I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the two main pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them certainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
For now, the story will update every second Saturday, until I say otherwise.
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Chapter 49: Secret Wars
-flash- Luna turned around, startled. Then she saw that it was Neville, holding a camera. "You've just shown me a wonderful full moon, very much honoring your name."
Luna did blush a little, but then got a very naughty thought. "Well, I have more than just a moon to offer." That said, Luna stopped covering herself with her hands, giving Neville a full frontal with nothing hidden. "I'm wearing nothing but a smile for you."
"Oh, wow..." Neville made no secret of looking at all her feminine parts.
Even though she was blushing, Luna smiled. "Don't I look beautiful...?"
"Luna!"
Hermione's voice pulled her out of her daydream and she realized she was standing under the showers of the 4th year girls dorms, still holding the soap in her hand while the warm water rained down onto her. The air was heavy with steam and Hermione stood next to her, being as naked as all of the girls in their dorm, as they were all taking their morning showers. The other girls looked over from their own showers, being amused that Hermione had to force Luna to stop daydreaming.
"Honestly, you were staring at nothing and held the soap as if your life depended on it. You didn't react the first three times I called you." Hermione then saw Luna actually blush, which was rather unusual. "Luna, is something wrong?"
"No, nothing is wrong!" Luna then realized how that sounded, but right now she was unable to achieve her normal aloofness. "I was just lost in thoughts. Is there something you need from me?"
"No, I was just concerned when you suddenly froze and seemed to stare at nothing," Hermione explained her worry.
"No need to worry. It was just a short daydream," Luna explained, hoping Hermione would buy it.
"Oh, well... All right." Hermione then walked back to her own shower to continue morning cleansing.
Ginny, who stood under the shower right next to Luna, gave her friend an interesting look while working shampoo into her long red hair. "Luna, I know you better than the others. Just an interesting daydream alone wouldn't distract you that much."
Luna however was in no mood to explain her recent dreams. "I will only explain my dreams if you explain yours. A few days ago I woke up during the night when I had to use the toilet. When I returned, I heard you say interesting things in your sleep."
Ginny knew exactly what Luna was talking about - the interesting dreams she'd had since the night where they had taught Malfoy and Parkinson a lesson. "You play dirty, Luna."
Watching her friend return to the task of washing her hair, Luna couldn't help but to think of her own reaction to said incident. It had resulted in numerous dreams where either she found herself outside naked, or discovered Neville in said situation. It also always took a rather sexual turn instead of what happened in reality. That of course forced her to take care of how much these dreams tended to rile up a certain part of her.
Luna was quite observant and very sure that all of them had such dreams after what what they did to Malfoy and Parkinson, even though they couldn't stand those two. It simply had to be how their hormone-soaked teenage brains were processing the incident and the interesting position Malfoy nd Parkinson had been forced into.
A few showers away Elizabeth Stone had watched the entire exchange. "What do you think that is about?" she asked Kellah Miller in the shower next to hers.
"No idea, and to be honest perhaps we don't actually want to know," Kellah said while soaping up her dark-skinned butt. "What I hope is that we don't get another surprise visit from Myrtle anytime soon."
Elizabeth remembered the last visit from the ghost girl in the showers, which had been a mere two weeks ago. "At least none of us freak out. Rumor has it that when a naked Myrtle visited the Slytherin showers, one girl freaked out and hid under her bed."
"That's no rumor," Kellah told her. "I overheard Myrtle apologizing to the girl for scaring her."
Yes, it was a perfectly normal Saturday morning.
o
Some time later everyone was at the breakfast table. Since it was no school day, the atmosphere was much more relaxed and no uniforms were in sight. Well, the Durmstrang students were not yet at their table, but that was little wonder, considering they always came in later for breakfast due to Karkaroff always first gathering them on the deck of the ship. That ritual had quite the military vibe and was obviously meant by Karkaroff to show who is in control. Also, the Durmstrang students were never seen out of uniform.
"Hm, looks like those two are still sulking," Ron remarked while they sat down.
They knew what he meant when looking over to the Slytherin table. Malfoy and Parkinson looked like someone had pissed onto their cornflakes, an expression they had held ever since that for them humiliating evening. The Six however knew better than to talk about that here.
"They honestly deserve the misfortune that befell them," Hermione said, not feeling sorry at all for those two. "If they can't take it they shouldn't have done what they did."
That was all they said about the matter at the breakfast table. They actually hurried with breakfast and then quickly walked out of the castle and behind the guest building, where they knew they wouldn't have to fear someone listening in on them.
"You think they told Skeeter the deal is off? Considering they had looked sour since that evening..." Neville wondered as soon as they were sure no one was around.
"Let's wait a little longer and observe what kind of poison she is writing. Last week doesn't count since I'm sure she got enough material for that week. But if she loses her touch this week..." Ginny knew Skeeter wouldn't stop, but without inside help things would get much more difficult for her.
"Nothing more we can do about that. What about Karkaroff?" Ginny asked.
After their success against Malfoy and Parkinson, they had felt they should start to grapple the more serious problem of Igor Karkaroff. The attack by the boar looked damn suspicious and they suspected he was behind that - though of course officially it just had been a wild boar. This they had decided to concentrate on somehow finding evidence on the man's guilt.
That however had proven to be more difficult than anticipated.
"Nothing. I use my cloak to disguise myself and the map to follow his movements, but it feels like he knows what the time windows are when he has to act unassuming. He honestly is quite clever. Looks like we have to find hard proof the other way," Harry explained to them, frustrated with the failure.
"You mean..." Hermione stopped herself and looked up to the castle gates, where she saw the Durmstrang students enter. "They are going into the castle... You honestly want to snoop around the ship? Harry, are you serious?"
"Breaking into his cabin on the ship is risky. The chance of it being secured against intruders is considerable," Luna reminded everyone.
"Still, it has to be done..." Harry then looked around the corner and saw all of the Durmstrang delegation leave the ship to go to breakfast. "We know for sure the ship is now empty. But only two of us should go."
