Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts, 5/17/1995, 10:39
Harry was beyond confused as to why he was being led up to the headmaster's office. He hadn't done anything to get into trouble in quite a while now (well other than sneaking into the restricted section after curfew once or twice).
He had just stepped out of charms when Professor McGonagall had gotten his attention. She had informed him that his presence was required in the headmaster's office and that he was to come with her.
So Harry had followed her, weaving through the flood of students hurrying to get to their next classes while his mind worked furiously. The whole way up here he was wondering what this could possibly be about, and how much trouble he was in if he was going straight to the headmaster. The only other time this had happened was in his second year when he was found at the scene of the third attack.
Harry was pulled from his brooding when the moving staircase came to a noisy stop as the stone stairs bumped gently into the stone landing. Harry shook himself before he stepped off of the staircase and waited on the landing. Taking a breath to calm himself he watched as Professor McGonagall knocked on the headmaster's door.
"Come in," Harry heard Dumbledore's voice call from the other side of the door.
"Come along, Potter," McGonagall said, her voice lacking her usual briskness as she held the door open for him to step inside.
"Yes ma'am," Harry said quietly as he stepped into the familiar office, her kind demeanour unnerving him even more than he already was.
"Good morning Harry. Please take a seat," Dumbledore said kindly as he gestured to the single seat on the other side of his desk.
"Yes sir," Harry said nervously as he took the seat Dumbledore gestured to.
"I would prefer it if you would stay, Minerva," Dumbledore said looking toward McGonagall who had turned to leave.
"Of course, Albus," McGonagall said softly before she came to stand next to Harry.
"What is this about, Professor?" Harry asked nervously as McGonagall conjured herself a straight-backed chair and primly sat down beside him.
"I am sorry to tell you that your aunt, uncle, and cousin were killed last night in an automobile accident on the M25," Dumbledore said in a mournful tone, the trademark twinkle completely absent from his eyes.
"Oh," Harry said not really sure how he felt about that though he was ashamed to admit that a small part of him was dancing a jig in his mind.
"There will be a mind healer coming this afternoon from Saint Mungo's if you feel you need to talk about this. I know you have already lost so many in your young life and I hate that I have to deliver more news like this," Dumbledore said in a sympathetic tone.
"Where will I be going this summer?" Harry asked, not feeling thrilled at the prospect of seeing a mind healer.
"It's still being debated amongst child protective services but the most likely choice will be Andromeda Tonks and her family. They were mentioned as one of your possible guardians in Sirius' will," Dumbledore said, looking at him strangely.
"Sirius' will, did something happen to Sirius?" Harry asked in alarm.
"No, Sirius is perfectly fine but since he is unable to be reached by ministry officials, they have to go by the only record they have on who Sirius wishes to take guardianship over you," Dumbledore explained.
"Sirius had a will, does that mean my parents had a will too?" Harry asked curiously.
"Yes, your parents originally selected two guardians to take care of you in the event that something happened to them. The first was Sirius Black who was arrested a few days after the events of Halloween nineteen eighty-one. The second guardian mentioned was Frank and Alice Longbottom who were both attacked three days before the reading of your parents' will," Dumbledore explained in a patient tone.
"So they have to go by Sirius' will to determine where to place me?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Yes, Sirius named you heir to the Black line. As he is still technically head of the Black family himself, what he says goes as far as who will take care of his heir," Dumbledore answered.
"Who is Andromeda Tonks?" Harry asked having never heard the name before.
"She is his first cousin and a solicitor for the Ministry of Magic. The Tonks family are good honest people," McGonagall said, speaking up for the first time.
"I guess they couldn't be much worse than my aunt and uncle were," Harry muttered, trying his best to sound optimistic.
"Are you not saddened to hear of your family's passing?" Dumbledore asked in surprise.
"Not really, to be honest, I just feel relieved I don't have to go there this summer, sir," Harry admitted.
"I see. I know that they were awful to you growing up but they were still the last blood family you had," Dumbledore sighed.
"They were blood but I never considered them family and I doubt they thought of me as part of their family either, Sir," Harry shrugged.
"Very well. f you change your mind, the mind healer will be arriving at five o'clock his evening. I urge you to talk with her but the decision is ultimately up to you," Albus said deciding to leave it be for now.
"Yes sir," Harry said feeling eager to end this conversation.
