Chapter 4 –Ron and Draco meet the menagerie
.
Things were changing at Hogwarts.
Daphne was now a black panther but unlike Tiger her claws were a bit large so we made an emergency harness for her transport. I wanted to be left with a few tail feathers. While Daphne and I started meeting in unused class rooms in remote parts of the castle it turned out to be ever so difficult. Difficult for Daphne to sneak in and out of Slytherin and I had friends that stuck to me like glue. While I could flame us to Godric's Hollow it was dangerous if someone came looking for us besides those classrooms were dusty and dirty. Our solution was to use each others beds. With the curtains drawn no one could see and people usually said something before ripping open your bed curtains. If anyone ripped open the curtains they found Daphne petting a phoenix. While that might be hard to explain it would be better than a Griffendore boy in her bed or a Slyherin girl in mine.
One day Luna had joined us at the Gryffindor table to pay attention to Neville. Daphne and I had just finished an enjoyable snogging session in a secluded nitch behind a tapestry. The article in the paper was reporting on a pureblood household being attacked. "Harry you don't think that you know who knows you know what."
"Only if he digs in the Ministry will he find you know what." I replied.
"So what's the you know what?" asked Hermione.
"It's the what that you know who knows not, silly"
"Why not?" Ron asked.
"No, because of where, is why you know who doesn't know why." Luna answered.
"What? Then why is a good question?" Ron growled.
"Why is if it's so bad for him to know why!" Luna replied.
"Does anyone know what we are not talking about?" Hermione yelled.
"Of course Hermione, Luna knows why he knows not but what he knows what and when it is not to be talked about. I think that sums it up nicely don't you?" I winked at Luna hoping we were talking about the contract.
/Scene Break/
Snape finally caught me in the hall, "Potter you are walking to fast in the corridor that will be five points and detention on Thursday at 3PM."
"Sure, just start without me if I'm not there."
"That will be another ten points for cheek."
I notified Professor McGonagall of the detention after I did a little modification on Snape's office door and the door to his classroom. Pay back is sweet and Sirius would be laughing when this was over. I visited Snapes bedroom and classroom chair. Being a phoenix got me by all the wards Snape had put up without tripping them. I also added a little muggle to each of my prank. If you don't use magic it can't be detected and a little muggle touch will get them every time.
/Scene Break/
"Albus I will not stand for this back door approach to get Potter taught 'Occlumency'. I am canceling the detention and I want you to call off your pet."
"I'm afraid that I must overrule your cancellation, the detention stands and Harry will attend."
Snape came charging in about that time not looking happy, "Some idiot had sealed my class room door and we can't get in past whatever spell he used."
This interested Dumbledore since Snape was quite able to take down a spell or a ward of this type so the three marched down to confront the problem. Dumbledore could only find the remnants of some sealing spells Snape had already dealt with and no other magic could be detected. The door refused to open. They didn't see the chair wedged under the latch on the inside of the door. A blasting curse took care of the obstinate door and they entered. The three cast spells over the room to detect a human presents in the now unlocked room or any other spells or curses. Finding no magical traps the students were let in to the classroom. Snape growled and sneered as he sat heavily on the chair behind his desk. Snape then yelped as the chair collapsed. Some one had used a muggle saw to weaken the chair.
The next morning was Thursday and I had been told my fate at 3pm. I still smiled as I pointed out Snape to the Gryffindor table. The itching powder in his bed was making for a happy DADA professor.
"Something funny scar head? I heard you couldn't make the grade in DADA so you dropped out." While he was running his mouth I stood up. "You could never pass Snape's class anyway half-blood."
"For once you have it right ferret,breath, you have to have a teacher before you can learn and DADA has no teacher. So in the meanwhile why don't you run home to daddy and whine how unfair it is, OH, daddy isn't around right now is he?"
"Potter I am going to be there when the Dark Lord ends your miserable life and…"
"What's going on here?" Snape demanded.
"The ferret here was just threading me with the Dark Wanker. Seems that he is a personal friend of the ferret's."
"That will be ten points from Gryffindor for insulting a student."
"Oh I insulted you also by calling you incompetent, so you might want to make it twenty points."
"No I think detention at three will be more enjoyable for me." Snape replied.
"Looking forward to it, Oh and Draco, don't let the bed bugs get you."
When I didn't show up for detention Snape made a bee line to the Headmaster's office. However no one could find me because Daphne and I were collecting bugs for Draco's bed in the Forbiden Forest. In the morning Draco was screaming and Dumbledore continued the fad at breakfast.
"Mr. Potter you will report to my office immediately."
