For those of you in our facebook group - Bubbleybear & Pienuniek's Story Nook - this news will come as no surprise. But I recently lost a very dear friend to cancer who was also an unofficial Pre-Reader for the Under Her Spell Series. Leonie Price, I miss you, so very much but I hope that you are free from pain, wherever you are.

In her honour, I am dedicating this entire book to her. Her enthusiasm helped me continue to write on many days where I felt ... lost. In fact, one of the last emails she sent me was that she wished that these books had been on the big screen; that they were better than the originals. I know it will never happen, but the thought was enough to encourage me. Please keep her in your thoughts as we continue with this story. Cheers.

I'm so glad that I can finally give you the next in the series. Just know I've already read Book Six and have taken my notes. Now ... I can say that I've started to write!

Thanks must go out to my team. My pre-reader Pienuniek and my Beta Alice's White Rabbit. I would be lost without the pair of you, truly.

I don't own Twilight, or Harry Potter, I'd be a richer person if I did. But I do so love to create my own places for them out in the world. No copyright infringement is intended.

See you at the bottom ...

Chapter Thirty-Three ~ The Return of Voldemort

I was still hugging Sirius, almost too tightly, when I heard a feminine growl before something hit me across the back. It didn't hurt, but it startled me enough that I turned around to see a very, very irate Bella getting ready to throw a rock at me.

"Don't you ever, and I mean ever, do that to me again, Edward Masen!"

Told you so, Sirius thought with a smirk as he walked past to check over Harry and the others.

"Bella …" I started to say with my hands up, that was until the rock she was threatening me with hit me in the middle of my chest.

"Do not 'Bella' me! Do you know how worried I was, especially once I knew where you had ended up. You are so damn lucky that I had studied all things ancient from the muggle world over the last few years!"

I took a step forward, only for her to take one back. "That's why I knew you would figure it out. I knew I would come back out."

Bella stormed up to me and poked me in the chest. Hard. "You didn't know that. You assumed. You made a decision that affected us both without even consulting me about it! It could have been the end of us … the end of you and me."

"You're right. I did, and I'm sorry," I said as I quickly pulled her into my arms before she could run off like she was thinking. Although she did start to pummel my chest. "But if it makes you feel any better, your singing helped. It brought Persephone down from Mount Olympus, and she helped Hades let us go."

"Really? You actually met Hades and Persephone?" she asked as she pulled back and stopped hitting me. Bella thought about slapping me across the face but didn't want to hurt herself in the process.

I nodded. "I did. They're an interesting couple. I'll show you later. But you saved us."

"Hmph." Bella huffed as she snuggled against my chest. "Don't do something so bloody stupid ever again."

"I promise I'll try not to."

I guess that's as good as I'm going to get. I will tie you up next time.

I snickered. "Don't know if that's much of an incentive not to." I could feel the eye roll Bella gave me in response to my dirty thoughts, but she didn't say anything else.

I held Bella for a while until I noticed there were a lot of subdued thoughts around us. I looked up to see that all of the women were awake, but all of the men must have become succumbed to Bella's singing. "What happened here?"

Hermione smirked in our direction while she continued to help some of the male members of the Order. "All the men just seemed to deflate into piles of goo when Bella began to sing. It was quite funny. We were able to subdue them pretty easily, but the girls were a little harder."

"I helped with that," Tonks said as she checked the bindings on some of the death eaters. "We couldn't have them getting away." Tonks looked down at Remus, who was starting to come around, before she looked back at Bella. "I've never seen anything like what she was able to do. And I've seen a lot. But I could tell that what she was feeling was coming out in her singing."

I nodded. "Like I said, it reached the gods in the Underworld and on Mount Olympus. My Bella is special."

Thank you. So are you, Bella thought without moving from my arms.

"That must be some story," Tonks said more to herself than to me.

"I promise to show you all about it," I whispered to Bella when she thought the same thing.

Bella was about to reply when there was a scuffling sound before a voice called out into the atrium that would have been akin to nails on a chalkboard. It sent shivers down the spines of many of the people who were listening. "You think you've all won! But you haven't. The Dark Lord will rise to power. He will control you all!" We turned to see that the redhead from the graveyard had been hiding in the atrium somewhere. She had been listening to all of us and thought she had the upper hand because most of the Order were still coming around. She stood with an arrogant stance and had her wand pointing in our direction. "You will all die, and Voldemort will reign supreme."

Victoria moved her wand in a way that I had already experienced, casting the Avada Kedavra spell in the direction of where Bella and I were standing. She thought we were the strongest of all the players in the game—and while she was technically correct—she didn't know that her spells would be unable to kill us. Besides the fact Bella and I were faster than she could ever hope to be. We moved as one, linking our hands together and casting "protego" at the same time, fast enough to block the killing curse from hitting us.

The scream that Victoria released was almost inhuman before she turned and bolted away, yelling a parting shot over her shoulder. "I may not have got you or your mate this time, but at least, I hurt the great Harry Potter's girlfriend. I will get you all next time!"

She sounds like a movie villain. I snorted a laugh at Bella's thoughts but didn't catch Harry's quick enough. He bolted out after Victoria, wanting retribution for the attack on Hermione. He didn't want to see the girl he was fast falling in love with hurt because of one man's obsessive-compulsive disorder for power.

