoy in retribution."
Harry took a moment to watch the reactions of his friends to this statement. Daphne's jaw clenched. Hermione looked horrified. Neville looked grim. Susan looked contemplative and Ron looked like he wanted to speak something but was trying to weigh its merits before he spoke.
Harry continued, "I don't have all the details. What I do know is that Nott is in charge. Crabbe and Parkinson are in on it. I don't know about Goyle. There are likely others."
Ron chimed in, "What? All of his best mates want him dead? Why do we even care about that?"
Harry looked sadly at Ron, "Ron, I know how it feels to have my best mates turn on me." Ron's ears turned red at the memory of how he treated Harry just last year when Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire. Harry continued, "It's true that he's been nothing but a stupid, slimy git to all of us for years, but…", Harry began to tick points off on his fingers, "He's been behaving himself since the duel. Right now, he has no friends that he can count on. And, whatever he's done, he's just a student, he's a Black and his mother has formally asked me to look out for him. It's bad enough that Voldemort has killed off our parents and loved ones. They were adults, capable of defending themselves. Now, he's using other students to reach right into our school and murder one of his own. I will not stand by and let it happen. Will you help me?"
Hermione spoke up next, "Is it true, Harry? Would Voldemort really use students to kill other students?"
"Hermione, there is nothing resembling morality in his twisted mind. He doesn't care about what is right or wrong. For him all that matters is power. That is what he wants above everything. And once he sets his mind on doing something, he will not be dissuaded. Lucius said that he regrets having served the dark lord. In payment for that insult, he will torture the man until he begs for death. Killing Draco is just part of that. Nott's father was broken out of the prison when it was raided. As far as I know, he has taken Lucius's place in the inner circle and Malfoy is out. Riddle has given the responsibility to him to see to it that Lucius is properly punished for his disloyalty. Besides Riddle only wants his wishes to be fulfilled and he does not care what means he has to resort to achieve his desire." Harry nodded to Ron, "I know we are not friends nor would he do anything for us but he is still a part of one of my houses. Due to the responsibility given to me by Mother Magic to take care of everyone who is a part of my House, I am bound to protect him. The question is will you all help me or do I have to make other arrangements?"
Hermione said, "There is no question that we will help you, Harry."
He said, "Right. So here is the plan. We need some information. First, I need a schedule of his patrol tonight. Second, I want some people to keep an eye on him every time he steps out of his dorm. I have some other people watching him when he is in his dorm. I do not want him away from our watch for a second. I do not know where they are planning to attack him or how. I need him to be watched and his activities monitored. Above all, I want a few of the serpents to keep an eye on Nott and Parkinson. They will be taking the lead in this."
He turned to Daphne, "Daphne, she is in your dorm meaning that you can always keep an eye on her movements without attracting any attention to yourself." Daphne grinned. Harry continued, "Just keep track of her and nothing more. However if it appears that she is doing something that she should not then feel free to stun her and bind her. The same goes for anyone who appears to be in cahoots with her."
Daphne nodded, "I've got it covered, Harry."
He turned to Ron, "Arrange to have your patrolling schedule coincide with his. Aim for the particular section of the castle where he will be patrolling so you would have a reason to keep an eye on him without him being the wiser."
He turned to Conrad, "You will follow the others who aim to harm him. Just tail them staying in the shadows. If they appear to be doing something wrong, feel free to stun them and bind them."
Conrad nodded, "Alright Harry. I will do it."
With that he dismissed the meeting. All they could do now was to wait for the evening when they would try to attack Malfoy. If they caught them in the act, they would get rid of those 3 at once and it would be safer in the school. The letter he had sent to Dawlish was to keep him on alert as a backup. He was to arrive as soon as he could after he saw the snow leopard patronus arrive. While Dawlish would not know that Harry could use the patronus to send a message but its arrival would be the signal for him to move in.
Ministry of Magic
Mafalda Hopkirk was going towards the Ministry when another of the employees of the Ministry joined her, "Good morning, Mafalda. Busy day, isn't it?"
She shrugged her shoulders, "Not really. With all the students being at Hogwarts, there are very few days when my office sees any action."
The other nodded, "Hmmm, I never really thought of that. I suppose that you have a list of students at your office that you use to find if an underage wizard has used magic?"
She replied, "I do have a list in my office but it is of no use if an underage wizard cast magic in a wizarding home, as you well know. Why are you interested in the list though?"
The other man had his wand out in a second and he intoned, "Imperio." It took a scant few seconds before she felt quite relaxed and anything the other person said to her seemed like the best idea in all the world.
Later that evening, she furnished a list of addresses of Muggle Born students to Mulciber who had imperioused her.
