A/N: Standard disclaimer apply, see chap one for more details, please read and review. My beta seems to have gone AWOL, so you'll have to bear with me until I can track her down.
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Harry Potter stood there with his brothers, while the dust cleared around them, still holding his wand tightly in his hand. Watching the pile of ashes, he expected Voldemort to just jump right out of them, but when he was sure nothing would happen. He dropped his wand and fell to his knees, his legs not being able to support him anymore, his brothers collapsed beside him.
He looked around and noticed that the other smaller battles were drawing to close as well. He noticed that a few of the more relieved Auror's had started shooting fireworks into the setting sun.
Simon came up behind his sons and waved his wand at the remains Voldemort making them disappear for good.
"Come boys, we have much to do."
With a lot of effort, the boys stood and passed both the survivors and bodies of those who fought.
They made their way past an injured McGonagall who had severed her arm badly. She was sitting on a conjured examination table while Poppy worked on her. She nodded slightly to the boys, telling them that she was okay, as they made their way into the castle with two Auror's from the American Ministry leading a very reluctant Fudge behind them.
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Albus sat in his office, thinking. He knew what was going on outside, what Harry Potter and his brothers were doing, he wished he could be out there, but someone had done an ingenious job of locking him in his office. He would just have to wait and see what would happen next.
Wait and think.
Flashback….
Sturgis Podmore stumbled out of Dumbledore's fireplace shaking his head. He was confused, and didn't remember how he flooed to Dumbledore's office in the first place.
Sturgis had been a member of the Order of the Phoenix ever since he had graduated Hogwarts. He had been on the advanced guard guarding Adam Potter since he was just three years old guarding from the remaining death eaters.
In a daze, he sat down in front of the Headmaster's desk and tried to clear his head.
"Well," Albus demanded. "Is the job done?"
Sturgis shook his head, "I don't know. I mean one minute I was on the beach looking for Harry and the next minute…I don't know."
Albus rose from his desk and stalked over Sturgis and raised his wand to the man's head. Sturgis shook with fear, but Albus said nothing to calm the man as he preformed a few tracer spells on him.
"Obliviate," he muttered to the confused Auror, making the man forget the mission that could send them both to prison.
Albus sat behind his desk again, and after dismissing the confused order member, contemplated his next move. Sturgis had been obliviated by someone and he hadn't been able to kill Harry Potter. But who had obliviated him?
He called Mad-Eye into his office and asked him to do a little recon on Harry Potter to see what had happened to the boy.
Mad-Eye returned three days later and reported that Harry Potter was indeed alive. That his mother had died under suspicious circumstances, and that the family was still grieving.
Albus slammed his fist on his desk and dismissed the Auror. It still wasn't clear if Harry Potter was the boy who lived, but too many things were already set in place with Adam that could complicate things in the future. Harry Potter could not under any circumstances come to Hogwarts.
Other arrangements would have to be made.
End of flashback…
He heard the revolving staircase jump to life, signaling that someone was coming. He sighed and folded his glasses neatly on the desk.
It was time to face the preverbal music.
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Down in the dungeons of the school, James and Lily sat on two conjured chairs and waited. Snape, who was on the other side of his office looking over his potion supplies and ignoring the two. Lily looked over at Snape, and making sure he wasn't eavesdropping turned to speak quietly to her husband.
"James, you never did tell me what happened in the meeting with Dumbledore yesterday," she said covering his hand with hers.
James shook his head and closed his eyes. "I don't know what to tell you Lily. Once I told him that Harry had taken the sword, he went barmy on me. I mean I had never seen him that mad, but I did deserve it. It was my job to protect the sword, and I failed." He stopped and rubbed a hand over his chest. "And I deserved the punishment," he whispered as an afterthought.
"Punishment" Lily screeched drawing Snape's attention.
"Kindly shut up," he snapped. "Just because we are stuck together does not mean that I have to be drawn in to your petty squabbles," he said and turned his back to them before James could comment.
