On the day that the Quidditch World Cup game would be played in Great Britain, Nymphadora Tonks was given a choice. Moody asked if she wanted to work with the Aurors guarding the minister's box or with the Aurors working in the crowd to keep control of the rabble – uh – upstanding citizens.
After only a moment's thought, she replied, "I'm better today in the crowd."
"Why do you say that?" asked Moody.
Clearing her throat, Tonks explained, "My mother's estranged sister is Narcissa Malfoy. The only time I ever remember my parents meeting the Malfoys in public was in Gringotts when I was fourteen. The goblins were already nervous because I was in my natural form. When auntie saw me, she fainted. Lucius Malfoy drew his wand and pointed it at me inside the bank. My father threw himself in front of me, my mother shouted for sanctuary, and the goblins chopped Malfoy's wand in half. My dad told me that the goblins banned Lucius from setting foot inside the bank for a year because he drew his wand."
"I'm certain the wizard paid a fine in gold as well," Moody added.
The young witch shrugged and continued, "Uncle Lucius is likely to pull out his wand and throw curses around if he saw me."
"What about your natural form disturbed your aunt so?"
Tonks smiled wickedly as she dropped her metamorphic changes and returned to her normal appearance – a twin of Bellatrix Lestrange. With a simple change to her black hair to grow long, and her clothing to rich black robes, Nymphadora Tonks appeared as a young Bellatrix Black, one of the most beautiful witches in Magical Britain.
"Bloody hell, Tonks," Moody said. The venerable Auror tried to stand too quickly and stumbled slightly as he sat back down. "Are you certain there's not vela blood in the Tonks line?"
Returning her hair to bubble gum pink, altering her cheeks, and making her stature slightly shorter, Nymphadora Tonks smiled, "Once Lucius Malfoy is in custody, I can walk into the room and help with his interrogation. My mother always said that Lucius lusted after Aunt Bellatrix and that's another reason she fled rather than marry him."
"A word of advice, Auror Tonks."
"Sir?"
"Never allow Rufus Scrimgeour to see that form. He'd force a marriage contract on your mother and father at wand point for his eldest boy, if not for himself."
"Carter Scrimgeour is a pig!" Tonks declared.
"But he's a rich pig who'll inherit his mother's family name and be a Lord in the Wizengamot whenever old Lord Ogden dies. You're too beautiful! And so, you must be as deadly as your aunt to keep unwanted men at a distance."
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGE / Leaving the World Cup EarlyNight finally came and on the fields around the temporary Quidditch Pitch on a deserted campground somewhere in Britain, thousands of wizards and witches gathered. There were huskers selling popcorn, butterbeer, and souvenirs with the team colors for the Irish and the Bulgarians. From her vantage point up a tree, Tonks saw the Weasley tribe with Harry Potter and the bushy-haired, muggle-born witch who followed him around Hogwarts.
There were good-spirited shouting contests between the fans of the opposing teams, but the majority of the crowd was British, and they came just to see an exciting game. With muggle binoculars, Tonks watched the minister's box and found it interesting that Barty Crouch, Sr.'s absence didn't seem to cause any concern for Cornelius Fudge. Lucius Malfoy had invited Thomas Mulciber and Evan Rosier to use Crouch's seats. Tonks smiled – they were two more Death Eaters with warrants for arrest.
The game was underway before Greg Avery and the Malfoy family arrived. Narcissa fussed over her son and Nymphadora wondered if it was a trait among the Black family to hover over their children.
'Possibly when there's only one child,' she decided.
After thirty minutes of play, Greg Avery left the box and never returned. Rosier and Mulciber made some excuse to leave after another thirty minutes of play. Both men vanished as they reached the bottom step of the stadium.
There were cheers among the Irish fans when their seeker dove for the snitch with the Bulgarian, Victor Krum, close behind. After another period, Lucius spoke to his wife, who actually frowned in public but nodded her head once before her husband went to the minister and spoke for a moment.
