The Man in Black?
16
**** AN: This is a REWRITTEN Chapter 16 ****
The major scene which led to many complaints has been rewritten. The complaints (some juvenile and simply stating that they hated it or it was stupid) (and one even suggested that I had been replaced by an imposter as the writing was not as good) made me reconsider the chapter and rework it. So, the event that caused the uproar has been changed. And it so far has not adversely affected the story. While I do not intend to have the course of the story dictated by reviews I can accept criticism and I have taken those concerns seriously enough that this is the result. Hopefully this works better for everyone (and yes, seems to make more sense in light of things).
AN: This chapter is starting PRIOR to the cliff hanger scene from the end of chapter 15 - we will get back there soon enough….
MiB
Saturday, June 14, 1986
Arcturus Black was finishing up with some brief business at Gringotts and was making his way through the lobby towards the exit, when an elderly gentleman walking into the bank stopped near him and quietly called his name.
"Oh, my, if it isn't Lord Black, gracing everyone with his presence here in public," stated the man.
Arcturus paused and slowly turned towards the other man. "Cantakerus Nott, still living up to your name, I see."
Nott waved off the comment, "You know, Lord Black, with your recent behaviour I might need to update my famous and all important work on the Sacred 28. The Abbott's have already besmirched their family name and no one is sure if there are any remaining members of either the Shafiq or the Gaunt family. And now, the vaunted Black family may be having their name removed from the honoured list. The Sacred 24 doesn't have quite the same ring to it, though."
Arcturus raised an eyebrow. "And what would make you think that the Black family is not truly a pureblood family anymore?"
Nott shook his head slightly and did not refrain from laughing in response. "Oh, surely you jest, when everyone knows that your new heir could not possibly be a pureblood. And then, you go and muddy the credibility you used to have with the traditionalist families, denouncing the recent Dark Lord and his efforts to purge our society of the most unwanted types. And to go so far as to disgrace your grandson who nobly was serving time for his actions and then you have him acquitted of all charges and make it appear that he was a hero for the so called light side. My how the mighty family of Black has fallen."
Arcturus shook his head. "I am not sure how I am even more surprised at your words and your idiocy. I have only a few things to say to you, you wart hog faced buffoon."
Cantakerus Nott gasped at the words spoken to him. "That may be the first time in my life that a man has dared insult me; well, to my face, at least."
Arcturus scoffed. "And it most likely won't be the last. Now, I shall use small words, so that even you shall be sure to understand. First, you know nothing of the heritage of young Hydrae Black, who is in no way a disgrace to the Black family. Second, you know nothing about my grandson Sirius other than what you misread from the papers. He is an honourable and skilled young wizard. Not sure that the same could be said about any Nott at this time. And finally, the amazing foolishness of you and your supposed friends in supporting the recent self proclaimed Dark Lord who spoke so highly of blood purity, when you know absolutely nothing about him. The name he used, Voldemort, it was made up. He was descended from the Gaunt line, that is true, but his father was a muggle and his mother was not much more than a squib. But don't let the truth uncover your gullibility and your stupidity."
Before Nott could mount a response Arcturus turned and walked out of the bank.
Nott was fuming and noticed a couple of the goblin guards staring at him. "What are you gawking at you pathetic creatures!?" He then started to walk back into the bank, and stopped himself as he was too frustrated to even remember what he was coming here for. "Lord Black you old fool. You have no idea what kind of game your family is playing here. You and your family must be taught a lesson about keeping to the old ways and traditions." He shook his head and then stormed out of the bank, mumbling various curses under his breath.
MiB
Monday, June 16, 1986
Dru was planning to meet up with Cassandra for lunch and he was on his way to Diagon Alley, to meet her at a cafe that they had frequented. His attention was drawn to a commotion coming from one of the potion shops as he made his way down the street. A window shattered and there was evidence of spells being fired within the shop, and a stray blasting hex shot out of a broken window, hitting the roof of a nearby building causing the roof to partially explode. People in the street started to scream.
Dru quickly had his wand in his hand as he ran towards the potions shop. Several men with dark masks came out of the shop, and Dru dropped the first one with a stunning spell. Three more men came out of the potions shop casting spells as they did so. Dru crouched behind a wall and noted that two of the men had their faces covered by dark masks. The third man had no mask on, but he immediately recognised him as Scabior, one of the infamous snatchers who was involved with capturing Hermione, Ron and himself.
Scabior then called out, "Come on, Black, no need to hide from us! We'll make this quick and easy on you!"
