Chapter 19: Just A Relaxing Evening
Thanks for the reviews.
Oh, I keep forgetting, for those of you who ask if I've tried hemp oil, or the equivalent, yes. That is what was working but doesn't if I overwork my hands.
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Voldemort had Narcissa call Crabbe to him via the floo. He had just finished dinner with the Malfoys. It had been a silent affair. The Malfoys were still wrapping their minds around the fact that they had to work for their money. Tom was kind of basking in their misery.
It served them right. If they wanted someone else's money, they should earn it. Bloody beggars. For all they put on airs, they were poor now, they needed to understand that.
Tom had bought the house elves from Narcissa. She needed the money and had agreed right away. He then proceeded to blow her mind when he ordered them to find a uniform they liked and to wear it. She just stared at him in confusion. He explained that the state of the servant depicted the state of the master. She didn't understand, but gracefully bowed out of the debate.
Crabbe showed up five minutes later, making Tom come back to the present.
"You have need of me, my lord," the portly man said, bowing low.
"Your arm," Tom said, holding out his hand. He waited for the man to come to him and then pressed his wand to the mark. He was calling those that worked at the ministry. He wanted to have his story straight before he went there in the morning. He would need to write to Black with his alias after the meeting.
He only needed to wait around five minutes before his minions started appearing. "Ah, my Death Eaters," he all but purred, making them think he thought they were welcome in front of him. "I have a task that I am completing tomorrow, and you will be vital to my success," he said as he paced in front of his 'throne'.
"We live to serve, my lord," Yaxley said. He had been worried, since he and Gibbons had yet to get the prophecy. They had tried to get into the Department of Mysteries twice now, but it was well guarded by the Order and the Unspeakables.
"Ah, Yaxley, I see you have yet to fulfil my order," Tom said, lifting his wand and shooting off a quick Cruciatus. He couldn't be seen as weak. "I will give you and Gibbons," here he shot one at said man, "one week to complete my task," he finished menacingly.
"Yes, my lord," they both said, vowing to themselves to get it done. They both bowed low and held their tongues.
"I will be seen tomorrow at the ministry," Voldemort said, slowly walking back and forth in front of them. "I will be going by the name Marvolo Slytherin-Gaunt. The last of the Gaunts and heir to Slytherin. All true, so there will be no questions."
"Yes, my lord," they all intoned, confusion was prominent in their tones. They had no clue their master was last of the Gaunts. That was one of the sacred twenty-eight. They knew he was powerful, but to be from such a family, and heir to Slytherin. It made them look up to him even more.
"None of you are to recognize me in any way. If I see you acknowledge me as anything but a stranger, then you will feel my wand," Tom said, glaring at all his followers as if they were simple-minded. "You will treat me as the lord I will be appearing as, and respect me in that fashion. However, do not show me overwhelming deference," he ordered, making sure he got his point across.
"Yes, my lord," they all said, though they wondered what the plan was.
"I will be talking to Minister Fudge," Voldy said, looking at the inquiring faces and deciding to give them part of the plan. "I, and Black, will be trying to get him to do some things for me that we need done. If he fails, then I will merely kill the man and step into his shoes," he added, showing his bloodthirsty side. He knew that Harry would approve of this. Fudge was bad for the wizarding world and needed to be controlled or put down.
"Black, my lord?" Avery asked, wondering why his master was working with a 'light' wizard. Though his actions in the last war depicted him as more of a 'grey' wizard.
"He has turned against Dumbledore. We have a mission together," Tom said, though Avery could hear the hardness in his tone. "Are you questioning me?" was the soft question.
"No, my lord," the man said quickly. "I was wondering if we should treat Black as we do you," he made up on the spot.
"Treat him however you wish. But be warned, he is not to be hurt in any way. He is working with me," Tom said, still pacing the floor in front of them. "Black is an ally, but a reluctant one. He does not believe as we believe, but we have a common goal."
"Yes, my lord," the Death Eaters said, though there was some doubts lace in those voices. Black had killed many of them in the last war. He never cottoned to Dumbledore's no kill policy.
"That is my word," Voldemort said more firmly. He wasn't going to have a rogue Death Eater kill off Black due to some form of revenge. Harry would be devastated if that happened.
"Yes, my lord," they said with less doubt this time.
"Leave me and remember my orders," Tom said, waving them away. He waited until the last was gone, including Crabbe, and sat on the chair. He wondered if exposing himself this soon was the right thing to do. He needed to get to Gringotts and get some papers for tomorrow. They would make some up that certified his claim to the Slytherin name.
