Chapter 18: The Meeting

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The headline of the morning paper had the Dark Lord chuckling, which of course made the Malfoys cautious. Anything that made Voldemort happy meant bad news for someone else.

It read:

Your Children Are Being Potioned

Underneath the article was all about the run on St. Mungo's, that happened the day before by the parents that had their children scanned and the results thereof. A lot of angry parents were up in arms about their precious children having mind-altering potions in their systems. They were calling for the Headmaster and the Mediwitch to stepdown. Both were responsible for the health and safety of the children at Hogwarts.

Tom thought this was great. Now Dumbledore would be running around trying to cover his arse. He, Tom, could go marching down Diagon Alley in full Death Eater regalia and no one would blink, because they would be too focused on Albus. It was marvelous.

He was still chuckling when the food was served. It was a simple but elegant breakfast of soft-boiled eggs and toast. Tom also had some hash browns with his. He had talked to the elves about his meals being a bit hardier.

He had taken care of Umbridge last night. He mourned that he had taken care of her so soon, but he knew that while Harry condoned his killing her, he would not like it if she was tortured. Of course, he didn't have to tell the boy. He wasn't going to tell her about turning her into a werewolf, but if that got out, he knew Harry would forgive him that. He just didn't want to do anything he wouldn't be forgiven for.

There was a small article about her disappearance. He read it and it she was listed as missing, though there was no sign of foul play mentioned at this time. Greyback would get a bonus for being discrete. Not that he'd have long to enjoy it, if Tom had it his way.

Greyback had instructions to come to the manor in three days' time, they would discuss how to get the Death Eaters out of Azkaban. By then his meeting with Bones would be over, and he would know where he stood with her. She would either be working with him, or he would have to work around her. He made sure to have a copy of the folder he had given to Lupin available. He would make sure she knew that it was mostly out of date material, but it would point her in the correct direction.

Either way, he couldn't kill her. Harry would not be happy if he did. And Harry's happiness and safety were his top priorities.

Narcissa was reading the morning post and frowning. Her beautiful face was marred with the creasing of her brow and the downturn of her lips. That was all the emotion she was showing, and it was enough to pique his interest.

"Bad news, Narcissa?" he inquired, not really caring, but curious a bit. It might make for some entertainment.

"Black is implementing restrictions," she said in a dull tone. She was rereading the missive as if that would change the wording and make it make sense to her.

"Oh," he said in a questioning manner, wondering why she was even telling him. He knew she wanted him gone. The only reason he stayed was to torment her in punishment for the sins of her husband. That and her son proved to be a source of entertainment. His constant attempts for his attention were amusing. He knew it would get annoying soon, but for now…

"Yes, my lord," she said, then seemed to catch herself and folded the letter and put it aside. "He feels we should earn our keep," she stated stiffly as she started eating her soft-boiled egg in a shell.

"Too right," Tom said, agreeing with the man. For too long the Malfoys have rested on their ancestors' laurels. It was time they worked for them again.

Narcissa just nodded and continued to eat without comment. She would talk to Sirius and make him understand that she was not made to be employed by anyone. She was above such things.

Draco was bewildered. Work for money, that was a new concept to him. He would be discussing this with his mother later. Black had no right to ask that of them. They were Malfoys, and Malfoys didn't work.

It was getting close to time for Crabbe to come, so Tom finished his breakfast and went to the receiving room and waited. He took the Daily Prophet with him and read the rest of the news. It was mostly gossip and speculation, but humorous, nonetheless.

Crabbe came in soon after and was sent away. He needed nothing from the man today. He thought about going to see if Lupin had read the folder, but he had told the werewolf that he would give him a few days.

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The Aurors had run into a block at the school. The house elves did confess that they had been told to put the potions in the food, but could not tell who had given the order, or what the potions were. They had been ordered not to. They could not confirm or deny who it was either, so the Aurors couldn't identify by process of elimination. All they knew was that it was a staff member.

