This story is based on characters and developed from some situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter 13

Searchers

9th July, Day 12, continued.

The two Malfoys, Sirius, Bella, Harry and Ginny arrived back at Grimmauld Place with plenty of time to prepare for the evenings meetings, although the three adults would not be attending either of the gatherings due in the house. Harry and Ginny spent some time looking at the clothes that Narcissa and Draco had selected for them, before Dobby took them to put away in their dressing room and wardrobe, neither of them had, had so many items of clothing before. Along with the usual formal Wizard wear and school robes of much higher quality than their old ones, they also had more casual robes alongside both formal and informal Muggle wear. This was all complimented by a large selection of underwear, shoes, and hats to complement what they might choose to wear. They both had socks, there was a selection of ties for Harry, and stockings for Ginny.

While Dobby put the clothes away for them, the couple showered to refresh themselves, then got changed into clothes that the Elf had put out in the dressing room for them, before they went down the stairs to talk with Harry's Grandmother informing her of the events of the day. She was interested about the events at Gringotts and in the department of mysteries, encouraging them to take up the offer of training. She was intrigued by the bond they shared, chuckled at what had happened to Dumbledore in the Wizangamot and proud of how they had handled themselves there too. Even so, she warned them that he was a sly old fox and would not give up so easily, he may be cornered at the moment, which led her to advise that, that would make him more desperate and dangerous. He would see it as even more urgent that he regained control, and that may well make him act more rashly than he had already, he was a powerful Wizard still, who did not have their best interests at heart, so they must be on their guard whenever he was around or even sent anything.

The couple later voiced her concerns, while they ate their evening meal, with their new family. They all agreed that she was more than likely quite correct, however without anything specific about what he might do, they could only be on their guard. Constant vigilance, as Moody would have advised. The meal, which they had taken earlier than they usually would, finished soon after they had come to that conclusion, giving them all some time to relax together and prepare for the arrival of the expected guests.

It was an interesting mix of people who were arriving at Grimmauld Place in time for one, or other, of the planned gatherings taking place in the house. Members of the Order of the Phoenix making their way to the ground floor lounge, as directed by Arthur while, much to Molly's dismay, a number of young people were making their way upstairs, directed by Bella and Draco. Sirius and Narcissa were on the landings above to guide them up to where Harry and Ginny waited to greet them at the door to their lounge where they would all meet.

Molly was furious that so many people had been allowed past the wards without Albus giving them permission. When she tried to interfere though, Bella simply shrugged and told her it was not up to her who came into the house and to mind her own business. Arthur quickly distracted his wife, pointing out that as she had forbidden any of their resident children or Hermione to attend the meeting, the refreshments she had made, needed to be distributed in the lounge, and she was the only one who could do it. The ploy worked, his wife realised that he was correct and headed into the room to ensure all had a drink and to pass round the trays of finger buffet she had prepared earlier to keep herself occupied that afternoon.

Harry was quite surprised by how many of his classmates were from families that he was, apparently, allied with. He soon realised that most of them were those who had stayed silent when his name had emerged from the Goblet at the start of the tournament. Yes a few of them had worn Draco's badges, especially those in Hufflepuff house, but unlike others, they had not reacted verbally towards him at all. That had been one of the more interesting conversations he had already held with his newly found cousin, the origin of the badges. Draco had sworn he had, had little choice in that, had even volunteered to take a magical oath that his father had sent them and given him little choice, but that he ensured their distribution of them. Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson knew of it somehow, and had ensured he could not simply dispose of them, and he had had to act the part as his father and friends expected. While it did all seem a little convenient to Harry, he could not deny it fitted with what had been said of the reasons for his behaviour, the fact that Draco had freely offered to take the oath, had clinched it for Harry, they all knew that such an offer was not made lightly by anyone. Oaths, especially magical ones, were a serious business, that carried a heavy price for a Witch or Wizard who broke one.

Their guests settled down in the room, many admiring it especially as they realised it was part of a suite within the house that did not look large enough for such luxury. Dobby and Kreacher had moved the furniture around to clear space, and had brought in sufficient chairs for everyone to sit comfortably, small tables in front of each, for the occupant to place refreshments on. They had set up a large table for drinks to be served from and another that contained the trays of food which the Elves distributed.

The guests were all gently chatting with each other, enjoying the company and refreshments. Once they knew all had arrived, Harry sent Dobby to fetch Hermione and the twins from their rooms knowing that they would be able to leave the floor their stayed on with the least resistance from Molly or Ron, now was the time. He had promised that they could hear his story as well, and it seemed opportune for them to hear it now, rather than it have to be repeated for them later. While Dobby went to do his Master's bidding, and their guests all settled into Harry and Ginny's lounge, Kreacher continued to distribute the refreshments that were available and ensured they all had what they needed. The three spare seats for Hermione and the twins were left at the side of the room near the door, leaving four available at the front of the room, facing them all.

There was some surprise among those present when the twins came in, all of them knew the Weasleys were not part of the alliance, but no one questioned it when they saw that it was the Potter house elf that had led them in. None were surprised by Hermiones presence, though they were suspicious of her. She might be Harry's friend, but her blind loyalty to authority was just as well known. That she was here with the twins fuelled the mistrust, but that they had been brought in by the Elf reassured most, to a large extent. After the Weasley twins and Hermione were seated and supplied with refreshments, Harry and Ginny were escorted in by Draco and Neville, who were the closest family members present to Harry and the four went over to their seats.

