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Chapter Thirty Eight
Decisive Stratagem
The Hogwarts Express quickly wound its way through the Scottish highlands, bound for King's Cross. Veneficus spent the majority of the ride in near silence, with Anguis preoccupied with arguing with Miss Granger's newest theory that she had of how to make magi-technology work, while the Darksider in training was struggling to keep up. Nott had some time ago given his report on the metals used in Potion making, primarily copper, brass, pewter, and silver. There were some rare exceptions where gold was needed but the other four were the primary choices for all potions.
Hermione quickly surmised that one of the main unifying characteristic between the metals was that they tarnished, chemically reacting with certain air born compounds. She reasoned that something to do with the reaction that allowed magic to be worked into the metal easily, and that any of them would be excellent choices with how simply they could be worked into desirable shapes to not only channel electricity, but magic as well.
With this information in hand, Miss Granger was certain that she could easily redesign her prototype magic battery into a effective and high capacity devise to draw magical energy and convert it into electric power. It was one of the greater needs that Veneficus saw as completed, and he begrudged nothing with how well he had handled drawing the brilliant girl unknowingly into his fold.
As they arrived in the London station, Veneficus noticed the many stares and whispers that followed him as he departed. No doubt the fools had learned of the death of Sirius Black, and were wagging their tongues at how long it had taken the dementors to capture the threat to their beloved savior. However, three pairs of eyes in particular were watching for very different reasons.
The first was Ronald Weasley, still angered and bitter that his foolish desire to befriend the great Harry Potter had been foiled, compounded with rage at the loss of his pet and blaming Veneficus, (which while truthfully placed the boy remained dreadfully unaware of,) created a confrontation that was just building to occur with explosive results. Veneficus couldn't help but smile at the thought of finally putting the foolish child in his place, petty though it was. Toppling those that felt superior was always something that he had relished in, and the Sith Lord knew that one day the entire Galaxy would be perfectly clear as to who complete power lay within, and they would as one fall at his feet.
Secondly, the curious and yet still timid Blaise Zabini, who was still drawing closer to his own breaking point of curiosity. Veneficus was aware of the boy's deeper and somewhat stranger draw toward him. Outside from a lust for power that all Slytherins deep down shared in one form or another, the boy had inherited a particular fondness for strength from his own mother, a widow of nearly a half dozen husbands.
Whatever the boy's motives, Veneficus was ready, and one as connected and potentially useful as Zabini would so easily be twisted by even the thought of receiving his desired reward, only as soon as the boy found out he could resist no longer.
Finally, the cold stare of Lucius Malfoy bored into Veneficus, as the man waited for Anguis to depart from his master and return. Veneficus had learned from Darth Millennial of their sudden break in ties to the man and his circle of associates, and to no one's surprise the man was able to buy his way out of any political issues that the Ministry had against him.
However, annoying the head of a powerful family like the Malfoys was not the intent of the Sith, but rather to push the final pieces of a three year long scheme into place at last. Veneficus had worked Anguis into a position where he could not, and indeed would not consider betraying the Sith or their secrets, and Lucius would stop at nothing to break ties and destroy them in a bout of personal affront.
Each male of the Malfoy line would come to terms with their allegiances, and in the fallout Veneficus had no doubt that there would be only one outcome.
"Come Draco, we're leaving," Lucius said coldly as the Darksiders approached. Anguis looked confused for a moment, sensing the hatred in his father at Veneficus' presence, but the Sith Lord waves his apprentice away, knowing that they would only be apart for a short time.
Turning toward the portal to the muggle side of the station as soon as the blond father and son had vanished by apparition, Veneficus departed swiftly to locate whomever had been sent for him, and quite happily set off back to Blackmoore Manor.
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Septin awoke to an astoundingly great pain from his arm. Crying out in sudden anguish, he reached to clutch at the burning limb, but found nothing there. That was when realization of the last few events of his duel with Zhar registered. He had lost, more than just the duel but his arm as well. The pain was excruciating, and it was very hard to focus on what was going on around him, but he was able to make out by the chill around him that he was in a ship flying through the black vacuum of space.