Then the man with white-blond hair descended the stairs and he too disappeared from the stadium. Alastor Moody appeared at the bottom of the stairs, cast several spells, and knowing Tonks was watching, made a thumbs-up gesture.
The Irish won the championship game, but Krum had the snitch. Tonks decided, 'A good game. I need a good fly sometime soon.'
As the crowd began to apparate away or return to the campground to settle for the night, Tonks dropped from the tree and made her way through the crowd to check on the squibs who ran the campground. As she reached their home, she froze for a moment. Five figures in Death Eater regalia approached the house, their wands at their sides, and masks on their faces.
With none of the other Aurors in the area, Tonks dropped all her changes and then adopted the hair and robes she'd displayed for Moody earlier in the day. Stepping forward she mimicked Aunt Bella's sing-song, "Playtime! Are there games to play tonight?"
"Bella! How are you here! What are you doing? How did you?" the Death Eaters shouted and gave Nymphadora the opportunity to throw a spell chain that put three of the terrorists on the ground with broken limbs. However, two of them dropped before the spell could impact, and Tonks got the fourth wizard with a bombard spell that threw him fifty feet through the air.
The fifth Death Eater, the only witch, tried to apparate away, but Tonks cast Expelliarmus and took her wand in the middle of her spell. The witch vanished with a scream as her body disintegrated without a magical focus to drive her destination.
"Ugh," said Tonks as she adjusted her image and incarcerated the four prisoners after summoning their wands and portkeys. Then she performed triage to staunch wounds and bleeding. After all these tasks were finished, she sent her Patronus, a white rabbit, similar to the ones muggles pulled from their magic hats to Auror Moody (retired). The Auror appeared with four other Aurors and began their investigation.
"The dead witch," Moody asked. "Any idea who?"
"No, but the others probably know."
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGE / Interrogations / 25 August 1994During the day, Amelia read and made notes from the interrogations of Barty Crouch, Jr., Barty Crouch, Sr., and Peter Pettigrew. The Unspeakables from the DOM transported Barty Crouch, Jr. off to experiment with the Polyjuice and record the results. For all she knew, they'd subject some prisoner they held to the Polyjuice and look for the results. Whatever they decided, Crouch, Jr. would be returned the next day for trial.
Barty Crouch, Jr.'s magical core had been compromised permanently by the doses of Polyjuice that contained the hair of the fake Alastor Moody. The metamorphic magic of Nymphadora Tonks in Alastor Moody's form doomed the man to forever cycle through the metamorphic forms she'd taken during her life.
'Execution is actually kinder than throwing him back in Azkaban,' Amelia decided.
And the first report about the homunculus baby was terrifying. The Unspeakables believed it to be the original piece of Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort – what was left after the wizard made Horcruxes many years before. Preliminary tests indicated the idiot made multiple soul jars. The Unspeakables had several spells underway at the moment looking for the other soul jars.
Looking up from her desk at one point in the afternoon, Amelia wondered why she'd Albus Dumbledore had not appeared to interfere in her investigations. She knew there were several Aurors who reported on matters to the headmaster despite their oaths and she preferred to leave them in place for now – better to know the Aurors with conflicting oaths than to have to guess once again.
To flush out the information she needed, Amelia walked down the hall to the doorway of the office of the Head Auror and asked if he knew Dumbledore's location. From the bullpen, Auror Emmaline Vance declared, "He's dealing with the ICW and the last-minute details for that tournament at Hogwarts this year. I hear he won't be back until the night of the thirty-first."
Smiling at Rufus, Amelia said, "We have our deadline."
Barty Crouch, Jr., if he survived his visit to the DOM, would go on trial first tomorrow. Scrimgeour and Bones agreed on that the only sentence suitable was for the wizard to be thrown through the veil. Likewise, for the second defendant tomorrow, Barty Crouch, Sr., because the father broke his son out of prison and used an unforgivable for more than thirteen years on his son. The Wizengamot members would decide if the Dementor's Kiss was the first punishment or if the Death Eaters would simply be thrown through the veil.
