Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no monies.
Chapter 10
Note: Hello my totally awesome readers! I know I said that updates for this would be sporadic but with RL being such a bitch and proving that when it rains it pours, I am sorry that it's taken over four months to get another chapter up. My sincere apologies. I hope you enjoy this, it was nice to finally be able to get back to it and hopefully, I'll be able to get the next chapter up fairly soon. I will say that it'll most likely be the last one, not sure though, might be one more, maybe. :) Thanks to every one of you who have patiently waited for more. You all totally ROCK! Enjoy!
HG-DM HG-DM HG-DM
Once back at the school, Severus wasted no time in getting a message to the trio through the coin Ms. Granger had kindly given to him so they could all stay in contact without raising suspicions. After his office hours had ended, Severus made his way to the Room of Requirement, pleased to see the students there waiting for him.
"What's up Professor?" Harry asked immediately. Severus could see the curiosity burning in all their eyes. He never called a meeting so their attentiveness was razor sharp.
"Tell me, Potter, does the house elf Kreacher still reside at the Black house?" Severus inquired.
"Yes he does, why? What does Kreacher have to do with anything?" Harry responded.
"Since becoming included in this little…group, I have had to search my mind for where I had heard of Horcruxes before when I realized it had been from Regulus Black. He had discovered what the dark lord had done and had found out where one of them, the locket to be exact, had been hidden." Severus paused to keep his emotions in check.
"He died getting the locket from its hiding place and gave it to his house elf…"
"Kreacher." Hermione stated.
"Yes, Ms. Granger, Kreacher. However, I do not know if the elf destroyed it like he was commanded to do or not." Severus stated.
"Kreacher!" Harry called out, knowing that house elf magic was vastly different than theirs and could appear just about anywhere when called.
*POP*
"Young master called?" Kreacher asked in his gravelly voice. His appearance still showed his age but the old elf seemed more at peace than ever before. It would seem Harry taking ownership of Grimmauld Place had released the elf from his bad mood and grouchiness as well as taking a few years off his looks. He had finally been freed of the matriarch's curse when Harry took full control.
"I did, Kreacher. Tell me, the locket Regulus gave you, do you still have it?" Harry asked.
Kreacher looked to Harry with fear in his eyes before answering, "Kreacher could not do what Master Regulus asked of him." The old elf answered, shame heavy in his voice.
"It's alright, Kreacher. Do you still have the locket?" Harry gently reassured the elf.
"Kreacher does. Does young master require the locket?" Kreacher voiced.
"I do. Can you bring it to me, Kreacher?" Harry asked.
"Young master shouldn't be near such evil but Kreacher will get it for young master." The old elf answered.
"Thank you, Kreacher." Harry said just as Severus asked, "Kreacher, could you take the locket to Madam Bones in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"
The old elf perked up at that and nodded his head. "Kreacher can do that. That would be better than young master being near such evil."
"Very well, Kreacher. Please get the locket and take it to Madam Bones and leave it with her and only her." Harry told the elf just before Kreacher disappeared. A few moments later, Kreacher reappeared.
"The locket is delivered, young master. Does young master need Kreacher for anything else?" Kreacher informed them before popping away after Harry shook his head.
"Well, that takes care of that then." Hermione said.
"It does, now, where are we with the Vanishing Cabinet?" Severus asked as he eyed the three students, his gaze ending on Draco.
"Well, we're still having problems. We tried the spells you told us about and the results were.." Draco tapered off only for Hermione to pick up.
"They were catastrophic, sir."
"Indeed." Was all Severus would say as he considered everything. "I believe we may be trying to…overload the Cabinet. Let us step out and summon the room."
After everyone stepped out, making sure no one was near to see any of them, Draco quickly summoned the room needed and the group stepped back in. Everyone stayed quiet while Severus ran several diagnostic spells over the Cabinet.
"It would seem my conclusion was correct. The Cabinet cannot handle any more magic being put on it." Severus explained.
"So, now what do we do? We can't just let DeathEaters into the school, it would be a massacre." Harry stated.
"I believe, rather than trying to turn the Cabinet itself into a trap, we should figure out another way to use it." Severus said to the group.