A door slid open, but Septin's eyes were closed to block out what pain he could, so he had no idea who approached until he heard the smooth voice of Feyd. "Well, a fine mess you got yourself into Septin, me as well by extension for that matter…"
Septin could do little more than growl in response, if he opened his mouth he feared that he would be unable to do more than scream. "You know I cannot give you anything to stop the pain, so I'd think that it would be best if you simply returned to unconsciousness until we arrive back at Dromund Kaas in a few hours." And with those words, the boy turned and left.
Septin felt his rage pumping behind his ears, making small object around the room rattle with suppressed Force energy. Slowly, as his anger welled up and swirled around the chilled room, the pain from his body lessened somewhat, giving way to a more important sensation. In the few moments before Septin fell unconscious, he felt a the twinge of insight that by his former master's act of removing his arm, Septin had been granted knowledge of where his power laid at last, in the fiery crucible of pain and rage.
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Severus was not sure when or how the memory had returned to him, but now he clearly recalled when he had been sent to collect Harry from the muggle world. The fact of 'Lord' Blackmoore not in fact being a wizard had stumped not only Severus himself, but even Albus had no answer for the mystery.
It was possible that the man had been a wizard all along, and simply pretended to know nothing in front of Severus, but that just lead to a deeper mystery of why. The only true conclusion that Severus could come to, as insane as it sounded, was that Blackmoore had access to some other type of power that overrode the magical influences on his nonmagical mind.
It was the only possible explanation as to how someone with no magic could see and enter Hogwarts, let alone his manipulating Severus' heavily protected mind to forget everything regarding their meeting for so long.
He was currently with Albus in his office, they having separated for a day to ponder the matter alone before reconvening to decide the next course of action. "If what you suspect is true Severs," Albus was saying as he paced the length of his office, "then there is far more at work here with this Lord Blackmoore than we ever suspected. He currently holds a frightful amount of political sway, despite severing relations with Lucius Malfoy, and I fear what his motives might be."
Severus nodded from his seat up by Albus' desk. "At least we know that it's nothing to do with the Dark Lord," he ventured, and the aged Headmaster nodded.
"This is true, but I fear that what this man has in store could prove to be greater and more terrible than anything Tom ever dreamed of. Judging by what changes we've seen in Harry since he arrived almost two years ago, I can only wager that the boy has been corrupted and twisted in some way by Blackmoore, but then again, who knows what sort of traumatic event might have occurred in Harry's life to make him this way."
Albus turned very grim as he continued with his stream of thought, "I am more than willing to assume that Blackmoore, with whatever unknown powers he has, was the one to murder Harry's family, probably near to the same time that he kidnapped the boy and raised him as his own. To try and move against them openly would do nothing but accelerate whatever plans that the man has established. Blackmoore has clearly thought up plans for if he was found out, going so far as to erase minds of his existence, and I greatly fear what he may do if we forced his hand…"
Cautiously, Severus spoke, "That leads us to the greatest dilemma of all, I think. Do we wait for fear of what the man may do until what he already has plans to do occurs with us none the wiser?"
Albus massaged his temples in tired frustrations, "It's maddening," he said, "but I see little option. Having Harry watched did nothing but cause Remus to vanish, and I suspect that the worst has occurred to our dear friend, and neither can we hope to approach Blackmoore directly."
Severus nodded grimly, "then we have no choice but to be extra vigilant, and keep the knowledge that we know something's up, ourselves."
"…vigilance…" Albus mumbled, turning to stare off out of a window of his tower office. Somehow, Severus wasn't sure that he liked the meaning that the headmaster put behind the word, as he only knew of one man that epitomized the term.
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Anguis was concerned by the grim iciness that Lucius was presenting since he had arrived at King's Cross. The man barely spoke, and when he did it was crisp and whip-like in its directness. Anguis was dismissed the moment they appeared in the manor, and for several days he didn't even see Lucius again.
Something big was up, and Anguis knew it would gnaw at him until he discovered what it was. None of the elves could betray their master's secrets, not even to Draco, and Narcissa was too proper about keeping her precious son out of anything potentially disturbing, which only led the Force user to suspect that one of Lucius' political alliances had crumbled to dust, and the backlash was being prepared by the Head of House Malfoy.
Only three weeks into the holiday, Anguis was sitting cross legged in his own room, reaching out to the ambient magic of the house with the Force and following the currents of magic with his own consciousness, studying them to learn of the connection between the so similar energies, when his door opened quickly.
