Chapter 25: A Few Short Meetings

As many of you might have guessed, my hands finally crapped out on me. I had to spend the last week doing something I hate. Watch tv. I really genuinely hate watching tv. But I couldn't even scroll my tablet with my hands.

They feel better today, so I wrote this. It is shorter than the other chapters, I think, but I'm not going to push myself.

Thanks for all the reviews.

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While those at Grimmuald Place were finishing their talk, Severus flooed into Malfoy Manor as he was welcome within the wards. He noted the dining room was empty, so he went to the receiving room, after greeting Narcissa, who was looking better than she had these last few days. Draco must be behaving himself.

He knew that she was still looking for somewhere to volunteer at. He was going to suggest St. Mungo's. She and Draco could do some work there. She would do well. Draco… maybe not.

"My lord," he said when he entered, bowing low.

"You have news," Tom asked, looking up from the book he was reading. After seeing the look on his spy's face, he looked back down to his page again. It was something trivial.

"Bones wants to meet with you. I believe it is about the raid," Snape said, looking up and meeting the man's eyes.

"Very well, floo Black and tell him to get a message to her and we can meet in an hour at the same restaurant, unless he wants to let me in on his secret," Tom said, flipping a page in his book.

"I will ask," Snape said, leaving the room and going to the floo. He knelt and activated the floo with some floo powder. He waited for the flames to turn green and then put his head in and called into the room. "Black."

"Snape? What do you want?" Sirius asked, coming into view.

"Are we clear?" Severus wanted to know.

"Yes, the kids are upstairs and everyone in the room is in the know," Black said, waving behind him to people Snape couldn't see.

"Tom says to tell Bones they can either meet at the same restaurant in an hour or you can give him your secret and they can meet there," Snape said, in a daring tone. Like he was goading him into giving up the secret.

"I don't trust him enough to give that secret up. Not yet anyway. Besides Hermione Granger is here. There's no way we could hold a secret meeting here without her spilling it to someone," Sirius said, looking at Alastor to make sure the kids were still in the library. He got a nod, so he continued. "I'll tell her to meet at the restaurant. Do you think we should be there, or just those two?"

"Were you invited?" Snape asked in a snide tone. It was just like Black to invite himself along.

"Never mind," Sirius said, smirking at the man. "I'll let her know," he said, then shut down the floo, conveniently booting the other man out. He then asked Alastor to cast a message Patronus to let her know when and where to meet.

"I'll be joining her," the one-legged man said, not letting his longtime friend meet the Dark Lord along.

"Sounds like a plan," Sirius agreed.

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Amelia and Alastor were at a table outside waiting for Tom. Alastor had taken Harry's advice and had an eyepatch over his eye and a bandana over his forehead, then a hat over the bandana. Most of his scars and his magical eye were completely covered.

Amelia ordered for them, just some chips and fizzy drinks. Tom came strolling up a few minutes later, this time bringing his own muggle money. He ordered the same as them. He wasn't going to waste money on their sandwiches, but they couldn't really mess up chips.

They sat there for a few minutes, then Amelia told Tom what she wanted. "There's an amulet that I need for the raid," she said, playing with her straw. "I need you to scare Fudge into giving it to you to give to me," she added.

"You don't think he'll just give it to you?" Tom asked, thinking he'd probably just steal the damn thing. Goyle was going tonight to steal the ledgers, he could nab the amulet too. He'd tell the man after this meeting.

"No, the minister guards the damn thing viciously. It gives him control over the dementors," she said, taking a sip of her drink. The chips had come, and they were lazily eating the greasy things. None of them were particularly hungry, they were just munching.

"I will get it for you," Tom promised. "Do you know where he keeps it?"

"In the safe behind the picture of his wife," she answered, thinking that maybe she shouldn't be telling the Dark Lord such a secret, then realizing he could find out on his own.

"I'll take care of it," Tom said, leaving his drink and chips untouched, he got up and walked away.

