Minerva makes a difference.
Chapter 3. The Butterfly Effect.
I don't own the Harry Potter verse. Just playing.
Summary: Professor Minerva McGonagall had been asked by her favourite student, Lily, to watch her sister's home if anything was to happen to them as she feared that the headmaster was planning something for her son. After seeing the Dursleys, Minerva knew she couldn't allow the headmaster to condemn Lily's son to ten dark and difficult years.
And that changes Everything!
HHr MOF Dumbledore.
09/12/20 Beta by alix33. Thank you.
- Minerva makes a difference. -
Once safe and secure at Potter Manor, Sirius took out a small mirror and spoke to it. "Moony? Come in Moony?"
The face in the mirror changed to a sad forlorn man with red eyes and tears. "Padfoot, what has happened? Dumbledore just sent me a Patronus message that you had betrayed James and Lily, but I know you could never do that."
"He said what?"
"That you betrayed James and Lily. That you were their Secret-Keeper."
"No, I was the decoy Secret-Keeper to keep Wormtail safe, and it was Dumbledore who suggested to make Wormtail the actual Secret-Keeper." Sirius said as he held up the stunned rat for Moony to see in the mirror. "James and I thought that it would be a great prank on Voldemort. But I discovered too late that the damn rat is a Death Eater, and he betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort."
"Oh? But why would the headmaster blame you?"
"No idea! But you know Dumbledore, he doesn't miss a trick!"
"Damn!" Moony cursed. "He knew Wormtail was the real traitor all this time."
"Probably wanted to give the evil rat a second chance. Damn Manipulative Old Fool!" Sirius cursed.
"That means Dumbledore knew that the rat had betrayed Fabian and Gideon, and the Bones family, and I am so sorry Sirius, the rat must have betrayed Marlene McKinnon. That would be the only way those Death Eaters could have caught her!"
Sirius could only nod grimly.
"He always said that sacrifices had to be made for the Greater Good." Moony cursed bitterly.
The pair was silent for a moment to digest that revelation.
"Better scan yourself for bugs and compulsions, and remove them."
They watched as Sirius took out his wand and waved it over himself, then Harry and finally the rat as tiny little lights sparkled and popped out, while they could see Moony doing the same thing in the mirror.
"Damn!" Sirius said. "Well at least the ancient wards of Potter Manor will block them, and he won't find us here."
"Damn!" Moony said as he found and disposed of a number of tracking charms, bugs and compulsions. "What is Dumbledore playing at?"
"Don't know. But what else did Dumbledore tell you?" Sirius asked.
"Well he said that James and Lily were dead, and Harry had somehow defeated Voldemort, and lived with only a scar shaped like a bolt of lightning." Moony replied.
"A scar shaped like a bolt of lightning? Well, Harry's girlfriend kissed that better, and it is gone now." Sirius responded.
But all Moony heard was. "Harry has a girlfriend already?"
"Yeah, a real little cute thing. Prongs would be so proud." Sirius smiled.
"It's Lily's emerald green eyes. No witch could resist them." Moony chuckled. "Anyway, Dumbledore also said that he has hidden Harry in a safe place and for me not to worry."
"A safe place? The old fool tried to dump Harry on Petunia's doorstep last night in the cold." Sirius replied.
"Petunia's doorstep? You got to be kidding me?" Moony questioned.
"I kid you not! But the old fool stuffed up in the dark and left Harry at the home next door to Petunia's. Anyway, look, come to Prongs' Lair but don't tell Dumbledore." Sirius said. "Something is not right with the old man."
Sirius then called the Head Potter Elf. "Bartholomew!"
An old elf popped in. "Doggy master has called for Bartholomew?"
"Bartholomew, go to the Potter Account Manager, Goldenclaw, and tell him that James and Lily have passed. Instruct him to lock down the Potter vaults, and particularly block Dumbledore from having any access whatsoever. Inform him that I have Harry and I didn't betray James and Lily, the rat did."
The elf popped away and Sirius set about putting the ancient wards around Potter Manor into Battle mode and especially removed Dumbledore's name from the guest list along with the name of the rat.
- Minerva makes a difference. -
Sirius came back to the Grangers and sat down as Winky popped in with his breakfast.
Emma wanted to ask Sirius about that very serious conversation but she could see Sirius was not in the mood.
Dan asked a neutral question. "Sirius, this is a beautiful home. How big is it."
"This is Potter Manor, the ancestral home of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter. Parts of the house are over five hundred years old. As how big it is, well, let's just say it is too big to play hide and seek in."
"Oh? Padfoo, not fair." Harry said as Hermione and he had finished their breakfast and were looking for a new adventure.
