The Thief of Hogwarts
By: Bluminous
A/N: I don't own Harry Potter
Chapter 16: The real Deal
"You have a sample?" Dumbledore asked.
Filius nodded and gave a phial filled with brown powder to the headmaster. "There seems to be some anti magical properties in the powder, that's why we couldn't vanish the smoke right away."
"I do not believe the twins are capable of modifying their stink bombs to that level." Albus said.
"And they're not." Filius chuckled. "The combination of the smoke catalysts and the concentrated essence of the stink bombs made it highly volatile, prone to multiplying its volume by a factor of two if we attempt to vanish them. I'm pretty sure they just stumbled across it while they prepared for their pranks."
"Good." Albus nodded in approval. "I do not like the idea that Weasley twins are somehow working in league with this dangerous individual. Whoever this intruder is, he used the prank as an opportunity to break into my office, which is a feat that even the most powerful wizards will find quite difficult."
"So it's not Lucius then?" Filius asked.
"We are not sure yet. Apparently the Malfoy Lord was in the three broomsticks while the prank occurred." Albus said. "We cannot really remove him from the list of possible suspects. He might have brought in an expert thief hidden in an invisibility cloak."
"You are still annoyed, I can tell." Filius said. "It's not just the lemon drops, is it old friend?"
"That does irritate me Filius. Everyone knows that it is my trademark sweet. No, what concerns me more is that someone has the capability to break into my office even though it is the most secure room in Hogwarts, short of a Fidelius Charm cast on it." Albus said. "Thankfully, nothing is stolen aside from my sweets and the bowl. Imagine if the intruder had more time, he would have been able to take the mirror of Erised or some of the rare magical artifacts."
"He probably didn't expect you to come into your office so quickly." Filius suggested. "Why did he only steal the bowl though?"
"I think the intruder was there to make a statement, or to spite me." Albus said. "And by stealing my bowl of sweets, it only points to Lucius Malfoy, who shares the same fondness for the candy as I am."
"Then it's just a series of unfortunate events then?" Filius asked. "First, the mutated stink bomb, and then Lucius apparently hires an expert thief to break in to your office and only manages to steal your bowl full of candy."
"It's not just a bowl full of candy..."
"Fine, your bowl of lemon drops." Filius rolled his eyes. "What is our next move?"
"I plan to increase the security of Hogwarts." Albus said. "That is why I called you here, to talk to your relatives on your father's side."
"You have got to be kidding..." Filius said.
"I am not old friend. Until the issue is resolved, as Headmaster I will hire the goblins of Gringotts to increase the protection of the school."
"Albus, the Goblins, they're not as tolerant as the aurors!" Filius said.
"That is why I need you to talk to them." Albus smiled. "Will you do it?"
"Of course." Filius nodded.
"Thank you Filius." Albus said. "Lemon drop?"
"Where did you get that?" Filius asked. He opened the wrapper and began to suck on the sour tasting candy.
"I found some in my old robes." Albus grinned. "Though they are only a few decades old, I'm sure the taste is the same. Just remove the mold growing and it will taste just fine."
Filius Flitwick scowled and spat out the candy.
***************
"What's so funny?" Perenelle asked when she noticed Apolline was smiling while she sipped her tea.
"I just noticed something, grandmamma." Apolline said. "It's about you and your husband."
"Oh?" Penny raised her eyebrows at the half veela. "What do you find amusing about us, dear?"
"Ever since Harry came into our lives, I noticed that you and Nicholas are happier. You have started to attend our parties again, and stopped your habit of living like hermits."
Penny smiled and looked at her 'great grandchildren' that were lounging around in the garden. "Having to outlive our children and great grandchildren is painful, and Nicky and I decided to refrain from having contact with our descendants."
"We know." Apolline said. "What made you change your minds?"
"Harry... and all of you." Penny said. "Our family is growing, and Nicholas and I felt that it will be a waste not to share our lives with the children."
"Aren't you afraid that it will happen again?" Apolline asked.
"Not anymore. We have stopped drinking the elixir." Penny smiled. "Nicky and I thought that we should live the rest of our natural lives peacefully"
Penny looked around looking for her husband. "Where is Nicky?"
"He's talking with Harry and Julian." Apolline said. She looked at her daughters and found them happily picking flowers while Harry's friend Tonks walked across the shore of the small lagoon, her feet submerged in ankle deep water.
