Prisoner of Azkaban
Chapter Twenty-Five
Confrontations
Central City
Fuhrer's Mansion
Meeting Room
Edward and Roy joined the search party in the meeting room shortly after their arrival was announced, though Yuery had been instructed to stay in his room with Alex Armstrong and Heymans Breda watching over him. Severus Snape and Darius came to explain what they had learned so far while the rest of the party went ahead to continue the trail that seemed to be leading to Xerxes.
"We are no longer confidant that Sirius is headed to Xerxes, not with the news spreading so rapidly that the Fuhrer's family has left the city." Darius tiredly sunk into his chair, "Heinkel is following the trail with a handful of soldiers. Zampano is leading the other half through the most likely route to the school."
"Edward, once again I must suggest that you personally attend the family." Roy sighed sounding as tired as Darius looked, Edward frowned in concern. He would prefer, and had voiced the opinion already, that their family be sent away completely. The only thing holding him back was that the house shielded the children's magic from anyone searching for it.
"Severus, what is the likelihood he will manage to follow a trail to Reseembool?" Edward asked after a few moments.
"Remus knows him better than I do, however, if I were to venture to guess, I would assume it is fairly likely. Black was never stupid, just mean spirited." Severus frowned thoughtfully. "Perhaps it would be best to send at least Winry and the children to Xing for now."
"I will contact Havoc about extra guards, as soon as we can confirm the direction Black went, I insist Edward that you join the party to apprehend him. Yuery is well guarded, that is not a concern." Roy said, in a commanding tone that always indicated he had slipped into his role as Fuhrer instead of father. "This situation has carried on long enough. The school has been temporarily evacuated, at the insistence of several parents so your brother and Remus Lupin will be joining us shortly."
"They should not have closed the school." Severus frowned. "Empty it of students, yes, but they should allow it to appear as though it is still open, or he will disappear without entering."
"It is unlikely that he is headed to the school at this point." Darius argued with a shake of his head.
"The school will appear open. Several volunteers among Chen Li's clan have offered to guard their princess and the school itself." Edward replied quietly. "I spoke with her this morning, before the plans were certain."
"I didn't hear of any formal complaints." Roy smirked, as he said in a near whisper.
"I am capable of having a conversation with Chen without it turning into a fight. We aren't twelve anymore." Ed frowned. He knew Roy was trying to break his tension, and he appreciated the effort, but nothing was going to help. Not until this latest threat to his son was taken care of and the child was safe again.
Reseembool
Elric House
It was easy enough to figure out where the Fuhrer's family was hidden by the large number of guards. What was harder was determining whether Harry was inside the house, since no children had been seen. Sirius could hear them inside. He stalked around, sticking to the high grasses and shadows as he searched for a way inside unnoticed.
He had managed to locate where the family originated after a search of the newspaper archives, though the information itself had been patchy at best. One article, several years old, had mentioned a bombing that involved the Elrics, though it assured that all of the family had survived. The article had said they would be recovering in Reseembool in one of the family homes. A quick look at the maps indicated this was likely where they had gone, since it was a small town on the edge of the country.
Sirius had quickly escaped the city after that on a train bound for a close village. Now, several hours later, he felt his chances were good that he would be reunited with Harry shortly. He watched the guards as they moved, realizing quickly they were not leaving a blind spot anywhere on the perimeter. Which left him no choice other than to wait until hopefully someone stepped outside with Harry.
He could hear the laughter of children in the house as a blonde woman stepped out onto the porch to speak to one of the guards. He was comforted a little at the idea that the children must be somewhat cared for then if they sounded happy. "Edward said to keep a close eye out, it seems they have reason to believe this location is compromised. "The woman said quietly to the blond man who had yet to move from the porch.
"Shit, well, we knew that was a risk, that's why we're here. Are Fullmetal or Flame coming?" another man, dark haired and clearly younger, sounded nervous as he stopped his patrol. Sirius hadn't heard of these people? Weapons? Before, though the soldier seemed a bit frightened of the idea.
"Private Myers, I will pull you from duty should I catch you inattentive again." The blond man said instead of answering the question.
"Lt. Fuhrer Elric will arrive later today. There are matters of State that require attention." The blonde woman responded in a much sharper tone than she had been using as the younger man saluted before quickly returning to his patrol.
Unfortunately, Sirius had not seen an opening even as the man had stopped to ask his question. All the other guards as well as the two on the porch ensured there was still no blind spot. Still, he seemed the most likely to slip passed once everyone returned to their previous activities.
A second younger blonde woman stuck her head out of the door moments later to say, "I'm making an early dinner. I think the younger ones will be falling asleep soon and I want some stew in them before that happens. Do your men need some?"
"Thanks, Winry, but they can wait until the next group arrives. No need for more distractions all things considered." The blond man smiled at the younger woman, Winry apparently. She nodded once before the door closed.
Judging by her looks, she was likely a caregiver to the children inside, hopefully as kind as she seemed since one of those children was his godson. The elder blonde then must be the one who was claiming Harry. How they managed to trick the boy into believing they were his family was understandable though, given the photographs he had seen earlier in the day.
Clearly the dark-haired man in the photos, the Fuhrer apparently, claimed Harry favored him. There had been several blonds in the photos as well, but also other children with darker hair so it was plausible. How they all connected together was not his concern right now, anyway, getting Harry and getting away from here was all that mattered.
He knew better than to assume that Harry was well cared for just because their nanny seemed kind. After all, everyone had assumed he and his brother were cared for and happy too. Though to be fair, Regulus was happy, Sirius wasn't. At least not after he was sorted into the 'wrong' House. His mother never missed a chance to remind him he was now the family disgrace.
His mother had become even more cruel after Regulus had disappeared a few months before the Potters died. He shook his head to clear the unpleasant memories threatening to surface. He worried for a moment that he had been noticed then, when the guard from earlier, Private Myers, frowned in his direction. After a few minutes the soldier seemed to mentally shrug as he continued on passed Sirius' hiding place.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster's Office
Dumbledore and Lockhart were arguing loudly enough to be heard by the aurors and the school governors as they arrived to listen to the perceived threat that was Gilroy Lockhart. They came into the office just in time to witness Dumbledore being thrown back by the force of Lockhart's spell.
Dumbledore recovered quickly considering both his age and the smell of alcohol. He fired a counter curse at Lockhart, who barely managed to duck out of the way before firing a second spell at the older man before being magically restrained.
Now that both men were silenced and restrained the officials tried to piece together what had caused the fight, no one seemed keen to arrest famous man. Dumbledore was clearly drunk in the middle of the school day and according to the complaints they received this was far from the first time. He was angry looking, but otherwise unaffected by the recent duel.
Lockhart overall seemed more in control of himself, though he too was causing a scene by loudly proclaiming his accomplishments as if they would shield him from the punishment he was about to receive. According to both the report they had received and other anonymous complaints none of his claims were valid, as he had been accused of being a fraud using a memory spell to steal other magic user's memories for his own.
Still, after everything they had just seen the authorities decided to remove both men from the school. Dumbledore refused at first to resign his post, until they threatened to arrest both of them instead. Dumbledore then left in a huff though without a word.