They learned that no student had the authority to ask the elves to put potions in the food. If they wanted to prank someone, they had to get it in the food themselves. Only the older students had the power to do that, and only a table at a time. Not even Dumbledore could potion the entire Great Hall without the help of the elves.

The Board of Governors had categorically denied the use of Veritaserum on their staff. They said that they trusted the staff and unless there was concrete proof of wrongdoing by a specific person, they couldn't dose the entire staff. They could question them, but not potion them.

Amelia wondered who they were protecting. She thought they knew who the culprit was but didn't want to say. She was not happy about this. She would do the questioning herself, however she had a lunch appointment that she had to keep. In the meantime, she would watch the others do some of the interrogations.

The first to be questioned was Snape. Kingsley was his interrogator. It was basic and boring. The gist was:

"Your name?"

"Severus Snape."

"You are the potions master here?"

"Obviously."

"Did you brew the potions that are in the student body's food?"

"No."

"Do you know who did?"

"No."

"Can you hazard to guess?"

"No."

"Very well."

Afterwards Snape left and Kingsley turned to Bones. She was just as frustrated as he was.

"Madam Bones, this questioning is getting us nowhere. Without Veritaserum it is useless. Not to mention that half the teachers aren't here," Kingsley said to her. He knew Snape was part of the Order and that Dumbledore trusted him. However, there was something about the man that he just could not put his finger on. He just didn't know whose side the man was on. There were times when he swore the dark clothed man sneered at the headmaster. Then again, he sneered at everyone.

"I know, but without proof…" she said, raising her hand in a 'what can I do' manner. She was being blocked from all sides. Dumbledore, Fudge, the Board, and the Wizengamot.

"I'll just continue then," the younger man said, heaving a put-upon sigh. He called in Hagrid, who no one thought could brew a potion, but he was next on the list.

Hagrid came in looking guilty of something, but he always looked like someone kicked his puppy, so they didn't hold it against him. He would never purposely hurt a fly.

"I have to go. I have a meeting," Bones said, leaving to go and meet the Dark Lord. It should be interesting.

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Sirius and Harry were waiting for everyone to join them at the outdoor patio in the restaurant The Boho. It was a modern trendy restaurant, that served mostly sandwiches and soup. There were some burgers on the menu, but they were turkey or vegetable. Harry decided to try the veggie burger, never having heard of one. Sirius stuck with a sliced turkey with Swiss cheese on white and some vegetable soup.

They were waiting for their order, sucking on the straws of their fizzy drinks. Bones showed up first. Her attire was muggle, only a decade out of date, so reasonable enough. She just got a drink at the counter and joined the duo.

"This is not quite what I had in mind when I pick the restaurant," she said after Harry showed her how to work the drink machine. She took a sip and blinked at the bubbles that tickled her mouth. It wasn't unpleasant, just surprising.

"Sorry," Sirius said, never having been to one like this before either. It wasn't quite fast food, but not quite a restaurant either. You ordered at the counter, but they brought the food to you.

"Tom is going to hate it," Harry said, with a sadistic grin. It was a petty thing, but it made him giggle that the Dark Lord was at a trendy restaurant.

"Of that I have no doubt," Tom said from behind him. He was dressed in modern, yet obviously transfigured, jeans and a grey button down. He looked fine and blended in quite well with the patrons. "Now show me how to get some food here," he said, smiling at Harry, while putting a folder on the table.

Harry just grinned and showed him how the ordering worked. They were soon back, and Tom handed the folder to Bones. "Madam Bones, a token of my intentions," he said, looking at her sincerely.

"What is this?" she questioned as she started reading through it. Her eyes got wider and wider as she read. The information started with Dumbledore and Grindlewald and how they once were lovers. It just got worse from there. The lies, the manipulations, the downright underhanded lawbreaking.

"Do you have proof of any of this?" she demanded, putting the folder down, after skimming through half of it, and looking at Tom. There were things in here that solved a bunch of cold cases.