Glancing round as he sat, Harry noted there were members of each Hogwarts house present. Although each was represented, as were members of each year, it was not an even distribution across them, it was particularly noticeable that Slytherin house had fewer people present than the other houses. Even so, these were his contemporaries, those presently at the school, or at least had been during the last year. Harry was relieved to see most of his Quidditch teammates there, the more people he knew who were there, the better as far as he was concerned. He was pleased to see that Luna and Susan were present, as more friendly faces, he wondered about the response of the group of Slytherin's present, although Daphne Greengrass seemed friendlier than usual, even giving a small reassuring smile to him when she caught his gaze when he took his seat.

Draco's reassurances that they were all there for him were one thing, but he could not help but, worry that through his ignorance of the situation, he may have burnt his bridges with some. He knew that this was an important occasion, if Harry did not convince them of his sincerity, then he knew that the Alliance could not be resurrected, and the three families would be on their own.

The room fell silent once the four had sat, they had been the last to enter the room after all the others expected had arrived. Dobby and Kreacher brought drinks and some canapés for each of them, carefully placing them on the low tables in front of each of them, before Kreacher left to conduct his other duties in the house. Draco and Neville were sat, flanking the couple, Neville next to Ginny, Draco alongside Harry.

Draco spoke first, to introduce the meeting. "It's good to see you all here, thank you for coming, and welcome to the London residence of the Black family. You all form the core group of our generation in the Alliance and I know some of your siblings may be a little upset that they are not asked to be here as well, but we decided that as far as possible this first gathering is for our contemporaries at Hogwarts. To you has fallen the responsibility of reporting back to your families, to inform them of what transpires here this evening, and I am sure they will be waiting eagerly to hear what we agree here. You all know why we are here, you have all seen the recent reports in the press or heard them on the radio at least, so we know all are interested in what we are doing, even if they are unaware of us gathering as yet. Once matters are more settled, then we shall be planning a full gathering, though when and where is to be decided, so please do not discuss this with any but those here and your own families. Hermione, Fred and George are here by invitation, Harry has decided they should also hear this, you may talk openly in front of them about what is said tonight, As you can see, Ginny is also central to this, though that may not be reported in the media until tomorrow after what occurred at the Wizangamot today. I ask that you hear Harry out first, then Ginny, we need to work out how we bring them both up to speed. Harry, Ginny remember we are here as your peers, hopefully to prepare the way for the first full gathering since your grandparents time. As you know I agree with your decision to tell your story in your words, you especially Harry. I am sure everyone will understand more, once you have."

Harry took a deep breath. "Thank you, Draco." He turned to his classmates. " First of all, I think you all deserve an apology from me, until only a few days ago, I had no idea about any of this, the Alliance, my family status, any of it. Things are happening so fast, I have to say I am losing track of exactly how long it has been since I arrived here and began discovering all this, but it is less than a week. So I hope what I say makes sense, although some of it is still being investigated by the DMLE so is not yet completely understood. When I was Eleven, I was brought back into this world blind, I had been accommodated, I am reluctant to say raised, by my mothers Muggle sister and family who saw magic as an abnormality and told me nothing. So, I knew nothing about Magic, my parents or my place in this society, this led to me unknowingly making mistakes with you all, for which I am very sorry." He began, reassured to see them all reacting with either concern or sadness to what he was saying, thankful that none were showing disbelief or aggression.

Downstairs in the ground floor lounge, the Order of the Phoenix was meeting for the first time without Dumbledore, but other than his absence, every member who was in the country was in attendance, again this was a unique event, so far as any of them could remember. Arthur, Moody, Remus and Kingsley were running the meeting between them, which once everyone had settled, had turned into the most productive they had held in a very long time. Everyone got their say about the events of that morning, once those who had not been there had been told what had happened by those that had been. After that discussion widened to include everyone's experiences of Dumbledore and the Order, good or bad. It soon became clear that nearly all of them were, in some way, dissatisfied with how matters had been going and the often dictatorial manner of the Headmaster. What followed the realisation that nearly everyone felt the same way, discussion turned more positive. They talked about how they wanted the Order to progress and what roles each member was happy to take within it.

Arthur had feared it could have been an unproductive Albus Dumbledore fan club, with most wanting to overlook what was said and blindly follow him with little else discussed. He was pleasantly surprised that most of the members had been willing to discuss their concerns about the headmaster's leadership and the order so constructively. That said, every single one of them were saddened to have been forced to conclude that change was needed for the group as a whole. Every one of them had joined to make a difference, help defend their freedom from Voldemort when the call had come, though none could say his name. None of them felt that they had actually been equipped to make that difference, most did not know why they had been given the tasks they had, or what purpose it served. They decided that change must happen, but they couldn't see a clear way for that to happen while Albus remained in charge, nor could they see a way to change that leadership easily.

Moody nodded thoughtfully as the feelings of the meeting were clear. "We all know that Albus will not relinquish control easily, perhaps we just need to be able to minimise his more extreme or balmy plans?"

"Like those involving poor Harry?" One of the older members asked.

"Precisely Doris." Alastor replied. "His fixation with the boy has, I think, been damaging to our purpose, not to mention worrying."

Remus agreed. "His obsession seems to have increased since Harry learnt about his true heritage, and a few things have been uncovered about how he has been involved in the lads life that, frankly, are very concerning to me. Harry is not the only one Albus has manipulated either, he had a part in Sirius false imprisonment and what happened to Bella as well. Even my memory had been tampered with to prevent things coming to light, which with everything else that has been discovered, has to have been done by him. It goes back further than Harry too, we found out that Lily was not a Muggle born, as we all believed, she was a pure blood, of a noble line. Sirius twin sister in fact, kidnapped and given over for adoption, obviously illegally, not that her parents knew. Neither she nor they ever discovered the truth, before they died."