Cottage on the hill
"Stand down, Moony", said Sirius, "You're too brutal. Sometimes I wonder how it would have changed things if you were an Auror." He and Moony had been practicing duelling for the last two hours. It was invigorating. In spite of the cool day, they were both sheened with sweat. Remus had insisted that he needed some practice so they had practiced. Not only were they evenly matched, but they also knew each other's moves. Neither one could gain the upper hand on the other. If they kept it up long enough, it would finally come down to who dropped from exhaustion first.
Remus lowered his wand, "It was good practice, Padfoot. I must say you are sharp as ever."
Sirius waved him off, "Thank you for the praise but maybe we can now come to the real reason for this visit? I presume you have something on your mind and you want to talk."
Remus smiled, "Nothing escapes you, does it? I indeed had something to talk about."
Sirius chuckled, "If it's going to take some time then let's sit with glasses of mead in our hands and talk about it."
With that he summoned Winky who brought a bottle and glasses which she laid on the table and disappeared. Sirius poured mead for both of them and they started drinking. Nobody spoke for about 5 minutes. Remus was trying to figure out how to put his thoughts into words while Sirius waited.
Remus started speaking, "Do you remember James's wedding?"
Sirius smiled, "Of course I do. It was a memorable experience. I never rejoiced more than I did that day."
Remus agreed, "It was indeed one of the happiest days. James fretted over his robes, conscious of his appearance and praying that nothing would go wrong."
Sirius laughed a good bit, "Yeah! He was so nervous. But it turned out to be for the better. I have never seen two people so much in love as him and Lily."
Remus added, "Yeah. And I remember you looking at Marlene with such emotion that I was hopeful of standing in as your best man at your wedding."
Sirius said a bit sourly, "Yeah! If the rat had not squealed on us, I would have married her.". He however was suspicious as to why Remus would talk about it now and asked him, "Moony, is there a reason that you are talking about marriage?"
Remus chuckled, "Oh yes! There is a reason."
Sirius glared at him, "Then spill it."
Remus pacified him, "recently Dora asked me if I was contemplating marriage. I didn't give her a clear answer. The thing is that I do want to marry her, preferably sooner than later. I wanted to bounce this idea off you first considering that you are the brother I never had."
Sirius looked at him incredulously, "I'm surprised Moony. I thought that I'd have to coerce you into it but you're ready to do this. I have been contemplating the same. All that's left for me to do is to ask Emmeline. She's been hinting that she wants me to propose to her as soon as possible."
"May be then you should do it soon, Padfoot. There is a lot which goes into preparing for a marriage and we have made zero preparations yet. Also I am apprehensive about Harry."
"What about him?", asked Sirius with a raised eyebrow.
Remus smirked, "He's set upon organising a grand wedding. And he said that if I agreed to this plan of his, he would convince you to marry at the same time. He seemed very determined."
Sirius laughed, "Maybe he's gone too far but I don't think that he is wrong. I feel that we must think about marriage now. I have been having this feeling for some time now but I would like to propose to her in a grand style. It feels just right that you should be the best man. There is none who deserves this honour more than you. Likewise I would stand in for you like I did for James. You can't take that away from me."
Remus agreed, "I agree but don't take too long. If you need to bounce this idea off someone before you agree, I'm amenable to that."
Unknown Castle
Bellatrix, as it turned out, had been the least affected by the Dementors. She only felt something akin to joy when she was committing mayhem in the name of The Dark Lord. This twisted sadism was something the dementors could not feed upon. When they tried, reliving all those memories of torturing, maiming, killing and destroying in her master's name just gave her more strength. In other words, she had been barely affected by the Dementors.
When Voldemort left for his tour, he gave her the duty to train his faithful. She would have to teach them to be ruthless in dealing with their foes and not to be afraid of anything. Most of them were pathetic in their spell casting. They couldn't use it for offensive magic. Many of them could not cast a decent shield charm either. It was an uphill task to train them.
"The Dark Lord has left me in charge of ensuring that you all become worthy of serving him. He has given me free rein to do what I would and make sure that you can pay for the mark on your arm. This mark does not come easily to us but has to be earned by proving ourselves. When we take this mark, we commit ourselves to serve the Dark Lord and help him fulfil the dreams he has for our world. We want a world free of tainted blood and family trees pruned of the undeserving ones. Our magic has been tainted by the mud-bloods who stole from us. We will eradicate them and ensure pure-blood supremacy. Those who prove themselves to him will be mightily rewarded by him", she was saying to the death eaters assembled before her.