"Very well. I will inform you when a decision is made on who your new guardians will be, though as I said, it will most likely be Madam Tonks and her husband," Dumbledore said deciding to change the subject.
"Thank you, Professor. Am I free to go?" Harry asked.
"Yes, you are free to leave," Dumbledore said with a nod.
"Good day sir, Harry said before turning to Professor McGonagall, good day, Professor."
Harry nodded to the two aged professors before getting up and crossing the room. Quickly stepping through the office door, Harry shut the door behind him, feeling eager to be alone so he could process everything he'd just heard. Harry made his way down the stairs in no time and stepped out onto the third-floor corridor.
Slowing his pace, Harry began to go over the conversation with Dumbledore in his head. The death of his relatives should have saddened him and it worried him a bit that he did not feel any sadness when he learned that his relatives were dead, he'd just felt indifferent.
To be honest, he was more troubled by the fact that he would be going to live with strangers than anything else. He'd never heard of the Tonks family so he had no idea what kind of people they were other than this Andromeda lady was Sirius' cousin.
'I'll just have to worry about it after the third task is over,' Harry thought to himself as he pushed open the door to his next class, defence.
Graveyard, Little Hangleton, 6/24/1995, 21:17
...Harry held onto his wand feeling it heating up in his hands. His wand was getting so hot that he could smell the flesh of his palm starting to burn! A blinding beam of golden light was connecting his wand with Voldemort's.
Even stranger was the hundreds of smaller beams of light that were branching off of the main beam, forming a golden cage over himself and Voldemort that was separating the two combatants from the death eaters who were forming a circle outside of the magical cage.
The golden cage of magic they were surrounded by seemed to thrum with his heartbeat and Harry could just make out the silhouette of the death eaters outside the cage, illuminated by the bright golden light.
Harry concentrated all of his willpower on golden beads forming on the stream of magic connecting their wands and willed them to move towards the tip of Voldemort's wand.
Harry felt elated when the beads came to a stop before they began to slowly travel towards his opponent. Harry could clearly see Voldemort's hand vibrating uncontrollably as the flow of magic reversed, taking the strain off of him.
Harry was heartened by this, and he focused with all of his might on pushing the beads into his enemy's wand, he kept repeating in his mind, 'I can do this!
Harry held on tight and gave one last mighty push forcing the first bead toward Voldemort, realizing that he might just win this fight.
'I did it!' Harry cheered internally when the first bead forced itself into Voldemort's wand and his opponent's red eyes widened in surprise.
Voldemort was now forced to hold his wand with both hands to keep it from being jerked away from him. Suddenly Voldemort roared in fury as he forced a powerful burst of magic through the strand connecting their wands, catching Harry completely off guard.
Harry screamed in agony as his wand exploded in his hand, the backlash of the magic sending him flying through the air. Harry barely had time to process what had happened, before he slammed into a large yew tree with so much force he felt a few of his ribs snap.
"That was a very good show, Harry. I believe that warrants you a nice quick death," Voldemort taunted as he strolled over to stand over Harry.
Harry looked up at his enemy in a daze, he couldn't process what was happening and his back felt very... strange. He knew he was about to die any second and a small part of him welcomed it.
The cage of golden magic very quickly dissipated, plunging the graveyard into almost complete darkness, only broken by the crackling flames still alight under the massive cauldron and the moonlight shining down from overhead.
"Goodbye, Harry Potter," Voldemort said mockingly before he raised his wand and bellowed, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The green light crossed the three or so feet between them in a fraction of a second, almost faster than Harry could blink. The last thing he remembered before everything went black, was his vision being obscured by bright green light.
Voldemort stood there feeling elated as the spell struck its mark and Potter's body went limp, his eyes staring lifelessly into the sky. Voldemort noticed a slight pain in his chest for a split second and felt lightheaded for just as long but it soon passed, replaced by the joy he felt at fulfilling the prophecy.
Staring at the boy's corpse for a moment longer, he finally came to a decision on what he would do next.
It would be best if the boy's death were ruled an accident or at least not connected to him. His forces were not ready to take on the might of the ministry just yet and he still was unsure of the current political climate or the forces the DMLE had at their disposal. No, it would be foolish to reveal himself until his forces were back to the strength they once were.
With that in mind, he decided to send both boys' bodies back to Hogwarts. This way the entire wizarding world would know about the death of the boy-who-lived. Later he would take credit for the boy's death but for now, he must remain in the shadows.
