Chapter Fourteen: Subtlety vs Endurance

October 3rd

8:22pm

Hogwarts, Scotland

Harry

Of all the tasks in the world, Harry believed sitting at Slughorn's table was perhaps the most boring activity one could undertake. Even with a smaller set of students this time around, Slughorn couldn't stop preening at the same worthless garbage that they'd spout to gain some favour. The clothes he'd chosen to wear were also quite uncomfortable.

'If being given two options by Daphne, who crafted a great argument for matching to generate a sense of unity, wasn't much of a choice,' Harry thought as he dug into his chicken. One of the positives of Slughorn's get together was the promise of some exquisite food but beyond that the list was woefully short. Daphne, too, was a plus to these occasions. Watching her flatter the tubby Professor was entertaining enough for the few moments it occurred.

"Oh and a special thanks to Miss Greengrass for tonight's choice of red," Slughorn announced before continuing to ask, "might I hazard a guess at the vintage grange range from Australia?"

Daphne took a sip of the very wine they were discussing before replying, "you know your wine professor, 1967 to be exact."

"Oh my! I had thought none were left in the wizarding world," Slughorn exclaimed.

"A case was discovered in a muggle cellar a few years ago and my father acquired it from a business partner. I told him of these gatherings and he thought of his time here and suggested I bring it to share," Daphne said.

Slughorn was beside himself, swirling the drink in front of him as if debating whether or not to waste such a highly coveted wine. He made up his mind and took a sip of the wine and closed his eyes in delight, "you just thank your father for me, a wonderful selection, if slightly expensive."

"You love this," Harry whispered to Daphne who's smile turned into a subtle smirk.

"Shhh."

Harry smiled, leaned back and watched Slughorn enjoy the vintage wine. As good as all of the flattery was, he knew it would take more to weasel the memory out of the man.

"Harry my boy, I did not realise you and the minister were so close," Slughorn said inquisitively, no doubt controlling his giddiness at such a valuable collectible.

"It's a recent association," Harry answered. Slughorn looked at him expectantly so Harry continued, "we both want Voldemort dead and gone so our joining of forces seemed to be a good decision."

"Oh yes, the war, nasty business. Although I hear you and Miss Greengrass are handling yourselves well. I spoke with an old friend in the auror office recently and your name apparently comes up often over there," Slughorn divulged.

The mixed reactions from the rest of the table were a great source of entertainment for Harry who started to question his earlier assessment of these meetings. Several seemed jealous of the attention and praise Slughorn gave them like neglected children starved for attention. Others such as Neville and Hermione were more concerned than anything else. Blaise and the Carrow twins were the most interesting ironically as they seemed much more interested in the wine than anything being said.

"Only in a positive sense, I'd hope," Daphne intoned.

"Yes, of course, only praise and thankfulness from the force. As we can all see, it pays to have powerful friends," Slughorn assured after finishing off his dessert. "Now tell us about the giants, what exactly happened?"

"Ah sir, I don't think that's a story people want to hear whilst they're eating," Harry advised. The details weren't pretty and the mere memory of the foul smell was enough to put Harry off for the rest of the night.

"Are you sure you're not just trying to evade the question because you're nothing but a poster boy for the minister?" Cormac challenged snidely. Many at the table looked at him in outrage and the others to Slughorn to see if he'd stop the exchange but Harry could see the man was curious too.

"Alright then, if you guys lose your appetite, blame Cormac," Harry prefaced. "When we arrived on scene, an auror team had already been flattened by one of the giants so the minister, Daphne, myself and three aurors moved to replace them. When we began fighting the giant one of the aurors was incapacitated and another went to protect him but was unable to move so I shielded them whilst the others broke the beast's weapon. After that I stabbed it with a magically enchanted dagger and the giant died."

"That's it? That's the whole story?" Cormac asked arrogantly. The sentiment seemed to be shared by those around the table as they all looked at him with an expression of disappointment.

Daphne jumped to his defence and replied, "Harry, as always, sells himself short. He withstood the full force of an adult giant's attack with his shield for several minutes and scaled the behemoth single-handedly before stabbing it in the eye."

