Chapter 23

Meeting of the Minds

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Office of the Headmistress

It was an eclectic group that met in Minerva McGonagall's office. There was, of course, McGonagall, but there was also Harry, Hermione, Tashimoto, Flitwick, and Ron. They were representing the school. From the DMLE, there were Madam Bones, Alastor Moody, and Tonks. Flickaxe and Warcry were there from Gringotts, but in an unofficial capacity. Gringotts would have been highly upset had they known of the real reason for their presence. Rounding out the group were Dobby, Arthur Weasley, and Severus Snape.

Once the entire group had been assembled, Harry called for their attention. "I must show you something, however this must be kept secret." He then got Moody's attention, gesturing slightly at the walls, then scratching his ear. The old Auror got the message. 'The walls have ears.' He continued, "I must ask everyone here for an oath not to reveal what I am about to show you." The wizards, at the urging of Moody, complied, and swore on their magic to remain silent.

"Why don't the others have to take the oath?" Hermione asked.

"Dobby is already bound to secrecy, and since this is a Wizard's Oath, it wouldn't be binding anyway. Besides, the goblins have a greater reason than just losing their magic to comply with my request for secrecy. Now that that is out of the way, please follow me." He then led them out of the office toward the second floor girl's bathroom. The students, Snape, and Dobby knew where he was going, but Ron decided to have a bit of fun.

"Gee, Harry. I didn't know you swung that way." This had the effect of lightening the mood slightly.

Entering the restroom, Harry went over to the sink. Just then, Myrtle stuck her head over the toilet partition, saw the group, and gave a frightened squeak as she dove back in the toilet and down the pipes. Hissing, "Open!" in Parsaltongue, Harry opened up the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

"What the…." Madam Bones started.

"Everything will be explained shortly," Harry said as he led them down the stairs that had been installed by the Hogwarts elves. When they reached the bottom, Harry pointed his wand back that way they came and hissed, "Close!" He then pointed his wand at the sconces to light them and led the way into the Chamber proper. He had them take seats at the conference table, then began.

"I would like to start with Ms. Granger. Hermione?"

"Thank you. I was asked by Harry to research the Dark Mark, with an eye toward its origin, power, and the possibility of removing it. With Pro… excuse me, Mr. Snape's assistance, I found out quite a few things."

"The spell used to place the Mark on a person not only binds them to Voldemort, " some people still winced at the name. "but also acts as a channel that Riddle can use to drain the magic and life force from his subjects should he need it. That is why, when he was disembodied so many years ago, marked followers seemed to have a slight drop in their magic at times. My hypothesis is that he was leeching from them necessary power to keep himself active. He would have stayed alive without it, but would have been in a completely dormant state. The magic in the mark is such that, even should the arm where the mark is placed be lost, such as an amputation, the properties of the Mark would remain. You may equate it to a tapeworm. Unless you get it all, it cannot be removed."

"The origins of the Mark come from the binding spell used to enslave house elves." At this, there was quite a stir, with Madam Bones breaking into a rare smile. "That's right, house elves. I would think that the purebloods who support him would have nightmares knowing that Riddle turned them into oversized house elfs."

"Is nothing wrong with being a house elf," Dobby stated, slightly offended. "We is more powerful than wizards anyway! I would think Mr. Malfoy should have been glad to be likened to a house elf." This had the effect of giving most of the wizards a severe case of the giggles at the mental image of the late Lucius Malfoy in a tea cozy.

"I never said there was anything wrong with it. Your people have a proud heritage, I was just making a point." Hermione conjured an easel with a cut open drawing of the human anatomy. "As you can see, the Mark has two tendrils of magic stretching from the mark location to points in the body. Since the life force is in the blood, one tendril stretches from the Mark to the aorta, the largest artery in the body. The other ties in to the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, that part which make you what you are. My research shows that while the tendril controlling the life force actually goes through the wall of the aorta in order to make contact with the blood, the one that draws magic just lays on the surface of the brain and doesn't penetrate. In order to remove the Mark, it will take a team of four people, two for each tendril."

"Just how would that work?" asked McGonagall, fascinated.

