Chapter 9 – Manipulations and Quidditch
A/N: Next chapter! We hope you enjoy, we'll try and stick to a schedule of one a week but we promise nothing! R x
(Dumbledore POV)
'Fuck sake. This is not what I had in mind.' I paced in my office, trying to rationalise all the things going wrong with my plans. 'First Sirius bloody Black somehow gets cleared and the Potter boy is allowed to live with him. That's not what I wanted. He was supposed to be stuck at the Dursley's, abused and downtrodden. That way he would be willing to do my bidding. I would be the one to 'save him' from them. How can I make him subservient to me when he will now have a happy home life?!'
Fawkes squawking in indignation as I woke him from his nap with my angered pacing. He glared at me in a way only a bird can but I ignored him as I continued to work through all the ways my plans had gone awry this year.
'Not only had Black gotten cleared and Potter now living with him, but Black had finally taken control of his Lordship and taken up his seat on the Wizengamot, despite my trying to convince him not to, that it was enough that he was adjusting to free life and looking after a teenager. Then he had the audacity to take Potter to Gringotts and have him claim his Heir ring. AND he himself became proxy for the Potter seat on the Wizengamot! Do they not realise that I should be in those seats! Its all for the Greater Good after all! And now this! A bloody letter from the Minister telling me I have to give up my position as Supreme Mugwump because I no longer have the number of seats needed to keep it.
'And isn't that something! Fudge would never have dared to try this. But then he managed to get himself fired over some stupid student's death and William Alderton had been elected in his place. He isn't as easy to manipulate. He had refused my offer to help guide him. Ha! He thinks he is capable without me. But he'll soon see! Let them try and run the Wizengamot without me. They will soon come running back for my help.'
I sat back down at my desk, nodding to myself with the realisation that it would be a matter of time before they asked for me to come back. Rifling through my other papers, I began making other plans. I had to think of some other way to get the Potter brat to allow himself to be killed now. It has to be done, to destroy Tom. It is for the Greater Good.
'Firstly, I need to get him back on side with the youngest Weasley boy and young Miss Granger. He should not be spending so much time with those Slytherin's. Those bloody Black sister's are ruining my plans there too. For some reason Potter seems to like them and it is stopping him from doing as I expect. He is distancing himself from Weasley and Granger more every day and now that he is expanding his circle of friends he is less likely to be willing to sacrifice himself.
'I need him to be willing. If he doesn't sacrifice himself then all my hard work will be for nothing. I'd have created a Dark Lord for nothing. I need him to sacrifice himself, so that I can step in, kill Tom, and I will never be questioned ever again! My power will be undeniable, and I can begin making the changes I need to within the Ministry.'
I was roused from my thoughts once again by the chiming of my clock, indicating it was nearly time for the quarterly meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. This year it had been decided to hold the meetings at Hogwarts, to avoid the suspicion of half of the staff leaving the grounds. Not only that but Black had also decided to renovate Grimmauld Place, making it unusable. I quickly tidied the papers on my desk, putting those of a more sensitive nature in a locked drawer, away from prying eyes.
Minerva and Severus were the first to arrive. That was another one of my masterpieces. The lost boy, turned Death Eater, turned spy. He had no idea that most of the choices he had made were because I wanted him to make them. I needed a spy and so I made one. It was all for the Greater Good.
Next came Black and Lupin. The idiot Black Lord had a smug grim on his face that made me want to curse him, but the filthy wolf would defend his mate vehemently. I could not wait to get rid of those two. Hagrid trailed in behind them.
Soon the fireplace flared to life as Tonks, Shaklebolt, Alastor, Fletcher, Elphias and the Weasley's (Molly, Arthur, William and Charles) floo'd in respectively. Once everyone had taken a seat around the large table in my conference room, I stood to call the meeting to order.
"Good evening all, I trust you are well. Before we begin with individual reports, does anyone have anything particularly pressing they would like to discuss?" I asked them, looking around the table. Alastor was the first to stand.
"Care to explain this Albus?" He threw a copy of the Daily Prophet on the table for everyone to see. It was a copy from two days after the Black family had reappeared in the Wizarding World with a story of their entrance into the school, new positions, and theories of where they have been for the past fifteen years. Somehow the news had leaked before I had been able to give it my own spin.
