Lost and Found
Chapter eleven: Fall of the Bumblebee: Part One
Authors Notes: If I owned this my favorite characters wouldn't have died. But since Severus, Sirius, Remus, and Mad Eye Moody all died in canon, it can be reasonably inferred that I don't.
Also: I've started posting this story on AO3 under the same name. If you guys want the more uncensored version later on when relationships pick up... Well you know where to look :) I'm thinking that the rating of this story may change.
oXCrystelAngelXo I'm glad you ship it! They would be such a cute couple and have beautiful children! And your right on the spelling of minuet. It's just one of those words I can't seem to spell. As much as I proof read I miss a few things and my proof reader has been down for the count so the last few chapters haven't been betaed.
mizzrazz72 your right. Don't mess with Dumbledore. I wouldn't want to be on that man's bad side.
Guest, I don't particularly like the patronizing tone in your reviews. If you don't like it simply don't read it instead of taking it on yourself to try and teach me to write. Your not my beta so don't try to insert yourself into that role. Do not write an example of how I should write in your review. It's pretentious. The style your asking me to change to is called a cinematic style, which is a very modern style. It simply isn't the tone or style I write with because I read a lot of older literature, so I'm more comfortable with a more classic paragraph structure. Furthermore, the fact your familiar with the beta reader system makes it pretty obvious you have an account. If your going to be a jerk, don't hide behind the anonymity of a guest account. Sign in and grow some balls, then leave your review.
Allistor Moody had been hot on the paper trail Albus left. He latched onto it like the jaws of a dog, ripping and tearing until he found evidence of Dumbledore's involvement with The Dark Lord. It was only three days later when he floo called Sirius and Severus in a joint call with some more solid, and indeed more recent evidence. Grimmuald place had been destroyed by death eaters, and the timing was nothing short of amazing with Dumbledore's search for Sirius and Harry. The house was under the Fidelus charm, and the only way the death eaters could have known is if the secret keeper had given away the location. Mind you there was more than one secret keeper. The whole order knew its location. But everyone with the order had given testimony under Vertiserum, and had submitted memories of the attack. Yes, they had all been there when the attack took place, and three hadn't made it out alive. Incidentally Dumbledore was the only one who hadn't been there.
Gideon and Fabian Prewett had both been under the roof when it collapsed in the inferno. The Weasley family was devastated, and the order of Merlin the they had received for their heroic actions in helping evacuate 12 order members, most of whom were wounded, was of little conciliation. Brothers and uncles couldn't be replaced. Nothing made up for a human life. Severus' heart went out to the family. Molly especially. She had always been there as a listening ear for him. But the men had saved Lucius, who was still mending two broken arms and a broken shoulder, as well as a wounded pride from 4 inches being singed off his hair, Narcessia, who had suffered a splintered section of wood being driven through her shoulder, and Remus Lupin, who had passed out from smoke inhalation. Nymphadora Tonks had been saved by Hestia, who had pushed her out of the way of a falling support beam at the expense of her own life when it landed on her. When the flaming beam landed pieces of it had splintered and set fire to her clothes. She had burns on over 40 percent of her body. Despite her injured state, she had managed to pull Kingsly Shacklebot, who's leg had been crushed by the beam that killed Hestia to safety. Dung was saved by a well timed accio by Molly, who accioed the cowardly man directly to her from outside the house. The only injury he suffered was a bout of stress incontinence. Under lighter circumstances he would have been teased about living up to his name. Molly had been saved by Arthur after a board fell on her arm and had been pierced by the nails with a quick spell to stop the bleeding. Arthur had been saved by the youngest member, their oldest son, Bill. He pulled him out of the way of a spell while dodging spells himself and casting protection and shield charms. Minerva and Allistor had been fighting right beside the youngest member, carrying an unconscious Aberfortn Dumbledore between them. He had been the first to have a spell thrown at him, and was still in critical condition due to blood loss from a cutting hex.
Lucius' cover as a spy had been blown when the death eaters attacked and found what they had believed to be a member of their ranks within the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, but it hadn't been without him gathering priceless intelligence for a final time. He knew the masks of the death eaters like the back of his hand. Rabastan Lestrange, Crabbel and Goyel, Theodore Nott, Avery, Mulciber, Peter Pettigrew, Orion Black, and Barty Crouch Jr had all been present for the raid. Even with both arms broken he managed to petrify Crabble before the rest apparited away. After calling for healers and arours, and being cleared to leave the scene, Moody had gone to the ministry and had been granted clearance to look at the recent money transfers from the Dumbledore vaults. Sure enough there was a very large transfer to the Gaunt vaults, and smaller transfers from the Gaunt into the vaults of each member of the raiding party.
