A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the story except for that one guest who wasn't even brave enough to sign into his account before criticising my work. I doubt you will see this as you made it very clear you did not enjoy the story but I shall say it anyway. I like it when people point out bits of my story that are wrong; it helps me to become a better writer. You wrote 'Vowel of loyalty? LOL... it's VOW fucktard.'
This is fan fiction; it is not going to be perfect and I appreciate it when people point out how I can improve. What I do not appreciate is when people are rude jerks, especially if the part of my story they are 'correcting' was correct in the first place. If you are going to criticise my work then make sure you are right as it just makes you look like an idiot if you're not.
This guest wasn't the only one to point something out. Sirius009, after reading your review I went back through the chapter looking for the bit you mentioned. I never really thought about it before but after rereading it I can see what you mean. I will try and remember that in the future, thank you.
Now, with that out of the way I hope you enjoy.
-H/P-
Voldemort sat at the head of the table in what he had dubbed the meeting room. It used to be the grand dining room of the Riddle manor but he had no need for one of those so he changed it to suit his need. In front of him sat only two of his death eaters. Yaxley and Wormtail were going over plans for the attacks that were going to happen this evening. He had no care for who did what assault as long as they completed the job to his satisfaction.
While Yaxley and Wormtail were assigning death eaters to the target they were to attack Voldemort was going over his plan to attack Azkaban. He had used one of his contacts in the DMLE to ensure that the wards to Azkaban would be down for a brief window tonight as well as making contact with the dementors and securing their allegiance. He was going to slip into the prison with a dozen death eaters while the wards were down and while the dementors were releasing and arming his followers in there he and his team were going to head to the wardens office and claim control of the wards so that they could make their escape.
Azkaban had numerous wards surrounding the prison including anti-apparition, portkey and magic wards. The anti-magic wards were new wards that were not covering the prison during his first rise to power and it took him a lot of time a research before he knew how to counteract them. There was only one known way around the anti-magic ward around the prison and that was a special amulet that the guards wore. These amulets were created by the unspeakables almost ten years ago and how to create them was a secret not released outside of the department of mysteries.
Only several unspeakables know how to make them and only the head can legally make them. They were heavily regulated by the ministry and only the head of the DMLE can request them to be made. When the amulets were not in use at Azkaban they were under heavy guard in an undisclosed area of the department of mysteries. Since these amulets came into use and the anti-magic wards put up the main entrance to Azkaban was sealed shut and the only way on and off the island was by a portkey point in the DMLE. To get there and do a successful assault he knew he would need the help of Amelia Bones either willingly or unwillingly and both scenarios he deemed as unlikely to succeed so Voldemort searched for other ways to access the prison and he came across the two weaknesses of the wards. The first weakness was that it only stopped wand magic so he knew if the wards were up there was still some magic he could do. The second and most important weakness was that there were two control points for the wards which can be accessed by any active auror. The first being in Azkaban itself, in the warden's office and the second in the DMLE in Amelia Bone's office.
It was with this knowledge that he created his current and most likely to succeed plan. While the portkey point was the only way used to get to the prison it was not the only way to reach it. He planned to fly out with a dozen death eaters and when the wards were down he would descend onto the island and blast open what used to be the main entrance and enter that way. It left him reliant on the auror under his command but he felt that it was an acceptable risk. He just needed the wards to stay down until he was inside, once inside he could make do without his wand until he took the warden's office.
"My lord." Yaxley said bringing Voldemort back to the task at hand. "How would you like us to deploy?"
"I will attack Azkaban first. You are to wait 30 minutes after I leave to begin your assaults. That should give the aurors enough time to try and mount a defence before you attack your targets. The death eaters I have with me will be enough to handle the aurors and they will be too busy to stop the other attacks. Are all the portkeys ready?"
"Yes my lord and I will be calling in all the death eaters taking part after this meeting and have them wait here before going on their raids."
"Good. They are not to know who they are attacking until it is time to leave and they are not to know who the others are attacking."
"Of course my lord."
"Good. We are ready then, begin calling our people in."
