Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter Twenty

Resurrection of the Monster

Undisclosed Location

The spells and potions given to him to restore the Dark Lord were well underway, and Peter was exhausted. He was notably second guessing his choice to run to his master, when it seemed there would be no protection coming in the foreseeable future…though it wouldn't do to allow such thoughts to linger. Not this close to Him when Peter's thoughts would be as easy to expose as reading a book.

Peter sighed resignedly as he pulled himself together and returned to the borrowed house where he had left his master, arms full of supplies. At least, he thought, they had access to money. Peter, in this form, was a terrible thief. That role had always fallen to Sirius or James when they were in school, snatching treats from the kitchens, or occasionally 'borrowing' from their classmates until Remus had found out about it and snitched to Lily.

He remembered clearly, Remus never stood up to any of them, but he would snitch to Lily over everything they did unless it was forbidden magics or Snape. Peter suspected that Lupin had feared their reaction should she learn of those things, especially James. Not that it mattered anymore, not with James and Lily gone and Sirius underground. Where Remus ended up was a mystery to him, though Peter had heard it mentioned he could never make out the name. So, wherever the Weasley children were now.

Peter was torn from his musings by the raspy voice of Voldemort, who was curled up in the corner wrapped in thick blankets. "Why so concerned with your former allies?"

"More worried that I never properly heard the name, my lord, it must be a powerful spell." Peter excused as he made his way across the room to extract the vaguely infant shaped mass from the blankets as he tried not to shudder in revulsion. "After all, several children have been sent there for protection against Black so it was mentioned several times, yet only certain people can make out the name."

"I believe you will find it is more enemies cannot hear it properly." Voldemort sighed. "It is far from a complicated spell though powerful, Hogwarts has a similar protection as you know, as do all of the schools." Peter nodded, though he had not known, having never truly paid attention to such things. Though it did make sense. "We will need to extract the Potter boy for our next step."

"That will prove most difficult, he is located in the same place. A name I do not know." Peter squired at the anger radiating off of the small powerful form in his arms even as he prepared the next dose of potion.

"Well then, you must find someone who has the information then won't you?" Voldemort replied as he sipped the cup. "Perhaps a parent or one of the teachers."

"Of course." Peter agreed with a frown. Finding the man and helping him was proving to be dangerous after all, perhaps as dangerous as attempting to hide from his former friend. Surely though, should Sirius find him it would be his end.

Amestris Border

Edward and Roy quickly made their way to the team that had contacted them this morning, with Severus right behind them, concentrating on the feel of the magic around the border. "It has been breached with magic. Very recently." He said quietly.

"How is that possible? If it were an ally, they wouldn't have hidden." Edward frowned but did not slow his pace.

"I agree. Whoever it was, they exerted a great deal of personal energy to get through. They also seem to be mad, as the border both welcomed and resisted entry." Severus said as he examined the border. "It will of course be altered to prevent such issues in the future now that we can see the loophole. I suspect it may be Black."

"Thanks to how he got in or do you recognize something about him here?" Roy asked.

"A bit of both. Though it is an oddity, combined with what was explained before… he would be an animagus then. Unregistered. Which, I would love to say wouldn't be possible, since it is difficult to learn and certainly didn't happen in prison, therefore likely it was in school. Our Headmaster and teachers were not the most observant though, so it is possible that illegal magics happened under their nose. In fact, we all know they did, this is just another one."

They reached the team that included Darius and Hienkel. "Zampano and Jerso are following the trail." Darius said by way of greeting. "It isn't one of us, but it is human of a sort. It was definitely human before it shifted at any rate. It wasn't one of those werewolves they have out in Xing either."

"No, it's a wizard, I can feel the magic that pulled on the border." Severus replied. "It appears only one passed through."

"Well, at least we don't have to concern ourselves with an army hidden in our borders." Roy said, annoyed that there was any breach at all. "Are we assuming it has something to do with Black or Dumbledore?"

"Could be either honestly." Edward frowned as he examined the area. "Severus, take Dad back to Central, I'll lead the search. Since this isn't likely to turn into a firefight."

"Agreed." Roy said with a frown. "However, if you haven't located it by tomorrow, return as well, we will need to confer with the Council about increased security."

"Ugh. Yes, true." Edward said as he turned away grumbling about paperwork before addressing Darius. "How far behind him are they?"

"They gave him a few minutes, to let him think they'd lost him. They can and will make up the distance quickly once he's clear of civilians." Darius said. "I told them to wait for us though before they start anything. If it's a wizard like the man said, it would be better to have a magic user involved."

"I will return shortly; I am more than capable of countering any spells he may cast." Severus then offered Roy his arm, the two disappearing as soon as Roy made contact.

"I know I'm not really one to talk, but magic is weird." Heinkel muttered to the empty space that occupied the Fuhrer moments before, as soon as he was done speaking, Severus reappeared. "Yup. Weird."