"Well, he's going to steal that," Alastor said, dipping one of his chips in vinegar.

"Yup," Amelia agreed, taking another sip of her drink.

"I'd better get back to Grimmuald Place. I need to train Black, Lupin and Tonks up some more," Moody said, pushing the chips and drink away. He too got up and left his mostly untouched food and drink on the table.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, gathering up all the trash and taking it to the tip. She didn't mind having to clean up. It gave her something to do with her hands for a minute. She wondered why she wasn't more upset with Tom for his plan in stealing the amulet. Oh well, he was a Dark Lord.

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Things weren't going well at the Burrow. There was a lot of fighting, and the kids were unsure as to what was going on. Their parents never fought like this before, and there was only one person to blame. Albus Dumbledore. That is who they were fighting over. Arthur was demanding that Molly not mention the man's name in the house anymore, and she was saying that he was a great man.

"Damn it, Molly, I am the man of this house. I am saying this for the last time. Albus Dumbledore is no longer allowed here," Arthur stated for the final time. "Bill, add his name to the reject list," he ordered his oldest son, who was working the wards.

"Sure thing, Dad," Bill said, more than willing to comply. He didn't like Dumbledore any more than his dad did. Especially since he found out about the potioning. Both the student body's and Harry Potter's.

All of his family had been tested and all those still in Hogwarts did have traces of mind-altering potions in their system. He had been livid. Even Fleur had had some, which meant that the visiting schools had also been potioned. Fleur had warned her ex-headmistress. They were going to test those that had been at Hogwarts.

"Thank you, Bill," Arthur said, turning and facing his wife. "I know all about the potions in Harry Potter. I can't point a finger at any one person and say, 'you did it'. However, I can make assumptions. If I find out that you, or my two youngest children had anything to do with that, I will get very angry," he said in a very low tone.

"Don't think you can talk to me that way, Arthur Weasley," Molly said, putting her fist on her hips, like she was talking to the twins.

"I am not one of the children," Mr. Weasley said, his voice still low. "I am your husband, and I insist that you start towing the line. By that I mean, quit telling Ginny she's going to marry Harry. I won't allow it if he came to me tomorrow and asked for her hand. I would whisk him to the hospital to have him checked for potions. Oh, and Bill, if I do say yes, have me checked, okay?" he said, turning back to his son.

"Sure thing, Dad," Bill said, glaring at his mum. He didn't worry about being potioned. He was checked regularly for work. If any showed up in his system, he was purged immediately.

"Well, I never," Molly said, having never been looked at like that by one of her children.

"You are the one who is so fond of telling us how you potioned Dad into loving you," Bill said, folding his arms in a defiant manner.

"That is just a story," she said, waving it off as a fairytale.

"Yet you are potioning Harry Potter to be Ginny's husband?" the oldest child asked, not sure her protest was real or not.

"There is no proof of that," she said, looking around the room like that proof would pop up any moment.

"Your face is proof enough for me," Bill said, glaring at her again. "Oh, and leave Fleur alone. I will be marrying her, whether you and Ginny like her or not," he said, going to sit by his fiancé.

"Have you two been harassing the poor girl?" Arthur asked, he didn't know that. He was at work most of the time. Someone had to feed this family. He quite liked Fleur; she was really good for Bill. He had never seen his son so happy with any other woman.

"Yes, they have," Fred said, looking at Ginny like she was the instigator of the bullying. They had just come down the stairs and caught the last of the talking. The yelling was over, and they thought it was safe to come down.

"Why?" Arthur asked his only daughter as the rest of the family filed into the kitchen and took seats around the table.

"She's, um, well, you see, she's, it's just," Ginny struggled to find a way to describe how she was feeling around the Veela, but she couldn't without coming off as petty. She glared at the Fleur as if it were her fault that she was having trouble conveying how she felt.