"It was a similar story with our Ginny." Arthur commented sadly, he felt like his daughter had been stolen from him, and he knew where the blame lay for it. "It appears that Albus was involved in that kidnapping as well, though why he did it is anybodies guess. It wouldn't surprise me if it were discovered he had been manipulating much more for his own ends as well, any more, I am sad to say."

Molly, who had stayed silent so far, had heard enough. "How dare you all do this to him, Albus is a great man, a beacon of light who we should be following without question. He only wants what is right for Harry, he knew if he was brought up by Black, he would not have proper respect for those who could guide him along the path of light that destiny has laid out for him. Look at how Harry has behaved since Albus rescued him from those Muggles, this summer, taking on airs and graces, refusing the headmasters simplest request. Thanks to Black, he has been so ungrateful to Albus, after all that man has done for him. He is to self-centred now and greedy, thanks to Sirius and that woman. Like Harry, have you all forgotten what Albus has done for us all? Every one of you has benefited from his actions at one point, or another. I can't believe the ingratitude from any of you, but especially you Arthur. Dumbledore only ever wants what is good, as he showed when he gave me my daughter."

Arthur sighed, shook his head sadly. "Molly, listen to yourself, you said he gave you your daughter? What right did he, or anyone for that matter, have to take her in the first place? If it was such a good thing that he did, why could you not tell the rest of us, your family, about it? I love her as if she was my own daughter, I believed she was until a couple of days ago, but more importantly, she had the right to know the truth of her origin, so did I and the rest of our children, but she far more so. What about her poor real Parents, the Ashmoles? You know they were desperate to find her, for Merlin's sake, every magical community on this planet did. They died when the official search was finally ended only a few years ago, never knowing she was alive, never having the chance to know their daughter, their only child. That will always break my heart, we had six children, they had one they never knew, it was Albus who was selfish, I had no say in it at all and I feel so guilty that we had the chances they should have had to know her." He paused for breath and to let his anger die down, no one, not even Molly spoke while understandably emotional man calmed and then spoke again, unashamedly with tears in his eyes. "What gave Albus the right to interfere in either that family or ours? He also placed Harry with people who, it turns out, were not even his family, where he would never know love, and he knew that was what he was doing, so why did he do it and then mislead us all? So the boy would turn to him when he was rescued? What is behind this obsession with destroying the three families? He took a baby girl from the Blacks and gave her to a poor Muggle couple, placed Harry with Muggles he was not related to, removing the Potters in the process, including his parents, who were under his protection remember. He also took the only child of the Ashmoles and gave her to you while you were at your most vulnerable Molly, then forbade you from telling even me, doesn't that strike you as even slightly odd? How is that acting in any conceivable way for good? How on earth can any of it possibly be justified, for any reason whatsoever? No I'm afraid Albus has lost his way and is acting for his own good, no one else's from what I can see, even in those instances, never mind what else might yet come to light. He is no longer light, perhaps grey at best, but he will never acknowledge that. As a result of that, and his actions, I can no longer blindly follow him. If Harry really is vital to this war I would of course follow him, but not Albus, not any more, not when he has betrayed all the trust I have ever put in him."

Molly was silent, the look on her face showing the shock that Arthur had spoken as he had, with such emotion, worse that others were applauding him as the man sat down, tears flowing down his cheeks. One of the others brought Arthur a drink, she watched as some of their friends went over to comfort Arthur, not noticing that not one person spoke to her. A few minutes later, Arthur nodded thanks to those around him, and they retook their seats. Kingsley stood and resumed the meeting, which was conducted quietly and calmly from that point on.

By the end they had all agreed it was time the Order restructured, and began to be more proactive against the actions of the Dark Lord. There were quite a number of ideas put forward as ways they could reorganise themselves, and play a useful role. Molly recovered herself enough after a while to disagreed with all of it, arguing against any decisions being made without Dumbledore being present, her opinion seemed little effected by what her husband had said, but she was a lone voice in the group and was overruled with little fuss. Kingsley and Tonks kept glancing at each other, knowing they would soon be arresting her and she would be answering some very direct questions. They almost wished they had done so already as she changed tac and instead of joining the discussions, she spent the time threatening to inform Albus, despite it being agreed that Kingsley, Moody, Remus and Arthur would arrange to do so as soon as it was possible.

In the end Arthur, regretting that for the second time in two days he was forced to exercise head of house powers over his wife, ordered that she follow the majority decision. Not only did that stop her contacting Albus directly about this meeting, but it prevented her from intimidating some of the more nervous members. He was not proud of having to do so, but could see no other way, except to lose his temper with her completely, which he would not allow himself to do. Even in his emotional state, he was deeply worried about the behaviour of his wife, not to mention her part in all this. She was obviously in need of help, she seemed incapable of critical thinking where Albus was concerned. He had no idea how to deal with it either, or even where to find the help she needed, he could not think for the moment. Arthur loved Molly deeply, but could not countenance what she had done, or how she was behaving at present.

Upstairs, while both meetings progressed in the house, Narcissa was in the Master suite lounge, discussing her son with her sister and head of house. "Draco is not as much of a follower as he had to portray, especially where his father is concerned." She commented to them. "He has no desire to be the Dark Lords lackey like his spineless father, but thanks to the brainless fools Lucius allied himself with having offspring incapable of thinking for themselves, he had to act as he did. They and others who were the children of Death eaters knew they were all spying on each other, reporting the activities of the others to their parents, who could use that information to embarrass each other, the student who had transgressed would then face the wrath of the Death eater parent, such is the lot of a child who has a parent in service to the Dark Lord. Draco had hoped that would change with Harry at Hogwarts, and the return of at least two thirds of the Alliance, Draco as the Black heir, which we all thought he was, at the time, of course. When that couldn't happen, he had no choice but to fulfil the role his father dictated, for his own protection."