Sirius turned to his dogson. "Sorry, Pup, but what is really not fair is using Dobby to help you hide and then using Dobby to help you to find everyone."
"But Dobby loves to play, and I can't run as fast as Padfoo." Harry cheekily replied as he turned to Hermione. "It was so much fun and now you and Winky can play with us."
"Can we play hide and seek?" Hermione hopefully asked.
"Yay!" Cheered Harry.
"Nay!" Negated the adults.
"Not fair!" Harry and Hermione protested.
Winky helped Hermione search through her books that the elves had brought from her home, she was looking for another story to read to Harry while the adults finished their breakfast.
Dan took the opportunity to get a little serious. "What is happening, Sirius?"
"Not sure, Dan, if Dumbledore is blaming me for the attack on the Potters it won't be any good for me. But it does explain why Corny and the Toad showed up in North London. I had tracked the rat there, and was about to catch him when a team from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes appeared, led by their Junior Minister, Cornelius Fudge and his Undersecretary, Umbridge, the Toad. I think they were there to catch me when Dobby saved me from my stupidity, and popped me away."
"What do you mean?" Dan gave Sirius a confused look.
Sirius continued. "The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes are a clean-up crew to clean up magical events after they happen. Someone had tipped off Fudge and there would be no way the Toad would get up that early in the morning unless she was going to throw someone into Azkaban."
"Oh?" They all said ominously.
- Minerva makes a difference. -
Sadly we pause our happy story to bring an update on how such an insignificant little change will affect the lives and futures of others. For, Sirius Black wasn't captured and on a one-way trip to Azkaban, and the rat didn't escape to cause more trouble, pain and suffering.
And as the headmaster said, "Sacrifices had to be made for the Greater Good."
But will some get a second chance?
To see what Butterfly effect these ripples of change made to the lives of certain others, we need to go back in time for about an hour.
- Minerva makes a difference. -
Previously.
Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, had been given a hot tip by his mentor, the Chief Warlock, that the despicable Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The Chief Warlock had also supplied a tracker so he would be first to find the despicable fiend.
Cornelius knew that if he caught this evil dangerous Death Eater, it would mean an Order of Merlin first class, and a fast track to be the next Minister of Magic.
While his Undersecretary, Umbridge, the Toad, would have a big future in the Ministry as a fixer / destroyer (depending on which side you are on), and an opportunity to become the worse DADA Professor Hogwarts had ever had.
Sadly, Cornelius' enthusiasm was tempered by the knowledge that if he failed the Chief Warlock in this important task, well, the Chief Warlock's second chances were not without cost.
While Umbridge, the Toad, didn't know what Black had done to earn the Chief Warlock's ire, but she knew the idiot was no Death Eater. But she did enjoy ruining some fool's day and loved throwing them into Azkaban just to see the fear in their eyes. It was the only reason why she would get up so early.
So, in the sad part of London, circumstances came together to form a nexus. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Sirius Black thought he had finally cornered the betrayer of the Potters, Peter Piper Pettigrew. He wanted to capture the rat alive so he could be given a fair trial before he was thrown through the Veil in the Death Chamber. He slowly approached the evil Death Eater rat.
Fudge and his team used the tracker and Portkeyed to the right location. He smiled as he fearlessly led his team and could see Black just ahead of him about to confront and finish off his friend, Peter Pettigrew.
Pettigrew was looking around fearfully as he had led Black to this spot as there were some Muggles waiting at a bus stop for their morning bus into London. He just needed Fudge to appear, and then he could loudly accuse the idiot grim, Sirius Black, for the murder of James and Lily in front of all these witnesses including a junior Minister, and then he could blow up some useless Muggles to fake his own death and escape.
Then they heard a loud. "ERK!"
And Sirius Black had just disappeared.
"Damn!" Cornelius cursed. "Where did Black go?"
The rest of the team from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes looked at each other as their usual job was to clean up after an unfortunate magical event, and not to actually stop one from happening. That was what Aurors were for.
Then they heard a loud. "Eep!"
"Don't know, boss, but Pettigrew just disappeared too." John Dawlish reported as he waved his wand. "I can't detect any magic from apparitions or Portkeys."
"Get over there and search those filthy useless Muggles, you fool!" Ordered an ugly toad looking witch who posed as the Junior Minister's Undersecretary. She wore a warm thick black hooded travelling robe over her hot pink cardigan to guard against the cold morning air.
"This is not good." Fudge said to the Toad.
"Well, Cornelius, it is obvious that Black has used a dark Black Family hex to totally obliterate Pettigrew." The Toad suggested.
