A/N: There were two questions that need addressing: First, I had Dumbledore nudge people to do the looting because it was one of his methods to dehumanize Harry in the minds of the wizarding world and make him more of an icon. And secondly, yes, on AO3 I am Labgasod. 😊

November 2nd, Longbottom Hall, Night, 2 o'clock.

Augusta felt the war wards being under attack at two o'clock in the night. Luckily, the wards would hold for days if not weeks. She had time and fortunately, she had not taken them down as Dumbledore had advised her to.

She got up and moved to her window but could only see spell fire coming from the dark, hitting the wards. It seemed to be four attackers. She called for Nonny her personal elf.

"Go to the Ministry and alert the Aurors that the Hall is under attack by four Death Eaters!"

Augusta didn't know if it actually were Death Eaters but better safe than sorry. Hopefully, not all Aurors were too drunk and unable to react.

Well, she had a contingency plan. The goblins would help for a price. They would love to fight wizards! But she would give the Aurors a chance first.

She stood at the window and contemplated calling Frank and Sirius, but decided to wait. The wards would hold for a long time against four attackers and You-Know-Who was gone. That powerful wizard had been the one to take down the wards of his opponent's Halls and Manors in the past. His Death Eaters would attack later, normally.

As she watched on, she noted that one of the attackers seemed to be very motivated and cast spells at the wards relentlessly. The other three were not as eager, it seemed. One cast at a normal pace and two cast very slowly. Like they did it just to be seen doing it but without any real impetus. She noted the approximate locations for a later report if the Aurors would deem it necessary to come at some point.

She wondered if her Floo connection had been blocked as well. It had been customary during the war, but the war was over and the supporters at the ministry would have gone to ground, she was sure. She decided then and there to unroot the moles in the Ministry. The knowledge of not being able to escape must have been horrible during the last minutes of so many of her fellow witches and wizards. The only thing that kept her safe was the fact, that the old and powerful war wards held off the attack right now.

Nonny came back and reported, that she had found a few sobber Aurors who would come soon. And so, both the middle-aged woman and her elf waited. Watching the colorful lights hitting the wards.

About half an hour after Nonny had left, the spellcasting changed. The attackers seemed to get attacked themselves by multiple others. It was over pretty quickly as the two lackluster casters didn't seem to fight back at all. The other two – the motivated and the normal one – fought back for five minutes then a greenish-colored curse seemed to hit the motivated one and the last caster stopped as well. Probably surrendering. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw ten Aurors move into the light. She was grateful to see that the one in charge seemed to be Moody. It looked like he send a third of his men to secure the premise outside the wards, and another third was tasked to bring the three prisoners and the two lifeless bodies to the Ministry. One of the Aurors must have fallen as well, she thought. The last two Aurors must have been wounded in the fight because they port-keyed away. Probably to St. Mungo's Hospital.

After all the Aurors were gone, Moody 'knocked' on the wards, asking to be let onto the property. Augusta 'knocked' back. Alastor had a long-standing invitation to come in. No need to go there herself and let him in.

She received him in the informal living room, asking Nonny to bring the good whiskey.

"Gus, good to see you safe and sound. Frank and his family are alright, I take? I expected to see him."

"Alastor, thank you for coming and taking care of them. Frank is still in hiding with the others, I saw no need to call for him. Who was attacking us anyway?"

"That crazy Black girl, her husband, brother-in-law, and unfortunately Barty Crouch Jr."

"Oh dear. So, it was Death Eaters and friends? Did Barty Crouch have one of those dark marks I heard rumors about? He must just be out of Hogwarts like the younger Lestrange boy. Gladys will be devastated!"

"We didn't check for the mark, so I don't know. They could have been there for the numbers. The Black girl could have forced them to come. Blacks are crazy, after all. You heard about Sirius, right? I nearly couldn't believe it. But Albus assured me it had to have been him."

"Promise me to check the boys for this mark, Alastor!" Augusta ordered firmly.

"Yeah, I will. Why?"