The third trail would be important - Peter Pettigrew would confess under veritaserum to being a willing Death Eater and that all marked Death Eaters were willing to join the Dark Lord's terrorist group. He'd been the Potter's secret keeper and betrayed their trust, leading Lord Voldemort to the cottage, framing Sirius, and hiding in his rat form for over a dozen years.
Only Arthur Weasley had been informed of Pettigrew's presence in his family home – with Arthur's cooperation, Amelia would not reveal that fact to anyone.
From both Death Eaters under veritaserum, Bones had a complete list of Death Eaters and now Scrimgeour had legal, binding warrants for the arrest and questioning of each suspect with more veritaserum. Once Pettigrew testified in his trial that the dark mark was only able to burn itself into the soul of a wizard or witch if they freely chose to become a Death Eater, every pardoned Death Eater would be proven to have lied under oath. The truth serum was mandated by law in such cases.
'I hope we're lucky and get one or two more of those bastards tonight,' Amelia thought.
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGEReturning to the DMLE after supper with her niece at the Abbot family home, Amelia Bones waited patiently for Rufus to share any situation reports he received.
At 9:30 PM, Greg Avery was deposited in a secure room where he was stupefied, stripped of his robes, wand, and portkeys, and then moved to a second secure room where he was stuck and strapped into a chair. A gag was used to prevent any protests. By 10:15 PM, Thomas Mulciber and Evan Rosier were strapped to chairs in the same room. The suspects were blindfolded and turned away from each other to not allow them to see their fellow terrorists.
At 11:00 PM, the grand prize appeared in the secure cell; Lucius Malfoy was stupefied before he could stop spinning from the port key. Rufus had his list of questions ready and once the blond terrorist was stripped and bound, the truth serum was administered, and the questioning began.
From an observation room, Amelia listened and was surprised at how resistant Lucius proved to be against the truth serum. She grinned; this was more evidence that he could not have been under the Imperious curse for years as he'd claimed in 1981.
When Moody and Tonks appeared with more Death Eaters with robes and masks, Amelia's smile threatened to brighten the whole department like Yule decorations. Included in this second string of captives were 'pardoned Death Eaters' Stanley Goyle, William Crabbe, Amycus Carrow, and Antonin Dolohov. Using truth serum, Amelia questioned the first wizard, she sent an additional question to Scrimgeour.
'Ask them if they were going to join in the terrorist action at the World Cup?'
In a conversation with Moody, Amelia learned about the witch who had apparated away in pieces. While under the truth serum, Amycus Carrow confirmed that his sister Alecto had been with them earlier in the night. Bones informed the Death Eater that his sister had died in a botched apparition. The Death Eater's reply was, "At least she went fast."
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGE / Trials / 26 August 1994Cornelius Fudge was apoplectic and some flunky at the Ministry for Magic would be fired before the end of the day.
Today was Friday but it was a bleary-eyed morning after the Quidditch World Cup where the after-party didn't end until 3:00 AM. The vela cheerleaders from Bulgaria were very friendly, and he needed to nurse his hangover with Hair-of-the-dog, a nasty potion that used the hair of Irish Wolfhounds to dispel the headache, stomachache, and burps that tended to set papers and wallpaper on fire after a wizard spent the previous night drinking Ogden's Finest Fire Whiskey.
Only Merlin knew why, Dolores Umbridge, his Senior Undersecretary at the ministry, called on the floo at 6:00 AM. Old Mrs. Fudge, (Cornelius's mother) and Young Mrs. Fudge (Cornelius's wife) were not amused with Minister Fudge's mistress calling them at the hour when only house-elves were awake. Dolores had hinted she would like to become the next mistress for 'dear Cornelius' mistress on more than one occasion, but the minister shuddered when he imagined the witch in any state of undress.
His eyes bloodshot and his head throbbing in pain, the minister listened to the witch screech for only a minute before he threw his large mug of tea on the fire, quenching the flames and dousing Dolores with hot tea with the Hair of the Dog mixed together.