"It's almost time for lunch." Apolline stood up and adjusted her skirt. "I think it's a good idea to have a picnic outside, it's a beautiful day."
Penny agreed and waved her wand, making a picnic table and chairs materialize out of thin air.
***************
"This diary is a Horcrux." Nicholas said as he prodded the small book with his wand.
"Whore what?" Harry asked.
"A Hor-crux." Julian said slowly. "Are you sure Nicholas?"
"I'm sure." Nicholas said, his face dead serious. "This is how Lord Voldemort managed to live after you vanquished him Harry. It's very dark magic."
"How?" Harry asked, eyeing the diary warily.
"A Horcrux is a vessel to contain a part of his soul." Nicholas said. "It is the darkest of magics, designed to cheat death by anchoring one's soul to earth."
"Can we destroy it?" Julian asked.
"There are only two ways to destroy a Horcrux." Nicholas said. "The first is to summon a Fiendfyre."
"That's dangerous." Julian said. "Summoning a fire elemental is extremely difficult, and the caster can get consumed by his own elemental. Very few wizards can control a Fiendfyre, and even they have a hard time maintaining control over it."
"I can summon a Fiendfyre, but I'm afraid of the destruction it will cause." Nicholas said. "There is another way, and I am grateful that the sorting hat gave you that sword Harry."
"Gryffindor's sword?" Harry asked. He barely played with the sword, since he didn't like its design. He wanted a samurai sword, like that of his favorite toy Snake Eye's.
"It's a metal made by Goblins." Nicholas said. "The property of this extremely rare metal makes it virtually indestructible, and it only grows stronger and absorbs the properties anything it can contact with."
"Absorb?" Harry scratched his head. "How does a metal 'absorb'?"
"I'll explain." Nicholas smiled. "There are very few substances on earth that can destroy a Goblin wrought metal, that's why they are so valuable. If I submerged the sword in a concentrated cauldron of some unknown and powerful Acid for a prolonged period, the metal will eventually dissolve. However, if I pulled out the sword after exposure, the properties of the metal will make it immune to the acid, and obtain the acid's corrosive properties."
"So acid can destroy a Horcrux?" Julian asked. "Is that the other way aside from Fiendfyre?"
"No, a Horcrux can be protected from corrosive substances. There is only one substance on earth destructive enough to kill the soul fragment and its container even with its protective enchantments." Nicholas said. "Basilisk Venom, and we need a good quantity of it too."
"Do you know how rare that is?" Julian said. "The only known Basilisk in existence is in Romania, and that thing has its eyes blinded. It barely produces any venom in sufficient quantities we need."
"I've seen that snake." Nicholas said. "It's barely ten years old, and a Basilisk's venom grows more potent as it ages. Harry here knows of a Basilisk that is at least a thousand years old."
"A thousand years?" Julian gasped. "Basilisks never stop growing! That thing must be huge!"
"It's a big ass snake." Harry said. "It can swallow Hagrid without difficulty."
"Where did you find it?" Julian asked.
"At Hogwarts." Harry explained. "Her name's Georgina."
"Georgina?" Julian asked. He poured a good quantity of brandy into his glass, knowing he would need it as his future son in law began to tell of his adventure.
*******************
"I'll go easy on you Harry" Tonks grinned. "Don't worry."
"Harry will defeat you." Fleur crossed her arms. "He is a powerful wizard."
"Thanks Fleur." Harry smiled at his betrothed. "But I've seen Tonks in a duel and she's pretty good. This is going to be difficult."
"Duelers at the ready!" Julian shouted. He looked at the two combatants standing at both ends of the marked dueling area and raised his wand. "Begin!"
Green sparks shot out Julian's wand and the two duelers immediately moved into action.
Tonks fired off a disarming charm and Harry side stepped the attack and at the same time fired a stunning curse in reply.
Tonks eyes' widened when her familiar let out a powerful stunning curse, and a nonverbal one at that. She rolled to the ground and returned fire with a salvo of stunning and disarming curses as she observed how Harry would respond.
Harry moved to his side to present a smaller profile to his opponent and flicked the curses that headed towards him, making Julian smile proudly.
