Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the proverbial Duchess of Magic, JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high falutin' companies. No matter how much I whine about not owning anything related to the HP universe, other than a few fanfic plots, I do not profess to own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful world... Damn it!
Chapter Fourteen - The Announcement
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Before she even left the manor, Bones had her aurors briefed on what they needed to do as soon as they arrived. "I do not care if you believe them to be friends and or comrades-in-arms," she firmly stated. "There are now four... four... we believed to be such downstairs in those sets of cells. That's four out of fourteen that accompanied us. That's over a quarter of those who accompanied us here not being who we thought they were.
"Everyone is to be immediately stunned. There is to be nothing of any, 'I'm sorry about this'... or 'I'm afraid I'm going to have to stun you'... or any of that nonsense! As soon as you spot them, stun them. Got that?"
"Yes, Ma'am," was chorused back to her.
"These bastards have been using Polyjuice to take the places of our friends and comrades. And, in some cases... as we discovered with John Peters and Adrian Wilkes now downstairs... they're not our friends, after all.
"Lord Peverell suggested we conjure metal shields strapped to our off arms when we portkey in to a hot zone. Well... we're going to do that going back to the DMLE. The offices of the DMLE, until we clear it out, is currently considered a hot zone.
"We'll also be using the shields as a way to identify each other as someone who's already been checked. So, everyone conjure one up now."
Putting deed to word Bones was the first to do precisely that. It added a little bit of weight, but that was soon sorted with an additional featherweight charm and well worth it for the obvious, though possibly short, protection it would be. She also wondered why none of them had thought of it before, as it made perfect sense.
Once her aurors were all bearing a shield she conjured a large soft hoop of rope, enough for them all to grab hold, and said, "Right! Let's go do this!"
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As soon as they arrived in the portkey point at the DMLE, Bones and the aurors quickly got to work.
The two aurors already in the portkey point were quickly stunned, de-wanded and bound; as the rest deliberately, but carefully, made there way through the offices and cubicles. Another two went to the doors out of the DMLE offices, locked them and then magically locked them. They wanted no one in or out until they were done.
Only one tried to fight back, but their decidedly dark curse was fended off by a shield before they were quickly taken down and bound.
Within five minutes all the aurors were either carrying a shield or were down unconscious and bound. That included the ones on guard duty in the cells area.
"Right!" said Bones, once it was apparent they'd succeeded. "Bring them all up to the front of the bullpen area and we'll go through them one at a time. Someone stay on the main doors and make sure no one comes in until we're done."
"Ma'am," nodded on of the Seniors, before he grabbed a lower rank and headed for the doors.
It didn't take long. By the time they were done they had two more found under Polyjuice and one more with the Dark Mark. Bones had been cursing up a storm under her breath the whole time. The Chief Auror was found to be another Marked Death Eater.
With the last one checked, she barked, "Right. Strip those three down and put them in cells. Once that's done... Proudfoot!"
"Ma'am?" asked a solid, swarthy-skinned man.
"You're currently Chief Auror. Once those three are in cells, take the portkey Peverell left with me and take eight aurors back to that manor. Bring those four back here."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Don't forget to manacle them before you do."
"No, Ma'am," he replied. "I'll get 'er done."
With a firm nod back she continued, "Once they're back, I want one of the Masters to start summoning the off-duty aurors in, one at a time. While we've discovered this lot, I'm horrified to think about how many there are that are currently off-duty."
When she saw they'd heard that, she said, "By the way: That He and his Inner Circle are now dead... is a DMLE high secret. Anyone... and I do mean anyone... who is thinking about making a few galleons on the side by selling or giving that information to anyone, including the media, outside the department... well, you will be going to Azkaban; even if I have to take you there, myself! No excuses!
"Yes, Ma'am," was chorused back.
"Even if I have to Veritaserum your arses myself, I will learn who was responsible... one way or another."
Again, she got a chorus of, "Yes, Ma'am"s.
"Let's get it done!" she snapped out.
Aurors moved.
The one thing the already years long undeclared civil war had caused, even if it was not legally recognised as a war, was that the aurors all knew that what they were told was a secret was to be kept a secret. At least, they thought they did... until they'd just learned just how badly they'd been infiltrated by the enemy.
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At Grimmauld, Sirius had called in Remus and Tonks, but only Remus could turn up.
"Tonks got called into the DMLE," he explained.
Once Moony was sat down with a drink, Harry then spent what felt like twice as long as his 'adventure' took to tell of it. However, part of that was the oft interruptions by either Sirius or Remus to clarify something or rant at him about something else.
Once he was done, Luna stood and walked to Harry. Latching onto his arm as she dragged him out of his seat, she said, "Right! You've got your answers... At least, what you're going to get of what Harry had to say... For the next hour or so he's mine. No interruptions!"
Then she firmly dragged a now blushing Harry out of the room and up the stairs.
Remus watched them go, waited a few moments to hear the bedroom door slam closed and laughed. He was joined by Sirius.
"Damn, Pads!" he eventually chortled. "Was Luna deliberately impersonating Lily, or was that all her?"
"Who knows?" chuckled Sirius. "With Luna, I don't think even she knows."