When Crabble was questioned under Vertiserum he revealed that Voldemort had learned the location of Grimmuald Place from a secret keeper. It was sufficient evidence to bring Dumbledore to the Ministry for questioning. The auror department was planning a sting and would remove the man from Hogwarts, but for that they needed help from people who were intimately familiar with the lay out. They had to get in undetected or Albus would flee. And in order to take the man down they would need to disarm him before he knew what was happening, and he had to be captured away from his blasted Phenoix familiar. The man was very magically powerful, and as a result, very dangerous. In order for this to work, they would have to stage an emergency. Severus would make sure all the students were in their dorms to prevent collateral damage while Remus and Sirius would each lead a team of arours into the school from the one eyed witch and shrieking shack passage ways respectively. This lead to their current dilemma. What exactly would put the students in the dorm without confining the headmaster to his office where his familiar was?
"What if we use Crabble? We could make it look like he escaped the ministry and got into Hogwarts. He would want the students and teachers kept away so his involvement with the death eaters is kept under wraps. We could have him demand more money for the raid because he had been captured. In exchange we could make a plea bargain with him. Skip time in Azkaban and get the kiss immediately and give him time with his family before he's kissed? Perhaps house arrest after a couple years in Azkaban if he's exceedingly helpful." Severus suggests. "That's very Slytherin of you Severus. It could work, but how would we get him through the wards without Dumbledore knowing he had help from one of us?" Moody mutters. "I know he works as a ward breaker, but to break the Hogwarts wards by himself would be quite a feat, especially for a man of his intelligence." Severus shakes his head. "Do not let his persona fool you. It may seem like he was dropped on his head by a giant in his infancy, but he's in Slytherin for a reason. For someone like Crabble, who's slow speed in dueling and large size makes him an easy target, the greatest advantage he has is letting people underestimate him. That way they won't be able to foresee him doing something like breaking the wards at Hogwarts." Severus corrects. "He was my roommate when we were in school. He may have had a hard time in charms and defends against the dark arts, but make no mistake, he excelled in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. He even gave me a run for my money in Potions." Sirius could be seen nodding his head. "His family line is known for having some of the best ward breakers in all of the United Kingdom. Pureblood families often have a Crabble check their wards for weakness. I like Severus' idea. We'll have to actually break the wards or let them down for this to work though." He says thoughtfully. "What about Minerva? Could she bring the wards down?" Moody asks. Severus nods. "I'm sure she could. She is the deputy headmistress, and Albus already betrayed her and almost had her killed."
"Okay. I'll floo call her and get everything set up. I'll also get in contact with Crabble and get him to agree. If all goes well we'll have Dumbledore in custody tomorrow." Moody informs them, then disconnects his floo connection. It left Sirius and Severus on the floo together. "So how's Canan doing?" He asks immediately. Sirius had really taken a liking to Severus' son, and had taken to spoiling him during their visits to the cabin with sweets and the occasional Zonko's product. Severus was happy that the man seemed to actually care about his son. Not just because he was Harry's half brother or his kid. He respected the child and it just made Severus appreciate the man all the more. "Canan is doing really well. I didn't have a chance to tell you the other day, but before our last visit he talked to me before lunch. He decided to give up self harm and I'm so proud of him Sirius. I've been so worried about him but him telling me that he's ready is such a big step. I'm so proud of him you wouldn't even believe it."
Sirius smiles brightly into the fireplace. "That's such a relief to hear. Why didn't you just forbid him from doing it though?" Severus sighs. "The social worker who came mid January asked the same thing, insufferable toad. You know how they do with adoptions and custody changes. Just a follow up. The women gave me a heap of trouble, even told me I was a horrible parent and I had a bit of trouble with the ministry." Sirius cuts him off. "I'm not criticizing you as a parent Severus. Your doing an amazing job. I'm just curious because most parents would lock anything sharp up, ground their child, and not let them out of their sight." Severus nods. "I apologize. I can just see that many people would react the way you described, including toad face. I'm going to tell you the same thing though. If I took away his things, if I forced a particularly rigid set of rules on him, and if I forced him to stop, it would have taken control from his hands. The reason people self harm is because they feel that their life is out of control. If I forced him to give it up, I would only be validating that feeling and he would have found other ways of hurting himself and he wouldn't have told anyone when he needed treatment. Instead, I made sure he knew I love him and that it hurts when he does those things, but I understand that he felt he needed it at the time. He knew I was always there to talk to, and would always clean his wounds. I also didn't control every aspect of his life like the MacSwans did. I let him have some control, and after a long time, he was ready to give it up on his own because he felt that he had some control of his life and knew he's loved. Furthermore the only way a person kicks a habit anyway is if they want to. I wish I could have forced it to stop, but it's an addictive habit. What he needed was love. Not more rules."
