Touched by Death – Chapter 30 (Designating an Occupation)
Harry walked into Marcus' room with a scowl on his face. He had finally been able to see what the final task would be. That's when he noticed that Marcus was working on something at his desk. There were parchments scattered all around the Slytherin and he seemed to be studying them hard.
Harry let a smile grace his lips as he walked closer. "What are you studying?"
Marcus gave a half glance back at Harry, knowing the Gryffindor wasn't far away. And wasn't surprised that Harry's eyes were looking over his shoulder.
"The Goblins at Gringotts sent me several contracts for potential clients. Since most of my work is at Hogwarts, it was better this way. I already been arranging to have a private suite; the Headmistress is still working out the finer details on that."
Harry's eyes went wide, "you'll be staying here at Hogwarts?"
"Of course, as if I'd ever let you wander by yourself. You'd get into trouble at every turn," Marcus teased.
Harry rolled his eyes, "nice to know I won't have to return to Gryffindor Tower then…"
"Of course not, I wouldn't trust those Gryffindors anyways!"
Harry raised an eyebrow, "I'm a Gryffindor…"
"Don't count, you're an honorary Slytherin. Get your facts right."
Harry actually laughed at that, though he knew Marcus wasn't wrong. Most of Slytherin House already saw him as one of their own.
"What does that make Seamus, Dean, and Neville, then?" Harry pointed out.
"Slytherins by association," was Marcus' remark.
Harry chuckled at that. "If you say so, Marcus."
Marcus looked back at Harry warily, not liking the grin on his face. As if the Gryffindor was trying to insinuate something.
"So, which ones are you choosing?" Harry decided to change the subject.
Marcus pointed to a parchment in the far corner, it already had his signature on it. "This one is a given. There are certain artifacts that the Goblins have picked up in the Room of Requirement that I need to look at. It picked up on their wards and they want me to deal with it. I imagine it would take a year or two years' time to go through it all."
Harry nodded, though Marcus couldn't see it. "Is there something that the Goblins are looking for specifically?"
"Yes," Marcus confirmed. "I can't tell you about it now until I found it."
Harry frowned, but he understood what Marcus was getting at. There were bound to be things that he couldn't talk about.
Marcus turned to face him, knowing that Harry was going to be overthinking as usual. "Don't worry too much about it, Harry. It's just a long-term project I've been working on. Usually I wouldn't be able to breath a word, but the Goblins seemed to have taken a liking to you."
Harry had a hopefully look on his face at that.
"But," Marcus cut off. "I can't say anything until the project is done. Which I'm hoping will be soon."
"Fair enough," Harry grumbled.
Marcus rolled his eyes fondly but took that moment to grab Harry and pull him by his side.
Harry let out a loud yelp, not expecting the sudden movement. Though in all honestly, he should have expected it. Though he didn't complain being firmly pressed against Marcus side and cuddled into his warmth. He did take that moment to look at Marcus' desk. There were seven parchments there. The one that Marcus had pointed to, had rolled up and sealed. The others held a summary of the task they wished on Marcus. All of them about some type of cursed objects, not that Harry was surprised. His boyfriend was a Curse Breaker after all, it made sense.
Marcus snickered to himself when Harry yelped, fully expecting the glare shot at him.
"What others are you accepting?"
Marcus made a humming sound for a moment. "The contract through Bulgaria sounds the most promising. They usually have the most complex curses and enchantments, should prove to be a real challenge. Though the Goblins have several personal contracts that I may take as well."
"And Bulgaria is still willing to work with us?" Harry asked bewildered.
"Yes, though it helps that Viktor vouches for my character and the fact I don't work for the British Ministry. And of course, the Goblins vouch for my skills. Which is a hard thing to do, goblins don't give praise lightly. France, also wishes for my services as well."
Harry was stunned. "France might be interesting one, though."
Marcus laid a kiss to Harry's forehead. "They are, but I would like to focus on the Room of Requirement first. Though I fully intend to accept their terms."
Harry melted at Marcus' display of affection. "I can understand why. It's still hard to believe that you'll be staying here with me."
Marcus smirked down at Harry, "why do you think I declined their offer to go abroad?"
Harry's eyes went wide, "you what? Why?"
"I'll always have more opportunities to go abroad later. I rather keep a close eye on you. Especially around untrustworthy Gryffindors. Especially since with the Ministry fiasco going about…" Marcus left off.