She had them assembled to teach them. Voldemort had given her this responsibility and she was not going to fail her master. She was a bit miffed when she learned that the Dark Lord had allowed Severus back into the order without punishing him. Severus had once again proved that he was crafty enough to manipulate someone into believing him. She was determined to ensure that her lord would pay attention to her more than he did to Severus. She would prove that she was the most loyal of his followers.
She spoke further, "We have been given huge blows by the Aurors and I intend to repay them. The problem is that most of you are undertrained and incompetent when compared to them. You all will do as I ask or you will suffer my displeasure. Those who fail to follow my orders will pay with their lives. Is that clear?"
Without waiting for an answer, she motioned for a few of her death eaters to come forward, "Rudolphus, Rabbastan and Dolohov will be teaching you. I will keep an eye on your progress. If I find that you are lacking in your effort or progress, you will suffer my displeasure. Do not fail me."
With that, the chosen trio started teaching the death eaters. They had planned to teach them to aim and cast most of the dark spells. Most of them knew only the Killing Curse or a few more curses but they would be taught a few more.
Bellatrix had a few problems of her own. She knew a variety of curses but most of it had been family magic. She had been Black by birth and could wield the magic easily enough. She had studied the Grimoire and perfected herself in some of the spells which were part of the family magic. These spells had earned her the reputation she had but lately she was having trouble with those spells. She remembered the effect of them, the incantation but she could not cast the spells. Her magic just did not let her use those spells. She had wondered why it was so. Also when she had married Rudolphus, she had got a little of the Lestrange family magic but lately she could not use that either. The bond which she had always sensed between her and Rudolphus also did not buzz like it used to. This had taken away from her all of her special spells and most of her strength in duelling. She however had hidden this fact from others because she could not openly advertise it and put herself in jeopardy because if others stopped fearing her, it would not bode well for her.
She watched the death eaters practicing. Most of them were novices. They could not even stun someone so how could she expect them to kill? True casting the killing curse was not hard but it requires extreme and absolute hatred which had to be kindled in their heart. For now, they were being taught bombarda but the trio were experiencing problems. The followers were not able to use the spell properly yet. It would take some time before they would be able to do it.
After the two hour session was finished, she convened a meeting of the inner circle. Everyone was present in the meeting and she started speaking, "The Dark Lord has left me with a mission to finish while he is away."
Rookwood asked, "What was the mission?"
"Do you believe that the mud-bloods are descended from wizarding families?", she asked of him.
There were noises of protest against this statement but she had fixed her gaze on Rookwood because he had once worked in the Department of Mysteries so, he was expected to know if the report published the other day was genuine or not.
He did not break eye-contact with her but said impassively, "The report is false. The mud-bloods have stolen our magic." He personally believed this theory and had actively propagated to suppress the reports which suggested that Muggle Born were descended of Wizarding families.
"The Dark Lord has asked me to kill the mud-bloods. I had commissioned Mulciber with accessing the list of mud-bloods at Hogwarts and he has brought the list today. I want to hear names you think must be attacked first."
She turned to Lucius, "What do you think? Who should be targeted first?"
Lucius drawled, "The same mudblood who is always sticking up beside Harry Potter. Hermione Granger and there are a few more who Draco reported to be close to him. The Creeveys for instance. In fact I have heard that the Weasley girl is seeing one of those boys"
There were noises of scorn around the room. She said sternly, "Silence. The Weasleys have always been blood-traitors. We cannot expect anything better of them than this but we will not let this continue. We will kill the boy and his entire family."
Dolohov was ecstatic, "I want to go. It has been years since I hunted muggles. I would love the opportunity."
She shook her head, "No. Lucius has to prove his loyalty to the dark lord again. He will go to the Grangers with two Death Eaters and Rookwood will go to the Creeveys with Mulciber junior and three werewolves. I do not want any of them alive after this evening."
She then continued further, "The Dark Lord also asked me to kill the General and other officials in the ministry destroying their morale. I want teams formed and the task to be carried out as soon as possible."
Hogwarts
That evening Harry received a letter from a Hogwarts house elf. It was a letter from DE which read:
"Lord Black,
This letter is in relation to the letter previously sent to you regarding the attempt being made on life of Malfoy. Nott has finished making the preparations. They will make the attempt tonight. I felt obliged to convey this fact to you.
From what I have been able to glean, they will be attempting it around Curfew time so there would be no witnesses and somewhere around the sixth floor. Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle are definitely in it along with Montague. There may be others. I have no knowledge about them.
DE"
This brought some much needed excitement for him. He would have to keep his spells to non lethal but he would definitely get to stretch his legs a little. He wanted others because he was not sure who else was in on it and he could not be in two places at once.