"I watched the spellcasting the whole time. One was casting like crazy. Bellatrix Black would be my guess. One was coming from near the crazy one and cast at a normal rate. But the other two just cast a spell once in a while. Clearly unmotivated. Probably the boys."

"Sounds about right. They surrendered at once, even though the Black girl was screeching at them."

"They were probably waiting for you to arrive. That girl is insane and might have killed them if they had not done what she wanted before you arrived. Please look out for them! Barty might go crazy himself if his son is found to be in cahoots with Death Eaters."

Moody nodded.

"Now, the next point would be, what evidence was given that Sirius was the traitor?"

"What do you mean? Albus told us!"

"But how could he have been sure? You know as well as me, that the Secret-Keeper can be switched."

"But you know that the caster of the switch has to be present, so if Sirius wasn't the Secret-Keeper anymore, why would Albus tell me he was? What made you ask about it anyway?"

"Because Sirius is Harry Potter's sworn godfather."

"Damn! I forgot that fact. He could not have betrayed the Potters without losing his magic."

"Exactly. And would the Sirius you know really have gone dark and betrayed James of all people?"

"No. You are right. What is Albus playing at?"

"Your guess would be as good as mine. I suspect it was for the 'Greater Good'."

"Bah!"

"Indeed. Now, that you are using your brain again, please know that Sirius Black did not betray the Potters, but a boy called Peter Pettigrew did, apparently. They switched because Sirius was too obvious as a Secret-Keeper… That was the reasoning given."

"A sworn godfather was a good Secret-Keeper. He never would have betrayed them, you are right. Damn."

Both sat there quietly nursing their whiskeys for a while.

"Now, will you talk to your Auror colleagues tomorrow about Sirius? He is one of them, isn't he?"

"I certainly will. As soon as they are sober and rested again. - What do I tell Albus?"

"He will probably be busy looking for the Potter boy. He took charge of him and might try to wrestle control over the boy away from Alice and Sirius. - Alastor, Dumbledore told me yesterday, that Frank and his family were safe now and could come out of hiding. And now the Hall got attacked. A coincidence?"

"So, both the godparents of Harry Potter were set up to fall. I cannot believe it!"

"Well, I don't know if he actually did this, but the coincidences are piling up…"

"Damn."

2. Herbarium, Early Monday Morning, Same Day

Unfortunately for the still sleeping Dumbledore, the Longbottom household was awake very early. Both little boys woke up at dawn and demanded attention. So now Sirius was drinking his strong tea and sitting blurry-eyed next to a happily munching Harry at 6:30 am.

Harry had not gone to bed until eleven as he had slept most of the day yesterday Poppy had told Sirius before going to bed herself and leaving Sirius to deal with the toddler.

Right now, Harry was not as 'zen' as Lily had called his normal state of being. The attack on him, the confused sleep pattern, the new surroundings, and his missing parents, all of it was keeping the boy out of balance and he switched between happy, sad, and angry at an alarming rate.

Right now, he was in the happy state, luckily, and ate his breakfast without complaint. Neville and he were babbling at each other and seemed to understand one another quite well. The adults were totally charmed and amused.

After breakfast, Billy, the elf of the Longbottom couple, brought a bag to Sirius which contained some of Harry's things. Especially toys, picture books, and photo albums. A few keepsakes of Lily and James were in it as well.

Sirius nearly teared up when he opened the bag. The subtle smell of the Potter household was comforting to him but also incredibly saddening. He took out the plushie which Harry loved the most and called the boy, "Harry, look who came to be with you!"

"Pafoo!"

"Yes, Padfoot. Why I am 'Bafoo', and this is 'Pafoo' I will never get."

Harry grinned at Sirius unrepentantly and grabbed the black dog plushie cuddling it and sighing happily.

"Pafoo!" He mumbled lovingly into the fake fur.

Sirius nearly teared up again. It seemed he had not found his equilibrium yet, either.