"Is that acceptable to you Professor McGonagall?" I couldn't keep the smirk off my face as I asked her.
"No, I have a class about ready to start so ten would be much better."
"Cancel the class I want you both in my office immediately."
"Harry I do believe you have upset the Headmaster."
"I think he will only be one of the first." I grinned.
Upon arriving the Headmaster was behind his desk steaming while Snape was sitting off to his left sneering his best sneer. Snape didn't notice the bugs creeping out of his robe and heading for the closest hiding place. Dumbledore wasted no time.
"Harry why were you not at your detention yesterday and where were you"
"Sorry, don't do Snape's detentions any more as I am allergic to him and 'Occlumency' training."
"That's not an excuse so I am giving you detentions with Professor Snape for a week,"
"I'll save you some time, I won't be going. So I guess you will just have to expel me and kill Voldemort yourself."
"Boy don't make light of a serious subject."
"Snape nobody asked your sneers worth." I thought I had a couple of more things that I wanted to throw at them before I had to announce being an adult.
"That's Professor Snape Harry."
"And that's your opinion Headmaster not mine."
"Since you attitude is such I am afraid that I must ban you from the Quittage team and cancel your Hogsmeade weekends."
"Since you have taken everything else from me I guess you will have to have a boot cupboard assigned as my living quarters. That will make me feel right at home and back at the Dursley's. Should that be all Headmaster I have some letters to write."
I left but from the look of Professor McGonagall there was going to be words. I waited about half and hour for her to come down.
"I want to apologize Professor but this is just a continuance of my summer. He is about to learn not to mess with me."
"While I do not agree with your tactics I am not happy with the Headmaster's either."
"If I might make a suggestion for the Quittage team, Ron would make a good captain and Ginny will do well as a seeker."
"I will take that under advisement Mr. Potter."
I then did an all out search for Daphne. After getting her attention without anyone noticing we met in our deserted classroom. "Harry lets head off to your bed and discuss this, this is something that's not going to be decided very quickly."
That sounded so sexy it was hard not to come back with a snide sexual reply as we pulled off our shoes.
I flashed us to my bed to find Hedwig already there, she was always great at knowing when I was going to send post. I silenced the bed drapes so that sound would not escape but we could here some one coming. Tiger popped out of my pocket and hopped onto Daphne's lap for petting. I gave Hedwig a bit of attention before we started our discussion.
"So do I declare that I am emancipated?" I queried.
"That and most of the rest would be best kept secret. You could go to the Board of Governors. Legilimens is not to be used on a student without the guardian's permission or in your case your permission as you are an adult."
"But that again announces that I have been emancipated.
We then heard the heavy thumping from Ron heavy feet as he charged up the stairs yelling, "Harry where you, why didn't you tell me you got banded from Quittage? Harry where are you?"
Ron grabbed the curtains on Harry's bed and flung them wide. The scream of terror caused the students within Gryfendore house to rush to where the now passed out Ron Weasley lay on the floor. Ron had flung the curtains wide to find a phoenix, a tiger, a panther, and Hedwig staring him in the face.
I closed the curtains and I grabbed Daphne the panther while Tiger reverted and grabbed my tail. I flamed to Daphne's bed. Hedwig probably stayed to see what would happen next. After releasing everyone I flamed to the lake and reverted to my human form. I felt that a slow walk back would let things calm down in the dorm.
Ron was still in hysterics although calming down somewhat. Someone asked him why he opened Harry's closed bed curtains.
"Ron it is just not possible, the facts clearly say you thought you saw those things. They could not jump out the window nor could they fly away. Look at the facts and answer the question where are they? Hermione was trying to convince him with facts that he couldn't have seen a lion and a panther.
Professor McGonagall was trying to get Ron to Madam Pomfrey without stunning him. Later after everything had calmed down I explained to Professor McGonagall that I was out by the lake. I was lucky that I didn't have to expand how I was not involved since I usually was in most problems.
I did stop by the Dailey Profit to give them an anonymous story of at least one student having Legilimens used on them to force the student to toe Dumbledore's line. When the paper hit the streets the DMLE head and the Board of Governors hit Hogwarts. When they asked the assembled students in the Great Hall if anyone knew anything I raised my hand. When an Auror explained to the assembled students what it would feel like to have that spell used on them several students raised their hands. By the time everyone was interviewed Dumbledore and Snape were to busy to be monitoring little Harry Potter detentions.
/Scene Break/
I was holding Daphne close as she had just received a letter from home. "Harry they attacked my parent's house and almost got them."
"They did get out alright?"