The day went downhill from there for Cornelius.
When his wife roused him about noon, she plied him with more Hair of the Dog (the long hair never fully dissolved in the potion and felt weird as it slid down his throat). It took until almost 2:00 PM for him to dress and re-light the fire in his floo. Then it took another fifteen minutes to make the floo connection.
His mother said, "Why is the floo so slow this afternoon? They are only this slow to join when there is a tremendous amount of traffic in the floo system."
About 2:17 PM, Cornelius Fudge stepped through the flames of the floo in his home and into the Atrium of the Ministry for Magic. There were larger than normal crowds pushing their way forward, trying to access a floo. Only mildly intelligent, Fudge was a politician through and through. He noticed how many witches had tears in their eyes and how ashen-faced many wizards looked.
Unfortunately, he was not good with charms and when he attempted to cast a notice-me-not spell on himself, it backfired and caught the attention of dozens of his constituents.
"It's Fudge! He let Malfoy loose! He took his money!" were the kinder comments shouted by the crowd. Aurors quickly pushed their way through the crowd and surrounded the Minister.
Auror Proudfoot refused to touch the minister's arm, but he did indicate a path being cleared to the elevators. Proudfoot stated, "Sir, you're presence is needed in the courtroom."
"A trial? Who called for a trial on a Friday afternoon?" demanded Fudge as his headache returned.
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGE"Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge asked once the grill across the front of the elevator compartment.
Proudfoot replied, "I do not know, Minister."
"Who is overseeing the trials?"
"Lady Marchbanks was selected as the first Grand Warlock. After the first three trials, Lady Longbottom took over. She is strongest on proper procedures and the law."
Still confused, Cornelius asked, "How many trials have there been?"
Thinking carefully about how to answer the question, Proudfoot deflected the question by explaining, "Last night, there was a terrorist attack at the World Cup after the game. You had left for some party, but we captured and questioned the terrorists. They were after ministry officials, and you were one of the primary targets. Everyone from the ministry was a target."
"Me? Assassins?" asked Fudge. "Is it safe? Merlin, someone needs to call my wife and tell her to lock down the house!"
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGEAt 2:45 PM, Cornelius Fudge arrived outside the courtroom doors.
"Sorry Minister Fudge, but there's a trial in session and the doors are sealed," said the Auror standing at rest in front of the large doors.
"Do you know…?" Fudge tried to bluster but then deflated as his headache surged again. "Of course, you know who I am."
From down the hall screeched the voice of his Senior Undersecretary, "Cornelius! Where have you been!"
Fudge groaned and covered his eyes as the voice continued to screech as she grew closer. "They've been kissing purebloods and throwing them through the veil in the DOM all day long! A hundred wizards from good families have been murdered! It's a witch-hunt just like the muggles used to do!"
"Secretary Umbridge, please lower your voice and explain the situation slowly," Fudge attempted to coax the witch to moderate her tone.
"No! I won't! You wouldn't listen to me this morning before this massacre started! But you're going to listen to me now!" she screamed, drawing her wand, and pointing at the minister.
An Auror grabbed the witch's wand out of her hand, and said, "Dolores Umbridge, I arrest you for threatening the life of the Minister for Magic."
Seeing the look of malice and hate on the witch's face, Cornelius shivered in fear and declared, "Umbridge, you're fired! Your office will be cleared out and your personal belongings will be sent to your home."
"We'll have to hold her until next week, Minister Fudge," Proudfoot informed the minister. "The docket today is full."
Grimacing, Cornelius said, "Take her to the Atrium and send her through the floo to her home. We can pick her up when the trial is ready."
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGEAt 3:00 PM the doors of the courtroom opened and a group of Aurors levitated a body from the room. Fudge wasn't certain who the man was, but he was dressed in Death Eater robes with his white mask stuck to his thigh for everyone to see. The body was breathing but the eyes were glazed and looking at nothing.