The little elf then said, "Master Black, I have a letter from the Goblins too," and handed over a typical Gringotts letter.

"Thanks!"

So, while Harry toddled back to Neville to show 'Pafoo' to him, Sirius read the letter. It was about the happenings yesterday evening. The looters, the Ritual of Recall, and the closing of the property.

It then went on telling Sirius that they would read the will at ten o'clock in the morning and to Floo directly to 'Office Number 5, Gringotts London'. If possible, he should bring Alice Longbottom as well. They said to keep Heir Potter in hiding if he wanted to as not bringing the child was alright. The boy was too young to understand the will anyway. But, if necessary, Heir Potter would be welcome.

Additionally, they asked if he had any idea where Poppy Pomfrey was and if he could he tell her as well?

Sirius told the others of the contents of the letter and looked at the quietly playing child.

"He would tear the house down if I went away, don't you think? "

"Well, he needs to learn, that you will go away from time to time," Poppy said sternly.

"Sure. But not so soon after all the changes in his life. Me and 'Pafoo' are the only constants in his life right now. I will not traumatize him even more," Sirius said. It was a good thing he had read some of the child-rearing books Lily had had lying around.

Poppy nodded agreeably. She had little to no experience in rearing children that small.

When they got ready to go, Harry clung to Sirius like a little monkey when the man-made noises to leave for Gringotts. It was obvious he had never let his attention go to something else entirely.

Just after Sirius, Harry, Poppy, and Alice had left, Augusta arrived to tell her son about her experiences last night.

3. Gringotts, Office No. 5, Same Day, 10 o'clock

Harry, Sirius, Alice, and Poppy arrived exactly at ten and took a seat immediately. Other present beneficiaries gasped at the sight of the first two. Minerva McGonagall started to scold Sirius sharply but was told to be quiet and sit down or leave at once. Chastised she sat down again. Her back ramrod straight.

Poppy looked around and saw a few familiar faces. There were her fellow staff members Filius and Minerva. Then she noticed Remus Lupin sitting there and staring at Sirius with confusion on his face. There were no other invitees present.

The goblin barked, "This is the will reading of James and Lily Potter. Some addressed beneficiaries are not present, but we will read it anyway."

He started reading all the usual legalese.

Harry, who first had been sitting on Sirius' lap, demanded to be let down and toddled toward Remus, Pafoo clutched in his hands. When he reached the man, the only thing he did, was to say, "Up, Unta Mooey!" and rise his little arms, Pafoo dangling from his tail. Remus smiled at the boy and picked him up. Harry soon fell asleep and drooled on the man, snuffling quietly.

Sirius sighted. There went a good night's sleep again. Maybe if Harry only had a short afternoon nap, it could be salvaged, he decided and then focused on the droning goblin again, who was coming to the interesting parts.

The goblin told them that they would only address the beneficiaries who were present.

Remus Lupin got the little cottage in the magical part of Sherwood Forest and 50.000g, to be transferred to his vault immediately. He was inheriting it regardless of who had died, James, Lily, or both.

Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick got books and notes of the research Lily and James had done. And 5000g for new brooms at Hogwarts in case James died.

Poppy got some books and 1000g, to stock her potions pantry regardless of who had died.

Then the guardianship and rearing of their son were addressed in case both Potters were gone. Sirius and Alice as the sworn godparents were called upon. Should they not be able to, other options were listed with the caveat that Harry was not to go to Lily's sister Petunia and/or Petunia's family. Harry should rather go to a Muggle orphanage than to them.

Minerva McGonagall gasped at that one and Sirius nodded grimly.

The rest went to Harry with the goblins in charge of the estate until he came of age. The guardians could give advice, but the authority lay with Gringotts. Alice and Sirius looked quite relieved at that.

They then were told that there had been five other beneficiaries but two were dead (Dorcas Meadowes and Marlene McKinnon), two did not appear (Peter Pettigrew and Albus Dumbledore) and one was in a holding cell of the Ministry (Severus Snape)

It ended with the signatories of the will: James and Lily and the witnesses Sirius and Dumbledore.