"Okay guys, let get going." Edward said and Darius lead the way, following the scent trail left by Jesro intentionally.

Fuhrer's Mansion

Armstrong and Breda lead the Elric children, as well as their guests into the mansion shortly after Roy returned. Roy knew they had been informed of the situation as soon as he saw relief appear on William and Yuery's faces. He shook his head before stating, "Edward is still out west. The breach appears to be only one person so there is no need for both of us at this time. He will return shortly, though it may be a day or two."

"What happened?" Yuery asked in return.

"Darius and Heinkel met us to inform us the person who came through is some sort of shapeshifter, he appeared as a large black dog... There are others already following him, and your father along with Severus and Darius and Heinkel will catch up to them shortly. He is a magic user, Severus confirmed."

"Large black dog?" Ron asked with concern, worried they would ignore him or worse send him away if they noticed the other kids were still standing there. However, the discretion bothered him. As soon as Roy looked over to him, he continued. "A large black dog broke into my house just before Christmas and attacked my rat."

"You mean the person pretending to be a rat that you unintentionally kept as a pet." Roy said with a frown. "If it is indeed the same person, we should concern ourselves with the safety of the school."

"I still don't understand why you all insist Scabbers wasn't a rat." Ron frowned.

"We can feel his spirit, he was human, and possibly still out there." Yuery said. "I already told you, I felt him, then I had my father as well as Princess Chen confirm it."

"Princess Chen isn't an Alchemist though." Ron argued.

"She can still feel people, read their energy." Roy said. "It isn't an easy skill to master, but nearly the entire royal family as well as the royal court of Xing have mastered it. As has myself and my staff."

"Sir, um, Yuery said. Well implied. It was possible to apply to stay here once we graduate, is that correct?" Hermione asked, partly to distract Ron from the conversation that was clearly upsetting him as well as wanting to better understand the rules of Amestris.

"Yes, it is possible. Granting asylum would be something we considered in certain circumstances. Are you unhappy in your homeland or do you feel endangered?" Roy asked, he was not comfortable with sending these children away if it would put them in danger.

"No, nothing like that. It actually came up because Yuery said Neville could get around his grandmother's refusal of certain classes by applying to work for the Xing Royal family, he then said Anya or he himself could make similar arrangements. Though he said it might be trickier for him."

"How much danger is Dad in by himself." William asked.

"It would be more delicate for Yuery, as we are still working on treaties with the Ministry of Magic. Your father isn't alone, he will be fine." Roy answered. "Now, we will worry about both subjects later, for now let us head out to the garden and you can tell me what you thought of the parts of the city you saw."

Hogwarts

Headmaster's Office

His meeting with the Minister was annoying at best, and Dumbledore was exhausted when he made his way back up to his office after arriving back at Hogwarts. He was not in the mood for company and felt as though he could sleep for a week.

He was therefore annoyed when Gildroy Lockheart stopped him on the third floor to complain about his fellow instructors. "Really, they all need so much help. I could offer my expertise, of course, but I wanted to call it to your attention- "

"I hired you to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. That is what you will teach, and you will not harass or otherwise 'sway' my other instructors. Don't think for one moment that I am unaware of how you truly gained notoriety Gildroy. It suits my needs to have you here, but not at the cost of more staff."

Dumbledore walked away as Lockheart was still sputtering, unconcerned with turning his back on the man. He was more than capable of stopping any attack from the inferior wizard. Really, even drunk there were hardly any wizards out there who could best him in a fight. Frankly, he had been too lenient lately, He should have insisted the child remain once he had arrived. He should prune away all those who keep defying him as well, because clearly something needed to change or who would stop Voldemort?

He was still fuming when he stepped into his office and found McGonagall behind the desk, once again attempting to undermine him by finishing paperwork before he could see it. This was unacceptable! He was not going to allow her to steal the school from him, clearly, she was no longer an ally. "Ah, good evening Albus. I finished the dorm assignments for next quarter as requested and placed the orders in for the grocery's deliveries. "she said, clearly trying to deflect from her interference. "We weren't expecting you back until tomorrow."

"Clearly, given how blatantly you are going through my records." Dumbledore scowled.

"I am afraid I don't understand. You asked me to take care of this while you were away." She frowned at him, subtly sniffing the air as if to tell if he was drinking. As if his drinking was an excuse to do these things! It was perfectly under control, unlike his staff.

"I believe it may be time to reevaluate your contract. "

"I beg your pardon?"

"Yes, I believe it is time. I have suspected for some time you have fallen under Elric's thrall. Your continued interception of my mail has proven this assumption correct. Pack your bags Minerva, Xerxes I'm sure, will take you."

"What of my students?" she asked with concern.

"I'm sure GIldroy is a suitable replacement." Dumbledore dismissed.

"He's not Gryffindor."

"It hardly matters, does it?"