"You would have to have one person on each team drawing the tendrils free while the other person encapsulates the ends in a covering so that they cannot re-extend and leech back in. As soon as the one in the aorta is withdrawn, the person who is working on the withdrawal will need to stop and close up the hole in the artery to keep the person from bleeding to death internally. A simple healing spell will do that. Once the encapsulation and withdrawal from the organs is complete, the Mark can be lifted completely from the body." Hermione then moved the first drawing off the easel to reveal a board covered with a complicated arithmancy formula. "The biggest problem with lifting the Mark from the body is that the spell will have to be done in Parsaltongue….. in reverse."

At that, everyone looked at Harry. "And just how am I supposed to do that?" he asked.

"What you will have to do is speak the spell forward, I can record it, then it can be played backwards and re-recorded. You would then study that recording until you perfected it. Remember also that much of magic is in the intent. You will have to concentrate on the intent while you are doing the spell. Once the mark is off the body and the tendrils out, you can either place it in a container for evidence or banish it."

"The other thing that I discovered was that the exterior look of the Mark can be duplicated, along with the summoning spell, without the parasitical effect. That is the end of my report, I believe that the floor goes to Flickaxe."

The goblin spoke up. "This ties in with what Ms. Granger reported on the duplication of the Mark. Working without official sanction, I have been able to plant surveillance devices inside the Dark Lord's residence." There was a gasp from Bones and a look of admiration from Moody. "Right now, he is in a bit of a weakened state. Some of your students played a prank on him which caused him to lose his eyesight. I don't know if it is permanent or temporary, but right now, Delores Umbridge has taken the place of Bellatrix Lestrange and is dealing one on one with the Death Eaters in his stead."

McGonagall snorted. "If she is as incompetent with him as she was here, Riddle should be out of business in a week."

"As a Death Eater, she seems to be a lot more competent than in her other jobs. She has actually come up with a viable alternative should her master not regain his sight naturally. Mr. Moody gave her the idea."

"The damned eye," muttered Mad Eye.

"Yes, she has obtained a pair of implantable magic eyes for Riddle, but has not let him know about it. The shopkeeper, however, had a sense of humour and told her that the only color he had was green, the same color as Lord Potter-Black's eyes. He apparently figured out who they might be for, it seems that the Death Eater who purchased them inadvertently showed his Mark." This brought a groan from Harry about fan girls copying him.

"The idea that young Mr. Weasley came up with should put a dent in his ability to communicate with his troops through Umbridge. I will turn the floor over to him."

"Thanks. What Harry and I came up with was to have Tonks use her ability to impersonate one of his new recruits. Umbridge doesn't know all of them anyway. Tonks could have the imitation Mark put on, then infiltrate and tell Umbridge that she has captured Harry. That would bring Umbridge running so that she could bring Harry to Snake face and get the credit. She is good about stealing other's glory for her own means. She could then be re-arrested so Voldie would not have her close support."

"Auror Tonks, would you be willing to do that, go in the snake's den, so to speak?" Madam bones asked the young Metamorphmagus.

"If it will help bring this war to a close quicker, then yes. I have lost too many people close to me, just like everyone else here." Harry walked over and gave her a quick hug.

"I think that it will help," he told her.

"Then I will give it my blessing," said Director Bones. "I am wondering what this 'prank' was that was played on Mr. Riddle that caused the loss of his eyesight."

For some reason, all of the students and the goblins broke out laughing. "This was rich," said Harry. "I can show it to you, but you must understand that it does not have a 'family friendly' rating. You should also have a very strong stomach. The only reason that I won't show it is that some people could get in big trouble with the Ministry. I would have to have an oath that anyone involved would not be prosecuted. The other thing is that I want legislation similar to that which was passed during the last war to be enacted."

"And what legislation would that be, young man?" asked Bones.

"Simple, we are in a war, not some kind of schoolyard dust up. In war, people get killed. Right now, the only ones killing are the Death Eaters. The rest of the populace are passive targets. When you stun a Death Eater, one of his compatriots will just revive him. That happened several times in the DoM. I want those of us fighting this war to have all of the tools to take the battle to the enemy. That includes the Unforgivables and even Muggle weapons if necessary. A society at peace can afford to put away violence, but we are not at peace. We have an enemy who has no restrictions or consciences when it comes to killing or torture of not only combatants, but also innocents. The Muggles know this better than we do. They have wars where kids fight, led by adults who fought when they were kids. These kids have to kill, but when the war is over, they lay down their weapons and go live normal lives. Sure, they will probably have nightmares, killing is a terrible thing, but they do it not out of hatred, but out of a sense of duty."