They were told that the identities of the beneficiaries and the content of the will would be protected by the spells on the room. No one who had attended the will reading could communicate about it in any form. Only the heir and his guardians could.

When they all were asked to leave but Harry and his guardians, Remus handed the waking Harry back to Sirius and hesitated, obviously wanting to talk. So, he was ushered out, Sirius called, "The rat was the Secret-Keeper, and letters to me will reach me if given to Gringotts."

Remus nodded and left with his jaw hanging open.

After everyone but the invited ones had left, the goblin said that Matron Pomfrey had sent them a note this morning asking to scan Heir Potter's wound and have it seen too, if possible. "Do you consent?"

"I do if Harry is not hurt in any form," Alice agreed.

Sirius added, "Please lead the way, we desperately need a distraction now!"

Harry had started to be awake enough to notice his 'Unta Mooey' was gone again and was starting to fuss. Sirius cuddled him and crowed, "We will go into the goblin caves now, pup!"

Harry had no idea, what that meant, but his Bafoo sounded excited, so it must be interesting. As he was carried by his Bafoo the man told Harry about the things they saw so Harry was quite entertained and forgot about his Unta Mooey for now.

Soon they were in the Healer's Cave where Harry and Sirius were soon playing in an area full of toys. Harry had to sit by himself but was happily building a castle out of wooden blocks with his Bafoo while the goblin healer scanned him.

A goblin healer asked Sirius when Harry's usual nap time was and was told, 2 – 3 pm.

"We will do the healing of the wound then," he and Alice were told. "Come back when he gets tired this afternoon. His sleep pattern has been interrupted enough already."

Three hours later, Harry was sleeping in a little slumber cot in the Healer's Cave and had a crystal lying on the wound on his forehead. Two goblins stood at his feet and head, respectively, and were chanting in an amazingly melodious way.

The slumber cot kept a child asleep when activated so there was no risk of Harry waking up, fortunately.

As the goblins were chanting, Sirius thought back to the last couple of hours.

When they had come back to the Herbarium after the will reading they had found Augusta there and she had told her story again. Poppy, who had returned earlier than Harry and his guardians, had waited for the retelling, or the poor Gus would have had to tell it three times that day.

They had been sitting in the room that had given the house its name. A huge sunlit room that was a garden under a huge glass dome. Different areas of the garden were charmed and warded differently and simulated different climate zones. The rarest herbs and plants which the Longbottom estate grew and sold were grown here. It was hauntingly beautiful and Neville's most favored place in the world.

Billy had watched the boys as Neville toddled to different areas of the garden with Harry right behind, showing his new friend all his favorite plants, it looked like.

Augusta had told them of the attack last night and all were immensely glad that the war wards still had been active, and the family had not yet returned to the Hall.

That Moody had come as the Auror leading the rescue team had been fortunate as well. The man was incorruptible and knew Sirius since his days in boot camp and his entry into the Order of the Phoenix. So, he was the best advocate for Sirius' reputation at the Ministry.

They had talked about all the facts that were piling up, which showed that Albus did not have their best interests at heart. He might be looking at the bigger picture and trying to save the whole of their society. But his methods were quite ugly and beneath a Leader of the Light as he had called himself on numerous occasions. It was clear by now that the man could not be trusted.

Frank and Alice had decided to not go outside of the wards together so as not to get attacked and possibly leave Neville without his parents, too.

They all agreed though that Alice and Sirius should put the guardianship on file at the Ministry as soon as possible. So, they decided that Alice would go to the Ministry with her mother-in-law when Sirius and Harry went back to Gringotts. They would wear all the jewelry that inhibited mind reading and mind control and would make the women light up when someone unbeknownst to them cast a spell on their persons, just to make sure.

Frank had asked his mother if Dumbledore still had an open invitation to enter the wards. Augusta told them, the first thing she had done this morning was to strike Dumbledore out of the ward book. All sighted with relief.