"Get back here!" he shouted as he chased her down the hallway opposite of where we were standing.

"Harry!" I called after him. I spun to look at Bella. "He can't go alone."

She tugged on my hand and began pulling me along. "Nope, we've got to help him."

And the chase was on. Although Bella and I could run faster than Harry, Victoria led us on a merry chase back through all the sections of the Department of Mysteries, and because the place moved and changed, it kept us on our toes and unable to chase them both with the speed and efficiency I was hoping for.

We made our way back through the time room. Harry and Victoria having already gone through there. I 'd watched through Harry as Victoria raced through both of the clouds from the bells, first becoming younger before aging once more.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked. She had dropped in behind me once we started running. Fleur had also followed along. The more immortal power we had, the better our chances of winning.

"At this point, I have no idea. Harry's chasing her back through the Department of Mysteries. She's got her mind completely closed. We're just going to follow them until we can catch up with them."

"Got it," both girls replied as we continued following through the maze-like this section of the ministry.

Once we'd gotten back to the round room we'd initially entered, we realized that Harry knew we would follow because he had left the door open so we could find our way out. I could hear some of the others starting to follow us, namely the misfits. Most of the Order were staying to control the death eaters they'd captured. Although, they all knew, now, that we could handle ourselves, so they could trust us to capture one death eater on our own.

Besides, I snickered to myself, most of the Order was still recovering from Bella's singing. She'd just about knocked them out.

We bolted out the door with the silver door handle and into the corridor Harry had been dreaming about all year without pause. I used my mind reading to try and ascertain where Harry and Victoria had made it, only to be surprised that they were already nearing the atrium. How the hell had they gotten there so fast?

"C'mon, girls. Let's pour on the speed. We've got a lot of ground to cover." With two grunts of acknowledgement, Bella and Fleur picked up their pace, and I kept pace with them, though leading them at the same time.

"Where are we heading?" Fleur asked as we hit the stairwell at the fastest they could manage.

"Right back to where we entered. Harry's managed to chase Victoria almost all the way to the atrium. I'd like to be there right behind him."

"Then go, Edward," Bella urged. "You're faster than us. But we know where we're going now, so we'll be right behind you."

I looked over at Bella briefly. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yes, go. Just be careful. And for Merlin's sake, don't do anything stupid or reckless."

"Got it." I grunted before taking one last look at Bella and Fleur and really poring on my speed. Halfway up the next flight of stairs, I realized I would run faster if I shifted into my snow leopard, which would also give me the added cover of a disguise as I ran out into the atrium itself. As I rounded the next landing, I took a leap up several stairs, shifting into my animagus form as I did so.

With the extra speed, I was able to climb the stairs that much faster, so much so, that by the time Harry followed Victoria into the atrium, I was only a few meters behind him. I skidded to a stop, transforming back, only to watch as Harry flung a spell at Victoria's back while she was running away. Harry stalked toward Victoria, who was crawling backward, seemingly afraid of him, with his wand pointing directly at her.

As Bella and Fleur were coming up the last grouping of stairs, I read Harry's thoughts. I could see that he wanted to torture her, to use the Cruciatus Curse with the intent on doing Victoria harm. I was about to call out to him, to stop him from using the spell in this way, but another voice stopped me in my tracks. Not because anyone could hear it, but because this voice was inside Harry's head.

"Do it," the voice whispered. "You've got to mean it."

Harry twitched and shook his head. I could see he was trying to ignore the voice. To force it out of his head. But it continued.

"You know the spell, Harry. Use it. You know she deserves it."

I wanted to call out to him. I wanted to distract him from Voldemort, but Harry rolled his neck, ignoring what Voldemort was saying to him.

Bella and Fleur came up behind me, almost running past to get to Harry, but I pulled them to a stop. Holding my fingers to my lips when they both went to protest. I tapped my temple to show them that I'd heard something I needed to listen to. Fleur stared straight ahead while Bella nodded, letting me know she was ready when needed.

"She hurt Hermione," Voldemort whispered once more. Only this time, instead of just whispering inside his mind, Voldemort materialized out of thin air to whisper into his ear before stepping back and away.

Victoria giggled when she saw her master, pulling herself away a few steps. What she didn't realize was that this movement would pull Harry's attention back to her. "I don't know what you're smiling and laughing about," Harry whispered, ignoring Voldemort's presence behind him. "He's encouraging me to torture you with the Cruciatus Curse. Does that sound like someone who cares?"

"Lies," Voldemort snickered. "I care about all my death eaters."

Harry spun around to face Voldemort, to stun him—or curse him—he wasn't sure which, only to have Voldemort smack his wand out of his hand with a silent spell, which Harry found rather insulting.

"Ugh, you disappoint me, Harry. So weak." Voldemort tsked. "How is it that people think you beat me?"

"You disappeared after attacking me, didn't you?"

Voldemort was about to answer when the fireplace behind Harry, but opposite us, flared green, and Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace.

Holy shit, Bella thought. I didn't expect him to be here, given everything.