Dawlish returned ten minutes later. "There is no sign of either Black or Pettigrew. Or of any magic cast by either of them. They have just vanished into thin air."
"Damn! This tracker is not working either." Cursed Fudge.
"Damn, we need to find Black and throw him straight into Azkaban. Or no Order of Merlin, and no Minister of Magic." Cursed the Toad witch as she angrily hopped across the road to search the spot for herself.
The Toad arrogantly ignored the bright headlights of a large double-decker bus that came out of the thick London morning fog, and was barrelling towards her as she just expected it to jump out of her way as the Knight bus was supposed to magically do.
But this large double-decker bus was red, and destination indicator read No 19 to Finsbury Park, and the only magical things it did were to always run late and to travel in packs of three or more buses. The poor driver was rushing to make up time and had just looked down to check his instruments.
"RIBBIT!" Was the Toad's last word.
SPLAT!
The poor driver didn't see the black hooded travelling robed witch in the dim morning light until she exploded all over the front of the bus.
The out of control bus careered across the road and thankful away from all the Muggles waiting at the bus stop.
SPLAT!
SPLAT!
SPLAT!
THUD!
But unfortunately the big double-decker bus plough into some more black robed idiots who were too stupefied to even try to get out of the way.
Pure-blood pride was no match for a London Bus.
(This scene was inspired by the scene in Deathly Hallows 1 when the trio escape from Bill and Fleur's wedding and Hermione takes Harry and Ron to Shaftesbury Avenue, and then has to pull Ron out of the way of the bus.)
(Also if you can think of a better sound effect for a London Bus hitting a Pure-blood wizard, leave a review.)
As no significant magic had been released in this sad incident, none of the Magic Detectors at the Ministry had been triggered. Which wouldn't have made much difference as everyone was out looking for Sirius Black or dealing with foolish revellers still celebrating the fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. So no one knew something had happened to Team Fudge until they were reported missing the next day.
Leaving the Muggle Police to sort out the mess. They saw the black robes and the lack of any form of identification, and assumed that they were a mob of hardcore weirdo Halloween revellers still too high on something to notice a London Bus.
Later, a Muggle-born wizard working at the Morgue recognised the lime-green bowler hat, the pinstriped cloak and the portly remains of Fudge, and what was left the Toad wrapped up in a hot pink cardigan. He went out to celebrate before he passed on the message to a Hufflepuff he had been friendly with, Auror Amelia Bones. He explained that the witnesses' report said that Fudge and the Toad had tried to stop a London Bus with their faces.
- Minerva makes a difference. -
Meanwhile, in an ancient castle, far to the north.
Minerva awoke the next morning still annoyed about something she couldn't remember. Only that it had something to do with the headmaster. Her kitty senses were tingling and she knew something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Concerned, but not wanting to alert the headmaster, she went to see her friend Pomona and had her check her over. Pomona waved her wand over her friend and found the Obliviation curse and a compulsion hex that would make her to not want to go near someone. She removed the compulsion hex but wasn't skilled enough to remove the Obliviation.
Minerva's concern grew when Pomona revealed that the headmaster had had young Harry at the castle most of the previous day with Poppy. She had seen the child there when she delivered some fresh holistic plants from the greenhouse. They went to see their friend Poppy and weren't surprised that she had no memory of Harry ever being at the castle at all.
They avoided the headmaster while Poppy tried to remember what had happened the previous day and they wondered where Harry was.
While Minerva called Papa, Hogwarts major-domo elf, to bring her the castle logs for November first. She found the big X that Hagrid used to sign out of the castle. Hagrid had been ban from leaving any notes as no one could read his writing, not even him, so he just made his mark. She looked earlier in the day and found that she written that she was going to watch Lily's sister's home in Little Whinging. The entry included the full address. But as she didn't remember going there the previous day, she knew it was a good place to start.
Minerva, Pomona and Poppy used the floo from the hospital ward to travel to the Leaky Cauldron and then to apparate to Number Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging. They immediately felt the weak wards around the home and knew they had come to the right place.
Minerva knocked on the door and Petunia answered.
"Its you." Petunia sneered. "What do you want?"
Minerva spoke. "We have come for Harry."
"Harry? Why would Harry be here? Has something happened to Lily?"
"Oh? Harry is not here?" Pomona asked as the three witches grew afraid.
"No! Lily would never dare send her child here." Petunia replied. "Not after what happened to Vernon. Has something happened to Lily?"
"Can we come in?" Minerva requested. "We don't want to have this conversation out here in front of all of your neighbours."
Petunia didn't want them in her home either, but Vernon was at work. She stepped aside. "Make it quick." She hissed.