Tonks watched dumbly as Harry easily deflect the curses with his wand. She was expecting him to summon a shield charm and was prepared to send a barrage of banishing curses but it seems her familiar was more skilled than she expected.
Grinning with delight, she stepped up the level of the curses and moved the sideways, making it difficult for Harry to lock on her. Harry copied her actions and both started a running battle and the power and complexity of their curses increased.
Tonks was pleasantly surprised at how good Harry was at dueling. The young thief used his mobility to evade most of the curses, and only used his shield to block the curses Tonks sent that could not be flicked aside with his wand.
Tonks training with Moody showed, as she was unpredictable in her actions and rarely used the same moves twice. Slowly but surely, she was getting the upper hand in the duel as harry was forced into the defensive from Tonks' salvo of curses and hexes.
Harry panted as he ducked and rolled to evade another series of curses and returned fire. Tonks was a machine, never letting up in her duel and she didn't even give him time to regain his breath. Harry realized Tonk's plan, she was trying to wear him out.
He knew Tonks was clumsy at times, but whenever she dueled with Moody, she barely made mistakes with her footing. He looked back at Tonks, her hair cycling in different colors in excitement and he decided to launch a desperate attack before his stamina was depleted.
Sticking to his strengths, Harry ran full sprint towards Tonks, ducking and diving, ready to use his secret weapon.
Tonks wondered what Harry was up to as he continued to run towards her. Harry leaped and she immediately pointed her wand as he flew through the air, ready to send a stunning curse at him.
Suddenly Harry changed in mid leap and Tonks found herself staring at Kit, his green eyes accentuated by his black fur. Tonks hesitated in her attack and Kit attached himself on her chest, but a moment later Harry transformed and his unexpected weight sent both of them tumbling on the grass.
"Gotcha." Harry grinned as he pointed his wand at Tonk's neck.
"That's cheating!" Tonks complained. She heard laughter and looked up to see Fleur, her mother Apolline and the famous Flamels smiling at her.
"It's not cheating!" Harry said. "I'm not allowed to fade in the duel so I decided to exploit your weakness."
"You knew I would hesitate when you transformed into Kit." Tonks pouted.
"I had no choice." Harry said. "You were too good."
"Good duel" Julian approached the two combatants who were lying down on the grass. "I can see why Moody picked you. Very good Tonks, with a little more training you will become a top rate auror."
"Thank you Mr. Delacour." Tonks said happily. Getting praised by a former dueling champion was something she appreciated.
"I have to admire your cunning." Julian said to Harry. "But next time, try to defeat your opponent using your wand. Not everyone is a cat person."
Harry nodded and he stood up and offered a hand to Tonks who was still lying on the ground. The auror trainee regarded her familiar and decided to take revenge for his earlier actions. She suddenly pulled her familiar to the ground and they tumbled and laughed as they rolled through the grass.
"Let me go!" Harry whined as Tonks pinned him to the ground.
"Uhuh" Tonks shook her head sideways. "You need to be punished for that stunt you pulled."
"But you fell for it." Harry smirked. "Sucker."
"That's it!" Tonks declared. She immediately tickled Harry's sides making her familiar laugh out loud.
*****************
"Mama!" Fleur walked up to her mother who was busy talking with Perenelle.
"Yes dear?" Apolline smiled at her daughter.
"That Tonks! She is taking Harry away from me!" Fleur complained. She looked back at her betrothed who was still rolling around the grass with Tonks and Gabrielle who decided that what they were doing was fun.
"They are just having fun dear." Apolline said. "Why don't you join them?"
"I do not like this Tonks." Fleur crossed her arms defiantly. "Ever since she came here, Harry has been paying less attention towards me."
"Oh?" Apolline raised her eyebrows. "I remember you were just talking with Harry the whole morning."
"He is not paying attention to me now!" Fleur sniffed.
"Darling, perhaps Harry's interests are changing." Apolline said softly. "Instead of playing with him, why don't you show him the other side of a relationship?"
"You mean the one you forbid me to reach him Mama?" Fleur asked excitedly.
Penny and Apolline shared a look for a moment before turning back to the young witch. "Yes, I think your future husband is old enough to learn more about kissing. You must train him to be a good kisser Fleur."
"Of course." Fleur smiled. She looked at where her future husband and younger sister were playing with Tonks and took a deep breath. The young witch pursed her lips and tossed her hair and headed to the laughing trio.