Having made that decision, he moved to do just that. He would write his letter when he returned.
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Bones showed up at eight on the dot. There was no Order meeting tonight, so only Tonks, Harry, and Sirius were there.
"Welcome to my home," Sirius said, showing her in the front door. He had answered it. Unlike Harry, though, he trusted the Fidelius Charm not to let strangers in, so he didn't question her.
"Thank you," Amelia said, shedding her cloak and handing it to the strangely dressed house elf.
"Come on, we're in here," the dogman said, leading her to the living room. They had just finished dinner and were relaxing with books and talk.
Harry was doing his summer homework, which he needed to get done before Hermione got there, or she'd nag him. It was one thing he didn't like about the girl. But it was such a minor thing, that he overlooked it. She would stop if he pointed out that she was becoming overbearing.
"Wotcher, Boss," Tonks said from her spot on the couch where she was trying to convince Harry to rub her feet. Her hair was cycling from red to pink with her mood as she teased the teen, who'd face was as red as her hair.
"Madam Bones," the blushing Harry said, jumping up and rushing to the woman, with a look of great relief. His books fell to the ground, and Dobby popped in and put them on the coffee table. "Welcome," he said, and guided her to where he had been sitting. He took one of the chairs. Anything to get away from the flirt. He knew she picked on him because of the way he reacted, but he was a teenager, he couldn't help it.
"Before we begin, Auror Tonks, there will be some information given here that needs a vow of silence. I mean a strongly worded one, that might interfere with your Auror vows. You can choose to leave now, and not listen in, or you can take the vow," Bones said, angling herself to see the woman in question better. She wanted her to see that she was dead serious.
"Against my Auror vows?" Tonks asked, shocked that her boss was even giving her such a choice.
"Yes," was all the older woman would say, and she held up her hand for silence when it looked like Sirius was going to explain more.
"Is it that important?" Tonks asked, then shook her head. "Never mind. Of course, it's important. Does it have to do with Harry?" she asked instead, looking to the Boy-Who-Lived, who was watching with eager eyes. Like he wanted her to take the vow.
"In a manner of speaking," was the answer.
"I will take the vow," Tonks said, wanting in on all the secrets the two men had been hiding from her for the last few days. She was tired of all the veiled conversations they kept having.
Bones handed her the vow that she had written down this afternoon. It was one that both Moody and Tonks would have to take if they wanted in on what was going on. If they didn't, they would be side players in this mockery of a war. She had been thinking about it all day and decided that siding with Tom Riddle was different than siding with Voldemort.
"I vow on my magic and my life to keep all I hear about Tom Marvolo Riddle and Harry James Potter to myself, in all forms, or those in the know. May magic still my tongue if I slip. So mote it be," Tonks said, reading the paper aloud and holding her wand in her right hand. When the vow took, sparks shot up from her wand and a line of them spiraled around her hand and sunk in, sealing the vow.
"Very well," Amelia said, nodding to Harry and Sirius, who took turns in telling her what had happened since the third task. They made sure to tell how Tom had changed and how he reabsorbed his horcruxes, including the one in Harry. They commented on his change of heart on Harry and that he was mostly paternal towards the teen. Harry said, he thought of him as an uncle.
They did leave out the kidnapping of Moony and the killing of Umbridge. They didn't think either woman would approve. That, and it would go against their Auror vows, which the men were trying to avoid.
Tonks eyes got wider and wider at each word they spoke. She glanced at her boss and saw no surprise there. Only resignation. When they were done, she asked Amelia, "You approve?"
"Not 100%. However, I know we need him on our side. I will not be seen talking to the man, unless it is in a political capacity. Both he and Sirius will be trying to get Fudge to delegate more money to the DMLE, so that we can execute a plan to arrest the Death Eaters. Sirius has agreed to be the go-between," Bones said, with a put-upon sigh. "I will go over it with you more later," she promised, patting the younger woman's hand. She understood Tonks's dilemma. She had been debating it with herself for days now.
"Okay, Boss," Tonks said, settling back and trying to take it all in. Dumbledore was a bad guy, and Tom Riddle, who was Voldemort, was quasi good. That was something that needed some firewhiskey. So, she snapped her fingers and Dobby appeared. "Can we get some drinks? Firewhiskey for me," she asked the little guy. He was dressed in what looked like a tame clown's outfit, in that it was striped and colorful. Very colorful.
"Make that all around for the adults," Sirius said, pointing to him and Amelia.
