We're All a Little Mad Here
8th of October, 1997.
The owls flew into the great hall in the morning as they always did. A big grey one landed in front of Harry and held its leg out lazily. A small smile played on Harry's lips as he took the letter. It was from Charlie. He opened it up and started reading. His smile grew brighter.
"From your boyfriend?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded absently. "Qozul is acting up. He misses the sun. They took a run outside a couple of days ago to calm him down." He sighed as he folded the letter up.
"You miss him?" Hermione asked.
"More than I thought I would," Harry said. "I miss being out there too. I'm getting really tired of school."
"There is less than a year to go," Hermione said.
"And I'll stick around for it," Harry said. "As a matter of fact, things might get a little more interesting in the next few days." He looked up at the head table where the professor sat. His eyes met Severus. 'Watch this,' he projected to the dour man moments before four animals took shape by the table. A grand lion flared into existence behind McGonagall as an eagle soared down from the ceiling and landed on the headrest of Flitwick's chair. A snake slithered out of the shadows with gleaming green scales and piercing yellow eyes while a badger seemed to slowly meander through the great doors. It walked all the way up to Professor Sprout and sat down.
Hermione gave him a pained look when he turned back to her. 'What are you doing,' she mouthed.
Harry just smirked. He was far from done. It had taken him several days to get everything set up once he had decided what he wanted to do to deal with Umbridge. These animals were just illusions of course, but Kali was there as well. He could hold her summoned more or less indefinitely these days. He knew that Obi might ride on her back if Tanya summoned her familiar.
Harry, Hermione and Neville headed to the library after breakfast to finish off their homework and continue their self-study of history. The lesson with Hagrid later was uneventful which was probably quite good all things considered. As Harry entered the school with Ron they met Tanya and Natalie coming down the stairs. Their laughter rang through the hall and they almost collapsed on Harry when they reached him. "Oh, you should have seen," Tanya said once she had caught her breath. "Professor Snape is being followed by a snake."
"It was a little scary at first, but it isn't real," Natalie said. "Snape walked straight through it so many times."
"But the Umbridge walked in. And well you know what she is like. The snake got closer and closer to her every time she tried to interrupt the Professor."
"She thought it wouldn't be able to do anything to her since Snape could just walk straight through it, but she was so wrong. It wrapped her up tight. I don't know if they have managed to get her out of the coils yet," Natalie said.
They started laughing again and Harry tried his best to get them into the Great Hall for some lunch. By the head table, McGonagall was actually petting her lion. She looked quite pleased. Harry looked around to see if he could find Marilyn. He wondered if Umbridge had decided to interrupt McGonagall's class as well that morning. He showed Tanya to a seat and sat down once he found the first-years. Tanya and Natalie retold their story and the students laughed.
"She was in Transfiguration too," a boy named Danny said. "The lion really does not like her. I think it roared every time she tried to say anything, but we never heard it."
"She ran out of the classroom with her hands over her ears," Marilyn said quietly.
"I wonder if the other teachers will get any protection," Danny said. "Potions could really use it."
Harry didn't say anything. He didn't have to. As lunch ended a collective roar sounded. Hundreds of small dragons flew in through the Great Doors. They circled the tables and flew back out again.
Harry finished his food and headed out of the school. He had some Aurors to train. He stopped by Amelia's office and waved at her.
"Good afternoon, Raiden," Amelia said.
Ray threw up a silencing ward as he walked into her office. "Just so you know I'm throwing an illusion show at Hogwarts. It isn't dangerous and won't interrupt the students learning," he said.
"Umbridge has gotten on your nerves?" Amelia said. She disliked the woman. Not that she showed it whenever she met her.
"She has gotten on Hermione's nerves," Ray said. "I'm just providing a solution. You might want to send our people in if she asks for anyone to come. I'll know who to expect."
Amelia nodded slowly. "I'll do my best," she said. "We don't necessarily get along so she might accuse me of not doing my job."
Ray rolled his eyes. "We'll deal with that when we get there. Lord Malfoy will work the Minister so he shouldn't be a problem."
"I don't like having a Death Eater so close to the Minister," Amelia said.
"Lucius is mine though Amelia," Ray said. "He keeps me up to date. You might want to note that in my file."
Amelia nodded. "Now off with you," she dismissed him. "I have things to do and you have people to train."
Ray walked back out and dropped the ward. He waved at Luke as he entered their headquarters. Someone had spelled up words on the wall above the wanted posters. Midnight Brigade. Ray assumed that someone had decided to name them. He didn't really care. He wasn't going to be part of the group in the long run anyway. He looked at Luke, Dora, Christina and Zach. This group had the most difficulties and the most potential out of all the groups that had been made. He had shifted Luke and Christina in himself from the original groups that Amelia and Scrimgeour had made. He found that they had better cover for the problems that Dora and Zach had.
"Some reports have come in," Ray said. "I have records of interviews done with several people as well as the initial report. Please take part." He pointed towards the table standing in a corner. While the group went to look at the information he headed to the Village. He had some set-up to do.
…
The sky was cloudy. Mist clung to the street lights in a diffused golden glow. Dora looked down at the address she had noted down as she walked along the street. She had never seen the Village change so much as it did when Ray led the exercises. The very feel of the place changed because of something he did. She couldn't put her finger on it.
They were there to find out if a woman in the neighbourhood was selling illegal love potions. According to the report, the potion might be turning those who consumed it into mindless puppets. Reading the report had made her skin crawl. She hoped this wasn't a real case. Some of the scenarios that Ray had pulled them through were old cases or cases from other countries. She really hoped this wasn't one of them.
The house they were aiming for looked nice and proper. The garden was pristine and well-managed. Sheer white curtains hung in the window. She rang the doorbell.
A woman opened the door and smiled invitingly at Dora. "Welcome to Love Junction. I'm Madam Annabelle. What can I do for you?" she said happily.
Dora could hear voices from within the house, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. "Hi I'm Auror Tonks and this is Auror Grace. We are here because we've received disturbing reports from people who have utilized your establishment," Dora said as she showed the woman her badge.
Annabelle smiled mischievously. "Well. I have nothing to hide," she said. "My clients however would prefer not to be disturbed. That however is something I can take care of. You are welcome to take a look around." She winked at Zach before moving back to let them inside. Then she walked over to a door and drew a wand as she let the people in there know what was going on. A few spells later and everyone in the next room was anonymous.
Zach grimaced. "She is hard to read," he told Dora. "Her emotions are stable, but I can't tell if she is constantly horny or just on something."
Dora had to stifle a giggle. The deadpan way in which Zach spoke caught her off guard more times than she would like to admit.
After searching the whole house they had to admit to finding nothing. They so far had no concrete proof that this woman was the one that sold love potions. She did offer an array of potions including polyjuice and several different truth serums. None of them were illegal though.
"Happy now?" Annabelle asked as they told her they were leaving. "Sure you don't want to have a little fun?" She held her hands out together. "Arrest me, officer."
Zach backed away from her with poorly hidden disgust on his face.
"Maybe some other time," Dora said politely as she grabbed Zach's shoulder and walked out of the house.
They headed back to base and reported to Luke and Christina.
"Doesn't she sound like fun," Christina said. "So no evidence of anything strange."
"So far it just looks like she helps couples have some fun and play games in a controlled environment," Dora said. "That however doesn't mean that she isn't making the potions. Based on what potions she had standing around we can tell that she is very good with potions. She probably has the skill necessary to make this strange love potion." She sat down and kicked her feet up on a table. "I am thinking we might have to go in again. Undercover this time and see what we might learn.
Zach shook his head. "How are we supposed to do that?" he asked. "None of us is part of a couple."
"No, but Kat and Jeremy are," Luke said. "Ray never said we couldn't call in help from others."
Zach nodded slowly. "Can we send out a call for them?" he asked. "Then you and Christina should head down there and talk with the neighbours. See what you can find out."
Luke walked over to the door. "Sure let's have a chat with the people living around here." He waited for Christina to join him before leaving. They were gone for about half an hour before returning. "She is too obvious," Christina said as they walked in.
"What is too obvious?" Zack asked.
"There is a woman living across the street from the suspect. She really doesn't like Annabelle and she certainly has the tools and know-how to make the potions, but I somehow doubt she is the one doing this. If she wanted to get at Annabelle she would do something directly to her not attack her clients."
Dora nodded slowly. She knew this wasn't supposed to be that hard to solve since they had limited time. It had been the same the other times that they had done this. Ray took some liberties with how fast they could work. It did mean that they didn't have as much time to deliberate, however.
"Do you think that if Kat and Jeremy head to distract Annabelle, we could get Zack near this other woman? Maybe he could read something from her," Dora said.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Luke said.
"Clue us in," Jeremy said as he walked in with Kat.
They told the couple what they knew so far.
"You want us to approach this crazy woman as if we were potential customers?" Jeremy asked. He didn't look amused.
"Yes," Dora said.
Kat shrugged and looked up at her husband. "If it is the only way to stop this," she said.
He sighed heavily and wrapped his arm around her. "Fine," he said. "We're heading out now?" he asked.
"Preferably," Luke said. "We're heading over to a neighbour and checking on her in the meantime."
About an hour later they met back up. As far as Zach had been able to tell the neighbour just didn't like Annabelle. She had no intention to act upon that. The problem was that they still had no evidence that Annabelle was the one who brewed the potions. Without evidence, they couldn't bring her in.
Jeremy and Kat hadn't learnt anything of interest other than that Annabelle was very happy to give anyone who came to her a good time. They set up surveillance around the house in case someone walked out of there not looking quite right. It was all they could do. While Luke was out watching Dora and Christina were going through the victim reports. Maybe there was something they could figure out from all the information they would normally have needed to gather from people themselves. Ray provided a lot since he wasn't necessarily looking at their normal investigative work. He trusted they knew how to do that already.
"Wait a minute," Dora said. She brought a note from one of the files out and opened another file. "Christina," she said, "is there a history of violence or other abusive behaviour from the ones you are looking at?"
Christina shifted through her files. "There… is…" she said slowly. "All of these people."
Dora placed her hands on the table and leaned over the files. "Do you think Annabelle might use this potion on abusive people only?" she asked. "None of us have shown any tendencies to being abusive."
Christina nodded slowly. "I think that might be possible. We should let Luke and Zach know," she said as she grabbed their communicator. She had barely relayed the information before the call was cut.
"A man is entering the house with a woman. He is holding on to her so hard it has to be leaving bruises," Luke said.
"She is in pain," Zach confirmed.
"We need to move in now," Christina said. "Dora and I will be right there."
Half a minute later they were taking the door down. They found the couple in the back room but no Annabelle. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about the couple. The woman kept telling them that she was fine and they couldn't just arrest him for holding on to her.
They searched through the house and found nothing. "She can't just be gone," Dora said. "Let's widen the search."
"Let's call in more people and give them a description," Christina said.
"And let's ask around in the neighbourhood," Luke said.
They split up and headed out. This was a controlled scenario since Annabelle had to be within the wards of the Village, but that didn't mean there weren't several acres of forest to look through.
Almost a full hour passed before one of their colleagues found Annabelle. He called it in.
Dora and Luke were the first ones on the scene. They walked through the underbrush between far-reaching trees. It was dark now. The only light was their wands. They reached a clearing and Dora sent a spell off to light it all up. Annabelle was sitting on a rock. Her long hair cascaded down her bare back.
"Annabelle," Dora said as she moved closer. She walked around the rock and froze. Annabelle's eyes were empty. She didn't even seem to recognise that Dora was standing there. "Annabelle," Dora said again as she reached out carefully. She touched Annabelle and the reaction was instantaneous. Annabelle leaned into the touch and opened her mouth as she spread her legs invitingly.
"Move away from her," Zach said sharply as he walked into the clearing. "If she seemed to be nothing but lust before, she is even worse now."
Dora stepped back and Annabelle moved back into a zombie-like state.
Very carefully they brought Annabelle back to headquarters. They managed to get some clothes on her, but there wasn't much else they could do. They found no proof of any potion capable of changing people. There was no proof Annabelle had poisoned anyone, and they couldn't find any evidence of a vial or anything that she might have consumed to change herself. On top of that, there wasn't a cure.
Annabelle was never going to be herself again just like all the others. They had to let her go, but there was nowhere to go.
Dora watched as Annabelle walked down the street slowly. She stepped on something and a blood trail followed her. This case gave Dora a bad taste in her mouth. She didn't like it. She realised that she had looked away from Annabelle for a moment and looked back down the street. Annabelle had stopped under a streetlight. She was leaning against it.
The sky cleared and the stars shone through the wards. The houses changed back to default. Annabelle turned around with a wicked smile on her lips. She started walking back up the street. As she reached Dora she rolled her eyes. "Let's gather everyone up," she said. She walked into headquarters and Dora followed.
"So," Annabelle said. "I'd say you guys did pretty well."
Luke looked up from the evidence table at Annabelle. "We didn't clear the case," he said.
"Neither did the Aurors who originally worked the case," Annabelle said. "This is a cold case. You reached the same conclusion they did. Annabelle was targeting abusive men and women with an experimental love potion. No potion was found. Not until many years later when a hidden brewery was found and several bottles uncovered. They also found a diary detailing every victim. Something that was never uncovered was who gave the suspect the potion." As Annabelle spoke, she had slowly changed from a woman into a man. By the end of his explanation, it was Ray standing before them. "She died of natural causes in a mental home about six years ago. She never recovered. Her victims, however, did recover and went back to being just as awful after the effects of the potion as they had been before. Several even ended up killing their spouses and serving time for their crimes." He picked out a thick folder from a set of drawers that the rest of them couldn't access. "These are the original reports and the full investigation in case you want to look through it," Ray said as he placed it on the table.
"But you said we passed?" Zach said.
"You did," Ray said. "You realised that you didn't have the manpower needed and you knew when you needed help from other people. Instead of forcing the situation, you called in others better equipped to handle it."
The corners of Christina's mouth twitched, and Dora started laughing outright. All of that just to make sure they knew how to delegate when necessary. It was late. They were tired and somewhat hungry.
"Can we go get some pizza?" Dora asked.
Ray smiled. "Sure," he said. The five of them headed out so they could grab something to eat.
"Jeremy and Kat didn't have to do anything did they?" Luke asked.
Ray rolled his eyes. "Of course not," he said. "I just told them what they should tell you, guys. It was the same with Matthew who found me."
"How many of those people did you play?" Dora asked.
Ray smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know," he said. "I'm not revealing that. Maybe someday you'll figure it out."
"Let's not talk work anymore," Christina said. She ordered drinks and they ended the late evening with a pleasant buzz.
Dora giggled quietly as she dropped her keys on the floor of her apartment. She bent down and picked them up. She sighed heavily as she stepped into the shower. Sometimes she had a really hard time reading Ray. He was such a good actor. She wondered briefly how he tricked Zack's senses as she walked into the bedroom. She smiled as she saw her boyfriend lying there with his glasses still on and a book resting on his chest. She hoped he hadn't tried to wait up for her again.
She placed the book and the glasses on the bedside table before climbing into bed. She fell asleep almost immediately.
11th of October, 1997.
That Saturday the second of Harry's so-called lessons with Dumbledore was to take place. Before that, he had both Quidditch practice and homework to take care of. He worked his team as hard as he could while still making sure that they were smiling and laughing as they left to have lunch.
Severus had assigned them a rather tricky set of scenarios as their homework. Harry was dissecting every part to come up with solutions and ways to handle the ones he had been given. By dinner, he had written twenty-four inches and could probably have kept going. He knew that it might be bad if someone other than Severus saw what he had written, but he also knew that there was no way Severus was going to show anyone.
He knocked on Dumbledore's door calmly after assuring Hermione that he would let her know what they had talked about. She had been more worried about the idea of a prophecy than he thought she would, considering what she felt about Divination.
"Good evening Mr Potter," Dumbledore said as Harry walked in.
"Good evening Headmaster," Harry responded.
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about the strange affliction that seems to haunt Madam Umbridge," Dumbledore said. "She seems quite worried about her safety."
"I don't see why," Harry said. "Though I guess she has been acting strange lately. She seems to be running out of classrooms in the middle of class a lot."
Dumbledore gave Harry a calculating look. He couldn't prove that Harry was the one behind the strange animals running around his school. He wasn't even sure how they had been created, to begin with, but he had seen many strange things crop up around Harry lately. Ever since Kato showed up he had encountered a type of magic that he didn't quite understand. It stood to reason that Mr Peverell was teaching his distant cousin since they were living together. Harry was the most logical suspect. As long as no student came to harm, however, there was very little Albus would do. Not that he was certain he could do anything. He hadn't tried. "Be that as it may," he said with a wink. "Tonight we will be leaving the firm foundation of facts behind as we travel into the world of murky memories and thickets of wild guesswork."
"I guess we will have to bring sharp minds and logical conclusions then," Harry said. "So we don't get lost along the way."
Dumbledore smiled grandfatherly. "Ah, right you are," he said. "I ask you to keep an open mind as what we are about to witness is connected to the prophecy even though it may not be obvious at first." He had stood up and walked over to a black cabinet that held the pensive.
Harry rose from his chair and waited as Dumbledore brought the pensive over to the desk and placed it down. "Where are we going, sir?" he asked. He found this interesting even if he wouldn't call it lessons per se and certainly wouldn't compare it to the combat instructions that Moody had suggested he was taught. Thankfully that wouldn't matter since he already knew how to handle himself. Information was far more important to him than any combat training Dumbledore could offer him.
"We are heading for a trip down Bob Ogden's memory lane," Dumbledore said as he pulled the stopper out of a vial. He poured the silvery contents into the pensive and it swirled. "After you," he said.
Harry smirked and dipped his head down into the liquid. He was falling. There was no wind. No indication that he truly was falling other than the fact that the ground was quickly approaching him. He landed on a small country road in an area that hadn't looked out of place in Cyrodill. As he turned to his left he burst out laughing. A plump man with a reclining hairline was standing next to him. It wasn't his physical attributes that had Harry laughing. His wild assortment of clothes clearly marked him as a pure-blood wizard. Or at least a wizard that didn't have any contact with the non-magical world. Harry solemnly vowed to himself that he would never get that out of touch. He had often noted that wizards would stand out less if they just walked around in their robes.
"Having fun?" Dumbledore asked.
"Why do they never know how to dress?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore gave a small smile. "Many either do not have the time or feel like it is beneath them to find fitting muggle clothes," he said.
"He is a ministry worker though isn't he?" Harry asked. "Why don't they just hire someone who makes sure that their workers know how to blend in?"
"I believe that such an idea has never crossed their minds," Dumbledore said.
Ogden finally started heading down towards Little Hangleton. Harry slowly started realising where they were going. The house wasn't as broken down as when he had been there but it certainly didn't look well cared for. Whoever enjoyed nailing snakes to the door seemed to be living there currently since the one hanging there was fresh. "That is just cruel," Harry said as he motioned to the snake.
Dumbledore nodded slowly as he watched the scene unfold. He had watched this memory before and knew what was going to happen. He saw how Harry moved when a man dropped down from one of the nearby trees. He had seen similar behaviour from seasoned aurors and wondered just what Harry was being taught and by whom. Maybe he needed to have a chat with Alastor.
"Leave, your kind isn't welcome here," the man who had just appeared hissed. Dirt hid the man's hair colour. His teeth were yellowed and missing in places.
Harry relaxed as he fell back in the knowledge that nothing could hurt him. This was just a memory. Just as he had already guessed Ogden was from the ministry.
"You understand him I'm sure," Dumbledore said.
"He's telling Mr Ogden to leave," Harry said.
An older man came rushing out of the house. "Morfin!" he roared. "Haven't I told you not to make a mess of things!" he hissed. "Go inside."
Harry's eyes caught sight of the ring the older man wore. It was the same one that he had found in the house that summer. So this was most likely Tom's grandfather. Meaning Morfin was his uncle. Tom must have taken after his father in looks. He shared next to nothing but his cruel behaviour with these men. He gained some semblance of respect for Ogden as the man handled Mr Gaunt calmly despite the blood slurs and other simply unfitting comments that the man passed.
As they entered the hovel the Gaunts called their home, Harry's heart reached out for the poor daughter in the family. Just like her father and brother, she was no fairy tale princess by any means, but she certainly looked as if she could do with a prince to rescue her. She was clearly abused and could use a good bath and some healer's aid. She wore a heavy golden locket that caught Harry's eyes. If the ring had been an anchor there was a rather big chance that the locket was one as well. He would have to circle the description to the goblins just in case they could find it somewhere. The appearance of Tom Riddle Sr. and the mention of the Peverell family cemented the fact that this was Voldemort's family. He felt sorry for Merope. She was just looking out at the world and dreaming of a better life. How would she feel about her son now after everything that he had done? Would she be proud?
They left the memory behind and reappeared in Dumbledore's office. Fawkes flared his wings and greeted them back.
"So Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle… Voldemort's parents. They certainly aren't an obvious match," Harry said. "I take it there was either a love potion or forced copulation of some other kind involved."
"Considering the circumstances and the fact that Mr Riddle disappeared from his home only to return months later, I would assume a love potion was used," Dumbledore said.
"So Merope either hoped he had fallen in love with her or that he would at least stay with her to take care of the child she was carrying," Harry said. "It isn't a very thought-through plan, but I guessed she was desperate to get away."
"You seem to hold a certain amount of pity for Merope," Dumbledore said.
"I believe that she could possibly have been a very good person if given the chance. She used desperate measures to get out of a desperate situation. I do not condone the use of love potions, but I won't hate her for using them," Harry said.
"And Mr Riddle? How do you feel about him?" Dumbledore asked.
"He was forced into a situation he didn't want to be in. He maybe didn't even believe her when she told him she was pregnant," Harry said. "He wasn't really at fault either. Tom just had some really bad circumstances surrounding him even before his birth." He met Dumbledore's eyes. "Are you trying to get me to feel compassion for the man who killed my parents?" he asked.
"Feeling compassion or empathy for someone isn't a weakness," Dumbledore said.
"Certainly not," Harry said. He bowed slightly. "If that was everything for tonight I must go and finish my Defence homework. I would rather not end up on Professor Snape's bad side now that we can spend time in the same room together without killing each other."
Dumbledore chuckled. "That is it," he said. "Until next time."
"Good night."
17th of October, 1997.
Harry hid his smile as McGonagall walked into the Great Hall followed by her two majestic lions; the one she had started out with had split into two recently. He knew for a fact that by now most professors had tried to get rid of the illusions. No one had managed yet though. Not that they minded their companions, but Umbridge had screamed loud enough for them to at least attempt removing them.
The doors were thrown open suddenly and Unbridge entered with a triumphant grin on her face as several red-clad aurors walked in after her. Just like Ray had asked for, most of these aurors were part of the self-named Midnight Brigade. He could easily pick out both Luke and Christina in the crowd. Harry had considered how to handle this and settled on a solution he was happy with.
As the Aurors moved through the school that day the illusions were seemingly dispelled. Or at least that was what everyone else saw. To Harry and Umbridge they would continue to roam the halls. Just not right at this moment. He wanted her to feel some semblance of relief first. Just maybe he was being a little cruel to her.
Maybe.
