The Monument Keeperoliver Chapter 3
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, but the storms in the area has kept my internet all screwy. I didn't want to lose any of my writing, so I waited for them to pass. It hasn't happened yet, but There is a break for now, so I will try writing a page at a time.
Things will start to return to the start of the story, at the end of this chapter. This one may be shorter than you are used to, but I hope it will be at least three thousand words. As always, Ollie the keeper.
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The bed time stories continued for Teddy, and he was starting to believe that his dad was making things up. Some of the things he said Harry did, was beyond belief. Was there such a thing as a Cerberus or three headed dog? How could someone take over the back of another person's head, controlling that person? How could an eleven year old boy, defeat a Professor just by touching him?
Yes, Teddy had his doubts about the story, but, the way his father told them, they were very entertaining. So, rather than question him, Teddy let his father continue on with the Fairy Tales, as he liked to call them. Father called them Harry's best moments.
This went on for two months, until Remus told him a tale that was just a bit too much. I mean really, a twelve year old boy killing a sixty foot long Basilisk that could kill just by looking at you? Then get poisoned by the same beast. A poison that kills in a matter of seconds, yet he survived? Let's be real. "Dad, up until now, I have listened to your stories, and have enjoyed them, but some times you get a little bit excited, and make up things that could not happen. Please try to be realistic with your stories so that I could once again enjoy them?"
Remus was taken back by this, "You mean you don't believe what I am telling you? You don't think Harry did all the things I said? You think I have been embellishing things to make the story more exciting? Theodore Remus Lupin, I swear on my mother's grave that everything I have told you is the truth. It is as exactly as I have told you."
"Dad, you want me to believe that a twelve year old defeated a 60 foot long Basilisk, then a wizard who became the most feared person to ever walk the face of the earth?"
Remus responded, "I never said that to you. I never said that Voldemort was the most feared person ever."
Teddy laughed at the indignation his father was showing. "Dad, believe it or not I can read. Aunt Hermione is a brilliant teacher. The thing is, why are you the only one that tells me these things? Since Hermione, Ginny and Ron were players in your tales, why is it that they never say anything?"
Remus straightened up, "Has it ever occurred to you young man that these tales might actually hurt them to bring back the memories that took place. Your AUNT Ginny was under Voldemort's control for the better part of a year. Is that something you would like to remember? Your AUNT Hermione was Petrified by the beast. Do you think she likes to reflect back on that? Your Uncle Ron saw his only sister taken to a chamber to be killed so that Voldemort could return. How would you feel if you had to do the same to save your sister? Would you like to remember the circumstances? I think not, and neither do they. They were dark times Teddy, and many things happened that people want to forget. You know what I was before Harry brought me back to life. I was a werewolf. Do you think I like remembering how I became a violent creature, loathed by the populace? Do you think how I would feel if, for some reason that because of my past life you became a werewolf, that it would be fine with me?"
The tears in Teddy's eyes were genuine. "I'm sorry Dad. I didn't mean to sound so doubtful. It is just if what Harry went through was like you said, then he should have been the most powerful wizard of all time. How could that be?"
"By having friends that believed in him, Teddy. Harry was never alone when he did these things. Her always had help. And to let you know, I have not yet told you the worst of the tales."
"Dad, do you think if I asked, Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron might talk to me about Uncle Harry?"
"All you can do is ask, Teddy. The worse they can say is no. This is the answer I expect from Your aunt Hermione, but you may be able to get your Uncle Ron to talk to you. But don't get upset if they both say no."
"I won't dad, I promise. I will say, that if what you have told me is true, then someone should write a book about Harry's life. It would make for a great read."
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Kingsley Shacklebolt was having one of the best days of his career. He could not believe the stroke of luck he got when Luna Scamander walked into the Ministry two years ago to apply for a position. Her walking in wasn't the luck, it was the position that was open for her to fill. The dept. of Mysteries was the hardest dept. for young witches and wizards to get into. Luna had to go against two other wizards to secure the job, and they both already worked for the Ministry, as Aurors. Draco Malfoy, and Seamus Finnegan had both put in for the position, with the backing of their Dept. Head . Luna had the backing of Hermione Weasley and Arthur Weasley. This did not sway the decision, but Luna's test scores and her knowledge of the unknown was what got her the position. Another thing that surprised the Minister was that both Draco and Seamus congratulated her for getting it.
