THE NEW ORDER

By

Padfootjr23

Chapter Fourteen: Betrayal of the Worst Kind

"Who are you?" James Potter asked from his position on the floor. The last few minutes the others had reemerged from the lower levels of the house and were standing in the entrance hall in a state of confusion and shock. A few of them had acted quickly when they realized someone else was there and pulled their hoods up over their heads to prevent being identified but the majority weren't in any state to think of such precautions. After all it wasn't everyday you see a walking talking dead man. "I SAID, WHO ARE YOU? I DEMAND TO KNOW WHY YOU ARE IN MY HOUSE!" He yelled as Harry gave him no answer. The concealment charm on his battlerobes had worn off while they were questioning Geoffrey Stevens so the sight of the magnificent robes with the hood drawn and the 'casual' way he was sitting on the stairs made for an intimidating sight and that angered James greatly since he was in no position to ward off any attack. Susan and Blaise had heard the commotion and come down from the library and were currently standing halfway up the stairs looking at the people below with open mouths.

Harry was still in a state of shock and didn't hear the man's first question. His first thought was obviously that this was impossible but if it were James Potter it would explain how he had entered the house. Twinkle was bound to serve the Potter family so she would have heard his call and would have had to follow his instructions. Twinkle had said that the master had told her to allow them in but since Harry certainly didn't tell her to that was the only possibility left. Also the fact that you could not simply use Polyjuice potion to fool a house elf, they would know who their master was and who wasn't no matter what type of deception was used. But he had seen his parents images come out of Voldemort's wand at the end of his forth year, indicating that he had killed them. Unless…

Harry quickly squashed these thoughts in favor of another. In one of his 'dream visits' with Godric Gryffindor he had said that he did not know Harry's parents personally because he had yet to find them in the realm of the dead. He couldn't find them because they weren't there at all, they never were. He was pulled out of his thoughts as the man began yelling at him and Harry quickly felt his anger rising to new heights.

"You are in a position to demand nothing." Harry snapped as he pulled himself back up to his feet. "I on the other hand, am in a position to demand everything." He said coldly as he stepped closer to the man.

"Twinkle, I want these people out of my house immediately!" James ordered in a last ditch effort to regain control of the situation. The little elf just looked at the man with sad eyes before she shook her head and respond in a weak voice.

"I am sorry Master James, but I must follow Master Harry's wishes." At these words James attention was snapped back to the man in front of him and his eyes were wide in shock at the implication that she had to follow his orders instead of his own.

"That is not possible. Harry will not be seventeen for over a year yet." He chocked out as he cast a wary gaze at his shocked children. Harry chuckled humorlessly.

"Is that all you can think about when faced with the son you abandoned to die years ago? You truly are as arrogant as Snape always claimed. I noticed your son seemed to know very little of Voldemort and judging by your children's stunned expressions I would venture a guess that they know very little if anything about your past. Am I right? Well to satisfy your curiosity, the goblins were very helpful in expediting certain formalities to prevent the Ministry from hindering my movements. Despite the fact that I am underage I AM the legal head, and in my opinion, the ONLY remaining member of the Potter family." He responded as he circled around his 'father'. When he was behind the man he raised one of his wands to his right eye and whispered a soft word. If would cause him great discomfort later on but he felt the need to shock the man as much as possible. Not even Snape or Tonks knew about his magical yet and Harry thought it was a perfect time for them to find out.

"Where is Sirius? If you truly are Harry Potter then he should be here with you!" James demanded as Harry came back into his line of sight. This, he would learn, was the wrong thing to say. The temper that Harry was just barely containing finally snapped and with a strength born from rage and pain he lifted the man up and slammed him into the wall pinning him in place with his left forearm held tightly against his throat. With a quick movement he ripped away his hood as well as the scarf that covered his right eye. The struggle the older man was putting up ceased immediately when his wide eyes locked on to the face that was mere inches from his own. The various scars that stood out on his oldest son's face stunned him beyond belief but it was the absence of one of his eyes that made his knees go weak. He would have fallen to the floor if it weren't for the unnatural grip the boy had on him.