"I'll take some pumpkin juice," Harry said, having grown quite fond of it. It tasted different here and now he knew why. It was potioned at Hogwarts.
"Let's get to the reason I'm here. Harry, tell me about your last four years at Hogwarts," Bones said, taking out her notebook and pen. She was going to get as much as she could down to go over later. She would compare it with Riddle's years at the school, which he had included in the folder.
Harry and Sirius talked for over an hour giving her and Tonks the highlights of Harry's years at Hogwarts. They made sure to tell her the players involved and who did what and who reacted in what way.
Amelia was none too pleased at how her niece acted towards the boy in both the second and fourth years. But then again, she was just a child, and easily frightened. She made sure to take many notes on how Dumbledore reacted and what steps he did and did not take. She noted that he always appeared when the danger was over and did very little to stop the danger from manifesting in the first place. Not to mention the bullying and ridicule of the most famous student Hogwarts has.
"Mr. Potter, your elf, didn't you say he used to work for Hogwarts before he came to Sirius?" Bones asked, looking at the teen.
"Yeah, and the Malfoys before that," Harry said, his brow wrinkling in confusion, not sure where she was going with that question.
"Can you call him?"
So, Harry did.
"Yous is needing Dobby?" the elf asked Harry, who pointed at Amelia.
"Did you ever cook at Hogwarts?" she asked, still taking notes. She was hoping he could tell her who potioned the student body.
"Oh no, Missy Bones. Dobby did all the cleaning at Harry Potter's dorm rooms," Dobby said, shaking his head vigorously. "Dumblydore dids not want Dobby in the kitchen during meals," he added, conspiratorially as if it was a huge secret. He even winked at her with his large eye.
"Did the other elves tell you anything about the potions given to the students?" she asked, hoping for more.
"No, they did not being liking Dobby, because I was being a free elf," Dobby said, holding his head high. He had been proud of being freed by Harry Potter.
"Oh, well, that can't be helped," Amelia said, with a sigh of regret.
"You can go, Dobby," Harry said, patting Dobby on the back. "You did great," he offered the praise to his friend.
Dobby grinned wide, and he snapped his fingers and popped away.
"I have enough to go on for now," the Head of the DMLE said, then looked at Sirius. "Tell me about the Order of the Phoenix, this time and last," she all but ordered, though in a mild tone. She flipped to a new page in her notebook and readied her pen to start her shorthand.
"There really isn't much to tell about what we're doing now. All the Order is doing is gathering information on the goings on at the ministry, which you know about, and watching the prophecy," Sirius said, tapping his chin as if trying to find the correct words for his next comparison.
"Why the prophecy?" she asked, looking to Tonks for the answer.
"Dumbledore will only tell us that Voldemort can't get ahold of it. That it's about Harry and Voldemort," the pink-haired woman said with a shrug.
"Go on, Sirius," Bones said to the dogman with a sigh. She would have to drive the Order out of the DOM. They had no reason to legally be there.
"During the last war we were a bit more proactive," Sirius continued, thinking of the last Order. "We did gather information, and we used it. But we usually only came after the fact. We did lose quite a few good people if we showed up during a Death Eater raid. We were told not to use deadly curses. I, of course, ignored that order. However, many didn't. They died," he said, a great deal of sadness in his voice.
"I see," Amelia said, jotting down a few notes and then putting her notebook back in her purse.
"Dumbledore claims to be a pacifist," Tonks said, a frown creased her brow.
"He's lying," Sirius said, looking towards the confused woman. "We've come up with the idea that he is a shadow warmonger. He starts wars in the shadows and runs them from there. He is in three seats of power. He can control the whole of Britain from where he sits. Well, he's lost two of those seats, temporarily. If he can prove that Voldy is back, they will throw those positions back at him so fast, we will get whiplash," he added, there was a hardness in his tone.
"So why does he say he's a pacifist?" she asked.
"Because warmongers like to see people die," Harry suggested, not sure if that was the truth or not.
"It might be a power thing. He has the power to order people to their deaths," Sirius suggested, liking his better than Harry's.
"We may never know," Harry said, not liking either.
"We really screwed the pooch in this didn't we," Amelia asked, looking to the only one of age to take any responsibility for Dumbledore being in power.
"Well, us and our ancestors," Sirius agreed, lifting his glass at her.
"Them too," she agreed. If they didn't keep those seats away from Albus they were screwed again. "He's been suspended from Headmaster for the foreseeable future," she added, though her tone was not hopeful.
"He'll be back before school starts," Sirius said, sharing her thoughts. He knew that even with the other seats out of Dumbledore's reach for the moment, he would fight tooth and nail for the headmaster position.