"Nagini, bite the boy's arm, fill his veins with your venom," Voldemort hissed to his familiar.
"Can I eat him?" Nagini asked hopefully as she slithered over to where Potter was lying.
"No my sweet but I shall let you have the rat-man," Voldemort chuckled, sounding very amused by his familiar's antics.
"He is filthy and would probably make me sssick," Nagini hissed, sounding almost petulant.
"Then I shall have one of my servants fetch you a newborn child," Voldemort offered.
"A nice juicy baby?" Nagini hissed excitedly.
"Of course, my sweet, but first you must bite the boy," Voldemort chuckled.
"You have a deal, great speaker," Nagini hissed, sounding quite pleased.
Voldemort watched with interest as the massive snake struck, plunging her fangs into the boy's forearm and pumping her one-of-a-kind venom into the boy's veins.
Nagini was not really a venomous snake. When he had first met her she was just a common Burmese Python. The species was nonvenomous and hunted by wrapping around and crushing their prey with their powerful coils like many other constrictors.
He had earned her loyalty decades ago by performing a unique ritual on her. This ritual was created by Salazar Slytherin himself and gave her a special hemotoxic venom, a venom that prevented blood from clotting, causing its victim to quickly bleed to death.
At the time, he needed an ingredient for a potion that would work in conjunction with a separate blood ritual he wished to perform on himself.
Voldemort had found the instructions for an interesting ritual in the Chamber of Secrets that would make it so a non-venomous snake could produce venom as any other venomous snake would. He hadn't really thought much of it at the time but had kept the instructions because they were written by Salazar Slytherin.
This turned out to be a very fortuitous decision on his part. Once he had performed the ritual on Nagini, she was gifted with the ability to produce this unique venom, making her even more deadly in the process and further securing her loyalty.
After a moment, Nagini released her hold on the boy and slithered back to the spot where she had been curled up near the fire. Voldemort could see the bite marks she had just created and turned back to his death eaters who had been watching him in silence.
"Now, I believe it is time the world learned of Potter's death. Wormtail, use the cup to portkey Potter and the Diggory boy's bodies back to Hogwarts," Voldemort ordered, watching his cowardly follower trip over himself to do as he was bid.
Peter Pettigrew timidly set about completing his task and began hovering both boys near the cup. Once they were in place, Wormtail knelt beside the bodies and attempted to press their lifeless hands to the metal, only for nothing to happen.
"It's not working, my lord," Wormtail whimpered only to squeak in surprise when his hand brushed the cup and he felt a pull behind his navel.
"Wormtail, you imbecile!" Voldemort hissed in annoyance as Wormtail and the two dead boys disappeared in a flash of blue light.
"Wonderful, the whole point of sending them back was to not tip our hand," Voldemort hissed in fury, knowing Wormtail would tell the aurors everything that happened tonight.
"Lucius, I will be staying at Malfoy Manor for the foreseeable future. Please have the east wing prepared for me when I arrive later this evening," Voldemort said in a tone of politeness but there was no mistaking the command.
"As you wish, master," Lucius timidly replied as he bowed his head subserviently.
"You will also need to take steps to silence Wormtail," Voldemort continued.
"I have Fudge under my control. It should not be too difficult, my lord," Lucius said confidently.
"Good, but if you fail to hold up your promise, I will be most... unhappy," Voldemort warned, causing Malfoy to gulp audibly before he nodded his head rapidly.
"Good," Voldemort nodded before speaking to the group at large.
"Now, I wish for the rest of you to leave. Go back to your homes and carry about your lives as normal. I will summon you within the week, once I have assessed our position," Voldemort ordered.
"Yes, my lord," every death eater chanted as one before the air was filled with a staccato of 'pops' as his servants apparated away.
"Come Nagini we have a ritual to complete, it will make usss clossser than ever," Voldemort hissed as he began making his way up the hill to his family's manor home.
"Will I be able to read your mind?" Nagini asked curiously as she slithered along beside him.
"I believe you will be able to see through my eyes and I yours," Voldemort replied as he climbed the hillside, savouring the feeling of the wind on his face after not feeling anything for so long.
"I will enjoy that, I haven't seen the world through human eyes in decades," Nagini hissed excitedly.