Sirius nodded. "That much is obvious now we have met him, even for Harry and Ginny now I believe, Cissy. You would seem to have taught the boy well, though. He is quite obviously a Black by nature, character and his manner. He was clever enough that his father believed his act, but then Lucius was not half as clever as he thought he was, so long as he appeared to be getting his own way at least."

"True!" Narcissa sighed. "But, he was a cruel man as well, especially to Draco, when he felt he that his son was straying from what he wanted for him. I know he was beginning to realise that Draco was not as easy to manipulate as he got older and had no qualms about planning how he was going to enforce his will on him."

Bella smiled thinly. "I expect we shall hear the tantrum he throws right across the country, when that man realises he cannot buy his way out of trouble this time, and his world is gone, thanks to that new ward and law. So Cissy, with him heading decisively out of your life, what now for you and Draco?"

"Draco must become head of his fathers house, head of the Malfoy family as soon as possible, Lucius arrest and forthcoming trial may well enable that. I took the precaution of securing the Malfoy vault at Gringotts in readiness for Draco, he will inherit it all when his father dies, or perhaps sooner if he is given the kiss or the Wizangamot orders it. I suspect he will take Malfoy house into the alliance, now that is re emerging and away from the allegiances of his father, which will of course have a positive effect on the Family wealth. Unlike the Blacks, the Malfoys never were part of the Alliance when it was active before, it was one reason they sought the marriage between Lucius and I, an attempt to gain access to it. As for me, I'm not sure what I shall do yet. I expect I shall just see what happens, once things are more settled." She replied.

"Fair enough Cissy." Sirius smiled. "You may certainly stay here as long as you wish. Besides, we need help with getting Harry and Ginny up to speed on current etiquette and society, we have been unavoidably out of it for a while. Harry probably has little clue, and we have no idea what parts of it Ginny will know, I know Mother has helped them, but of us all, you and Draco are most up to date with whose who and what have you these days, at least until we change the balance again with the Alliance returning."

Harry, Ginny and Draco were watching as the last of their guests were leaving via the Floo, Hermione and the twins watched as the couple bid farewell to each of the fellow students from all houses as if they were all old friends. They had all listened intently, while Harry had described his up bringing away from the magical world, how he had been friendless, then how he had returned to this world unprepared, how he now believed he had been manipulated. To those who did not know, this had been a shocking revelation, but he continued. He described the events of the last couple of days, discovering who he truly was and his family history. After they had heard Harry's story, Ginny had told hers. Every one of them was shocked at what had happened in both their families, the couple were a astonished that many of them were unsurprised about Dumbledore being heavily involved. Harry and Ginny had thought that most would have believed the headmaster to be a paragon, instead it seemed that most questioned his motives at the very least, not just those of Slytherin house either. Most who had thought he was trustworthy seemed to be the younger ones in the group, though even they did not believe it after hearing what was said. All had readily offered the couple their support enthusiastically, Daphne announced that she knew her family would welcome the political re-emergence of the Alliance, a statement unanimously agreed. Each of them had agreed that they would support the couple and each said their families had already been told of the Basilisk Holdings umbrella brand, which had also been welcomed.

The discussions that followed went well, all had their say on the hopes of their family, they each told the couple about the role their family had, and the trade they were in, some including those not represented in the briefing, which made for a very productive meeting. It had very quickly become a gathering of friends, not just Alliance members, each clearly supportive of them all, Draco and Neville were happy to take more of a back seat in running the session as Harry and Ginny relaxed in their roles and the company. Hermione and the twins were amazed at the new found confidence of Harry, as he spoke to the group, some of whom had been thought of as enemies until now, most he had not known at all. The gathering had gone very well, a feeling of relief that Harry was going to take his role, matched the relief Harry felt that he had such support.

The last guest to leave was Neville, who had deliberately hung back. He and Harry embraced, as all who had been present had done as they left, Harry apologised to Neville for not knowing sooner.

Neville shrugged. "Not one of them blames you now they know Harry, they are relieved you are back. Glad you have found yourself at last, couldn't you sense it? As for me, well I'm just glad to get my cousin back, Gran can't wait to see you either, she was really impressed with what you did in the Wizangamot today, she was sorry not to get a chance to talk with you afterwards. She did speak with Sirius though and we shall see you tomorrow, Gran and I, we shall be able to talk properly then, though Gran will want to take you under her wing I am sure."

"She might have to fight of my Gran for that, it is her portrait behind the curtain on the landing downstairs, but yes we shall see you tomorrow. Sirius told me he had arranged it, I'm looking forward to it Nev." Harry grinned, then watched as his new-found cousin was swallowed by the green flame.

With all those who were not staying at the house now gone, the twins saluted the couple. "Thanks Harry..." George began.

"... we are of course..." Fred continued.

"...naturally..."

"...without question..."

"...with you, all the way."

"Just call..."

"...when you need us old friend..."

"... old bean."

They each shook his hand, then left into the corridor and went down the stairs.

Harry turned to Draco. "Thanks Dray." Harry smiled offering his hand.

Malfoy instantly accepted it. "No problem, it's what family is for, same to you Ginny."