Since filling the position, Luna had done some extraordinary things. She had become a field agent, and worked some of the strangest cases involving magical creatures. The Dept. decided to use her knowledge to fill this slot, and taking another from the field, and put him in the open position which was in research. The Dept. of Mysteries believed in using the best person when filling vacancies. Luna was excellent for research, but her knowledge of Magical Creatures was one they could not pass up on.
Another thing was that Luna was well liked by all in the department. If there was nothing going on with the field agents, she worked where ever she was needed, and excelled in all facets of each job. She was willing to work long hours, though was seldom asked to. Her husband Rolf supported her in her work, and did his best to not ask any questions concerning her work. Only when he saw her in a off mood did he become concerned.
Luna's life was finally becoming more focused since Harry's disappearance. She never believed he was dead, but kept her thoughts to herself. By using the time she worked with the other facets of her job, she was able to research her beliefs about Harry. She hadn't found anything as yet, but, it didn't stop her from looking.
Another thing the dept. did, was support any findings that the Universities made, especially if they thought magic was involved. Not too many of these showed up, and they were happy about that, as it meant they didn't have to obliviate any of the students or Professors. On the rare occasion where they had to, they only blocked out the situation concerning the magical portion. They supported all of the findings, so as not to show favoritism for certain articles that were found.
One such find, was guarded by Lethifold, and If Luna had not been there, a young lady would have lost her life to the dark creature. Luna used her bunny Patronus to save the girl, then had to obliviate her of the incident, but not the rest of the find. Another might have stepped in front of the girl to protect, and forfeit his or her life. Once the Lethifold was driven off, Luna did not let the situation rest. It was still around, and she made sure that it would not harm any one in the future. Luna set up a spell proof container that would hold the Lethifold. Once she drove it into the container. She did this, when she found the creature in a dark hallway, and used her Patronus to drive the creature into the container, and sealed it for the capture. She then banished it to one of the holding cells in the Dept. for future reference and study.
Yes, Kingsley was more than pleased that he someone like Luna working in the ministry. It was once again because of her that he was in the mood he was in. She had saved a village in India from an injured Nandu that was preying on the people that were so easy to catch. Normally they would stay away from inhabited areas, as they considered them like humans considered cockroaches, a pest. But when injured, they went after prey that was easy to catch, even if they were inferior to what they normally ate. It was also that they needed so many to satiate their appetite. A village that held 1,000 people would take a Nundu one week to destroy and dispose of it's occupants.
Luna had gone there when she first heard about the attacks, and was able to kill the beast, before it could do any more damage. She killed it by using a poison that Professor Snape had concocted using the remains of the Basilisk that Ron Weasley had brought back in his second trip down there.
Luna brought with her, many things her friends were good at. Both Professors and past students, such as the twins, Professor Snape, and Professor Flitwick. Hagrid was another one to help her at times.
With Luna on board, the Ministry was putting behind them all the bad that had been cast upon it because of the past leadership. It was not only Luna, but all that took part in the bringing down of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Arthur, Percy, Hermione, Draco and Seamus all combined to make the Ministry a better place to work, and to give the people confidence in who they had protecting them.
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Ginny had given birth to her and Deans first child, and they named him James Dean Thomas, in honor of Harry. She did not want to name him Harry, because of Dean's love for her. If she had named the child Harry, then her feelings for Harry would leave her. She was trying to get over Harry, but it was so hard for her to do. She had loved him for too long.
Hermione had also named her first born in honor of Harry, but because it was a girl, she had to find a name that was a female name but not Lily. She knew that if Ginny had a girl, she wanted to name her Lily. So, Hermione named her daughter Rose Jasmine Weasley. Jasmine had all the letters of James' name in it. She knew it was weak, but, she liked the name, as did Ron, so it stuck.
Seamus and Susan named their first born Harry Sean Finnegan, and this started a trend for people naming their new born sons Harry. As many as 35 children who were born into magic were named Harry. Sirius was also a name that became popular. Three children were named using Harry and Sirius, two were Harry Sirius, and one Sirius Harry. This poor youth was going to feel the brunt of many jokes when he got older. Of course, like Sirius, he would reply, "Of course I am. Who else would I be?"