As Voldemort prepared himself for the unbearable pain splitting his soul would cause him, he couldn't help feeling pleased with what he had accomplished tonight. He had regained his body, taken his rightful place over his servants, and eliminated the boy of prophecy.
'I suppose to be on the safe side I had better take care of the Longbottom boy as well,' Voldemort mused as he led Nagini down to the cellar where he had everything ready for the horcrux creation ritual.
Place: Unknown, Time: Unknown
Harry felt very strange like he didn't have a body and was just listlessly floating in nothingness, everything was completely black and he couldn't sense anything around him. He desperately wished there was light, so he could see where he was.
Suddenly the blackness he was surrounded by was replaced by a white light so intensely bright it was painful, all he could see was blinding light. His eyes felt like they were burning in his sockets and Harry wanted nothing more than for the light to stop blinding him. Strangely as Harry wished the light wasn't so intense, it seemed to dim by his thoughts alone.
Now that he could open his eyes, he realized that he did have a body, after all. Looking down at his chest in awe, Harry realized that he was completely naked. This didn't really bother him much at the moment, he was the only one here right now.
Harry was more concerned with finding out where here was. Looking around him, Harry realized that he was lying on a pale white cloudy-looking floor that seemed to have just materialized underneath him when he began thinking about where he was.
Shakily Harry got to his feet and looked around him unsure what it was he was seeing. Ethereal fog surrounded him in every direction but the longer he looked, the more he could see. After a moment the fog seemed to materialize into a grand hall big enough for the whole of Hogwarts Castle to fit inside it comfortably and still have room for the grounds. There were great windows set high into the ceiling, letting shafts of warm golden sunlight shine down onto him from above. Not far from where he stood, there was a row of golden benches set on the floor putting him in mind of a train station for some reason.
Looking down again, Harry was surprised to see that the floor no longer looked like clouds, it had changed to resemble beautifully polished marble, putting him in mind of the Gringotts lobby. The room seemed to just keep going on in every direction and he never could make out a wall just a vast cavernous hall.
Harry was pulled from admiring this strange place when a wheezing cough caught his attention, making him jump in surprise.
Turning towards where he'd heard the cough, Harry saw a nasty blackened-looking baby-sized thing lying under one of the benches. His first thought was that it was utterly grotesque, its skin looked blackened and burnt, it didn't have a nose, and its eyes were blood-red staring up at him with pure hatred. The thing just lay there in the fetal position, moaning pitifully and staring at him as if it was his fault it had ended up in this state.
Harry hastily backed away, he didn't want to be anywhere near this thing. It looked like Voldemort and Snape's love child or something, and its blackened skin was utterly disgusting, making Harry think that this thing had a contagious disease.
"It can't hurt you any longer, baby," said a soft voice behind him.
Harry jumped in surprise for a second time since arriving here and spun around to face the source of the voice, only to freeze in shock when he saw the woman standing before him.
This woman was fairly short, standing a couple of inches over five feet tall. She looked to be in her early twenties and had dark Auburn shoulder-length hair and striking emerald green eyes, his eyes! She was wearing floor-length white robes and there was no mistaking the happiness on her face as his eyes met hers.
Harry knew exactly who this was but it couldn't be her, she had died over a decade ago.
"M-mum?" Harry croaked out, his voice cracking a little from shock.
"Yes Harry, but before I answer any more of your questions, how about you put on some robes? You've grown a bit since I last saw you in this state," she suggested, sounding amused.
Harry's eyes widened in horror and he quickly turned around, wishing desperately for a pair of pants and a shirt. He sighed in relief when the requested garments appeared on the floor in front of him and quickly began pulling them on, starting with his trousers.
When he was fully dressed, he turned back to his mother and asked the question that had been on his mind since he'd first seen her standing there.
"Am I dead?"
"No baby, you are in the in-between right now, You can go back or you can choose to pass on," She told him simply.
"But why aren't I dead? I took a killing curse to the face, and you weren't there to save me this time?" He asked sounding perplexed.
She sighed sadly and looked to consider his question for a moment before she spoke. Idly he noticed that her voice had the same lecture-like quality to it that Hermione's often had when she was explaining something complicated.
"On the night I died and Tom aimed his wand at you, he had already prepared a vessel and had gone through the ritual to prepare his soul to be split. Killing me the way he did, sheared off a portion of soul from what little was left of the whole. When my protection rebounded his killing curse, that piece of his soul was ejected from his body and entered yours through the cut on your forehead. You have been carrying that piece around with you since that Halloween night."