"That man's been kissed!" Cornelius declared and looked at the Aurors around him.
Nodding his head, Proudfoot informed the minister, "Every terrorist was kissed and then thrown through the veil in the Department of Mysteries."
For a moment, Cornelius Fudge thought about turning around and running for the Atrium to floo home. But he found a solid wall of Aurors blocking the hallway, and again Auror Proudfoot motioned to the courtroom, "This way Minister Fudge. There is much to tell you this afternoon."
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGEStepping into the well of the courtroom, Cornelius noted that Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour both looked tired. The many members of the Wizengamot were dressed in purple – today they sat in judgment of wizards and witches for crimes against Magical Britain. Glancing around the room, Cornelius did not find any of his regular supporters in their seats – Malfoy, Avery, Mulciber, and Rosier were all absent.
"Amelia, what is the meaning of this?" Cornelius attempted to bluster.
From the chair where Albus Dumbledore sat when he presided over trials, Lady Augusta Longbottom declared, "Minister Fudge, you are fined fifty galleons for missing a session of the Wizengamot where trials were held. I hope you are flush with the coins, or you'll spend the night in a holding cell until Mrs. Fudge pays the fine."
"Would you care to enlighten the minister about today's proceedings, Head Auror Scrimgeour?" Amelia offered. She felt kindly toward the ambitious man because he had helped her convict eleven Death Eaters and Barty Crouch, Sr. today.
Bowing his head, Rufus said, "Thank you, Director Bones. I will be glad to review the trials with Minister Fudge now."
After declaring the head Auror to be lying or mistaken three times in the first two minutes of review, Augusta Longbottom declared from her chair, "Fudge, shut up and listen! Your life may depend on it!"
The discovery of Barty Crouch, Jr., being alive and free, was unbelievable. The fact that his father, Barty Crouch, Sr., had used the Imperious Curse for twelve years to control the Death Eater was sickening. The presence of an alive Peter Pettigrew was just as impossible and despite assurances from multiple people, Cornelius refused to believe it. A Pensieve was produced, and Fudge was forced into Augusta's memory of the trial for the man who resembled a rat.
"What happened to his hands?" was the first question Cornelius asked of Rufus inside the memory. Then the dead man was forced to take the truth serum and testified about leading the dark lord to Godric's Hallow in 1981. Pettigrew also admitted to helping to kidnap Alastor Moody two nights earlier and planning a ritual that would restore the Dark Lord to human form. As an afterthought, Scrimgeour questioned Pettigrew about Sirius Black and the wizard admitted framing the man for the murders of the Potters, the muggles, and himself.
Once free of the memory, Cornelius was given a list of other Death Eaters questioned under truth serum today and the various crimes they admitted to including murders, rapes, robberies, and lying under oath in 1981 to escape Azkaban. Fudge read the list and had to sit down on a step; the names included Greg Avery, Thomas Mulciber, Evan Rosier, Lucius Malfoy, Stanley Goyle, William Crabbe, Amycus Carrow, and Antonin Dolohov.
"Here's another memory you must see, Minister Fudge," Scrimgeour insisted, pulling Cornelius into the memory from Lady Longbottom again. This time the terrorist being questioned was Lucius Malfoy.
"Did you intend to join with the other Death Eaters at the World Cup and spread terror?"
"Yes," Malfoy replied gleefully.
"Did you plan to kill ministry officials?"
"Yes, all we found."
"Did you ever bribe a ministry official?" asked the voice of Amelia Bones in the memory.
"Yes, all the time."
"Name the biggest bribes and the official you gave galleons or other wealth or consideration."
"Millicent Bagnold got the biggest bribe I ever paid at one time. She was paid two million galleons to pardon me, Goyle, Crabbe, the Carrows, and Dolohov back in 1981."
"Who else?"
"Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge. The Undersecretary was the bag-witch between us, carrying cash from me to the minister."
"What did you bribe Fudge to do?"