"Only what is in that folder. Most of it is old news. I don't know of anything he's done since Harry vanquished me all those years ago. I will do my best to dig up what I can," Tom said, looking just as miffed at the idea that he was so out of date. "I do know of the goings on of Hogwarts of the last four years, though Harry would be better to get that information from," he added, glancing at the teen who was watching the people around them.

"Most of this is out of their Statute of Limitations. The only thing that is not, is the murder of his sister, and there is no proof on who threw the deadly curse," she said, frustration clear in her tone. "I can talk to Harry later," she said, thinking of talking to the boy this evening. She still didn't know where they lived, but she could ask before she left.

"Yes, but if Dumbledore was doing things like this then, he is doing them now. You just have to look for the signs," Tom said, then waved it away for now. "Let's discuss my Death Eaters and Greyback. I was thinking a sting operation. Where I will set them up to 'rescue' my incarcerated Death Eaters and you and your Aurors can be there to capture or kill them," he said instead. There was no sense on beating a dead horse.

"My Aurors are not up to such a challenge," Amelia said, sadly. "The funds have been cut to the point we have no armor to speak of," she spat, thinking of Umbridge and Malfoy's manipulations and the effects they had on her department.

Though, now that she thought of it, and with the folder in front of her, Dumbledore might have something to do with that as well. Was he behind all the cuts, and she had been blaming the wrong people this whole time?

"Black, you are a lord, are you not?" Tom asked, bringing the other adult into the conversations. Harry was looking at his food with a queer look on his face. He almost asked why, then brushed it off as unimportant for now.

Sirius had just taken a bite of his sandwich, which had just been delivered, so he nodded. He quickly chewed and swallowed. "What of it?" he asked. He hadn't planned on doing anything with the lordship, accept tweak Narcissa's, and her brat's, nose.

"I need you to cozy up to Fudge," Voldy said, looking at him like he was something of an interesting bug. He wondered if the man was up to such a task. He really didn't know Black well. He knew he was good for Harry but knew little else. Perhaps, he should find out more. For Harry's sake if no other reason. Azkaban could have done more than the surface showed.

"To what purpose?" Black asked, putting his sandwich down and picking up his spoon instead. The bread was a bit dry, so he was going to try the soup.

"If you can get in his good graces, you can get him to throw money at the DMLE and we can get the operation started," Tom explained, he figured the man had not been listening to their conversation.

"Oh, well, if it will protect Harry, I'm all for it," Sirius said, knowing that they both had that in common. "I can toady up to the Minister. It isn't hard. He will do anything for money. What about you? You have a lordship. You can join me," he suggested, taking a spoonful of his too salty soup.

"That is not a bad idea," Tom said, thinking that that would put the fox among the chickens. Only Albus and Alastor knew who he was, and he could bullshit his way out of their accusations. They had no proof of any wrongdoings on his part. "I will do so," he said with some finality. He would have to call a meeting tonight to explain to his Death Eaters at the ministry. If only so they didn't bow to him when he was there.

"Who knows about you?" Amelia asked, thinking along the same lines. "Who you really are, I mean," she added, looking to Sirius and Harry.

"Besides you three, Alastor Moody, and Dumbledore," came the honest answer. Others knew Tom Riddle, but they thought he disappeared years ago. They did not know he came back as the Dark Lord. He always wondered why Moody kept that to himself. He knew why Dumbledore did, but never Mad-eye.

"We talked to Moody and Tonks yesterday. We didn't tell them about Tom, but we told them everything else, and they both have doubts about the headmaster," Harry said, joining the talks for the first time. "I think if we get vows, then we can trust them," he added, looking at the three adults one by one.

"I'm not sure," Bones said, knowing that both Mad-eye and Tonks used to be diehard supporters of Albus. "They would have to be some strongly worded vows," she added, looking at Tom since it was his secret. She wasn't sure if she was going to work with him, but he had impressed her thus far.