"Considering how he's behaved this year, I'm surprised, too," I whispered back to her, watching Voldemort closely. It seemed that he was surprised by Dumbledore's presence. More so than I would have thought. Did he not think that he would be here? He was the only one Tom Riddle feared—and you could see it all over his face—did he think that Dumbledore wouldn't come for a fight? Or maybe he had devised a distraction and hoped that Dumbledore would be missing.

"It was foolish of you to have come here tonight, Tom," Dumbledore said as he stepped up next to Harry, as well as slightly in front of him. "The aurors are already on their way."

"By which time, I will be gone. And you will be … dead," Voldemort said as he moved a few more steps away from Dumbledore. He tried to do it subtly by moving to the side before going backward, but watching from where we were, Bella, Fleur, and I could see exactly what he had done.

He is afraid of Dumbledore, Fleur thought, looking at me. Could we use that?

I shook my head. "Right now, our only options are to capture Victoria and protect Harry. Anything other than that is a bonus."

"Got it," Bella said as she sneaked toward Victoria slowly with Fleur following. I followed but was waiting for the perfect opportunity to pull Harry out of the line of fire.

It was at that moment Voldemort began to move in preparation of firing a spell at Dumbledore, only for Dumbledore to push Harry out of the way with one hand while swinging the other in a circle around his head and firing the first spell at Voldemort.

I lunged for Harry, pulling him up and out of the way as the girls made a dive for Victoria, who had managed to slink into a fireplace. She escaped just as the girls reached the grill.

"Damn it," they shouted together.

"You'll get her next time, girls. Out of the line of fire now!" I shouted as I pulled Harry farther down the atrium and between two fireplaces to block some of the damage that was being done by Voldemort and Dumbledore firing spells at each other. Bella and Fleur did the same thing on the other side. I could see them and knew they were looking for ways to help, as was I, but it seemed Voldemort was trying to deflect the spells that Dumbledore was throwing at him in our direction. No doubt aiming for Harry, myself, or both of us.

"What do we do, Edward?" Harry asked me as we peered around the fireplace to see that Dumbledore and Voldemort were still trading spells. It seemed that Dumbledore was beginning to win because he was taking steps forward, toward Voldemort, only for Voldemort to drag all the magic to him.

When I thought he was going to get hurt, Voldemort sucked the spells into a flaming ball in his hand before blowing it out. The magic moved and shifted away from him, only to morph into a huge, massive snake—made of fire—that reminded me of the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.

"I have absolutely no idea. But I cannot get anywhere near that," I said, pointing at the snake that was now lunging forward and attempting to take a bite or two out of Dumbledore.

Each time it lunged, Dumbledore would strike back with his wand, forcing the snake to retreat, only for it to attack again. All the while, Voldemort laughed, thinking he had finally gotten the upper hand on his nemesis. The one person he had never been able to beat. That was until Dumbledore hit the snake, forcing it up into the ceiling and hitting its head. He was then able to do the same thing that Voldemort had done. Gathered the magic before exploding it back at the man who had started it.

This time Dumbledore waved his wand while Voldemort was still stunned and gathered the water from the fountain in a ball, capturing Voldemort inside. Dumbledore spun that ball of water around and around, hoping to delay Voldemort's escape until the arrival of the aurors.

"We should help," Harry insisted because he thought Voldemort was contained. I reached for him as he began to step back out into the atrium, but he skirted my hold. "No, Edward, we can't let Dumbledore fight him on his own."

"Harry," I hissed, following him out but trying to bring him back into hiding. "Dumbledore is more than capable. He doesn't need our help."

Harry spun around so fast. "But he's not the one who has to kill him, is he? I am. And to do that, Voldemort has to kill the horcrux inside me!"

"And you think now is the right time for that?"

"If not now, then when?"

I was about to answer when Dumbledore's concentration faltered because he had tried to push Harry back into hiding with a spell, and Voldemort escaped his watery prison. I grabbed Harry and kept him behind me, Bella and Fleur coming and standing guard on either side of me as well because Voldemort had fired another spell at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore was trying to deflect it and, succeeding, making Voldemort furious that the one person he couldn't beat was here … standing in front of him … and winning once again.

When Voldemort realized that everything he was throwing at Dumbledore was failing to defeat him, Voldemort let out a rebel yell, expelling every bit of magic from himself all at once. The result was everything in that atrium was destroyed. From the glass windows, to the tiles all over the walls, floors, and fireplaces, to the stupid gold fountain placed in the middle. It all shattered, raining shards down over everything.

For a few blessedly silent moments, there was no noise, no sound, nothing as Voldemort glared at those who were standing opposite him and together. Then slowly, a sinister smirk began to form on his face as he lifted his hands above his head with his wand pointing in our direction. At first, nothing seemed to be happening, but then slowly, all the debris that was laying around the atrium lifted and started to fly in our direction.

Dumbledore was the first to react, holding his wand and casting the shield charm. He had hope that it would block the worst of it flying in our direction. Bella, Fleur, and I followed suit. We huddled around Harry as best we could and cast our own shields at the same time as we ducked down behind them so they covered us almost completely.

I could only hope that the shields would protect us, possibly even stop the shards from tearing us to pieces.

