Last Order Meeting
The next Friday they had their Order meeting once again and Moody started it by saying, "Well, much has happened last week. The wizarding world got informed that all Death Eaters died, except for Snape here. And that Albus went bat-shit-crazy. The only really open topic now is You-Know-Who."
Severus nodded and said, "Evidence points to the fact that he is gone as well. The most obvious one would be that my dark mark has completely disappeared. It didn't when the Dark Lord had been defeated in '81 and was able to return last summer. Maybe he was attacked in some way and tried to defend himself with everything at his disposal. I think that is why he might have drained all of his followers.
"But not you?" The old auror asked in a gruff voice.
"No, my mark had been changed by the Prince family ring, which I donned before last weekend, luckily."
Moody nodded, "All the marks on the now-dead Death Eaters had disappeared as well. I came to the same conclusion as you. I just couldn't figure out how you survived. Well, let's agree to keep our eyes and ears open, but not worry about that bastard anymore, all right?"
Everyone was nodding and Moody wondered if some knew more about what happened, but decided to let it rest. They had enough to worry about now.
Well," he went on, "Then let's talk about our former leader. Anything new, that wasn't in the papers?" He scowled.
"Well, I can report that as of today all of Dumbledore's illegally obtained money has been returned with interest to all wronged parties. There is little left for Aberforth to manage, but he is content with what he has and is happy the Dumbledore name is going to die out soon," Bill told them.
"Furthermore, I have to tell you that Mum has had a nervous breakdown after the news about Dumbledore came out and Ron wouldn't stop shouting. So, Dad and I packed them up and brought them to Gringotts. I had wanted to do that anyway, but Mum had declined it before.
"I had hoped that they had been messed with emotionally, but the goblins could find no evidence of it. Mum really is the Dumbledore worshipper she always portrayed and Ron is the berk he has shown us.
"But on a hunch I had them scan Dad as well, and yeah… Dumbledore messed with his emotions. He was made really meek and submissive. That has changed now for sure. "Mum is at the hospital right now. The goblins couldn't help, after all. It's just her, no outside influence… First, the healers thought there might be a connection to Dumbledore's break, but apparently, it's another illness altogether. Just the symptoms are similar…
"Ron on the other hand is experiencing horrible hardship in his opinion. He must complete all the homework he has delayed doing until now and has to help in the kitchen. The torture!" Bill said sarcastically.
"Well, I am happy to hear that Arthur has found his backbone again! I will invite him to come to visit soon," Sirius decided.
Bill nodded thankfully. His dad could need all of his friends right now.
"Oh, and one more thing. The goblins have decided that every visitor to the bank needs to do a mandatory scan now, once. To ensure that we get everyone Albus has messed with," Bill added.
Severus smiled internally when hearing this.
Moody nodded, "I have additional information about Albus' possible motivation for stealing all that money. I talked to Aberforth just before coming here and he told me, that in 1891 their father Percival Dumbledore was sentenced to Azkaban for life because he had assaulted three Muggle boys and the Wizengamot – or better the Lords in it – lowered the standing of the Olde Major House of Dumbledore down to Minor. Aberforth told me, that when their father was led out of the courtroom, he told Albus to do his duty and take care of the family and to restore the Dumbledore name and standing.
"Apparently, Albus didn't do so well with the first task. His mother and sister died tragically before he was twenty and while Abe was still in school. So Abe thinks that Albus must have developed an obsession to at least manage to fulfill the second task his father gave him. – Anyway, what about Hogwarts, Minerva?"
Minerva shook herself out of her thoughts and said, "Well, it doesn't excuse his messing us up and making us dance to his tune! But you asked about Hogwarts… things are looking up. As Bill said, Hogwarts and everyone swindled out of money has gotten it back with interest. It were some nice and tidy sums, let me tell you," she grinned to Severus whose mouth twitched a little, trying to answer her smile.
She went on, "The next great news is, that the goblins have found and destroyed the curse on the Defense post. It was on the four-poster bed, in the suit for Defense teachers. How he got into that room, is everybody's guess. Some even speculated that not You-Know-Who but Dumbledore might have cast it. But it had already been destroyed, so we couldn't check. So, another unresolved riddle!" now she scowled.
