Last time...
"Ah," Dumbledore murmured, gently, like it was an afterthought. "yes. Yes, I thought we might hit that little snag."
"Snag?" Fudge echoed, both grim and confused. "I see no snag, Dumbledore!"
"Well, you see," Dumbledore informed him, apologetically, "I'm afraid I do."
"Oh really?"
"Well…It's just that you seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to — what is the phrase? 'Come quietly?'. I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course — but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing." Dumbledore revealed, reminding Hera far too much of herself, and she wondered just what he thought he was doing.
Umbridge's face was growing steadily redder, she looked as though she was being filled with boiling water. Fudge just stared at the man as though he'd just been stunned by a blow to the head, and couldn't quite believe it had happened. He made a small choking noise and then looked around at Kingsley and the other auror, who alone of everyone in the room had remained entirely silent so far. The latter gave Fudge a reassuring nod and moved forward a little, away from the wall. Hera saw his hand drift almost casually toward his pocket, and would have moved to intercept if it had not been for the subtle hand twitch that was a signal from Dumbledore. He wanted this.
"Don't be silly, Dawlish," Dumbledore insisted, kindly. "I'm sure you are an excellent Auror, I seem to remember that you achieved 'Outstanding' in all your N.E.W.T.s, but if you attempt to…er…'bring me in' by force, I will have to hurt you."
The man called Dawlish blinked, looking rather foolish. He looked toward Fudge again, but this time seemed to be hoping for a clue as to what to do next.
"So," sneered Fudge, recovering himself, and Hera couldn't help but wonder how much of this was a cover and how much was the man really wanting to stick it to Dumbledore. "you intend to take on Dawlish, Shacklebolt, Dolores, and myself single-handed, do you, Dumbledore?"
"Merlin's beard, no," Dumbledore denied, benignly. "Not unless you are foolish enough to force me to. You aren't foolish, are you Cornelius?"
Chapter 107
"Enough of this rubbish!" Fudge declared, pulling out his own wand. "Dawlish! Shacklebolt! Take him!"
It happened in a flash. Silver streaks of light flitted about the room. A large bang like that of a gun shot sounded, and the floor trembled beneath their feet. Hera had barely a second to cast a discrete shield charm over Fudge before a hand grabbed the scruff of her neck and forced her down on the floor as another silver flash filled the room. Several portraits cried out in alarm. The phoenix that had been sitting quietly before now screeched, and a cloud of dust filled the air.
Coughing in the dust, Hera saw a dark figure fall to the ground with a crash in front of her. There was a shriek and a thud, the sound of glass breaking, frantically scuffling footsteps, a groan, and then…silence. Hera struggled around to see who was half-strangling her, and saw Professor Snape crouched beside her. He had forced both Hera and Marietta out of harm's way. Dust was still floating gently down through the air onto them. Panting slightly, Harry saw a very tall figure moving toward them.
"Are you all right?" Dumbledore inquired, as he helped each of them up.
"I'm fine." Flitwick insisted, waving him off, having been on the other side of Marietta.
"Did you have to be so dramatic about it all?" Snape demanded. "Minerva isn't going to be pleased, you know."
"I imagine not." Dumbledore agreed, looking over the damages. He froze as Fudge's shielded form came into view, before turning to Hera. "…Temporary displacement?"
"It was the only way to shield him in time." Hera confirmed. "I had plans in place before your dramatics took over."
"Oh well, might as well release him." Dumbledore sighed. Hera nodded, and snapped her fingers, releasing the spell which allowed Fudge to take a breath.
"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded, his eyes bulging as he took in the scene around him. When his eyes settled on Dumbledore, he was livid. "Now, see here-"
"No! You see here!" Hera snapped, and Fudge clamped his jaw closed. "I don't give a rats arse that you two have some sort of pissing contest. There are actual lives at stake!"
Fudge blustered, but didn't deny it.
"Why isn't she arrested yet? What could you possibly be waiting on?" Hera demanded, angrily. "You've had ages!"