-HP-
The cart came to a stop in front of the vault. Ripblade jumped out with practiced ease followed by Harry with a huge grin on his face. He always loved the cart rides through Gringotts and always imagined them to be like the rollercoaster he was never allowed to ride the few times the Dursley's couldn't find a babysitter and had to take him on days out with them. Harry looked back at Narcissa to see her stumble out of the cart in a completely undignified manner. Like most normal people, Narcissa couldn't stand the cart rides as they made her very queasy.
"Lord Black, this is the Black family vault. The vault can only be opened by myself or by use of the family ring. You will need to be wearing the family ring to be able to access the vault in the future and if you require somebody to come to Gringotts on your behalf then they will need to present me a letter from you requesting their access signed with your blood and the seal from the family ring. The ring will be on a pedestal to the right of the entrance and may I suggest you put it on before touching anything as some of the things in the vault have anti-thievery charms on them that will activate if anyone not wearing the ring or without Black blood touches them." Ripblade said.
"What if I ask my house elf to come for me, won't he be caught by the anti-thievery charms?" Harry asked as Ripblade slid his hand across the vault door and it began opening.
"No, House elves and Goblins are immune to the anti-thievery charms as they only affect humans. Your house elf will be able to take whatever you require him to take, but if you send another human who is not a member of the Black family in your place then I recommend only asking them to remove money as it is the only thing without the charm on."
The door to the vault fully opened and Harry got the first glimpse of the Black fortune. The vault was massive with piles of galleons along one of the walls. Along the other were stacks of books, jewellery, antiques and many other valuable items. The back wall was covered in portraits of all the Blacks going back generations. Harry noticed the pedestal with the family ring on it as well as a chest next to it with a note attached.
Harry picked up the ring and slid it onto his middle finger on his right hand and it shrank to the right size. Harry then looked down at the chest and saw his name written on the note.
Harry,
I have put this chest together for you. It contains a multitude of things which will help you in the years to come. I believe you will like what it contains, now, go to the wall at the back of the vault, there is something there you must see.
Padfoot
"I have put on the Black family ring, does that mean I am now emancipated and able to do magic legally?" Harry said turning to Ripblade.
"Yes, although you may still get letters about underage magic until the paperwork is processed. That will take a couple of hours from when I send it off; but you can still use magic down here without your ministry knowing about it." Ripblade said guessing correctly why Harry was asking.
"Perfect, thanks." Harry said before getting out his wand and shrinking the chest.
Harry put the chest into one of his pockets and decided to follow Sirius' suggestion and went to the portraits at the back of the vault. Harry was originally willing to skip them but if Sirius thought there was something worth seeing then he decided he might as well look. As Harry approached the back wall he noticed that a few of the frames were empty while the ones that were full were asleep.
"Narcissa, come here please." Harry called out.
Harry wasn't sure what was worth seeing here as Sirius didn't mention that particular detail and he hoped that Narcissa might be able to help him. Harry turned around to see if Narcissa was coming when he heard a familiar voice from the wall say "Harry is that really you?"
Harry turned back to face the wall and noticed that one of the previously empty portraits now contained the grinning face of Sirius Black.
"SIRIUS!" Harry shouted out in happiness.
"Yep pup, it is me. I had this done just after writing my will, cost me a lot to get done seeing as most people did not want to be close to the infamous Sirius Black but I managed to get one bloke to do it."
"Sirius, it is good to see you again even if you are somewhat lacking a body." Narcissa said as she walked over.
"Cissy, I see you are already helping young Harry out."
"Indeed, you were most adamant about it in your will. I had planned to just disappear in France with my daughter but I have to stay around now. Not that I can complain much, you did dissolve my marriage for me."
"Ah, so you are a Black again."
"Not quite, we are going to follow your suggestion of clearing out the Malfoy vault before Harry signs the papers. That is the next stop after this vault."
"Harry my boy; we are long overdue for a certain conversation or two. We won't have them now, get today out of the way and we will have them either tonight, tomorrow or sometime very soon. You cannot take my portrait with you but if you take a few of the frames from underneath my portrait and hang them up somewhere then I will be able to jump from frame to frame. Also while I was never the studious type I have stacked a few books by the entrance to the vault that I think you may find helpful and interesting."
"Ok Padfoot, I'll pick up the books and will talk to you later once I have finished everything here." Harry said while shrinking a few frames and putting them into his pocket.