I kept an eye on the shards, and they hit Dumbledore's shield only to transform into sand as they passed through. Those that missed Dumbledore and came at us did the same thing. We managed to keep ourselves safe until Voldemort figured out that nothing was getting through. He released the remainder of the debris and stood up with a sigh.

Harry also stood with us after we'd released our shields. "You can't beat us, Tom," Harry said, walking between us and next to Dumbledore. "We won't let you. And we have more power on our side than you could ever fathom."

"That's debatable. You have no idea what I have with me," Voldemort replied before he disappeared into a swirling, slow moving, cyclone made up of the sand that was all over the floor.

We watched and waited to see what he was going to do next, only for the cyclone to come in our direction and encompass Harry before we could do anything about it. We could see Harry on the other side of the wall of sand. Bella reached out to see if she could get through, only to be struck as if by lightning. While no bolt actually appeared, she felt the sting on her hand.

I pulled her hand to me, kissing the spot that was injured, just as Harry fell to the floor, grunting in pain. "Harry!" I was about to call out again when I heard Voldemort once again speaking to him in his thoughts.

"You are weak, Harry Potter," Voldemort hissed. "And you'll always be weak because of your attachments to others."

I watched as Voldemort used all the relationships that Harry has as impetuous for his fears. Hermione being tortured, and then killed by a death eater. James and Sirius being hunted to the ends of the earth before disappearing forever. Even Harry losing Bella, me, and the other Cullens because we didn't want to continue to fight a war—"that was never ours to begin with"—all while he wrapped Harry up in a deluge of pain.

I pulled Bella around to where Harry could see us, just as Hermione and the others stepped into the atrium. "Quick, Hermione, over here."

Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Fred, and George ran toward where I had pulled Bella down beside me so that we were in Harry's line of sight. When Hermione reached us, I made sure she was the first person that Harry could see.

"We're here, Harry," Hermione said instinctively. She knew that something was happening inside Harry, but she wasn't sure what. Hermione just wanted him to know that we were all there for him.

Harry and Hermione reached out to each other, as close as they could with the electric wall of sand between them. He watched as the rest of us did the same thing. We all wanted to show that we were there for him. We were in this together, and we would never let him fight by himself.

"I'm not weak," Harry whispered both aloud and in his thoughts, surprising everyone. "I've realized that connections with my friends and family—all of my family—have made me stronger. Stronger than even you."

Voldemort cackled. There was no other word for it. And it was the creepiest sound I had ever heard. "Impossible."

Harry, still looking at us, smirked. "You think so? Feel some of this." With those words, Harry let loose a deluge of what it felt like to have connections to all of us. Starting with those of his closest family but branching out to encompass us all, especially Hermione. "I'm sorry you're so disillusioned that you can't make those connections and won't let them strengthen who you are. I'm not the weak one, Tom. You are, and I feel sorry for you."

Once again, Harry released a mountain of feelings, as well as images, portraying the love he felt for all of us but also the love he felt from all of us. It was so strong, so powerful, that Voldemort shuddered, grimaced, and pulled back from trying to control Harry's mind.

Harry rolled over and looked up as Voldemort leaned over him.

"You won't beat me, Harry Potter," he whispered as various fireplaces started to flare around the atrium.

"Wanna bet?" Harry replied. "I'm pretty sure I've already won."

"How so?"

There were several gasps from the aurors who had entered the ministry, but the one I was listening for had just exited his fireplace. Cornelius Fudge was stunned stupid at the image in front of him. And the best part, with all these witnesses, he could no longer deny the truth.

Voldemort was back … and that was the headline that Sirius was going to run the next morning … as was the reporter for The Prophet, who had come in with the minister.

"Because, now, everyone knows you're back. That's how I know I've won. People will now believe me, and Edward and you will have a bigger fight than you can possibly imagine." Harry stood up so that he was nose to nose with Voldemort. "How do you like that?"

Voldemort's head had snapped up at Harry's words, only to glare back at Harry. With a hiss, Voldemort escaped the ministry, but he knew the damage was done.

"He's back," Fudge whispered in the silence that followed. We all turned toward him, most in surprise, but the Misfits, Bella, Harry, and me included, all glared at the man who had turned our lives upside down for the last year.

"We told you," Harry growled. "We told you at the end of last year that Voldemort had come back, and you chose to try to blacklist us. Dumbledore included. Look where that's gotten you!"

Fudge took a step backward. "I don't know what you're talking …" Our illustrious minister tried to backpedal. He knew he was sunk. He knew his career as minister was over. But he was going to try and save face as much as possible.

But it was one Amelia Bones who stepped forward. "You need to be quiet, Minister, and let these people talk. I have a feeling there has been a lot we've missed since last summer."

"You have no idea." I scoffed. "How about we start with who sent the dementors after Harry over the summer and that farce of a trial we had."

There were surprised looks from many of the ministry officials around us, including most of the Wizengamot.

"Oh, yeah," Bella sang, "and shall we mention the fact that the same person who sent the dementors after Harry is also the same person who has been using black quills to torture students who won't abide by her archaic rules at Hogwarts."

"Black quills? They were outlawed three hundred years ago!" someone shouted from the back of the group.