After dinner had ended and curfew was yet to start, he sent summons to the members of his order to meet him behind the mirror on the fourth floor. He had sent summons for Ernie, Hannah, Susan, Daphne, Conrad, Hermione, Ron, Fay Dunbar and Neville. He had invited Fay because he wanted to see just how good she was. She was quick with a wand but what was the extent of her talents?
When they were all seated, he started addressing them, "So as Hermione has discovered, Malfoy is on prefect patrol from 5th to 6th floor from 10:00 to midnight. An attempt will be made on his life tonight. The only Prefects about 6th and 7th floor will be the Gryffindor Prefects. They will be keeping an eye on everything around them. We do not know if the attempt will be made in the East Wing or the West but we have to keep an eye on him all the time he is on prefect duty. If they are trying to sneak up on him, take them down but make sure that they are in such a position that there will be no doubt that they were about to hurt him. Any questions?"
Fay asked, "What are our roles?"
He smirked, "Glad you asked. Conrad will tail him from the dungeons while being under a disillusionment charm. Daphne will keep an eye on people who are leaving the common room after Malfoy. She will be sending a list of people on the holster and we will know who is involved in it. Conrad will tail them at a distance and will be augmented at the Badger's hole with Sue. Hannah and Ernie, who have duty to patrol the 3rd floor and the 4th, will keep an eye on Malfoy and any others who tail him. When the time is opportune, they will follow them to the sixth floor and on my signal, take out whomever they find."
Fay asked him, "Where will I be?"
Harry smirked, "You will be with me. We will keep a watch on every one who joins the party. When it is time, I expect you to take the lead."
She grinned, "I would like that."
Before he dismissed them, he warned them, "Be warned. We will have to keep ourselves out of trouble with other Prefects and teachers because if caught, we will be put in detention."
Draco Malfoy still could not believe how things had changed. Barely a month ago his father was sitting at the right hand of the Dark Lord. He was one of his confidantes. Within a month, Draco was at the mercy of his nemesis. Ever since Harry Potter had come into his life, he had caused only trouble for Draco. Now he held absolute authority over him. There was no one he could turn to. His mother herself was living in some place at Potter's mercy and he was pretty sure that Potter kept an eye on everything he did. He had realized that his so-called friends would turn against him when he returned after the winter vacation because his father had fallen from grace. The way Pansy had sneered at him and Nott had smirked evilly it had sent a clear message to him. Even Crabbe and Goyle had left his side for Nott.
He did what his mother had told him to, keep his head down and spend the year quietly. If he was able to make it through this year unscathed, she might find someplace else for him to finish his study or she may engage some private tutors for him and he could appear for NEWTs at the Ministry. He had been doing that. He even walked away from situations where he previously would have rushed in. Not having the kind of power he had earlier had its drawbacks. It all came down to Harry Potter. However he was not sure if he wanted Potter to be killed by the Dark Lord or for Potter to kill the Dark Lord. If he killed the Dark Lord, Draco may be able to have a peaceful life. The only drawback of this situation was that his father would likely spend the rest of his life in prison. If the Dark Lord succeeded in killing Potter, it would mean total annihilation of wizarding Britain and the house of Malfoy. He would do what his family was best at doing- looking after its own interests.
There were a few questions he had about Potter but he could not ask him. He wanted to know how Potter had been able to duel the Dark Lord for two hours and escape unhurt. True that he had got an idea of Potter's powers when he duelled with him but that would not have been sufficient before the Dark Lord. He must have been much more powerful than he let on.
He had also noticed how others kept an eye on his movements. Students who followed Potter and those who followed the Dark lord had been dogging his steps. He smelled something fishy. There was something afoot which stank. Draco wanted to know what it was. He was already in great danger in the dungeons. Every moment he spent there was spent in fear that someone would stab him in the back or slit his throat in his sleep.
This evening when he left the Common Room to start his patrol duties, he noticed that Warrington was following him with his eyes. He left the common room and at the first turn, he hid behind the wall to see if someone was pursuing him. But there was nobody there. Perhaps he was worrying over nothing. He was however a Slytherin and a Malfoy. He knew how to look after himself. He proceeded cautiously toward the fifth and sixth floors where he had patrol duty tonight. Although outwardly calm, he stepped lightly and listened carefully for any stray sounds in his wake. To his woe, several of the corridors were unlit. He kept his wand tip lit so no one could surprise him.