"As you can see," Harry started, "she is a much better storyteller than I am but what she fails to mention is how she forced a giant to stay in one place for the whole time it attacked me by herself."

Harry and Daphne looked at each other in appreciation, completely forgetting that they had nearly a dozen sets of eyes set on them. They both missed Cormac's embarrassed retreat into his chair and the blanket feeling of awkwardness throughout the room.

"Fascinating! Minerva was telling me you had aspirations to join the auror force yourself Harry, is that still the plan?" Slughorn asked excitedly.

Harry broke his gaze from Daphne and replied, "I'm keeping my options open right now."

"My my very diplomatically put, no wonder you did so well with the press," Slughorn complimented.

Harry smiled politely and dig into his dessert, some kind of ice cream delight that was much more enticing than having to think about the future. The dinner was once again turned over to Slughorn and his kiss-arse brigade which Harry actually appreciated after having to speak himself.

Not long passed before Slughorn checked the large clock on the wall. "Oh my, is that the time?" he called out, shocking the pair and the rest of the room. "You all must be off before curfew goes into effect, thank you all for coming and I'll be sure to send out invites for the next dinner within the coming week."

As students filed out of the Daphne gave a nod to Harry and made sure to stall long enough that he was the last out and had Slughorn to themselves.

"Professor," Harry started, gathering the portly man's attention, "I just wanted to thank you for putting these get togethers… well, together. It may not be a rare wine but I heard from someone that these are your favourite." Harry resized a jar of crystallised pineapples and handed them to the Professor who took them hesitantly.

"Who put you up to this Harry? Was it Dumbledore?" Slughorn asked in suspicion.

"No, Dumbledore and I don't get on these days. I found a stack of my mother's journals and she made mention that you liked this stuff," Harry lied. He and Daphne had constructed this fabrication the night before to speed along the acquisition of the memory.

Slughorn grew sad and sat in his chair, "ah yes, Lily. Such a marvellous witch, very talented, much like yourself. Your father was the auror but Lily was very special, no branch of magic could not be tamed by the famous Lily Evans turned Potter."

"I heard a story from some who knew her where she turned down a high level apprenticeship in the ministry because the man had shown prejudice to one of her friends. When asked why she did it she said 'if I don't stay true to myself, and those around me, then I am lost' and I think that says more about her than most of her journals do," Harry fabricated. According to Daphne this is what she'd consider subtle manipulation but it made him feel slightly dirty. Distant moral compunctions were straining to be obeyed but long was the time Harry put them in front of the mission.

"That sounds like her. The only thing more powerful than her grasp on magic was her fierce desire to do good," Slughorn croaked, his eyes lost in echoes of the past. "She was the best of our kind, taken too early, much too early."

Harry watched him turn to a picture on his desk which had her in it. Deciding he'd had enough of Slughorn's creepy feelings towards his dead mum he dismissed himself. "Anyway sir, I'm going to head to bed. Thanks for the dinner and for honouring my mother's memory with me," Harry said as normally as he could.

'If that doesn't get the old bloke going then I don't know what will short of bringing in Tom Riddle Jr to get him to talk.'

Slughorn's head snapped up and he wore an expression of guilt as he replied, "ah… yes yes you're welcome. Whenever you wish to speak about her just come to my office it is… ah always open to you. Goodnight."

Having been practically shooed out, Harry headed straight for the Gryffindor common room. Acting was tiring business for him and he couldn't wait to collapse into bed after such a long week.

October 4th

7:03am

Hogwarts, Scotland

Harry

"So," Daphne began, "how did he take it?"

With only minor injuries to speak of, Harry chose to throw himself into the comfortable couch that presented itself at first opportunity. "He ate it up, I think. He was suspicious at first but the story had him practically catatonic."

Daphne smiled as she dried her wet hair and sat down on her own armchair. One of the best features of the room was that it could fabricate entire sub rooms for them after the training was done so they didn't have to traverse the castle all sweaty before class.