"Have any ideas, Godfather?" Draco asked.
"I might." Severus answered.
"Care to share with the rest of us?" Harry asked cheekily.
Severus cocked a brow at him before sharing his thoughts on the matter. "Rather than continuing to try to add more spells to something already heavily coated with varying magics, we relocate it." Here he paused to let his recommendation sink in.
"Relocate it? To where, Professor?" Hermione spoke up, truly confused.
"Can you think of no place that would be more secure than our beloved Hogwarts?" Severus baited.
Harry cocked his head, giving the question serious consideration before looking to Draco and Hermione to see if they were having any better luck figuring out where Severus was talking about. The other two looked as confused as he did until Draco's eyes lit up suddenly.
"You're talking about the Ministry, a particular part of the Ministry." Draco's eyes twinkled as he slowly realized where, exactly, his Godfather was talking about. "But, Sev, how do we get it there? It's not like we can just waltz in, not to mention, who in Merlin's beard do we trust?"
Severus smirked at his godson, proud of him for figuring it out.
"Wait, waltz into where, Malfoy?" Harry asked just as Hermione blurted, "Of course! That would be perfect…IF we could get in and had someone we could trust!"
"Okay, would someone please fill me in on this mysteriously perfect place?" Harry asked before he face-palmed after hearing his own words. "The Department of Mysteries!"
Severus gave them all a small nod before explaining his thoughts. "Very good, nice to see you three aren't complete dunderheads." He smirked before continuing, "Yes, the Department of Mysteries. Now, the how? Well, I have been in contact with Madam Bones since our esteemed "leader" has allowed so much to happen at Hogwarts without involving the DLME. The arrest of Dolores Umbridge for her quills started our communications and she has not been pleased to learn just how much danger the school has been in these past few years. Unfortunately, there has been nothing she could do since everything was done before she was alerted. However, Madam Bones is most interested in helping any way she can to end this blasted war."
"Wait, why would she be so interested in helping us now?" Harry interrupted.
"If you would be so kind as to let me finish, Potter, you would know that she is the Head of the DMLE and is over the Unspeakables as well; which is why she was the one with the ability to dispose of the locket without hesitation. It would seem the DoM has a room set up to handle such things. Do not ask for more information as I do not have any. I did not ask and she did not volunteer. May I continue?" Severus sneered at them. Harry nodded his head as he lowered it, realizing too late that he had been rude.
"Madam Bones and I have been trying to figure out a way to handle the situation without innocents being harmed." Severus told them.
During the Potion Masters explanation, Hermione had stood and started pacing. Her brain was running a mile a minute with this new information. She was trying to figure out how they could use the DoM's resources to help them.
"Tell me, Professor, how many rooms does the DoM have?" she asked.
"I do not know, why?" Severus answered, trying to figure out her train of thought.
"Well, if Madam Bones is serious about helping us, and I have no doubt she is, then could she, maybe, set up a room that the Cabinet could be placed in? Could we transport it there and let the DeathEaters and his nastiness come through to that room instead of here?" her voice trailed off as she continued to think.
"She may be able to arrange something." Severus answered.
"The room would have to be large and more secure than Gringotts vaults. Do you think she could arrange that?" Hermione finished as if Severus hadn't spoken. "What?" Hermione asked as she looked at the three sets of eyes focused on her with wonder and awe and a bit of pride.
"I believe you are on to something there, Ms. Granger." Severus commented.
"Do you think Madam Bones would be able to do that, Godfather?" Draco implored.
"She may. Only she knows what resources she has but I will pass this along to her." Severus told them. "For now, we must adjourn for the evening. I am sure everyone is wondering where two thirds of the 'Golden Trio' have gotten off to and no doubt Ms. Parkinson is lamenting the absence of the Slytherin Prince." Severus smirked at them when he heard their groans.
"You know, I really hate that title!" Harry moaned as Hermione nodded her head.
"As do I but like it or not, Sev is right and we should return to our common rooms." Draco conceded.
Giving a nod to the students, Severus was the first to leave, needing to send correspondence to Amelia immediately. The school year was ending quickly and time was running out on them all; Voldemort was expecting results before school let out.