"I volunteer, despite my misgivings about this. If there are security measures, I'm most likely to find them in time," Hermione offered.
"I will go as well. If I get caught snooping, it will be less of a disaster than if Harry Potter is caught. Don't give me that look, I'm serious, mate!" Ron told Harry.
Harry hated that he would have to sit back and wait, but knew Ron did have a point. "All right, but as soon as there is trouble, make a run for it."
Ron and Hermione quickly made their way to the dock where the Durmstrang ship was moored at. Everything was silent as everyone was at breakfast right at the moment. It felt a bit weird to them to break into the ship to snoop around, but they really wanted something to stick on the man rather sooner than later and his cabin was the best shot to find compromising materials.
"Kind of eerie..." Ron commented while they found the stairs that would lead to under the deck.
"Maybe you feel the magic in the ship. It has to be heavily enchanted, so that wouldn't wonder me." Hermione then stopped, then pointed at a door almost next to the stairs. "There is his name on the plaque on the door."
"Right next to the stairs. He's not only evil, but also lazy," Ron snorted.
Hermione decided not to tell Ron it was a bit rich hearing a comment about laziness from him while she started to examine the door with her wand out. While the door did look unassuming, she would not touch it until she was truly sure. "Nothing obvious, but that doesn't mean anything. Enchantments after all are hardly visible. Let's first check for alarms..."
That however already proved to be a mistake. As soon as Hermione had uttered the incantation of the spell to check for enchantments... -DingDingDingDingDingDing!- A very loud alarm bell went off and both of them knew right away they had to make a run for it.
Wasting no time they stormed up the stairs to the deck and then off the ship. Both of them would later be impressed at how much strength one could find when running away from something that would have nasty consequences. They made it back to their friends behind the guest building in record time before collapsing in exhaustion.
They didn't need to ask if something went wrong.
Peering around the corner, Neville observed Karkaroff storming out of the castle and back to the ship, clearly somehow having been alerted that someone had tried to break into his cabin. "What exactly happened that you needed to make a run for it?" he then asked.
"Karkaroff is clever. He must have placed a charm on the door that sets off the alarm if someone is checking the door for charms," Hermione finally said after having regained her breath.
"Others would call that paranoid, but it actually is a clever way to prevent tampering," Luna said dryly.
"Trying to find something on Headmaster Karkaroff?"
The Six froze and then looked to where Krum had walked around the corner. However, he quickly held up his hands. "Peace. I will not tell anyone about this. We all would be happy if Karkaroff were gone."
"How do you know...?" Harry started to ask.
"I stepped outside earlier due to Karkaroff being especially insufferable. I saw both of you running from the ship," Krum explained. "Again, I will not tell on you."
"While that is nice of you... Why?" Ginny asked.
"Karkaroff is very disliked at Durmstrang. From what I know, while the school always had an unpleasant reputation, it got way worse with him as Headmaster. Him running the school like his personal little kingdom, turning Durmstrang highly militaristic, has made him many enemies. We would not shed a tear should something... happen to him," Krum explained to them.
Ron whistled when hearing that "Sounds like you have a personal problem with him, apart from him treating you like the golden goose."
"It's so blatantly obvious that everyone notices..." Krum grumbled loudly. "He literally forced me to attend Durmstrang so that he could milk my rising popularity. An offer I had no chance to refuse. I have never forgiven him upending my life like that."
They honestly had not known that, but then again Krum didn't talk that much about his personal life. He was a very private person after all and the ice between them had only been broken for mere two weeks. That he actually was telling them that right now thus felt quite significant.
"So, you want us to get dirt on Karkaroff?" Harry asked.
"Yes... all of us would be quite thankful if you manage to do so." Krum then looked to the ship. "Let's better go inside and you six then go somewhere else in the castle. No need to attract Karkaroff's attention."
They knew Krum was right about that. Quickly making their way inside, they made a beeline for Gryffindor tower, wanting to ensure they could claim they had been there since having finished breakfast. Having a handy alibi ready was always a good thing, after all.
Once being back in the currently empty dorms, Harry sighed. "Well, that was a complete bust."
"We did think Karkaroff would be as easy as Malfoy and Parkinson. We were wrong and there is no shame in admitting that," Luna said, knowing she herself had thought it could work.
"So it's back to keeping an eye on him?" Neville asked.
"What choice do we have?" Ginny said while letting herself fall into one of the armchairs. "No way however we can risk getting caught by him. Remember, that man used to be a Death Eater."
They knew that should he catch them, Karkaroff would not hesitate to make them disappear. Today had been a bust, bust they hoped they could find a different way to nail Karkaroff - hopefully before he could make another attempt on Harry.
...Charms class, March 31st...
"Yes, this is good! A very nice demonstration Mr. Longbottom," Professor Flitwick told Neville when he managed to demonstrate the Exploding Charm, which they were learning in this lesson, perfectly on the small wooden block given as the target.
"Oh, thank you, Professor..." Neville was a little flustered to get such praise in front of the class.
Flitwick however laughed. "Oh, no false humility, Mr. Longbottom. You most certainly have quite some talent with Charms, that is for sure. Some others could learn from your careful approach."
Seamus blushed, as everyone in the classroom knew this was aimed at him. He already had a reputation for setting things on fire, but during last class while training this rather unpredictable charm, he had somehow managed to to explode his entire desk, causing splinters to fly everywhere like projectiles. Madam Pomfrey had been really cross with him while being busy with removing splinters from a dozen students who were all in serious pain.
Flitwick himself however had also admitted some guilt, seeing as the Exploding Charm was one of the more dangerous things one learned in his classes, he should have been more invested in safety, which proved even someone as experienced as him could make a mistake. Today's class therefore had all the security in place and nothing had happened this time.
"Ah, thank you, Professor. I have to admit I've heard my grandmother saying that Charms is a soft option and I should aim for Transfiguration instead," Neville admitted.