"Sirius is dead." Harry said through clenched teeth. "He died two months ago after spending over a decade in Azkaban for your 'murder'. He died saving my life so if you value yours you will do everything I say and answer every question I ask." With that Harry released the man and James promptly fell to the floor where he began coughing and rubbing his throat while casting disbelieving looks at Harry and those around him.

"Take them all down to the holding cell." Harry snapped at Dung and Bill who had just walked through the door and were standing there in a state of supreme confusion.

"Harry I suggest we leave the children up here with Twinkle when we question them. That interrogation room is no place for children." Tonks spoke up uncertainly. Harry glanced at the three children standing against the wall for a moment. The two youngest looked to be about seven years old, probably twins, and they both looked frightened but their curiosity seemed to overwhelm their fear. The oldest boy had his face set in an expressionless mask, well he obviously thought it was expressionless, but it was clear he wanted answers as well.

"No, they will come with us. Their parents felt the need to hide their past from them so they will get their answers when we do. But you're right about the basement. Bring them all into the sitting room, we'll do this in there." Tonks nodded and led the three into the next room as Snape levitated the unconscious body of Lily Potter behind them. Harry had his wand trained on James and motioned him to follow the others. The elder Potter had a look on his face that clearly said he could not believe that things had progressed to such a point. Everyone else had made their way into the sitting room leaving only James, Harry and Bill Weasley who was standing just behind Harry's left should and looked at the man as if daring him to try anything. Susan had quickly explained to him and Dung what was going on and to say the least, they were pissed. Slowly James stood up from the floor and crossed the entrance hall into the next room.

Ten minutes later the three children were sitting on the couch with their parents in high backed armchairs at an angle next to them. The lack of space had everyone else other that Susan and Blasie standing around the room and the four conscious members of the James Potter's 'family' were feeling real uneasy about the looks they were getting.

"Let's get this over with." Harry finally said after what felt like an eternity of silence and everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "We'll start with him but I want my mother to witness this." Harry spat the word mother as if it were a word to be held in disgust. Bill and Dung held James tightly as Snape administered the Veritaserum. When they were sure it had taken affect Tonks revived Lily Potter. After a brief moment she shook her head as if to clear away some cobwebs then quickly looked about for her children. She looked relieved to see them safe and sound but then seemed to realize the situation they were in. Being surrounded by a dozen unknown cloaked and hooded people was not very reassuring. Granted she knew Snape but no matter what Dumbledore said she wasn't about to trust her family's safety to the man. Her attention was immediately drawn to the young man standing at Snape's side. She visibly flinched at the look on his face, not only because of the scars but also because of the anger and loathing that burned in his one eye. An eye that somehow seemed familiar

"Who are you?" She asked in a quiet voice but it held a certain edge to it. She may be in what seemed like a hopeless situation but she wasn't about to be intimidated.

"I'm sure you recognize Severus Snape here," The young man began as he motioned to the man beside him. "Over there, you will remember Mundungus Fletcher and these two lovely young women are Nymphadora Tonks and Blaise Zabini. Not even Dumbledore is entitled to know the identity of our other companions so it should go without saying that neither will you. I, on the other hand, have a name I am sure you will recognize, Harry Potter." Lily's face went chalk white as she surveyed the face of her son and her eyes began to shine with tears. She looked like she was about to say something but Harry cut her off. "Until I say otherwise, you will keep your mouth shut." Harry snapped in anger before turning towards James.

"Just for clarification, what is your name?"

"James Edward Potter."

"The entire magical world believes that you and your wife died in October of 1981, how did you survive the attack?" Harry asked, he didn't see Lily's confused expression at the question.

"We were never attacked at that time."

"Interesting, so who stood in your place on Halloween night of that year?" Snape sneered as he picked up the line of questioning. Realization seemed to have dawned on Lily and she was unable to hold back her tears any longer but no one paid her any mind, they just wanted to know who had died for their young friend when not even his parents were willing to defend him.

"Brian and Alia Bones." It sounded as if the air was sucked out of the room as everyone gasped and turned concerned eyes towards Susan. The disappearance of Mr. and Mrs. Bones had always been a big mystery but it seemed that they now had their answer. Susan had gone pale and she was shaking slightly but that was not enough to cover up the hate that was showing as she glared at the doped up man sitting directly across from her. Without warning, the petite Hufflepuff jumped up from her chair and rushed at the man. Everyone would have simply loved to see her lay into the man but given the circumstances it wasn't really productive. Thinking quickly, Bill cut her off just before she reached her target and got a tight hold on her before pulling her out of the room.