"Lady Potter…" Fudge began his defence, but deflated just as quickly. "The more we investigate, the more we find. We don't want there to be anything we've missed that she can use to bargain her way out or to a lesser sentence."
"You two are working together." Dumbledore realized.
"Glad you've finally caught on." Hera scoffed. Looking at the rest of the office, she could see it was a wreck, but her eyes found another problem. "Did you have to get Kingsley too? He's nice."
"It would have looked suspicious if I had not." Dumbledore admitted. Fair, but still. "Now, they will all awake very soon and it will be best if they do not know that we had time to communicate — you must act as though no time has passed, as though they were merely knocked to the ground, they will not remember-"
"Stasis spells." Hera countered, waving her hand at the floors occupants. Fudge's eyes bulged at the blatant display. "You've got time. Talk it out, you two." Neither looked to be in the talking mood. "Well?"
"I suppose…With things being as they are, we should set our differences aside for now." Fudge grudgingly agreed. "We can discuss the semantics of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named later."
"Actually, he's not a problem anymore." Hera put in. Both men turned to her, eyes wide, though for very different reasons. "Yeah, I lied about his not returning. He did, but I took care of it. Your problem now is Knott Sr. and his cronies that escaped Azkaban. They may or may not have a key aspect of the universe at their disposal, so they might be more of a problem to get back."
They still hadn't moved, or even breathed.
"What?" Hera wondered in confusion. "Did I forget to mention that earlier?"
"Is she like this all the time?" Fudge inquired, to which Snape nodded, and he paled. "I see."
"I suppose my 'escape' will have to continue." Dumbledore continued. "Unless you can manipulate memories?"
"I'd rather not attempt that, if it's all the same to you." Hera objected.
"Where will you go, Dumbledore?" Snape inquired. "I highly doubt you'll be going into hiding, at any rate."
"Oh no," Dumbledore agreed, with a grim smile. "I am not leaving to go into hiding."
"I'll tell Amelia to expect you." Fudge offered, surprising the man. "She'll expect a full debriefing of everything that's gone on so far. There was only so much Lady Potter could tell us."
Dumbledore nodded, bemused by how the situation had taken such a turn.
"I still don't get it…" Hera sighed, looking around her at the chaos the office had become. "All of this…and for what?"
"Hera, my dear…No. Lady Potter," Dumbledore began. "the truth is I have a great many bones for you to find. I've done things I'm not proud of, manipulated things to suit what I thought was needed, and no time at present to own up to any of them. I should have then, but it'll have to wait till this is settled."
"I'll hold you to that, you know." Hera warned him, and Dumbledore nodded; his expression grave. "What made you change your mind?"
"A conversation; one with the most unlikely of people, and perhaps the one I've wronged above all others, for he yet lives in a cage of my making while I live the life he never wanted for either of us." Dumbledore admitted; not a lie, but Hera had no clue what it could mean.
"A conversation for another time." Hera allowed, and nodded towards the door. "You sort of need to leave before I can get started keeping them too busy to look for you, you know."
"Hogwarts has always responded well to you." Dumbledore mused. "I'm sure she'll be glad to help."
Fawkes circled the office and swooped low over him, just in time for him to grasp the phoenix's long golden tail. There was a flash of fire, and the pair were gone.
"You need to get down into the floor, and act prone." Hera suggested to Fudge. "It'll help sell it when I pull the others out of stasis. Oh, and keep acting like Dumbledore annoys you to no end."
"I assure you, Lady Potter, I shall have no trouble with that bit." Fudge remarked easily. Hera rolled her eyes, but shooed at him to get on with it, and once he was in place…
~snap!~
"Where is he?" Fudge demanded with a shout, pushing himself up from the ground. "Where is he?"
"I don't know!" Kingsley shouted, also leaping to his feet.
"Well, he can't have Disapparated!" Umbridge cried in disbelief. "You can't inside this school-"
As if evidence to the contrary wasn't standing right in front of her.
"The stairs!" cried Dawlish, and he flung himself upon the door, wrenched it open, and disappeared, followed closely by Kingsley and Umbridge.
"Think it worked?" Fudge quietly wondered, once they were gone.
