Chapter 24

Harry entered the control room ten minutes before midnight and sat down beside Sirius. "Have a good time?" Sirius asked.

Harry grinned and nodded.

"Can any of you perform a corporeal patronus?" Charles asked.

Everyone in the room said that they could, and Charles turned to look at his grandson. "You can perform a corporeal patronus?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes, Sir."

"Since he was 13," Remus added proudly. Sirius smiled and patted his godson on the back.

Charles looked impressed. "When we get to Azkaban, be ready, then. We're going to have the patroni drive the dementors into the open and surround them. I'm going to make our Room of Requirement into a temporary holding cell for the dementors, and then we'll take them to a place where they can be destroyed."

"What about Voldemort?" Albus asked.

"I imagine that when Voldemort discovers his Death Eaters are not going to show, he and Bella will go on to the island to try to rescue the prisoners themselves. He thinks that all the Death Eaters who have been captured are there. But we'll have a little surprise planned for him when he gets there."

They waited until Voldemort and Bella left the orphanage, leaving Nagini alone. Charles flipped the secret switch on the back of the control panel, and they all watched as the last horcrux was destroyed. They left her where she was, on the rug in front of the fire, for Voldemort to find when he returned.

When that was done, Charles moved the trunk to Azkaban. "Albus, will you go to the Safe Haven and ask everyone who can to cast a patronus? Have them do it together, and cast yours at the same time, and we'll do the same up here."

Albus left the room, and Charles switched the monitor to show the Safe Haven. "Let's get ready, gentlemen," he said. They waited until Albus had gathered everyone together and explained the situation. As the people in the Safe Haven cast their patroni, those in the Control Room did the same.

Charles used the control panel to amplify the patroni, making them bigger and more powerful, and then transported them to the island. On the monitor, they watched as the silvery diaphanous creatures made their way through the dark halls of Azkaban, rounding up dementors and driving them out of the prison into the open.

A hundred dementors floated in the air above Azkaban surrounded by 20 of the largest patroni any of them had ever seen. Harry saw his stag along side his godfather's grim, his guardian's wolf, and his grandfather's lion. When all the dementors were together, Charles transported them, along with the patroni, into the Room of Requirement.

The trunk levitated slightly above Azkaban, waiting for Voldemort's signal, which would be their cue to watch for Bella's arrival. "Dobby!" Charles called, and the little elf popped into the room.

"Yes, Granddad Charley?"

"We're about to transport Bella to the scanning cell. Would you go down and keep an eye on her until we have time to place her in a permanent cell? She'll be stunned when she gets there, but if she starts to wake up, do whatever you need to do to keep her unconscious."

Dobby gave him a wide grin. "Dobby be happy to, Granddad Charley!" He popped out of the room.

It was a good 20 minutes before they saw the signal from Voldemort and another half hour before Bella landed with her broomstick on the dock. Charles immediately stunned her and sent her to the holding cell. He then moved the trunk to the boat so he could keep an eye on Voldemort.

Voldemort sat on a crate, wrapped in his cloak, watching the skies over Azkaban. His face was expressionless, but there was a look of defeat in his eyes. It was as if he knew that his plan was about to fail. He cast a warming charm on himself and continued to wait.

"Do you think she was supposed to signal him?" Remus asked.

"Perhaps. Maybe we should send out a signal and see what happens," Charles said.

"Or maybe we should let him just sit there and wait, not knowing what's happening on the island," Sirius said.

"Oh, yeah! Waiting is the worst!" Harry said, laughing.

Charles grinned. "So, we're going to perform a little torture, are we, gentlemen?"

The others chuckled.

"While we're waiting, Sirius would you take Winky down to the prison and get Bella scanned and locked away? It shouldn't take long, since she's only one person."

"Is she still unconscious?" Sirius asked, getting up. "Because if she's not, she could be worse than Greyback."

"She should be. If not, you have your wand."

"Have a good time," Remus said, grinning.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'd rather see McGonagall naked than my cousin Bellatrix."

Albus entered the room as Sirius left. "What was that about Professor McGonagall?" he asked concerned.

Harry and Remus burst into laugher. Charles grinned at Dumbledore. "Sirius was just saying that, between Minerva and Bellatrix, he preferred Minerva."

"I see," Albus said, his eyes twinkling. "I'll be sure to inform Minerva of Sirius's feelings."

This brought more laughter from the other two. Harry would have fallen out of his chair had Remus not grabbed him in time.

After another hour or so of waiting, Voldemort apparated off the boat. Charles moved the trunk back to the orphanage.

When the Dark Lord discovered that his snake was dead, he flew into a rage. "Damn you, Dumbledore!" he screamed. "You'll regret this! You'll regret the day you were born!"

"Harry," Charles said. "Stand over there against that wall. I'm going to send your image to Voldemort. I want you to have a little conversation with him."