Flitwick snorted. "Charms are most certainly not a soft option. They are the backbone of most casting after all. Just because your grandmother failed her OWL in Charms, as is well-known in my circles, does not mean she can badmouth the subject."
Neville honestly had not known that, most likely Augusta had kept silent about that little fact out of embarrassment. "I hope to do my best, Professor." Neville then went back to his seat.
Flitwick then addressed the class. "On a more cheerful note, I'm In fact pleased with all of you. Granted, the beginning was a bit bumpy, but all of you learned this spell in a good time."
That's why students like Flitwick so much. He is an awesome teacher who really knows how to motivate us to do better, Harry thought, knowing Flitwick was one of the most popular professors at Hogwarts.
Thanks to Flitwick's bright personality Charms always was one the subjects most students liked. That Flitwick also was a very competent teacher helped as well. Most of those present already had decided that should they get the needed OWL in Charms, they would continue to take it. It was proof how a good teacher could generate very good results.
"Now, before I release you for your well-deserved lunch break, let me give all of you some advice for next year. Next year will be your OWL-year, thus you have to work harder than ever. Yet, as you have seen today, hard work also gives great reward. Let this be the motivator to do the best you can! Now off with you," Flitwick told the class.
The students moments later wasted no time packing their things and then made their way to the dorms to dump their school things so that they could enjoy lunch.
While walking down to the great hall, the Six talked discreetly about some recent developments.
"I'm just glad that with Skeeter no longer getting material to work with, the crap she writes about us has become more sporadic and, as loathe as I am to say it, much less original," Ron said, playing on how them blackmailing Draco and Pansy seemed to have worked.
"Which proves that without material as a basis to work with, she can't rub two brain cells together to get the same level of sheer libel," Hermione agreed, being glad that Skeeter was forced to lose her touch. "Makes you wonder if it's incompetence or sheer laziness."
"Oh, it gets better. Sirius told me that the justice system finally seems to get unclogged. Soon Skeeter and those cheap magazines will be in a world of legal hurt," Harry added, having spoken over the mirror with Sirius just last evening.
"It is interesting to observe that this only happened after we made Malfoy and Parkinson stop it. Clearly no coincidence. Mr. Malfoy seems to no longer see a reason to protect Skeeter, now that she has lost her worth," Luna observed.
They of course had no proof it had been Mr. Malfoy protecting Skeeter from the consequences of her actions, but he was the most likely suspect. After all, since Draco ran to daddy for many things, it was very likely those two had worked together on the whole thing. Mr. Malfoy could after all use that way to also get back at Dumbledore.
Only too bad that by now a number of people had been poisoned against them with these lies, including some students who never questioned the whole thing even after the Headmaster revealed it was all one big smear campaign. Some people simply were that way and they had to live with it.
"Guess even he doesn't see any reason to throw money down a bottomless barrel," Ginny snorted. "At least that one is a success."
They knew Ginny was playing on the fact that after their failure to break into Karkaroff's cabin on the ship, they still had not managed to get anything on the man. They couldn't risk to do anything too overt and Karkaroff, unlike Draco and Pansy, was really good at disguising his activities and making sure that no one could snoop into his matters.
"Yes, the man simply is too smart to allow us to catch him doing anything illegal," Harry sighed, feeling he was spending too much time under his invisibility cloak recently.
Entering the hall they walked to the Gryffindor table.
"They are still sulking," Neville said after having seen the expression Malfoy and Parkinson were sporting.
"Pffft, let them. They have no one to blame but themselves," Ginny waved it off.
"Yes, what do they want to do against it? They are screwed one way or another," Harry agreed.
Over at the Slytherin table, Draco and Pansy were indeed still stewing over their humiliation and the fact that their scheme, which had been working really well, had collapsed thanks to Potter and his friends. That humiliating defeat had only helped to turn what they felt against the Six into outright loathing.
Draco still remembered the letter exchange with his father, telling him that the deal had died and he no longer had to protect Skeeter. His father had tried to get out of him why that was, but Draco had kept silent, the shame over how he was being blackmailed was too great that he could ever confess that to his father. Also, he knew his father knowing would only make things worse and make Potter to release the photos.
Skeeter and those publications also would have been buried under litigation anyway, since even Draco's father had admitted that combined pressure from the Blacks, Longbottoms, Greengrasses and Bulstrodes - he was less concerned about the Weasleys and Lovegoods - had started to fracture the protective wall around Skeeter anyway. Removing his protection only quickened the process.
They knew one thing: one day they would make the Six pay dearly for it.
...Department of Mysteries, April 8th...
No one was asking any questions when Albus Dumbledore entered the Department of Mysteries. After all, due to his excellent reputation and official position, no one had any doubt the man had his reasons for visiting the department. Dumbledore indeed did have his reasons - not that he would reveal those to the Unspeakables of course.
It is a bit concerning how little security means once an important name is in play, Dumbledore thought, knowing why he didn't like using his name.
One Unspeakable noticed him enter and greeted him. "Ah, Mr. Dumbledore! It is highly unusual to see you visit the Department of Mysteries!"
"Oh, it indeed is. However, I am in need of visiting the hall of prophecies. There is something I need to confirm about a prophecy that was made to me," Dumbledore told the Unspeakable, staying intentionally vague.
However, the Unspeakable didn't mind, since their department was highly secretive itself and thus had a policy to not question the secrets of other people. "Considering it is you, Sir, we can waive the paperwork normally needed for that. Please follow me."
The Unspeakable led Dumbledore through several corridors, avoiding all the doors, until reaching the one that was their destination. Opening it, a big hall with massive racks was revealed. These racks went almost up to the high ceiling and were stacked with what looked to be blueish glass spheres. There had to be thousands of those spheres. The atmosphere in the hall was strange, like destiny was heavy in it.
In the hall the Unspeakable led Dumbledore to one rack in particular. "We have recorded two prophecies being made to you and they are both located in this rack. I hope you can confirm what you suspect."
"I do hope so as well..." Dumbledore however at the same time did cast a small, non-verbal and wandless spell - something only someone with his experience could do, especially without attracting attention.
