Do me a favor and look up the chapter name, it's a pretty cool word!
Harry and Fleur exhaustedly comply and the trio are bundled off the Auror command center. They're searched and when no wands turn up, they get strange and questioning looks, but no one says anything. After processing, which is merely stating their name for the record, they are split up to different holding rooms. Both Fleur and Gabbi pitch a fit when they try to separate them, and it's decided that it's okay to hold them together. Unfortunately, Harry does not get the same courtesy and is stuck in the room by himself with nothing.
It's a holding room for sure, clean and spartan. A bed, a table and chairs, one hazy magical wall that isn't quite transparent but not completely opaque either. He can see shapes on the other side, Aurors discussing and coordinating if he had to guess. Fleur and Gabrielle are in the room behind him, so he can't see them, but he does know they're there somehow. With nothing better to do, Harry shrugs off his ruined robe and lies down. He balls up the charred and tattered cloth as a sort of pillow and rests his pounding head. He closes his eyes and tries not to think about how much trouble he'll be in.
Harry sits up the moment the field around the door changes and looks at the intruders. A stern woman with a monocle and fading red hair meets his eyes and motions to the table and chairs with her chin. Behind her, Tonks walks carefully catching Harry's eye and mouthing, "My boss."
When they are all seated, the woman opens a folder and sets a quill to the top of the page.
"Monitoring spell active: notation Alpha-01, T-16, and S-H03. Time is a little after 2am, and place is Auror Forward HQ responding to the incident at the Quidditch World Cup." She says, watching as the quill scrawls out a transcription and once it finishes checks for accuracy. Harry isn't the best at reading upside down, but it looks right to him and he looks back at her to find she's staring at him.
"Mister Potter, or should that be Heir Black?" she blinks behind her monocle and Harry tries to not be intimidated. "I am Amelia Bones, Acting head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Auror Division. I just returned from interviewing Madame's Delacour about their involvement in the incident."
"Are they okay?" Harri blurts out, unable to stop himself. Tonks cringes behind her boss.
"They are fine. Their parents came and retrieved them, citing diplomatic immunity. From what we could tell, they sustained small bruises and cuts, and are both exhausted. What I'm curious about it you." She says, steepling her fingers and leaning in. "Miss Delacour is outside of my jurisdiction. You, however, are not. There are interesting reports coming in from eyewitnesses."
Harry doesn't know how to respond so he says nothing, meeting her gaze evenly.
"Curious." She comments, writing something on the opposite page of the folder with a quill of her own.
"Trainee Tonks!" She barks, causing Tonks to flinch.
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"Fetch Mr. Potter a glass of water. He'll need it." Madame Bones says. Tonks looks visibly conflicted, but after sharing a look with Harry she disappears through the barrier.
"So, Harry-"
"If this is for the record, I would prefer Mr. Potter." Harry says, falling back on his limited teachings from Andromeda.
"Of course. Mr. Potter, my Aurors tell me when searched you didn't have a wand on you. Did you use a burner?" she asks.
"A what?" Harry replies.
"I see." Amelia says, adding another line to her notes. "How did you end up outside the tent with the Delacours? They were in an entirely different part of the campground than," she checks her notes, "M3-7."
"I grabbed onto a Death Eater when he tried to flee and his portkey took us there." Harry replies.
"Which Death Eater?"
"I don't know, but I heard one of the others call him 'Travers'."
"Continue." Amelia says, not bothering to look up. When Harry doesn't say anything she does look up.
"Do you have another question?" Harry asks. Amelia makes another note.
"How many Death Eaters did you fight, and how many did you see in total?"
"I rolled out of my burning tent and saw four terrorizing the next row over. I waited for them to close and then attacked them. Someone cast a protego to help me and I shoulder charged the first one, then punched the next. A spell of some sort hit the third and the fourth, assumably Travers, tried to use a portkey."
"Did you know it was a portkey?"
"No. I saw his grab something and moved to get close. I lacked my wand and thus had only my fists to fight with."
"Right. Continue."
"The portkey landed, but weird. Travers had a broken leg and was unconscious or dead. I didn't have time to check before a wand was jabbed under my throat and I was shoved into a tent with Fleur and Gabrielle."
"You landed correctly and Travers did not?" Amelia asks.
Harry flushes, "I um, I'm still new to Portkeys and haven't mastered landing properly yet."
"So, I assume that means you found yourself arse over teakettle on the ground?"
"That would be correct, if colorful." Harry agrees.
"Got to spice up those ministry trials somehow." Amelia jokes, showing emotion for the first time since she walked into the room. "So, they shoved you in a tent."
"Yes, I was forced in there by three of them. Fleur and I had a few moments to talk before two came in and demanded we surrender the girl. Both Fleur and I assumed they meant Gabrielle, and moved to protect her. Fleur made a show of hissing them and I struck when they were distracted. I knocked one down and Fleur set his partner on fire. She then-
"After you exited the tent please."