As soon as Draco had left the common room, Warrington, Nott and Crabbe had walked out to follow him. Daphne had signalled Conrad to follow them and kept an eye on Pansy. The trio however had to hide for a few moments when they cautioned themselves that Malfoy might be hiding because they had seen him being suspicious during the evening. When Malfoy walked ahead, they followed him soundlessly, walking from shadow to shadow so he could not see them, their wands ready to take him down if he suspected anything. Conrad had followed them out of the Common Room as closely as he dared. Since they all had to take the same way up to the ground floor, he had no problem following them. Unlike them, he knew the disillusionment charm and applied it to himself. With their being dim light, he was able to evade them. As agreed, Susan Bones was there outside of the fake Barrels. She joined him and they followed the three silently.
Harry had given the map to Susan to keep an eye on everyone in the castle. He had asked Fay to keep an eye on everyone who walked up the Grand Staircase. She was to wait until Conrad and Susan had passed so if someone else was tailing them, she would be able to get the drop on them. The most difficult thing was to hide after curfew. Since the war wards had been activated, most of the teachers were assigned patrol duties. That night, Snape, Flitwick, Septima Vector and Vikram were on duty with Dumbledore being in his office. Fay hid inside a suit of armour which was so positioned that she could keep an eye on the Grand Staircase without anyone being the wiser. Ernie and Hannah were to stay put until she sent a message to them on their holsters. When Fay saw three more students following Susan and Conrad, she exited the suit of armour and followed them. She would have to get these three down before they tried to harm others.
Neville was on the seventh floor waiting for the signal. He was to descend only if they were outnumbered. Otherwise, Harry wanted him to stay put.
Daphne sent Harry a message after Conrad had left. It simply read, "Pansy, Goyle and Selwyn Jr. have just left the common room. I think they intend to finish the work if Nott, Crabbe and Warrington fail to do so."
Harry read the message and did not think twice about it. He had made his arrangements and he would get to see if they bore fruit. He had decided that he would not be firing a single spell unless there was no other way. He wanted to see how good the others were.
He sent a patronus to Dawlish who had arrived promptly. The Auror asked him a bit stiffly, "Lord Peverell, what dangers were you alluding to when you wrote the letter to me? And should you not be in your Common Room since it is past curfew?"
Harry eyed him curiously, "Did not Master Auror Alastor Moody tell you to co-operate with me rather than to question me? Besides I have a very good reason for being out and about. I want you to escort me to the sixth floor where something interesting is about to happen."
Before they started however, Harry had cast the disillusionment charm upon himself and asked the Auror to do the same. When the Auror raised an eye-brow, Harry told him that it was necessary. Slowly they walked to the sixth floor while Harry kept his ears strained for any sound of spell fire. When he was near the sixth floor, he subtly activated the repelling ward which would keep the teachers away from that floor.
Draco was on the sixth floor when he confirmed that someone had been tailing him from the Dungeons. He turned around and said loudly, "Come out. I know you have been following me. Show me your cowardly faces."
He was surprised to see Crabbe though he was not so surprised to see Nott and Warrington. He drawled, "So why are you following me? Has your master asked you to keep watch on me?"
Nott smirked, "Oh no. He wants to punish your father for losing his faith. The Dark Lord has commissioned me with the duty to kill you."
Draco was scared and there was no one around who could help him. He was trapped here. He was outnumbered as well. He tried to bluff his way out and asked them, "Pray tell how you are going to kill me? The war wards will kill you if you try using the killing curse and I am admittedly better at duelling than any of you."
Warrington who had his wand out by now said, "Swaggering git! Let's test that."
Before he cast, his wand sailed through the air to an outstretched hand and a stunner felled him like a sack of potatoes. Malfoy turned around to find Susan Bones with a wand in each hand and Conrad Du Vant with their wands levelled at Nott and Crabbe. The two would be assassins were fool enough to start sending bone breakers and bombardas at the two of them. Malfoy, always good at looking out for number one, drove for cover while the exchange was happening.
Ron and Hermione had arrived in time to stop the three of them but remained hidden when they saw that the situation was under control. Not and Crabbe would not be able to face them for long. True to their predictions, Crabbe had soon slumped to the floor. Nott was holding his own against Susan who was not using any lethal spells. He sent a bombarda at her which she shielded. Before he could cast another, she sent a stunner at him. When he raised a shield, she started peppering him with shield breakers. After losing two or three shields in a row, he dodged the next one. She was casting at speed substantially better than his. By the time he was able to dodge, Susan had sent a spell chain at him. He raised another shield but the first spell in the chain was a shield breaker. It destroyed his shield. The second spell was a stunner which knocked him out, followed by a incarcerous which bound him in ropes.
Dawlish and Harry had seen the duel. When Dawlish wanted to interfere, Harry told him in whispers that they had it under control. He had trained with these students. He would know if they were in any trouble before they did. He asked him to keep watching. Harry would tell him to interfere if there was a reason to do so.