"They shouldn't question it." Hera nodded in encouragement.
"Let's get these two to the Hospital Wing." Flitwick decided, taking charge of the situation, shooing Hera – who was somehow still holding Dobby – and Marietta towards the door, with Snape following close behind.
As it swung closed behind them, Hera heard Phineas Nigellus' voice. "You know, Minister, I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts…but you cannot deny he's got style…"
"Potter, I know you will want to deal with Ledbury – Don't deny it. – but I would have you leave that to me." Severus began, as they walked towards the Hospital Wing. She glared up at him, but he didn't back down. "I am his Head of House, and dealing with him is within my duties. You have bigger things to worry about than one student's disloyalty."
He noted the way she glared at Edgecombe, and sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he thought, especially if her protective instincts had been kicked up. Potter was never so stubborn or spiteful as when she was doggedly defending another. He didn't know precisely every curse that went into what he now saw afflicting the girl, but he had no doubt that Potter's vindictive nature had gone into exacting revenge for what she saw as a betrayal. It may not even have been personal, so much as it needed to make a point.
"I'm surprised you went with sewing." Severus commented, causing Potter to give him a warning look and Edgecombe to let out a surprised and rather mortified sounding garble.
"Yes, Miss Edgecombe, we knew." Filius replied to her obvious distress.
"Not only did we know, we've been aiding in her lesson plans; though I will admit we did not know about the various curses on the parchment signed." Severus added, narrowing his eyes at the young girl. Edgecombe slumped against Filius, exuding defeat and sadness, and Severus decided he'd had enough. "Filius, would you mind taking Potter along with you while I deal with Ledbury? Tonight's already been a long night, and I'm not looking forward to what will follow."
"Don't worry about it." Filius nodded. "I'm sure we'll all be in it soon enough."
...
"Mr. Ledbury, do you know why I called you into my office?"
Holden sighed in defeat, knowing that this was going to happen. He'd actually thought it would be Hera Potter that caught him, but it was somehow worse and better that it was his Head of House calling him into the office for it. He looked at Professor Snape now, and cringed. The man didn't look angry, but instead had a quiet sort of disappointment. He wasn't sorry about what he'd done, or that he'd been outed for it, and he knew it wouldn't do to lie about it here.
"I attacked your apprentice, Sir." Holden admitted outright. That must not have been what he was in here for, because his Head of House raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "I carried tales to Professor Umbridge?"
"You carried tales to Professor Umbridge." Professor Snape repeated with a nod. "My apprentice can take care of herself, and obviously did so as she seemed no worse for wear when I saw her last."
He stood up, and casually walked around the desk.
"I want to ask you something, Ledbury." He continued. "In what world did you think I wouldn't know of my apprentice's activities? Were you unaware that Potter was going to the other teachers at my insistence? Why did you think your extra lessons were so closely in line with whatever you were covering in class?"
Holden stilled as he realized what his Head of House was saying to him.
"The only teacher who didn't know was Umbridge."
"Oh." Holden couldn't help but let out.
"Yes. Oh." Professor Snape returned. "Now, what are you going to do about it?"
"I thought it would get me an in with Professor Umbridge, that she'd put in a good word for my family." Holden explained, rapidly.
"You thought you could get a leg up by kneeling like a sycophant, is that right?" Professor Snape demanded, before pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Mr. Ledbury, let me be the first to tell you that I know from personal experience that such actions do not work. Now, I would suggest you talk to Potter before she gets any ideas on dealing with you herself. Understand?"
Holden nodded, grimacing faintly, and feeling very much as if he had dodged some horrible fate.
"This is stupid." Hera huffed, before grabbing Professor Flitwick's hand and – Luna had called it moving through shadows, so…shadow stepped? – from the hallway to the hospital wing.
Marietta is as white as a sheet, and Flitwick is taking slow and careful breaths, but Dobby just snuggled into her magic.
"Apologies. Should have thought that through." Hera acquiesced, already moving over to put Dobby in a bed.