"The Killing Curse rips the soul from the body, today it ripped that piece of his soul from your body. But as the muggles say, the third time is the charm. If you get hit with the killing curse again, it will kill you," She explained and stood waiting for his next question.
"I don't understand why he wanted to kill me, to begin with, do you know?" Harry asked hopefully as he stepped closer to her.
Harry stared at her a moment, drinking her in, he had seen her face many times in photos but it did not compare to seeing her in real life... or whatever this was.
Lily sighed in frustration before taking a calming breath. She seemed to be grappling with something and Harry waited patiently for her to organize her thoughts. Finally, she nodded as if coming to a decision and met Harry's gaze.
"There was a prophecy that foretold of a boy born at the end of July who would be his downfall. One of his servants overheard the prophecy and told him all he heard, you know that servant as Professor Snape," Lily scowled as if the name was sour on her tongue.
"I knew he was an evil git," Harry muttered darkly.
"He wasn't always so, I once counted him as one of my closest friends," Lily said sadly.
"What about this prophecy, if I go back will it still... matter?" Harry asked worriedly.
"No, you do not have to worry about the prophecy anymore, it was fulfilled moments ago when he killed you," Lily answered.
"But you said-
"Technically your body is dead as long as you are here, which is enough for magic to deem the prophecy fulfilled," Lily elaborated.
"Alright, what if I decide not to go back?" Harry asked softly.
"I cannot tell you what comes after death, only the dead can know what awaits them on the other side," Lily answered sadly.
"I don't really want to go back," Harry sighed thinking of all of the horrible things that had happened to him throughout his short life.
"I know, I have been watching over you, I am so proud of all you have done," she said tears spilling down her cheeks as she pulled Harry into a tight hug.
Harry soaked in her warmth trying to burn it into his memory so he could remember what his mother's touch felt like having never experienced it that he could remember.
She didn't squeeze the breath out of him like Molly Weasley, it was a warm hug and he could practically feel her love for him as if radiated from her being, this moment would help create powerful patronus charms' for years to come.
After what could have been hours or just a few seconds (time passed differently here), she pulled back and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, and then smiled at him.
"You have grown into a handsome young man just like your father. We will see each other again but not for many decades to come," Lily said, giving him a watery smile.
"I haven't said I was going back," Harry protested.
"Harry, we both know you are not ready to move on," Lily whispered as she ran her fingers through his messy hair.
"I know, I just don't understand why I should. My whole life has been one disaster after another. I am starting to despise the wizarding world," Harry admitted giving voice to thoughts he had never put a voice to before.
"Then change it. You are a powerful wizard and a natural-born leader. You have a power you haven't even begun to understand yet. One day you will be as revered as Albus Dumbledore, but you have to believe in yourself, Harry," Lily exclaimed.
"I guess, I have to try," Harry sighed not sure if he really believed what she was saying or not.
"Don't try, do. And for the love of God, quit messing around with that lazy Weasley boy and apply yourself to your studies. Just because he aspires to mediocrity doesn't mean you should let him drag you down with him," Lily chastised.
"You sound a bit like Hermione," Harry chuckled wondering if this was how it would have been if he had grown up raised by his mother.
"Well, you would be better off following her example, at least she has ambition," Lily sighed.
"I promise to put in more effort in my studies," Harry said softly.
"Oh yes, there is one more thing, When you go back, tell Severus that I am deeply disappointed in how he has treated my son and that he will pay for destroying my family," Lily told him with a cold edge to her voice that sent a shiver down Harry's spine.
"O-okay," Harry nodded wondering how it was possible that someone as detestable as Snape could have ever been friends with his mother, to begin with.
"I believe that our time is almost up, Harry," Lily said, sounding almost on the verge of tears.
Harry jumped as her voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he noticed that her body was slowly becoming transparent resembling a ghost only her features still retained their colour.
"Wait! I don't want to go yet, can't I stay for a little longer?" Harry begged tears welling in his own eyes at the realisation that this could be the only time he would speak to her until he came back here again... when he died for real.
"I'm sorry baby, I was only allowed enough time to explain everything to you. I can't stay in the In-between very long and neither can you. Goodbye Harry, I love you so very much," Lily said as she started fading into the mist.