All the misfits held up their hands to show the "indentations" from numerous detentions with Umbridge.

"She wasn't allowed to use those!" Fudge spluttered. "I told her she wasn't to use those again."

"Again?" This time it was several voices that asked the question, but Amelia asked the next question. "What do you mean again?"

That was how we spent the next hour, explaining everything that had happened from the dementors last summer, to the farce of a trial, to Umbridge being placed as a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

It seemed Amelia had taken up the position of interrogator. "And how has that been?"

"Professor Umbridge originally banned Bella, Edward, and me from all of her Defense Against the Dark arts Classes," Fleur spoke up and stepped forward to stand next to Bella. "After Professor Dumbledore was removed as headmaster and Delores Umbridge was instated as headmistress, the three of us were removed from all of the classes within Hogwarts."

Miss Marchbanks was one of the people who had come through the fireplaces. "Then how was it that you three were able to attend the exams these past two weeks and score so highly?"

"You know our scores?" Bella and I asked together.

"You'll find out when everyone else does." Miss Marchbanks, as well as several others, laughed. "Please, answer the question."

I smiled at the lady who let us take our exams. "Well, part of that was thanks to you. You stood up to Professor Umbridge and told her that because we were accepted by Hogwarts and placed into houses that we could take our exams."

"And thanks to our large extended family and friends, we were able to get some help from some very knowledgeable people. We had teachers that Professor Umbridge had no idea about," Bella finished with a sweet smile.

"So, you broke the rules?" Fudge thundered as he stepped right up to Bella.

"No," I growled, pushing Fudge back from Bella and scaring the living daylights out of him. "We didn't break any rules. We were enacting our right to an education. One that you were happy to provide us with before we spoke out about Voldemort before the summer. Everything that has happened since the summer has been self-serving. Every move you've made has been to discredit those who spoke out against you. Every single step you've taken to make sure that everyone's head were buried in the sand was to protect your precious ego, your over-inflated sense of self-importance, and most importantly, to cover up the fact that you're a scared little boy pretending to be a man. Voldemort has been back since the third task of the Triwizard Tournament—just like we all told you—and instead of protecting everyone you are tasked to protect, you protected yourself and this job you thought Professor Dumbledore was after." I paused because that was a lot for anyone to take in. "What I don't understand is do you really think Professor Dumbledore, of all people, would make up the return of Voldemort just to undermine you? If you truly believe that, then the position has really gone to your head."

"I … I … I …"

I snorted. "Got nothing to say? Let me just say this. You're a traitor to the wizarding world. You abused your position to elevate yourself above the people instead of being their public servant. Maybe you should look at Queen Elizabeth. Granted, she's a muggle, but her entire life she may have stood above her people, but she also served her people tirelessly. The poor woman is in her seventies and still works six days a week. How many do you work?"

"Not six." Percy snorted. "I work longer hours than he does."

I took a few moments to look around at the members of the Wizengamot, the ministry, and the reporter for The Prophet. Most of them had their mouths open in shock.

But what I was about to say would drive our point home harder than anything else. "Well, perhaps our illustrious minister would have more time to work if—and I stress this—if he wasn't colluding with known death eaters." There were more sputters at my words. "I know that The Truth and The Quibbler have both run stories of what happened at that graveyard and who was there in Voldemort's inner circle. Yet Minister Fudge continues to have McNair on staff as an executioner, a perfect job for a man who likes to kill innocents, and he receives support and donations from one Lucius Malfoy. Both of whom were in that graveyard last year and called Voldemort Master. Shall I continue?"

Amelia Bones stepped forward and placed her hand on my arm. "No, Edward, you needn't continue. Though, I suppose you and your talented mate could provide proof of these claims. Show the auror division who was in that graveyard last year? Seems we have some dark wizards to catch, after all."

"We can." Bella nodded. "Although, some of them have been detained in the Department of Mysteries. Our friends have continued to guard them."

Amelia clicked her fingers at several of the aurors around us and pointed in the direction of the stairs. "Round them up."

It was at this point Dean stepped forward. "Some of those death eaters are part of the inner circle, and I know one Lucious Malfoy is among them." Minister Fudge's face paled even further than it already had. "At this point, I would like to tender my resignation. Effective immediately."

"But you're an Unspeakable!" a Tiberius Odgen stated, rather rudely. "Can you resign?"

"Of course, I can. Do you think we all stay forever?" Dean snorted indelicately. "And now it seems I have something better to fight for."

Amelia held up her hand when several went to object. "Would you consider a position in another department? Say auror?"

"I will think about it and get back to you."

"That's all I can ask. Thank you for your service." Amelia turned around to face the one man who hadn't said much throughout this whole ordeal. "Albus, it seems we owe you a huge apology. We may have acted too rashly when listening to former Minister Fudge."

I smirked as I watched Fudge deflate in front of us. He had been summarily dismissed from the position he coveted, and he knew it. He was done. And he also knew that he would never be able to have a job like this one ever again. His reputation was thoroughly ruined through nobody's fault except his own.

