Chapter 6 – Dumbledore's Story
Harry felt himself land in the ministry hallway, which had obviously had its apparition shield opened, to find himself surrounded by armed Aurors. As Mr Weasley and the rest of the Order appeared alongside him they lowered their wands, looking relieved. Harry looked around him.
Kingsley Shacklebolt stood nearest, panting slightly, and further away were Neville, Mr Weasley, Charlie Holloway, Lucy O'Hur, Bill Weasley who had brought Hagrid and Professor McGonagall with him, Fred and George Weasley and, breathing heavily but his eyes never leaving Harry, Ron. Mr Weasley stepped forward.
"Harry!" he said concernedly, "Are you alright?"
"Spectacular," Harry murmured, his head hurting slightly, but he needed to keep talking. "Mr Weasley, they know where Voldemort is."
Harry had expected shock and the Aurors exchanged looks of horror, but Mr Weasley merely put a hand up to wipe his sweaty brow and sighed. "Albus expected something like this to happen," he said, his voice sounding tired and weary. "He's had the places where we believe the child could be Voldemort under guard, and upon your signal he told all of them to move the children away. They are being kept at St Mungo's at this very moment."
"I know which one it is," Harry said, his head still pulsating slightly. "It was the one being guarded by Aaron Shacklebolt, in a long terraced road." Mr Weasley nodded at Kingsley, who headed straight to one of the floo fireplaces before vanishing out of sight. Ron walked over and put a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"You okay mate? Ginny and Hermione have been scared out of their minds, especially when Neville vanished too," he paused. "Me too actually." Harry gave him a small smile.
"I'm okay," he said, realising that Ron was guiding him towards the lifts with Mr Weasley and Neville. "Where are we heading?"
"Dad's office," Ron replied immediately. "Ginny and Hermione should be there when we arrive." Harry's spirits soared as the lift doors clanged shut and jolted upwards. After a few moments they emerged into a long, well lit corridor and headed straight to Mr Weasley's office, the door of which was flanked by two impressive looking Aurors.
"Are they inside Peter?" The Auror on the left nodded impassively. Arthur turned to Harry and Ron and gestured them inside, holding the door open. Harry entered the room as two people stood by the desk jumped, and Harry couldn't help but let out a laugh of relief as he embraced Ginny.
"Oh Harry!" she whispered feverishly, as if she couldn't quite believe it was him. "Oh you're alright!" Harry squeezed her wearily, before she stepped back to hug Neville, allowing Hermione to step forward.
"Well Hermione, it looks like you might have to start a new book," he whispered so that just she could hear, and she laughed. Mr Weasley let out a small cough.
"Albus will be here in a moment, and then I shall need you two to recount to your stories I'm afraid," he said slowly, gesturing them all into the soft armchairs in front of his desk, as at that very moment, Albus Dumbledore walked through the door. His eyes met Harry's and Harry saw that familiar sparkle that was so reassuring.
"Harry," he said, striding forward and shaking Harry carefully by the hand. "I am very glad to see you again."
"You know me Professor, I just like keeping people on their toes," he said looking calmly up at his old professor's aged face, and Harry saw his mouth twitch in amusement. The seven of them all took seats around Mr Weasley's desk, and Mr Weasley first turned his attention to Harry and Neville.
"I think we should hear your tale first," Mr Weasley nodded at the two of them. Harry related his entire story, starting with the ring pulling him through the Dark Mark, his waking up in a cell of stone deep underground and of Andromidus and Regalus Black. At this point he looked up at Dumbledore for a moment, who made a gesture which clearly meant "in a moment." Harry, with the help of Neville described the potion, what Harry had seen, and how they had escaped.
Dumbledore nodded appreciatively. "I will tell my story in a moment, but first I must congratulate the pair of you on an outstanding display of courage and ability. We are all most proud of you." Harry and Neville blushed and Dumbledore beamed at them, before continuing. "I suspect you have a few questions?" Harry nodded.
"Did you know about Regalus and Andromidus? Or about the Secret Elite?" Harry knew it was the most dangerous question to ask, and he knew it sounded accusatory, but it was also the one that pressed most heavily on his mind. Dumbledore let out a small sigh.
"I'm afraid that I did," he murmured, though his gaze never wavered. "I did not know that there were still so many nor so active, but I knew of their existence and I had my suspicions.
"I first became aware of the Secret Elite through Professor Snape. Despite what I believe they thought about him he knew that they were a real and potent threat to the Order and he investigated as much as he could before we found out that Regalus Black's death had been faked.
"As this was after Sirius had died I tried to contact him through the veil, but I have subsequently discovered that Godric was too ill to relay information at the time and, as we were beginning the raid on Azkaban the next week, I freely confess it was driven from my mind. I am sorry but I did not spare them another thought until that day at Twybrook Stadium." He let out a soft sigh. "A grave mistake I'm afraid, and one for which I apologise most sincerely."