Alice had promised Sirius to talk to Moody about Peter again and ask if Sirius' case and reputation was being addressed so he could get acquitted.

As Sirius watched his little godson being healed a goblin stepped next to him and said, "The nature of the wound on Heir Potter's head is most concerning and it is good it is being addressed so quickly."

"What do you mean? What nature?" A worried Sirius asked.

"A small piece of a foreign soul has lodged itself in the scar somehow. Be assured, it is being addressed right now but your godson was a rudimentary Horcrux."

Sirius gasped. Only the fact, that the goblins were clearing the wound right this minute kept him from panicking. Obviously, the goblins had known that and timed telling him accordingly. Sneaky bastards, Sirius thought appreciatory.

"You-Know-Who's?

"That is our guess. As it is so small we are quite sure there must be more than one, so we are hunting them down."

"Does that mean, he is not dead yet?"

"He isn't. Not fully."

"Shit."

The goblin nodded.

"But Harry will be safe from the abomination?"

"Yes, he should have no lasting damage from it. You will bring him regularly to be scanned?"

"Gladly."

They looked on.

"How long will it take?"

"We are using the gentlest method we know so it will take another 10 minutes, approximately."

"Time enough to tell you of a few questionable things that the Chief Warlock has been doing." Here Sirius filled in the goblin on all the discrepancies and manipulations they had discovered.

"This is most concerning. I have to inform my boss and have Dumbledore's name added to the be-alert list."

The goblin walked off quickly.

Good thinking alerting the goblins, Sirius praised himself.

Just then, there was a change in the chanting and the clear crystal laying on Harry's forehead slowly turned black.

Soon it was wrapped in silk and carried out of the room quickly, but Sirius only had eyes for the little boy sleeping peacefully. Harry's forehead was being cleaned and the wound healed easily now. Sirius sighed in relief.

One of the healers waved Sirius to their side and said, "We will now turn off the forced sleeping. He will wake up as soon as he is ready. It would be best if he sees you first. Sit here."

Sirius nodded and sat down. He stroked Harry's clear forehead, smiling happily. They all were so lucky that Poppy took matters into her hands and set the whole thing in notion. He himself had been so out of his mind with grief, he had been unable to think clearly. And if Poppy had not contacted the Longbottoms, they would have trusted Dumbledore and returned to the Hall, taking down the war wards.

Whatever happened now, Poppy would always have a place with him and the Longbottoms, of this he was sure.

He thought about his own family. His little brother was dead. His father was as well, and his mother was as crazy as ever. But he probably should contact his Grandfather now that he thought about it.

Arcturus Black and his wife Melania had always been alright. But since Melania had died when Sirius was eight years old, the Lord had become a recluse and lost all his drive to life, it seemed. He had not cared about his grandsons but that might have been Sirius' mother's fault as well. Maybe she kept her sons from visiting to hide her abuse?

Damn. He really should contact his grandfather!

Little Harry opened his bottle-green eyes and looked directly at Sirius then said surprised, "Owie gone!"

"Yes, pup, the goblins here healed your owie."

Harry looked happy at the goblin healer that had appeared next to Sirius, "'Doblins mate owie go!"

Even a goblin could not withstand Harry in his cutie-mode, "Yes, Heir Potter, you are all healed up again."

"Hawwy!" Harry pointed at himself.

"Yes, pup, you are Harry, but you are also Heir Potter. The nice goblin here is being polite."

Harry laid his head to the side and said, "Otay." He looked around and said, "Nevvi?"

"We will go to Neville now, so say bye to the goblins."

Harry called out an excited, "Bye-bye, 'Doblins!"

Many called back and waved as well. Harry was a charmer, Sirius thought and chuckled while bundling up the toddler.

A/N: I am aware that Harry is a little early in using two-word or more-word sentences at the age of 15 months. But he is a magical child. They develop a bit differently than Muggles, right? *cough*
Oh, and I had to take notes of which letters he can say and which not. They are probably not fully realistic but hopefully close enough.