The blonde had released Harry's hand and turned to face Ginny, who to Hermione's amazement embraced the Malfoy heir briefly, but then this evening had been a series of revelations for her. She had known some of Harry's story, but not all of it, but what had happened to Ginny was simply incredible as well. She had, of course heard some of it during the arguments with Mrs. Weasley, but now she had the full story, it made more sense to her, but gave her a problem, it conflicted with many of her personal values. The one thing she had no doubt of was that she was glad her friends, especially Harry, now had a caring family of their own. This was tempered, though, by the realisation that her vision of the Wizarding world was being turned upside down. She knew that there was no doubt that the Goblins had got their conclusions correct, she knew that was beyond doubt, but she could not balance that with her deep-rooted belief in authority figures.

"I'm sorry you two." She found herself saying. "I am truly pleased for you both, but I need to get my head completely round some of what you have said, check a few things in the library, like what your bond really means, that kind of thing. Not to mention try to work out how many people who should have known, didn't."

Harry and Ginny shrugged, they both knew her well enough to know this would be her reaction.

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't Hermione, come to us when you have things sorted." Harry said gently.

She nodded. "I will!" Then she turned and returned to her room on the Orders floors.

"Typical Hermione." Harry shrugged. "She will sleep on it, after making notes on what to check out in the Library tomorrow, research it, find answers, questions, more answers, then, in the end, come to a conclusion."

Ginny nodded. "That's Hermione for you, when in doubt, find a book."

"That's part of her problem." Draco stated plainly, then shook his head and sighed. "Probably why she didn't get into Ravenclaw to be honest, too reliant on books to give her the confidence in what she really, already knows. She hasn't yet learnt how to utilise what her own knowledge tells her to guide her, without verification. She needs to learn to do that, so that all her book learning is some real use to her. I'm not sure she will, but I don't know her that well yet, it's a shame really, but she does not have the confidence in herself yet."

Harry nodded. "You may well be right Draco, though I think part of her confusion is that we are being friendly to you. She hasn't forgiven you for the way you have treated her right from that first time, or the rest of it, yet."

"Ah, yes well, much of that was show, self-protection with the other children of Death eaters in Slytherin, even that awful run to father bit was what was expected by those who could expose me to that man, and as I said earlier, that was all more aimed at Weasley. He had claimed that he was your friend for months before we came Hogwarts. You didn't notice, but Neville was just behind you at Kings Cross that day. When Molly shouted about Muggles and getting to the platform, there were Aurors all over the place, more than usual because you were expected. She got fined heavily for that, Dumbledore paid it though."

"Probably with my money." Harry observed a little bitterly. "It always seemed convenient that she was there just at the right time, you know. I thought on it quite often, but never could make any sense of it until now."

Draco agreed. "She was told to watch for you, help get you ready to accept Weasley. We know it was his job to keep you away from us, so you would have no one except those who Dumbledore approved of. He gloated about it later, so we know it was planned to keep you beholden to his family. When we found you, I simply tried to see how far he had wheedled his way in, see if we could get you out of it easily. In my naivety I did that in a really clumsy way, I can see that now. When you responded as you did, it was clear we couldn't get you away right then, so we decided to watch and wait for a better chance, or try to force the issue at an opportune moment. We were going to make another attempt on the train this September, try to get you away from them."

"You keep saying we, not you Crabbe and Goyle surely?" Harry asked.

"Good grief no, you will notice they were not here this evening, their families were never part of the Alliance. They are part of what I would say is the Death eater conformity group, the ones I mentioned, the ones ensuring none of us stray from the paths our Death eater parent has set, all supposedly reporting on each other. No it would have been Neville and I together with Susan and Daphne in first year, Luna added to that when she arrived." Draco replied.

"So the one good thing to come from that day apart from me getting away from the Dursleys was that it was the first time I saw Ginny." Harry observed, then a thought came to him. "Draco, you do realise you had met me before the train, don't you?"

"What? Where?" The Blond asked.

"We were measured together for our school robes at Madam Malkin's."

Draco thought for a moment, then realisation came. "That, was you? Bloody hell, I wish I had realised that then, it might have saved a lot of bother. Mind you I thought you looked familiar when I did find out who you were, just couldn't place it when you were sat there with Weasley."

"You know I remember Molly coaching Ron all that year, the one before he went to Hogwarts. Most days she would have him go through what he was to do, but that was normal with Ron. It takes time to get him to learn much at a time, it made me angry though, I wanted to befriend you Harry, properly not like he did. Dumbledore provided us with a Portkey to make sure we got there in plenty of time to watch for you Harry, it was the only time he did." Ginny told him. "It makes sense to me now."

Harry nodded. "Hmm, lets hope Ron doesn't influence Hermione too much by morning, lets her make up her own mind. She was, it seems, my first friend, I should hate to lose that because of him."

The trio made their way to Sirius and Bella's lounge to brief them on what had gone on, before they all retired for the night.

10th July. Day 13.

Molly slammed the pan violently down onto the hob, adding fat she waited impatiently for it to melt before adding rashers of bacon, muttering about ungrateful wizards and husbands under her breath as she did so. She had not slept much after the Order meeting, stewing in her anger at its outcome, she was beyond livid about the events of the night before, none of them showed any loyalty to Dumbledore. Her anger had not diminished at all overnight, and ate away at her still this morning.

She slammed a second pan onto the hob next to the other, melted more fat, then cracked eggs into it. Woe betide anyone who stood in her way of getting to Harry and Ginny today. She was determined that she would prise them from the clutches of Black and return them to Albus today. They would show the ungrateful fools that they were wrong, everything would be corrected, all would be back as it should be. She heard the door open, turned as someone entered the room, it was Remus, Kingsley and Tonks.

Molly turned back to the cooker. "One of you fill the kettle for me, breakfast won't be long, though after last night I am not sure why I am bothering to cook it." She spat.

Without a word, Remus went to fill the kettle, but Kingsley and Tonks had a duty to perform, one they could delay no longer. They glanced at each other as they approached Molly, knowing they must do this, but knowing it may well not be straight forward with her in this mood.