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It took Bones almost the entire rest of the day to clear her aurors of whether or not they had the Dark Mark, were under Polyjuice or under a simple glamour. One of those captured was the auror using Polyjuice to be the auror Harry freed from the cells at ex-Malfoy Manor. He was one who was on Bones's protection detail but was, luckily, currently off-duty.
Another first called in was Tonks. However, she'd managed to take three aurors down with stunners before she was dropped with a stunner in the back from the doorway.
"Bloody hell!" said Master Auror Thompkins, the one who'd dropped her. "How, the bloody hell, did she suddenly get so fast?"
She, of course, was cleared. When later questioned by Bones as to how her casting speed had significantly increased, she claimed she'd been hiding it so the enemy wouldn't learn of it. For now, it was accepted.
Bones, though, had a fair idea as to the truth, but wouldn't push it. She didn't want to learn something she knew she'd have to negatively act upon if she was right. The same applied to what she knew of the young woman's sex life; and that it was 'suspected' she was dating a werewolf.
Once the aurors were all checked it was found that they had nine under Polyjuice and six with the Dark Mark. Using some, never-to-be-admitted, heavy-handedness with the new prisoners they discovered where all those other eight who were being Polyjuiced were being kept. Someone using Polyjuice could only use such if the Polyjuiced one was still alive and otherwise unharmed.
A rescue mission was immediately organised, with a team of twelve aurors headed directly there to free their comrades. It was at a somewhat-secret hideaway owned by the Nott family. Thankfully, it was both not under the Fidelius, nor were there lethal wards on the property.
The one who was the most 'put out' was Connie Hammer. Once she realised she'd been found and released, one of the Senior Aurors in the rescue detail had to pull her off one of the now-Incarceroused 'guards' from where she was currently in the process of killing him with her bare hands. Apparently, he'd raped her and she was most determined to get her pound of flesh out of him before she'd happily see him kissed by a dementor. Two of the other aurors, both females, had to be escorted immediately to Saint Mungo's for treatment. Both were also the victims of rape and both were in a bad way.
By rights, Hammer should have also gone directly to Saint Mungo's. However, she ordered the one trying to force her to go to take her back to the DMLE. She had the names of a great many Death Eaters and was determined to see the lot of them arrested and brought to justice. When told she should be taken direct to Saint Mungo's, she declared, "I'll go once I know effort has already begun to see those bastards brought in!"
With the return of the missing aurors Bones, still acting as Director of the DMLE, began sending out teams to hunt down and arrest those named by the kidnapped aurors; at least, those not already dead at Peverell's hand.
After Hammer gave her report of what she'd been through and the names of those she recognised who were part of it or raped her or the other two female aurors, Bones explained to her what had happened at Malfoy manor.
"They're dead?" the clearly haunted woman asked.
"They are," Bones firmly returned. "The entire Inner Circle, plus Voldemort himself."
Hammer sat there, staring back for a few moments and looking a little lost, before she suddenly collapsed in on herself and began bawling her eyes out.
Bones immediately called in Tonks, who was waiting outside, and ordered, "Director Hammer goes to Saint Mungo's, right now. No arguments. Those are my orders and Director Hammer does not get to overrule them. Stun her if you must."
"Yes, boss," said Tonks, before she stepped forward and helped Hammer out of her seat. "Come on, boss. Let's go get you some help."
"Those... bastards," sobbed the woman, latching onto Tonks once she was on her feet again.
As Tonks helped the woman out of her own office. Bones, sitting at Hammer's desk which was once before her own, sighed and thought, 'We're not going to get past this that quickly. The DE's didn't use Polyjuice in the first war.'
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Once Harry and Luna came back downstairs because it was getting on to dinner time, Sirius said, "Moony received a couple of messenger Patronuses from Tonks. According to her, Bones is on a tear. She found a total of six aurors who had the Dark Mark and nine who were actually Polyjuiced Death Eaters. One of those was the auror you rescued from that manor.
"A team of a dozen went to where they found out the other eight were being kept for the Polyjuicing and rescued them. Three, all witches, had to be taken to Saint Mungo's for rape trauma... including Connie Hammer."
Harry winced.
Moony added, "Tonks doesn't expect to come home tonight until the early hours of the morning, if at all. Bones is using the time before it becomes public you killed old Snake Face to round up every Death Eater they can lay their hands on. And, the more they capture, the more names they get.
"The only ones they can't go after yet are the ones in the big manors with the powerful wards. However, thankfully, most of those were also counted among Riddle's Inner Circle, so you've already dealt with them. There's still a couple who weren't part of the Inner Circle, though. Those ones, they're going to try and 'trick' out of their homes, first."
Harry nodded, "That's a clever idea. I hope it works for them."
"It should for most of them," smirked Sirius. "You'd be surprised just how gullible some of those idiots are.
"Hell, if they weren't so stupid they'd have probably been in the Inner Circle. That they're not, with their money, kind of proves they are that stupid."
"Either that or they simply weren't trusted enough," said Harry. "Don't let the fact they're not in the Inner Circle when they have buckets of galleons lead you to believe they're stupid. It's just one explanation, but not the only one."