Harry and Narcissa walked back to the entrance of the vault where Ripblade was waiting patiently. Harry saw the stack of just over a dozen books and shrank them before pocketing them. With a nod to Narcissa and Ripblade Harry scooped up a handful of galleons and put them into his money pouch before exiting the vault.
The three of them got back into the cart and carried on in silence until they reached the Malfoy vault. Harry and Ripblade stayed in the cart while Narcissa got out and walked to the vault door. She got out a small blade and cut one of her fingers. She smeared some blood onto the vault door and it opened showing a vault that was almost as large as the Black vault. The only real difference between the two vaults was that the Black vault had portraits and books in it while the Malfoy vault had more gold and jewels in it.
Narcissa opened up a chest and waved her wand. The gold and jewels began flying around the vault and began piling itself into the chest. Once the vault was empty Narcissa closed the chest, shrank it and put it into her robe before walking out and closing the vault door and getting back into the cart. The cart ride to the surface was quiet but as soon as it stopped Harry began talking.
"So I guess I can now annul your marriage. That was quite a lot of gold you cleared out of that vault, I am guessing he will have to sell off Malfoy manor now just to make ends meet." Harry laughed.
"Unfortunately not. While this was a large sum of the Malfoy fortune it was nowhere near all of it. We had this main vault as well as private vaults for myself, Lucius and Draco in this country. We also have vaults in France, Germany, Canada, China and USA. We opened those other vaults during Voldemort's first uprising just in case something happened to that main one. The main thing I was worried about was Lucius getting caught as a death eater and the ministry having the vault frozen so that we could not access it. I have taken a chunk of the Malfoy money today but there is enough in the other vaults for him to survive, although he may need to be careful with his bribes in the future. That is if he ever manages to get out of Azkaban."
As they got out of the cart Harry saw Amelia waiting in the foyer for him and he proceeded to walk up to her. Amelia saw Harry approaching and frowned slightly when she saw that Narcissa was following him.
"I am finished with my business Harry so we can leave whenever you are ready." Amelia said.
"I'm almost finished Amelia. I have a small thing left to do with regards to Sirius' will and then need to hear my parent's one. After that I will be ready to leave. I believe you already know Narcissa." Harry replied back.
"Madam Bones." Narcissa said with a respectful head tilt.
"Lady Malfoy." Amelia said while repeating the gesture.
"Not for much longer. Ripblade is waiting for us Harry."
"Yes, right, let us go and annul your marriage then." Harry said while catching the bemused look on Amelia's face. "Amelia, you are welcome to join us, I would like you present when my parent's will is read."
"Of course Harry, lead the way." Amelia said while holding her arm out to signal for him to lead on.
The three of them followed Ripblade who led them back into his office. When they entered they found that Tonks, Remus and Andromeda were already seated and awaiting them. Once everyone was seated Ripblade spoke up.
"As we have finished with the business in the vaults here are the papers to annul Lady Malfoy's marriage to one Lucius Malfoy." Ripblade said handing Harry a few pieces of parchment. "They require your signature as well as a drop of blood and to be stamped with the Black family crest on your ring."
Harry quickly read over the pieces of parchment to ensure that they were what they were meant to be and once he had done that he signed them and stamped them with the Black family crest. "Done, you are now officially a Black again Narcissa." Harry told her.
"My thanks Lord Black." She said formally with a grin.
"Now we move on to the issue of the Potter's will. As the Potter account manager has passed away since your parent's death it means that I can read their will if you desire me to Mr. Potter." Ripblade said while holding the will in his hands.
"Yes please." Harry replied.
"Before we begin I must inform you that the will was originally read on the 3rd November 1981 when it was put into effect. As it was officially read then and today we are just going over what Mr. Potter is entitled to we do not need the executor here for the reading."
"Sorry for interrupting Ripblade, but there is only one will? Shouldn't there be two and who is the executor?"
"No, your parents made a joint will which means that it was one will for both of them and Albus Dumbledore is the executor."
"This is a common practice among pureblood families, especially ones as old as the Potters." Amelia said. "It is a way to ensure that Potter fortune stayed within the Potter line. Say your father died but your mother survived, if she had remarried before dying then her next of kin would've been her second husband, someone who was not related to the Potter family line and the Potter line would have been absorbed by his family. By making a joint will your parents agreed together who was to get what and it couldn't be changed once one of them died. This way it was ensured that the Potter line was able to continue instead of being absorbed into another family. Does this make sense?"