-kliiiirr- The Unspeakable looked unsettled when hearing the sound of breaking glass. "Don't tell one of the prophecies fell off the racks... Excuse me for a moment, Sir. I need to check how bad the damage is."
As soon as the Unspeakable was out of sight, Dumbledore right away spotted the one sphere that was most important. There was a sign underneath it, reading:
S.P.T. to A.P.W.R.D.
Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter
That was it, the copy of the fateful prophecy which had set the events of Voldemort's first downfall in motion and which had cost Harry his parents and any semblance of a normal life. Dumbledore was dead-sure that Voldemort would be after this in order to find out what had went wrong due to him only knowing half of the prophecy. He felt it was imperative that Voldemort would not get his hands on the copy, as that would make things worse for Harry.
Taking hold of the prophecy sphere, which he could do because it had been made to him, Dumbledore quickly cast a little silence spell before soundlessly breaking the sphere on the floor. A ghostly image of a young Trelawney emerged from the shards, soundlessly replaying the recording before vanishing.
Dumbledore then quickly vanished the shards and pulled out a sphere which looked identical to the ones used in the department, only that this one did contain a message from him to Voldemort, should the man really aim at stealing the prophecy. Putting it into the empty spot, he then moved to the other prophecy some spots away.
S.P.T. to A.P.W.R.D.
Dark Lord and Chosen Six
He knew this prophecy had to vanish as well, since it contained highly sensible information which could spell death for Harry's friends. After all, since the Chosen Six were propheciesed to fight against Voldemort, he would see the need to kill them as fast as possible.
Dumbledore repeated the procedure, only that he this time cast a repair spell on the shards and then put the now empty sphere back into its place. He also altered the sign a bit to replace 'Six' with a '?'. Pleased that all had gone according to plan and the prophecies could no longer fall into the wrong hands, he waited for the Unspeakable to return. He didn't have to wait for long.
"I need to check more thoroughly which one broke..." The Unspeakable then gave Dumbledore an apologetic look. "I'm very sorry, Sir, but I need to close the hall to look for a broken prophecy."
"This is no problem, I've already confirmed what I needed to know," Dumbledore told the man, not even lying about it.
"That is very good, Sir. Please let me escort you out," the Unspeakable told Dumbledore.
Good, that leak is plugged before it could become a problem, Dumbledore thought, feeling relieved that he had decided to be more proactive.
He after all didn't want to imagine how difficult it would have been to do something about the prophecies should relations with the Ministry go sour. That would have opened Pandora's box. He had not wanted to take that risk and thus decided that acting now was better than later trying to fix not having acted in time.
He now could return to his task of collecting clues. He did have some very promising leads. The more he knew about Tom's past, the better his chances of finding out which items Tom had used to secure his continued existence.
...at the same time in the Riddle House...
Now that Voldemort got his body back, he could do many things that he had been unable to do with his temporary one. One of these things was expanding the ranks. After all, it was one thing to get back the lost sheep who had to be taught a lesson to not disappoint him again, but actually recruiting new people into their ranks honestly could only be done with him being back to full strength.
Barty and Pettigrew stood guard at each side of his throne while Voldemort gave Lucius Malfoy a deep look. Nagini had been a bit bored, since there would be no punishments, so she had curled up and took a nap in the sunlight, thus explaining while she right at the moment was absent.
"We now will see how reliable your wife is, Lucius. This is her first mission for Lord Voldemort and her future relies on it. Better hope she not misuses the portkey," Voldemort said to Malfoy.
"I have full trust in Narcissa, my Lord," Malfoy told Voldemort. "You will not regret allowing her to enter your ranks."
"We will see..." Voldemort told him.
The whole conversation was playing on part of Voldemort's new recruitment strategy. In the past Death Eater recruitment was rather old-fashioned and driven by traditional gender roles. However, even back then Bellatrix had already shown such conceptions were stupid by proving to be more competent than most men. And then Alecto had been part of the small group that facilitated his rebirth. No, it was time for a change in policy there.
Women could be just as devoted and ruthless as men, thus he had decided that this was a pool that was worth fishing in and it had already shown first good results.
Foremost of course was Narcissa Malfoy. He still remembered Bellatrix complaining in the past that her sister was too soft (she never spoke of her other sister Andromeda), but Narcissa had changed over the years. Funny enough, she had saved up a lot of anger and the starting point was when Sirius Black had cut her and her family out of the Black fortune.
I have to thank Black before I kill him, Voldemort thought with sick amusement.
Of course there had been some hiccups in the process due to Lucius not having told her several important facts over the past years, leading to some interesting scenes, but in the end Narcissa had proven to be eager to serve him, though she was still showing a huge soft spot for her son in not yet wanting to involve him directly, something that Bellatrix would have scoffed at.
She had taken his mark and right now they were waiting for two new recruits to arrive. Narcissa had sworn they were most promising.
She told me the Parkinsons are most eager to please me, being as desperate as they are to get the recognition they thirst for. Looks like they have not fully understood the actual realities, but that is not my problem, Voldemort thought.
-toc toc toc- There was knocking on the door, meaning the Carrows were signaling that Narcissa had returned with the guests. Moments later the doors opened and the Carrows escorted them in. Like Narcissa, the Parkinsons had no idea where this place was, and Voldemort wanted to keep it that way.
There also still was tension between Lucius and Narcissa, that was plain obvious, but Voldemort didn't concern himself with their marital troubles. Even the news that the smear campaign against Potter and his friends had been dropped for some reason was only a minor concern in the big whole.
Narcissa stopped before the throne and bowed to Voldemort. "My Lord, may I introduce Fabius and Magda Parkinson to you? They are both very eager to join your cause."
Of course Lucius and Narcissa still thought of the Parkinsons as newly-rich upstarts not even close to their level in society, but they no longer said so openly. Also, having them under the thumb of the Dark Lord would ensure that these two would not get any stupid ideas. The Dark Lord's word after all was law to those who followed him.