Sirius nodded back, accepting the reasoning.
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Harry and Luna were early to bed, but not early to sleep, that night. However, Harry was still up early the next morning. It was just the way he was.
He managed to catch Tonks, who had apparently stayed the night, just before she left via floo to go to work. Even first thing in the morning she didn't look like she'd managed to sleep. He said so.
"Oh, I slept," she replied. "I just didn't get in until after midnight and I need to get back to work early this morning. I got about... six hours, I think."
"Barely enough," he said. "The body can survive on that much, but not if you have an active lifestyle, which you do. Your minimum should be seven to eight. See if you can organise it to get you at least eight hours tonight.
"A lack of sleep will slow your reaction time, your ability to reason and dull your awareness. It can get you dead, Tonks. Calculate for that, won't you?"
She sighed and said, "That depends on getting everything accomplished Madam Bones wants accomplished today. The round-up of all the Death Eaters is still going on and there's no end in sight, yet."
"Tell her to make sure she makes it a priority to bring in all the ones who have sufficient galleons to bribe their way out of going to Azkaban," he suggested. "Get them behind bars and there'll be less chance of anyone being able to get into Gringotts to withdraw bribe money for them and anyone else."
She looked back at him for a moment before she said, "That's a damn fine idea, Harry."
She was about to leave when she asked, "Harry? You and Luna..."
"Is nobody's business, but our own," he firmly returned.
"I... sorry, but I don't want to see her hurt. She's a sweet kid, ya know?"
"She's a young woman, Tonks," he said. "She's not just over the age of consent, she's of-age."
"I know, but..."
"But you care," he nodded. "I understand. However, you need to understand I did not seduce her. She came on to me." He gave a snort and said, "She just came into my room when I was in bed, stripped off and hopped in. She knows what she's doing."
Tonks nodded back and said, "Thank you for assuring me."
He just gave a shrug back and she was gone less than a minute later.
Luna came in only a few minutes later and asked, "Tonks give you, what the muggles call, 'the third degree'?"
Harry sheepishly nodded. "Yeah. She wanted to make sure I wasn't taking advantage of you."
She gave a snort and asked, "And when's she going to ask me if I'm taking advantage of you?"
"I don't think she cares if you are or not," he grinned. "Personally, I think she'd be more... 'You go, girl!'"
Luna snickered in response as Dobby put a plate of breakfast before her.
"So," he said. "Whatever shall we do today?"
She looked up and smirked. "You're not taking me back up to our room and having sex with me so much I end up walking bow-legged, Harry."
He looked at her in shock, which had her snicker again.
"How about you take me out to see some of the muggle sights, instead?" she suggested. "We could go to a theme park. I heard some muggle-borns say they're a wonderful way to spend a day."
Harry thought about and it and said, "Well, I'll have to find out which ones are open. It's not the season for it, this close to winter. However, I'll see what I can find out."
"Well, if it's not the season, as you put it, for amusement parks," she said. "How about going to see some of the sights. Is Buckingham castle open this time of year?"
"It's Buckingham Palace and I don't know if we can tour it or not, as it's Her Majesty's primary residence in London," he explained. "I do know we can go and visit some of the other important landmarks, though. We should probably take the bus tour."
"Sounds like fun!" she grinned.
"Right then," he said. "I think the first place we need to find is a souvenir shop."
"We need souvenirs?" she asked.
"Nope," he replied. "At a souvenir shop we should be able to find information on all the 'touristy' things to do; including, how to find and board the tour buses that run around London and other places. Besides, it's a good place to find out what else we can do that tourists often do."
"So, we're going to be tourists?" she asked.
"In a manner of speaking," he replied. "Sound like fun?"
She grinned back. "It does."
"Well, finish your breakfast, we'll let it settle for a while and then we'll head out," he said. "We'll go out via the floo to the Leaky and on into Muggle London. We shouldn't have to go far north before we find a souvenir shop."
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Over at the DMLE, the 'skeleton crew' of aurors who had been up all night had just finished handover to the incoming otherwise full complement of aurors, who already knew they were going to be busy. The only aurors not active for the day were those going off due to being up and active all night and those aurors who were unavailable due to being sick, injured or otherwise out of the country on vacations and the like. Aurors who should have been on a 'down' day had already been recalled and would be working that day.
Overnight, most of the skeleton crew had been on stake-outs at various properties around the country, including at ex-Malfoy manor. Those skeleton crews had also managed to capture over a dozen Death Eaters, due to the Death Eaters concerned doing something stupid.
One idea that worked was to floo the home of a target and ask them to come in to the DMLE 'due to someone there desperately asking for them' - they got three that way. Another was to visit the two pubs in Knockturn in disguise - they got four that way. And another was to simply walk up to the door of the property and knock on the door - they got another four that way. The last few they picked up simply by visiting the pubs at places like Godric's Hollow and Hogsmeade.
Due to the sheer number of arrests already effected, together with the number they knew they had yet to do, the unused expanded section of the cells and interview rooms of the DMLE were opened and quickly readied. This expanded their capacity by triple. However, even then they knew they would have to double-up on each cell by adding a second bunk in each.