At that same time several other men stepped out from behind the building, all with their faces covered with dark masks.
Dru swallowed hard. "Well, they are not using Death Eater masks," he said to himself. "Six on one, this should be interesting."
The men started casting spells towards the wall that Dru had ducked behind. Pieces of stone from the wall shattered and rained down along the street. Passersby screamed and ran for cover.
Dru cast a strong shield to protect himself as he stood up to begin to fight back.
Amanda and Cassandra were seated at the cafe and heard the sound of the spells hitting the wall and the screams of people in the street. Amanda quickly noticed that Dru was under attack from several masked men. She immediately started to run up the street to join in the fight. They witnessed a series of spells bounce of a magical shield and heard cursing coming from those in the dark masks whose spells were blocked.
Amanda immediately sent a barrage of spells while Cassandra made her way towards where Dru had ducked behind the wall.
The attackers started to cast their spells at Amanda who managed to dodge what was sent her way.
Dru jumped up at the reprieve and sent off some powerful blasting hexes towards several of his attackers. One of the men cried out in pain as his right forearm was shattered by a spell.
The attackers now began to sent spells back at Dru as Amanda made her way towards his side and kept up her own attack. She took out another attacker who was sent sprawling backwards into the wall of the potions shop.
Scabior was disgusted with the failure of his group to quickly eliminate their target. He cast a blasting hex at the wall in front of Dru and then called out "Avada Kadavra!"
Amanda noted that Dru had taken a step back from the wall after the blasting hex had again shattered part of his defence. Worried that he would be unprotected she conjured a large stone column to intercept the killing spell.
The green beam of magical energy collided with the stone and shards of the magically created stone hit Amanda and Dru like shrapnel.
Amanda and she fell motionless to the ground in front of Dru.
Cassandra shrieked in anger and surprise at seeing her friend collapse.
Scabior recognised the woman who had cried out and cast a cutting charm her. His spell was deflected by Dru who had regained his footing and shrugged off the debris from the shattered stone. After deflecting the spell from Scabior he sent another blasting hex that shattered the future Snatcher's leg and he crumpled to the ground crying out in pain.
The remaining three men in masks turned and saw their leader had fallen. As they paused, Dru was able to send several spells towards the group. The three cried out in pain as various limbs were shattered by the blasting hexes that he had used.
Before Dru could cast any more spells the sound of multiple people apparating into the area was followed by shouts from Aurors for everyone to drop their wands.
Dru kept his wand levelled at the three men who still had masks on their faces but were clearly in pain.
A deep voice called out from one of the Aurors. "Mister Black, I said to drop your wand!"
"Not until those men have been apprehended and their accomplices have also been detained," replied Dru. "And the man laying on the ground with the shattered leg, he is the one who cast the killing curse that was blocked by my friend, Amanda Lester. She may need medical attention due to injuries from the fallout of what she did."
As Dru was speaking, the three attackers who were injured but still standing used port-keys to depart the scene. One of the men grabbed a fallen comrade before they managed to escape. That left Scabior and the man who Amanda had sent careening into the potions shop as the only two attackers still present.
Kingsley Shacklebolt cursed as he yelled at the other Aurors. "Do not let the others escape! And why in Merlin's name wasn't the anti-portkey wards set up as soon as we arrived?"
Dru looked at the tall dark skinned man walking towards him. "Ah, Auror Shacklebolt, so kind of you and your team to come and help us."
Kingsley raised an eyebrow, "It is not a good thing to come upon you and find that people have severely injured. You need to not make a habit of this fighting thing."
Dru scoffed at the comment. "I will continue to make a habit of defending myself and my family. I make no apologies for what I have done."
Dru then turned and made his way to where Cassandra was crying as she held the motionless body of Amanda. Cassandra looked up at Dru, brushed tears out of her eyes. "I saw what she did. That spell was directed at you. I nearly lost you today! Is Amanda going tone okay? Who would have done something like this?"
Dru walked over to her and tried to calm her down as she appeared to be panicking in response to what she had witnessed. He turned back to Shacklebolt. "Amanda Lester needs medical attention, immediately! If your men won't take her to St. Mungos right now, then I will!"
Kingsley called for one of his men to quickly take the injured and unconscious woman to the magical hospital. "Heir Black, please stay here so I can have you answer some questions about what just happened. Miss Yaxley can head to the hospital now if she wants."