"Molly Weasley, I have orders to escort you to the ministry for questioning, please come quietly." Tonks said in official tones.

Molly spun round, her face like thunder. "Don't be stupid Tonks, I haven't time for your childish games." She spat, her ire rising.

"This is no game Mrs. Weasley, I am very serious. Now one last time will you co-operate or do I need to use force." Tonks said firmly.

Molly snorted. "I'd like to see you try Tonks, now sit down and be quiet if you can't say anything sensible." She smirked.

"Very well Molly, you leave us no choice." Tonks replied and caught the older woman as she fell. "I did warn her." She grinned.

Kingsley laughed. "You did! However, strictly speaking you didn't stun her." He said, sheathing his wand.

Tonks shrugged.

Remus laughed. "You two are getting to be the same as Sirius and Bella were, when they were Aurors and worked as a team."

"Why thank you, Remus, we aim to please." Tonks curtsied mockingly. "I shall most certainly take that as a compliment, kind sir."

Kingsley rolled his eyes. "Oi, Tonksy, go get sleeping beauty, we should have done this yesterday, but you wanted to wait and avoid the paperwork last night, might have saved Arthur some heartache if we had."

"Yes, I was sad about that, Arthur doesn't deserve all this, but waiting did remove any chance of Molly and Albus conspiring in the cells, this way we can keep them apart as much as possible." Grinning like a Cheshire cat Tonks left the room.

Kingsley turned to Remus, knowing Molly was secure. "You know she is head over heals about you, don't you Remus?" He asked.

"So I keep being told by people, but I'm too old and I have my furry little problem, she shouldn't be stuck with someone like me." Remus replied.

Kingsley shook his head. "Remus my friend, she knows all that, she doesn't care about it, she wants to be with you and it would do you both good. Time you both had a chance of being happy in my opinion, before it's too late. She wants you Mooney, no one else will do, and boy there are lots of others she could choose from who are keen on her. None of them will do, for her though and I know you feel similarly, just from the looks you give her when you think no one is looking."

Remus didn't reply, he simply sat at the table, thinking. The silence was disturbed after a few minutes by Tonks guiding a snoring, floating red head, still in his pyjamas, through the door. "Ready when you are Shackster." She grinned.

"You are supposed to tell them they are coming with us, not just take them from their beds you know." He told her trying not to laugh. "I am sure they actually need to be conscious for that."

"I did and he was, just." She replied indignantly. "I poked him awake, told him, he grunted and then went back to sleep. So all is correct and proper, Shack, all done before I levitated him down here."

Kingsley laughed heartily. "Fine, told and acknowledged, we had best get them in."

He went to the fireplace and opened the Floo. He quickly turned to Remus. "Oh yes, would you let Arthur know that Moody and I delivered the letter to Albus in his cell, not that he read it while we were there." He said then levitated Molly in to the fireplace next to him and disappeared.

Tonks made to follow, with Ron, but Remus stopped her from his seat. "Fancy dinner with me tonight Tonks?" He asked nervously.

"That would be wonderful." She beamed at him. "I thought you would never ask, see you here after work, we can decide where to go then." She bent and gave him a peck on the top of his head, then floated Ron ahead of herself into the Floo, then she was gone.

Remus sat, happily looking at the spot she had just vacated, grinning like a teenager watching the flames die down, before, a moment later, he re-entered reality "Oi Kingsley, you could have let Molly finish cooking breakfast first." He yelled at the now flameless fireplace.

Chuckling he turned towards the stove, preparing to cook his own meal, only to find Kreacher and Dobby stood happily frying the components of a full English breakfast for a number of people.

Dobby turned to him and said. "Not to worry Master Remus, just go up and wait in the family breakfast room upstairs, we shall bring the food to you."

Voldemort looked round the manor, vainly seeking either the family who owned it, or any one of his Death eaters to serve him. The house was empty, he was the only one here, there were not even any of the household Elves in the kitchens, or anywhere else for that matter. Had he known his hosts wife and son were not in the house he would have ensured that some of his followers had remained behind ready to fulfil his needs, but many of them had gone to the Wizangamot others to work in the Ministry the day before. None had returned to report on what had happened, last night, so he assumed things may not have gone well, but one of them should have returned by now. He was growing frustrated at the lack of information, they had known the Wizangamot was to be an important one expected to be very full, so there was a possibility that it may have run late into the night, though that had not happened for many years. Even if it had run on, that did not explain why not a single one of them had arrived to report, even if, as he feared, it had not gone well they knew he needed to know, he should not have to wait for the paper to discover what he needed to know, his servants should be keeping him informed before it became public knowledge, so he could act appropriately if needed.

He activated the mark, summoning them to his side, which should bring a rapid response, especially from the senior Death eaters. A few of them at least, should arrive almost instantly, when they felt the mark he had given them burn. He waited and watched, the ticking of the clock in the hallway began to annoy him, reminding him how long it was taking his underlings to answer his call. Ten minutes after the summons, he felt someone enter the wards, he returned to his throne ready to receive them, relieved that some of his marked had responded. Four, very new recruits, walked in and seeing they were the only ones in his presence, bowed low before him, surprise etched on their faces. Voldemort beckoned them closer, they may have only been marked a week, but they were all he had, it appeared. He stared at them in exasperation, he needed his experienced Death eaters, his inner circle, not these green pups, who would not have the information he needed, their wealth was their only attribute.

"Where are all my Death eaters?" He hissed.

The four looked at each other.

Voldemort rolled his eyes. "Answer me!"