That and she knew the unbreakable vow he took. She had seen the looks he kept throwing at the Boy-Who-Lived, and they were paternal. It was the reason she asked the boy to be here.

"I will talk to them," Sirius said, finishing off the soup and starting on his sandwich again.

The waitress dropped off Tom's ham and cheese, and the Dark Lord looked at it like it would bite him. Then he picked it up and nibbled on a corner. It wasn't awful.

"If you could get their vows, tell them to come to me. You start toadying up to Fudge and get me some money in the department," Bones said, picking up the folder. "Harry, I'd like to talk to you this evening," she said, looking to Sirius, since it was his house.

"Come by," Sirius said, handing her a slip of paper. It was his to do what he wanted with. Dumbledore might not be happy to have the Head of the DMLE privy to the secret, but it wasn't his house.

She read it and handed it back. "I'll be there, eight o'clock," she said and then turned to Tom. "I'm still not sure about you, Tom. I have not forgotten the last war. You killed a lot of people, and that doesn't just go away. I know you say you are different now, but I will be keeping my eye on you and Albus," she said, then turned and left. She had a lot of thinking to do.

"That went better than planned," Tom said as he ate his sandwich. It was a bit on the moist side, too much mayonnaise. He put it back on the plate, and he was sorry that he wasted Harry's money on it. He hadn't thought to bring muggle money, which he should have.

"It's a good thing we didn't start with asking how Moony was," Sirius said, finishing off his sandwich. He was anxiously waiting for the answer to that unasked question. He had hardly slept the night before due to this meeting and knowing that Moony was being held by Tom.

"Yes, well, he is fine. There were no potions in his system. Or if there were, they are gone now, and he is still Dumbledore's lapdog. I gave him the same folder I gave Bones," Tom said, pushing the plate away. "I do have hope for him though. I have a question for you. What did you write to Narcissa? She is in quite a snit."

"If she wants to keep in the style she is comfortable with, she and her brat have to do volunteer work," Sirius said, laughing aloud and making others look their way.

"It's the right thing to do," Harry said, trying to take another bite of his messy burger.

"Harry, what on earth are you eating?" Tom asked, looking at the mess the sandwich was making.

"It's a veggie burger," the teen said, trying to keep said burger together and on the bun.

"How does it taste?" Sirius asked, looking at what looked like black beans and a bunch of mush pushed together.

"Not bad," Harry said, finally giving up on keeping it together. He put it on the plate, opened the bun and used his spoon to eat it. "A bit spicy," he added, spooning up some and shoving it in his mouth.

"Probably to disguise the taste," Tom mumbled, glaring at the thing that was posing as meat. "Umbridge is taken care of," he said a bit louder. He glared at Sirius to keep it down, when it looked like he was going to start shouting.

"So, you, um, you, um, did the deed?" Harry asked, suddenly not very hungry. He knew it was going to happen, but to hear that it was done. Well, he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"In a fashion," was all Tom would say to that.

"Good, that's good," the teen said, then he took a deep breath and started in on his veggie burger again. He wasn't going to let it bother him. She was evil and had to go.

"I like your plan for the Death Eaters," Sirius said, showing that he had been listening. "I hope that we can get the DMLE equipped." He really hoped they could get through to Fudge without bankrupting themselves. Fudge could be stubborn about some things.

"As do I," Tom said, drinking the last of his fizzy drink and standing. He was done socializing for the day. "Harry, I will see you later," he said, and turned and started to leave. Then he remembered something. "Black, I will see you at the ministry tomorrow. Ten in the morning," he said then he left.

"I wonder why so late?" Sirius asked no one in particular.

"Maybe he has an appointment," Harry said, and finished off his burger. It wasn't bad, but he didn't think he'd be ordering it regularly.

"Maybe," the dogman said, drinking his fizzy drink. Tom was strange.