Knowing that only one person entered his room without announcing themselves, Anguis turned, expecting to see Lord Veneficus, but was surprised to see Lucius standing there with a stony expression on his face.
"Father?" he asked, sinking into the persona he deemed as the 'child' Draco Malfoy.
"Draco," Lucius replied, crossing the threshold and standing in front of him, "I have come to tell you of some things of great importance; things that will affect you most of all I think. It regards our family and the importance of the Malfoy name."
Anguis' ears perked at that. Once upon a time these words would earn a special, almost devoted attention place upon them, but something in the Force rang out the warning of those words, and the potential implications behind them. Warily, Anguis nodded, and turned to face Lucius with his legs hanging off the bed.
"Draco, as you know, Lord Blackmoore and I had up to this point a very warm relationship, an alliance if you will, and your friendship with Mr. Potter was condoned between us as part of that alliance."
Anguis felt the tension through the Force tighten considerably. Inwardly he didn't trust that whatever Lucius had to say was going to be good news, and to judge from his father's behavior, he was most definitely not going to be pleased to hear it.
"However," Lucius continued, "your friend Lord Blackmoore has betrayed that alliance, trying to steal our family's prestige among the other pureblood houses, as well as send the Ministry after us."
Anguis was unsure if he could completely believe Lucius at this point. There was no explanation as to why Lord Millennial would act against their family. "I don't understand…"
"The specifics are not important," Lucius overrode Anguis, "all you need to be aware of is that our houses are now set against each other, and I cannot in good conscious allow you to continue associations with Blackmoore or Mr. Potter."
Anguis could only just stare, "You're kidding?" he said flatly.
Lucius frowned, and Anguis did not need the Force to know how out of line his comment was, but he was beyond caring about what the man thought. The Sith were power incarnate, and if Lucius could just see what great boons they could provide their family, he may not only drop this grudge against them, but also grow to respect Anguis somewhat more than before.
"I don't want to hear any argument. The man tried to ruin me, ruin us. And they will pay for their arrogance…" Lucius said, his voice rising slightly with anger.
Anguis couldn't resist. He laughed, cold and sardonic. "Then it is you who are the fool, Father," he said, still grinning as he withdrew the cold metal hilt of his saber. He knew that all this nonsense could be settled if he showed Lucius what boons the Sith had already given to him. "Look what Lord Blackmoore has already gifted to us…" he started, but Lucius grew angrier still at the very sight of the hilt.
"A muggle trinket," he said coldly, "now at last I see. Blackmoore is trying to turn you to Dumbledore's way of thinking. Tell me son, do you think that those Mudblood pieces of filth are great now? Do you think that the future of our world is only secure if we roll over and present our traditions to their scrutiny and judgment?"
"Father, I…" Anguis tried, but Lucius overrode him again.
"I will not have such thoughts in my own home. No Malfoy will ever come into contact with those heathens. If we left them to their own devises they will destroy the very fabric of our world. Why do you think I've worked so tirelessly to prepare for the Dark Lord's return? Once we are reunited, Dumbledore and his followers will be crushed, and I had hoped to stand proudly with you my son in the world that we would forge from the ashes of the muggle's destruction…"
The snap hiss of the crimson saber silenced the tirade. The blade's glow drowned out even the bracketed torches from the hall. Lucius froze, calculating the weapon in front of him, uncertain how to react.
"Now you will listen to me, Lucius," Anguis said slowly, "I care neither for the Muggles nor their primitive technology. But the likes of what I have seen with the Lords I have grown to serve have proven to me that their way will conquer not only this world, but countless more just like it. This tool, this weapon, will forge a new order that will span the wide constellations after which I am so named, and beyond…"
Calming himself with some difficulty, Anguis continued, almost pleading for Lucius to understand, "Don't you see what gifts we've been given. I am accepted by them, and with their aid I can make a legacy that will last beyond reckoning, in names and places that you could only have hoped to imagine Father."