"Most of you do not know it, but there was a prophesy made before I was born. It says that I must either kill Voldemort or he must kill me. One must die at the hands of the other, neither can live while the other survives. That seems pretty plain to me. Now Hermione doesn't believe in Divination, but that does not matter because Voldemort believes the prophesy, at least the part he heard. I am sure that he has figured out the part he didn't hear. That stupid prophesy is the reason my parents are dead, the reason that he has not left me alone since I was eleven years old. It is the reason that every Death Eater wants to be the one to capture me for their Master."

"I have faced the fact that I have to kill Voldemort. And I will, by whatever means necessary, but I will not go to prison for doing it, no matter what means I use to do it. I also will not allow anyone else who kills in defense of other innocents to suffer. Either the law will change or wizarding Britain will fall."

"And just how do you plan to carry out that threat, Mr. Potter?" Bones asked coldly. "I have gone along with you so far, but these kinds of demands are ridiculous."

"Simple, the goblins have decided to support me in this war. Not the Ministry, they despise the Ministry. Should this legislation not pass, all assets belonging to those who fight it will be frozen and moved out of the country. I want to ask Mr. Weasley something. Arthur, would you support me in this effort to bring down Voldemort, no matter what the means?"

Arthur Weasley showed then why he was a Gryffindor. "To the death, Harry."

"Fine. Now for the big surprise. There are two heirs of the Founders in this very room, and both of them support this." Harry called under his breath, "Fawkes!" The phoenix flashed into the room, holding the Sorting Hat.

"Arthur, please put your hand into the Hat and withdraw what you feel in there." Arthur did so, and brought forth the Sword of Gryffindor. The sword blazed brightly and Arthur was encased in a golden glow. He suddenly did not appear to be the henpecked, muggle focused husband of Molly Weasley, but rather a warrior. The room was stilled in shock. Madam Bones cleared her throat.

"And who is the second Heir?"

"Me," Harry replied. "I am the Heir of Hufflepuff. It was confirmed by Gringotts last week." Harry walked over to a cabinet that the elves had brought into the Chamber, reached in and withdrew two items. The first was an amulet which he placed on the table, the second was a golden cup with a stylized badger on the front. "This amulet," he said, "Can only be worn by the heir, no one else can even touch it." Hermione attempted to pick it up, but it seemed there was some sort of field around it that would not allow her hand to come within six inches of the object. The others also tried, with the same results. Harry picked it up and placed it around his neck.

"The cup was what held the potion, along with some wine, that weakened Salazar Slytherin to the point that Godric Gryffindor was able to banish him from Britain when Slytherin attempted to overthrow Hogwarts. Lady Helga has always been underestimated, she was more Slytherin than Slytherin. It was she and Godric who banished Slytherin, Lady Ravenclaw had been mortally wounded by that time, although she was the one to come up with the plan. Dumbledore had hidden Arthur and my heritages, it was only by accident that I found out about it. Voldemort is the Heir of Slytherin, Arthur is Godric's heir, I am Helga's. Ravenclaw died childless, her Heir is whoever holds the position of Head of Hogwarts. That would be Headmistress McGonagall now. Albus never found out about that, a prior Headmaster took that secret to the grave. It was only through the Goblin's research that we discovered it. It was a good thing that the knowledge had been lost, at one time, Umbridge could have claimed it."

"In that case," said McGonagall, "There are three of the Founder's heirs supporting Lord Potter-Black."

Harry led McGonagall over to the cabinet from which he had retrieved the objects belonging to Hufflepuff. "I was not able to touch this, being that I am not Ravenclaw's Heir, the goblins, as the safe-keepers for the estate had to place this in here." He opened the door to the cabinet, McGonagall reached in and withdrew a staff. When her hand made contact with the artifact, she had a similar glow as Arthur.