One of them gathered his courage. "We do not know my Lord, we came as soon as we could, expecting the others to be here already."

"Then go and find them." Voldemort spat.

The four fled, before he decided to have some fun punishing them, they may not have been in his service long, but they already knew how he responded to failure amongst his followers.

Voldemort sat, alone again, regretting letting his anger control him again, sending the fools away before they had made him some food, he waited for more to come, with only Nagini for company until others arrived, if they did.

Dumbledore was just as frustrated as Voldemort, though he was unaware of that. Yet again he was in a cell in the Ministry, awaiting questioning and had been since his failure at the Wizangamot yesterday, which he still could not completely understand. He knew how his bill had failed, but he could not comprehend how the Wizangamot had allowed Potter and the Ashmole heir, to claim their seats at the start of that particular session, or how the Goblins had known enough to produce the documents they had. Before that creature had shown the Will he had lodged at the Ministry to be false, they had no reason to doubt that Potter was his ward, so why had they allowed the boy to use the orb? He needed to salvage as much as he could, he had lost his influence in the Ministry and internationally, he needed to bring the boy back to heel, so that he could gain his endorsement and recover the influence he had lost.

Albus had expected to hear from the order by now, even without his presence to lead them, they should have taken the house and regained Harry by yesterday evening at the latest. As it was, he had not heard a word, someone had passed him a sealed note, which was in his pocket unopened, other than that he was completely in the dark. A situation he was not used to finding himself in, still in a cell at the Ministry, he had yet to be interviewed. He was not sure, yet, of the specifics of the charges against him, though he was sure it was to do with Potter.

He had been quite concerned to over hear the conversations of a family being held in a nearby cell on this corridor, during the evening, soon after he had arrived. The loudest of them, presumably the father, was shouting loudly, demanding an explanation of why freaks had the right to hold them and threatening them with real lawyers. The second, female, voice was simply concerned for her Duddykins, the third, youngest, voice, was male but alternated between encouraging his father to make the demands and whining to his mother about their situation. It seemed that while the Father had been arrested at work, the mother and boy had been captured just before they had returned to a relatives house after a shopping trip.

All in all the last few days had been extremely trying, to say the least, for the headmaster. Worse though was that as he sat eating the meagre breakfast provided to him, he could not work out how it had all come about. Not just his present circumstance, but each event that had occurred since he had been at the International Confederation a few days ago. It didn't help that he had seemed to end up in the cells every few hours, simply for encouraging what was required the greater good. Why was it so difficult for people, who believed they were acting for the best, to trust him completely, unquestioningly? He could not understand why so many seemed to be questioning his motives all of a sudden, doubting that his intentions were for the benefit of all. So what if a few were sacrificed at his guidance, one or two suffering was a small price to pay to preserve what was good for the many. If the direction he had steered Wizarding society on was to remain on course, he would have to re-educate people, again, that he and he alone could steer them to the greater good. He would have to act soon, before it was too late, he had to rebuild the trust he deserved from these people, which meant regaining control of Potter. Without the boy to promote faith in him now, the path he had laid was unattainable, so it was most urgent to bring him back within his fold. Why couldn't they just do as he wished, after all, only he knew what was best for them all.

Arthur came down stairs and entered the kitchen at Grimmauld Place as usual, expecting to find Molly preparing the meal. He knew she was still angry, he hoped to catch her before anyone was up to attempt to calm her down before the others arrived. He was disappointed and puzzled when he arrived in the room discovering only Kreacher there, cooking away to his hearts content, there was no sign of Molly or anyone else. He asked Kreacher if he knew where Molly was, in answer the Elf instructed him to go and wait in the upstairs breakfast room with the family of the house where the meal would be served soon. Which left Arthur even more puzzled, but he knew he would get no more from the Elf, he could not order him, so he left to make his way back up stairs to the levels Sirius had reserved. Arriving there a few minutes later, he found all the other residents of the house already there, being served their food by Dobby. All, except for his wife and youngest son.

"Ah Arthur!" Sirius greeted him warmly. "Come in, take a seat and tell Dobby what you would like for breakfast, he and Kreacher will ensure it is here shortly."

Arthur took a seat at the table, greeting all around it with equal warmth.

Sirius continued. "With you all here now, it is only fair to warn those who do not know, the rule at breakfast is no politics or serious subjects allowed in the conversation, Bella insists."

Arthur nodded. "Fair enough, Sirius. I take it Ron is still in bed, and I am sorry to place a cloud over our breakfast conversation, but has anyone seen Molly?"

Remus looked over. "Sorry Arthur, she and Ron were taken to the Ministry by Tonks and Kingsley for questioning this morning."

"Ah, I see." Arthur visibly sagged. "I guess I should have expected that, with everything else that has come to light these last few days that she has had a part in. I just wish..." His voice faded.

"Arthur, I'm sorry." Harry said.

The oldest Weasley looked up at him. "What? Oh no, no, it's not your fault at all Harry, no need for you to apologise. No they brought it on themselves I am afraid, I just wish I had been firmer, it might have prevented it all."

"Arthur, I know that it's none of my business, but after breakfast, you and I will talk, I may have an idea for a solution for you." Sirius offered the broken man.

Arthur nodded sadly, Fred, George and Ginny looking at him with concern.

It was long after the meal was completed when Arthur emerged from his meeting with Sirius, looking like a great weight had been lifted from him, and left for work, he needed to speak with a number of people.

"Everything alright?" Harry asked his Uncle.

Sirius sighed. "No, but better than they were. Arthur is a man with a lot on his mind, Harry, not much of it his doing, but he must sort out all of it. He is head of a divided family which he needs to try to heal, but on his terms without the outside interference it has suffered so far. He knows I am there for him to bounce ideas off and for advice if he wants or needs it, but I cannot and would not tell him what to do. If he manages it, perhaps we should consider their re admission to the fold."