It made him look that much tinier, for all that the bed was standard sized, and then she was angry again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Marietta had gotten into a bed. Flitwick left not long after to get Madam Pomfrey. It was all the opportunity Hera needed. As soon as Flitwick had rounded the corner, Hera snapped her fingers; creating a sheer bubble like barrier around herself and Marietta.
"You and I need to have a conversation." Hera began coolly, though Marietta seemed to think that scooting to the headboard was the better part of valour.
Madam Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick had come running, of course. One didn't cast magic like that in a hospital wing without alerting someone, not that it would do them any good. With another snap of her fingers, Hera changed her clothes to that of a simple white blouse with a bit of a ruffled open V-neck that closely resembled a poet's shirt, and a pair of loose but comfortable black pants. Taking the chair closest to them, Hera turned it around backwards so that she'd have a bit of an armrest when she leaned into it. For a moment, she simply watched in fascination with how the barrier rippled but didn't pop any time Pomfrey or Flitwick tried to dispel it.
"Marietta," Hera began, calling the girl's attention to her. "I'm going to clear away a bit of the swelling from your eyes. You need to be able to see me, you understand."
A wave of her hand, and the swelling decreased enough that Marietta could blink, though her eyes widened in alarm at the sight Hera made.
"There we are. Now, as I said before, you and I need to have a conversation." Hera continued, seeing that her work was done. "You were warned there would be consequences to your actions should you choose to go to the Umbitch with this. What did you think would happen? A few tripping jinxes, and a hiccup or two? Oh no. I am far too cruel for that, no matter what the others had added. If you haven't guessed already, the stitching around your lips was my doing, but unlike mine, yours won't scar. There, I can be generous too. Would you like me to undo it? I could, but are you willing to risk what might happen after?"
"Hera, my friend, what are you doing?" She hears. She doesn't need to look behind her to know that Jareth is worried for her.
"I'm trying to decide what to do." Hera admitted casually, keeping her eyes on Marietta. "I'm angry, and I want to hurt her. I want her to understand just what she's done, that there are consequences to endangering those I hold dear, but I can't…Nothing's been said, so nothing's been done, but I want it."
"I didn't think you'd run into this so soon, but I suppose with the Black Family magic coursing through your veins, it would be sooner than later." Jareth noted, sitting down near her at the foot of the bed. Hera looked over at him with eyes both pleading and angry, and his gaze softens. "We Fae are known for our kindness, but more so for our cruelty, and we are far too quick to anger. Thankfully, you have a lifetime of patience to aid you, which I imagine is why you haven't done what you wish to do. So, what will you do instead?"
Hera looked back to Marietta, and snapped her fingers, releasing the thread from her lips.
"You're insane!" Marietta blurted, alarmed enough that she tried to clasp her hands to her mouth as if to shove the words back in, and then… "I just wanted one normal year! Just one! Why couldn't you and your friends just leave well enough alone for once! I hope Professor Umbridge locks you up! You're the worst thing that's ever happened to Hogwarts, and I hate you!"
The more Marietta kept talking, the more a foul odour began to permeate the room, and Hera realized what Luna had done.
"Oh, you clever girl." Hera murmured, catching Marietta's attention.
"What?"
"She knew just what to do to snap me out of my anger and allow me to bask in yours. You'll be forced to blurt out diatribes like that one at random, forced to tell the truth; so help you god." She couldn't help the crazed smile that crossed her face then. "Ah, but each time your truth is unkind, so too will you exude smell enough to drive off those around you. I could not have done it better."
Hera stood up to leave, but an anguished growl stopped her.
"You're just going to leave me like this?!" Marietta demanded. "What kind of monster are you?!"
"Is that what you think I am? I suppose on some level, it must be true. But, Marietta, know this. As bad as you think I am, as far as you think I'm willing to go to protect that which I hold dear…you can't possibly fathom how deep that well of mine truly goes."* Hera warned her, leaning in just a touch as she bared her teeth. "Pray that you never find out."
…
"Why…" Hera trailed off as he lead her away.
"Why am I here?" He finished her inquiry. When she nodded, he sighed. "You didn't need to call me for me to feel your distress, my friend. I imagine your shield-brethren have as well."