James took off his glasses and rubbed his hands hard over his eyes. "Did you honestly think," he whispered to his wife, "that Dumbledore would just let that go? I failed him Lily. I fail to keep my oath. My oath! How could that not go unpunished?"
"What did he do?" she whispered, clutching his arm hard.
"A few curses, I'd best not mention," he said rubbing his chest, which still burned slightly, with his free hand. "And he reminded me of all that I owed him."
"What did he do to you, James?" she asked.
But James shook his head. "I won't put that on your shoulder's Lily. Nothing that causes any permanent damage, I can assure you, but just a bit of a reminder not to cross him again."
Lily choked back her tears and hugged him, ignoring the look that Snape was sending them. "This is getting out of hand, James." She said fearfully. "Albus has seemingly mad ever since Voldemort's return. I don't know what is wrong with him, but he is not the man that we know."
"For once," Snape said slowly gaining their attention. James snarled at him for eavesdropping on their conversation. But Snape didn't deter. He crossed the room and stood before them, his face a seemingly unreadable mask. "I agree with you. Something has happened to the old man. Perhaps the power has finally gone to his head."
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Albus was not surprised when he saw the Conway brothers, looking a bit worse for wear and their father walk into his office uninvited, but what shocked him was the sight of Fudge, being escorted by two American wizards sitting down in front of his desk. But it shouldn't have, seeing as how Simon Conway had the Minister under his thumb.
"I suspect you know why we are here Dumbledore," Simon started.
Albus nodded his head gravely not even bothering with pretenses or pleasantries. "I do," he said folding his hands on the desk. "From the racket outside, is it safe to assume that what you have set to accomplish is done?"
Drake answered, not bothering to hide his sneer. "If you're asking if we killed Voldemort and killed or arrested his accomplices, then yes it is safe to assume."
Dumbledore nodded, for the first time in a long time, he did not know what to say, but Fudge sure did.
"I have here a list of charges being brought up against you Albus," Fudge said in his "all business" voice.
"Very well," Dumbledore said sitting back in his seat popping a lemon drop in his mouth.
"Did you use an imperious curse on Sturgis Podmore and send him to kill Harry Potter?"
Since it was evident that they already knew the answer Dumbledore merely nodded. He looked at Harry, a defiant sixteen year old that looked years older then he was. "Forgive me Harry I was only-"
"Forgive you?" Harry asked in disbelief. "Forgive you, for trying to kill me, for killing my mother? How in the hell do you expect me to forgive you, when I can't even bear to look at you."
"I was trying to protect you Harry, trying to protect you from this life, from the fame and from the burden that would fall on you when you came back. I was not sure if you were the boy who lived, but as Adam grew older and he just didn't seem to be coming into his powers, I came to believe that your parents made a mistake in labeling your brother as the boy who lived."
"So you tried to kill the boy?" Fudge asked in disbelief. "You know the consequences of what you did, Albus, and you know what will happen because of it. And did you not try to pass off a forged signature to the Goblins at Gringotts to gain access to the Conway's vault? You know the penalties Albus, for trying to cheat the Goblins."
Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "I cannot tell you how sorry I am my boy."
"You're gonna eat those words Dumbledore, mark my words," Harry said vehemently.
"You'll be taken into custody Mr. Dumbledore," the American wizard said scathingly. "If you can't already tell, all of your titles are in the process of being stripped and your bank accounts emptied, courtesy of the Goblins, and soon all of the Wizarding world will know exactly who you are." He grabbed Albus hard by the arm forcing the man to stand.
"Wait," Drake said.
The wizard took a step away from Dumbledore as all four Conway brother stood and pointed their wands at Dumbledore.
Payback was certainly a bitch.
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Three hours after Dumbledore was taken into custody Snape, James and Lily were rescued from Snape's office and escorted to the Headmaster's office by an unwilling Kyle Wills, who refused to answer any of their questions, merely telling them that Voldemort was dead and Dumbledore was removed from office. They were almost run down by Filius Filtwick and Minerva McGonagall who beat them to the revolving stair case and rushed up the stairs.
When Snape, the Potters and Kyle arrived they sat in conjured chairs and listened to Filtwick's breathless account of an item called chalice.