"Okay. Um, we stepped out to find the Death Eaters had either reinforced or congregated. There were around twelve of them there. I tried to do something, and well, I'm not sure what happened." Harry admits.
"Witnesses described it as a hand of god, or a bolt of lightning." Amelia contributes.
"Well, either way four of them were on the ground smoking. Fleur started throwing fireballs and they weren't working until the wind picked up."
"Describe how you got to the state you were in when my men found you." Amelia asks. Harry opens his mouth, but the barrier shimmers and shatters, a thunderous Andromeda storming in.
"Amelia." She snarls, coming to a stop behind Harry. "Get up, we're leaving." She tells him, not looking away from the Director.
"Madame Tonks." Amelia says, leaning back in her seat, "to what do we owe the pleasure?"
"I am here to retrieve Mr. Potter as his tutor. He has important lessons tomorrow and cannot afford to be out late entertaining the Ministry." She says icily.
"Unfortunately, our business is not yet concluded. We still have questions about the incidents that happened here today, as well as a flag from the Hogwarts Debacle." Amelia says.
"Has Mr. Potter been charged with a crime?" Andy asks.
"No, but-"
"Are you planning on charging him with one tonight?" Andy steamrolls.
"Perhaps I'll charge you with obstruction of justice?" Amelia says lightly, like a glass stiletto. Delicate and fragile and infinitely deadly.
"Oh really?" Andromeda says, crooking an eyebrow, "Because that worked so well for you last time." Amelia grimaces.
"If there is nothing else, I'll be collecting Mr. Potter and leaving. You know where to find me if you want to come after me." Andromeda says, tugging on Harry's arm and pulling him away.
They're at the door when Amelia calls out, "Wait." Harry turns around to see she's holding out a business card. "My card, Mr. Potter. If you remember anything else." He takes it and tucks it in his pocket. Andy leads him out of the forward base, Tonks joining them along the way.
"You have Harry's things, Nymphadora?"
"I got them. Ratty cloak and wand. Plus the ominoculars that Lovegood chit slipped him."
"Thank you, dear. You did the right thing, contacting me." Andromeda says with a warm smile to her daughter.
"Yeah, whatever. I'll pay for it tomorrow." Tonks says winking at Harry, "It better have been worth it."
"You have no idea, Nym. No idea." Andy says. When the arrive back at the Tonks house, Andromeda bundles Harry off to bed and promises they'll talk in the morning. Exhausted, harry doesn't fight even though he is very confused.
The morning dawns, and Harry wanders to the kitchen. Andromeda is sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in her hands and an empty vial next to her mug.
"Good morning Andy." Harry yawns, pouring himself a glass of juice.
"Morning Harry." She responds, sipping her coffee. "Did you sleep well?"
"Did you sleep?" Harry retorts.
"Humph, "She chuckles. "No. But this isn't the first time I've had to pull an all nighter. This vial was full of my personal pepper-up. It'll kick in any minute. Then I will explain everything."
True to form, as Harry is finishing up his toast Andromeda has perked up, though she still has deep bags under her eyes.
"Right. I know you have questions. But first, I need to get a few things off my chest." Andromeda says, giving him a smile.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WERE YOU THINKING? YOU ARE THE MOST VALUABLE HOSTAGE IN MAGICAL BRITAIN AND YOU SOUGHT THOSE WANKERS OUT YOU BLITHING IDIOT! I OUGHT TO GROUND YOU FOR AN ETERNITY FOR THAT DUMB SHITE!"
"Right. Oh, AND WANDLESS? WHAT WERE YOU- You're going to give me grey hair, you and Nymphadora both." Andromeda mumbles into her mug. "I just wanted someone sane to help me get the family things in order, but no, I had to get someone just as crazy. This is all your fault, Great Uncle Orion! If you hadn't potioned all of your heirs with loyalty drought so long that they developed an immunity this never would have happened!" she shouts at the ceiling.
"Harry, this family is full of idiots and reckless fools. I had hoped you would be more sane than most, and you are, but not sane enough. No, you've got too much Black in you yet. Gods, there's a reason our house is nearly dead." Andromeda takes a long pull from her mug, draining the rest of the cup. She debates for a moment before going to the cabinet and returning with cheap muggle whiskey, pouring a bit in her mug.
"For this to make sense, we're going to have to dig deep and for that I need lubrication." Andromeda explains, taking a swig from her mug. "Damn, that's awful." She coughs, waving at Harry to start.
"What was that show last night?" Harry asks.
"Well, its complicated. Amelia and I go way back, but last night was more about you. Since they weren't charging you with a crime, they had no right to hold you or interrogate you. You had the right to walk out at any time, not that they shared that with you. I had hoped you wouldn't be running afoul of the magical police for another couple years. But I should have known Siri would rub off on you.
"The DMLE and House Black have not had a good relationship since Grand Aunt Hippolyta lead a prison riot. She was justified, the Ministry was imprisoning political dissidents without trial, but the DMLE lost Aurors in the riots and they have never forgiven us. Tonks told me she called you heir black, so I moved to get you."