"I think young Fleur is jealous." Perenelle smiled.
"She is not used to sharing Harry's attention." Apolline continued setting the picnic table. "Usually when Harry is here, all his free time is devoted to Fleur."
"He shares a familiar bond with Tonks." Penny said. "No one can blame them for being unnaturally close to each other."
****************
"Who wants to help in the food?" Apolline looked up from her chores list. It was a yearly tradition for the Delacours to arrange the Christmas preparations themselves. Apolline felt it would be more intimate and genuine if only the family were present and decided to give the servants a long well deserved vacation.
"I already picked up the Tree." Julian said.
"I'll help!" Tonks said cheerfully.
"Thank you Tonks." Apolline checked her list, indicating that the young auror trainee will be responsible in helping with the food.
"That only leaves the decoration of the Christmas tree." Apolline looked at her youngest daughter and Harry who was eyeing her freshly baked tray of cookies like a predator. "Harry, you will be responsible for decorating the tree, and Gabrielle, please help your brother in law."
"Oui Mama!" Gabrielle said happily.
"I have never decorated a tree before." Harry said. "Is there any particular theme to it?"
"Just make sure the decorations are shiny, and something that we will all admire." Apolline said. "And don't forget to use the fairies, they arrived yesterday."
"Right, fairies." Harry said. "Let go Gabby!"
Fleur watched as her little sister skipped along the hallway with Harry and she smiled as she tied an apron around her waist. "Those two are really having fun."
"You know Gabrielle never really had a big brother to look up to before Harry." Apolline said fondly. "Anyway, let's prepare the roast. Tonks, be a dear and help prepare the sauce?"
"Yes Mrs. Delacour." Tonks said.
"And honey, start preparing the batter. You know how hungry Julian and Harry can be." Apolline said.
The two young witches nodded and began to perform their assigned roles, occasionally giving each other a neutral look.
****************
Apolline palmed her face when she spotted her Christmas tree while Nicholas and Perenelle, used to Harry's antics, just laughed as they looked at the Delacours' reactions.
"We are going to get arrested." Apolline mumbled. "Julian! Don't bring anyone here! If anyone sees this..."
"I already blocked the Floo." Julian said. He drained his whiskey and sat down beside Nicholas who patted him in the shoulder.
"You will get used to it." Nicholas grinned, enjoying the much younger man's reactions. "You should have seen his Christmas present to me last year."
"Harry, what were you thinking?" Apolline asked, frustration evident in her tone of voice.
"You don't like it?" Harry asked. He patted Gabrielle's shoulder and both children looked at the Delacour Matriarch. "Gabby and I worked hard on it."
"Don't you like our work Mama, Papa?" Little Gabrielle asked, and she looked like she was about to cry.
"Of course we do!" Julian said immediately. "It is just very different, something we are not yet used to."
"You said you wanted something shiny." Harry pointed out and looked back at the Christmas tree that he and Gabrielle spent hours decorating. Various bracelets, necklaces and other jewelries adorned every branch of the tree, along with Gabrielle's doll collection.
"Harry, where did you get all these?" Tonks asked weakly, she was having a hard time coping with Harry's hobby. It was one thing to hear about his exploits, but it was completely another thing to see the evidence of his exploits in full view for everyone.
"It's my secret stash." Harry said. "You like it?"
"This must be worth millions." Tonks whispered.
"You can have anything you want Tonks." Harry said. "Pick anything."
"Look at the bright side Julian." Nicholas patted the French noble man in the back. "You have the most expensive and admittedly shiny Christmas Tree in France."
"Yes, Harry sure picked the shiniest and sparkling jewelry he could find." Julian admired the glint of the Christmas tree against the light of the Faeries. He could see more than one Fairy enjoying the jewelries and he spotted one using a ring as a tiara on her head.
*****************
"You have some nerve to talk to me." Nicholas said.
"Nicholas..."
"Where is my stone you... thief." Nicholas said.
"It is still in the mirror." Albus replied. "I'm afraid it is stuck there until we can examine it more thoroughly."
"It's stuck now isn't it?" Nicholas tried to hide his smile. "Make sure to find a way to get it back."
"Do not fear Nicholas." Albus said. "I shall put my best effort in recovering the stone."
"Which means nothing."
"Excuse me?" Albus asked.