"She nearly ruined everything. She's the reason Dobby's hurt, though it wasn't anything life threatening, and still I wanted…"
"I know."
"I just…You didn't have to come here, Jareth." Hera insisted, stopping them, in earnest. "She'll try to drag you into this too, foul loathsome little pink toad that Umbridge is, if she hears that you've been here. I don't want you to get caught up in this too."
"My friend, you could not have kept me away." Jareth simply replied, before gesturing to the concealed door that lead to her House. "Now, I imagine your friends will wish to make sure you are well. Shall I inform those who are not within House Slytherin?"
She startled, not even realizing he'd shadow stepped before that moment. "Would you?"
"Of course, my friend." He agreed, and looked at her for a moment; deciding to try and take her mind off things. "Why the change in clothes?"
"What?" She blurted, before looking down in realization. "Oh, I thought I'd change it up a bit for that. Can't exactly man-spread in a skirt, you know. Hang on."
~Snap!~Snap!~
"What did you just do?" Jareth wondered; curiosity ever his weakness.
"I made it so that any time she tries to reveal secrets I wished kept hidden – like what happened in the office, or our meetings with the DA – the threads will come back. They're not permanent," Hera revealed, sending a wicked grin his way. "but she doesn't know that. They'll go away when she stops trying to reveal secrets no longer hers to share, and they'll stay gone if she keeps them to herself."
…
"Oh, Hera!" Hera heard, right before she was bombarded by a wall of sentient fluff that could only belong to Hermione. "You're safe! I was so worried!"
Hera didn't get a word out before Hermione held her out in front of her and began looking for damages.
"She didn't get to you? What took you so long? Professor Snape came back without you, and now he and Holden are in a meeting, and-"
"Hermione, breathe!" Hera blurted; the whole Common Room chuckling a bit when Hermione took in a deep breath and slowly let go. "Dumbledore is gone, and it's likely that Umbridge will now run Hogwarts; or at least try. She found the list with our names."
Hermione began to look distinctly guilty.
"She saw the words 'Dumbledore's Army' on it." Hera continued with an edge to her voice. "Hermione…"
"I thought it would be a good cover!" Hermione defended, surprising Hera. "We put those curses on that parchment for a reason, because we didn't trust that someone wouldn't eventually blab, and look what happened!"
"So...you're telling me you knowingly threw Dumbledore under the Knight Bus?" Hera inquired, knowing that was the only way some of the other Slytherins would get the reference.
Hermione stood a little straighter, and gave a sharp nod. "Yes, I did."
"Well, it worked. Dumbledore went with it, fessed up to trying to start an army of children. Fudge almost shat himself." Hera chuckled. She then gave the girl a significant look. "Ledbury was working for me."
Both Draco and Hermione furrowed their eyebrows at that, obviously able to tell the lie for what it was.
"Run that by me again." Snape stated casually, having just entered the Common Room with Ledbury; who looked rather confused at her declaration.
"I needed an inside man, so I got one. Umbridge has created a special task force, and I needed to know what her plans were without revealing my own, and it's not like she would have invited me to join. No one would suspect Ledbury, because he and I don't interact much, and he's been neither antagonistic nor friendly to me when we have." Hera shrugged, before turning to the rest of the Common Room. "No one is to punish him for this. He did what was asked of him, and was going to report back to me when things were set into motion too quickly for him to find me. He kept his cover by feigning an attack on me, thus allowing Umbridge to bring me to the Headmaster's office and revealing her plan – Speaking of which, Hermione, you and Draco are scary with curses. Marietta's face looks horrific just now; plus, you should see what Ron and Luna added. Not sure when they did that, but oh well. – Anyway, the attack gave him the in he needed to look good with Umbridge, so she doesn't suspect him."
"Why did you need someone to do that?" Draco asked, playing along. He'd get the truth out of her later, she knew.
"Because the Ministry is taking too long, and I'm tired of waiting."
"She's got a point." Hermione agreed, discontent with the whole situation. "Even Lockhart didn't last this long, and there were people who actually liked him in the beginning. Umbridge didn't even have that going for her."