Sirius nods his head. "That makes sense. It must have been so hard for you to wait that long though. If it was Harry I don't know if I would be able to handle that." Severus was able to pick up on his self doubt and thinks for a moment about what to say. "It wasn't easy to wait. It wasn't easy at all. But if it was Harry you would do what was best for him. You care for the child like your own, and he's much happier. Your doing a great job and don't doubt yourself." He assures the man, causing Sirius to smile weakly. "Thanks Severus. It's just hard knowing what to do sometimes. I never expected that I would be raising a child. Let alone the circumstances he would come from."
Severus was able to empathize with Sirius on the situation. Perhaps they were the only two that understood so well what the other was feeling in their respective circumstances. "Just like with my son. Who would have thought that we would be in such similar situations back in Hogwarts?" He asks, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. Sirius barked out a laugh at that. "I don't think even a seer could have seen it. It's really given us more common ground than we've ever had." Severus nods to that. He would have laughed if anyone told him he would grow close to Sirius Black and come to care deeply for Harry Potter, then he would have them sent to St. Mungo's psychiatric ward to have their head checked out. But it had happened.
"And what about Harry? How is he?" He asks. Sirius thinks for a moment before beginning. "Harry is doing much better. He's not so quiet and had really come out of his shell. He's becoming carefree like a child his age should be. I'm having a hard time getting him to ask for help or anything he needs though. Like I have to ask him if he's hungry and wants a snack rather than him telling me or Zannie. It's like he's expecting to be deprived of food and his needs again." Severus noticed his sad tone as he said it. "Sirius, three meals a day is more then he ever had. Maybe it's not that he's expecting to be neglected, but rather thinking the larger quantity of food he's being given is enough. This is more than he's used to. Just talk to him and tell him that he's growing and needs to eat when he's hungry because he's very active." Sirius smiles at Severus. "You do have a point there. I'll talk to him and see if that helps. Thank you Severus."
"It's no trouble at all Sirius." He says, smiling right back. There's a bit of a pause between them as neither knew what to say. Severus felt a bit of butterflies in his stomach. "Well we have a big day tomorrow with taking out Dumbledore. We should probably go to bed." He says. Sirius nods his head. "Yeah. Your right." Severus was rather disappointed they had to cut their conversation short. "Well um, good night." He says, using um for the first time in his life it seemed. Severus was mentally beating himself up in the head, cursing how awkward he was. "Yeah. Sleep well." Sirius responded. There was an awkward pause as each of them waited for the other one to break the floo connection. "Well good night." Severus says after clearing his throat. "I suppose I'll be seeing you tomorrow." Sirius nods his head in agreement. "I suppose your correct. Sweet dreams." And that being said, ended the floo call.
Severus felt himself blush slightly at how Sirius had said sweet dreams, then banishes the emotion from his face. He wanted to hit himself in the head with a book for how poorly that goodbye went. He had seen love sick Hufflepuffs handle themselves better for Merlin's sake! Was that what he was? Love sick? The very notion was laughable. He hadn't found himself attracted to anyone in 10 years. The very idea that he could allow a feeling that could lead to such vulnerability was ridiculous, but then again, how did that explain the stirring he had felt in his stomach? As he changed into his night clothes, he had no idea that Sirius had done exactly as he had contemplated with a poor, undeserving book.
The following morning he woke up from a less than restful sleep, quickly went through his morning routine and then woke Canan. "Wake up sweetheart. Daddy needs to talk to you about something." He says. Canan sat up, stretching his arms while somewhat resembling cousin it in the hair department. Severus reaches out and tucks his hair behind his ears. "There's that beautiful face." He says with a smile before his face takes on a more serious look to it. "Daddy, what's going on?" He asks, noting his expression. Severus takes a deep breath, trying to think of how to explain.