In their mind, that the Parkinsons thought they were getting somewhere with them spoke of them not being particularly smart.
The Parkinsons did look a bit unsettled at Voldemort's appearance, but tried to look brave. Voldemort found that amusing. "Yes... Yes, I have been told many things about both of you. About how eager you are to join my cause for magical superiority."
The Parkinsons looked a bit intimidated, but tried to not show it too much. "Yes, my Lord. We are most eager to do so," Mr. Parkinson told Voldemort.
Voldemort gave them some deep looks. "I can also feel that you want to do so in order to regain the position in society you think should rightfully be yours. Are you sure this won't distract you from your duties? Remember, this will be a commitment for life."
"We feel these two things are not exclusive to each other, my Lord," Mrs. Parkinson told Voldemort. "We already are quite committed to returning Magical Britain to greatness - a greatness that your rule will bring."
"Yes, once you are in power, we are certain you will rule with a hard hand and cut out all the things that made our society sick, sweeping through it with an iron broom," Mr. Parkinson added to what his wife had said.
Voldemort kept silent for some moments. "I see... What about your daughter? I have heard a number of things about her and she looks to be promising."
The Parkinsons hesitated for a moment, before Mrs. Parkinson answered. "We feel that Pansy is... not yet mature enough to take up your cause directly. For the time being it should be better to let her work together with Draco Malfoy to further solidify their sphere of influence at Hogwarts."
"Very interesting." Voldemort leaned back and let them wait for a bit, before he gave them his answer.
He was plain aware that the Parkinsons wanted to rise at all cost and were very willing to join him for it. They saw him as the solution to what they felt was going wrong with Magical Britain and saw it as a way to get the recognition they were seeking. They were not yet true believers in him, but that of course could change over time.
Were they egoistical bastards? Without doubt. However, it was a position that Voldemort understood and numerous of his followers had started like that, only to turn into true believers. Yes, Narcissa had made a good choice with them. With some work they could be molded into exactly what he wanted in those who followed him.
"Lord Voldemort is generous and he sees promise when it is presented." Voldemort rose from hs throne. "Present yourselves..."
They knew what that meant. Baring their left forearms, they quickly kneeled, both holding their left arm forward. At the same time Barty had left his post. Standing next to Voldemort, he presented him with something that looked like a branding iron. It was something Voldemort had invented himself - the tool to apply the Dark Mark, which only could be used by himself. Voldemort's wand touched the iron, causing it to glow with a sickly green light.
Of course, Voldemort was smart about the branding. While he did have branded old followers in the Ministry, like that bloodthirsty McNair, any new followers inside the Ministry would for now not be given the Dark Mark. As incompetent as the Ministry right now was, Voldemort still had to expect a purge sometime in the future and unmarked followers would escape such a purge. Until the time they would get the true Dark Mark, those followers had to accept a small unseeming mark on the sole of the right foot. No way anyone would look there for anything.
Taking the branding iron, Voldemort approached the Parkinsons. "You have chosen a lifetime in my service. Work hard for our cause and the reward will be great. By accepting the mark of Lord Voldemort, the pact is sealed."
Mr. Parkinson got his Dark Mark first. He clearly was in pain when the iron was pressed into his forearm, but ground his teeth together and didn't let out a single sound. His wife looked a little concerned when seeing this while Narcissa remembered her own branding. She had let out some groans of pain, but Voldemort had not been offended by her natural reaction.
When the iron was removed, the fresh Dark Mark glowed a sickly green for some more moments, before settling to a pale black. Voldemort knew this was a side effect of holding his presence still as secret as possible. After all, there was no need to announce his return until it was officially time to do so.
Then Mrs. Parkinson was branded and some tiny whimpers of pain escaped her, causing Voldemort to keep the iron in its position for a bit longer than necessary. Finally, he removed it. "Rise, for as of now both of you are in the service of Lord Voldemort."
Once the Parkinsons were escorted out, Voldemort turned to Barty. "Barty, your thoughts?"
"They are ideologically sound and would do anything to please you. Desperate social climbers, we know that kind, Master," Barty told Voldemort.
"Indeed, and that makes them useful. Soon enough they will not only see me as the one that will allow them to gain the position they seek, but also as the only one who can ensure they can keep it.," Voldemort said with dark amusement.
"You have trapped them Master. They have made themselves fully reliant on your goodwill. How delicious," Barty said with a chuckle, again seeing how skillful his Master was at manipulating people.
Voldemort for his part knew everything was coming together nicely.
...April 16th...
"Professor Slughorn raised up the anticipation quite a bit, so I wonder what he has in store for us," Ron wondered while walking down to the great hall.
Indeed, the school had announced a special event for Easter Sunday, all thanks to Professor Slughorn. The Professor had hinted that the school needed some fun. That had resulted in a number of students, especially those from the lower years, to stay in the school instead of going home over the Easter holidays. They were told they would learn of what would happen during breakfast.
Walking into the great hall, they... were not greeted by any kind of stupid decorations, which was a relief. Professor Slughorn after all was not Lockhart and would not attack them with gaudy decorations that cross the line. Indeed, the only thing new in the hall were nests filled with chocolate eggs sitting on the house tables, which was a nice touch - a loud squeal of joy from Astoria at the Hufflepuff table confirmed that it was proving to be popular with students.
From looking over the hall, it looked like about half of the students had decided to stay, which was actually quite a high number, since normally most used the opportunity to spend a week home.
"Look at how Slughorn is ginning. Like he can't wait to reveal the surprise," Harry remarked, and indeed the teacher looked a bit like the grinning cat from Alice in Wonderland.
They quickly sat down and Hermione gave Ron a look. "No chocolate eggs for you?"
"And spoil my breakfast? No thanks. I wait until after before I take some. Some of the others will learn soon enough," Ron told her before he started to dig in.
I should have known... Hermione thought, though she felt like a hypocrite due to really wanting a few chocolate eggs as well.
"The chocolate eggs can't be the big surprise Slughorn was hinting at," Ginny wondered aloud, before eyeing the sweets again. "Though I won't complain."