4. At the Ministry, Afternoon, Same Day

Augusta and Alice sailed into the Office for Family and Childcare like the high-society Ladies they were. Obviously expecting prompt and excellent service. One older woman rushed to them and asked how she could help.

Alice said, "If you look at your ledger, it will show that my godson Harry is now mine and his godfather's responsibility to raise as his parents had intended. The will was read this morning. I just wanted to make sure all is in order here as well."

"Understandable, these are insane times! Better make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Please follow me, my Ladies."

The Longbottom women walked regally to the desk and sat down on the rickety chairs like they were thrones.

The nameplate on the desk told them, they were sitting in front of Mrs. Haywire.

The ministry employee tapped first the privacy setting and then one of the ledgers on her desk with her wand. The ledger opened at the last active page and Mrs. Haywire frowned.

"The only open guardianship in the ledger is the one of Harry Potter. It has a note that the Chief Warlock came by yesterday to claim it as soon as he had closed the wills, it says. That is quite irregular and even illegal!"

"An old man taking the guardianship of an heir of one of the most ancient and noble houses? Preposterous!" Augusta scoffed.

"He even told my colleague he would take the voting rights of the Potters into his own hands; it says here. And there is an alert spell on the ledger that will call him should something be changed!"

"Can he do that as Chief Warlock?"

"No. Not even in wartime would that be allowed. I will cleanse the Ledger of all unauthorized magics. One moment, please."

Alice and Augusta were relieved that they seemed to have found a rare gem in the Ministry. An honest official. At least, honest with the upper crust of their society.

Mrs. Haywire cast a silent diagnostic spell at the Ledger and a couple of places lit up. She transferred the results to an empty parchment and then cast a second charm, which made the ledger light up green for a second.

"I will investigate this later. Now, I understand the will was read according to the ledger, and you, Lady Alice Longbottom, and Heir Sirius Black will take on Heir Potter's guardianship as his sworn godparents?"

"Exactly."

"Where is the boy now?"

"He is staying with us in our safe house until things quiet down a bit more. At the moment, he is getting healed of the cursed wound on his forehead. It was not closing but the goblins have a painless method. His sworn godfather is with him."

"Understood. You are able to take care of the child, obviously, and as you have one the same age, he will not get lonely for playmates. The rumor about Heir Black must be wrong too as he could not have betrayed his sworn godson. So, everything is in order. Please sign here and tell Heir Black to come by after his name has been officially cleared."

Alice nodded and signed the document, which then rolled itself up and the still open ledger updated itself as well.

There was a commotion at the door to the office and Mrs. Haywire showed her quick thinking by tapping the notice-me-not rune on her desk.

A flustered Albus Dumbledore rushed in. He didn't look as regal and wise as he usually did. His long white hair was unkempt, and the robes wrinkled as if he had slept in them. He looked like he had just woken up, actually.

"Where is the boy?" He called out loudly.

One of the apprentices rushed to him and made shushing noises, "Please calm yourself, sir. There are no children here at the moment."

"Harry Potter! Where is Harry Potter?"

"Sir, he is not here. Please calm down! You are making a scene."

"I don't care!" The wild-eyed man bellowed right into the poor girl's face, spittle landing there.

The girl shrunk back, obviously scared and Mrs. Haywire tapped the emergency rune trice.

The clearly disturbed man stalked after the girl and just as Mrs. Haywire got up to interfere, two Aurors burst into the room looking for the emergency. They saw the wild-looking Headmaster looming over a cowering, clearly afraid girl and actually reached the right conclusion and moved in on the man.

Mrs. Haywire – a Slytherin through and through – tapped the notice-me-not rune once more and Dumbledore became aware of the Longbottom women who sat right in his line of sight.

"You!" He yelled and stepped towards the Ladies, who quickly stood up. "You have him. Give him to me! He is mine!"

He even pulled out his wand and started casting but was hit in the back by a stunning spell and crumbled.