Of course, this also meant the number of guards for the cell blocks would also have to be expanded, as would the interviewers, as would the medical staff. However, those were all considered minor problems that could be dealt with as they arose.
For now, they had arrests to effect.
The planning for that massive operation was spearheaded by Bones with three of the Master Aurors. Even retired Master Auror Alistair 'Mad-Eye' Moody was brought in for it... after he first swore a magical vow not to release any of the information concerning the arrests to anyone not an active member of the DMLE until Bones made it public. Surprisingly, especially for Bones, he was happy to do so.
His reason why? "I'm sick of Dumbledore's lies," he grumbled in reply.
At 9.30am the plan activated.
After first shutting down the internal floo system with the public announcement a major problem had been detected and it needed to be brought down to effect repairs - together with the parchment aeroplane and owl mail systems also brought down, but without explanation - teams of three aurors each spread throughout the Ministry. Their targets were each individual office and department with the intent of checking them for Polyjuice, glamours and the Dark Mark.
As when Bones took 'her' aurors back to the DMLE from the ex-Malfoy manor they stunned first, checked, revived when the person was considered not a probable DE; and magically strip-searched, manacled and taken back to the DMLE when discovered otherwise. Over two dozen where arrested from within the Ministry within the first two hours, mainly in positions of at least some authority. Three were Directors of Departments, over half a dozen were Heads of Offices, many more were senior clerks or Deputy Heads.
All of them ended up in cells; all while Bones was practically cussing up a storm. She managed to break four items in the DMLE Director's office with accidental magic, one being an expensive bottle of Hammer's cognac she'd have to replace.
With the Ministry cleared - they hoped - the other teams of four sent out to collect 'at home' DEs were also having successes and started bringing in who they captured. And the site that was having the most success was the one outside the gates of the ex-Malfoy manor, which is where Harry had keyed the wards of the manor to 'bounce' anyone trying to use a portkey to get into the property that he hadn't personally made. They'd even had to call for back-up, due to the high number of Death Eaters who were turning up there.
The aurors soon had it figured out by questioning their fresh detainees that many of the Death Eaters had emergency portkeys made by Riddle that would take them from where they were to the emergency portkey arrival point in the manor dining room. Apparently, that dining room was easily converted to a 'makeshift' infirmary, as needed, with Snape's and his assistants' potions laboratory in the breakfast room just next door; which acted as a buffer between the kitchen and the dining room. After all, it would 'not do' for guests sitting down to a dinner in the Malfoy dining room to have to put up with noise coming directly from the kitchen, so the breakfast room was nominally a buffer and now used as the potions lab.
With Harry setting the manor wards to refuse any portkeys but those which he made, almost every time a DE tried to escape the aurors who were 'breaking the doors down' at their homes by activating their emergency portkeys, they turned up by bounced portkey at the main gates. And, there, the 'temporarily encamped' aurors would quickly have them subdued, magically strip searched, manacled and 'auror prisoner' portkeyed to the DMLE cell's portkey area.
Then they'd 'reset' and wait for the next one or two. That is, of course, when they weren't chuckling away in amusement at the shocked looks on the faces of their new detainees when they didn't arrive in the manor.
Others that would turn up at the gates were Death Eaters arriving by apparation. They'd pop in and hurry to the gate, only to be brought down by a couple of well-aimed stunners from two different directions to the midsection. These, too, would quickly be magically strip-searched, manacled and auror-portkeyed to the DMLE.
The aurors at the gate felt that, by five pm that evening, they'd caught another over three dozen of the bastards. They had; thirty nine.
So many were caught that day that Bones had to beg for help from the Unspeakables. Croaker, the lead Unspeakable, turned up, saw what the problem was and said his people would handle it.
Half an hour later, the 'already interviewed' Death Eaters were magically transported by Unspeakable portkeys down to the Department of Mysteries. This freed up room in the cells of the DMLE for the still-coming-in.
It gave the aurors some breathing room to effect more interviews, which they carried out with near-calm efficiency and speed.
Every DE captured was fed Veritaserum with the first question asked, 'Are you a true pure-blood?' If the answer was 'Yes', they were fed the antidote and taken back to their cells. However, if the answer was 'No', they were hammered with questions.
Bones did not yet have the authority to question any 'pure-blood' with the powerful truth serum, but did have the authority to hit them with a cheering charm and added powerful compulsion charms to answer questions truthfully. It was something they'd worked out early in the war somewhat worked, but had kept secret and not used until the 'perfect' opportunity presented itself. That opportunity was now; or would be once they'd questioned the half-bloods, of which there was quite a few, of every scrap of useful information they could get out of them.
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Harry and Luna's day out in muggle London was deemed by both to be a huge success. They'd managed to visit the Tower of London - a place, a hell of a lot bigger than Harry had thought it was - and quietly and surreptitiously talked to some of the ghosts there. They'd visited the Royal Guard's barracks and watched the Trooping of the Colours and Changing of the Guard, amongst others. And took time out to go to the new Millennium Wheel, which had only a few days earlier finished being raised upright. Luna, especially, was amazed the muggles were able to accomplish such a feat.