"It is true. Regulus Black and his wife have returned to Britain, and they have twin daughters." I tried just giving the bare minimum.
The non-staff members of the Order all started asking questions, speaking over each other, until I could no longer understand what was being asked, and by whom. I waited until they had calmed down upon realising I couldn't answer if they all kept asking questions at the same time.
"One a time please." I looked over my glasses at them until they felt properly chastised. "Alastor?"
"Have you really allowed them to remain at Hogwarts? We don't know anything about them. Constant vigilance!" He asked me.
"I have not had a choice in the matter. The Minister has appointed Regulus Black as a teacher in hand-to-hand combat, and Xanthia Black as a teacher in healing, and as Poppy's assistant in the Medical Wing." I told them. "The two girls have joined their fifth year peers in Slytherin."
"Fifth year? But they have only just turned up. Surely its dangerous for them to not start in first year?" Molly asked, concerned about her son's wellbeing.
"The two girls are extremely gifted from what I have seen in my classes with them. Severus?" Minerva answered, trying to assuage her fears.
"Indeed in mine too." He nodded in agreement, and I could see the shock on the faces of the other members at him saying such a thing.
'Of course they don't see a problem with it.' I thought to myself.
"In defence as well." Lupin agreed with the other two.
"They some o' me bes' students. They know lo's abou' creatures. And young Miss Redina seems t' love 'em as much as I do." Hagrid gushed.
The non-staff members seemed pleased with the answers, especially coming from Minerva and Severus who were known to speak only what they mean and certainly wouldn't lie for the sake of it.
"Well I for one am glad that the students are learning hand-to-hand combat. It will certainly help with the war." Charles spoke up.
"And learning about healing will certainly aid our efforts." Shacklebolt added. All of their agreements with the new classes just served to annoy me further.
"Will you be asking them to join the Order?" Tonks asked.
"No I don't think so. We don't know if we can trust them." I answered her, annoyed at the suggestion.
"But surely they can help us? If Regulus can teach hand-to-hand he must be able to fight. We can use all the help we can get Albus." Shacklebolt retorted.
"As I said, we don't know if they can be trusted. They have been out of the country for far too long, and it was always believed that Regulus was one of Voldemort's most trusted." I ignored their flinch at the use of the name.
"What do you think about all this Sirius? You've been very quiet. I imagine this is all a great shock to you, learning your brother is alive and that you have two nieces." Arthur asked him, causing the other members to turn their attention to Black.
"I admit it was a huge shock when they turned up in the Great Hall, but I never believed that my brother was a Death Eater. He might be a Daemon but that doesn't make him evil. I know the boy I grew up with." He spoke quietly but with conviction, his back straightening as he defended his little brother. This was a more serious side of him, no pun intended.
Discussion soon turned to the reports from each member, as thoughts of the Black family were left behind, hopefully not to be brought up again. After several hours of useless updates I called the meeting to an end, and the non-staff members left through the floo whilst the staff members returned to their quarters.
(Ariadnae POV)
After a week of boring lessons, I was looking forward to the first quidditch match of the season. Today was Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, and I was excited to see the skills that everyone raved about Harry having. Plus, as I was not playing, I could get a feel for the other two teams strengths and weaknesses before my first game.
Red and I had been for our usual run with Susan and Hannah and we were now eating our breakfast with Theo and Blaise. This morning we had both decided on a breakfast of bacon, sausage, mushrooms, beans and toast, with Red having fried eggs whilst I had poached. We both had strong black coffee which the two boys had been disgusted by as they drank their pumpkin juice.
We ate leisurely, enjoying the mood around the hall as the excitement for the first game of the year buzzed around us. I spoke with my fellow team members about the upcoming game, as we agreed who would watch who on the two teams playing today.
At quarter to ten we left breakfast and took a leisurely walk outside to the quidditch pitch. Swiftly finding seats, in the area usually reserved for the quidditch team to allow them to observe their opponents, we settled in waiting for the game to start. Red joined us in the team area, with a book on magical creatures, as per usual. She enjoyed watching the game when it was an interesting game, or if I was playing, though she says that's only because I make it more interesting.
At five to ten the teams emerged from their changing rooms, brooms in hand. Red put her book down in preparation for the start of the match, no doubt she'd be opening it again after the first snatch of the quaffle.