"Don't leave her by herself right now. I'll let you know what we find out later." Harry whispered to Bill as he passed, his voice showing his deep concern for the girl. The eldest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley nodded silently before leaving the room, holding the sobbing girl to him tightly. Having no idea who the girl was, their 'guests' wanted to know who she was and why she reacted in such a fashion but one glance by Harry convinced them not to ask so they opted to remain silent.

"Why were they impersonating you and where have you been for the last fourteen and a half years?"

"We had known for quite some time already that we were targets of the Dark Lord…" What followed was a very detailed description of the history between Lily and James Potter and everyone's favorite Dark Lord. After escaping him for a forth time in late November of that year they decided that if their family was to survive it would have to be far way from England where Voldemort was consolidating his power. Over the next few weeks they planned every last detail and had even enlisted the help of their friends, Brain and Alia Bones, in an attempt to give them a good head start. They would use Polyjuice potion over the course of two weeks to throw off any suspicion by making themselves seen in public from time to time. Unfortunately they thought they couldn't risk taking Harry with them since they had no idea how long they would be moving around and it wouldn't be the best atmosphere for an infant. Instead they decided to leave him behind to be raised by Sirius until it was safe for them to return to England. After impersonating James and Lily for two weeks the Bones' would inform Sirius of the situation. It would be relatively easy to convince those that had never seem Harry before that he was Sirius' son since he was widely regarded as a playboy at the time so the idea that he had an illegitimate child was not to much of a stretch.

"If told, Sirius and a number of others would have tried to stop us or accompany us and I could not allow either to happen. With us in hiding Voldemort would expend valuable resources to find us, weakening himself in other areas and I wanted Sirius to be the one to look after Harry. Two people can hide better than three and I didn't want my best friend to be hunted as well." James replied when Dung asked why neither Sirius nor Dumbledore had been told before hand. Soon they got to the question of where they had been hiding. Once again James explained how they had come across their little sanctuary in south-east Asia and as he described their lives when prompted Harry felt a renewed sense of betrayal building in side of him. The man spoke of the loving atmosphere as they lived there lives in piece and happiness with their three children, away from the prying eyes of those that may wish them harm.

Harry had never felt so angry in his life and it took every last bit of restraint to keep from attacking the man outright. While he was living through hell with the Dursleys and while he was dodging assassination attempts by Voldemort, the two people that should care more about him more then any other were living peacefully with their new family. A family that he obviously never had any place in. He would be lying to himself if he claimed that he was not jealous of the three children, his brothers and sister, and the life they had. All he had ever wanted was to be part of a caring family and four the last five years he had blamed Voldemort for his lack of a happy childhood but in reality it was the actions of his parents that had denied him that life.

"One more question," Harry with a hitch in his voice. He wanted nothing more than for this day to be over and crawl into his bed and never wake up again but he needed an answer to his final question. "You claim that you wanted me to be raised by Sirius until you returned and yet it has been nearly fifteen years since you ran like cowards. You made no effort to contact me, Sirius or anyone else. If you had you would have certainly learned of the man's wrongful imprisonment and the fates of the two people that died doing what you refused to attempt, protect a helpless child. Normally you would think a parent would want to at least get information about their child but you did not feel the need to seek out that information. Your apparent indifference seems to show that you left and then had no intention of coming back."

"That's not true!" Lily exclaimed through her sobs, drawing all attention to her. "We didn't want to leave you at all."

"And yet you did just that." Harry sneered back with contempt. "My question is this, why is it that you didn't attempt to return or at least get into contact with someone?"

"By the time we felt it was safe to return Lily had already given birth to Jacob. When they were both well enough to travel we found other excuse not to return. Soon we had two more children and our desire to protect them gave us reason enough to stay. When the children grew older we were afraid of their reaction to the truth. They didn't even know that Andrews was not our true name much less the fact that they had an older brother."