After their day out they returned to Grimmauld Place just in time for dinner; which is what they'd planned. And then proceeded to tell Sirius and Remus about their day.
"So," asked Harry, once he and Luna finished their tale of their day of adventure, "Still no sign of Tonks?"
"Not yet," said Remus. "I received a messenger Patronus from her about an hour and a half ago, though. She believes she's got a few hours yet before she can leave."
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It was that early evening the story of 'You-Know-Who's' defeat, and how it occurred, broke.
Florean Fortescue had managed to talk his way out of Saint Mungo's and, as he was actually in not bad shape when he was brought in, the Healers had him healed up well before the previous evening.
He claimed he was not under arrest and was free to go. If he wasn't released he would claim unfair imprisonment and, even if his 'prison' was a private ward at Saint Mungo's, go see his law-wizard to start legal proceedings as soon as he was released. Saint Mungo's management knew the man had a point, but delayed it long enough to summon Bones to come and talk to him.
Bones arrived and pleaded with him to give her just one more day. However, he claimed his business had suffered enough and, "Besides, my wife must think I'm dead! I need to go home, so she can see for herself I'm alright."
"We can quietly inform her," she suggested.
He just gave a snort and said, "The wife would immediately spread it around, no matter what you say to her. Therefore, you may as well release me now."
With a sigh, she said, "I'll get you home. However, can you make sure no one, bar you and your wife, learn of what's happened until tomorrow morning at the earliest?"
"No," he firmly replied. "I go home... right now and unencumbered by any sort of charm, oath or vow... or I sue your arses for illegal incarceration. Yours, the Ministry at-large and the management of Saint Mungo's."
With a sigh and slump of defeat she said, "No oaths, vows, charms or even potions. We wouldn't do that. Just... please... try to keep matters under wraps for as long as possible. The DMLE aurors are, as quickly as possible, rounding up every Death Eater they can capture. The later the news breaks, the more we'll capture. You'll be doing a great service to your country, if you do."
He frowned and thought about it for a few moments. Finally, he said, "I'll be opening my store at 8.00am tomorrow morning. That gives you tonight to officially release it to the media, who will then print it for tomorrow morning's Daily Prophet. At 8.00am, though, I open my store and will tell one and all that Lord Hardwin Peverell rescued me and others, after first killing 'You-Know-Who' and about a dozen Death Eaters. However, I will not release the identity of those others also rescued... to protect them... until you or they do."
"Thank you, for that much at least," she replied.
Apparently, Fortescue had gone home via floo and immediately greeted his wife. She only waited until just after 8.00pm before she'd decided it was enough and began to immediately contact their wider family and friends.
Within fifteen minutes the media had hints of it and within ten minutes of that, had enough to confront Bones about it.
She 'doorstop interviewed' it by way of an announcement from her outer office at 9.00pm sharp. She could have done it in the DMLE, but didn't want the journalists anywhere near that Department for the time being. Besides their getting in the way, she didn't want them aware of just who was being arrested and brought in until she'd gotten as many as possible into cells.
Before she left the DMLE, though, she temporarily appointed Master Auror Proudfoot as Acting Director and left him to it. It was his responsibility, then, to find another Acting Chief Auror to replace him as Acting Chief Auror. That's why Proudfoot jumped two spots. Bones had also told him that she'd be recommending him for the post of Chief Auror, the Head of the Aurors, once matters had settled again.
She also hoped Hammer would recover enough to return to the post of Director of the DMLE and not bitch about Proudfoot getting the Chief Auror slot.
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By the time Tonks got to Grimmauld, Luna and Harry had already gone to bed. It was after 9.00pm and both felt they'd had a pretty full day.
As soon as she turned up she said to Remus and Sirius, who were still up, that the story had broken over half a hour earlier and they should turn on the wizarding wireless if they wanted to hear what the WWW reported of the announcement. Sirius immediately pulled the wireless out and turned it on.
"― tuning in, less than half an hour ago Minister Bones announced that You-Know-Who, the dark lord, is dead... along with his entire supposed Inner Circle.
"We do not have the list of names, yet, but are assured it will be released once all their loved ones are first formally notified.
"Apparently, You-Know-Who and his Inner Circle were killed in self-defence by Lord Hardwin Peverell. Lord Hardwin Peverell, as the story goes, was kidnapped by You-Know-Who's forces and brought before the dark lord and his Inner Circle.
"Somehow... and we've not been told how yet... Lord Peverell was able to handily defeat them all and escape. In effecting his escape he was also able to rescue over half a dozen people who had also been kidnapped by You-Know-Who's forces and were in the same place at the time.
"Minister Bones informs us she will be recommending to an Emergency sitting of the Wizengamot, scheduled for tomorrow morning, Lord Peverell for the Order of Merlin, First Class.
"For those who don't know; anyone who defeats a dark lord is, by International law set down by the ICW, to be awarded such an honour. We cannot see the Wizengamot going against this law.
"As news continues to come in we will, of course, pass it on to you... our loyal listeners.
