Harry and Merope to the Rescue - Chapter 31
Disclaimer:
I don't own the HP universe, unfortunately.
October 31, 1982, The Burrow:
"And that's how Harry James Potter received a lightning bolt shaped scar and became known as the Boy-Who-Lived on this same night last year," said Molly Weasley to her two youngest children, Ronald and Ginevra. The twins were sitting nearby playing together, but not really listening. Percy was sitting in a chair near the fireplace reading a child's book about the jobs in the Ministry. Charlie was sitting nearby and was reading a worn copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Arthur was out in his shed playing with his muggle junk, and Bill was, of course, at Hogwarts.
"Wow," said Ron with wide-eyed amazement. Ginny just gave a blank stare while chewing on her handmade Boy-Who-Lived plushie.
Molly looked down on them with an affectionate smile and said, "Now, Ronald, you'll be starting Hogwarts the same year as the Boy-Who-Lived. You need to become his friend and make sure he gets sorted into Gryffindor.
Ron clapped his hands enthusiastically and exclaimed, "I'm going to Hogwarts and be friends with the Boy-Who-Lived!"
Molly smiled and said, "Exactly, dear."
And then Molly picked up Ginny and hugged her to her chest and whispered, "And you, my dearest daughter, are going to make him fall in love with you, and then you two will get married and will take a fertility potion to ensure you get pregnant during the honeymoon. And then, after you have given him an heir, we will arrange an unfortunate accident for him, and you will give us access to those wonderful overflowing vaults, so that we will never have to work again." Ginny just gurgled happily in response, as she continued to chew on her Boy-Who-Lived plushie.
After the children were either asleep or at least in their own rooms for the rest of the night, Molly and Arthur were snuggled together on the couch. "Mollywobbles," Arthur said quietly, "I don't think you should encourage this Boy-Who-Lived fantasy you seem intent to foist upon the children." This statement of opinion made Molly stiffen and pull away, looking at Arthur with a frown.
"What brought this on? I thought you were in agreement with me," said Molly worriedly. Admittedly, she had not made Arthur aware of all of the plans she had made with the Headmaster, as she knew that he would not approve of them. So far as he knew, they were only to encourage their children to become the Potter Spawn's friend and pave the way for a sorting to Gryffindor, which meant that she needed to tell stories about the Boy-Who-Lived to her children.
Arthur shrugged and said, "It just doesn't seem right to praise the boy as if he is some fantasy hero that fights monsters and saves damsels. He's only a little boy. Plus, I don't want the children to be disappointed when they find out their hero is nothing like the stories." Arthur had seen the adult Harry Potter in and out of the Ministry, and there was one moment where they had locked eyes no more than a second, but in that second, Arthur had felt the weight of every scheme that he knew his wife and the Headmaster had cooked up for the Boy-Who-Lived, and he was positive there were schemes within schemes that Molly never even told him about. All he knew at that point was that it was wrong on so many levels and he had felt the sudden need to try to steer Molly and the children away from those plans.
Molly sniffed and said, "I'll take your concerns under consideration." Arthur sighed, knowing that was the best he could hope for at this point, and Molly returned to snuggling up to him.
Hogwarts:
The feast had just concluded and Dumbledore was walking back to his office in quiet contemplation. Today was the one year anniversary of the fall of Voldemort and in just a few more months it would be a year since the Potter child had disappeared and he had misplaced his pawn. He ran his hands through his beard as he walked, thinking about all the things that had gone wrong for him recently.
Not only had he not found out who kept pranking him, although at least he hadn't had another incident of no taste buds, he had also gotten no closer to locating the Boy-Who-Lived. And to top it off, all the goblins would tell him is that he was no longer listed as the child's magical guardian; therefore, he no longer had access to the child's trust vault. He cursed himself for not having gotten into the vault to take anything out beforehand. Immediately after that thought, he heard in his mind 'No more games with people's lives,' then he said quietly to himself, "Huh, I wonder where that thought came from?"
He was so lost in thought that he barely registered that he had arrived at the gargoyle that stood guard at his office entrance and absently announced this week's password of Gum Drops.