"So you basically locked three children up in the mountains to ensure their safety but you had no problem leaving your first born son to die, all because you were afraid of upsetting the children you did care about." Tonks snapped as she stood up quickly from the chair Susan had been sitting in before she was taken out of the room by Bill. James was obviously confused by the statement since he didn't answer but no reply was necessary. Harry nodded to Snape and the potions master administered the antidote before returning the cork to the vial and stepping back. After a few moments the effects of the Veritaserum were completely gone leaving the man with a splitting headache and a very slimy and very nasty taste in his mouth.

"Well, this was certainly a full day," Harry said sarcastically. "I would suggest you speak with Dumbledore before you let anyone see you, they'd probably kill you. Now, get the hell out of my house." He finished before he stood and made his way to the door but stopped when a sudden thought occurred to him. "Twinkle!" At Harry's call the small house elf appeared at Harry's side and she still looked downcast and would not meet his eyes.

"Yes Master Harry sir." She squeaked out quietly.

"Tomorrow I want you and our curse breaker to recast the Fedelius charm. You and I will both share the responsibility of being the secret keeper so that I can bring in other people without troubling you. But from now on you are not to admit anyone with out my approval, is that understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"You're going to throw us out in to the street just like that?" James yelled as he stood up, looking at Harry in shock. "This is our house, we built it. We're your parents for Merlin's sake."

"YOU ARE NOT MY PARENTS!" Harry spun back around and matched the man glare for glare. "I have no parents, they died the moment you abandoned me to a life of abuse and pain. It's funny really. All my life I was beaten and starved as punishment by my 'loving' Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon for defending you when they ridiculed you both for being no good, arrogant, selfish trash. When you receive your first beating at age three it leaves a marvelous impression. For years this was a regular occurrence and I find it a bit ironic that every negative word they ever said about you now seems to be true. It may surprise some of you to hear me say this but right now I can fully understand exactly why Voldemort murdered his father." Everyone looked at Harry in shock at his final statement but he just turned his attention back to the house elf at his side.

"Twinkle, I want these people gone now." He said crisply before leaving the room at a brisk pace. He quickly ascended the staircase to the third floor and threw his door open with a bang before slamming it again. He looked around the room for a few brief moments before his hold over his rage collapsed and he set out for a night of extreme 'redecoration'.

Three hours later Harry had used up the last remnants of his energy and collapsed to his knees and held his head in his hands as he sobbed loudly, feeling the anguish of his parents abandonment in every inch of his body and mind. He sat kneeling on that floor for the rest of the night, surrounded by what was left of the furniture and personal items that his room had previously contained. Among the pile was the burnt remains of the red leather bound photo album that Hagrid had given him at the end of his first year at Hogwarts. For four years it had been his most treasured possession but now it seemed like nothing more than a book of lies.

XXX

The entire castle was in an uproar ever since Harry had disappeared. Madam Pince had led the Headmaster and others to the library where they found the gate to the restricted section wide open and a few random books laying on the tables. The only one that looked closer to a panic attack than the librarian was Hermione as she looked all of the empty spaces on the shelves that were once fill with priceless volumes detailing some of the most dangerous forms of magic. Dumbledore took off his half moon spectacles and rubbed his eyes for a moment before a sudden thought occurred to him. He had told Harry that the entire Order would be present at the meeting, their headquarters was completely empty at the moment. He quickly sent both Remus and Charlie Weasley to Grimmauld Place to make sure everything was still in order.

"How did he get in? The wards should have gone off if someone had entered the school grounds even if they came through one of the secret passages, wouldn't they?" Arthur asked in confusion. Of course he was greatly pleased that he had gotten away but he was still curious as to how they had gotten in because if Harry could do it someone else could as well.

"You are correct, the wards should have gone off. Unless Hogwarts herself was deliberately hiding his movements from me." Albus answered with a puzzled expression on his face. Had he known of Harry's plans he probably would not have hindered them but the fact that Harry was able to move undetected until he chose to show himself was very puzzling indeed.

"He could have used some type of dark magic to bypass the wards?" Hermione asked.

"Why would you assume it was dark magic?" Aberforth Dumbledore asked the young girl curiously.

"Well he certainly has been collecting enough information on it. What else would he be stealing all these books for?"