Pansy, Selwyn Jr. and Goyle arrived at almost that time and forced the others to drop their wands. Pansy sneered, "Well well! I was only hoping to get Malfoy but we are getting a bonus. I think I will kill Bones first and then this traitor Du Vant before we take care of Malfoy. The Dark lord will reward me handsomely."
Harry had to suppress a chuckle. These idiots had no clue that they were outnumbered two to one. According to plan, Fay arrived by that time behind them. She understood what to do. Without wasting a moment, she cast a wide-area stunner. She got Pansy and Selwyn down with the first shot. Crabbe looked bewildered. He turned about to face the new threat only to eat a knuckle sandwich. With the odds in his favour, Malfoy had found his courage and come out of cover to punch Crabbe in the face. Who knew that a hulking brute like that would have a glass jaw?
With that Harry dispelled his disillusionment charm and turned to Dawlish, "Well, there you are. Six of them, all determined to commit murder for their Dark Lord. Since they are under-aged, we can't put them in front of the War Tribunal but I suppose that if we bundle them up and present them to the Headmaster, we can at least have them expelled. That will make this school a safer place for everyone. Also remember that none of us were here but you found and subdued them."
Harry turned to Malfoy, "I don't expect any gratitude from you Malfoy. I do, however, require you to keep others' involvement a secret. If I find you have blabbed a word about them, I will make you pay. This may not be the last attempt on your life. You will want us watching your back."
Malfoy nodded and Harry took down the ward he had erected before he made his exit. The Auror in the meanwhile had pulled his badge to send for back-up while Harry, Fay, Susan and Conrad ran upstairs. Fay went to the Gryffindor tower with Harry. Susan and Conrad went to the Room of Requirement, which, according to their need, provided them with a secret passage to their common rooms.
The next morning, Dumbledore addressed them at breakfast, "It is with a heavy heart that I have to inform you all that last night, some of the students belonging to the House of Slytherin were expelled from this school. They were found to be involved in an attack on one of their fellow students at the orders of Voldemort. I had hoped that maybe the younger generation would be above the prejudice brewed by their fathers but alas! My hopes have been for naught."
This caused a murmur to break out among the students. Three students from fifth year were gone meaning the really low population had dwindled even further. Many students had a good guess that perhaps Malfoy was the one who had been targeted. The children of Death Eaters however were thinking about who could have been the informant who told on them. True that most of them were not planning to kill anyone yet but it was a worrying thought that someone among them may have been telling on them. They had stayed clear of children of neutral families yet someone from amongst them had told. Perhaps they would need to rethink their strategies.
Potion Master's Office
Severus was grading the assignments when there was a knock on his office door. He grunted, "Enter."
Harry entered the room looking around his office and asked him, "Professor, do you have some time?"
He motioned for him to sit, "Take a seat Harry." When he was seated, he asked further, "What brought you here?"
Harry asked him straight away, "Professor, how is it that you did not know about Nott's plot to attack Malfoy?"
Severus took time to answer, "Harry, you have discovered and thwarted a plot against the life of my godson. For that I am grateful. As to your question, since the Dark Lord has left Wizarding Britain, Bellatrix is in-charge of things. She does not see fit to apprise me of all that is going on in their order. She views me as an opponent who is vying for attention from the Dark Lord which she thinks she is entitled to. She likely gave the order for them to do it. They did. There is however another piece of information which I came to know and I wanted to convey to you."
Harry asked him, "Please do go on then. I am listening."
"I have heard whispers of planned attacks on the muggle-born. I told Dumbledore about it. He is boosting security but I thought you should know about it. Colin Creevey and Hermione Granger are on the top of the list."
Harry shook his head. The Creeveys were always in the company of other Gryffindors. They would be safe enough. But Hermione had to take prefect patrols. That would expose her to some risk. He might have to discover and thwart another plot.
Later he talked with Sirius who told him that Dumbledore had given this information to the Ministry. The Ministry was organising security for the families of the muggle-born.
Hampstead
With a loud crack, three death eaters appeared out of thin air near the house of Mr. and Mrs. Granger. They had been looking around the area during the day and they had satisfied themselves that muggle law enforcement would take time to arrive at the scene therefore they had time to do what they had to. Lucius was leading the three of them. They decided to apparate in and kill them before they got any wiser. They apparated keeping in mind the backdoor of the house and the next moment, they found themselves at the bottom of a pond. They swam out. After drying themselves off, they again proceeded toward the house. At a safe distance, Lucius began to cast detection spells to determine the nature of the wards around the house. It was a ward which would not allow any magical to enter the house except for those to whom it was tied. There was only one way through it. He would have to bring it down by force and then proceed to kill the muggles.