"Yes, thank you Amelia, so it was basically done so that it was guaranteed that I could continue the Potter line." Harry said after thinking over what Amelia described.
"Yes, pretty much."
"Ok, can I continue?" Ripblade asked and when there was interruption continued with the will.
This is the last will and testament of James and Lily Potter. We have appointed Albus Dumbledore as the executor of our will and he has agreed to take on that role as proven by his signature at the bottom of this document.
To Alice and Frank Longbottom, Sirius Black and Olivia Abbot we leave you our love, you already have more than enough money to look after yourselves and any family you may have.
To Remus Lupin we leave the sum of 500,000 galleons. We know the difficult time you are having with finding employment Remus and we hope that this money will help you live a decent life. We are sorry we have not put your name down for custody of Harry but with your condition we know that the ministry will veto our choice and remove him from your care.
To Peter Pettigrew we leave the sum of 500,000 galleons. We know of the problems you have been having with your family especially your mothers deteriorating health and that is why we have decided not to ask you to be placed on Harry guardianship list, you have enough worries at the moment without having a child to look after. We hope this money helps you.
To Deborah Goddard we leave the sum of 500,000 galleons. We know how hard it can be for a muggleborn in the wizarding world especially when it comes to employment and hope this money helps you out.
To our son, Harry James Potter we leave everything else. Everything is to be managed by our son's guardian until he becomes of age in the wizarding world. He cannot claim the head of family title or access the main vault until he is a legal adult.
We have set up a trust fund for Harry which he is to be granted access to from his eleventh Birthday. The trust vault is to have 25,000 galleons in it and is to be replenished each year on his Birthday. This is to provide for him while he is at Hogwarts. His Hogwarts tuition is to come out of this vault as well.
We have also set up a vault for whomever Harry ends up living with. He is our son and while we trust you all to raise him properly we have ensured that if you ever need it there is money available to you for his upkeep. The vault will have 100,000 galleons in it and will be replenished on the 1st January of each year until Harry comes of age.
In the event of both of our deaths Harry is to be placed in the care of these people in descending order:
Alice and Frank Longbottom
Sirius Black
Deborah Goddard
Olivia and Jonathan Abbot
We thank you all for being willing to take in our son if the worst happens and we trust him with no one more than all of you.
Signed
James Potter
Lily Potter
Executor
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
"Are you sure this is their official will?" Remus asked with a growing angry expression on his face.
"Yes, it is the one we were given by Lord Potter several months before his death. Why do you ask? Do you believe that Gringotts is deceiving you? Think carefully before you speak." Ripblade replied with clear menace and agitation in his voice.
"No, of course not. I meant no disrespect to the Goblins. It is just that I am a beneficiary in the will but was not invited to the original will reading, nor did I receive what was left to me. Also I was told by Albus Dumbledore that Harry was placed at the Dursley's by his parents in their will. He has lived with them all his life when he should've been living with the Longbottom's and then the Abbot's after they became indisposed." Remus replied.
"Is that correct Mr. Potter?" Ripblade asked.
"With regards to my living arrangements, yes. The rest I do not know but I doubt Remus would lie." Harry said while still trying to process everything.
"Well Gringotts had no part in the original will reading, it was handled exclusively by the executor and if what you say is correct then it is a matter you need to take up with your law enforcement."
"I can assure you that we will be looking into this." Amelia said.
"I guess the first thing we need to do would be to talk to Dumbledore about it seeing as he was the one responsible. This is just another part of my life he is responsible and needs to answer for." Harry said with a sigh. "Remus, who are Deborah and Olivia?"
"They along with Alice were your mother's room mates and best friends at Hogwarts." Remus replied.
"I'm guessing Olivia is Hannah's mother but who is Deborah and why have I never met them if they were my mother's best friends?"
"Deborah disappeared into the muggle world just after your parents were killed and, that I know of, no one has heard from her since. As for Olivia, I do not know Harry."
"I am a close friend of Olivia, I can ask her to come round and speak to you if you want." Amelia said to Harry.