"No apology is necessary, Amelia. You didn't do it out of malice, just misinformation." Dumbledore finally replied, waving away several other protests and apologies. "I'm just grateful that the truth is now out there, and we can begin preparing. Voldemort will not go quietly into the night."

"All the same. I think I can speak for the entire Wizengamot—and I want this quoted in the articles that are being written"—Amelia looked at the reporter from The Prophet, who was nodding frantically—"that Albus Dumbledore has been readmitted to the Wizengamot and all of his titles have been reinstated, as well as his position as Headmaster of Hogwarts, due to the overwhelming evidence provided to the court that former Minister Fudge has been manipulating things to protect himself from facing the truth."

"Please, Amelia …"

"No, Cornelius. You have done the entire wizarding world a disservice by burying your head in the sand. You reap what you sow."

Dumbledore stepped forward. "Thank you, Amelia. I truly appreciate it. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to get my students back to Hogwarts and into the hospital wing for treatment."

"Of course, Albus. We have a lot to get done here." Amelia turned to those who had fought in the ministry, and won, on this night. "We have a lot to thank you all for. You continued to fight even when most of us didn't believe there was a fight to be had. For that, we humbly thank you."

With that, every member of the Wizengamot who were there, the aurors who were left in the atrium, and every other member of the ministry bowed their heads in thanks for what we had done.

"Delores Umbridge will have been notified by the time you all get to Hogwarts. I believe someone has already left to inform her that she is now fired." Amelia smirked before turning back to the others around her and began to issue orders.

She's a force to be reckoned with, that one, Bella thought as she looked up at me. A great mentor for when we become aurors.

"That she is, Bella. I look forward to learning from her."

Me as well.

I could see the night had started to catch up with not only Bella but all my friends. Dumbledore stepped forward with a book in his hands. "If you all place a finger on this, the portkey will take you to the hospital wing at Hogwarts. And after you're all seen, Edward, Bella, Fleur, and Mr. Dean here, can you come to my office?"

"Yes, sir," we all said together before placing a finger on the book when it turned blue.

With the familiar pull from the navel, we were all transported from the atrium at the Ministry for Magic and returned to the hospital wing at Hogwarts where we found not only Madam Pomfrey waiting for us, but Draco and Professor McGonagall as well. The three of them aided in getting all of those who were injured into a bed so they could be seen and treated before the night was through.

Madam Pomfrey asked a few questions, mostly pertaining to our injuries and what had caused them, while Professor McGonagall asked a few more. But once she was told that Professor Dumbledore was returning, she decided to wait for him. Professor McGonagall was determined to be in the room when the story was told.

Madam Pomfrey quickly left the room to gather some of the potions she would need, as well as the popular cure all—some chocolate.

"Kreacher?" I called quietly, causing our faithful elf to pop in and join us. "Dean is going to be a new member of our family."

Kreacher looked over at the latest member and nodded his head. "Kreacher is pleased to meet you," he said before turning back to me. "You wish to give Master Dean some of your potions?"

I chuckled. Kreacher was never dumb. "Yes, please. Gather the three I usually take. I'll explain it to him while you're gone."

Kreacher nodded, and then popped out of sight.

"We can't drink potions, Edward," Dean stated after he had moved a chair next to me.

"I thought that once, too." I nodded but turned to him. "You asked me why my eyes were green in the ministry. Do you still want to hear that story?"

"Please."

"It started when Harry was just a tiny tot …" For the next little while, as Madam Pomfrey, Draco, and Professor McGonagall worked in the hospital, I explained our crazy but loving extended family and how we had become part of the magical world. "And then, Bella dropped into my life right before she was due to turn eleven …"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Dean interrupted with a shake of his head. "You mean to tell me that a friend of yours, a werewolf no less …"

"Former werewolf." I laughed at Dean's stunned expression. "I'll explain. I promise."

Dean snorted. "Fine, former werewolf, was able to create potions—for vampires—that allow them to eat and drink, regain their natural eye color, and switch off these damn sparkles?"

I laughed. I couldn't help it but nodded all the same.

"Where can I get some of these?"

At that precise moment like Kreacher had been listening for this point in the story, he popped back in to stand in front of us. "That would be these, Master Dean." Kreacher placed the potions on the table in front of us. "Will that be all, Master Edward?"

"Yes, thank you. I'm sure Bella will be up and around in the morning. You can come and see her then."

With a bow, Kreacher was gone once more.

"At first, Remus would just place these potions in regular bottles with tags on them. But we've made a friend with Mr. Wiseacre, and he tends to collect different vials from all over the world because he knows Bella likes to buy different ones. She thinks he does it on purpose to get her to buy them."

"I know he does," she murmured from the bed in front of us, closing her eyes. "He's a sneaky man, that one."

"I think he does it to entice you to come see him. He likes your wit, Bella."

Sure, sure.

I laughed. "Anyway, since coming to the wizarding world, Bella has collected different vials to house my potions. She likes to have a vial depict what's on the inside. For example, this one." I pointed to one that had a triangle with an eye in the middle—it was once called an "All seeing eye"—engraved on the side of it. "This one turns your eye color back to your original one. Mine are green. One of my sisters' is blue while the other is a violet color. My brothers both have blue."

"And this one?" Dean pointed to another vial. This one was much more whimsical with cupcakes on it.