"That's good," she replied. "We've got to keep playing the Lily Potter card, he is clearly susceptible to it."

"I agree," Harry supplied. "I also think we could try and change our mannerisms slightly to match a young Tom Riddle to spook him, what do you think?"

Daphne's expression turned thoughtful, "I suppose it could be useful if the slow approach becomes no longer viable but it would be counter intuitive to the current plan. We're trying to make him feel safe talking to us, we want him to look upon us and think 'those two are upstanding young citizens who I like very much' not 'my goodness they bare a striking resemblance to a young Voldemort' you see?"

"Yes I believe I do," Harry said before moving on. "So the aurors like us, that's a good sign."

"Indeed," Daphne agreed as she vanished the towel and pulled on her robes over her clothes. "Especially considering you're probably going to lead the, one day."

"Excuse me?"

"The ministry won't be able to hold long, look at Scrimengour for instance," Daphne said, confusing Harry.

"Scrimengour has been nothing but helpful so far, sure he investigated us but if anything that makes him more competent in my eyes," Harry retorted.

"Just because he's being corrupt for us doesn't mean he's not corrupt. Live long enough next to corruption's stench, you lose the ability to smell it. Eventually, the ministry will be infiltrated beyond our capabilities to combat and I guarantee Scrimengour won't even know it," Daphne explained.

'He has gone well beyond the bounds of ministerial privileges. Nowhere near Fudge's level but no one person should have the minister's favour so much that we could pop in and ask him to exonerate the world's most famous criminal for us just because we asked nicely.'

"I see where you're going, when the ministry falls they'll either flee or flock to us to continue the fight."

"Correct," Daphne affirmed.

"How many schemes are in that head of yours that directly involve me and, of those, how many have I not been informed of?" Harry asked in mock annoyance. In actuality it was quite fun to watch her formulate and divulge her grand designs, even though he knew he should be at least a little concerned.

She smirked and he laughed, such was the way most of their conversations went. "Don't worry," she said, "we're working towards the same goal. However, whilst your head needs to be in the present, mine can be planning for the future."

"That's… oddly comforting."

"You're welcome," she said and stood. "Come on, class starts in an hour."

Harry sighed, 'if I really think about it, I can not be bothered going to class. I feel like Voldemort takes precedence over learning how to brew a love potion or other such nonsense.'

"Yeah alright."

The two left the room of requirement and went their separate ways, failing to notice a disillusioned figure behind a suit of armour with sinister plans for the age old castle and its occupants.

October 4th

9:23pm

Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire

Voldemort

"Where is it?" Voldemort hissed threateningly at a frail old man who cowered below him. The man's robes were tattered beyond recognition, his hair had begun to fall out unevenly and he had blemishes all over his skin which spoke to the treatment he had received in his captivity.

"W-w-where is what?" Ollivander asked with a tremor and an arm raised in a futile effort to defend himself.

The red in Voldemort's eyes seemed to deepen as he threw his arm out. The prisoner was lifted off the floor of his cell and pinned to the wall, a powerful force holding him in place making him press into the solid obstacle.

"You know what I speak of wandmaker!" Voldemort shouted, pressing hard into the man with his magic. Ollivander strained against the cold walls of the Malfoy cellar, his body groaning in protest at the Dark Lord's punishment.

"I have never seen what you seek, I swear!" he yelled when his body had taken too much pain. Voldemort pressed harder once more to ensure the truth and Ollivander screamed in anguish. The Dark Lord held him in place for moments before growling angrily and dropping the old man who rag dolled to the floor. Ollivander coughed violently as Voldemort watched impassively.

"Even if you have never seen it," Voldemort said silkily as he bent unnaturally to be close to his prisoner's ear, "you will have heard of it in your long life. A name, a place, a whisper. Whatever secrets you hold will be mine, whether you choose to comply or not."

Garrick Ollivander leveraged himself up so that he could lean against the cell wall. "The wand is a myth, any stories I've heard I took with no credibility."

"Then you are a fool."