"Everything. Every piece of legislation he presented was what I wanted. Dolores had her own hexes to throw at werewolves and muggle-born, so I just stood back and let her hack away at them."
When he fell out of the memory, Cornelius looked up and found himself staring at the glowing tip of the wand in the hand of Auror Alastor Moody (retired). The Auror stated clearly, "Cornelius Fudge, I arrest you for accepting bribes and conspiring to corrupt the Ministry for Magic."
Rufus Scrimgeour ordered, "Proudfoot, show Minister Fudge to a secure cell. One that only Director Bones or I can open."
As he was led from the courtroom, Cornelius thought, 'At least I sent Dolores home. It would have been an impossible hell with her screaming every five seconds.'
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGEFudge was escorted from the chamber, his destination, a holding cell in the DMLE. Amelia Bones thanked the many members of the Wizengamot for their service at the end of a long day. Lord Ogden made a motion to the Wizengamot that they formally remove Cornelius Fudge from his position as Minister for Magic and in the same breath, suggested Madam Marchbanks as temporary minister until a special election could be held in thirty days. The combined motion was seconded by Lady Longbottom and passed by acclamation vote.
Then in a surprise move, new Minister Marchbanks spoke about another change and called for a new Grand Warlock of the Wizengamot. Lady Augusta Longbottom was selected as the new head of the Wizengamot by a second acclamation vote. Rufus began his campaign for the job of Minister for Magic before the chamber was cleared, and Director Bones made her way back to her office, satisfied with the day's end.
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGE / Still 26 August 1994Nymphadora Tonks was tired. She'd had little sleep last night with the many prisoners brought in for questioning under veritaserum and then for their trials that began the next morning. Her only question for Moody this afternoon had been, "What was the rush?"
"What do you mean?" Moody asked.
"With trials for the Death Eaters and Crouch, Sr. were all held the morning following their arrest. Don't they deserve counsel?"
Snorting, Moody replied, "Look around. Think about who's here and who's not."
The young witch replied immediately, "Fudge and Dumbledore are both absent last night."
"Fudge partied with celebrities and vela until late. I imagine some flunky finally got through the Fire Whiskey fog to make him come to the ministry. If he'd been available last night and not snockered, Fudge would have been screaming to release Malfoy and all the upstanding purebloods."
"Is he a blood purist?"
"No. Cornelius Fudge is bought and paid for with Malfoy gold," Moody said while shaking his head.
Nymphadora was silent for a moment considering the depth of corruption for a senior Auror to just declare that the minister was a simple puppet. She asked, "And Dumbledore?"
Alastor frowned and sighed. "The former Grand Warlock would be preaching second chances for every one of the prisoners – no matter that they've murdered hundreds of people – magical and muggle. He tries to redeem the evilest people in Magical Britain while allowing them to kill, torture, and maim the innocent."
There's some trauma in Dumbledore's life that makes him try to redeem people who are lost to all goodness," Moody explained with uncharacteristic insight. Tonks nodded, remembering her own disgust at the headmaster's protection of Severus Snape.
Thinking of the potions professor for a moment, she looked at Alastor and said, "Think Director Bones might be interested in speaking to Snape now about how he got that tattoo on his arm?"
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGE / Still 26 August 1994Amelia was tired but listened to Alastor and Tonks in her office. She sighed and evaluated the pros and cons of moving against Severus Snape that night.
'We don't know where he is at the moment,' she knew. 'And everyone is tired.'
Everyone felt the sudden surge of magic in the air. Alastor's magical eye whirled wildly and Tonks backed into a corner of the Director's office as all of her disguises fell. She pulled a cap from a pocket to hide her long black hair. Amelia gripped the arms of her chair and waited.
A wave of magic flowed through the ministry, rising from the Department of Mysteries, and spreading across the whole of the British Isles. In London, the magic grabbed soul pieces of Tom Riddle in a decaying townhouse and a vault in Gringotts. In both cases, the enchanted item collapsed into dross and no longer contained any magic.