"In further news, we have learned that one of those who Lord Peverell rescued is none other than your beloved Florean Fortescue of Fortescue's Ice Creamery in Diagon Alley..."
Sirius had reached over and turned the volume down.
"Order of Merlin, First Class, eh?" he smirked. "Harry's not going to like that."
About ten minutes later two owls flew in. One was for Sirius while the other was marked for Lord Peverell care of Ms Luna Lovegood.
Sirius released both owls of their loads and said, "I'd best go disturb Harry and Luna."
Then put deed to word by rising and heading for the stairs.
"Best knock loud, Padfoot!" called Remus, smirking. "They're very likely to have silencing charms up."
Sirius hesitated just a moment before he snarked back, "No kidding!"
Tonks called, "You might want to try a messenger Patronus instead, Sirius."
Coming to a sudden stop, Sirius whirled about and said, "You know what? That's a good idea." And grinned.
Standing there, he cast his Patronus, a grimm, and flicked the voice message into it. It quickly passed him as it flew upwards into the air and through the wall.
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―==(oIo)==―
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Harry and Luna were in a position on their bed where Luna was face down, head down, while Harry was face up, head up in the opposite direction - commonly referred to by a double digit number - when the Patronus galloped in from the base of the wall. It hesitated only a jot before Sirius's ethereal voice issued forth from its mouth. "Time to stop shagging like puffskeins, you two. You need to come downstairs."
"Oh, for..." said Harry, trying to get Luna off him.
She didn't want to move, though. And showed she didn't by what she immediately did with her mouth.
"Oh, God!" said Harry, feeling it. He then had to tap her on the cheek to get her to stop. That it wasn't the cheek on her face was beside the point.
When she lifted a little he said, "Come on, Luna. They wouldn't have disturbed us unless it was important."
With a whine of annoyance, Luna rolled off him and then off the bed. Standing next to it in all her glory and with her hands on her hips, she demanded, "Where's my wand? Black's getting a hexing!"
Harry was already rolling out of bed himself on the other side and still chuckled at the clear annoyance in his girlfriend's voice.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
After coming downstairs and with Luna first threatening Sirius, the two joined the other adults to listen to the wireless. Sirius had just waved the threat off, clearly distracted. It didn't take long for the message given earlier to be replayed, so the two still-teens could hear it.
"Damn!" sighed Harry. "She'd already warned me about the Order of Merlin, but I was going to try to come up with a way to refuse it. I guess I can't, huh?"
"You killed Snake Face," said Tonks. "You... being able to refuse it... was never going to happen."
"I was hoping to get away with being Lord Hardwin Peverell for quite some time yet," grumped Harry.
"You still can―" started Remus. "No. Wait. You really can't, can you? The magic of the Order will require your true name be used."
"Yeah," sighed Harry.
"You'll need to talk to her, Pup," said Sirius. "This can't come at her cold. She needs to be warned."
"Yeah, she does," he sadly returned.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
At Longbottom Manor near Lowestoft on the east coast, Neville Longbottom had been engaged in his own 'night-time manoeuvres' with his true girlfriend, Hannah Abbott, in his Lord's quarters when the announcement was made. Though they hadn't been listening to the wizarding wireless, they had it on in the background. It was the announcement 'You-Know-Who' was dead that had them suddenly pull apart and turn the radio up.
"― Somehow... and we've not been told how yet... Lord Peverell was able to handily defeat them all and escape. In effecting his escape he was also able to rescue over half a dozen people, who had also been kidnapped by You-Know-Who's forces and were in the same place at the time.
"Minister Bones informs us she will be recommending to an Emergency sitting of the Wizengamot, scheduled for tomorrow morning, Lord Peverell for the Order of Merlin, First Class.
"For those who don't know, anyone who defeats a dark lord is, by International law set down by the ICW, to be awarded such an honour. We cannot see the Wizengamot going against this law.
"As news continues to come in we will, of course, pass it on...
"Sweet Merlin, Neville," exclaimed Hannah. "You were right!"
Jumping up and out of bed, as he reached for his robes to hastily pull them on, Longbottom said, "I have to tell Gran. You might want to get up as we're probably going to be up for a while."
With a sigh, Abbott didn't even bother to argue. She knew her soon-to-be betrothed, while also a Lord, would want to keep his grandmother apprised of such a development as soon as it happened.
He would call it a need to keep his Proxy informed in case it changed matters before the Wizengamot - which this surely would - while she knew it was a hold-over from the way he was raised by the woman.
She climbed out of bed and hadn't even managed to reach for her robes before Longbottom was out the door and hurrying up the hallway to his grandmother's suite in the opposite wing.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
In bed in his Headmaster's suite above the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was startled awake by an overcharged ethereal voice of his Deputy, McGonagall, carried to him by a messenger Patronus.
"Albus! Wake up! Come down to your office! There's important news on the wireless!"
Thinking it was another attack by Tom's forces, Dumbledore was quick to rise and just pull on a wizard's house coat over his night-robes. That the two colour schemes so horribly clashed didn't bother him as it usually would. Needs must, and all that.
Slipping his bed-slippers on he scooped up his wand and hurried down the stairs.