Daniel Granger had just turned in for the night with his wife when they thought they could hear some sort of commotion outside. Since he knew of the wizarding world and that the wizards otherwise known as Death Eaters would try to harm them he had been very caution. He peeked out of the window facing outside. He saw three men in robes with their faces covered by masks. One of them had his wand out. He was casting spells in the air. They were making the small explosions which had attracted his attention.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he picked up the phone and dialled 62442 (magic) which had been given to him. A voice answered, "Ministry of Magic, help desk for families of muggle born."
The help desk had been set up in a building across from the Ministry of Magic in London. It was so that the ministry would be able to help in case there was an attack on families of muggle-born by death eaters. The idea had come from Arthur who was fascinated with the muggle Fellytone. Frank had given the duty to him to see that it was installed and was working. A staff of three witches and wizards had been put in three shifts of 8 hours each around the phone. They were to immediately send a message to the Ministry who would dispatch Aurors to deal with the situation.
Daniel Granger spoke in the phone, "My name is Daniel Granger. I am speaking from Hampstead. My daughter studies at Hogwarts. There are three wizards outside my home casting spells around in thin air, making small explosions. I need help."
The dispatcher immediately sent the message to the Ministry from where Rufus sent a patrol of five wizards to the location. By the time they arrived, Lucius had been able to break down the wards. The Auror in the lead roared, "Halt and drop your wands."
Malfoy turned abruptly and roared, "Avada Kedavra."
One of the Aurors fell dead on the spot. The other Aurors started sending bombarda, bone breakers and bone crushers at the death eaters. Two of the death eaters were no match for the Aurors. They succumbed instantly. The leader of the Aurors had engaged Malfoy in a duel. Lucius was no match for Sirius Black but he was a fair hand at duelling. He kept his opponent engaged one on one until other Aurors decided to join in. Being outnumbered, Lucius conjured a cloud of dark smoke from his wand then turned on his heels to disappear in thin air.
At that moment, a group of four more Aurors arrived at the scene with Sirius Black in the lead. They started asking questions of the group which had arrived first. After they were sure that there were no more death eaters around, Sirius checked on the death eaters. One of them had been hit with a bombarda to his chest. It had ripped his chest open killing him. The other had taken a bone breaker to his skull. It had killed him instantly too.
Sirius asked the leader, "How many were there?"
The wizard answered, "There were three of them. Lucius Malfoy was their leader. It was his killing curse that killed Simkins. He is the only one who escaped."
Sirius nodded, "Return to the ministry and take SImkin's body with you. He will be buried with honour. I have one more thing left to do."
When the others were away, Sirius rang the door bell and it was promptly opened by Daniel. Sirius said, "Good evening, Mr. Granger. My name is Sirius Black. I trust Hermione has mentioned me before."
Daniel replied, "Yes she did. How can I help you?"
"Mr. Granger, as you might have realized, you will be in danger if you stay here. Dumbledore has asked me to shift you both to one of our safe houses for the time being. I assure you that you will be safe from harm there. You will be able to return after the war is over. Will you accept our protection?"
Daniel Granger knew there was no way around it. If something were to happen to him and his wife, Hermione would be distraught and it could prove dangerous to her. They would have to take the offer of sanctuary. He turned to Sirius, "Mr. Black, we accept your offer of sanctuary."
They were shifted to a safe house in Plymouth that same night by some order members who had been sent by Dumbledore since Sirius had to go somewhere else to fend off another attack. The order member told them that they could go about their ordinary routines. The Order would take care of them until the war was over. Daniel could go and put their affairs in order when he had time.
About an hour after the attack on the Grangers', five wizards appeared out of thin air outside of the Creevey farm. The Creevey's were not very wealthy nor did they have much in the way of money. They lived in a small two storied building outside the western suburbs of London. Apart from Colin and Dennis they had about 6 family members living at their home. The small parcel of land around the house belonged to them. They used it for a small dairy farm, inhabited by a few milk cows and a couple dozen laying hens. When the Death Eaters appeared, one of the bovines gave a cry of fright. It alerted the members of the house. When Mr. Creevey peeped out of the window, he saw one of them attacking his animal with a spell. He of course knew what a wand was and how it worked. He remembered the warnings he had been given.
Mr. Creevey had no phone at his home. As such, he could not call for help that way. He remembered the mirror which had been given to him by the wizard who brought his sons back after the New Year ball they had gone to. He pulled out the mirror and spoke quietly but clearly into it, "Sirius Black."