Lucius began shaking his head, "You are blinded my son, I do not know what Blackmoore and his despicable charge have done to you, but for the sake of the Malfoy name I will do what I can to keep you from them, to preserve our family with the honor that it deserves…"
"And are you so blind, father, to not see that you lack the ability to preserve any honor that our family rightfully deserves." Anguis shot back, "Only with my new powers can I forge us anew, the likes of which the Galaxy will never know. Join me… I… I could grow more powerful than either of the Sith, I could overthrow them… and together we will create an empire that spans countless stars…"
"You speak nonsense…" Lucius said flatly, drawing his wand, "If I must subdue you and rework your memory to purge you of this drivel, I will do so. But remember Draco, I only do this because I love you."
Rage exploded behind Anguis' eyes. The man before him did not love him, if he ever truly had he would listen. He would look and see the power of the tool he held. Like lightning, Anguis reached up and wound the Force around Lucius, yanking the man upward. His father's wand clattered to the floor as Lucius made gagging sounds. Anguis was too far gone to even notice as the man grasped at his throat, struggling for air.
"Why won't you ever listen to me then!" he raged as his father hung there, suspended in the air. "If you ever cared to pay attention to me, you would have seen the progress of MY POWER! But NO, you were always too busy with YOUR work, YOUR allies, YOUR business to even pay attention to YOUR OWN SON!"
Screaming in fury, Anguis threw Lucius aside with all the power he could muster, sending the man colliding headfirst into the bookshelf. There was an audible snapping sound, and the man lay still for a long time, but Anguis only barely registered that Lucius' neck had been broken, so enraged he had been at the man's foolishness.
The wards of the manor recoiled in barely constrained chaos at the death of the Malfoy Lord, and they immediately sought out the next in line by blood who would be head of the family. Only as total power over the manor and its magic settled over him did Anguis understand what he had just done. Turning to see his father's crumpled form, he watched for a long moment of total silence.
The old man had chosen his side long ago, that of Voldemort, the dark wizard. Anguis was the master of his own destiny now, freed from the ruling thumb of Lucius, and he would steer his family name into the dawn of power, and the majesty that was the Dark Lords of the Sith.
A small sound from the doorway, coupled with the presence in the Force that he felt sent small waves of sorrow through Anguis. "Mother..." he said, and Narcissa entered.
"My son, what have you done?" she asked, pain and fear in her voice as she glanced between Anguis and his upheld weapon to Lucius' fallen body. Understanding swept through Anguis in an instant. His family as he had know it was lost to him now, but their memory would live on in his actions from this point on. "I am sorry you had to see this..." he said, turning on her, Lightsaber raised.
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Millennial smiled to himself as the shocked scream sounded through the Force. "It is finished, then," he said aloud, more for his own benefit than for Veneficus, who was seated nearby, and clearly also felt the sudden burst of disturbance.
"So," Veneficus said, turning his head to face Millennial but looking neither surprised nor excited, "he did it, just as we planned and foresaw."
"That he did, my young apprentice..." Millennial affirmed. The Malfoy boy had just claimed his own freedom from the weak family he had been born to, preparing himself for the rich future that awaited him in the Sith Empire. "We must move quickly," Millennial said, standing. "The Ministry will descend upon the boy soon, ready to pillage all that Lucius had amassed in life, as well as taking the young boy away for good. We must cut them off and preserve not only young Anguis' hold over the affects of his late parents, but also make it certain that he will be placed in our care, as his Father's closest friends naturally..."
Veneficus laughed softly as he rose to follow Millennial to the single Floo connection in the manor, and the pair of Sith Lords quickly took the emerald flames to the manor of the late Lord and Lady Malfoy, bypassing any security that Lucius may have placed to prevent them in specific from entering uninvited.
With the death of the Family Head, the Wild Force energy that connected the wizard to his home was flailing like a wounded animal, trying desperately to resettle upon the next-most heir of the line, but it would take a substantial amount of time for that to finalize, and the Ministry would indeed choose to intervene before the wards settled to have their way with the material possessions that the pureblood aristocrats had amassed in their long family's line.
Locating the boy was no difficult matter, as the Sith merely followed the chaotic energies to their epicenter, where Anguis knelt in tears over his slain parents. Millennial stood in the doorway, basking in the power of the Dark Side that had been unleashed in the murders, while Veneficus checked to make sure that the pair were truly dead.
"I... I killed them..." Anguis said softly, his voice weak from shock. Millennial ignored the pitiful state of the child for the time being, as it was all part of the process for the young man to truly awaken his power in the Force. Millennial remembered Veneficus' first trial quite vividly, as the young child had butchered his powerless relatives in the home Millennial had first discovered the boy in.
Fear and anguish would soon be replaced by acceptance, even revelry at the deed, once the blond-haired boy realized what great gift he had been given in return for his sacrifice. "Good," Millennial breathed, helping to steer the boy toward understanding the fullness of his actions, "you are fulfilling your destiny, young Anguis."
Glancing at Veneficus, Millennial told him without words to make the scene look like more of a tragic accident, in a fashion that would fool even the most thorough of searches. Meanwhile, Millennial immediately made his way to Lucius' study. The man's will had to be kept somewhere near here, and Millennial had to make absolutely certain that it was written out to the exact specifications that he desired, leaving young Anguis with all the assets while making it so that the boy would be cared for by Millennial himself, thus sealing him to the Sith for the rest of his life.
Apparently, the powers that had been imprinted into the building in the event of Lucius' death had all activated, for not only was the normally locked study door ajar, but the parchment that Millennial sought was floating over the desk, glowing with a pale blue radiance.
Skimming the words quickly, Millennial grinned. Lucius must have not had all the time he had desired to completely rework all his dealings to exclude Millennial totally from it, as the will had only a blotchy line carved through where Millennial had been given items as an ally in the event of the man's premature demise, but no new benefactor had been named.
As he lacked the Wild Force ability to manipulate a new parchment to contain the words he desired in Lucius' hand writing, Millennial instead had to work with the one already enchanted and activated. Altering this parchment proved to be the most difficult of all the events of the night, requiring much patience and time that was quickly running short. Systematically, Millennial erased all other trustees mentioned in the document, naming Anguis as the sole inheritor of all items in Lucius' horde of treasures.
To modify who was to care for the child, Millennial simply pulled the ink crossing through Alexandre Blackmoore's name away completely, and shifted the name across the page to where the godparent, Severus Snape, had been previously named. As he had only rearranged the words of the will, and not created new ones, he could easily keep the Force signature and handwriting the same as Lucius' original and the excess words he merely ripping out of the document completely.
By the time he finished, Millennial heard the telltale cracks of apparition as the Ministry arrived at last. He swiftly returned to the youngest Malfoy's quarters, nodding at Veneficus, who had taken care of the bodies, erasing any evidence that their deaths had taken place in this room specifically.
Anguis was sitting quietly on the bed while Veneficus quickly explained what they were going on about doing. His apprentice turned and nodded at him, signaling their readiness just as the Ministry workers barged inside.
Shouts of "Freeze," and, "Aurors," rang out, as the three Force wielders stood in complete silence watching the wizards and their foolishness in trying to capture some murderer in the act.
"Are you all quite done?" Millennial said as the assembled group of four wizards halted when they recognized the man before them.
"We're here following a lead of a disturbance at Malfoy Manor that caused the wards to drop." The leader, a large black man named Kingsley Shacklebolt stated, "It is presumed that the Lord Malfoy is deceased, and we were called to investigate."
"By all means, don't let us hinder you in your official duties…" Millennial responded. He knew instinctively that the Ministry was here for more than just crime scene investigation. Shacklebolt in particular simply reeked of deceit and false reasons for his presence.
The man was currently giving orders to the other Aurors that had come with him, sending them in search of what had happened to Lucius and his wife. Meanwhile, Shacklebolt turned to speak with them once again.
"May I be so bold as to ask what you are doing here, Lord Blackmoore? Merely acting on protocol you must understand, but it is rather suspicious looking that something happens to Mr. Malfoy and you and your ward are found here in company of the man's son."
Millennial knew that it was indeed Ministry law to question all potential witnesses of a crime, but still he felt strongly distrustful of the man. Regardless, he stayed with the story that he and Veneficus had concocted minutes prior to entering the manor house. "Lucius has long been a friend and ally to me, and as such he had measures in place to notify me if or when something happened here. We had only just arrived and found young Draco in a state of panic when you burst in…"
The man nodded, pacified towards Lord Blackmoore's presence for the time being, and Millennial waited while he asked Veneficus several similar questions, all answered in congruence to Millennial's story. Finally, after the other Aurors returned and confirmed Lord and Lady Malfoy's deaths, Shacklebolt sent them on to find where the Malfoy will was being kept, before turning toward Anguis, a grim determination in his eyes.