"Minerva?" he demanded, immediately spotting her standing in the middle of the floor. "What's going on? Who was attacked?"
"No one, Albus," she grinned. "It's over!"
Puzzled, he asked, "The attack is already over?" He was heading for his floo to call the Order together.
"No," she replied. "Voldemort is dead! According to the wizarding wireless, Lord Peverell killed him!"
In shock, Dumbledore pulled up short just before reaching the fireplace. It was a moment, as he whirled to face his deputy, before his face changed to a scowl and he firmly stated, "That's impossible. It is young Neville's responsibility to kill Tom.
"If this Peverell character has severely harmed Tom then Tom will be back. It's only a matter of time. We cannot accept that Tom is dead unless young Neville has killed him. The prophecy is fixed."
"Unless, of course, Lord Peverell is the Chosen One and not Lord Longbottom as you elsewise surmise," she firmly returned. "Just as Lord Longbottom suggested."
As he was moving at the time to turn his own wizarding wireless on, Dumbledore paused a moment to give a pointed look to his deputy before he finished reaching for the on switch. "Peverell is a dark wizard," he firmly stated. "No dark wizard could possibly be the one to kill Tom. He'd be more likely to join him than oppose him.
"No, Minerva. I suspect it is a trick by the forces of the dark to draw the light out into the open so they can be killed."
With a scoff, McGonagall said, "It's been confirmed by Minister Bones herself, Albus. Listen to the wireless. Bones gave an interview only a little over an hour―"
She shut up when the wireless interrupted its soft music for an update of the news bulletin.
"We interrupt our musical selection of Celestina Warbeck's latest hits for a special news bulletin. If you are only just now tuning in, Minister Bones announced just over an hour ago that You-Know-Who, the dark lord, is dead... along with his entire supposed Inner Circle.
"We do not have the list of names, yet, but are assured it will be released once all their loved ones are first formally notified.
"Apparently, You-Know-Who and his Inner Circle were killed in self-defence by Lord Hardwin Peverell. Lord Hardwin Peverell, as the story goes, was kidnapped by You-Know-Who's forces and brought before the dark lord and his Inner Circle.
"In an announcement, live from her offices, Minister Bones had this to say..." The voice changed to what was clearly a recording of Amelia Bones. "'Gentlewizards and witches, it is my supreme joy to announce that the dark wizard known as Lord Voldemort has been killed, along with... it seems... his entire Inner Circle.'"
Then there was a moment of silence before there was a great hue of raised and excited voices, all shouting questions. That cut off and then Bones's voice began again. "'Not that long ago one of our aurors, along with half a dozen other missing and believed dead beings, suddenly arrived by auror portkey in the DMLE portkey arrival point in the DMLE. They came bearing surprising news...'"
As the bulletin finished, Dumbledore continued to sit in his office chair, scowling more and more. When it finished, he firmly stated, "It's a definite trick. I don't know how Tom or his people managed to pull it off, but it's definitely a trick."
"Unless, as Lord Longbottom suggested, Lord Peverell is the Chosen One," McGonagall reiterated. "You still haven't made any effort to find out Lord Peverell's birthday, have you?"
Dumbledore scowled even harder back and rose, "I will not be questioned on this, Minerva." He headed for his floo.
"I'm not questioning you on it, Albus," she sighed. "I'm offering a different possibility."
Ignoring her, Dumbledore took a pinch of floo powder and dashed it into the fireplace, "Minister's Office, Ministry of Magic," he snapped.
As he was about to stick his head into the fireplace, the green flames of a successful connection winked out, back to red flames.
"Damn it!" he snapped.
Spinning about, he began heading for the stairs to his private apartments and snapped at McGonagall, "I need to go get dressed and personally go to the Ministry!"
"Have you forgotten you're under house arrest, Albus?" she just as snidely snapped back.
Coming up short again and, as he had already passed her, he turned slightly to look over his shoulder and lowly said, "I'm sure... considering the nature of what has occurred... I will be forgiven for going directly to the Minister to talk about this."
Then promptly continued on his way up his stairs, ignoring her warning.
McGonagall, a little upset with the way the old man had just brushed her off, paused only a long moment before she conjured a messenger Patronus and sent it to the Aurors. She'd been ordered to report to the DMLE if Dumbledore breached his house arrest and sent the Patronus off to warn them he was about to do precisely that.
Dumbledore might be acting like an idiot, but she wouldn't be.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
When Dumbledore came back downstairs dressed in well-tailored muted-fuchsia-coloured robes with matching hat and wizarding slippers to head to his floo, McGonagall had already left again. He thought her returned to her own apartment, but she'd instead headed for Flitwick's, sending another three messenger Patronuses as she went.
One Patronus each went to each of the other three Heads of Houses. She called them to meet her in Flitwick's office, the most central of the four.
She already knew that, once the student body learned of the Dark Lord's death, there would be chaos in the corridors. And she wanted that nipped in bud before it could even start.
As she firmly strode along, she thought, 'It's a pity, but unsurprising, Albus didn't think of that.'