"Yes but we are a neutral family, like in the last war."
"Daphne, I don't believe anyone is safe from these monsters."
"We need to do something against these monsters as you call them." I did not like the tone that Daphne used.
That caused some talking that graduated to planning and them to scheming. We could do something but legal it was not. This was war and we decided to fight fire with fire. Hedwig would never be noticed if she hung around known Deatheaters homes. Owl wards were rarely used as that was how mail was delivered. If Hedwig could spot a meeting place I could follow hauling Tiger and Daphne.
Deatheaters would normally 'apperate' when they left or arrived at these meetings. To do so the Deatheaters had to be outside the wards unless they were keyed into them. Most were not keyed in as usually only family got that honor. We were stealth and speed and we had the Weasley Wizard Wheezes to supply pyrotechnics but the wards were the problem.
The next Dailey Profit again had pictures of another attack with the dark mark floating ominously in the night sky.
"Harry I was wondering if we should have our own mark?"
"Doesn't that make us look somewhat like Voldemort besides I haven't the foggiest how to make one."
"Why not suggest it to Hermione really sneaky like you need to make one so she can make a counter spell to do away with the dark mark."
Two weeks later Hermione had the spells for the floating mark. Three days later Hedwig showed up finding Daphne and I just inside the Forbidden Forest doing our planning and a little snogging. I followed Hedwig to a mansion about twenty miles north of Hogwarts. I had to kept 'flaming' the mansion for about a week later when I got lucky and Deatheaters started 'apperating' just outside the wards. They immediately entered for what looked like a meeting. They never came out so we figured they met and portkeyed to someplace. The next mornings the Dailey Profit announced an attack on a muggle community. The next time they started arriving we were there again and again they must have portkeyed out. Daphne was really mad over us not being able to take care of the Deatheaters.
"The original idea is great but this is not working. I could just flash in and drop a bomb but are there children inside the place that we didn't know about? Any ideas?" I grumbled.
"There are two many to take them on head on. I think it's a good idea to flash in and drop a bomb on them. If there are any children in the place their Deatheater's kids and soon to be Deatheaters themselves so I say bomb them. Daphne was acting weird.
"Let's check with the twins and see if they can come up with something more civilized." I suggested.
"Harry how is our silent...Fred started.
"Uh Harry you know you have a Slytherin with you?" George continued.
"A pretty Slytherin but…"
"You two had best not get started as this is my fiancée Daphne, you wouldn't want to upset your silent partner's partner would you two?"
"Dam Harry aren't you two supposed to be in school?"
"We stepped out to bother you two. We have a request if you two can get serious."
"So what is so important?
"We need to track someone. The problem is we can't be caught putting the spell on them or it being found easily."
Daphne and I continued to explain and ended up with no tracking charms but the twins could give us something better that met our needs. So the next time our ward went off telling us of a meeting being started at that house we flamed in with anticipation. We hoped the bad guys were in for a twin's prank and a trip to Azkaban.
/Scene Break/
"Ok Daphne you get the hard part by staying here to take out any late arrivals. Since Tiger won't let me go it alone I will take her along."
Daphne demanded, "You will come here the minute you lay your eggs. I WILL be with you for the house search."
I just nodded. Like her father had said she was a bit strong-willed and I had given up being the protective boyfriend.
The place was a three-story mansion so we thought that the meeting would be on the ground floor. I would flame to the second floor and see the best way to lay the twins eggs. They were actually sleeping gas that worked extremely fast. My hope was to be able to toss the eggs and flame. There were many ways me or a phoenix could deliver the eggs but both of us were not curse proof.
The twins were not stumped on what was needed to be made but they were stumped on what to call them, pullet pellets was the final call. The brown ones would put a room to sleep for thirty minutes. The white one was a wake up pellet; we only had a couple of the white ones.
I flamed into the mansion and found my area of the floor empty. As I reverted to my human form Tiger became a tiger. I found the stairs leading down and hoped that they didn't squeak like some of the Dursley's stairs. The upper floors were void of anyone. When I reached the bottom floor I could hear voices coming from what appeared to be a large dinning room. They got two brown eggs tossed in and I scrambled up the stairs. I transformed and flamed out for Daphne. That is where everything started a downward spiral in our relationship even if I didn't recognize it at the time.
Daphne had indeed been busy. She had intercepted two late Deatheaters and had apparently stunned each as they arrived. What stunned me was that she levitated each behind some shrubs before cutting their necks.