HG-DM HG-DM HG-DM
The following Saturday morning found Severus sitting in Amelia's office, having come through her personal floo so as to not be seen by anyone, waiting patiently for her to finish whatever she was working on so their meeting could start.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting, Severus." Amelia said as she filed the folder away she had just been looking at.
"Not a problem, Amelia, glad you could make time on such short notice." Severus responded.
"Now tell me what's going on and don't leave anything out." Amelia gently commanded.
Severus told her what they had been trying to do with the Cabinet and what Ms. Granger had come up with.
"Well, I can't say I'm surprised you couldn't layer any more spells on that blasted cabinet. I can only imagine how many layers of whatever magic has been applied to it. Why Albus Dumbledore would allow such a thing to be at a school full of inquisitive children who have yet to learn to respect boundaries is beyond me. Anyway, what Ms. Granger suggested just might be doable. Tell me, Severus, how many do you believe would be coming through this cabinet when you report it is done?" She asked.
"From what I have been able to discern, I would estimate most of his followers. The plan is to cripple the school and overthrow the current staff as well as Dumbledore. As we previously discussed, he already has key positions in the Ministry and the Wizengamot so Hogwarts is the next logical step." Severus answered as truthfully as he could.
"Does Riddle plan on destroying Hogwarts?" Amelia asked for clarification.
"I do not believe so, no. He just plans to take control of the last bastian of light so he can impose his rule in every way possible and do the most damage to those who oppose him." Severus explained. "There is a rumor that Riddle himself may come through as well."
"Do you think he will?" Amelia asked, a bit surprised at this news.
"If I had to guess, I would say it is entirely possible, yes." Severus answered.
"Okay, but I have to ask, why? Why would he show himself now?" Amelia questioned, truly perplexed.
"Most likely because he feels that young Draco will fail in his mission considering the family's history with fulfilling "requests" given to them." Severus told her, disdain dripping from his words.
"Hmm, I see." Amelia commented. "Would he come as himself or be polyjuiced or glamoured in any way?"
"An excellent question that I have no answer for. He could do either." Severus answered after giving her question some thought.
"I see. Well, how many should we be able to hold in a room?" Amelia asked, getting back to the main question.
"I would suggest the area be large enough to hold two hundred or so witches and wizards. I don't think all of his followers will be "allowed" to come through but his highest ranking down to the middle level will most likely be expected to join the raid." Severus gave an educated guess before asking, "Do you have somewhere that can accommodate that many?"
"Actually, we do. Now tell me what else we should be prepared for." Amelia prodded, needing as much information as she could get to make this happen as smoothly as she could.
"Well, I would suggest you set up another room where his snake would be sent to. He takes his snake everywhere and if he feels as confident of his success as I've heard, then he would certainly bring Nagini along." Severus said.
"This snake, Nagini, is the last Horcrux, correct?" Amelia asked.
"We believe so, yes. Also, he keeps her in a powerful shield anytime I have seen her. The only time I have seen the shield drop was when she was about to eat or attack." Severus informed her.
"I see. Does Riddle drop the shield or is it set to do so without any help?" Amelia wondered aloud.
"Hmm, I believe the shield does it on its own or Nagini has been given the ability to do so." Severus replied.
"Well, that can be easily dealt with. Now, when are you wanting to move the Cabinet?" Amelia asked as she pinned the Potions Master with an intense look.
"Whenever you are ready to, although, I am curious as to how you will manage to move such a large object. You do know it cannot be shrunk and apparating would require Albus to be informed?" Severus pointed out to her.
"I do know this and the Unspeakables have a means to accomplish the move and that's all you get to know about that." Amelia answered him with a stern look. Severus nodded his head, knowing he wouldn't be privy to everything and that suited him just fine.
"If that is all, then I shall take my leave." Severus said as he rose to leave.
"One more thing, where is the Cabinet kept? Also, tell your students to leave it alone, the problem is out of their hands now." Amelia told the Professor in a no nonsense tone.
"It is kept in the Room of Lost Things and I will pass your message along. They will be relieved to wash their hands of it, I'm sure." Severus smirked as he threw in some floo powder and returned to his chambers.
HG-DM HG-DM HG-DM