"Honey, something big is going to be happening today at breakfast. I need you to listen to exactly what I say or what Professor McGonagall says. Things around Hogwarts are going to be changing because of this. I don't want you to be scared. That's why I'm telling you this. If I didn't say anything what's going to happen will come as quite a shock to you and it would probably be nothing short of terrifying. When it does happen, I need you to remember that Daddy, Professor McGonagal, and everyone else involved has a plan, and no matter how bad it looks when the plan goes into action at breakfast, everything is under control. Promise you'll do what I say?" He asks. Canan nods his head and gives Severus a great big hug. "I promise Daddy!" He says, laying his head on his shoulder. Severus smiles and kisses the top of his head, holding him for a moment, just incase something went wrong with their plan. Then, after a minuet he lets go and smiles at him. "Now get ready for breakfast." He orders with a smile on his face.
Canan hops off his lap and and to the bathroom to get ready for the day, bringing a clean uniform with him. After 10 minuets, he's in the common room of their quarters and takes his Dad's hand. "I'm ready." He informs him. "I can see that." Severus says, squeezing his hand a little and leads them to the door, steps into the corridor, and walks to the great hall. He takes Canan to the Slytherin table and sees him eying the coffee. "Remember if I see you drinking that I'm taking your advanced astrology texts for a week." Severus reminds him. Canan rolls his eyes, but smiles fondly. "Love you too dad." He says and Severus kisses the top of his head. "I love you and don't you forget that. Now I need to go to the head table. Remember, no coffee and you have to eat three healthy things before you can have something sweet. No sugary cereals, and eat something that will fill you up until lunch." Canan smiles affectionately at his doting and says, "I promise I'll eat well. Now go before you miss your meal." Severus mutters something about cheekiness and briskly walks to the head table in a flurry of billowing robes and sits down in his usual seat.
He knew it wouldn't be long before Crabble burst in, but he was hoping it would at least be enough time for the students to have sufficient nutrition. Most of the students thought their potions professor was a very cold, callous man who cared nothing for his students given how tight a ship his classroom is run and how harsh his grading was, but they didn't realize why he was so harsh. Yes he had been bitter in the past, and while that contributed to his vitriol and sardonic wit, his strict rules and harsh grading were because he cared for the welfare of his students. In a class where the supplies could be toxic, the implements could burn or cut the skin, or an assignment could explode and disfigure or even kill someone, he had to have control of his classroom for their safety. Even if it meant that he was the least favored teacher in the entire school. Now, he was extremely nervous about their safety. What if something went wrong? What if that meant they weren't able to evacuate the students in time?
Before his thoughts could continue, an alarm blares through the school, letting everyone know loud and clear that the wards were down and Severus and Minerva, along with the other two heads of house stand up. Severus opens his mouth first. "Everyone to the Hufflepuff dorms. Those are the closest, therefore the safest. When we have more information we'll send a member of staff. Now go. Staff, go look for the threat and_." Before he could finish a cloud of black smoke appeared in front of the staff table, and just as quickly, a wizard materialized from it, paying no mind to the students evacuating through the doors of the great hall.
Crabble had arrived, in his mask and everything, and was staring down Albus. "You said I wouldn't be caught by the ministry. I need more money for that. It wasn't part of our deal." He growls, placing his meaty hands on the table. "Do be reasonable. I paid nothing to the dark side." He says nervously, eyes shifting around and landing on Markus Flint. The son of his sister and his only nephew. Dumbledore was thinking he could use him to his advantage, but Severus was watching him, following his eyes. It wasn't too hard to figure out a person standing right next to you, after all.
The two wizards pull their wands out at the same time, both aiming for the same child. As one yelled, "Petrificus Totallias!" The other yelled, "Expectro Patronus!" Forming a shield not only between Marcus and Albus, but between Albus and all the students. Minerva, who had seen what was happening, drew her wand a moment later, pointing it at Dumbledore, who quickly grabbed Severus by the hair, holstering his wand. If a student wouldn't work, an adult would have to do. Wrapping one hand around his wind pipe and the other harshly tugging at his hair, he orders everyone, "Wands on the floor."
That definitely wasn't part of the plan. And then, the one thing more that could go wrong did. A very familiar voice screaming in a combination of rage and fear, "Get your hands off of my Dad!"
Squirrel note: cliff hanger. I'm so evil. Review please. You'll find out what happens to Severus and Canan sooner!