"Since the time of the founders, the Headmaster of the school is chosen through a stone chalice located in what used to be the Headmaster's office. The Chalice of Guardianship is tied directly to Hogwarts, as is the Sorting Hat, and everyone who has ever passed beneath the Sorting Hat's brim is catalogued by Hogwarts and the Chalice. When a Headmaster of Hogwarts dies or is lead astray of his or her duties to the school and the children by greed, lust for power, or for evil intent, the Chalice will spark to life and the name of the one to take the former Headmaster's place will appear. I can only assume that no one has noticed that since the night Voldemort was banished from his body the Chalice has been sparking rather insistently," Filtwick said seemingly out breath.
"And why is that no one has known about this until now?" Fudge demanded.
"And just how many people have read the unedited "Hogwarts, A History". Not many, I can assure you since the book is quite hard to find." McGonagall said.
"And just where is this chalice now?" Fudge demanded.
Filtwick shook his head. "The Chalice was somehow locked away in its room five years after headmaster Dumbledore took over the Guardianship of Hogwarts from Headmaster Dippet. No one has seen it since."
Fudge jumped to his feet. "Well then it is time we find it. Hogwarts will need a new leader."
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And that leader was found three short weeks later as the search for the Chalice ended, when Chalice was found hidden away in the Mirror of Erised. School started on time that year, much to the dismay of most of the students.
Albus Dumbledore spent eight weeks in St. Mungo's hospital, where the healers tried to find a way to cure the ailing man. It seems that every few minutes he would cough up lemon drops. The curse, they found out would last until everyone of the lemon drops that the man ate was coughed up. They had to put him in an enchanted sleep at night to give him a bit of relief, as the process seemed to be very painful, as he would cough up two or three lemon drops at a time.
He was the sent to Azkaban, for a number of atrocities against the Wizarding world and immediately given the Dementor's kiss. It was that last few days of his trail, that anyone even bothered to waste their breath on the name Albus Dumbledore.
Adam Potter spent a week in the hospital wing recovering from his injures at the hands of Voldemort. He had taken that time to obtain a new perspective on life and vowed to set things right between him and his brother, at whatever the cost. He owned Harry that much.
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Headmistress Minerva McGonagall rose from her seat and tapped her spoon against the rim of her goblet. It was the first night of the term, and already the school had taken on a more calm and inviting attitude since the demise of Voldemort and the removal of former Headmaster Dumbledore.
Once the last of the plates were cleared from the table, she asked all of the students to rise. As soon as the last student rose from the table, the tables and benches disappeared.
"Before you head off to your dorms, I have given the Conway brothers special permission to perform a song for us."
Harry, Drake, Nick and Jake walked dutifully to the stage and un-shrunk their instruments and equipment.
Harry grabbed the microphone and looked at the students before him. "I wrote this song, because before I had nothing to say to those who screwed with me," he said looking around the room, but mostly at James and Lily who shifted uneasily in their seats. "But now," he said steadily slinging his guitar over his shoulder, "I do."
And with that he began to sing.
Spending my whole life living in the shadows
Of a life I never wanted
Thrust back into the spotlight
No I don't need you now
(Chorus)
'Cause I'm finding my own way in life
Standing up for my own cause
I'm ready to face the world
So ready or not
Watch out
This shadow boy has got something to say
Oppressed by my own blood
Shadows of the past
Pulling me into their drama
No I don't need this shit
Waking up to face the world
Breaking your remote control
No, you can't my have battery operated machine
So sit back and take notes
'Cause I'm finding my own way in life
Standing up for my own cause
I'm ready to face the world
So ready or not
Watch out
This shadow boy has got something to say
Killing my own mind
Trying to dodge your deceptions and games
And when I hear the voices in my head
I only hear the irony of your lies
But I can't thank you enough
For your own selfish way of thinking
That I wasn't good enough for you
Got my brother's at hand, that's all I need
'Cause I'm finding my own way in life
Standing up for my own cause
I'm ready to face the world
So ready or not
Watch out
This shadow boy has got something to say
I don't have to stand here and watch your drama unfold
Yeah my heart is damaged enough without you and yours
And baby, I got the scars to prove it
You said what you had to now just go the fuck away
'Cause I'm finding my own way in life
Standing up for my own cause
I'm ready to face the world
So ready or not
Watch out
This shadow boy has got something to say
As the final note on his guitar died away, the room exploded in cheers. McGonagall quickly dismissed the students back to their dorms, and left the brother in the hall to put away their equipment. They didn't notice the crowd of people who stayed behind until James cleared his throat. The boys turned around to face Snape, James, Lily, Adam and McGonagall.