With that, things went back to normal. Snape sent an arched eyebrow in inquiry, and she merely nodded, which he took as the signal it was intended to be; leaving without so much as a word between them. A few of the others came over to ask about meeting times and a new location, but she didn't have the answers just yet, and they had to accept that for now. Both Draco and Hermione sat near her, with Neville checking in on her before heading off to bed. When even Draco and Hermione begged off to sleep, Ledbury finally made his move.
"Why did you protect me?" He demanded, keeping his voice low. "You could have told them. They would have destroyed me, eviscerated me out of sight somewhere, and no one would have breathed a word of it."
"What good would it have done?" She demanded. "I'm already up to my eyeballs in plots, manipulations, and intrigue. What would allowing the rest of Slytherin house beat you into a bloody pulp somewhere have accomplished?"
He seemed to be at a loss for words, looking at her like he'd never seen her before.
"What about that was confusing for you?" She questioned, already infuriated from the events of the day.
"You…You're really Slytherin?" Holden asked, and now she was the one that was confused. "I thought…I thought you were all brash actions and foolish bravery, that you couldn't manipulate your way out of a wet paper bag. I thought you were too straightforward, too…nice for Slytherin."
"To be fair, I am all brash actions and foolish bravery." She pointed out, to which he snorted. "Why else do you think I worry my friends so much?"
…
It had been a hectic trip to get back to Gryffindor tower without getting caught, but they'd made it. No one knew what had happened to Hera. She'd been the last to leave, having made sure everyone else got out first. Ron was currently beating himself up over exactly that in the Common Room as most of the rest of the House watched him pace back and forth. Even Seamus hadn't been able to distract him with a chess match; not for lack of trying, but Ron was to filled with worry to even think about a game right now.
"What if she-"
"She's fine." Lavender tried to calm him down. "You know Hera. She's fine."
"What if she isn't?" Ron demanded, turning again to pace in the opposite direction. "What if she got caught? What if Umbridge-"
"Oh, she did indeed get caught," A new voice interrupted, and Ron whirled around to come face to face with the Goblin King. "but your friend is right. Hera is fine."
"You know this?" Ron demanded outright.
"I do." The High Fae allowed with a nod. "Saw her to the Slytherin Dungeons myself. I must admit they remind me a little of home."
"You said she got caught?" Dean inquired, worried as well. "How is she fine if she got caught?"
"You have met her, yes?" the Goblin King alluded. "I can only surmise that she allowed herself to be caught, in order to see what the…Pink Toad, I believe she called her?…was up to. Sometimes, the best way to beat a trap is to get caught in it. Now, I believe I have another to assure of her safety."
Ron could only watch as the Goblin King disappeared in a shower of glitter, and the House of Gryffindor lost their minds. No one was supposed to be able to apparate in and out of Hogwarts, and the fact that Hera sort of could was already mind blowing enough. That he had spoken so directly to the man wouldn't make it obvious that he knew him, not with how worried he'd been and how he'd been snapping at everyone already. So while everyone was distracted with glitter and disappearing 'hotties' or whatever, Ron made a quick escape to his dorm. He just had to hope that no one cottoned on to what he was doing or why.
…
"She made it then?" Luna asked, the moment she saw the Goblin King in their Common Room. In her case, she was the calm one while the others panicked. "She's safe?"
"…There will be changes coming, ones caused by what was tried tonight, but she is safe." The Goblin King informed her. "She allowed herself to get caught, but events she was not able to elaborate on allowed her to evade prolonged containment. I must return to my previous obligation, but I will return to check in on things periodically."
"How is he?" Luna inquired, much to the confusion of those around her.
"Infuriating, and far too much like her for his own good." The Goblin King replied with bemusement. "He will be fine."
Once the glitter had faded from his leaving, and suddenly Luna became the centre of attention. They all wanted to know exactly who that was, how she knew such a powerful Fae, and what he had meant with his message. It was rather disconcerting to be so suddenly regarded, as she certainly had not been before. No wonder Hera tensed under such scrutiny. This was almost worse than being ignored. Oh dear.
Quote from Reddington - The Black List