Harry nodded. "I hope he can sort it out." He said wistfully, then went to join Ginny in the library, where she was participating in a tradition they had begun at Hogwarts, watching Hermione in research mode.

When Harry arrived, Hermione was sat in the library, busily going over her notes, in her desire to get to the bottom of what was going on and see if what Harry had said to her, especially about Dumbledore, was valid. She had written pages of notes once she had returned to her room the night before, recording her observations of the events she had seen in order that she could review them, in an attempt to make some sense of them. She read and reread them, questioning her initial conclusions, checking that her assumptions were based in what she knew. The results of her work worried her greatly, challenging her beliefs, two of which were definitely in conflict with each other. Faith in one meaning the other could not be true after all, she was not used to them being in conflict with each other in this way. She needed someone independent to put her questions to, someone she trusted, she knew such a person was coming this morning and would help her, she listed the questions in order, preparing for the visit. She did not notice her friends as she passed them on her way to put a note ready where the one she needed to speak to would find it on their arrival. Knowing round one was done, Harry and Ginny left to find Bella and Sirius, to await the next session.

Professor McGonagall arrived to find a note waiting for her, from one of her students. Unhesitatingly, having read the message, she headed directly to the library where she found the student awaiting her. After an hour of going over the notes and answering questions as best she could, the Professor and Hermione left to visit the Ministry records office, where they quickly saw the relevant records. What they both found there, both helped answer some puzzles and worried them both. They returned to Grimmauld Place, where Hermione went back to the library to continue her work, while the Professor went about the tasks she had come to carry out originally. Hermione was so busy going over the material and information she had gathered, she didn't notice the return of Harry and Ginny into the room, nor Bella joining them a few minutes later.

Bella nodded questioningly towards the girl, who was working hard at one of the desks, so intently she had not noticed anyone else, Harry and Ginny both chuckled knowingly.

"Is she always like this?" Bella asked as she sat with them.

"Oh yes!" Harry grinned. "She is a tenacious researcher, but usually only when she needs to confirm an important decision she has already made, or to enable her to achieve something important enough to break the rules is she this thorough. She is passionate about her friends, but on this occasion her faith in the infallibility of an authority figure she had placed a lot of faith in, is conflicting with what she has seen and been told that she knows to be true. For Hermione, that has shaken her world, she needs to be sure of all this before putting her cards on the table."

Bella nodded her realisation. "A hard lesson for some, often those who are more academically inclined have the most difficulty with it. Not always of course, but often." She agreed.

The three continued to watch Hermione as she made notes about her notes, condensing the information, discarding what she no longer needed to refer to, or reducing then to a secure conclusion, repeating the process time and time again, sorting her condensed notes into different piles on the desk she was using. She then carefully examined each page before sitting back in the chair, furrowing her brow, she shook her head briefly then rested her chin on steepled fingers.

"Ah!" Ginny and Harry said in unison.

"Ah?" Bella asked.

"Oh yes, ah!" Ginny assured her as if that explained all, before taking pity on Bella's confusion and explaining. "Progress, she has stopped reviewing her notes, certain she has all the information she can gather for the moment, she has stopped writing and is now thinking. Of course, she may still refer to the notes again, or even begin further research if she finds something she needs to check on."

"So is that good or bad?" Bella asked puzzled at Hermione's behaviour.

Harry shrugged. "Well that depends." He said unhelpfully, at least as far as Bella was concerned.

"Care to clue me in?" Bella suggested, suspecting they were being deliberately obtuse to tease her.

"Well if she finds another question in her thoughts, as Ginny says, she will either return to her notes or look out a book, which means her work to date is inconclusive." Harry explained.

"Or?" Bella prodded.

Ginny giggled. "Well if her face lights up, she gathers her notes and clears the table, then she has reached a conclusion of which she is certain, even if she isn't happy with it."

"Of course that means that a moment later her expression will change again when the implications of her conclusion hits her." Harry added.

"Oh!" Bella responded.

"Oh, indeed." Harry smiled.

"Oh yes, irrefutably Oh!" Ginny agreed.

"Well I guess we had better let her get on with it in peace, though it probably won't be long now." Harry sighed.

Bella pouted. "But, I wanted to see what happens."

Ginny took her arm. "It wouldn't help any if you were here, not really. I expect this won't be your only opportunity to see this, it is a fairly regular spectator sport at school. The twins even run a book on how long she will work, taking bets a few feet from her, and she hasn't noticed so far."

"Besides Bella, we have other things to do, like having a look at some of our property in Diagon Alley, and meeting the Longbottoms, we shall find out what happens here later." Harry took her other arm and they started to guide her out of the room.

"Spoilsports, I'd much rather see what she does next." Bella protested grinning.

Harry laughed. "Come on Bella, it will be much more fun to see how many people are still scared of you in the Alley."

Bella laughed and allowed herself to be led out of the room, missing Hermione's moment of realisation, quickly followed by her expression changing to consider the implications of her decision, which took place moments after they had left the room.

Authors Notes:
As always my thanks to you all for reading and your feedback, I say it every time, but I do appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this chapter too, I am taking advantage of a lull in life having tested positive for Covid to work on it more, so hopefully not too long until another is posted. A reader who messaged me suggested adding dates to the chapters to ensure that the timeline is known, so I have done so, and edited all the chapters to include them. Please let me know if they are useful, or a distraction. The day count is taken from the day Dumbledore took the Weasleys to Grimmauld place in chapter one.

Until next time.

Tgfoy