"What do you suggest?" Tonks asked, still not sure where she stood with this group, or in her mind. It was a lot to take in.
"I know Riddle wants to be in a seat of power, and I say let him. He has a plan, and it is a good one," Sirius said, taking a fortifying sip of his firewhiskey.
"Why? He's a Dark Lord," Tonks said, not sure where her cousin was going with this.
"Yes, but where has the 'Light' faction gotten us in the last fifteen years. We are still decades behind the rest of the world. You should know that. You straddle both worlds," he pointed out, knowing her dad liked to live in the muggle world. While her mother preferred to do things with magic.
"Is this true?" Bones wanted to know, looking at the two half-bloods.
"Yes," they both said unequivocally.
"You saw how they travel when we were there this afternoon," Harry pointed out, knowing that she navigated the muggle world.
"Those loud contraptions like the Knight Bus," she said with a nod. "However, the Knight Bus is better," she said with a great deal of pride. "And bigger," she pointed out.
"For over the road, sure. But muggles can fly across the ocean," Tonks said, and then described airplanes. She decided not to mention the flights into outer space for now. "That is for hundreds of people at a time," she added, making sure that it was impressive.
"That is… are you sure?" Bones asked, never having heard of such a thing. Not even portkeys could take hundreds of people at a time. But they were faster, surely that was better, right?
"I've been on one," the pink-haired woman said, nodding her head. "While portkeys are faster, the plane is more comfortable and can carry more."
"Well, I'll be," Amelia said, not feeling quite a superior as she had a minute ago.
"Tom wants me safe," Harry said, bringing them back to topic, "and to do that he wants us to blend in better. He knows the destruction that muggles can do. He grew up in a war. The bombs are more destructive now. If we are found out, fire is the last thing we have to worry about." He knew that the magicals of today still feared the burnings. He needed them to understand that they'd never see it coming if the muggles sighted them for death.
"What do you mean?" Bones and Sirius asked, both not knowing what he was talking about.
"I could describe to you what a nuclear bomb is, but you need to know more about science before you can understand what it is. Just know that if one hits, you will never even know you were dead. Because you will die that fast," he said, thinking of the films he saw in school of the bombs being dropped in Japan, and the devastation afterwards.
Both the purebloods looked both horrified and doubtful.
"He's not lying or exaggerating," Tonks said with a firm nod of her head to Harry. She too remembered the films from school and after. She had found the whole thing fascinating and studied it more.
"Why would they create something like that?" Sirius asked, wonder in his face and tone.
"Why did some wizard invent the Killing Curse?" Harry asked in return.
"Because humans are the deadliest animal on earth," Tonks said, she was trying for teasing, but it came out solemn.
"Touché, Harry," Amelia said, lifting her glass at Harry and giving Tonks a bit of a smirk.
"Anyway, we're getting distracted again. Tom has some good ideas that he had before he lost the plot last time. If he can get a seat of power, then he can implement them and we can move on from the Middle Ages," Harry said, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice and sighing.
"I'd like to know more about those plans before I can get behind him," Tonks said, putting her glass down since it was empty. She didn't want any more, so she put a napkin over it.
"He's going to be at the Ministry tomorrow, you can ask him," Sirius said, looking at Harry for a moment. "Are you staying here, or accompanying me?" he asked, not sure which he preferred.
"I'd take him with you. Fudge will react better with a celebrity at your side," Bones suggested, standing, and snapping her fingers. "My cloak, please," she told the elf that appeared. He was still oddly dressed.
"Are you leaving?" Harry asked, then he looked at the clock. It was going on midnight.
"Yes, I have to be at work in a few hours. As do you, Tonks," she said to her Auror.
"Yes, Boss," Tonks said, really glad she only had one glass of firewhiskey, or she would be in for a hard day.
"I will see all of you tomorrow," Amelia said, looking to Sirius to take her to the floo.
Sirius nodded and took her to the kitchen, where the only floo was. He came back a few minutes later, with a letter in his hand. It was from Tom telling him of the name he was going to be using. He was about to tell Harry when he noticed his godson's predicament.
Tonks had her arm around Harry, who was blushing. "Leave the kid alone, Nymphadora," the dogman said, ducking when she threw a hex at him.
"Don't call me that," she all but yelled as she started chasing him up the stairs.
Harry just shook his head and followed along. He didn't have to worry about turning off lights, the elves would do that. It had been a productive night. Sort of. Tomorrow, though, that might be a more interesting day.