Harry tried to reply but he too was fading away, everything around him was going black. He could feel wet grass underneath him, he could hear voices in the background. He knew he was back but he didn't want to open his eyes and confirm it.
Before he gave into temptation and opened his eyes, barely a second had passed. Before he could even attempt to crack his eyelids open, unconsciousness claimed him plunging him into blackness all over again.
Unbeknownst to Harry Potter, his consciousness returning startled everyone around him when his supposedly lifeless corpse, took a deep ragged breath and his heart started pumping once more.
Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch, 6/24/1995, 21:27
Junior Auror Nymphadora Tonks was seated beside her boss in the Hogwarts stands feeling bored to tears. Glancing to her left, she saw that her boss looking just as disinterested as she felt.
Tonks had been excited to learn she was assigned Madam Bone's guard detail tonight and she would get to watch the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. That excitement quickly vanished when she realized that whoever designed this task was a bloody idiot!
Literally, all she had been able to do for the past hour was stare at a twenty-foot-tall hedge wall. The audience couldn't see a bloody thing going on inside the maze except for the occasional flash of light over the top when someone cast a spell.
From what she had heard, the second task was much the same. All of the action happened at the bottom of the lake, so the crowd got to freeze their bums off staring at the Black Lake for an hour... in February!
"I am seriously regretting taking over for Cornelius, this is dreadfully dull," Amelia whispered, pulling Tonks from her thoughts.
The only excitement so far had been when red sparks went up and the Durmstrang Champion was levitated out of the maze. About ten minutes later, the French champion was quite literally spat out of the maze. The poor girl was unconscious, scratched, bruised and looking very dishevelled. That was over half an hour ago and now the crowd was anxiously waiting to see which Hogwarts champion would win the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
"Yes ma'am, if only they had used unbreakable glass instead of shrubs it might be a bit more entertaining," Tonks sniggered.
"Hmm, I think you could do Ludo's job better than he does," Amelia chuckled as a flash of blue caught both of their attention.
Whatever Tonks was expecting, it wasn't for two lifeless bodies to flop to the ground and a short fat man with a silver hand to appear kneeling between the two boys. The man seemed to freeze and stare at the crowd in horror.
Amelia moved so quickly that Tonks didn't even catch it until a stunner struck the man in the chest, causing him to collapse to the ground.
"Auror Tonks, send word to the ministry, immediately. Tell Shack to get his team here ASAP!" Amelia barked as she swept from the judge's booth to the area where the champions had landed.
Amelia pointed her wand at her own throat and cast a sonorous charm on herself before bellowing over the crowd.
"EVERYONE BACK, PLEASE STAY IN YOUR SEATS BY ORDER OF THE DMLE!"
Amelia approached the downed champions, Tonks following closely behind staring in horror at the two obviously dead students. Tonks watched as Amelia began running scans over the Hogwarts champion looking very grim. Tonks could tell by the look on her face that Madam Bones already knew the two boys were dead but was following procedure.
"Tonks, get my back up here!" Amelia snapped before marching over to a group of professors.
Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Tonks took out her badge and tapped it with her wand. This was a new feature placed on every auror badge and was dead useful for communication between teams or in an emergency, like now.
Tonks quickly sent the message summoning Kingsley Shacklebolt and his team, before hurrying over to Amelia's side.
When she got there, she found Amelia having a whispered conversation with Professor McGonagall.
Tonks waited patiently as they finished talking before McGonagall marched off to begin the arduous process of herding the students back into the school.
"What's going on, ma'am?" Tonks asked.
"Potter and Diggory are dead, I believe that man is Peter Pettigrew but I have to wait for Kingsley's team to process the scene," Amelia said looking deeply troubled.
"P-Potter's dead?" Tonks asked even though she already knew this.
"He is. I ran the basic scans twice, and he didn't have a heartbeat," Amelia sighed only to jump when the boy in question took a deep ragged breath and his chest began to rise and fall.
"Tonks, go get Pomfrey, now!" Amelia ordered as she rushed to the boy's side, crouching over him before she began casting spells to check his vitals again.
It didn't take Tonks long to find Pomfrey as she was overseeing the other champions in a tent not far from the stadium. The stands were almost empty now with just the champions' families watching on anxiously
By the time Tonks arrived back at the scene, Shack and his crew were processing the area, while Auror Allen was healing a wound on Potter's hand.