Harry smiled at that, "I can't say I'm not happy about it, because I am. Its hard to even imagine that you won't be around. I'm so used to seeing you, despite all your Headboy duties."
Marcus carded a hand through Harry's hair, "now you won't have to worry."
"Careful, Marcus," Harry teased, "you sound like a Hufflepuff."
Marcus lightly shoved Harry off his seat and watched as Harry spiraled to the floor. He merely raised an eyebrow. "You were saying something?"
Harry gave a fiery glare, "deceitful Slytherins!"
Marcus laughed, "and don't you forget it."
Harry rolled his eyes and stood up, brushing down his robes. "Why do I tolerate you?"
"Good question, why do you?" Marcus teased.
Harry huffed, "you're infuriating." But he still leaned down to kiss Marcus lips, since the Slytherin was still sitting in his chair. "Love you."
Marcus gave a soft smile, "love you, too." Marcus took that moment to rise and wrapped his arms around Harry's waist. "So, you going to tell me what they're doing for the 3rd task or no?"
Harry's smile brightened at that, he never would get tired of hearing that. Then his expression dampened. "Some stupid maze."
Marcus raised an eyebrow at that. "No doubt to test your magic and knowledge. A very good thing that both me and Terence decided to catch you up to 7th year. We still have till the end of June, we have plenty of time."
Harry grumbled at that, he just wanted this stupid tournament to be over with. "Any word on Professor McGonagall?"
"She's agreed to keep a steady eye on fake Moody for the time being. He hasn't done anything out of character. She believes the Ministry may be more organized by the time the 3rd task gets here. As it should be any day that we'll hear the results of the new Minister. I believe it would be Madam Bones, she's the most likely candidate deserving of the position. If that's the case, there's the matter of a new Head for the department that needs to be settled."
"Makes sense, don't mean I like it though," Harry mumbled.
"Neither do I," Marcus agreed. "But there's nothing that can be done at the moment while the Ministry is trying to fix their screw ups and recover from the backlash."
Marcus clearly remembered that day. It hadn't been long after Marcus and Harry's first conversation when they discovered who Moody really was. That was when Marcus decided he needed to talk to the Headmistress regardless. He knew that Harry's words rang true that the stern woman probably wouldn't be able to do anything. It was next to impossible for the Ministry to do anything when they were coming onto so much backfire. Especially with the new Minister being elected any day now. Something that he knew that Professor McGonagall was fully aware of.
But that didn't change the fact that he knew that Professor McGonagall needed to know what was going on. And so, Marcus didn't hesitate to bring the Marauders' Map with him and another piece of parchment. It was the only evidence he had to prove his words. And McGonagall was not a woman to take words at face value without proof. Though Harry didn't seem to mind if he took the Map with him, though he definitely wanted it back. Marcus honestly couldn't fault his boyfriend for that, considering Harry didn't think he'd ever get it back in the first place.
Marcus gave a gentle knock at the Headmistress' door, thankfully the woman didn't set candy names as a password. He opened the door when he heard McGonagall say, 'enter.'
Professor McGonagall looked up with a hint of surprise. "Mr. Flint, this is a surprise."
"I apologize for the unexpected visit, Headmistress," Marcus looked apologetic not noticing the last name she used.
McGonagall waved the comment off, "obviously you have a reason for stopping by. Take a seat."
Marcus gave a slight nod before taking a seat in front of her desk.
"What can I help you with?" McGonagall asked, though she raised an eyebrow at the parchment in Marcus' hand.
"I know you probably can't do much with this, especially with the Ministry being in disarray," Marcus started to speak.
McGonagall noticeably straightened, eyes focused on Marcus.
"Harry and I figured out that somebody is faking as Moody," Marcus spoke hesitantly.
"I hope you had evidence to back that up, Mr. Flint," McGonagall warned.
"Black if you please, Professor," Marcus asked.
Minerva looked taken back, surprised. "I imagine you wouldn't like that name."
Marcus nodded. "You recall when I had to do a check over the Goblet of Fire before Dumbledore was fired?"
McGonagall nodded.
Marcus laid a copy of the goblet inspection on her desk.
Minerva picked up the parchment and studied the parchment. "Crouch, Jr? He died several years ago." Her tone sounded confused.
"I had thought so as well. But magical signatures can't lie. I sent a copy of that to the goblins as well. That wasn't the reason why I knew that someone was pretending to be Moody. Harry had brought up that he missed having the Marauders' Map," Marcus started.
Minerva's eyes narrowed, she was very aware of who the Marauders were.