"Bella has a sense of humor."

Shush you. I think it makes perfect sense.

"It does, baby." I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "This potion was created with the express intention of allowing us to eat and drink as well as digest it. We don't have any waste, but we can enjoy being that little bit more human. The hardest thing we had to learn not to do was overindulge. We can feel sick now as a result."

Dean grimaced. "I remember doing that as a human. It was never fun."

"Right?" I laughed. "It's even worse as a vampire because the only way to get rid of it is to bring it up."

"Yeah, that sucks no matter why you have to do it." This time, Dean pointed to the last vial that had a glitter affect to it. "Let me guess, this one removes that stupid sparkle we have?"

"You would be right. This potion is the one we all love the most because it allows us to go out in the sunshine without worrying about what other people think." I looked back at Dean as he studied the potion vials. "And these will last a week. Each week, you'll need to take another round of potions for them to continue to work. Are you still interested?"

"Oh, you have no idea." Dean didn't waste any time. He reached forward and popped the cap on the first bottle and downed it in one mouthful. The other two followed in quick succession. He sat for a few minutes before he turned back to me. "You said that you would explain how you knew who I was later. Is it later yet?"

I was about to answer him when I heard Professor Dumbledore return to his office. The gargoyle at the bottom of his staircase relaxed from the frozen position it had been in since Umbridge had tried to take over. And I knew we would be able to access the tower with the password. One that I had no doubt had changed since we'd been up there last.

"I want to tell you; although, I don't believe it's my story to tell."

You're going to have to. He needs to know before he sees Gabrielle and can't turn back. Remember what it was like for us, Bella thought. I had thought she'd finally relaxed and was starting to drift off to sleep when I stood from the chair next to her bed.

"Relax, baby. I'll tell Dean because you're right," I said as I gently pushed on her shoulder to have her lie back down. "You don't need to come with me; I can tell Dumbledore everything. Or show him."

But he asked me to be there, she argued petulantly.

I leaned down and kissed her forehead, then her lips. Gentle, soft kisses that were meant to soothe. "I know he did. But I'll explain that you're sleeping. You need to rest and heal. You know I'll fill you in on everything."

Bella nodded sleepily. She rolled over to face me and closed her eyes. The pocket in my robe has the box with the memovisum. Take it. You might need it.

"Thank you, sweetheart. Now sleep."

Mmm, sleep.

I chuckled softly while I searched through Bella's robes to find the pocket where she had stashed the memovisum. I started to make my way to Dumbledore's office, only to find that Dean wasn't following. "Coming, Dean?"

"Huh?" He looked up sharply. "Yeah, yes. Sorry."

"I've thrown a lot at you tonight. It's okay if you're somewhat out of it."

Dean nodded but didn't say much until we were away from the hospital itself. It seemed that we were going to make the trip to Dumbledore's office at human pace because Dean had something on his mind. We were almost at the stairs when he asked his first question. "Why were you so nice to the house elf?"

"Is there a reason I shouldn't have been?" I asked in return.

"Well, yeah. They're creatures, and surely, they aren't in need of the respect that you showed him."

I snorted. "Been in the ministry a long time, have you?"

"Longer than I care to admit. Why do you ask?"

"Let me ask you this instead." I paused as we walked past Professor Sprout, making her way to the hospital wing with some of her plants. "How were the house elves, or creatures in general, treated during that time?"

"Back when I was part of the Disposal of Wayward Creatures' division, the creatures we encountered were treated with a lot of respect. Except the house elves. The entire time I've been part of the ministry, they've been dismissed and treated with indifference. As far as I knew, that was how they wanted to be treated. I know that some of the older, more established families were …"

"Unnecessary cruel," I finished when I could see that Dean was trying to find a politically correct way of dismissing the abuse the house elves have suffered.

Dean frowned as he walked alongside me. "I don't know about that. I know they never spoke up to change their lot. It's why everyone inside the ministry thought they liked their treatment." I noticed there was a touch of bitterness to those words. It was with those words that his thoughts opened about the last mission he went on before becoming a vampire.

Dean's boss had instructed him to go off after a vampire. One that was reportedly causing trouble in a little town outside of London. Dean took a few of his colleagues and travelled to confront the vampire and ask him to move on. Once in the little town, they had no trouble finding the vampire, an old one by the look of him. They approached the vampire and asked him to cease attacking the villagers in the town and to come with them to the ministry to be processed.

The vampire laughed when the three wizards held up their wands. "You think you can beat me with these sticks?"

One of the wizards fired a stunning spell at the vampire, surprising him. The spell hit, but because they had been lied to by the vampire community, the spell did nothing. The vampire stopped laughing. Instead, he crouched and growled at the three men, scaring them, before he launched in their direction.

The other two scattered but Dean was caught by the vampire, who instantly put his mouth to Dean's throat.

The last thought Dean had before he passed out was This is what I get for being considerate.

Dean had thought he was dead. But that wasn't what happened. Instead, he remained alive. And when he woke up, he was back inside the ministry. Deep, deep inside the ministry. In a cage, or a box, something to keep him away from the others. And he was thirsty.