"Ms. Granger, do not assume you know everything. Just because someone studies the dark arts does not mean they are a Death Eater. It would probably surprise you to learn that Albus has one of the most extensive collections on dark magic in England yet he is fully devoted to the light."

"Well that's different, he doesn't use that magic, Harry does. You saw him in the Great Hall when he attacked Kingsley."

"Mr. Potter did not attack Mr. Shacklebolt, he challenged him, there is a difference. As for the spell it was merely a powerful stunner. He used it to prove a point. And I think he proved it quite effectively which brings me back to my previous statement concerning my brother. You are right, he doesn't use the dark arts and if he doesn't use them then what would be the point of having them in the first place?" Aberforth finished before walking back out of the library with a small smile on his lips. Hermione had to think about the question for only a moment before she came up with the answer. Her headmaster's brother was merely telling her in a not so subtle way that Harry was right when he told them that having a full understanding of the dark arts was a necessity if they wanted to defeat Voldemort.

Remus returned a half hour later with a small smile of amusement tugging at his lips while he ascended the stairs that led to Dumbledore's office. It took no time at all for his old friend to call him in after he knocked and when he entered he was a little surprised to see the his normally pristine desk completely covered with ancient books with his nose buried in the pages of a particularly dusty manuscript.

"Well, they hit the headquarters as well." He informed the old man as he dropped down into the offered chair. Dumbledore put his book down and sighed.

"What did they take?"

"A fair piece of the library as well as a few other odds and ends. But it's what they left behind that will irritate people the most." Remus said with a soft chuckle as his eyes shined in obvious glee. Dumbledore looked at the man for a few moments as he waited for him to explain but after sometime he began to get annoyed at the other man's lack of information.

"Well…" He prompted in irritation.

"What, oh yes, sorry about that. Well, it would seem that they thought a renovation was long over due so they colored every surface, walls, doors, furniture, everything in the most hideous shade of pink I have ever seen. Even the portrait of Mrs. Black is now pink. From what I could decipher from her raging temper tantrum, she is not pleased with the situation at all. We tried to undue the charms but nothing we tried seems to work, whoever cast that spell certainly knew what they were doing." Remus was laughing full out now and Dumbledore also found the situation funny though he was not looking forward to spending any amount of time in the house.

"So, did you find anything while I was gone?" He asked after he calmed down enough to speak.

"Nothing much concerning how Harry managed to bypass our security but about ten minutes ago I was informed that Nymphadora was found in Minister Fudge's office. She managed to stun the men that interrupted her and got away. We're not sure what she was looking for but Geoffrey Stevens disappeared from his office at the same time so naturally the Ministry believes that Mr. Potter has captured him."

XXX

Geoffrey Stevens woke suddenly on the couch in his sitting room with a loud groan and a killer headache. It took him a few moments but he was soon able to recall the events of the previous evening with great detail and to be frank, he was greatly disturbed. He knew that there was a possibility that Potter had used the situation to try to manipulate him into believing him to be innocent but the fact remained that he had been correct about the lack of security concerning higher level Unspeakables. Whether or not the men Potter had killed were truly Death Eaters or not he had now put the doubts and suspicions into Stevens' head and in his opinion only good could come out of it. New policies would have to be implemented to ensure the departments security but it would surely cause a great deal of outrage on the part of his immediate subordinates. This brought with it other complications. To be one hundred percent sure of his commanders' loyalty he would have to over see their questioning himself with the aid of men he could trust without fail. Glancing up at the large grandfather clock to his right he was not surprised to see that it was already two a.m. Without a seconds thought of the lateness of the hour he marched out the front door and across his lawn to get out of the anti-apperation wards before he disappeared with a soft pop.

He reappeared at the home of Amelia Bones, Head of Magical Law Enforcement and wasted no time announcing his presence. It was not long before he was surrounded by armed Aurors, after the previous attack on the Bones' home they were taking no more chances. Stevens raised his arms above his head as a sign that he would not resist as the lead Auror began casting scanning and detection spells on the man to be sure that he was not under any form of concealment such as Polyjuice potion. After a few minutes they seemed to be satisfied and the Aurors lowered their wands and all but one vanished again.