"Ah, you're just jealous," Arthur stated with dawning understanding. "You know, she can't help who she is, right? Anymore than you can help that you are a redhead. I never figured you for a petty person, Ginny," he told his little girl. Normally he wouldn't talk to his child this way, but he wasn't feeling particularly charitable. "Back to the original topic, did you know about the potions in Harry?" he asked his two youngest. Now that the shouting was over, he wanted them to answer.

"No?" she answered in a low questioning voice. Her eyes were blown wide open, like a house elf caught doing something wrong.

"Was that a question?" he asked, knowing that she did know about them, but how much did she know? That was the question.

She looked to her mother, who seemed to be trying to talk to her with her eyes. Unfortunately, she didn't understand what her mother was trying to say.

"Don't look to your mother for answers. Just answer the question, did you know?" Mr. Weasley asked again.

"Yes?" she answered in the same manner.

"Ron?" he turned his attention to the youngest boy.

"What of it?" the belligerent boy asked. "Dumbledore said it was okay and even necessary," he added, taking a piece of bread from the basket in the middle of the table.

Arthur smacked the bread out of the boy's hand. "I want your complete attention. It is never okay to potion someone into compliance," he said as he leaned forward and looked the boy straight in the eye.

"But Dumbledore," was as far as Ron got.

"Is not the head of this family," his father said, standing up and looking at all the faces looking at him. "Grounded," he said, looking at Ginny, Ron, and Molly. "You three are grounded. Yes, I am talking to you too, Molly. There will be no flying, flooing, or going anywhere for the three of you. No playing, no reading, no letters, nothing but housework and homework for the rest of the summer. It is my word, so mote it be. Molly that includes meetings," he finished and then he left the room.

"I wouldn't push him on this," Bill said, looking at the three of them in disgust. "I've never seen him so angry," he added, taking Fleur's hand, and guiding her out of the room.

"You three really messed this up," Fred said, looking to George, who had been silent. "I hope you learn from it," he added, his look of disgust mirrored his older brother.

"Percy was right about Dumbledore," George said, getting up and leaving the room with his twin.

"What are we going to do now?" Ginny asked her mum.

"We wait for Dumbledore," she answered.

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Later that night, after dinner, Goyle appeared at Malfoy Manor. He was shown to the receiving room by Narcissa, who left quickly. Goyle had a sack in his hand. It was small, but it was much bigger on the inside.

"My lord," he said, bowing low. "I got what you required," he added, pulling three ledgers out of the sack and an amulet. His lord had come to his house earlier that day to tell him about the amulet. He had been so worried that he might not be able to find it, but it was right where his lord had said it would be.

"Did you find anything else of importance?" the Dark Lord asked, looking at each ledger. One was Malfoy's bribe ledger and the other was Umbridge's. The final one was Fudge's bribe ledger. That was the only one he was interested in at the moment. The other two would come in handy for blackmail material later.

"Only some letters that threaten the man's life," Goyle stated, taking them out an showing them to his lord. They were just as the man said, death threats.

"Interesting," Tom said, reading them over. He might use these to frame the death of Fudge on someone. He'd have to put these back in the office, where they could be seen. "You have done well," he told his goon.

"Thank you, my lord," the minion said, bowing low.

"You may go," Tom said, with a dismissive wave. He was reading the ledger already. In the back, where the most recent bribes were, he saw that there were some of the Wizengamot being bribed to pass a new werewolf law. It must have been before he rid the world of Umbridge. He wondered if that law was even going to be proposed.

His thoughts were interrupted when Snape came into the room.

"My lord, I have news," his spy said, bowing low.

"Speak," he said, not meaning to sound so short, but he was interested in the ledger.

"Dumbledore came to me this evening. I was in Diagon Alley getting some cauldrons for my supplies. I was walking back to the castle when he approached me. He is worse than before. He is obsessed with you and the prophecy. Not to mention Harry Potter. I told him of the raid," Snape said, all in one breath.

"What of Harry Potter?" Tom wanted to know. That was all that mattered to him at the moment.