"I had forgotten that the werewolf had taken the map from Harry last year—"
"Professor Lupin, if you will, Mr. Black," Minerva cut in.
"I'm sorry, Headmistress. That man lost my respect once he told Harry that his parents would be disappointed in him. He had no reason to tell him that," Marcus' tone was determined.
Professor McGonagall had a scowl form on her lips but didn't try to correct Marcus again.
"Well, the werewolf wound up giving it to me, aware that I probably would give it to Harry since we were dating by that point. Though he only knew that we were close. I forgot about it until Harry brought up a few days ago. Harry had already been suspicious of him. I had been just as suspicious since I've never had a Defense professor use the Unforgivable Curses as a practical," Marcus' voice went dark with anger.
Marcus didn't see this, but Minerva held a tighter grip on her wand. She was furious.
"Well I showed Harry the parchment and it revealed a map of Hogwarts and everyone. So, we looked to where the Defense classroom and office was. There we saw Barty Jr's name, just like magical signatures, that map can't lie."
Minerva took the map from Marcus' hand and looked to where the classroom was. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she read the name, Bartemius Crouch, Jr. She couldn't believe her eyes.
"I have the suspicion that he actually never died in Azkaban as we all believed. I think he had either inside or outside help and escaped. Though I would bet it was on outside help. But what is obvious is that he's currently inside Hogwarts."
"You are correct about earlier, if I wanted him sent back to Azkaban. It won't happen for several months. You as aware that the decision for the new Minister will be released any day now," McGonagall questioned.
Marcus nodded.
"The entire Ministry will be focused on that and with everything in chaos it will be near impossible for anything to get done. If one of the candidates weren't Amelia, I would send a letter to her. I still might, but there wouldn't be anything she can do. Even the Auror division is in chaos and it would take months to organize and gather the paperwork to make an arrest. Not to count the disruption they have caused because of their blunt stupidity. I will notify the staff to keep a steady watch on him. No doubt, he will want to cause harm to Mr. Potter," Minerva spoke with a hint of anger.
"That is the most I expected. Though I think he was expecting Harry to die in the first task. And I refuse to allow any harm to come to him," Marcus vowed.
Minerva let a small smile show, "I'm confident that Mr. Potter will be in excellent hands. Not just because of yourself, Mr. Black. But because of your friend and Mr. Potter's friends."
"I appreciate that, Professor."
Minerva gave a firm nod. "There isn't much I can do at the moment. Even my hands are tied. I would make sure to keep a steady watch, but do not let that counteract with your duties. You are still Headboy and I expect you to keep acting as such."
"Of course, Headmistress."
"Then I expect you to take your leave. I myself have a few colleagues I must speak with and a task to help arrange," McGonagall stood, before gesturing Marcus to the door.
"Thank you, Headmistress," Marcus said.
The stern professor gave a nod and watched as Marcus left her office. She was rather glad that Marcus was the Headboy this year, he held a deep care for the students. Not to mention the softness he held for Mr. Potter. She knew that most of the students probably found the relationship odd in the beginning. But she known that no harm would come to one of her lions. Not to count it wasn't hard to see the love and fondness Mr. Potter held for Marcus. It was why she gave permission for Mr. Potter to have a room within the Headboy and girl dorms. As much as she hated to admit, she didn't trust Mr. Potter to be around the other Gryffindors. Godric would be so disappointed to see what had become of his house.
She gave a loud sigh and started writing a letter. Might as well inform Amelia of the events and to let her know that she would be keeping a close watch. Amelia might not be able to do anything at the moment, but she might be able to get some paperwork organized to get everything prepared. It wasn't ideal, but it was least a start. There was also the question on who the new Head of the department would be as well if Amelia was selected. It didn't take long for Minerva to write the letter and send it off. All she needed now was to speak to her faculty about keeping a rather close eye on Alastor and maybe she could work out where the real one was. Severus after all had been complaining of ingredients going missing, it was a start.
Marcus had been reading the Daily Prophet before he sat it down.
"Shouldn't be surprised, you knew she would win," Terence commented.
"I had a feeling," Marcus revealed.
"You honestly expect me to believe that there was a possibility that Scrimgeour would win!?" Terence laughed at that.
That was when Harry walked into their sitting area, "what are you two arguing about?" Harry's friends were close behind him.
Dean gave Terence a weird look, not getting why he was laughing.
"Marcus thought Scrimgeour would win," Terence immediately replied.