"I apologize Mr. Stevens but we cannot take any chances." The Auror began as he lowered his hood to reveal the face of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Quite understandable given the situation. I realize this is highly irregular but I must speak with Madam Bones immediately." The man said in a tone that showed the seriousness of the situation. Kingsley nodded sharply and led the man inside and quickly sent the man guarding the entrance hall to wake his boss. The man paled slightly at having to wake the temperamental woman at that ungodly hour but swiftly left to complete his task.

"It's good to see that you were unharmed in the raid Sir." Kingsley said as he led the man into the sitting room. Stevens looked at the man with a guarded expression and decided to see what the man knew before he volunteered any information.

"Which raid would that be?" The Auror looked at the man a bit oddly before answering.

"The raid on the Ministry. Those accursed Raiders were seen ransacking Minister Fudge's office. You were seen in the hallway about the same time but no one could find you afterwards so it was assumed something had happened to you."

"Yes, that. That is part of what I must speak to your superior about." He answered cryptically as he lowered himself into an armchair. They waited in silence for several minutes before the grumbling of an annoyed Madam Bones could be heard as she descended the stairs. The two men stood up as she entered the room.

"Alright Stevens, what the hell do you want?" She snapped tiredly as she sat down. Kingsley made to leave the room but stopped when Stevens told him that he would need to hear this as well.

"What I want Amelia, is your help." Those simple words stunned both Madam Bones and Shacklebolt. Geoffrey Stevens was not a man who would easily admit that he was incapable of doing a job on his own so the fact that he was coming to her instead of someone in his own department showed them how serious he thought the situation was.

"You obviously know about the break-in in Fudge's office," He waited for Mrs. Bones nod before continuing. "I don't know what they were looking for in there but it appears that I was their primary target. After a little carelessness, and possibly arrogance, I was captured but one of your former Aurors, Nymphadora Tonks." Both of their jaws nearly hit the floor. Stevens was widely regarded as the best dueler in the Ministry and the thought of Tonks beating him left them speechless. For the next twenty minutes he gave them every detail of his questioning and subsequent release. After he was finished silence filled the room for sometime before Kingsley spoke up.

"With all due respect Sir, you can't be suggesting that Potter may be innocent. He just robbed Hogwarts for Merlin's sake." He nearly shouted in an exasperated voice.

"HE DID WHAT?" Stevens asked loudly in shock as he shot out of his chair with a look on his face that showed he thought he must have heard wrong.

"Yes, you heard right. About the same time you were captured he managed to enter the school and steel a number of books from the restricted section of the library. He also had others steeling the collection of Dark Arts manuscripts from the headquarters of Dumbledore's Order." Despite the gravity of the situation he couldn't help but release a slight chuckle at the thought of someone getting one over on the old headmaster before returning to the situation at hand.

"How, in the name of magic, did he get into the school without anyone knowing?"

"We don't know yet. He probably used on of the secret passages but that isn't confirmed. But now that you have told us your story, will you please explain to me exactly why you need my help?"

"As I told you, Potter brought up the possibility of one of my commanders aiding the Dark Lord. I will agree that there is a strong possibility that he may have set the situation up to try to turn our attention to non existent spies within our own ranks. But the possibility also exists that he may be right. Unspeakable Commanders have almost total control over their subordinates and are in position to cover up any wrong doing. That is something that must be changed. And if I discover there has been no foul play then at least I will know for sure."

"Alright but that doesn't explain what you need from me." Amelia said carefully. She was by no means a stupid person but she couldn't see why he would need her to help out in his own department.

"The fact remains that I don't have enough people that I can be sure are loyal to the Ministry. Most of your senior Aurors are questioned regularly so you know they are trustworthy. What I need is their help in question each of the commanders and if they prove to be corrupt, then their underlings as well."

"You know as well as I do that I have no jurisdiction over the Department of Mysteries. Anything they find will be inadmissible if it were to go to trial. The only way to aid you would be…" She stopped suddenly as her eyes widened slightly.

"If I were too declare a state of emergency within the department." He finished for her.

"You can't be serious!"

"I am completely serious. If there are any Death Eaters within my ranks I fully intend to find them."

TBC