Tiger was as quick a usual and acted as tail gunner for the flight back to the Manor to collect our gassed friends. Being escorted by two powerful animals we again cleared the mansion. We found no one nor any elves. The gas was to clear after about ten minutes while the Deatheaters were to be out cold for thirty minutes, so we entered the dinning room and started taking inventory of who we had captured.
"Wonderful what information they keep from us isn't it dear?"
"Harry I do agree and see why you sometimes say you have had enough with the people supposedly on our side."
"Well lets start sorting and cleaning so I can flame them back to Ministry control En Route to Dementor's heaven."
It appeared that Azkaban had a revolving door. Lucius Malfoy was currently laying on the floor. He was one of the famous Deatheaters caught at the Ministry and was supposed to be residing in Azkaban. Daphne pointed out a few others that had been recently freed from Azkaban. My anger was because no one had told the 'chosen one' that there had been a mass breakout of nastys that wanted to kill me and mine. I didn't get to ponder long… "No! Daphne stop!"
"Harry they are just going to get out again. My way they won't bother anyone again."
"I'm sorry but killing them in cold blood is just not my style."
"Well take a walk and I will take care of the loose ends."
To say the least we had a large argument. I finally won out but I was not happy about any of this anymore.
We removed all of their sleeves covering their dark mark. We then stunned them and bound them with serious spells. Daphne then started writing short notes that we pinned to their robes. I flamed them away a couple at a time to the Ministry. Some went to the atrium, some when to level two of the Ministry and the Auror's offices. Lucius Malfoy I laid on the Minister desk in his private office.
We had no worry of them getting free or the spells wearing off as once I dumped them at the Ministry because the couple dumped in the Aura's office sent the entire Ministry into spasms and a full search of all offices. That of course made them trip over the ones in the atrium and while Fudge was screaming about being awoken in the middle of the night they found Lucius hog tied on his desk. Then the reports came in that Nott's mansion was on fire with a Phoenix symbol unlike the dark mark floating over the mansion. As a whole it was a bad night for everyone.
The next morning at breakfast: "Harry why are you so happy? Hermione asked.
"Oh I had a nice flight last night, on my broom around the Quittage pitch of course. Quite an enjoyable evening I must say."
"Luna joined the Gryffindor table and after giving a kiss to Neville's cheek started, "Yes Harry the Nargals said you had a flaming good time last night. I don't think you know who is going to like you know what but by now he should know what…"
"ENOUGH" shouted Hermione, "Don't start that you know who knows you know what."
"But Hermione you know who is bound to know what as Fudge has what you know who was sending to do who knows what?" It looked like Hermione was going to start screaming but Neville gave Luna a kiss and the owl post arrived. The escape of loyal Voldemort supporters from Azkaban was now front page news. So was the Phoenix floating over the destroyed mansion. It appeared the names of the captured were withheld to protect the innocent.
/Scene Break/
Deatheaters loved to attack when families were happy and relaxed. That meant late evening to early morning attacks. Hedwig was THE top lookout owl as she kept turning up Deatheater gatherings. The next spotting and meeting went just like the last except Mrs. Goyle and their daughter ended up at the Ministry before their Manor was burnt to the ground.
It was the next notification that Hedwig gave that confused us. She brought us to Bones Acres. Bones Acres was the property of Madam Amelia Bones of the DMLE and the aunt to Susan Bones. It took a couple of trips by the Phoenix to see that what Hedwig had seen and was trying to relay to us. The Deatheaters were casing spells at the Manor. With Susan at Hogwarts and Amelia at the Ministry they were testing the wards.
"So my dear you are the pureblood expert what do we do? Do we tell Susan or tell Madam Bones or what? They are part of the good guys."
"We risk exposing ourselves if we warn them. We also have a problem with their Manor. Their Manor is part of the older houses and their wards could be very dangerous to us."
As usual I had a quick response, "Huh?"
"Harry most houses don't want a squirrel setting off their alarms every ten minutes. So the Bone's wards should have them set to ignore small animals. The Bones estate quite possibly has those wards set to fox size levels. Anything larger will set off the alarms but its the old family wards that are worse."
"Worse?"
"Yes, deadly worse, ten times deadly worse."
"So what do we do? I am the dummy around here."
"I think our evenings and possible our mornings are going to be occupied monitoring this place so we don't have to reveal our secrets. Our secrets are unknown to Voldemort and his idiots and a surprise like what we have can be deadly to him or life saving to us."
I again did the masterful and dominant answer, "Yes dear."
For the next week we watched Bones Acres through the evening and into the wee hours of the morning. Dobby brought us food and we sort of got some sleep here and there. Continuing the stake out and attending classes was not a pleasant way to live. Then it started.