"While all this is interesting." Ripblade said in a voice that contradicted that statement. "Can we finish off the business we are here to do as I again need to remind you, I am very busy?"
Everyone agreed to finish off the business and Ripblade pulled out several pieces of parchment. "You need to sign these Mr. Potter and then you will be finished and be Lord Potter." Ripblade said handing the parchments to Harry.
Harry signed them and sealed them with blood before Ripblade handed him the Potter family ring while telling him to place it on the same finger as the Black ring. Harry did so and the two rings merged and became one. Narcissa informed Harry that all he had to do was to tap the ring with his wand and say which ring he wanted for it to turn into the ring.
"Why did I have to go to the Black vault to get the ring if you were able to get the Potter one to give to me in this office?" Harry asked curiously.
"Lord Black did not want us to give you the ring, he wanted you to go to the vault to collect it, I do not know why." Ripblade replied clearly fed up with the humans.
"Hmm, I guess he knew I wouldn't go down to the vault and wanted to make sure that I would so that I would see his portrait." Harry mused.
"Yes, maybe. Now, the Potter account has no manager at the moment and you can appoint one if you wish."
"Who would be suitable for the role? The only goblins I know are you and Griphook so I have no idea who would be best as my account manager."
"Griphook is still young and inexperienced at managing an account and I would not recommend an account as large as the Potter's as his first. There are several goblins who could handle an account of this size and I can arrange for one of them to take it over if you wish."
"Would you be willing to do it? You are already the Black account manager so it would be logical for me to have both my accounts run by the same person."
"Yes I can and would be happy to. I do not know the full extent of the Potter fortune and I am pretty sure you don't either so I will do an inventory of both the Potter and Black accounts and send you statements within the next few days. Is that acceptable?"
"That is great, thank you."
"Well that concludes your business here unless there is anything else Lord Potter-Black?"
"No, that is all. Thank you Ripblade." Harry said while getting up from his chair and leaving.
The others followed Harry out of the office and into the foyer. Everyone said their goodbyes and began going their separate ways. Harry pulled Remus aside and told him about Sirius' portrait before giving him a frame. Narcissa told Harry that she was going to France to collect her daughter but that she would be in touch with him in a couple of days. Once everyone was gone Amelia led Harry over to the fireplaces in Gringotts.
"Amelia, why did we have to floo to the leaky cauldron if Gringotts have floo access?" Harry asked curiously as they join a small queue of people.
"It is another of their security features. You can only floo out, you cannot floo in." Amelia said as she reached the front of the queue and threw some floo powder into the fireplace.
Harry followed Amelia through the floo and appeared at Bone's manor. The both of them moved into the kitchen and Amelia began making tea for the both of them.
"Harry, are you alright? A lot happened this morning and you found out a lot of things you did not know before. How are you handling it?" Amelia asked with genuine concern.
"I expected today to be hard. I know Sirius is dead but I saw today as being the point that finalised it and bought it home that he would not be returning but a part of him remains and that made it a lot easier. In the Black vault I found a portrait of Sirius and am able to speak with him any time I want. While I know it isn't truly my godfather, it is a piece of him and knowing that the portrait is there whenever I need it is making it a lot easier for me to handle."
"That's good. Wizarding portraits are great in that it lets a small piece of someone remain; the important thing is to remember that it is just a portrait and to not become too attached or reliant on it. What about what you learned with regards to your growing up?"
"To be honest, it didn't surprise me. Dumbledore has fucked up so much with my life and I knew he was behind me living with the Dursley's. I guess today was just another part of it. Yeah I'm angry about it but it has happened and I cannot change it so what is the point of being stuck up on it."
"That is a very mature way of seeing it Harry."
"Don't get me wrong, I do not forgive him nor will I forget but what is the point of me getting angry and lashing out here. No, that anger I will save for him, he will not get away with it."
"That is understandable, but do not let anger control your judgement or actions. Use that anger but keep a clear head when dealing with him. Do not let it overcome you, especially when dealing with Dumbledore, he is a slippery as a snake. Let us talk about something more pleasant. Did you get your OWL results of Dumbledore today?"
"Yes I did. I am surprised but he actually took them to Gringotts and gave them to me."
"Open it up then, let us see what you got." Amelia said as she bought two cups of tea over to the table and put one in front of Harry.