Ron was still trying to take in the fact that his father was Heir to Gryffindor. "Mate, how were you able to use the Sword in second year?"

"The Sword determined that I had a Gryffindor attitude. I am also related to the Gryffindor line through my mother, albeit distantly. Remember when Albus was tried? He had kidnapped my mother and aunt when their family died. She was related to both the Prewitts and Weasleys. It worked, but no better than any other sword would have. It is only the true Heir who can use it to its potential. Since Godric set his inheritance rules up to favor the youngest son, that means that you are the Heir apparent after your dad."

Bones was floored. The Founders had reserved seats in the Wizengamot which had never been claimed. "You three will need to claim your seats in the Assembly. With the power of three heirs, you should be able to pass just about whatever you need. Lord Potter-Black, that will give you three votes, and Arthur and Minerva will each have one, although those votes will, by the very fact of ownership, be very influential. I don't believe that there will be any worries about having to win the war by whatever means necessary. I will speak in favor of your bill. The hard part will be convincing those fossils in the Wizengamot that you are who you say."

Harry grinned. "That will not be a problem, once we declare, their magic will do the convincing. The Goblins have tested and certified me, they will do the same for the others. Every wizard who has gone through Hogwarts will have to acknowledge the Heir of their house. Jonathon Dumbledore, not being a Hogwarts student, is exempt, and the Slytherins will still recognize other Founder's heir, even if not the specific Founder. Since there are three Founder's heirs, and none of us claim to be Slytherin's Heir, it will even be obvious to them that we are who we say."

"I just wonder why this was never in 'Hogwarts, a History'" griped Hermione.

"Simple, Hermione," said Harry. "Everyone has their secret, it is not up to anyone who can pick up a book to discover them. Otherwise, they are not secrets. That is one of the reasons I had everyone swear an oath before they came down here. I want the three of us to claim our seats next week so that we can get the legislation through. Meanwhile, we need to begin work on the other things. Hermione, I need you, Professors Tashimoto and Flitwick, along with Professor McGonagall to work with Severus to remove the Mark. I will start on that spell formula. Arthur, you and Ron need to work on strategy to end this war. Don't leave anything out. If I need to use a sniper rifle or drop a damned bomb on Voldemort, don't discount it because it might be a muggle thing. What we need is as little collateral damage as possible. Flickaxe, you and Warcry need to identify Voldemort's lackeys in the Ministry. If you have to call in hit teams to get rid of them, no problem. I am, as of now, posting a 10,000 galleon reward for the removal of all Ministry Death Eaters. That is dead or alive. If you can set them up for arrest, fine, just make sure that you have the evidence. Only marked Death Eaters can be collected on however. If they are just sympathizers, try to get enough evidence to force them out. Tonks, Hermione and Severus can put the phony Mark on you; once they do, it will be up to you and Amelia to infiltrate you into the DE ranks. Any question?"

Hearing none, Harry led them back up the stairs and into Hogwarts proper.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Voldemort's Hideout

Two Death Eaters were in the process of being tortured by Umbridge. They had failed in their assignment of trying to recruit some foreign students to their ranks. Umbridge released the curse after about three minutes, then berated them and sent them on their way to try again. After leaving the throne room, one turned to the other.

"How do I get out of this chicken outfit?"

"You don't," the other grimaced. "Just be glad that she doesn't have much talent. Compared to the Dark Lord and Bellatrix, that Crucio was like being tickled."

Meanwhile, Umbridge went into Voldemort's room, fed him dinner and changed his bandages. "It should just be another week before we know how bad the damage is, My Lord."

"Excellent, please kneel before me."

"Yes, my Lord." Umbridge knelt, but not directly in front.

"Crucio!"

Umbridge screamed until Voldemort released the curse. "Now, finish the assignment I gave you and find out how to get me Potter!"

"Y-yes my Lord." She backed out of the room, snickering to herself. The filthy half blood had missed with his curse.

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I'm going to stop this one here since I am not usually one for 10,000 word chapters. Coming up we will have the Heirs claim their seats, lots of fluff and some down and dirty fighting. As always, I covet your reviews….they let me know how I am doing.

Hamilton