Terence grinned when Marcus sent a deadly glare at him.
Harry shrugged, "don't even know who that is. But from the sound of it, it's a good thing he didn't win."
"He's honestly no better than Fudge," Marcus mumbled darkly.
"So, Scrimgeour is basically a coward," Harry summarized.
"It always seemed he cared more about appearances than facing the truth," Neville quipped.
Dean and Seamus shrugged their shoulders, they didn't know anything about Scrimgeour to be able to say something.
Marcus and Terence silently agreed with Neville's statement.
"So, if Madam Bones has been made Minister, then who replaces her?" Harry asked.
"She made a statement in the paper that Kingsley Shacklebolt would be taking her place. She seems to think his sense of judgement is as strong as her own," Terence commented.
Harry nodded, "I think she would make a great Minister. She actually cares to look into matters that Fudge refused to."
"You're thinking of when Sirius got his trial, aren't you?" Marcus asked.
Harry nodded.
"I won't disagree with you. And I know she won't stand for what the Ministry just pulled. If anyone is capable of healing the negotiations with the international community, it's her. Something I'm sure Bulgaria and France will soon realize, but it won't be easy," Marcus smirked. He knew that Amelia Bones would have a real challenging task in front of her. But knew that she be well up to the task.
"You really think she might be able to repair that?" Seamus asked.
Marcus nodded, "I do. The reason this started was because the Ministry didn't go through the proper channels and paperwork. I'll admit that the Ministry should have had least given the champions a week notice, but they never did. Maybe they wouldn't be facing the backlash from France. Despite that they knew for months. The major issue is what they did for the second task. They could have easily gotten permission, but no doubt they wanted to avoid the paperwork. It's makes it worse that they did this to one of their own. Bones has an advantage, she's known for getting everything done and making sure there's no loopholes. And there's never been an occasion that she's avoided going through the proper networks or skipping the paperwork. France and Bulgaria realize this, but that doesn't mean they'll make it easier for her. They will want solid proof this will not happen again, if they allow a second chance."
"Makes sense," Dean thought out loud. "And I remember it being all over the papers that she helped clear Lord Black. It makes a big statement.
Terence nodded, "Well I can say she's already won over the Purebloods for that act alone. So, it won't be hard for her to gain their respect, since she already has it. And I can't see her letting this insult of her colleagues go. We can definitely expect those departments being fined heavily and certain individuals either sacked or put on probation."
"Do you think she'll apologize to Sirius, then?" Harry looked at Marcus.
"That I have no doubt. Most likely she'll make a public apology and then speak to Sirius and myself personally. She'll probably do the same for Percy as well, though it makes it worse that he left the Ministry and is now working for the goblins. The goblins aren't very happy with the Ministry at the moment. But they respect Madam Bones for her work and reputation."
Harry nodded.
"So, then that means she'll apologize to Bulgaria too?" Seamus asked.
"Of course. They suffered insult at the hands of our Ministry. Bulgaria will honestly expect it, which may ease negotiations. It would be further of an insult if they didn't. Not to count, they will have to have a personal apology as well," Terence explained.
"So, what do you plan to do for the third task," Neville asked, wanting to change the subject.
"I'm not sure yet," Harry hesitated to say.
Neville looked confused on that.
"What I mean… Terence and Marcus are still catching me up to 7th year. I know it's a maze, but I have no idea what I may face in there. Makes it harder to prepare," Harry elaborated.
"Well, one of the professors already had slipped that Hagrid will be providing several of his creatures," Dean chipped in.
Harry groaned, "let me guess, Hagrid accidently mentioned it in passing?"
Dean gave a sheepish shrug, it was all the answer that Harry needed.
"That's it… we know for sure there's going to be Blast-ended Skrewts," Harry grumbled.
Terence gave a warily look at that. He didn't seem too fond of the prospect that he may be facing that particular creature.
Marcus looked even more determined to catch Harry up to standard. Which they weren't too far from since Marcus was already teaching him 7th year curriculum. And Marcus wasn't too worried about the time, they still had 3 months. Then he and Terence could spend the rest of the time reviewing with Harry.
"I'm still using you as a dummy," Harry remarked, looking at Marcus.
Seamus snickered at that. Though he was pretty sure it went both ways. Marcus didn't even look perplexed at that.
"Providing you can dodge the spells fast enough," Marcus countered without heat.
Harry just grumbled at that.
No doubt there might be practice later that day now that they were off the talk about the Minister.