"You as well?" Hermione felt all this talk about feminine solidarity she had heard of had been bullshit, especially when she caught Luna also giving the eggs a very interested look.
Knowing it would be torture to resist, she admitted defeat and would get one or two for herself once being done with breakfast.
Over at the Slytherin table, Daphne was looking like this was torture.
"This is mean... I'm trying not to eat too many sweets to keep my figure, and then this..." Daphne groaned, then looked over to the Hufflepuff table, where Astoria was biting into a chocolate egg. "Astoria is not making it any better."
"Daphne, relax. One or two chocolate eggs most certainly won't go to your hips," Millicent told her friend between munching her cereal.
Daphne had to snort. "Easy for you to say. However, I'm not a fitness freak like you and Dudley. I'm not in the habit of multiple laps around the castle four times a week, not speak of that other training you do in your free time."
"Well, it's not my fault you don't like many sports. I learned it allows my to indulge and yet not gain much fat," Millicent told her friend, feeling Daphne had no one to blame but herself.
Daphne looked to Dudley, who had stayed silent the entire time. "You have nothing to add to that?"
"Do I look that stupid to chime in when two girls talk about their weight? I know there are things I should keep out of, and that is one of them," Dudley explained his silence, before returning his attention to his breakfast.
Traitor... Daphne thought, before again being tortured by the sight of the chocolate eggs, her resolve slowly starting to crumble.
Breakfast went by without any incident.
The Six caught each other taking chocolate eggs after they were done with eating. Clearly none of them had anything against chocolate for breakfast (though as the final thing) and Hermione blushed a little when Ron gave her a knowing grin. After six years he simply knew her well enough to know she had lost an inner struggle.
Ginny's eyes widened when she tasted her egg. "Wow, this is real high-quality chocolate! Not even Honeydukes has such quality!"
Trusting his sister when it came to sweets, Ron also took a taste. "You're right. I wonder where Slughorn got this from?"
"I don't think he'll tell us. It's most likely one of his connections where he got this from," Neville remarked, though wishing as well that Slughorn would reveal where he got that from.
"Could it be that he has even made a connection to Cadbury?" Harry wondered, feeling it was possible that the Professor managed to have someone in the vicinity of this famous chocolate producer to get such a big supply on a short notice.
That moment Slughorn asked for attention.
"Ahem, I can already see all your excitement and I most certainly can see that the effort has already paid off. And we have not even gotten to the surprise yet..." Slughorn clearly was enjoying being in the limelight, barely suppressing his more dramatic persona.
As always going for the dramatic effect, Harry thought, by now being used to Slughorn's ways. The man really knew how to build up anticipation.
Slughorn then continued "Now, I know some will think my surprise will be a little childish... In the spirit of Easter, and considering the good weather, I have organized a big Easter egg hunt. All over the castle grounds, big Easter eggs made from the same chocolate - of course wrapped - are hidden, each big egg containing a little surprise."
That caused excited whispering and clearly Slughorn's intention had worked. While the man was a lot about connections, he was not stingy and enjoyed giving students a good time, like him arranging for the Weird Sisters to play the music at the Yule Ball.
The reaction of the other two schools was telling. Madame Maxime clearly was approving of her students taking part of the egg hunt, Fleur and Sabrina rubbing their hands in anticipation, proving they had quite the sweet tooth. The Durmstrang students however looked depressed. Cearly they wanted to have that fun as well, but Karkaroff's harsh expression made it clear he would not allow them to participate.
"Ho, ho, ho, ho , ho! Looks like all of you can't wait to start the hunt!" Slughorn said after one of his typical belly laughs. "Of course we teachers will make sure it won't get too rowdy. So if you want the eggs, gather in front of the castle!"
"He really knows how to give a surprise," Harry remarked while they all stood up. "Such harmless fun is exactly what we now need."
"You look like you can't wait." That was Hagrid, walking over to them. "I helped Professor Slughorn hide the eggs. Oh, I won't tell you where to find them, that would take away the fun."
"Hagrid, aren't you afraid that some of the creatures could get a taste for chocolate and try to make away with some of the eggs? I heard for some of them chocolate is irresistible," Luna asked to big man while they walked to the entrance doors.
"Don't worry about that. I made sure that all of them who could want the eggs are safely locked away. Don't want to spoil the surprise after all. Too bad that I helped set it up and the teachers are not allowed to participate."
They knew Hagrid enjoyed such simple pleasures as well. A part of him had never grown up. "You sound really happy, Hagrid. Things are going well with Madame Maxime?" Harry then asked him.
Hagrid blushed a little. "Oh... very well. You could say so. Problem is once it becomes a long-distance thing... We are still trying to figure that out."
"I'm sure you both will manage to make it work. After all, she also seems quite happy with how things are going," Neville told Hagrid, feeling Hagrid deserved such happiness after all the crap in his life.
...April 22nd, the Three Broomsticks...
It was a strange meeting that was taking place in one of the private rooms at the Three Broomsticks. Fred and George were present, together with their parents. Across from them at the other edge of the table sat Sirius and, for some reason, someone who looked like he worked in the legal business. The last man's presence was a true mystery.
Fred and George were completely in the dark what this was about. They had been told by Percy that their parents wanted a word with them in the Three Broomsticks before being escorted there by him. Percy himself also had no idea what this was about and also was feeling it was none of his business unless those involved would let him know.
Percy currently was standing outside, guarding them room against anyone wanting to listen in. However, Sirius and that other man being present had come as a surprise to the twins.
Sirius then finally broke the silence. "Now, boys, I bet you are both wondering what this could be about, am I right?"
"The thought occurred to us," George said, not being his normally playful self.
"Well, it is about the future. Are both of you lads still having your sights on opening that joke shop of yours?" Sirius then asked further.
"You bet we do! And now there is nothing that you can say to..." Fred had prepared for another confrontation with their mother over the topic. However, he fell silent when his father started to talk.