[Unnoticed by everyone, his wand lit up for a second. It had changed allegiance to Junior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt.]

Everyone stared for a moment and silence settled in the room. No one could quite believe what had just happened.

But soon the Aurors bundled up Dumbledore and took him to the holding cells.

Maybe the man was drunk? He wouldn't be the first in the last few days, after all.

The witnesses were told, to stay where they were as a statement was needed of each.

"Well, that was exciting," Augusta said dryly and took her seat again.

"Indeed," Alice agreed, sitting down as well.

"Good thinking, Mrs. Haywire," Augusta nodded to the woman.

"Thank you, it seemed to be the right move at that moment. – Now, our business has been concluded already. Was there anything else?"

"Not that I can think of, Alice? – It seems we have finished. We will take a seat in the waiting area, then you are free to pull the data about Dumbledore's meddling and have it ready for the Aurors," Augusta smiled at the woman.

"Much appreciated. Thank you for understanding. Have a nice day, my Ladies."

The two Longbottom women nodded and went into the waiting area, where they sat down and pulled out a book each. Handbags with extensions and lightweight charms were so convenient.

Five minutes later a couple of Aurors arrived to take the statements of the witnesses and then let them all go.

Alice and Augusta went to the Auror's office as soon as they were let go and asked for Alastor Moody. Soon they sat in front of his desk, and he activated the privacy mode.

There they filed official complaints against Dumbledore on behalf of Harry Potter, Alice, and Sirius. The reason they said was the obvious power grab for Harry's vote in the Wizengamot and a possible one for Harry's Estate.

Sirius had written a letter as well, talking about the impossibility of him being the traitor, and asked formally to look for Pettigrew in human and in his Animagus form. He also filed a complaint against Dumbledore, for defamation of character and possible conspiracy, to end the Potter family. He had already added and filled out all the needed forms.

Moody nodded and said, "The man is in our overly full holding cells now. We are unsure what to do, as there are now wards against phoenixes. As soon as we wake Albus, he will be able to call Fawkes and escape.

"Why don't you talk to Fawkes, then?" Alive asked.

"And put magic suppression cuffs on Dumbledore in the meantime. He needs magic to call his phoenix, doesn't he?" Augusta added.

Moody grumbled and nodded. Why hadn't he thought of that himself?

"Can you tell us about the attackers from last night," Augusta asked.

"Yes. Amazingly, both of the young ones did not have the Dark Mark! You were right, Gus, to ask about it! The Lestrange boy even agreed to take veritaserum! No, he actually insisted on taking it. – It was a treasure trove! We now know, that to 'receive' the Dark Mark, the Death Eater applicant had to kill an innocent person in cold blood. That is why the boys didn't have the marks. They chickened out as they called it. The Crouch boy was conflicted about it, but Rabastan Lestrange stood by it. He did not want to kill any self-aware being in cold blood.

"So now, the 'Imperius'-defense is worthless even for people like Lucius Malfoy. We decided to ask for a vote that all marked Death Eaters have to take veritaserum at their trial, regardless of their blood status."

"That is very good to hear. Frank certainly will attend the Wizengamot meeting about that one. – But what about the attack?"

"Right, The Lestrange boy said under veritaserum that Bellatrix Black had received an anonymous letter that the Longbottoms might have information about the whereabouts of You-Know-Who. Apparently, she went crazy, took her Husband, and ordered Rabastan and the visiting Barty on wand point to Longbottom Hall, to find her master. – We found the letter on the woman. Until now we don't know who send it. But it is just a matter of time.

"We still have the couple in holding but let the boys go. If you don't want to file complaints against them, we will let them go with a warning."

"I don't. But I want to file one against the author of the letter and the Lestrange couple."

"Good idea."

Some more complaints were filed.

When they left, Alice whispered to her mother-in-law "I thought, you saw the killing curse strike one of the attackers, but they all seem to be alive."

"Yes, I wondered about it as well, but it was dark, and I might have misinterpreted what little I saw," Augusta shrugged.