Cassandra had calmed down and again spoke to the Auror. "Who did this? How can this have happened here? I thought the DMLE was supposed to keep Diagon Alley and other places safe!"
Kingsley took a deep breath before responded. "We will work on determining that as soon as possible." Then he called one of the Aurors over and directed the man to take the injured Amanda to Saint Mungos, and Cassandra made her way to follow them.
Another one of the Aurors ran up to Kingsley and was clearly agitated, but Dru could not make out the words he said.
Shacklebolt responded with an angry tone. "Four of the attackers escaped just after we arrived, and you're telling me that the other two are dead! We have no survivors? At least start getting statements from all of these witnesses here."
Dru raised an eyebrow when Kingsley turned back to face him. "What was that?"
Kingsley sighed heavily. "The one who was found slumped against the wall of the potions shop, apparently his neck was snapped when he hit the wall. The other man, Scabior, apparently he did something to end his own life just as the Aurors approached. Bloody hell. Bones will not be happy about any of this. And knowing the way people are, the families of those two men who died will blame you for everything."
He rubbed his face momentarily and then looked back at Dru. "We will need to have you come down to our office to answer some questions, and we need to clean up this street."
Mib
Cassandra had checked on Amanda at Saint Mungos, and she was recovering from her trauma. She had suffered a concussion and minor injuries and was going to be held overnight to continue with healing portions. She had then met up with Dru at the DMLE offices. The two of them were sitting together in a room at the Aurors office. Amelia Bones had just finished her questioning of them and had already been debriefed by the Aurors who had arrived on the scene.
"Pucey, was the name of the one who broke his neck," she said after reviewing the report. "I am asking the two of you to leave this to us, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We will handle this. All of our people need to be safe and they need to know that they will remain safe. We will begin questioning family and friends and see what we can discover about this."
Dru and Cassandra nodded as they sat next to each other and held hands.
Amelia then took a deep breath. "There is someone who has requested the opportunity to speak with you. And no, I am not referring to any reporters."
Dru raised an eyebrow.
Amelia understood the unspoken question. "Albus Dumbledore had contacted my office already inquiring about you and about what happened. I told him that this is an active investigation and even if he was Supreme Mugwump he would have to wait like everyone else and allow us to do our job."
There was a silent nod of appreciation from Dru.
"However, if you are so inclined," said Amelia, "you could choose to meet up with him, either here, or at Hogwarts."
Dru rubbed his chin as he considered what to do. Cassandra gave him a slight hug.
"Go ahead and meet with the man," said Cassandra. "I'm heading home, but I may stop by Saint Mungos again before going home. You can stop by my flat later. Go and have your little chat, and let me know whether you have taken the position when you return."
Dru nodded slightly and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll escort you home, and then I'll make my way over to the school." Then he turned to Amelia Bones. "Thank you for leading this investigation. And please, let us know as soon as you find out anything more."
As the couple was preparing to leave the room, there came another knock on the door.
Amelia rolled her eyes and looked apologetically at the couple standing across from her. "Sorry about yet another interruption," she added sincerely.
The door opened slightly and Kingsley Shacklebolt peaked in the narrow opening. "There are more visitors here, and they are rather insistent on seeing these two."
"Don't sugar coat it man," howled Arcturus Black, "you know damned well I threatened you and your staff if you didn't let me in to see him!"
Dru shook his head as he couldn't hide a smile. Cassandra gasped slightly and put a hand over her mouth. Amelia sighed, took a deep breath, and then nodded slightly. "Very well, let him in, and who ever else came with him."
Kingsley was pushed aside as Arcturus strode into the room, quickly followed by Sirius and Remus.
"What the hell were you thinking, taking on six men all by yourself?" demanded Arcturus.
"It's not like I had much of a choice, they were waiting there for me and started the attack as I was entering Diagon Alley," said Dru.
Arcturus nodded curtly, straightened out his robes and looked around the room. "Greetings, Director Bones, and greetings to you, Miss Yaxley, this must be a difficult time. And my sincere condolences on the injuries to your friend, Miss Lester, Hydrae, I know you had enjoyed your duelling competitions together. Hopefully she will recover quickly so the two of you can continue your usual fighting."
Sirius stepped around his grandfather. He grabbed Dru by his shoulders as he looked him up and down. "You don't look like you were hurt, not even a scratch."
"Just a little bit of a bruised ego as I wasn't able to protect everyone," said Dru.