"There's no need to apologise Professor," Neville said quickly. "None of us thought that there were any Death Eaters left."
"I thank you for words Mr Longbottom, but I'm afraid the apology must stand, as I was one of the very, very few who even knew about them, and so I must indeed stress how sorry I am." He adjusted himself in his chair.
"Whether you feel you need to apologise or not Albus is something which we do not need to take into account," Mr Weasley said abruptly. "We trust your judgement implicitly." Dumbledore smiled, and Harry could have sworn he saw a very small blush emerge on Dumbledore's cheek for a moment, but before he could be certain, Dumbledore had turned his attention to the group at large.
"Well now, I suppose you are all interested in what I was up to instead of joining in with the fight on the moor?" There were small signs of assent around the desk. "Very well. As most of you are aware I have been following the progress of several youngsters born on the day of Voldemort's demise, particularly those who seem to be displaying an aptitude for magic. I did not think it would be possible to bring Voldemort back from this point; it is something unheard of in magic, but the lengths at which Andromidus and Regalus have gone proves that, at the very least, the Secret Elite believe that it is possible. Therefore keeping the possible children under close scrutiny seems to have been a prudent move.
"So, I had various members of the Order and Aurors stationed near each of the six candidates that I felt fitted the bill, to use a muggle phrase." He gave Arthur a small smile. "It seems this was a sensible decision as, a minute or so before we received your alarm call, I received word from Aaron Shacklebolt that two unfamiliar and excited looking figures were approaching the building. Naturally I apparated there as soon as possible and, without alerting Andromidus and Regalus to our presence, we managed to move the mother and child to a safe location using side-along apparition. Needless to say I expect Andromidus and Regalus were disappointed."
"Where is the child now?" asked Mr Weasley, a small note of relief in his voice.
"He has been moved from St Mungo's and is currently staying with Aaron and Lucy Shacklebolt, with his mother staying in a hotel under the belief that her house is currently being restored after a water pipe broke. She believes her son is with her mother, but she does not feel the need to call and check." Dumbledore's mouth gave that familiar twitch of amusement, though Harry knew this time it was masking a twinge of sadness.
"What will happen to the child?" asked Hermione quietly, "he can't stay with Aaron and Lucy forever!"
"Quite right," Dumbledore affirmed, examining his long, slender fingers. "There is a small amount of debate as to what to do about that. There is obviously the view that keeping the child as far from that house as possible is the safest move and I can certainly see the sense of that. However there is the matter of people who know Mrs Hinks, the child's mother that is, will get very suspicious. This is particularly the case as she has started having meetings with a child psychiatrist, and we happen to know that he has advised her to set into a routine, and the idea of uprooting would be most surprising. I do not know how they would react to a sudden disappearance. I would value all of your opinions on this issue." He looked expectantly around the group. Harry was caught off guard, although evidently Ginny was not.
"He should remain with Aaron and Lucy," she said quickly, "The worst that could happen is that some people might fear she has gone missing and this can be covered by leaving a different voicemail message on her answer phone saying they've been forced to move away for a while for some reason... a family member in need or something."
"I have to agree," said Mr Weasley, turning his attention from his daughter to Dumbledore, "I think we can sufficiently cover for her being away. We could even make it seem like it was her who had the illness... a mental breakdown or something."
Dumbledore looked slightly crestfallen, but Harry sensed that he had resigned himself to this already. "I can't say I am overly fond of the idea, but I can certainly see the wisdom behind it. We will have to move Mrs Hinks to Aaron and Lucy's house as well, but I do not think we can keep them there indefinitely. We will move them to a house nearby where Aaron and Lucy can keep an eye on them. I will see to it immediately." Dumbledore gave a short nod to the group as he rose, before heading out the door. Having a sudden thought, Harry followed him.
"Professor," Harry called after him.
"Yes, Harry?" replied Dumbledore, turning to Harry. Harry took a breath.
"How safe is Godric's Hollow?" he asked quickly. Dumbledore's face creased slightly.
"With both Mr Ronald Weasley and yourself, thanks to Mr Pettigrew that is, acting as Secret Keepers, I would have thought that it would have been pretty safe especially, if you'll forgive me a moment's indulgence, as I provided the enchantment. May I ask why this issue is pressing on your mind?"
"Well," Harry said slowly, trying to choose his words carefully, "it is nothing to do with the strength of the charms... it's just that I'm worried about what Andromidus and Regalus said. They took Neville for looking out for Ginny. It was as if they knew exactly where she was." Harry paused. "It was as if they had seen her."
Dumbledore eyed Harry with those piercing blue eyes. "I see. Ginny will be returning to Hogwarts in a few weeks, am I correct?" Harry nodded. "Would you be more comfortable if you were in also in Hogwarts?"
Harry considered for a moment. "Would it be possible?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Of course Harry. You've earned any help the wizarding world can give."