"Now son, I need you to be honest with me," he said in a very calm yet piercing voice, "We need to know what happened to your parents. Is there anything that you heard or saw that could have led to their current states?"
Carefully, Anguis repeated the story that the Sith had prepped him for. The Aurors were so prepared for the boy to be so shaken that he wouldn't hesitate to be truthful that they hadn't even mentioned the truth serum that could quite potentially have thwarted Millennial's plan. 'So much more the fools they are,' Millennial mused as Shacklebolt asked question after question.
During the moments of near silence, Millennial studied the interactions that Mr. Shacklebolt had with the young Malfoy heir, soon to be the Lord Malfoy, with no contest. The boy was holding up well under the pressure, not only repeating the answer that had been supplied, but doing so with such great deception that Shacklebolt walked away fully thinking that someone had intruded past their wards and murdered both Lucius and Narcissa before young Draco had fled back to his room for protection.
Finding the altered will seemed to have proved the simplest task thus far for the Aurors, as they returned even quicker than when they had sought out the bodies of Lucius and his wife. Presenting the document to Shacklebolt, Millennial watched as the man read through the altered words with an increasing frown. Millennial could only guess that Dumbledore had somehow gotten his hands into the heart of this man at some point, to have him so far into the old man's pocket.
"Well," Shacklebolt said at last, rolling up the will and pocketing it to return to the Ministry, "It seems that everything has indeed been left to the new Lord Malfoy, Draco Abraxas Malfoy."
Millennial smiled to himself, "That's a small glimmer of good news among such a tragedy," he said quietly, although loud enough for Shacklebolt to hear quite clearly. Pausing for a moment in thought, Millennial continued, "but what of the boy himself? Where is he set to go, now that he's effectively orphaned?"
"Normally, the Ministry would assign a temporary guardian, until the young man came of age to collect his titles and inheritance, but in the case of these old families, they usually already have someone chosen to fulfill that roll." Shacklebolt consulted the scroll, "If I recall correctly… the Malfoys were particularly fond of Severus Snape as the boy's guardian… However it seems that that roll has been changed to…" the man broke off.
Millennial waited a moment, "changed to whom?" he prompted.
"…to you, Lord Blackmoore…" the man said, vague suspicion in his voice. Immediately he rolled up the parchment and placed it inside his robes, "the boy will have to come down to the Ministry for the time being, and the will be formally read, but I presume that everything will be in order within the next few hours."
As the man took Anguis by the arm and began to lead him out of the room, Millennial spoke again, sickeningly pleasant in his voice and demeanor to purposely rattle the black man, "I look forward to being there when it is read, but for young Draco's sake I feel we must accompany him for… moral support. You never know what sort of old men might try to take advantage of his current state of mind. Can't be too careful I believe."
Shacklebolt frowned at Millennial, but was in no authority to deny the action, and continued to escort young Anguis from the building.
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Albus blessed the merciful stroke of luck that Kingsley was in the Ministry when the Department of Magical Law Enforcement received a hastily written letter from Narcissa Malfoy urgently requesting help and that her family might be in danger. Knowing Cornelius as he did, Albus was more than certain that the man had sent Aurors immediately to the Wiltshire manor house to investigate, Kingsley joining them as the senior Auror.
What he had found, and quickly reported back to Albus via Patronus, were Lord Blackmoore and Harry already there, stating that they had been notified by Lucius as to the danger, and had arrived soon after both adults had been killed. The wards of the manor were in flux, and their now fourteen year old son, Draco Malfoy, was the only survivor.
But the information that had Albus heading down to the Ministry now was far more disturbing. Kingsley had the Aurors recover the Malfoy's will before departing with Blackmoore and Harry in tow with Draco, and had communicated that he suspected that it had been heavily tampered with.
Kingsley offered no speculation as to who had changed it or what parts had been altered, but the key change that he was aware of was young Malfoy's guardianship had been altered to Lord Blackmoore instead of Severus. The Potion's Professor had been furious at learning this news, but Albus had requested that the man remain at Hogwarts while the he himself went to the Ministry to investigate the matter further.