As the three witches walked to the kitchen, they cast the Homenum Revelio Charm and it came back negative for Harry. He had never been there.
Minerva gently explained what had happened to Lily and Petunia broke down and cried in grief for the loss of her sister. Poppy called her Medical-elf to bring some strong tea and a phial of calming potion for Petunia.
Minerva waved her wand and cast some detection charms. She gave Petunia a concerned look. "Dumbledore has set up a ward around this house that is connected to you."
"Oh, why would that old fool do that?" Petunia protested.
"Probably something to do with Harry." Minerva replied carefully as she realised that Lily's sister would hate to know that she was a Squib.
"Can you remove it?"
"Yes, I could, but that would only bring Dumbledore running here to set the ward up again. And you wouldn't want that."
"No. I never want to see that old fool who got my sister murdered ever again." Petunia protested.
Minerva couldn't disagree with that sentiment. "Well, if you got the opportunity to move, I would take it as the only thing you can do is to leave here."
"Oh. That is not fair. The old fool has taken my sister and now my home."
"I am sorry, but you know how the headmaster loves to interfere and manipulate."
Petunia folded her arms. "I will talk to Vernon. He has mentioned some job opportunities overseas." Then she smirked. "They want to build a shopping centre here. Maybe Vernon can get a better price. Let's see the old fool try to find this place under hundreds tons of concrete car park."
The three witches smirked.
As for the missing Harry, the three witches were at a complete loss. If only Minerva could remember what had really happened the previous day.
- Minerva makes a difference. -
Later that morning, the headmaster was in his grand office and was growing impatient that young Fudgy had not reported that he had captured the grim idiot and sent him directly to Azkaban. So he decided to visit Gringotts while he waited for the good news.
The headmaster left behind the Potter Cloak of Invisibility in the secret drawer of his desk, and gathered the keyring that was holding all of the Gringotts gold keys for the Potter vaults, that he had taken from the lifeless body of James Potter.
Yes, he had been there that fateful Halloween night just past, hiding under the Potter Cloak of Invisibility that he had borrowed from that idiot James Potter. His plan was for Tom to extinguish the last descendants of Ignotus Peverell, and then for the great Albus Dumbledore to defeat the final remaining descendant of the Peverell brothers, Tom Riddle. Then he would become the owner of the three Deathly Hallows by conquest.
With that victory, he, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, would finally become the Omnipotent Master of Death. Oh, what power would he have to shape not just the Magical World, but the whole planet to his will for the Greater Good. It will be worth all the sacrifices he had made. All that interference and manipulation.
His plans were so close to succeeding, but it all came crashing down because he had underestimated the Mudblood. Whatever she had done to save the Boy had caused a massive magical backdraft that destroyed the ritually enhanced body of Tom, and blew out the roof of his old family home that he had been using as a safe house to trap the Potters.
Without a body to prove his glorious victory over his second dark lord, and with the unfortunate survival of the Boy, Dumbledore couldn't claim anything. Worse still, the Boy was now heir and owner of two of the three Deathly Hallows by conquest. He dare not do the deed himself as he still had no idea what the Mudblood had done to protect her son, and if the Boy defeated him, he would win the Elder Wand and become the Omnipotent Master of Death, and that would never do.
So the headmaster went with plan B.
All the headmaster could salvage was a sliver of Tom's unstable soul and anchor it to a Sowilo rune shaped cut he had made in the Boy's forehead. He needed to connect Tom's soul to the boy's life-force, and stop him from crossing over as he knew the idiot had made his Horcruxes with things not connected to a suitable life-force, and it would tie their fates together. An ironic destiny.
Then the headmaster quickly returned to Hogwarts, and sent Hagrid to collect the Boy and, well, you know the rest.
"Damn Mudblood!" The headmaster hissed as he remembered that he had been going to Gringotts.
Sadly, in his distracted impatience, he missed the alarm the strange looking silver instrument had made to warn him, that someone magical had entered Number Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging.
The headmaster travelled by floo to the Leaky Cauldron and said hello to the celebrating witches and wizards in Diagon Alley as he made his way to Gringotts. He was a little annoyed when Goldenclaw, the Potter Account Manager, was too busy to see him. He realised that Goldenclaw was probably busy auditing the Potter accounts, but he should have still found the time to meet Harry's self-appointed Magical Guardian. He decided that the first thing he would do when he took control of the Potter vaults and fortune would be to replace Goldenclaw with someone who would do as he is told.