Harry got the letter out of his pocket and as he did he felt a lump build up in his throat as he became nervous. He looked over at Amelia and saw a look in her face that let him know she knew what he felt. Amelia gave him a little nod and he tried to open the letter but his hands wouldn't move.
"Oh for crying out loud." Someone said from behind him as the letter was taken out of his hands.
Harry looked behind him to see Susan standing there already opening his letter. He went to grab it off her but she turned her back to him to block his attempt.
"Hey, give that back. When did you even get here?" He asked annoyed and confused.
"I live here." She replied like she was talking to a child. "But I heard the floo go and walked in as you got the letter out of your pocket, now let's see."
Dear Mr. Potter,
Enclosed are your results from you Ordinary Wizarding Level (OWL) exams.
The Hogwarts express will leave Kings Cross at the normal time of 10am on the 1st September.
We have also included in this letter the books for each of the subjects available to 6th year students as well as the required OWL grade needed in order to do each subject at NEWT level. We require you to write back with the subjects you wish to take during the next academic year no later than the 15th August so that we are able to create your timetable for you.
You have also been granted by Professor McGonagall the position of Quiddich captain. Please speak to her on your first day back at Hogwarts to let her know if you wish to accept the position.
Yours truly,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Susan handed Harry the Hogwarts letter she had just written along with the book list for the different subjects before turning to the piece of parchment with his grades on.
Ordinary Wizarding level (OWL) results for Harry James Potter
Pass grades: Outstanding (O), Exceeds Expectations (E), Acceptable (A)
Fail grades: Poor (P), Dreadful (D), Troll (T)
Subject not taken at OWL level (N/A)
Ancient ruins: N/A
Arithmancy: N/A
Astronomy: P
Care for magical creatures: O
Charms: O
Defence against the dark arts: O
Divination: P
Herbology: E
History of magic: D
Muggle studies: N/A
Potions: A
Transfiguration: E
Congratulations Mr. Potter you have achieved 9 OWLs
"Well done Harry, that is really good." Susan said happily.
"There must be a mistake. I only took 9 subjects and passed 6 so how did I get 9 OWLs?" Harry asked a little confused.
"When you get an O on your OWLs it counts as 2 OWLs whereas an E or A will net you 1 OWL. I'm surprised you got a P for astronomy though."
"I'm not, remember, the exam got interrupted. It was the night Umbridge and some aurors attacked Hagrid and Professor McGonagall got hit with all those stunners."
"Oh yeah, but it was only a distraction for about 5 minutes then it calmed down."
"I couldn't concentrate after and couldn't finish my star chart."
"So it looks like you can do: creatures, charms, defence, herbology and transfiguration at NEWT level. Are you going to do all five?"
"Yeah I think I will. It is a shame, I had seriously considered being an auror after Hogwarts but you need a potions NEWT to do that. Oh well, on the bright side I no longer have to put up with Snape. What did you get?"
"I got an O for charms, herbology and potions. An E for arithmancy, defence and transfiguration and an A for astronomy, creatures and history."
"Wow, so you got 12 OWLs all together."
"Yeah. Auntie is a friend of Griselda Marchbanks, the woman who runs the examination department of the ministry and she told auntie that only 4 students got better grades than me, although she couldn't say which students but she did say I did the best out of the Hufflepuffs." Susan said with a huge grin on her face.
"Harry, you may not be taking potions for your NEWTs but if you want to become an auror after Hogwarts then there are ways around it." Amelia said.
"How?" He asked.
"Well the NEWT exams are not set by Hogwarts. You can do self study or hire a tutor to help you with potions and then apply to sit the exam over the holidays after your 7th year. The auror academy takes on new recruits in September so you will have time to sit the exam before applying."
"But how would I fit two years worth of potions into two summers?"
"That would be tricky but you could do self study during the school year, learn about the different potions, their ingredients, properties and then do the practical stuff during the holidays with a tutor."
"To be honest I think I will be a bit preoccupied to be worrying about potions what with Voldemort after me."