"Enough of that," chided Sirius. "Now you're starting to sound like my old friend, James. Hey, at least you managed to take out two of them! Pucey's family is furious about all of this, but they're also trying to distance themselves from his actions, as they quickly realised that there were many witnesses that have stated you did not start this."
Remus stood silently looking at Dru and Cassandra with a clear look of concern on his face.
"Look, we're both okay. And Amanda, well, she is recovering and should be just fine," added Dru. "I feel I need to find the others to settle this once and for all, even if I don't know what led to this attack in the first place."
"You will do no such thing," snapped Amelia Bones. "That is the responsibility of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. And I will not tolerate you going out and acting like a vigilante. Based on what is known abut Scabior and Pucey, it is most likely that this was set up by families that were allies of Lucius Malfoy, and this was their attempt at revenge for what you did."
"That's a terrible, but predictable excuse, or presumption, if ever I heard one," said Arcturus soberly. He then turned to Dru, "Would you like us to accompany you home, now?"
Dru shook his head. "No, I was going to bring Cassandra home, and then I have to have my meeting with Dumbledore. I did promise him last week that I would give him a response by today."
"Just remember," said Sirius, "once you take that job, I will need to show you around that school, teach you everything we learned, so that the students can't take advantage of you."
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you would actually tell a faculty member about the things we learned about the school? That is so unlike you."
Sirius barked a laugh in response. "Quite the contrary, my friend, as giving Dru, here, many of our secrets, that would enable him to do his job in a more effective way, basically pranking a whole new generation of students in a whole new way!"
Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"That's something for another time, Sirius," said Dru. "But right now I need to bring Cassandra home."
With that statement, Dru escorted Cassandra out of Amelia Bones' office and they made their way towards to floo network in the lobby.
MiB
Harry used the floo at Cassandra's flat to make his way to Hogsmeade and then he simply apparated nearly to the gate. He walked up to the gate and stood at the entrance for a couple of minutes, until Hagrid arrived who then eagerly brought him up to the castle.
"Professor Dumbledore sure will be glad to see you," said the half giant. "We heard about the attack. And good on you, that you managed to survive all that nastiness. Must have been a right mess that happened there. And to think that such an attack happened right there, in Diagon Alley, in broad daylight! Makes one think the times of the war with He Who Must Not Be Named are back upon us. And that's bad for everyone."
They had arrived at the main entrance to the school, and Hagrid started to apologise. "And look at me, running my mouth off again and not letting someone else have the chance to speak. But here we are at the school!"
Before he could say another word, the large main door swung open and Professor Dumbledore strode out to meet them.
"It is so kind of you to make your way here, considering everything that has happened today," said the headmaster. "Why don't we make our way to my office so we can have a little chat."
The two walked in relative silence until they reached his office. Dumbledore offered the chair across form his desk for Dru to take a seat, and then he made his way around his desk and sat himself down.
"Quite the eventful day you have had, young man," said Albus, letting his eyes twinkle slightly.
Dru nodded slowly, "That is one way of putting it."
"Now, before we get to the discussion of your taking the job here at Hogwarts," said Dumbledore, the twinkle in his eyes having gone away, "we do have some matters to discuss."
Dru raised an eyebrow and made sure his occlumency shields were securely in place. "And what would that be?"
Dumbledore steepled his fingers together as he sighed and then began to speak. "I have looked more into your past. As the headmaster of this prestigious school, I do have certain responsibilities. And I am convinced that you are not who you say you are. I do not know how you managed to do what you have done, or even why you have changed your identity, but Hydrae Black, or even Westley Farmer, are not real people. And to top it off, there is something quite odd about your magic. And it seems that this peculiarity within your magic must have been caused by your having experienced death. Now, I understand that there must be extraordinary circumstances that led you to do what you have done, and for now, I can agree to keep this information just between us."
Dru raised an eyebrow but restrained any further emotional reaction. "Is that so? I really don't know what to say to your outrageous accusation."
Dumbledore shook his head. "Now my boy, we both know that something is right here. We both know that you are not who you claim to be. I do, however, believe that I have deduced who you really are. And using falsified information just so that you can avoid time in prison, such as Azkaban."
"I really do not know what you are on about professor," said Dru calmly. "I am starting to worry about you."
Dumbledore chuckled slightly at Dru's comment. "Now, my boy, there is nothing to worry about. But, perhaps I should call you by your original name, Regulus?"
MiB
AN:
Kind of a cliff hanger, but hopefully this one is not as irritating as the last chapter ending. (And hopefully the rewritten scenes go over better).