The teams mounted their brooms and kicked off from the ground. Gryffindor's team were closest to our end of the pitch with the keeper guarding the hoops, the Weasley twins on either side with their bats raised in preparation of the bludgers, one chaser either side of both twins and the third chaser in the middle of the pitch prepared to catch the quaffle. Harry was hovering at one end the loose horseshoe of team members, on the side closest to us.
"Good luck Harry!" I yelled, sticking my thumbs up when he turned to grin at me. Most would find my behaviour out of character, but I love a good game of quidditch and couldn't help but get excited for my first inter-house game.
At exactly ten o'clock, the locks keeping the bludgers and snitch in place were released and Madame Hooch released the quaffle with a shrill blow on her whistle to begin the game.
The two chasers in the middle of the pitch raced to grab the quaffle with the Gryffindors chaser and captain, Angelina Johnson, catching it. Tucking it safely under her left arm, she and her fellow chasers, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet sped towards the Hufflepuff hoops. They dodged around the Hufflepuff players, passing the quaffle between themselves, before Katie threw the balls through the hoops, scoring the first goal of the match, shocking the whole crowd for their success in the first minute of the game.
With that, I moved my attention to the seekers, as it had been decided I would watch their movements and work out their skills. I focused first on the Hufflepuff seeker, Jenson Summerby. He was a fourth year Hufflepuff, average height with short blonde hair and brown eyes. He floated about leisurely, his eyes moving slowly trying to find the snitch. Overall, I found him unremarkable.
Shifting my focus to Harry, I watched as he hovered in one space, only dodging out of the way of the bludger. He was above the rest of the players, allowing the chasers to avoid his body, as he waited to notice the snitch. After a few minutes he moved positions to the other side of the pitch, his eyes darting about.
I turned away from Harry, seeing that Gryffindor had scored another 20 points and Hufflepuff had scored 10 points so far. As I let my eyes drift over the players, I watched to see if they had any notable skills. Like the Weasley twins were extremely accurate with their hits, but never aimed to directly hit their opposition, and they were very in sync with one another. The Hufflepuff beaters, Maxine O'Flaherty and Anthony Rickett, were not quite as fluid in their movements but still managed to hit their targets. The Hufflepuff keeper, Herbert Fleet, was good, if a bit small in stature and the Gryffindor keeper, Jimmy Peakes, was also very good for a first timer.
The game continued for half an hour with the chasers manoeuvring the quaffle up and down the pitch, scoring points, until the game was 60-30 to Gryffindor and Redina had turned back to her book. The Gryffindor beaters had taken one of the Hufflepuff chasers, Leonidas Cadwallader, out of commission for the game.
Then out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glint of gold as the sun caught the snitch. Immediately, Harry turned, seeing it as well, and raced after it. Summerby followed a moment later, but his broom wasn't as fast as Harry's and he was the other side of the pitch. Harry zipped after it, following as it moved up and down, left and right. He reached out to grab it, his fingers wrapping around the small thing, just as a bludger sped towards him.
The crowd gasped collectively as the bludger caught the tail-end of Harry's broom, causing it to throw him off and making him plummet ten foot to the ground. His team all raced to him, jumping off their brooms as the crowd waited in anticipation to see if he had caught the snitch, and to see if he had been injured. Madame Hooch joined the players and there was some brief discussion before she blew the whistle, signalling that Harry had caught the snitch and declaring them the winners.
Harry was still laying on the ground, unmoving, and Red and I shared a look before moving swiftly to exit the stands to ensure he was ok. By the time we had made it down from the stands, Harry had been moved to the hospital wing and so after saying goodbye to the other Slytherin's, we hastened to the infirmary.
Upon arriving in the infirmary we saw our mother, and the Gryffindor team members surrounding a bed we could only assume was Harry's. As we approached our mother turned to us, smiling when she saw us.
"Hi Mama, how is he?" Red asked quietly as she stepped towards us.
"Oh the boy will be fine. From what I understand he spends a lot of his time here." She tutted at that, and we heard a snort from the Gryffindor's surrounding his bed.
"You can say that again Healer Black!" Fred Weasley started.
"Yeah, our Harry could have his own bed in this place." George added.
We laughed at them before joining them around the bed. As we came to Harry's side, he eyes began fluttering before they opened, blinking in the bright light. He looked around at his team, and Red and I before speaking.
"Did we win?" He asked, and Red and I laughed, along with his team.