"Can we talk to you Harry?" James asked quietly motioning the boy over to where they were standing.
Harry shrugged and followed the Potter's over to a semi-secluded spot in the Great Hall.
"We wanted to thank you Harry," Lily said softly, hoping not to anger her son, "for saving Adam. It was a very noble thing to do."
Harry just shrugged.
"We know that you have a family that loves you Harry, and we don't want to take you away from that, but we would like a chance Harry. A chance to, at least get to know you. We understand know how you feel, but please, just give us that chance." Lily pleaded.
Harry looked at the three for a long time before answering.
"It's not gonna be easy," he warned.
James and Lily nodded eagerly, relieved that Harry seemed to be agreeing. "It's okay Harry, we knew it wouldn't be."
"You gave me a chance at a life away from here," he said slinging his guitar over his chest. "I never did thank you for that."
Lily nodded and wiped away the tears that were falling down her cheeks. "Thank you," she whispered, wanting nothing more then to hug him and not let him go. "Thank you for giving us this chance."
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Severus Snape, a newly freed man steered his Godson away from the group and pulled him into a small alcove so they could speak privately.
"I would like to know," he started slowly. "Why you locked me in my office."
Drake raised his eyebrows at his Godfather, but did not dispute the accusation.
"I knew you were a double agent, but you'll have to excuse me if I didn't want to see you die at the hands of Voldywarts or any of his deathmunchers."
Even though on some conscious level, Snape was glad that he was spared a very ugly death, he was still very pissed.
"I do not need anyone to fight my battles for me," he snarled at the teen.
Drake shook his head in compliance. "I know that. But you are my Godfather and excuse me if I wanted to get the chance to get to know you better."
Snape, who was startled by the admission, could say nothing as the boy turned and walked away rejoining his brothers. They spoke quietly to McGonagall for a moment before leaving for their dorms.
As the five teachers and student watched the boys retreating figures McGonagall shook her head and sighed.
"Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has yet to come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering," she whispered.
Lily turned to her, tears brimming in her eyes. "That was beautiful, who said that?"
"Ida Scott Taylor," McGonagall said. "She was an American author."
"It was lovely." Lily murmured.
"Yes," McGonagall answered, let's just hope that these boys live their lives accordingly, now that they have a chance to live their lives." She said shaking her head.
"Shadow boys no more," McGonagall said as an after though, and left the hall.
E
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A/N: The idea about the Chalice and most of the description was written and suggested by Daeleniel Shadowphyre, many thanks to her for the great idea. Thanks to all the reviews who suggested violence against Dumbledore, they were great and very fun to read. And a special thanks to Fire From Above, for the totally off the wall suggestion that Slughorn was the person responsible for Elaine's death, which gave me the idea to use someone unexpected. The quote marked by a was written by Ida Scott Taylor, and I lay no claim to her great quote.
The song that Harry song was written by me, as a way of getting around this whole copy write thing. I hoped you liked it. Thank you to all who have read reviewed and have stuck with me on this wild ride. I have no plans for a sequel, but then you never know. I do have another story planned, but it won't be happening until sometime after the New Year. I am relocating to a different state so I can finish college, so I'm gonna need some time to get my things in order for the big move, but I will be back! And thanks to all who checked out and left reviews for my other Harry Potter stories. That means a lot to me. When I started this story, I was thinking it might do good, I never imagined I would get almost one thousand reviews. Thank you guys so very much. And please review!