Meanwhile Dumbledore decided to visit his own vault instead. As his vault was a level or two above the Potter vaults, he could easily sneak down and help himself to his new riches and all of ancient magical artefacts the Potter Family had collected. He really needed to get his hands on the Peverell Family Grimoire that James had refused to let him borrow. He needed to see if it had any information of the Cloak of Invisibility as the cloak didn't seem to work as well as he expected.
The headmaster stunned and obliviated Griphook, the Goblin who had accompanied him to his vault, then he used the Elder Wand to make a copy of Griphook's master key from a gold galleon. He needed a Gringotts master key to use with the gold Potter vault keys he had brought to open the Potter Vaults. With a wave of his wand, he cast an invisibility charm over himself, and walked down the emergency exit stairs to the main Potter vault which was situated on the high security level that was guarded by a hungry dragon. He didn't bother with using the noisy clankers to drive the dragon out of his way as that would have alerted the Goblins and besides he was invisible. So he assumed he could just walk pass it.
But Gringotts used the clankers for two reasons, one, to drive the dragon out of the way, and two, to cover the sound of their footsteps so that the almost blind dragons wouldn't know where they were and attack them with fire. They were fire breathing dragons after all.
In the silent high security vaults level, the hungry dragon quickly heard the footsteps of some high-heeled, buckled boots and the swish of colourful robes of someone he couldn't see, and most definitely shouldn't be there.
Using his hearing, the old dragon was able to pinpoint and carefully aim one fireball.
HACK-TOO!
The dragon spat out the fireball and at that very short range, he couldn't miss as the fireball erupted over the intruder.
Now the intruder stuck out like a sensitive broken claw, and the dragon just waited patiently a few moments until it was cooked medium rare, and then cheerfully gobbled him up.
One the hungry dragon had a hot dinner.
The arrogant headmaster had pushed his luck too far and walked too close to the obvious danger. He didn't have time to react as the dragon hit him with a fireball, and completely ruined his favourite colourful robes. His last thought before the lights went out and the pain overcame him was, thank Merlin for Ariana and Aberforth.
In his shock surprise, Dumbledore dropped the Elder Wand, and it vanished to travel to it rightful master.
A young boy with emerald green eyes.
- Minerva makes a difference. -
Lily was dead.
Later that afternoon in an old rundown mill town called Cokeworth, in a dreary old house on a street called Spinner's End. Severus Snape was slowly recovering from a really bad hangover. He wished he was dead, and had drank himself into oblivion.
Lily was dead.
Oh, how he had prayed as he ran into that smoking ruin, only to find her warm lifeless body.
Lily was dead.
And it was all his fault.
Lily was dead.
And the two miserable lousy stinking dark lords he had pleaded with, begged on his knees, and sold his soul to, had utterly failed to keep their bargain.
Lily was dead.
And he hoped one dark lord suffered a ginormous amount of pain when his wraith was ripped from his body as Lily destroyed it. His own dark mark showed that the monster was not completely gone from this mortal coil.
Lily was dead.
And he knew Dumbledore would dodge all responsibility, the manipulative Leader of the Light was more slippery and devious than any Slytherin he knew. Far more slippery than Lucius Malfoy. But the miserable manipulative old fool would still expect him to honour his bargain. He was trapped between teaching dunderheads or the Dementors of Azkaban.
Lily was dead.
And if they discovered his part in aiming the dark lord at the boy, he knew he would be kissed by a Dementor. But with the grief and remorse he felt, being kissed by a Dementor was what he deserved.
Lily was dead.
And he had drunk all of his Firewhisky.
Damn!
Lily was still dead.
And he wanted to avenge her, and destroy both dark lords.
But he had to find them first.
Severus tried to contact and find the headmaster. When his Patronus message returned unanswered, he feared that the headmaster was ignoring him or was about to betray him to tie up some lose ends. Like the knowledge of who really betrayed the Potters.
If the headmaster didn't keep his bargain and speak for him, he knew Barty Crouch senior would cheerfully chuck him into Azkaban and throw away the key.
Severus realised that it was time to go. To run and live his miserable life until he could avenge Lily. His dark mark was starting to itch and prickle, and he knew whatever the dark lord done to avoid mortal death, was about to kill him. So he amputated his left arm to remove his dark mark, and replaced it with a golden transfigured arm he made from a gold cauldron. He packed up and left England.
Lily was dead.
And he would return and avenge her.
- Minerva makes a difference. -
Prince Escalus.
…...Where be these enemies? Capulet! Montague!
See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.
And I for winking at your discords too
Have lost a brace of kinsmen: all are punish'd…..
…..A glooming peace this morning with it brings;
The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head:
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;
Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished:…..R&J.
- Minerva makes a difference. -
Thank you for reading.