"Peace. While this is what we are here to talk about, it is not for the reason you think," Arthur told his sons. "Sirius here has told us several interesting things he in turn heard from Harry. Things about your little business with joke articles."
"Such as...?" George asked, hoping Sirius hadn't decided to suddenly turn on them.
"Oh, he told us how you boys actually have made a decent amount of Galleons just by selling what you already have produced..." Arthur then saw the look of slight annoyance Molly gave him. "Though at first we were a bit unhappy that you smuggled those out of the house and puzzled how you managed to do so after Percy told us what you are doing. However, that most certainly won't be enough to start your own business, even if you do so next year as well."
Fred and George grimaced when realizing that it was true. While they had made a nice amount of Galleons with their sales, that sum, even if combined with their savings, would not be nearly enough to cover the costs of opening up a business and then running it until word of mouth had spread. In one way their mother was right - the financial aspect would be the biggest hurdle.
"We have also heard how you are working hard on making sure not to sell anything that can be misused or cause actual harm. Percy was quite detailed in his letter to us," Molly added.
That also was true. After having suffered themselves from several items gone wrong as well as the realization that they would also be held responsible for the items they sell - and any dangerous things that could be done with them - they were working hard to ensure they were on the safe side. That also was why they had decided to not stock things like love potions, having seen the horrible potential for misuse and them getting buried in the courts.
"Mum, aren't you strictly against our plans for the joke shop?" Fred finally asked, remembering the last argument about it.
"I was. Both of you actually showing you can sell and know where a market is removed some of my doubts. Nonetheless, I still felt you were going into this gung-ho, not having a proper plan for such a huge step. However, Sirius did convince me to be more open-minded," Molly explained to the twins.
"It was not easy. I hope you boys appreciate that I needed weeks to convince your mother to give my idea a chance," Sirius said. "You see, the political and social climate in Magical Britain is becoming tougher, and I feel we do need all the laughs we can get. Thus I convinced your parents you should follow your dream in a more constructive and secure way."
Fred and George had an idea what Sirius meant. "You mean, you want to back us financially?" George asked.
"More than that. Besides giving you a loan to start your business, I want to become your partner. There is a lot to the back end of a business you don't know about. Both of your are as of this month officially adults, yet your parents felt for the peace of their mind they have to be present while you make these steps."
"You mean your companion is here for us making a binding agreement?" Fred asked Sirius.
"Indeed I am, young man," the man finally broke his silence. "The law firm dealing with Mr. Black's legal matters does more than just that. My client insists that any agreement between the three of you is to be legal and official, so that no one can attack it."
"Oh, wow..." George clearly was trying to find words. Sharing some looks with Fred, they both quickly seemed to come to an agreement how to proceed. "This is our chance, so we are very eager to make an agreement!"
Sirius actually laughed. "Really eager, aren't you? But hold your horses, we first have to set the conditions, and your parents do have a big one I agree with."
"Oh yes, boys. We know you. We know you clearly plan to become slackers or even decide to throw school altogether. You won't do so if you want that partnership. One condition we convinced Sirius to set, is, that both of you finish school and give it your all." Arthur looked to Molly while saying that, making it clear it was her who had demanded that condition.
Fred and George gulped, since they actually had planned to leave the school sometime during the final year and give a damn on the NEWTs, imagining they wouldn't need them for their field of business. However, now their dream actually hinged on them getting their NEWTs, meaning putting more energy into school work. Yet they were willing to swallow that toad if it meant secure funding as well as help with the legal side and back end of their new business.
Now being adults, they realized some things would never be easy, and that they should accept help when offered.
...Little Hangleton, April 29th...
The inhabitants of Little Hangleton in general were a bit mistrustful to all and any stranger coming into their village. Their xenophobic and petty-minded attitude over the decades managed to cost the village much potential to grow beyond what it was and in general travelers tended to avoid the place due to those attitudes.
Granted, Little Hangleton had been forced to move with the times, but in general the attitude of its inhabitants ensured that if anything, the place would only shrink instead of grow. All those who understood that Little Hangleton was dooming itself with such an attitude had already left the place to seek better opportunities elsewhere. Those that remained were the ignorant ones.
People did watch mistrustfully when an elderly man they had never seen before walked through the streets of their village. His dark suit and bowler hat hinted at him being a man of the city, and that alone was enough for many of them to be mistrustful of him. After all, unable to admit it was their own shitty attitude that had cost them an economic future, they instead blamed others for their misfortune.
Once they saw that the man was heading to where the Riddle House once had been, the whispering started.
The villagers had never liked the Riddle House and were glad it was gone. Sadly, in their mind, Frank Bryce still was there, the old man being an outsider to their community, only being tolerated. Anyone wanting to talk with the old man was suspicious in their eyes. After all, in their eyes the man was a murderer who got away with it.
Dumbledore for his part wanted to sigh while walking to his destination.
This reminds me of the times when I still was a simple professor and visited new muggleborn students. All these little villages full of mistrust. It's like time stopped in this place, he thought.
It was true that attitudes had changed a lot over the decades, but clearly not here. Still, Dumbledore had a mission. After gaining important information from Morfin Gaunt and failing to prove his innocence before his demise in Azkaban, Little Hangleton would hold another part of the puzzle. He had decided to walk and had passed the overgrown shack of the Gaunts and then walked through the village for his destination.
The old mansion is gone, so reports that it was torn down are accurate, Dumbledore thought when seeing the empty hill, having no reason to think of a different explanation.
Slowly making his way back out of the village, Dumbledore walked up the road that finally led him to his destination. It was a fairly ordinary looking house, nestled right next to the high brick wall that was stopping access to the site of the former mansion. A few meters away from the house was the heavy metal gate to the property, and it obviously was locked.
Dumbledore had no interest in the now empty property, he was here to talk with the owner of the house.
Dumbledore knocked on the door and then waited. It took a bit, but finally an old man opened the door and gave Dumbledore a mistrustful look. "Yes? Can I help you?"