Sirius's face appeared in the mirror. He asked, "Mr. Creevey, what is the matter?"
He said hastily, "Five wizards are attacking my house. I need help."
In this life, Mr. Creevey was a dairy farmer. He kept a .22 calibre rifle to keep the foxes out of the hen-house. Not so long ago, he had been a soldier in the far-East. The Creeveys were small people and that made him ideal as a tunnel rat. These men were sent into enemy passageways with enough fire power to take out an entire regiment and only the very best ever came back. Mr. Creevey was one of those who came back. The old .22 was a single-shot, bolt action rifle, but he could pick the eye out of a fox at 200 paces in the dark with it. He would give a good account of himself before those wizards got anywhere near the house.
Sirius immediately grabbed Emmeline who was sitting with him for dinner and they appeared in front of the Creevey residence. One of the death eaters already lay dead about 50 paces from the front door. The other four had taken cover. They were taking turns, popping up and firing spells at the farmhouse. The old frame structure was already burning and parts of it had been destroyed.
Hastily, he started sending every spell he could think of while Emmeline sent messages to everyone she could remember.
As Sirius launched into his attack, there was a crack heard from the farmhouse and another death eater fell dead, a small, red circle right between his eyes.
With only three death eaters remaining, Sirius and Emmeline took them on in duels. Sirius took on two while Emmeline took on the other. Whatever was coming from the farmhouse was instantly deadly, but it seemed to be very limited in its rate of fire.
They kept dodging more than they cast while the death eaters were focused on them now. It had been a while when it happened. Emmeline dodged a violet coloured curse only to be knocked senseless by a grey coloured curse and she was not moving.
Blood rushed into Sirius's ears and recklessly he started sending some of his choicest dark curses at the death eaters in a solid stream. The death eaters had not seen these spells before and they could not stand up to it. One of them fell with a spear through his throat. Another was sliced in two with a ribbon.
Before the last one standing could decide what to do, there were a series of popping noises as the order members started to arrive. There was Remus with Nymphadora, Sturgis Podmore, Bill Weasley and Charlie Weasley.
Remus noticed the inert body of Emmeline lying on the ground and roared, "Don't let one of them escape alive today."
The last death eater could read the writing on the wall. As he began to twirl on the spot to make his escape, he was gunned down by half a dozen stunners. He fell to the ground, wrapped in enough rope to rig a tall ship.
Sirius had fallen to his knees, cradling Emmeline and crying, "No! You can't go! Not you too! I can't take another loss."
Miraculously, Emmeline stirred and croaked, "Can't breathe." She looked pale as death. It looked like she was hardly holding herself together.
Remus was shaking him, "Padfoot, she is alive but you need to take her to St. Mungo's now. Take her out of here. We'll join you shortly."
Nodding, Sirius stood and placed her in a stasis charm. Then he secured her to a stretcher and portkeyed away to St. Mungo's. The order members set about the work of extinguishing the fires and repairing what they could. With the only living prisoner secured, Tonks called for help with clean-up and transport.
Seeing that the fight was over, Mr. Creevey emerged from the house, rifle in hand. He addressed Remus, "Looks like we got 'em all."
Tonks approached him, "We're sorry we couldn't get here any sooner, Mr. Creevey. Is everyone alright?"
He gestured to the four death eaters, "Looks like they had four fatalities, but, yes, my family is alright. They're hiding in the cellar." He looked at the rapidly reassembling front of his house, "Looks like your folk have things under control?"
Tonks nodded, "Yes, they do." She pointed at the two with the bullet holes in their foreheads and asked, "Did you do that?"
He indicated the rifle, "With this. Normally, you can't kill a man with a .22, but they were at close range and they didn't trouble themselves about cover until I put their leader down. They just killed my favourite milk cow then walked up to the house, bold as brass and opened fire with them wands they carry. I just happen to have a knack for seeing in the dark and gave them a welcome they'll never forget. I kept them guessing until your two friends arrived then I popped the second one while he was distracted. After that I couldn't do anything more they were moving around a lot and I didn't want to hit the wrong one."
Tonks shook her head, "You are a very brave man. We're going to post guards here in case any more of them show up. Mr. Creevey, you and your family are going to have to go into protection until this conflict is over."
He shook his head, "Unless you folk have someone who can run a dairy farm, I'll have to stay. I can look after myself. I'll send my wife and children with you if they'll agree to go, but I'm staying."
That was when the ministry wizards began to arrive and the order members left.
A/N- Am I writing that bad that I get barely one or two reviews? If it is so tasteless, please do let me know. Criticism or appreciation, both should be doled out and not kept in.