Severus agreed reluctantly, demanding that in return Albus tell him how Draco was faring with this tragedy, to which Albus could only sympathize with and immediately agree to.
Weaving through the corridors of the Ministry, Albus was able to quickly find Kingsley while Madam Bones had the Malfoy boy, as well as Harry and Blackmoore in her office.
"How is the boy?" Albus asked quietly, trying to draw as little attention as possible, which for him was not saying much.
"Shaken up real good Albus," Kingsley replied, "but otherwise unharmed, those other two though…" He shook his head, "There's something mighty off about them, I can't place it, but they seem almost… cold… toward the whole event."
Albus nodded gravely, but did not comment further as Madam Bone's door opened, and Minister Fudge, Lord Blackmoore, Harry, Mr. Malfoy, and finally Amelia herself emerged. "Ah, Albus, should have known if anything important happens you would turn up," Cornelius said, a bit too cheerily for the situation.
Albus immediately looked over the others. Amelia looked rather grim, obviously from a combination of Cornelius' lack of concern for the boy's welfare as well as the event itself. Draco Malfoy looked subdued, yet with a glint of steel in his eyes. By far the most out of place of the lot were Blackmoore and Harry. Albus wasn't surprised to find that each of them wore a mask of perfect (near perfect in Harry's case,) neutrality. From Harry, Albus could instantly see the trace hints of immense satisfaction hiding behind the mask, and this worried Albus greatly. It hinted at a more sinister plot from Blackmoore that resulted in the death of Lucius and his wife Narcissa.
"Well, you know me Cornelius," Albus responded with a shrug.
Cornelius continued speaking as if Albus had not said a word. "We were just wrapping up matters with that horrid business at the Malfoy's."
Amelia winced slightly, glancing at Draco who was still present. "But at least their final affects are taken account of, and Lord Blackmoore has graciously offered to fulfill his part and take in young Draco until he is of maturity and able to take his inheritance," Cornelius continued.
"I may be wrong," Albus spoke up then, "but I recall that one Severus Snape was named the boy's godfather, and as such has primary responsibility for Mr. Malfoy's welfare."
"Ah… well… er…"Cornelius stammered for a moment, before Blackmoore spoke up himself in his smooth voice. "While we did deeply wish to allow Professor Snape to fulfill his duties as godfather, we all agreed that it was for the best if we honor the Malfoy's last wishes, and if they changed the guardian rights, it was for their own reasons…"
Albus greatly doubted that this was the true case, but with Cornelius and Amelia both in agreement there was little he could do about it. "Are we so certain that it was indeed what they wished? Was there a will, and can we be sure that it was indeed theirs?"
Blackmoore frowned momentarily, and Cornelius looked offended that Albus would even suggest that the will had been false. "We've thoroughly checked the will, Dumbledore," Madam Bone said, adjusting her monocle as she surveyed them from her office door, "there was no magical tampering of any kind, and it was all in Lucius Malfoy's hand."
Albus knew that he had lost this battle before he even had the chance to fight it. Blackmoore was just too many steps ahead. "So long as you're sure, then," Albus said in defeat. As he turned and walked away, he made one small gambit. A small whispered spell magnified Albus' vision to the point of being able to see a wizard's ambient magic.
A final glance behind him before turning the corner of the hall displayed something that confirmed his and Severus' suspicions. While Madam Bones and Cornelius had the standard blue-colored auras of a witch or wizard, and both boys had a midnight blue surrounding them. Yet Lord Blackmoore had a blackened lack of aura, almost like a void of magic.
Albus was confident that this evidence compounded that the man was indeed some other type of magical being, possibly a magical creature, but somehow Albus thought that wasn't the case. The fact that something registered by the spell meant that there was some sort of magic present, yet Albus had never experienced a void blackness as an outcome. Granted, there were few occasions that he had ever used the spell to see wizard auras, but this was still something he felt was unheard of.
Also, if Mr. Malfoy and Harry's auras were anything to speak of, they had some sort of contamination that placed them between a standard wizard's aura and Blackmoore's… Albus departed, shaking his head at this startling new piece of the now outlandish puzzle.
As he emerged from the Floo in his office, Albus was mildly surprised to find Sybill Trelawney entering. "Ah, Sybill, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, before he realized that the woman's eyes were glossed over.