Remus read the article in the Prophet about the names, and he was laughing about it at the table, when Tonks walked in. "What are you so happy about this morning, love?"
"Why has it taken seven years for people to finally start naming their children Harry? You would think after the first year they would have done it. And now, someone has even named their child SIRIUS HARRY. Who in their right mind would do that to a poor child?"
Tonks was laughing at the name she had just heard. "You do know that that child is going to be a Marauder, don't you? He has to be with a name like that. It will be his only defense. Plus, he will have a legacy to live up to, what with him carrying two names of it's founders. How many were named Harry Sirius? They will also have to live up to their namesakes."
"Two."
"Teddy will be fifth year when they start, so maybe he could draft them into the Marauders."
"Poor Minnie."
They both had a good laugh over that one.
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Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Filius Flitwick and Neville Longbottom had formed a strong friendship while Teaching at Hogwarts. They made a pact that while they taught the students everything they needed to pass their OWLS and NEWTS, it would be done in a fun environment. They did not want the students to become too involved in study to miss growing up as the children that they were. They all felt that during the Voldemort years, things were too serious, and the youth growing up then did not have a real childhood.
Although she never said anything to them, Minerva was proud of her Professors. The students were the happiest she ever saw them, and the grades were though not the best she ever saw, they were more than acceptable. There were no failures, or even close to what would be considered as failures. The average marks achieved were highly above average. Since Hermione and Luna left the school, there were no student that passed with nine NEWTS. Seven had been the most, and that was a rarity. It was usually six, which would get them any job they wanted. But with a happier student core, she was pleased with the results.
She was now looking into finding a replacement for Hagrid, as he wanted to leave with his brother Grawp, and search for other giants, and try to teach them their ways, and possibly become better citizens for the wizarding world. With Luna being so good at what she did, there was no way she would return to teach. It was too bad, as she would have been perfect for the position. It did not mean she didn't try though, She sent a letter to Luna, but Kingsley some how got a hold of it first, and cussed her out for trying to steal one of his best employees. He did ask her, and she would consider it.
With the tenth anniversary of the fall of Voldemort soon approaching, she wanted to find Hagrids replacement soon, so that she could prepare her part of the celebration.
At another school, a final event was in progress. Oxford Uni had been searching old castles for hidden room, passages and possibly artifacts. The castle they were now at was Carlyle Castle. They had been there for a week, and had found a few hidden passages, and they were about to end their search, when a young first year found a wall that had a stone that had ancient runes that were covered with mud, as if to hide them. When the young lady used her tool to try and scrape the mud off, the stone grew bright, and then the wall that was there disappeared, which led the students to a stair case. This led to the dungeon area. Four cells were found down there, and in three of them, they found the remains of people long dead, but in the fourth, they found a statue of a man that looked fairly recently made.
What amazed the Professor that was with the students, was the amazing detail work of the statue . There were even tears coming from the eyes that looked so real, it wanted to make you cry for the pain he must have been feeling when the work was done.
Once again, it was Luna who went to examine the find that the Uni had made. She didn't think much of it at first. She had seen other statues that were found in these type situations.
As she approached the stairway, she saw the rune work on the stone the young lady activated, and her eyes could not believe what she saw. After seeing enough of it, she knew it was the work of Tom Riddle. She refused to call him the bastard name of Voldemort. But if this was the work of Tom's, then why was he this far out. Then it hit her. What better place to hide someone he didn't want found.
Luna ran down the steps to the cell where the students and the Professor were, and asked to be let through. Kingsley had been right. He thought that the statue looked like Harry, and it did. Too much like Harry to be a coincidence.
Luna talked to the person who first found the statue to see if it had been moved, and if anything else was found on site. All paperwork and items found were turned over to her, as she had a letter signed by the prime minister himself. She carried it with her always, but had never had to use it before. She told the Professor that it was a statue of a fallen hero that no one knew existed. When asked who the hero was, Luna just said it was an un named hero. Another student then said, "If he is un named, then how is it we found a statue of him?"
"That is what we need to find out. Why is there a statue of him here?"
"How do you know he was a hero, if you have no name for him? I mean doesn't the government have records of all their soldiers?"
It was getting close to the point where Luna would have to obliviate every one, when the Professor saved her the task, "Miss Chambers, there are heroes to every day life that we don't know about. Perhaps he was a local hero, that someone made the statue, but died before he presented it to the local people."