"That won't work on me Albus." Nicholas said. "Now, why did you floo me?"
"I need your help." Dumbledore said. "I need you expertise in warding. The Goblins have offered to add additional protections for my office, but I need your expertise."
"Having security problems Albus?" Nicholas asked. He spotted Harry's toy and decided to use it to get rid of Dumbledore.
"Yes." Albus nodded. "Someone has broken into my office, but thankfully I arrived just in time to prevent anything from being stolen. You know how important it is to secure my office against future incidents."
"I'm not interested. Now shoo! I got things to do." Nicholas dismissed the Headmaster of Hogwarts with a wave of his wand.
"But this is important." Albus insisted. "Don't you want to recover your stone? It might get stolen if you don't help me."
"I said get out." Nicholas was getting angry.
"Nicholas..."
Squirt! Squirt! Squirt!
"Ahck!" Albus cried when he felt jets of liquid splash in his face.
Nicholas grinned and enjoyed emptying Harry's water gun at Dumbledore's face. Albus tried to protest but Nicholas aim was true and a jet of water hit the supreme Mugwump's open mouth.
Dumbledore choked and coughed and finally admitted defeat and withdrew his head from the fire.
"That felt good." Nicholas Flamel grinned and waved his wand to refill the squirt gun. "Can I have this Harry?"
"Sure." Harry removed the invisibility cloak and sat in his chair. "Well? What do you think?"
"I think you need to contact Mister Lupin." Nicholas said. "He might be able to explain why your Godfather is currently incarcerated in Azkaban."
"Can Julian do anything about it?" Harry asked as he read the will again.
"He has no jurisdiction in Britain, you know that Harry." Nicholas said. "He only learned through his contacts that Sirius has never been charged with anything. But..."
"Yeah?" Harry leaned forward. He sensed the old man's hesitation and he was curious as to why. "What is it?"
"There are unconfirmed rumors Harry... that your Godfather was the one that betrayed your parent's location to Voldemort." Nicholas said softly as he removed his glasses.
"Of course, nothing has been proven yet." Nicholas quickly added when he saw Harry's expression. "Calm down Harry."
"He was the reason my parents were murdered." Harry said. He clenched his fist and was surprised to see that his hands were shaking. He rarely got angry, and feeling it now surprised him.
"That's why you need to write to Remus. If he is part of the real Marauders that created the map like you suspected, maybe he can shed light on why you ended up with the Dursley's instead of following your parent's will." Nicholas said.
"I'll write him later." Harry said. He stood up and headed towards the window and observed the rain that fell down heavily. "When will I get the venom from Georgina?"
"When you get back to school." Nicholas said. "Write to this Remus Lupin alright?"
"I will." Harry said. He remembered that Tonks was waiting for him and he waved good bye to the old man and faded back to France. Tonks always knew the right words to say.
*************************
"Harry?"
The young thief stopped watching the duel between Tonks and Julian and looked up to see his betrothed smiling at him.
"Hi Flour." Harry said, hoping to get a rise of his betrothed. He patted the spot beside him and continued watching his familiar battle a master dueler.
"Harry, would you like to learn something new?" Fleur asked. She looked at Tonks who had just finished the dueling exercise and was now taking notes from her father. Perfect.
"New?" Harry asked. "Will it be fun?"
"I'm sure you'll enjoy it." Fleur said. Jealous of her other friends in Beauxbatons who have experience in kissing boys, the young quarter veela decided to rectify the situation.
"What is it?" Harry looked at her and she smiled and placed both hand on his cheeks.
"This."
Suddenly Fleur leaned closer to her future husband and gave him a deep kiss right on the mouth.
"Mmmmphh." Harry tried to ask what she was doing but he felt something invade his mouth. He realized it was Fleur's tongue and he looked wide eyed at his future wife.
Harry didn't know what was happening, but one thing he was sure though was he liked it. Fleur finished her kiss and leaned back and smiled at seeing her betrothed's dazed look.
"Well? Do you like this new game?" Fleur asked sweetly.
"Can we do it again?" Harry asked, his eyes wide as he looked at the older girl.
Fleur gave a sly look at Tonks who was watching them and kissed her betrothed once more. Her Mama was right, Harry was ready for the next stage of their relationship.
*******************
A/N: Many thanks to Perspicacity