In Ottery Saint Catch Pole, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter crawled into his cot in Ron's room for a nap. Ron and the other Weasleys were busy with daily tasks, and Harry was safely hidden in the bedroom; the previous night at the World Cup had been fun but he needed more sleep. Just as he fell asleep, something grabbed his scar and Harry rolled over in his bed moaning in pain while the scar on his forehead broke open, expelling a piece of Tom Riddle's mangled soul. Black ichor flowed across the boy's head and soiled his hair and pillowcase. A sluggish ball of magic moved away from the teenager, passed through the walls of the Burrow, and rose in the air. It was pulled toward London.
When the wave of magic flowed through northern England, a ring in a shack was corrupted and fell apart when the soul piece dissolved. From the manor house where Tonks had been held for an hour, the remnants of the soul piece that had been in the large snake flew away, racing to London. And then finally in Scotland, in the hidden castle of Hogwarts, a jeweled diadem collapsed as the magic holding a piece of the soul dissolved. In the headmaster's office, a ruined diary shuddered and turned to dust as the final bits of magic fell away. The screaming soul that had been confined to the Chamber of Secrets for two years joined with other pieces and flew through the air toward London.
In the Department of Mysteries, the Unspeakables watched as the homunculus babytwisted in pain. One Unspeakable whispered, "I know it's not a real baby, but this is hard to watch. Babies are to be protected and loved."
The Unspeakables watched as the first six pieces of Tom Riddle's soul slam into the homunculus. With their wands drawn outside the ritual circle, they watched the small figure rise in the air, tumbling within the confines of the circle as the soul was reunited.
Young Unspeakable97 shouted, "Merlin, we made a mistake! He's not going to die! When his soul is whole again, he'll blow us apart and vanish into the night."
The Unspeakable23 pressed his wand against a runic array on the wall and prepared to die. A second touch of his wand to the runes would transfigure everything in the DOM into solid stone – even the air that filled the empty spaces would become granite. If he caught Tom Riddle's soul at the right moment, he'd save Magical Britain.
The homunculus baby opened his red eyes and laughed at the frightened Unspeakables. In his high-pitched voice, he declared, "I shall not die! I shall live forever!"
Unspeakable23 moved the tip of his wand toward the runes for the second touch to invoke the magic as the final piece of Tom Riddle's scattered soul arrived.
"It's different!" declared Unspeakable47 as they all watched this ball of magic moving slowly as it rolled and twisted in the air, as if it were in great pain. In the moments it took for the piece of Tom Riddle's soul that had been confined by the love and sacrifice of Lily Potter for thirteen years to cross the room and then slowly pass through the magical wards around the circle, the Unspeakables decided the magic in that piece of the soul was weakening. It was dying.
Seeing the last piece of his soul pushing through the wards, the homunculus babyscreamed, "No! Not again! Lily Potter! No!"
The final piece of his soul rejoined with the homunculus baby and the squeaky voice continued to scream, "It hurts! Burns! Her love for her brat kills me again!"
The homunculus fell still as the soul of the Dark Lord burned away. The body turned to dust that fell to the surface below as silence filled the DOM. Chief Unspeakable23 remained at his post beside the runes as others from the department cast spells to banish the dust and the memories in the space inside the circle. Only after new air had filled the ritual circle did they lower the wards. More spells were cast, and negative results were reported. Finally, Chief Unspeakable23 lowered his wand.
&&^^&& SCENE CHANGE / Still 26 August 1994As the feel of overwhelming magic faded, Amelia Bones stood and walked to her bookcase. There she grabbed a decanter of good muggle bourbon and poured a finger of the drink for Moody, Tonks, and herself. Moody was already standing as Tonks rose slowly from the corner, her hair short and bright pink once again.
"The Department of Mysteries has been experimenting with something this afternoon," Moody said.
"Go check it out and report back as soon as you know what's happened." Amelia considered the young witch for a moment and then added, "Take Tonks with you."
End of Chapter