Miss Chambers conceded the fact that it was possible for this to happen, and the question was dropped.
After the Professor and Students left the castle, Luna shrunk the statue down, and then left for the ministry. She set the statue up in one of the interrogation rooms. Both her and Kingsley felt that this was no ordinary statue. However, every spell they tried, failed to achieve success. They even had Hermione come down to try it, after they swore her to secrecy. This was to keep people from asking too many questions. Hermione was unsure that she agreed with Luna and Kingsley. Yes it was very life like, and very detailed. But unless it was a Basilisk that did this, then she knew of no other way. And if it was a Basilisk, then the curse is permanent.
Then Hermione and Luna spent the next two days going over the paperwork the Professor turned over to her. There were some oddities in them that neither could figure out. No names were used, but some times were mentioned.
In the mean time, Kingsley had been thinking of how to make this year's celebration better than ever, since it was the tenth anniversary.
He thought of the perfect solution, and needed to talk to Luna about it. She didn't like the idea, but could not find a good excuse to deny it. She would continue to research the paperwork, and try to figure it out, while the Minister presented the people with Harry's statue for the Memorial.
The Prophet was given the story to write, and they did a Good job of getting every one's attention.
MINISTRY TO UNVEIL A MASTERPIECE TO THE PEOPLE, OF OUR FALLEN HERO!
Luna continued to try and find a way to reverse the spell that was on Harry. She was positive that this was him. There had to be a way to bring him back. If this was to used to keep him from escaping before Tom was able to see him, then there has to be way to reverse it.
Then she had a flash of brilliance. If the spell was still intact, then that means that the caster of it was still alive.
Luna went over the list of captured death eaters, and the list of known death eaters still on the loose. The list for those still loose was very short, and they had been able to lay low, avoiding capture. The list of captured death eaters was much longer, and since the end of the war, that number has dwindled.
However, the one name that stood out was Lucius Malfoy. She got permission from Kingsley to visit him in the prison, and she now stood before the door that kept him confined. The dementors had been relocated to another part of the prison while she was there.
So much had changed after the war, and that included Lucius. He was a beaten person that hardly resembled the haughty person he once was. He now looked like a street begger, with the ratty hair and the stink of his own body wastes. However, he was quite talkative seeing as how he seldom had visitors. He also still carried the charm he once possessed when he was at his prime. "To what do owe the pleasure of this visit by such a beautiful lady Miss...?
"Mrs. Scamander, Luna Scamander. Mr. Malfoy, I have come here to ask you if you know of a spell that would break a curse that was put on someone that caused him to be turned to stone?"
Lucius sat there as if in thought, then answered, "I never heard of a spell like that. Petrificus Totalus is the only one I know. However, like any spell, if the caster should die, then the spell would be broken. But I am sure you already knew that."
"I did. But who could be capable of casting such a spell?"
"If the Dark Lord created it, and taught it to others, then anyone could do it. However, he was was very selective with who he let know his greatest magic. Inner circle members would be the only ones. I was never taught anything like that. There were thirteen members of his inner circle, and I know of only two left. Myself and my wife. The rest either perished at the last battle, or died here in prison. My wife was never given the mark so she would not be given such knowledge."
Luna got the list of names of the inner circle, and Lucius was almost correct about the others being dead. The one that she questioned was still said to be a prisoner. Albert Runcorn.
Luna thanked Lucius for his time, and left to visit Albert. Before she left, he asked her to stop by again for another little chat. She smiled and said she would try.
What Luna found in Runcorn's cell was a man who was all but dead. He had fallen victim to the dementor's drain on his spirit. In affect, he had been kissed. However, since he was not dead, and his magic still lived, it could mean that he had cast the spell that held Harry in his present state. Since she would get no answers from him, she went to the warden of the prison, and asked to see Runcorn's wand to check it with the Priory Incantatum. This gave her no answers, as it had been used to fight the Aurors in the village, and to travel there from where he was.
Luna felt sure that he was the answer, and since he was in all intents and purposes dead, she would finish the job. As she left the prison, she made sure that she passed his cell, where she paused for a second to look in the cell, and mumble one word, "Finite!"
It was enough to end Albert's existence.