A throat cleared and Dean's attention snapped up to meet the eyes of the current Minister of Magic. "Do you know what you have become?"

Dean thought back to everything that had happened, trying to remember, until his thoughts locked on the pain of being bitten. His hand flew up to his neck, feeling the raised bumps where teeth had sliced through his skin, muscles, and sinew. "I was bitten."

"You were." The minister agreed. "You have become one of them. A creature of the night. Nosferatu. A vampire."

"How did I get back here?"

"The vampire fled once he had bitten you. The others say he was distracted by something else. Once they realized you were changing, they decided to bring you back here."

"For what?" Dean asked. "Study? To destroy me?"

"Study, definitely. It seems our information about vampires and their abilities was greatly exaggerated by our information sources. Destroying you? Well, that remains to be seen," the minister said.

"What do you mean?" Dean growled, surprising himself.

The minister indicated around him. "This is the Department of Mysteries. We need someone to guard this place from the inside. You agree to become an Unspeakable like this, and we will keep you fed with the sick, the dying, the infirm, and those who attempt to break in."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I shall allow the Unspeakables to conduct all manner of experiments on you, trying to find out how we wizards can kill vampires. After all, you're just a creature now." The minister let that sit for a moment. "What say you?"

There was no hesitation. He would rather be stuck down in the bottom of the ministry than be experimented on. "Fine. But I protest this treatment. I am human. I am a wizard."

"You were a wizard. Your wand has been stripped. And you were a human. You are now transformed and are a creature. And as such, you have lost the rights you once had. Thanks to this new development, we will be handling creatures with a lot less consideration. If they have been tagged for disposal, that's what shall happen."

With that, the minister waved his wand, allowing an old, feeble wizard to come in behind Dean. Without conscious thought, Dean launched at the man and drained him. By the time he had finished and turned around, the minister had gone.

"And it's for those very reasons that Hermione and our friend Luna have created a group called S.P.E.W. or the Society for the Protection of Elvish Welfare that will focus on restoring their rights, the ones that were in the original contract, as well as helping other sentient beings. That includes you, me, and other creatures." I walked quietly for a few moments as Dean digested that. "If you had your wand taken, how is it that you have one?"

Dean sighed. "Eventually, the ministership changed hands—by that stage, I had been down there for nearly fifty years—and once the new minister had learned what had happened to me, and how I had been, essentially, held captive, he thought it fit to, at least, give me my wand back. However, I still wasn't allowed out of the Department of Mysteries."

I was flummoxed. "How long have you been down there?"

"I don't know the exact number of years." Dean shrugged. "But I'd venture a good two hundred years or so."

"Jesus."

"Yeah." Dean sighed. We were quiet once more until we rounded up the stairs to the fifth floor. "Are you going to turn Bella when she's fully grown?"

I spun to look at Dean, a frown on my face. "Change her? Why would I do that? She's more immortal than I am."

"How so? She looks human."

"No. My girl is beautiful, wonderful, and immortal. And interspecies relationships are possible. We're more compatible than I ever thought possible. My Bella is a Veela."

"No! Really?" Dean asked, surprised, as we turned the next corner. "A Veela? I thought they were home-wreckers with silvery blonde hair and always exuded sexual desire."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. Bella certainly did exude sexual desire but only when she wanted me. I stopped laughing but only because I answered with a touch of a growl. "No. And this is where our education is lacking. There are two types of Veela. There are the home-wreckers, as you call them, and then there are the mated Veela."

I took a few minutes to remember when Bella came to me at the Forks house. How she walked in like she owned the place and introduced herself to everyone. But what I remember was the complete feeling of home when she sat herself down on my lap.

"Mated Veela are special."

I could see that Dean was intrigued, which was a good thing, but I waited for him to ask the follow up question. "How so?"

"How are they special?" Dean nodded to my question. "Veela who are destined to be mated for life dream of their mates from a young age. Bella began dreaming of me from the age of five. Fleur, who is Bella's cousin, began dreaming of her fiancé at around the same age. Because they dream of their intended, they're able to deny their Veela powers and channel them into something good. Bella channels hers into helping animals. It's why we seem to have a menagerie of them at home."

"What about Fleur?"

"She's still learning about using her siren powers for something else. You see, she didn't know there was an option either and was sent to Beauxbatons where she was learning to use her whiles. Once she discovered what Bella had done, she transferred to Hogwarts and has been learning different magic."

Dean nodded, showing he was still listening. "Okay. So, if Bella's your mate, and Fleur has a fiancé, how is it that you knew about me? Because neither of those girls would have dreamt about me."

"Oh, good point." I smirked. "I didn't mention that Fleur has a little sister, Gabrielle, did I?"

"No." I could sense not only the confusion in that one word but also the curiosity.

"I knew who you were and what your name was because Gabrielle has been dreaming—and making drawings of you—since she was six. Gabrielle is your mate, and she's here at Hogwarts."

With that, I stepped onto Dumbledore's moving staircase after whispering the password, leaving a stunned Dean gaping at my back. I wondered how long it would take him to come after me.

~*~UHS~*~

I think Dean is a little stunned ... was this chapter all you hoped for?

See you in a fortnight for the last chapter.

Cheers!