Harry stood against the wall that Charles had indicated, and his grandfather pointed what looked like a muggle video camera at him. Suddenly, a holographic image of Harry appeared in the room with Voldemort.

"You!" the Dark Lord said, pointing his wand and sending a curse at him. The curse went through the image.

Voldemort's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you dead?" he asked. "Are you a ghost?"

Harry smiled. "No. This is just a hologram."

The Dark Lord's eyes narrowed in confusion. "A what?"

"I'm not really here. I'm just sending my image to you."

"You can project your spirit from your body?" Voldemort asked, impressed.

Harry shrugged. "Of course. Can't you?"

Voldemort frowned. "What are you doing here? What do you want? Are you part of Dumbledore's little plan?"

"Dumbledore doesn't have anything to do with this," Harry said. "This is all my doing. This is between you and me."

"You've done all this?" he asked unbelievingly. "How?"

"I've discovered the power that the Dark Lord knows not."

"What?"

"Oh, that's right. You didn't hear the rest of the prophecy, did you? You missed the part about me vanquishing you with the power that the Dark Lord knows not."

Voldemort stood frozen on the spot. "That is what the prophecy says? I don't believe you."

Harry smiled. "It doesn't matter. You'll find out soon enough." He moved closer to Voldemort, and the Dark Lord backed away. "You want to know the really strange part of the prophecy?"

"W-what's that?"

"If you had not come to Godric's Hollow that night and killed my family and tried to kill me, I would never have been able to vanquish you. You gave me the power to it, Tom. You created your own executioner."

Voldemort shook his head. "You cannot kill me, Harry. I am immortal now."

Harry frowned. "What? Did you finally steal a philosopher's stone? Are you drinking the Elixir of Eternal Life?"

Voldemort seemed to relax. "Perhaps, Harry, perhaps. Now, why don't you go back to your body and leave me alone. I have plans to make on how to destroy you and your little friends."

Harry smiled. "All right, Tom. Perhaps we'll talk again soon."

"I'll be looking forward to it, Mr. Potter."

When the holographic image disappeared, Voldemort rushed up the stairs to the room that had been his as a child. He checked the wards on the wardrobe, and finding them intact, relaxed. He went back downstairs to his bedroom and went to bed.

In the control room, Charles began to move the trunk. "Now, to get rid of our unwanted guests," he said. On the monitor, they saw that they had arrived at the Department of Mysteries. They were, once again, in the Death Chamber.

"We're going to send the dementors through the veil?" Harry asked.

"Yes, we are." Charles transported 10 dementors into the Death Chamber. They were enclosed in a bubble-type shield, but at one end a tiny portion of the shield protruded outward, much like a bottleneck, yet it was too small for any of the dementors to enter.

The shield levitated to the veil. The dementors began to scream as it passed through the curtains. When only the small protrusion remained outside, Charles pressed a button, and the shield disappeared.

"That was the finite charm," he said. "To terminate the shield spell—just in case."

The action was repeated 9 more times, and by the time the sun rose on a new day, all the dementors had been eliminated.

Harry and Sirius went to bed; Albus returned to Hogwarts; and Remus took over the control panel, moving the trunk back to the orphanage to keep an eye on Voldemort. Charles went into the Safe Haven.

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Severus Snape sat outside his tent sipping his morning tea and watching the sunrise. It was peaceful here, despite the fact that brats of all ages were running around at all hours of the day and night. He could easily slip inside his tent, put up a silencing charm, and work on his potions or read. Sometimes, late at night, he walked the beach after everyone else had gone to bed. Some days, he talked with Draco and Narcissa, sometimes sharing meals with them. It was a pleasant life, though he would never admit it to Albus or Potter.

Movement caught his eye, and he watched as Charles Potter walked over to the Malfoy tent. Narcissa came to the opening, and then she and Potter walked away from the tent, talking for a moment. He saw the woman nod at him, and then they both transported out of the Safe Haven.

This was odd. He had not seen them together before, but he could have missed it. Was Charles Potter making a play for Lucius's wife? Oh, that would be priceless. He wondered what the Potter brat would think if he knew of his grandfather's feelings toward Draco's mother. He smiled at the thought.

He poured another cup of tea and waited. He would stay there until they returned. Surely they wouldn't be gone too long. Otherwise, Draco would get suspicious. In less than half an hour, they had returned. He watched as Potter bowed to Narcissa and she smiled in return. She went back inside her tent, and Potter left the Safe Haven. Oh, this was going to be amusing.

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"How did it go?" Remus asked when Charles entered the control room. "Did she have it?"

Charles sat down next to him. "Oh, yes. Lucius had taken it after Voldemort's first defeat."

"So, what did you find?"

"Hufflepuff's cup is not a horcrux," he said. "We were right. He only wanted it because it had belonged to one of the founders."

Remus nodded, relieved. "Good. That makes me feel so much better."

"You and me both, Remus," Charles said, patting him on the shoulder. "You and me both."