He sat down in his chair and then it was as if he had been struck with a lightning bolt, metaphorically speaking, and he said to himself aloud, "I know, I can try to find the blasted child with my deluminator. Now, where did I put it?" He began rummaging through his desk drawers, spilling ink all over the paperwork on his desk in his haste to lay hand on the item in question. "Ah ha! Found it!"
He continued to mumble to himself as he made sure he had everything he would need to complete his search for the Boy-Who-Lived, including the Potter invisibility cloak. If he was lucky, he could get in and out with the child before whoever was concealing him would be able to stop him.
Finally he was ready and wrapped up in the invisibility cloak, not seeming to notice that there was something off about the cloak, then he clicked.
Grimmauld Place:
The Potters, Blacks, and Remus were gathered together after having enjoyed a quiet Halloween feast in memory of James and Lily Potter when the Black wards, in combination with the wards that Harry had added, flared and deflected the intrusion.
"What was that?" Walburga asked in concern.
Harry glanced at Little Harry to see if he was paying any attention, but he was nearly asleep, cuddled in Merope's lap, then he turned to Walburga and said quietly, "That would have been Dumbledore receiving a nasty surprise when he attempted to breach the wards without invitation."
Sirius shook his head and asked, "What did that bloody man want this time, I wonder?" Harry just shook his head and shrugged.
Walburga said, "Well, I know the Black wards would have been quite a nasty experience for any intruder, but I wonder what they would have done in combination with your wards, Harry?"
Harry's response was, "It will be a miracle if he survived that ordeal, as he would likely have become a burned up husk after having been ejected so forcefully; but if by some slim chance he did survive, it would take St. Mungo's months or possibly years to heal him, and even then he would still have side effects."
"Well, if it did kill him, does that mean you'll stay around Britain and allow Little Harry to go to Hogwarts after all?" Remus asked.
Harry shared a look with Merope and after a brief, silent conversation, Harry turned back to Remus and said with a smile, "My only objection to Little Harry being at Hogwarts was the presence of Dumbledore, so long as he's truly dead, then I've no issues with sending him to Hogwarts and keeping our home on the island at Potter's Refuge."
Merope then said to Harry, "Just be sure that you have placed a muzzle on Severus Snape before Little Harry arrives there for school, I'll not have him bullied due to his hatred of James Potter and the fact that Little Harry will resemble him."
Harry smiled back and said, "Oh, don't worry about Snape, Mary. I have the feeling that as soon as Dumbledore is no longer forcing him to stay as Potions Master, he will make his escape. In any event, I highly doubt McGonagall, if she's promoted to Headmistress, will allow him to treat the students as he did in my school days, not without any repercussions like Dumbledore did." At Merope's stern look, Harry raised his hands in surrender and said, "Yes, Mary, I will put a muzzle on him if there ever comes a need for it."
"Thank you, dear," said Merope in response.
The Next Day:
NOVEMBER 1, 1982
THE DAILY PROPHET
BY: RITA SKEETER
DUMBLEDORE FOUND DEAD!
You read that right, dear readers! The body of Headmaster Dumbledore appeared out of nowhere, fried to a crisp, in the middle of Diagon Alley.
Investigations are underway to confirm the cause of death, but the general consensus is that he ran afoul of some very strong wards and was thoroughly rejected by them.
You might ask what he was doing near such powerful wards; surely as powerful as he was, he should have been able to avoid such a fate. Alas, dear readers, any clue he had on his person was burnt beyond recovery.
The Ministry Spokesperson had this to say, "We will conduct a thorough investigation of this incident and see that justice is served, should it come to light that this was anything other than a tragic accident."
Well, there you have it folks! Investigations are underway, and hopefully, we will have an explanation for this travesty soon.
Potter's Refuge:
After having just finished reading the copy of the Daily Prophet that Sirius had brought by, Harry turned to Merope and said, "Well, that's that. No more having to worry about Dumbledore trying to find Little Harry, and no more worrying about him sticking his big nose into anything else.
The Burrow:
Molly Weasley's screams after reading the Daily Prophet could be heard for miles and miles.