"She did that once, but I didn't bite so she stuck to Mr. Potter from then on. Well, she tried Harry once but I shut her down." Harry says.
"Good. Not as bad as I feared." Andromeda says, sipping her whiskey again.
"So, Amy and I go back personally as well. We ah, we dated our sixth year. It was brief, very brief, both of us experimenting and realizing while curious, it wasn't for us. Old history. But, it gave her an inside look at House Black, and she later used that knowledge to come after us during the war once she was an Auror. She used her glimpses into my home in order to strike at my parents and the rest of our family. Sure, she was right that they were all sympathizers if not outright Death Eaters. But that didn't excuse the betrayal of trust. I had been cast out by that point for marrying Ted, but my sister came after us over it. It wasn't pretty, and we barely were able to drive her off.
Then two weeks later an Auror squad bursts through the door and our home is raided. The reasoning? I used to be a Black. They found nothing, just turned the place inside out and ruined Nymphadora's baby room. I filed a complaint that didn't go anywhere, so I escalated. I went to Amelia directly. She was the Sub-Director at that point to Barty Crouch. She turned me away, had her secretary tun me away. Wouldn't even look me in the eye. I might have blasted the wall to her office apart and set her desk on fire, demanding she apologize and drop her case against me and my family.
Things did not improve from there. Ted was searched by random Patrols, my papers were rejected from journals, our accounts frozen. Harassment plain and simple. So finally, I blew a fuse. Nymphadora was a little over a year old when I laid siege against the auror office. Me and some of the others who would later be called Greys. The Greengrasses, the Macmillains, the Patils, to name a few. I was arrested of course, all of us were, but the scandal of the Auror department harassing pureblood families for no cause, all the charges were dropped. Since then, Amelia and I have butted heads more than once, and I've been arrested a few times. Each time, however, it ends badly for the DMLE. St. Mungos demands I be released to help brew a potion for a delicate patient, Cissy has her husband pull a few strings and the DMLE loses funding, the Prophet catches wind and slams them again, claiming they have a vendetta against me.
I will be honest, a few of those times they picked me up I deserved it. Helping werewolves, hiding refugees, protecting children from their abusers. Stalling officers and allowing petty thieves to escape, or immigrants to floo out. I am no white sheep, baaing for the ministry." Andromeda says.
"So, you thought this was a move against you." Harry says.
"Possibly. It was dangerous to leave you there both for your sake and for house Black. You're too valuable a piece, and too vulnerable a target." She says.
"So, you and Amelia." Harry says teasingly.
"Ancient History." Andromeda scoffs, "Though she never did marry, so it's possible. In any case, none of your business. What is your business is what happened last night. Spill."
Harry explains everything that happened, and then what he shared with Amelia. Andromeda listens, asking questions to clarify, but mostly soaking it in. Once he's done, Harry feels lighter and is shocked to see that it's early afternoon.
"So first off, good job defending yourself. I wish you weren't so valorous, but you are a bloody Gryffindor. Not grabbing your wand was dumb, but you managed okay. This tag team with Fleur sounds like something out of a fairy tale, but I believe you. But, we have an issue."
"What?"
"You have to go back to talk to Amelia. What you described is a rare thing, but documented. It sounds like you are an elemental, that you were born connected to a part of the primal world and will always have an ability with that connection. From your descriptions, and what your parents told me before that night, you were born a rain elemental. Did you know when Lily gave birth it snowed? Shocked everyone when the flakes drifted down, clear sky, hot temperatures, yet snow was falling. Magical." She smiles before sobering, "but that night happened, and I think it broke you." Harry starts to panic and she lays a hand on his arm, "calm down, I'm not finished. Part of you broke that night, it's undeniable. That amount of raw power coursing through you left a mark. I think this," she brushes his hair aside to trace the lightning bolt scar, "may not have been from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's curse. Instead, I think you connected with another primal source. One who's domain touches your own, lightning."
"I'm no expert, but it makes sense with everything you've told me. The issue is, elementals are required to register with the ministry. Moreover, they are required to submit to yearly evaluations about their status and control. It's a gross violation of rights, but not unfounded. The great London Fire was the result of a pyromancer losing control. Or some dark wizard trying to steal the ability for himself and accidentally creating fiendfire, I can never remember which."
"So, you have to talk with Amelia because you actually are in violation of the law. Underage doesn't mean anything when it comes to elementals. As soon as they realize what you are, they will come for you. It would be better for everyone for you to head this off at the bud." Andromeda sighs.
"Once Nymphadora is awake, the two of you are going to meet with Ted and go to the ministry. I would go as well, but I'm afraid if I show my face anywhere near the DMLE they'll find a charge to slap me with out of spite alone."
Next chapter: Amelia Bones and the DMLE
Also, I'm in the process of rewording a few of the earlier chapters. Stay tuned for an update. For you long term readers, I'll throw a blurb about what changed at the top of the new chapter when they're finished. Also, you all have spoken! This will continue to be done here and will not be moving. I may duplicate it to AO3 anyway, but I will keep writing here. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!