"Molly, is Arthur going to be here soon? There's something we need to discuss with you two, Ronald, Hermione, and Ginny immediately." Remus looked her straight in the eyes, trying to impress upon her the gravity of this situation.
The Weasley matriarch was immediately sent into a frenzy of worry, though she tried not to show it. "He just got here. What do you need to tell us, Remus?" She asked as they walked toward the kitchen, where the children were eating dinner.
"Recent events have caused us to re-evaluate our trust in a certain headmaster. We've recently come across some documents that you need to see and act upon. I will not tell you more until everyone is assembled in the kitchen and we have put up the proper charms," Severus answered for the werewolf, as he had become the leader of the "save-Harry-from-manipulating-Headmasters-and-crazy-relatives group".
Severus' eyes swept over the teens, who were currently engaged in what seemed to be a stimulating discussion on why Quidditch was better than muggle sports. He didn't want to ruin their happiness, but reality was more important than happiness at this point. Arthur, it appeared, had just come in and was nibbling on a sandwich. He looked up as the other adults slowly filed into the kitchen.
"Children, Arthur, we need to speak with you about a rather urgent matter. Please pay attention." Minerva looked sternly at the three teens at the table and then took a seat next to Arthur. As soon as Sirius and Severus had completed the spells that would let them know if anyone came into the house, the two men sat on opposite sides of Minerva.
"What do you know about Harry's mother?" Severus looked at each of them. Had Hermione been keeping quiet information that she had known for years? By the look on her face, he knew that she was about to launch into a very long and detailed explanation on Lily's entire bloodline. "Go ahead, Ms. Granger. I can see that you know much more than you've been letting on."
"Firstly, her name was really Liliana Aurelia McGonagall Black-Malfoy, and she wasn't a muggleborn like almost everyone thinks she was…" Ron listened intently as she rambled on, with a few words here and there from Severus, Sirius, and Minerva about the Malfoy situation and why it was absolutely essential that they help Harry as soon as possible.
"Thank you, Ms. Granger. I have no idea where you got your facts from, but they were correct. We have recently discovered that Albus Dumbledore has been manipulating several events in the fairly recent past. This involved blocking the natural abilities of several children, beginning with Aurelia McGonagall, Lily's mother, and continuing on to today. The spells that he's either placed or tried to place on the people in this room are listed in the papers that Remus has just handed to you. It is important to make sure that every single spell is removed tonight, so that we are all at full power when we remove Harry from his relatives care. We'll begin with Arthur." Severus inclined his head toward the slightly shocked man. "Are there any spells on your parchment that have not been broken or cancelled?"
Arthur shook his head. "The only active spells are the Unbreakable Vows that all Ministry employees are required to make upon accepting a job. I'm clean."
Next was Molly, who was now angry. Very Angry. "I have three different compulsion spells, a fertility spell, and a blocked Affinity for Plants ability." Her eyes scanned down the list. "And four Obliviates, all placed by Albus." She looked completely disgusted.
"Arthur, if you could take care of those spells upstairs, it would be appreciated. It would probably be best if Molly was not in here when we get to your children. This house is rather old you know." Minerva headed off any possibility of Molly releasing wild magic in the kitchen, where it could be potentially dangerous when fueled by as much anger as she felt. Arthur nodded and he and Molly headed out of the kitchen despite vehement protesting by Molly.
"I've got a blocked Affinity for Charms, a Dark Attraction Charm, and blocked Transfiguration Talent." Ginny snorted. "The Dark Attraction Charm explains a lot, doesn't it?"
"Your whole first year could have been avoided! That man deserves…"No one got to hear exactly what Hermione thought Dumbledore deserved because Minerva sent a silencing spell at her.
"Being agitated will not help you when we take the spells off of you, Ms. Granger. Please collect yourself."
"Ginny, come with me. It might be the night after the full moon, but Lily and I didn't study how to get rid of semi-dark spells for nothing." Remus and Ginny left the kitchen, leaving only the two almost-fifth-years, Minerva, Severus, and Sirius.
"Blocked Speed Reading/Photographic Memory, blocked Animagus, blocked Affinity for Plants and eleven Compulsion Charms. That's insane," Ron muttered.
"Sirius, you've got experience with removing Compulsion Charms, don't you?" Minerva asked, clearly trying to get Sirius and Ron to leave so that she and Severus could question Hermione alone.
Thankfully, Sirius caught on to what Minerva wanted and he and Ron left.
"Before we remove the several Compulsion Charms, blocked Animagus, and blocked Affinity for Animals that we know you have, we'd like to know if you have any suggestions on how we should proceed. If you think it would be wise to pursue getting Severus and Sirius completely cleared of all previously alleged wrongdoing…" Minerva looked at Hermione. She knew that the girl would have some opinions on what they should do, and felt that they should at least listen to what she had to say.
"Our side would have a lot more freedom to work against Dumbledore and Voldemort if we had experienced wizards like Sirius and Professor Snape able to do things out in the open. Is there someone at the Ministry, though I know it's unlikely, considering Fudge is the minister,that would have an open mind about our situation and would be willing to listen to what we have to say before taking one glance and throwing the two of them back in Azkaban?"
Severus and Minerva looked at each other. "Amelia Bones," they said together.
At this point, anything was worth a shot.