Tonks stayed at Amelia's side as Shack's team got to work, about ten minutes later, Pomfrey left, levitating Potter on a conjured stretcher.
"Auror Savage, what did you find out?" Amelia asked as the dark-haired woman approached holding a clear plastic bag containing a short red coloured wand.
"The wand that the suspect was carrying has been confirmed to have cast the killing curse that killed the Diggory boy. The Potter boy also shows signs of being hit with the killing curse but obviously, it wasn't cast correctly. Potter was also bitten by some type of snake though the venom does not seem to be affecting him," Savage explained.
"Amelia, I am afraid I cannot wait any longer, what has happened here?" Dumbledore asked in a calm tone though his eyes betrayed his sadness when they landed on Cedric's lifeless body.
Tonks tuned out Amelia recapping everything she knew so far and scanned the crowd, noticing Amos Diggory staring at his son's body from the stands. She could tell he already knew his son had passed, he looked utterly lost and seemed almost as lifeless as his son.
"He's what!" Amelia snapped, pulling Tonks from her observation.
"Mr Pettigrew is an animagus, a rat if I remember correctly. So it would be wise to take precautions to prevent him from transforming," Dumbledore suggested.
"Shack, brand the prisoner with animagus runes," Amelia barked before turning back to Dumbledore.
"And how is it you know this and did not report it?" Amelia demanded as Kingsley began burning runes into the skin around Pettigrew's neck to prevent him from being able to transform.
And Dumbledore told them, the story was so fantastic she had trouble believing it. Her cousin Sirius was framed, framed by that turncoat son of a bitch! Pettigrew had been the Potter's secret keeper, he had murdered thirteen muggles and just this evening, he had murdered one of her housemates.
"Auror Tonks, go to the hospital wing and stay with Potter. I have to get back to the ministry and the ball rolling on Pettigrew before our idiot minister tries to cover this up," Amelia ordered bringing Tonks back to the present.
"Yes, ma'am," Tonks replied before making her way to the infirmary tent glad to get away from the chaos of the stadium.
Tonks knew that Harry Potter was supposed to come to stay with her family but she hadn't thought much about it. She had been a little too busy with her new job to worry about some kid staying at her mum's place. Now she realized how close Potter had come to getting killed tonight, her mother would have been devastated.
"Auror Tonks, how can I help you?" Pomfrey asked almost as soon as she entered the medical tent.
"Madam Bones ordered me to stand guard over Mr Potter, ma'am," Tonks answered at once.
"Well your presence here is most opportune, Mr Krum has tested positive for being under the influence of the imperius curse," Madam Pomfrey explained looking troubled.
"Oh bugger," Tonks groaned as she sent a message through her badge for Savage to come and process Viktor Krum.
'This is going to be a very long night,' Tonks thought as she conjured a chair next to Potter's cot and got comfortable while she waited for the chaos from the stadium to follow her in here.
Hogwarts Head's Office, 6/25/1995, 21:48
Albus was seated behind his desk having just pulled himself from his pensieve. The last twenty-four hours had been very hectic, to say the least, but things were finally starting to settle down.
The death of Mister Diggory had been a devastating blow and pained him deeply. He had been a teacher since the early nineteen hundreds but losing one of his students never got any easier. This morning he had announced Mr Diggory's death and as he expected house Hufflepuff was devastated.
Mister Potter was stable now but at the moment required around-the-clock care. The boy's metabolism had gone into overdrive requiring hourly nutrient potions as his body burned through calories at an alarming rate.
Harry also had four broken ribs, a broken arm, wrist, ankle, hand and three cracked vertebrae. Then there were third-degree burns on his wand hand wrist and right forearm.
Then there were the dark magical injuries; Harry had sustained moderate cruciatus exposure, a wound caused by a cursed ritual blade on his left forearm, and he had been envenomated by an acromantula and a serpent of unknown origin. That wasn't counting the evidence that he had been hit by the killing curse and lingering residue of the imperius curse.
Albus had quickly identified the caster of the unforgiveables as Tom Riddle (not that anyone would believe him). Not long after the boy had returned to Hogwarts, Severus had made his way to Voldemort's side. He too was recovering from cruciatus exposure today, but he was able to confirm that Voldemort had indeed returned.