"That is very true Harry and I doubt a lack of potions NEWT will stop you getting into the auror force. Once Voldemort is defeated I reckon that the ministry will bend over backwards to get you into the force. But that is a thought for another day, what is important at the moment is getting you ready for your new year at Hogwarts. You have a very pretty owl upstairs who can be used to send letters so I suggest that you write a letter to Hogwarts telling them the classes you want to take for your NEWTs. I will also arrange for an auror to take you to Diagon alley sometime over the next week to collect your stuffs as well. I know you're an adult now and don't need an escort to do your shopping nor do you need my blessing to go out whenever you want but I still think taking an auror with you will be beneficial."
"That is fine Amelia; an extra wand is always handy especially if something happens. Can I request auror Tonks as I know her quite well and trust her."
"Of course, I'll arrange for her to have a day on 'guard duty'. Because of my position I have an auror stationed here at all times just in case. One of the new ministry procedures. Myself, the minister and head unspeakable have an auror guard at our homes. I will arrange it so that auror Tonks is here one day."
"Great, thanks. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to hang up my godfather's portrait in my room and have a talk with him."
-HP-
It was approaching 9pm and it had just recently turned night over the North Sea. Twelve figures quickly approached an island covered in fog. Eleven of the figures were flying brooms while one sat on a magic carpet. Voldemort had never been comfortable flying a broom and preferred the comforts of a magic carpet. The fact that they were illegal in the British Isles didn't bother him in the slightest. It was in his opinion a stupid law bought in by broom manufacturing companies bribing Wizengamot officials. Even if he didn't consider it a stupid law it wouldn't bother him, he had become a powerful dark lord, petty things such as laws were beneath him.
They approached the island housing the worst prison in the world, Azkaban. He knew he was within the boundaries of the wards and the fact that he couldn't feel them was a relief to him, it also meant that a certain auror would not be experiencing the wonderful effects of the cruciatus curse tonight.
The dark lord and his eleven death eaters flew down towards the now redundant dock that used to be the main entrance to the prison and got off of their brooms and carpet. Voldemort walked up to what used to be the main entrance to the prison and thought over the spells he could use in this situation before settling on one of the more destructive 'battering ram' spells in his arsenal.
"Colossus impactus." Voldemort said while aiming his wand at the door.
A violet beam flew out of his wand and connected with the door. A second after the beam connected with the door the door began to crack and with the sound of an explosion blew open and sent fragments of wood and stone into the prison. Voldemort cancelled the spell and surveyed the damage. He felt a little impressed with his handy work. The hole he had created was wide enough so that all twelve of them could get into the prison at the same time and was tall enough so that a giant could enter without crouching.
Voldemort walked forward as alarms went off inside the prison. "You four." Voldemort said pointing at four random death eaters. "Secure the portkey point and kill an aurors that decide to turn up to help the guards. Bella, take your squad to the high security area and make sure all our people have been released, once they are free and armed take them to the portkey point to help hold off the aurors. The rest of you follow me."
-HP-
It started off as a standard day for warden Michael Fallons. He had portkeyed to work at 12 pm to relieve the night and morning warden. The Azkaban guard shifts were 12 to 12. Each guard and warden worked a twelve hour shift in a five days on, five days off pattern. It was considered by most to be the easiest job an auror could do. There was very little work to do even if the hours were long. The job was mostly done by new recruits or those looking for an easy time before retirement and each shift consisted of 15 guards and a warden. Warden Fallons was one of the latter category. He was just under a year away from retirement and was using this posting as a way to cruise into retirement. The added pay that aurors got for taking the post was also a welcome bonus and was going towards a nice long holiday with which he was going to go on with his wife to kick start retirement.
With his age and mindset warden Fallons ended up being a rather relaxed and not too studious warden. He considered his shift to be the easier of the two. Recently he had begun to believe that Voldemort would make a run at Azkaban what with the large number of his followers inside. The fact that he had already done so successfully last year was not lost on Fallons but he failed to learn from that incident and instead used it as a basis for his current theory of when it would happen again.
Fallons believed that if Voldemort would attack Azkaban it would be in the early hours of the morning like last time but if he had sat back and thought he would have realised that he was wrong. 9pm to 12am the sky was dark as it was night and his shift would be coming towards the end of their 12 hours shift and getting tired. If he had thought about it he would have realised that that would be the perfect time to attack, but because he didn't think too hard about it and prepare his guards were badly under prepared for what was going on.
Fallons started his day by having an hour long meeting with his staff over lunch. Afterwards he did a quick sweep of the low security section of the prison which consisted of the short term inmates. Those whose crimes were bad enough to warrant a stint in Azkaban but not bad enough to keep them there for good. While he was doing this he had a few of the younger guards patrol the high security section which consisted of those that were in Azkaban for life.
He preferred to patrol the low security section because it had less dementors then the high security and while he had the strongest patronus out of his staff he didn't want to be around the dementors when he didn't have to. Once the patrol was over he would slip into his office and do the small amount of paperwork he needed to do each day and then the remaining 6 hours of his shift he would spend in the main dining area with his guards just chatting, eating or playing cards.
His guards would go on patrol through both sections of the prison every hour and did it on a rotating schedule. It was while he was sitting down playing a hand of poker with three of his guards that he felt the wards go down. This worried him right away as he was not made aware of the wards being lowered so he began setting his people into motion. He sent five to the high security section and another five and another five to the low security section. That left him with two remaining guards as he always had two stationed at the port key point.
He took the two remaining guards with him and headed to his office. It was at this point again that his lack of brains betrayed him because he spent almost a quarter of an hour trying to raise the wards back up and failing. Instead of sending one of the guards to auror HQ to request answers or help he had the two guards with him twiddling their thumbs in his office.
After fifteen minutes of unsuccessfully raising the wards there was a huge explosion that shook the very foundations of the prison. It was at this point that he kicked himself up the arse and got into motion. He tapped his wand to a blue stone on his desk which sounded the alarm for the prison. This alarm would sound throughout the prison as well as auror HQ.
He now knew that the prison was under attack but because of the lack of wards he didn't know who was attacking although he guessed it rather easily nor how many were attacking. He assumed the worst and guessed that Voldemort had come in force to Azkaban. He sent one of the guards to the official portkey area in order to go to auror HQ and tell them that an undetermined number of assailants were attacking and request backup. He then did the same with the second guard but sent him to the back up portkey area.
Once that was done his mind froze over as he couldn't decide what to do next and he preyed that back up would come quickly as he knew he was awfully unprepared for the coming battle.
-HP-
Conrad Dawlish sat at his desk at auror HQ waiting. He sat there in total bliss, a calm feeling washed all over him. He felt like it all afternoon since he had done his patrol through Knockturn alley. He had his orders and he waited to fulfil them. He had been told he was to wait for the Azkaban alarms to sound before doing his job.
An alarm sounded all throughout the auror HQ and immediately aurors jumped up and began running around. Conrad quietly and quickly got up from his desk and headed towards to floo dispatch. Once he reached it he took a small amount of floo powder from one of the floo dispatchers and threw it into the fire. Before the dispatcher could ask what he was doing he had stepped into the fire and called out 'Bones manor' and was gone.
Conrad appeared in the living room of Bones manor. A signal went out throughout the house to inform whoever was home that someone had come through the floo and he waited. Not twenty second passed before Amelia Bones appeared holding her wand.
"Madam Bones, the Azkaban alarm has been set off and is ringing throughout auror HQ." Conrad said before she could ask any questions as to why he was there.
This shocked Amelia and anything she had planned on saying went out of the window as her training kicked in. "What is the situation?" She asked.
"Unknown. Just over a minute ago the alarms sounded and I came straight here. We can get more information when we get to the office. The warden knows not to use the alarm unless Azkaban is under siege though."
"Wait here." Amelia said running from the room into her den/office.
Once Amelia was gone Conrad got out his wand and began scanning the room. It took next to no time for him to find what he was looking for and sent a reducto curse at an angel figurine sitting above the fireplace. Once the figurine exploded a massive klaxon sound appeared all over the house. Amelia ran out of her office as the imperius curse that was placed on Conrad wore off. He saw her raise her wand and tried to speak up before she stunned him.
It was at this point that Harry and Susan ran into the room. "What's going on?" Susan shouted over the klaxon noise.
Amelia waved her wand and cancelled the alarm. "The Fidelius has been breached. Dawlish destroyed the ward stone which cancelled the ward. We are now visible."
As Amelia said that a gong rang out through the house.
"Damn it. The wards have been trigger, we are under attack."