"Anyway, the posts for headmaster and deputy are soon to be filled by some administrators, from a school in Malta and another one in Canada. Let's hope, they bring the school into this century before it ends. It's good to sit back and concentrate on teaching and on my house, let me tell you!"
Everyone smiled at the fierce speech from Minerva.
"And the governors?" Sirius asked scowling.
"Have been disbanded. They certainly didn't do their jobs of oversight of the headmaster and the school but earned themselves quite some money for doing nothing. And, as they aren't necessary according to the rulebook they were thrown out. It was quite satisfactory to do that, let me tell you."
Here even Severus grinned in remembrance, and he nodded, "Never anger all four heads of houses at once!"
"Oh, and all the muggle-born and -raised, who hadn't seen a healer before, are now vaccinated and their health has been seen to!" Minerva told them and then had to explain that statement, as most heard about it for the first time. She added, "And now, Poppy is on a dental crusade. Apparently, our world has gone lazy regarding our teeth. So watch out for her, or get them fixed!"
"That's why Tom has teeth now! White teeth!" Tonks exclaimed. "I nearly fell over my own feet, when seeing him!"
"You fall over your own feet just by standing upright," Moody groused, and Tonks scowled.
"Walked right into that, Tonksie," Sirius teased her, "Or rather, you stumbled."
Sniggers.
Even Tonks had to grin.
"All right, anything else?" Moody brought them back on track.
Sirius answered ginning, "Well, as you all know, I have been exonerated at last. – And it seems that the DMLE and Wizengamot Administration Services have found out who votes with the Potter votes, and they are in the process of checking if it was the deciding vote in any ballot and if so if it was cast according to the Potter guidelines. They have to go back fourteen years, so it might take a while. But the werewolf legislation seems to have been such a vote and it just might be, that it will be overturned. If not, I will have it revised, like some other bills, which went into becoming law in the last fifty years…
"As I have just implied, I have taken the Black seat and also the Potter's vote, with Harry's permission. That guy, someone from the Filch family, kicked up quite the fuss if you can believe it. Well, let's hope he goes to Gringotts soon and gets some help if needed. If they find nothing, I will file a complaint against him.
"Oh, and Andy got the 'Harry Potter Adventure Books' moved into fiction and Harry will receive all the royalties for them from now on. Aaaaand the Prophet has no permission anymore, to publish anything about Harry."
"Hear, hear!" Remus called out.
"Anything else?" Moody asked.
"Well, what about Hagrid? Shouldn't we recall him? There will be no war after all, apparently," Remus asked.
"Damn, you are right! I will write him at once." Moody said angry with himself for not thinking of the gentle half-giant.
"Make sure to send a smart owl and a long-distance one, as well. And tell her to wait if there is an answer but to stay clear of any giant."
Moody nodded and sighed, "Well, I have one last point. You remember your homework from the last meeting?" He was met with mostly questioning looks. He sighed again, "Why we possibly guarded the DoM entrance…"
Comprehension.
Shacklebolt answered rather haltingly, "Well, there are many things in the DoM, but one thing Dumbledore said stuck with me. Something about Harry and fate. Couldn't it be something in the Hall of Prophecies?"
Severus flinched rather visibly.
When they all looked at him, he nodded and haltingly told them of the prophecy, he had overheard in his Death Eater days.
Seeing how devastated the man was still, Sirius couldn't even dredge up any anger with Severus. He felt rather compassionate toward him, to his own amazement.
"Damn, that all sounds orchestrated by Albus," Moody sighted.
Severus looked up in surprise, "You think…"
"For sure! Having a job interview in the Hogshead in the middle of a war? Bah! You, hearing exactly enough to make You-Know-Who worry? Yes, that reeks of someone pulling the strings."
Severus started to use his mind to analyze the situation and not his heart and couldn't help but agree.
Moody scowled, "So it was probably some elaborate plot of some kind. Those two seem to have had a great love for them. Maybe to lure You-Know-Who to the Ministry. Maybe Potter as well. After all, according to Albus, the boy had to die."
"Merlin, I hate that man!" Sirius exclaimed and the rest nodded. "So now what?"
"Well, one day, Potter might want to take a look, but no hurry," Shacklebolt suggested, and the rest nodded.
"So that's it? We keep our eyes and ears open; I inform Hagrid and maneuver him to Gringotts, and we all go on with our lives?" Moody asked.