Ollivander stared at Voldemort dispassionately, much of his dignity had already been stripped away so the insult was not very effective. Months of torture, malnutrition and humiliation had the same effect on wizard as it did muggles and he was so tired of it all. The man hung his head in his head and sobbed quietly, Voldemort hissed once more and he lifted his head.

"Gregorovitch," Ollivander almost whispered. "Gregorovitch was the last I heard that possessed the wand."

"Gregorovitch…" Voldemort mused aloud, "when?"

Ollivander wore an expression of guilt but replied nonetheless, "nineteen twenty one."

'Perhaps he thought his defiance would allow his colleague to escape, no matter. Lord Voldemort is inescapable,' the Dark Lord thought assuredly. He turned to leave but stopped as he heard the wandmaker struggle to stand. He had turned sideways to the dark lord as he bent over to catch his breath before turning his head to gaze upon his jailer.

"Why do you seek the wand?" Ollivander asked confusedly. "I've seen you use your wand recently to great effect. If you are already unbeatable as you so often claim then what will the wand do for you?"

Voldemort's eyes narrowed, "do not challenge me filth, my reasons are my own."

"Your wand… yew… thirteen and a half inches… phoenix feather," Garrick started before his eyes widened and turned to face the dark lord fully, "Tom Ri—"

A green light flashed in the cell followed by the smack of flesh on concrete and the dark lord lowered his wand. The famous old man was slumped against the back wall of his cell, unmoving and eyes glassy.

'That's another loose end tied. Foolish old man, didn't know when to speak and didn't know when to shut his mouth.'

"I thank you, Ollivander, for taking my secret to the grave," Voldemort whispered mockingly.

He took one final look at the corpse and left the cell to return to his throne room. As he walked down the well decorated halls he contemplated the information he received. 'Gregorovitch, Croatian wandmaker. A simple snatch and grab should do, no need to go all that way for one man, especially one of his abysmal calibre.'

He reached the throne room and touched his wand to his forearm, calling Bellatrix to his side as he sat down. The witch appeared in the room before him and knelt, her metal arm on her heart.

"My master, how may I serve?"

"There is a wizard in Croatia, Gregorovitch, I wish to make him a guest of the cellars. Send some mercenaries to retrieve him," he commanded. He would not waste death eaters on the lead when they could be needed here.

"The wandmaker, my lord?" Bellatrix asked reverently, her head still bowed.

"Stand Bellatrix, and yes, the wandmaker. If he has a family, retrieve them too, they could prove… useful." Bellatrix nodded her head and set out to complete her master's wishes when he halted her. "Oh and tell Wormtail to dispose of the body in cell three."

Bellatrix bowed once more and opened the large doors of the throne room eager to scare some mercenaries and pester Wormtail.

A/N: okay so yeah, lots happening in this chapter but also not really? I suppose it could be called a filler chapter but it is important to see the development of the narrative rather than just jumping to important bits or solutions.

I had to do a lot of research for this chapter, Gregorovitch took a while, the wine took longer. Gregorovitch doesn't have a confirmed nationality so I went with his name and it's popularity around when he was born and I also took into account the guy who played him in the movie was Serbo-Croatian and went with Croatia. There aren't very many exact dates for when he had the elder wand either so I just picked one in the range for Ollivander to hear about it.

On that note, yep good ole Olli is dead. Never made sense to me that V wouldn't kill him considering he'd know that he was Tom Riddle. He never forgets a wand he sells, he straight up tells Harry that his wand is brothers with the Dark Lord's therefore he should know that he is Tom Riddle. Anyway, he dead now.

Now, I hesitate to say this cause maybe some of you haven't noticed it but I've been Scrimengour wrong. Apparently it's actually spelt Scrimgeour and honestly I'm so far in at this point that I have no intentions to go back and change each one. I'm sorry if that absolutely kills you inside but I simply don't have the patience with 's publishing process.

This chapter's recommendation is 'like real people do' by VereorFaux. A cute Haphne one-shot worth a read.

Hope y'all enjoyed :)

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