Tossing a pinch of floo powder into his fireplace, Dumbledore was gone a long moment later. He'd first tried to floo directly to the DMLE, only for the floo connection to block him. So he headed to the Ministry Atrium, instead.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Coming out of one of the floos in the Atrium the old man was somewhat surprised at the number of people there.
It seemed he wasn't the only one who decided to head to the Ministry to see if they could get any further news faster than what was being released over the wireless. A number of aurors were stationed at the wand checkpoint to block people, who really had no right to be there anyway, from entering beyond. They even had the golden gates shut.
Dumbledore had to squeeze and bull his way through the crowd until he reached the front.
Once there, he demanded, "Let me through. Do you not know who I am?"
One of the Senior aurors standing as a second row of defence in case the crowd managed to get past the biggest, burliest aurors they could find to block the gates, came forward and said, "Let Dumbledore... and only Dumbledore... through."
Though pleased he was allowed access, Dumbledore was still forced to squeeze his way through the barely partially opened gate, having to firmly jostle his way just to get that far, before he was beyond.
As soon as he was, he stood back up to his full height and adopted his 'noble elder statesman pose' and said, "Thank you, Auror."
The auror, a Senior who had then drawn a wand on him, declared, "Albus Dumbledore, for breaching the conditions of your house arrest, you're under arrest."
Dumbledore froze in shock.
The auror then reached out and plucked the old man's wand out of his belt and slipped it into his own pocket before Dumbledore even noticed it gone.
Stepping back, the Senior firmly ordered, "Manacle him!"
Another auror, already waiting, stepped forward with a readied pair of manacles and had the first one on the old man's nearest wrist before Dumbledore snapped enough out of his surprise to refuse.
"N-now wait just―"
The Auror, a First Class, had the second cuff of the manacles on the old man's other wrist before Dumbledore even had a chance to finish voicing his displeasure. It did, however, shut the old man up.
As the First Class then stepped to one side of Dumbledore, the Senior stepped to the other. Both took an upper arm each and began to march the old man to the lifts.
"Now see here!" said Dumbledore, trying to stop. The aurors simply took a tighter grip and continued to force him to walk to the lifts.
Dumbledore might appear sprightly for his age, but he was still an old man. He was no match for two fit young men who were aurors trained in arresting and taking into custody rowdy revelers and drunken brawlers.
Less than five minutes later, Dumbledore found himself in in-prisoner 'processing' before then being tossed into a single cell in the DMLE's holding cells.
"We're a bit busy at the moment," said the Senior. "You can wait there until we're free to deal with you."
Having the door then slammed shut in his face, Dumbledore heard the sliding home of the bolt and the turning of the key, locking him within.
He was still in somewhat shock at his treatment.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
Proudfoot was in his office preparing the documentation for the first of the trials they'd very soon have to hold when the Senior knocked on his open door and stepped within.
"Dumbledore's in holding?" asked Proudfoot.
"Yes, Sir," said the Senior.
"Good," said Proudfoot. "Make sure you're very accurate on your parchmentwork for him. He's a slippery old bugger. I don't want him sliding out of his charges through a technicality in the parchmentwork.
"Also, pull out the parchmentwork Hammer... if it was actually her at the time... had caused written up that got him arrested in the first place. If necessary, have it all written up again with another of the Masters signing off anywhere Hammer did in the originals."
"Yes, Sir," nodded the auror, backing out again.
'Old coot bastard,' thought Proudfoot, returning to his great stack of parchment he needed to get through before he could even think of heading home that night.
'First, though,' he thought. 'A note to Bones letting her know of Dumbledore's breach of the house arrest and that he was now in our cells.'
He pulled a small fresh sheet of parchment to himself and quickly wrote the note. A couple of minutes later he charmed it with the Parchment Aeroplane charm and sent it on its way. He knew Bones was still in her own office, as she planned to floo him direct before she left for home herself.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ
At the Longbottom manor, Dowager Lady Augusta Longbottom had just received her Wizengamot Administrative Services letter informing her of the emergency meeting of the Wizengamot the next morning after Neville had already been in to see her to tell her of the news on the wireless. Both, with Hannah also present, had been listening to the wireless when it arrived.
"With 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' now dead, my Lord," she said. "You should now think about attending the Wizengamot session yourself."
"Not yet, Gran," he said. "I will not make the same mistake my parents did and come out of hiding too soon.
"I will attend under glamour, but be sitting in the visitors' tiers while you remain sitting the Seat as Proxy."
She nodded at the wisdom of that. "A wise precaution," she said. "I will, of course, be happy to continue to sit the Seat for as long as you want or need me to."
"Thank you, Gran," he said.
Gesturing to the wireless, she asked, "How do you feel about this?"
"Relieved," he immediately returned, showing he'd already considered it. "As you know, I tried to tell Dumbledore it wasn't me and that he should have first checked to see if it wasn't Lord Peverell, but he wouldn't listen."
"It appears you were correct," she smiled.
He just nodded while Hannah curled up under his arm on the couch they were sitting upon, waiting to see if there was any further news in the offering.
Given the time, none of the three thought there would be, but there was always the chance. They couldn't sleep, anyway.
_‗_
―==(oIo)==―
ˇ