"As long as you don't forget Dung and Figg, I agree," Sirius said and the rest voiced their agreement as well. "I would also suggest we do not announce our belief that You-know-who is dead. It will keep everyone wondering and a little on edge. That way our society will not fall back into their old lazy and corrupt ways and complacency again."
The others nodded thoughtfully.
"Right. Then we are disbanding the Order until further notice," Moody said and the rest cheered, because it meant, the danger was gone.
And now their meeting dissolved into quite the party, much to Sirius' delight.
Ron
"How?"
"What?"
Harry sighed, "How was it all my fault?"
Ron blustered and answered angrily, "You know, how!"
Harry shook his head, "I really don't. Enlighten me, please."
"What?"
"Please tell me in more detail how you came to the conclusion that I am responsible for all your woes, whatever they might contain."
Ron's face got even redder, much to Harry's amazement, and yelled at his former friend, "Stop talking like a stuck-up!"
"I bet he didn't understand a word and is deflecting now," they heard from another student standing close by, who was watching the confrontation in the courtyard of Hogwarts.
Harry grinned at Daphne, who had said that to Theo.
Ron yelled at her, "Shut up, Death Eater!"
She coldly answered, "I am not dead, am I?"
"What?"
Theo sighed, "This is getting boring. Come, Harry, we are to meet the others soon. Luna promised to show us a wackspurt."
Harry grinned and then looked back to Ron, "Sorry Ron, good talk, see you later," and moved away from the other boy, who was reaching out to grab his shoulder, but Harry ducked away.
"Hey! We were talking!" Ron yelled at the retreating back of his former friend.
Someone else said, "Talking…, my ass."
Ron whirled around but was met with a lot of judgmental faces, yelled out in frustration, and stomped off.
Potter! If not for him, his mum wouldn't be at St. Mungo's, Dumbledore would not be there either and he, Ron would be still on top of the food chain in Hogwarts! "Gah!" he yelled at a passing first-year who jumped back startled and scurried off.
In the lair
"Are you alright?" Daphne quietly asked Harry on their way to their lair, which they had started calling 'their' empty classroom.
"Yeah, just sad, you know? I don't understand, how he can possibly blame me for everything. We were best mates for three years and now, since he came back from his suspension, he is like this…"
"He is a moron, in the midst of puberty, looking for a scapegoat for all of his problems and you make the easiest target in his tiny mind," Theo explained, and Harry nodded sadly.
"I just wish it weren't so…"
"If wishes were hippogriffs, right?" A new voice said behind them and Luna linked her arm with Harry's, saying, "He will calm down, you know? But you never will be more than acquaintances from now on."
Harry nodded sadly and they entered 'their' room, which they had transformed into a small and cozy common room. At least, he and his other friends had formed a friendship with the quirky Ravenclaw he had met on the train at the beginning of this school year. One day she had just walked into their room, sat down, and said, "Hi." and that was it.
Unbeknownst to them (except to Luna) the house elves had warded the room so that only they could see and enter it. Like the elves had done for many students before them. They had long-standing orders going back to Helga Hufflepuff to do exactly that. But only if decency was being kept.
In the room, Hermione, Tracy, and Blaise already were in deep discussion. About the British Museum of all things. Waving distractedly at their arriving friends.
"So, the only one missing is Nev?" Harry said and fell onto an inviting couch and sighed.
"What about the Hufflepuffs you are getting friendlier with? Did you invite them as well?" Daphne asked.
Harry shook his head, "No, not yet. We are just getting to know each other, now that we have cleared the air between us. There is still some stuff to unpack and trust to be built. Maybe next year? I mean, after yule. And I will ask you all before I invite anyone!"
Theo nodded, "Who are you thinking of exactly?"
"Susann, Hannah, Justin, and Ernie. They are nice, I think. Not Zach."
Tracy, who had started to listen in chimed in, "Neville will be happy to hear that. About Hannah, I mean."
They all sniggered, thinking about Neville who was always getting flustered when the girl was nearby.
"I bet he is digging and weeding in one of the greenhouses and has forgotten the time, again," a ginning Hermione huffed.
"He tends to do that," Harry nodded to his future sister. As soon as he took the Potter ring, he would ask her, for sure! Maybe in the summer after school ended? He wasn't in much of a hurry to take up his lordship anymore after most of his problems seemed to have disappeared. Sirius was his legal guardian now. No more Dursley! Ever!