Even more unsettling was the fact that Alastor had disappeared right after the champions' arrival. However, a few hours later his leg and magical eye were found lying on the path by the front gate.
Albus had since asked the castle elves to search for his old friend and it didn't take them very long to find him locked inside his own trunk.
There was only one bright spot on this otherwise dark day. Petter Pettigrew had been apprehended last night and was currently on high-security watch. Madam Bones was interrogating him under veritaserum every six hours and finding out loads of useful information. She had already rescinded the kiss-on-sight order on Sirius. Amelia had also filled out the paperwork and scheduled a trial for Pettigrew for the first of July.
Cornelius had been trying to sweep this matter under the rug but he was too late. The minister of magic had no power to interfere with anything concerning magical law enforcement. Fudge had played fast and loose with his authority last year but even the minister of magic was answerable to the head of the DMLE.
Amelia had hinted to Minister Fudge that if he continued to interfere in this case, she might open a case against him for his actions last June. Fudge knew he wouldn't come out of that very well. He had tried to administer the kiss on Sirius Black without following proper procedure and would most likely lose his position if it became public and could face time in Azkaban.
After Pettigrew's trial, Amelia planned to drop all charges against Sirius as Peter Pettigrew had already confessed to every crime Sirius was suspected of committing.
Albus was finally taking a moment to unwind, he had managed to return things to a state of order and was looking forward to turning in for the night.
Tomorrow the Tonks' family would be arriving to take Harry home, Moster Tonks was a certified healer so he would have no trouble looking after the boy. Albus was quite pleased with the Tonks family taking over the boy's guardianship. They were good people and had done a fine job raising their daughter so he knew the boy would be in good hands.
Albus' thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his office door.
'Knock'
'Knock'
"Enter," Albus called, unable to hide the tiredness in his voice.
Albus looked at the door and gave a warm smile to his deputy headmistress as she strode into his office.
"Minerva, to what do I owe this late-night visit?" Albus asked as she took a seat on the other side of his desk.
"Alastor has woken up, he wishes to speak with you," Minerva said looking just as exhausted as he felt.
"Does he know who it was that impersonated him?" Albus asked as he popped a lemon drop into his mouth.
"According to him, it was Barty Crouch Junior," Minerva said somewhat sceptically.
"Do not discount that theory so easily, Minerva. I will remind you that until last night Peter Pettigrew was believed to have been killed thirteen years ago," Albus said as he got up from his seat.
'It seems I will have to wait a bit longer to get some rest,' Albus sighed as he followed Minerva out of his office to go speak with Alastor.
Tonks Residence, Reading, 6/30/1995, 18:27
Harry groaned as he slowly opened his eyes and tried to take in his surroundings. He was in someone's bedroom, and judging by the Weird Sisters posters on the wall, it belonged to a teenage girl.
The room was modest-sized with sea-green wallpaper and hardwood floors. There were pictures everywhere, most of them of the same pink-haired girl that looked vaguely familiar. Slowly sitting up, Harry looked around the room, it looked unusually clean as if it hadn't been used in quite a while.
Harry jumped when the door was flung open and the pink-haired girl from the pictures walked into the room. She was tall with a heart-shaped face and a trim athletic body, she was currently wearing baggy shorts and a weird sister's tee shirt.
"Wotcher Harry," the girl said with a wide grin playing on her face.
"Who are you?" Harry asked as he threw his legs off of the side of the bed and prepared to stand up.
"I'm Tonks and I wouldn't suggest you get out of that bed," Tonks smirked.
"Why not?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Because you're starkers," Tonks said, looking as if she was fighting laughter.
"What!?" Harry demanded as he lifted the covers to look underneath.
Harry felt his face heat up as he quickly confirmed that he was completely nude. Harry quickly pulled his legs back onto the bed and drew the covers up to his chin.
"You heard me. My mum is out getting you some clothes and she asked me to keep an eye on you," Tonks shrugged as she took a seat on the other side of his bed.
"So why am I starkers?" Harry demanded, subtly scooting as far away from her as he could.
"You have been on a constant regimen of nutrient potions for the past week and have been growing as a side effect. Mum said it was best to just remove your clothes until you stopped growing," Tonks shrugged.
"Great, so how did I get here?" Harry asked trying to push the thought of other people seeing him naked from his mind.
"Well that is a very long story but it all started when I was watching the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament...