Author's Note: I'm back with the next chapter and I thank you all for the comments that have reassured me that I haven't stolen another person's work.
Replies to Comments:
LeoniusDong- as much as I would like to employ Petunia in the daycare, it is in the muggle world so I can't have Petunia placed there if she wants to disappear from Vernon.
Knight5946: I honestly burst out laughing when I read your comment, and I write when the mood strikes me, but I try not to let my fans wait too long for a new chapter.
ChiruKaio: I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chapter, and yes, I know it had some hard topics, which is one of the reasons why I updated the rating from T to M.
Luiz4200: Thank you for the reassurance that my story isn't identical to the other one.
I do apologize if this chapter isn't up to my normal standards, but I just lost my grandfather on March 14th, and the loss is hitting me pretty hard.
Chapter 25
Saturday Morning: Azkaban
Amelia Bones had just finished getting through all the security checks in Azkaban, nothing too strenuous, just a dash of veritaserum to prove that she is who she is, not under the influence of the imperious curse or Polyjuice potion, and has nothing on her apart from her wand, which she is allowed to bring with her to perform a Patronus to keep the effects of the Dementors away from her. Once she gets her wand back from the guards, she casts her patronus and starts making her way to Lucius Malfoy's cell, hoping she can get some more information out of him before he gets sent through the veil of death. Knowing that Lord Voldemort had made horcruxes secretly terrified her. Amelia thought that when he disappeared after trying to kill Harry Potter, she thought that would be the end of that, but knowing what she knows now, the uneasiness has crept back into her mind. The uncertainty of knowing if or when Voldemort would return, kept her from looking forward to her future. Once she finally got to Lucius' cell, she pushed all the uncertainties to the back of her mind, so she could get to the bottom of how far Voldemort went for immortality.
"Lucius, I'm sorry I haven't been able to see you since your trial, I hope prison is teaching you something at least." Amelia greets with as much sarcasm as she can professionally get away with.
"As I said in my trial Amelia, I was under the imperious curse when I took the Dark Mark." Lucius replies in his silky voice that normally woos the women.
"That's what you claimed before we got the veritaserum into your system, even though an experienced Occlumens can get around the truth drug, we made sure that our house elves discreetly gave you flushing potions, which were also laced with occlumency blockers, so that no one could get around the Veritaserum. Now, the reason I'm here is, simply, for information. Will you cooperate with me? Or do I need to get more Veritaserum to pour down your throat?" Amelia asked.
Lucius shivered, scared of how many more secrets he would spill while under the truth drug. He was so sure that the only reason he hadn't been thrown through the veil yet is because Dolores was pulling strings to make sure that he would only serve a life sentence in prison than facing Death. "I assure you, Amelia, that I told you everything you needed to know during my trial. Now, can you leave me in peace with my thoughts?" Lucius asks, hoping that Amelia will leave him alone.
"Your response tells me all I need to know." Amelia responds, reaching into her robe pocket and pulling out a vial of the truth serum. "You know the drill, open your mouth, stick out your tongue and say, ahhhhh." Lucius gets up from the threadbare cot in his cell, goes up to the steel door separating him from Amelia, and decides to stick his tongue out at her like a five-year-old arguing with his parents. Amelia takes this opportunity to quickly pour three drops of Veritaserum onto his outstretched tongue. Once she notices his pupils constrict, a sure sign that the serum's working, she decides to start interrogating him. "Now, as we established in your trial, you were willing to join Lord Voldemort, and my sources found out that you were one of his main financial backers. Because of this, you quickly made your way into his inner circle, meaning you were told important secrets that not many others knew. Now, I am going to ask you a few simple questions. Did Lord Voldemort give you anything of value?"
"As I told you during my trial, all he gave me was a diary that had the inscription T.M Riddle on the first page. I perused the item quite a few times trying to decipher its secrets, but I could find nothing in its pages."
'Score!' Amelia thought, hoping that this information may help the goblins narrow down where the remaining horcruxes are. Going off the information she gleamed from the previous trials, she decided to do a more in-depth interrogation. "What exactly did Lord Voldemort give Bellatrix to keep safe?"
"He gave her Helga Hufflepuff's cup. I remember her boasting that she would keep it in the most secure place she knew. To me, that means her personal vault at Gringotts Bank." Amelia silently cheers hearing this, knowing she can tell the goblins and they will confiscate her entire vault. "While Voldemort asked you guys to keep these items safe, do you remember him ever going off on a tangent on other items he hid or information he deemed you worthy to hear?"
"The Dark Lord was so sure no one would dare eavesdrop on his monologues and conversations with new recruits, he never put up any silencing charms or wards, so I can at least tell you that he has several unmarked Death Eaters placed strategically throughout the Ministry, and he smooth talked Regulus Black into letting him use his house elf." Lucius said, knowing its useless to fight the Veritaserum.
"Please list the unmarked Death Eaters, and please tell me why he would need a house elf?" Amelia asks, glad that she'll be able to get the ministry cleaned up more.
"Delores Umbridge, one of the Unspeakables, I believe it was unspeakable 69, Justin Croppy, and a few others in the floo office." Lucius replies.
"So that answers one of my questions, now, I want an answer to my other question, why would your 'Dark Lord' needed a house elf?" Amelia asks, now knowing why Justin was so intent on leaving Sirius in Azkaban without a trial.
"He said it would be an honour for his house elf to help him booby trap an abandoned cave close to where he grew up."
"What happened after that?"
"All I know is that about a week after the Dark Lord borrowed Regulus' house elf, he went missing, presumed dead."
"Do you remember the name of Regulus' house elf?"
"I believe it was Creature or something along those lines. My wife would know better, since the house elf belongs to the house of Black." Lucius replies.
"Can you tell us anything else? Even if you think its unrelated, every little detail helps us." Amelia pries.
"It may have been my house that the Dark Lord stayed in, but I tried to avoid getting on the wrong end of his Cruciatus Curse, so when I knew he was in a bad mood, I made myself scarce. I will tell you this though, about 2 weeks after the Dark Lord used Regulus' house elf, Regulus left one night and never returned."
"Thank you, Lucius. This information helps a lot." With that, Amelia gives Lucius the antidote to the Veritaserum, and turns on her heel to get the hell away from Azkaban. Also, she needs to contact the goblins, and possibly Sirius Black about a lead on another one of the horcruxes.
Same Morning, 11:00am: Minerva's House
"Harry, sweetie, please go get dressed, you get to hang out with Uncle Padfoot today, and I know that he's not going to like you still dressed in your pajamas, which are covered in syrup." Minerva states, exasperated, some days wondering why she adopted Harry. As much as she loves him like her own son, after years of teaching and looking over the health and well being of children between the ages of 11-17, and also only babysitting her niece on occasion, she didn't realize how much effort it took to care for a toddler.
"Unca Mooey help me." Harry says as he waddles up towards his room.
"Remus, would you also be so kind as to give him a bath? I fear the house would be flooded if we leave it for Sirius to do." Minerva asks.
"Not a problem, Minerva. Also, people may not be able to read my mind due to my werewolf status, but I can read yours. I understand that raising a child can be difficult at times, that's why the saying goes, 'it takes a village.' Even if you can do it on your own, it isn't recommended, which is why I'm glad you offered me a place to live and helped me get a job. In return, I'm helping you raise Harry, so is Sirius, Molly, Augusta, the goblins, even Flitwick sent you the box of toys before he even knew you had Harry in custody." Remus explains, giving Harry a small head start up the stairs, while also keeping an eye on him so that he doesn't take a tumble. "Now, on another note, what are you going to wear on your date today?" Remus asks.
"I don't know Remus, but I can't wear my normal green tartan dress, it's too formal for a coffee date and in the muggle world, about 100 years out of date." Minerva replies. "Now, may you please bathe your nephew before I have to extend his grounding, or worse, ground you." Minerva says while staring over her glasses, giving Remus her stern glare which she normally reserves for her students.
As normal, Remus shuts up, puts his empty coffee cup in the sink, and quickly catches up to Harry. As Minerva hears their voices go quieter, she also, puts her coffee cup in the sink and gets the breakfast dishes going with a wave of her wand and also heads up towards her room, hoping to find something decent to wear to her date.
That afternoon, 1:45
"Now Sirius, remember, Harry is grounded, so that means no sweets and no TV. As much as I wish that Remus could watch Harry, he's busy at Gringotts, so its up to you. If Harry gets bored, try entertaining him with his books or puzzles. Also, when I say no TV, I mean no TV. Any questions?" Minerva asks once Sirius has settled in.
"So, you're saying I'm not allowed to watch TV Minnie?" Sirius asks, hoping to find a loophole in the grounding for his favourite godson.
"No, you're not. Because knowing you, you would put something like Cinderella on, then defend yourself by saying that you actually like the animated kids movies." Minerva states, and secretly smiling when the smile slowly drains off Sirius' face. "Now, I need to get going before I'm late." With that, Minerva puts on her dragon skin cowboy boots, which have a charm on them to make them look like genuine leather to muggles, grabs her purse, coat, and keys, and starts heading for the day. "I'll see you later Harry, be good for Uncle Sirius, ok?"
"Ok mama, bye." Harry waves, as he sits in the living room working on a kid's puzzle. With that, Minerva heads out the door towards her first date since she met her late husband.
2:05pm, Sweets On Treats
When Minerva walks into the sweet shop, she's welcomed by a quaint and colourful coffee shop with every baked good imaginable. With all the bright but tasteful decorations, it looks much bigger on the inside than the outside. While she's looking around at the place, she's also looking for Mark, just then, a hostess comes up to her. "Hi, welcome to Sweets on Treats, may I help you?" the hostess asks Minerva.
"Hopefully, I'm looking for a gentleman by the name of…" before Minerva can finish her sentence, she hears,
"Minerva, there yea are." Minerva turns around and sees the man she was just looking for.
"Mark, hello, how was you're drive here?" Minerva asks.
"Busier than a pack of raccoons at a garbage dump, took me forever to find a spot to park. How was yours?"
"Not as bad as yours by the sounds of it, but to be honest I parked at the old school and walked here. It gave my legs a good stretch apart from running after my son. Shall we go and get a seat?"
"Aye, we shall, then we'll begin to get to know one another." Mark says, with that, the hostess grabs two menus and gestures at them to follow her. She brings them to a booth next to a window and lets them know that their server will be there shortly. Once she disappears, Minerva starts fidgeting, wondering why she's suddenly so nervous. Thankfully, Mark decides to break the awkward silence that has settled between them.
"So, Minerva, where's the little rascal that caused us to bump into each other?"
"He's at home, his Uncle Sirius is babysitting him, hopefully, my house will still be standing when I get back." Minerva replies.
"Who's the bigger troublemaker? This Sirius fella, or your son?" Mark asks. As Minerva's about to reply, their server shows up.
"Hello, welcome, my name is Alexandria, what can I get started for you folks today?" Mark gestures to Minerva to give her order first.
"Hi, can I get an earl grey tea and an assortment platter please?" Minerva asks, hoping the assortment platter would be good enough to split with Mark for today.
"Of course, and for you handsome?" The server asks, obviously trying to flirt.
"I'll have a coffee please, and my date and I will share the assortment platter, but can we substitute the peanut butter cookies for red velvet cupcakes? I'm allergic to peanuts." Mark replies, effectively putting a stop to the servers flirting.
"That shouldn't be a problem. I'll be back shortly with your order." Once the server's gone, Minerva attempts to remember the question Mark had just asked her.
"Sorry, I should have asked about any allergies, anyways, what did you just ask me?"
"I was asking who gives ya a bigger headache when it comes to causin' trouble?"
"To be honest, both. I taught my son's father and Sirius when they were in high school. My son has definitely inherited his father's trouble magnet."
"Ah, you're a teacher, that explains your reaction at the store the other day."
"That feels like a lifetime ago. I was a teacher; I'm taking the school year off."
"Are you going to go back to teaching?" As Mark asks that, Alexandria comes back with their drinks. "I'll be back with the assortment tray." She says as she walks away.
"Thank you. Anyways Mark, I was considering it, but now I'm not sure."
"Which school did you work at?" At this question, Minerva hesitates, wondering how she can word it that it doesn't blow the statute of secrecy apart.
"I worked at a prestigious boarding school, its up in Scotland."
"Is there any other reason that you decided to take a year off?" With that, the server returned with their assortment tray. "Do you need any refills?"
"Yes please, and can you please just bring back a pot of both the coffee and tea?" Mark asks.
"Of course."
"That should stop her from making goo goo eyes at me when we're clearly on a date." Mark says, "Now, where were we?"
"I was about to answer your question. To be honest, yes, there were several reasons why I took the year off, the main reason was young Harry, but some of the other reasons were the headmaster was getting me to do the work of 3 people, without the pay, and with his age, he was making some questionable decisions in people's lives that he had no business in making."
"Let me guess, the headmaster you're talking about is Albus Dumbledore?" Minerva just about dropped her teacup with the shock Mark just sent her way. "Glad I can make ya speechless for a change."
"How do you know about Albus?" Minerva asks once she regains her composure, and once their server drops off their refills, Minerva wandlessly put up a privacy charm around them.
"I'm not magical, but I have a few family members that went to Hogwarts, they told me about the wacky headmaster, and they also told me about a few teachers that were tough as nails, but always put the students first." Mark says.
"Just to let you know, I did put up a privacy charm so no one will over hear us talking about magic. Anyways, now that I know you can be honest with you, I was the transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts, along with the Deputy Headmistress and a Head of House. The straw that broke my back was the fact that Albus wanted to leave Harry on his aunt and uncle's doorstep in the middle of the night. Quick question, how much information did your family hear about the war that was going on?"
"Heard that it was getting bad, that's why my family got the goblins to ward our place to kingdom come, we didn't even receive the Daily Prophet until about a week after all the owls were flying around on November 1st."
"Good idea, anyways, what do you do for work? You've been asking all about me and I've been so nervous I've apparently been rambling."
"Don't worry about it, to be honest, I'm an elementary school teacher, but I'm also looking for a new start. Do you know when that daycare centre's opening? I kind of want to work there." With Mark's response, Minerva burst out laughing, once she finally gets a hold of herself, she wipes the tears that have formed on her face, and turns back towards Mark who's currently looking at her weirdly.
"Forgive my outburst Mark, but I think the gods are trying to put us together for some reason."
"Why do you say that Minerva?"
"I own the daycare centre, and we are looking to open it come the new year, we being my friends Molly Weasley, and Narcissa Malfoy. We are working with Gringotts to find staff for it, but if you swing by the daycare on Monday, we will gladly give you an interview." With that, Minerva takes down the privacy shield, and looks at her watch. "Goodness gracious, it's nearly four in the afternoon! As much as I'd hate for this day to end, I better see if my house is still standing, and I should let you get to your family gathering before the traffic gets horrendous."
"Blimey, I didn't realize so much time has passed." Mark replies, and calmly raises his hand to flag Alexandria down so they could get the bill. Once she places the bill, Minerva quickly but calmly picks up the bill, and pulls out the necessary amount to cover the cost of the date. Mark begins to protest, but Minerva once again goes into 'teacher mode.'
"Mark, I told you when I ran into you at the store that it was on me, since I used you like a bowling pin. If you're that much of a gentleman, than you can pay for the next date." Minerva says.
Mike slightly shrinks down into his seat seeing Minerva go into her teacher's mode. "It would not go well for me to argue with ya. I'll call ya when I'm free for a follow-up, but I hope to see you on Monday for that interview."
"Sounds good. Maybe I'll get a little more information about you next time." Minerva jokes. Once she has gathered all her belongings, she shimmies out of her booth and walks beside Mark until they arrive at his car.
"Well, today was a lot of fun Mark, I look forward to seeing you in the future."
"Good day Minerva, I look forward to it as well." With that, Mark climbs into his car, and once his car's out of sight, Minerva starts walking to the daycare to get in her car and drive home, secretly hoping that Mark doesn't leave her life anytime soon.
End Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I appreciate the patience everyone has shown me. I know I'm not updating this story as often as I hoped, but life has a tendency to get in the way of what we want to do.