Harry sighed in contentment and mused if it had been the right decision to allow Sirius, Remus, and Severus (as he was allowed to call the man when at Grimmauld now) to cast just the same small spell on the three muggles in retaliation for Harry's miserable childhood. They had not been allowed to do anything hurtful.
Apparently, they had decided on a truth spell that worked wonders when cast on Muggles. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley could not lie anymore. Poor them! Harry sniggered, imagining his relatives telling their neighbors, colleagues, and schoolmates what they really were thinking of them. Oh, the embarrassment and disgrace! (The only thing they couldn't tell the truth about was the wizarding world. Severus made sure of that.)
Meanwhile, Daphne filled the others in about the confrontation that had just happened in the courtyard.
"That boy," Hermione sighed. "Well, I hope Bill and his dad can help him become a decent human being now…"
Tracy clapped her hands and said, "Different topic! This one is depressing! Now, who do you think we have to thank, for the dental intervention Madame Pomfrey has started? It's so much better now and it's spreading in the wizarding world after the Daily Prophet wrote an article about it!"
"And said in it that our teeth were worse than the ones of muggles overall!" Blaise grinned. "Very Slytherin."
Harry grinned, "I think Tom the barkeep of the Leaky is the best advertisement!"
Hermione agreed, "If he would clean up his taproom as well, it would be perfect! But to your question, Tracy, the first one I know who used the potion was Sirius Black, to my knowledge."
Harry looked impressively innocent when all looked to him in question, "I might have started asking questions about it to Sirius and then Professor Snape." He hedged.
"My hero!" Tracy crowed throwing her arms in the air and they all laughed.
"Oh, on another topic, did you all see Professor Lupin this morning? Wasn't the full moon yesterday night and he had said earlier, he needed one day to recover from the transformation?" Theo asked.
Harry perked up even more and nodded happily, "You remember when I told you about him becoming part of the Black family and this unknown curse, the family ring purified him off?"
They all nodded and he went on, "The transformation is now nearly painless and so he doesn't need time off anymore!"
"That's great!"
"Cool!"
"I wonder if his bite still is infectious?" Hermione mused, "But how to test that? Does he lose his mind when transformed, still?"
"No idea about your first two questions," Harry answered, "But to your last one, no, he doesn't! Moony is in charge but Remus is aware and it seems to be a much more symbiotic relationship between human and wolf now. Remus, Ted Tonks, and Professor Snape are planning to study this curse and a possible cure with Sirius as the financial backer."
"Good!" came from all sides.
"Do you think Neville will ever arrive?" Tracy asked then.
"No, he lost track again. But it doesn't matter. I will show you another time," Luna said smiling. She was just overjoyed to have actual friends now.
The rest sniggered and settled back into their couches.
"Did Johnson invite you back onto the team, Harry?" Blaise asked and Harry shook his head.
"No, she didn't. She probably was told what I said about having no time anymore… But I told Katie about Ginny and her ability to fly and they are training her now."
"She is lucky, the school has decent brooms now, wouldn't you say?" Blaise grinned and they all nodded emphatically. It was amazing what the school with funds and a decent headmistress and deputy headmaster could do in just two weeks!
"I heard they are hiring more teachers to help with the current subjects and are planning to reinstate a lot of courses, Dumbledore had dropped and taken the funds for himself," Hermione sighed in pleasure. "The school is becoming much more like I had dreamed when I first learned of it!"
They grinned at the happy bookworm and decided to go and look for dinner In the Great Hall.
On their way there Harry said to Daphne, "You remember when I told you all about my hearing in front of the Wizengamot?"
"Yes, it seemed to be a bit similar to the conservation with Weasley, earlier."
"Exactly. That's why I was thinking about it again. Do you know what the strangest thing about it is?"
"All the changes that hearing kicked off?"
"Hm, that too, but no. The strangest thing is, that I still have no answer."
"What do you mean."
"I still don't understand, how Fudge knew, that a 'muggle' had been at the site when I cast the Patronus, while the two dementors went undetected."
The end.
A/N: Well, that is it. This was a fun ride! Even though poor Harry didn't get his question answered.
I will add a bonus chapter with some glimpses into the future later. But I thought this to be a fitting ending.