"Albus is sure he is the end all of this war," Snape said, lowering his head so that he couldn't see the anger filled eyes. They were not directed at him, but he didn't want to look at them. When the Dark Lord was angry, his eyes still turned red, and it was unnerving.

"Has Black rejected him from the wards?" Tom asked, not sure if the man could, seeing as Albus held the Fidelius.

"I do not believe so," Severus answered, thinking along the same lines.

"Go to him and demand that he do so," the Dark Lord ordered, not in the mood for niceties.

"At once, my lord," Snape said, moving out of the room in a jog. He went to the floo and flooed over to Grimmuald Place. He exited the fireplace and noted that they were done with supper and were eating afters. "Black, a word," he said, nodding to Tonks and Potter. He moved to leave the kitchen.

"Hello, Professor," Granger said in a cheerful voice.

"Granger," he greeted in his normal sneer. He continued to leave the room.

Sirius got up to follow. "Excuse me," he said to those at the table. He went to the hall and threw up a silencing ward. "What's up?" he asked the spy.

"Tom has asked that you ban Dumbledore from the house," Severus said, looking around the hall.

"Why?" Sirius asked, confused as to the suddenness of it all.

"I ran into him this night, and he is obsessed with making Harry fight in the war," Snape said, his voice urgent.

"Oh, well that is a good enough reason. Come with me," Sirius said, going up the stairs, and heading to the library. That is where the ward room was. once they got there, they went to the back and found the door and entered into the ward room. In the center was a large crystal, green in color. It was shining bright, and it illuminated the whole room. Sirius went to the stone and found a place that he was searching for. He placed his finger on it and twisted. "There, Albus Dumbledore is no longer welcome in #12 Grimmuald Place."

"What of the Fidelius?" Snape asked, looking at the ward stone. He could feel the magic radiating off it. It was that old.

"He still holds the secret, for all the good it will do him," Sirius said, then he thought about that for a moment. Albus could tell someone the secret and have Harry kidnapped. He placed his finger on another spot and twisted again. Then he took out his wand and tapped a few other places. "There, now there is no Fidelius Charm on Grimmuald Place. I need to recast it. Come on, I need to call Moody and Bones," he said, going out of the room.

They both hurried to the kitchen and moved to the floo. Sirius called the two aforementioned people. They both agreed to come over in an hour. They would decide who would cast the charm then.

"What's happening?" Harry asked, looking worried.

"Nothing too bad," Sirius assured him, giving him a pointed look.

"Does it have to do with Tom?" the male teen asked, not wanting his female friend to know what was going on.

"No, for once it doesn't," Sirius said, with a smile.

"Who's Tom?" Hermione asked, looking at everyone in the room, who all seemed to know this Tom person.

"Someone we met this summer. He gets into a lot of trouble," Harry said with a cheeky grin.

"Like you're one to talk," she said, swatting his arm. "When can I meet him?" she asked, looking at her friend.

"It might be a while. He's very shy," Harry said, looking like he just ate a canary.

"I find that hard to believe," Hermione said, judging his expression.

"No, really he is," the teen said, trying to look innocent.

"Enough," Snape said, tiring of their byplay. "Tom is shy," he told the girl. He could lie better than anyone in the room. "You will meet him, only when he is ready to meet you. End of discussion," he said with finality.

"Yes, sir," she said, hanging her head a bit, but there was a bite to her tone.

"You kids finish your afters, and then go to the library," Sirius said, taking up his fork to finish his raspberry tart.

"Okay, Sirius," they said, then giggled. They ate, then left the adults to their meeting.

Amelia and Alastor came an hour later, and they decided that Alastor would carry the secret for the new charm. It was decided that Tom was still not to be told the secret, but Arthur could know, along with the older Weasley kids. They could come to visit, along with Neville and Luna. Susan and Hannah were also allowed for the times, Amelia would be here for meetings.

Now with the house secure, they all went to bed feeling better.