"Begging your pardon, are you Mr. Frank Bryce, former caretaker of the Riddle mansion?" Dumbledore asked the old man.
"I was. Now that the old house got torn down, my job is to make sure no one is foolish enough to climb the wall around the plot." Considering the cane Mr. Bryce was using, this clearly was an easier job for him. "What is it to you?"
"See, my name is Albus Dumbledore and I see myself drawn to mysteries. When I looked through old newspapers..." Dumbledore started to explain. He then saw Bryce's mood darken and decided to be direct. "Sir, I don't at all believe you did it."
Bryce stopped at these words. "You... actually don't think I'm a murderer?" Clearly it had been thrown into his face often enough that he assumed everyone thought the worst of him.
"Not at all, Mr. Bryce. Despite what malicious gossip wants to paint you as, things are not adding up and I want to hear your side of the whole thing," Dumbledore told the man.
Bryce looked caught unprepared for such a situation, but the relief that someone was finally wanting to listen to his part of the story quickly won out. "Please come in Mr. Dumbledore. You don't want someone else see you talking with me."
A bit later Dumbledore and Bryce sat at the old man's table, having some warm tea while Bryce told him of that fateful day all those years ago.
"They had not exactly been the most sociable people, the Riddles, being rather snobbish, but they gave me work after I came home from the war injured. That gave me a lifeline after my injury. The evening before they were found dead, I caught a teenager on the mansion grounds," Bryce started his tale.
"There was no mention of that in the old newspapers. How come?" Dumbledore asked.
Bryce snorted. "Because they didn't believe me. They were so convinced of my guilt that they disregarded what I told them... Bastards." He made little secret of his bitterness.
"So, what did that teenager look like?" Dumbledore then asked.
"Dark hair and rather pale skin. Guess girls would have found him attractive. Nonetheless, I told him to stop, but thanks to my bad leg, I was unable to catch up and he got away. Knowing the Riddles wouldn't want to be disturbed, I waited until the morning to report the incident. Big error..."
Bryce drank some tea before he continued "Early next morning, a maid ran screaming out of the house, shouting the entire time that the Riddles are dead. I saw it myself. They were still sitting at the dinner table, wearing their dinner things. Hell, Mrs. Riddle even still had the fork in her hand. Who in all names dies like that? Of course they wasted no time and blamed me for it."
"If I may say so, it sounds like there was hardly any evidence that would justify putting such blame on you," Dumbledore said.
Bryce looked relieved to hear that. "You are the first to tell me that. Nonetheless, they were forced to let me go when the coroner concluded there was no sign of either violence nor poison. That always puzzled me; could someone truly be frightened to death? Still, for everyone I still was a murderer and they treated me like dirt. I got crippled in the defense of our nation, and that is how I'm thanked?"
"Those that never did anything in a war are in general also those who think their opinion is the only one that counts," Dumbledore said, remembering his personal experiences in the war.
"A fellow veteran, eh?" Bryce seemed to brighten up at that.
"Oh yes... It also taught me that going to war changes you in more than one way..." Dumbledore at this point decided to strike up more conversation with Mr. Bryce, feeling the man craved human contact. He also was not lying, the war had changed him in many ways.
In his mind meanwhile, he was busy with putting the picture together what happened a little over fifty years ago in Little Hangleton. From what he got from Morfin Gaunt, from official accounts and now from Mr. Bryce, things came together.
That evening, young Tom Riddle had approached his uncle Morfin Gaunt for the first time in his life in the shack at the edge of the village. Disappointed when learning that his magical ancestors were inbred beggars and that his relatives on his father's side were Muggles, Tom had decided to make a clean slate, at the same time hoping to erase his ancestry.
Stunning Morfin, he had then taken the man's wand and went to the Riddle House, murdering his father and paternal grandparents. He had then returned to the shack, however got seen by Mr. Bryce, and then altered his uncle's memories, so the man would confess to the crime. He also knew Tom had stolen the Gaunt family ring - something that Dumbledore knew had to have special significance. He already had an idea what it could be.
Both men however had not noticed a rat listening in on their entire conversation. The rat then left quickly towards a crack in the wall that surround the seemingly empty plot, which looked strange since the wall was new, and vanished in it towards the grounds of the Riddle House.
"Report, Pettigrew. What did that old goat Dumbledore want here?" Voldemort ordered moments later when Pettigrew was before him, having felt that had been too close for comfort.
It at least was proving that his spell was working. Dumbledore had not seen the mansion and assumed like everyone else that it had been torn down. It was a bit of an irony how now a Fidelius Charm was working against Dumbledore, but Voldemort did not want to risk anything, so he'd sent Pettigrew to spy and Dumbledore and see what the man wanted in Little Hangleton.
Pettigrew, who had returned to his human form, did report. "He talked to the old caretaker; got the story of how the Riddles were found dead."
"So Dumbledore is snooping into my history," Voldemort thought aloud, knowing that Pettigrew already knew the truth like all of his closest followers, and like them Pettigrew felt it meant no difference to his loyalty to his lord. "Anything that stood out?"
"Yes, he seemed especially interested that you were seen at the crime scene, Master," Pettigrew reported.
"Is that so...?" Voldemort scratched his chin, looking thoughtful. "Leave. I want to be alone."
Pettigrew bowed and did leave, leaving Voldemort alone with his thoughts.
Voldemort made his own conclusions that Dumbledore was trying to reconstruct his past for the upcoming, inevitable conflict. He held no doubt that Dumbledore, the man who had brought him his very first Hogwarts letter, knew better than most that knowledge was power. Voldemort had done his best to erase as many traces as possible, but he was not as naive as to think he got all of them.
He also was pretty sure Dumbledore by now knew of his life insurance - after all the man was no idiot and should know how he had cheated death - but had obviously little idea of the number and which items he had put part of himself into to ensure his eternal life. Yet, he was uneasy. After the destruction of his diary - he would never forgive Lucius for that - he had to think of the other items.
The locket was at a very secure place and the only possible hint was, that it was the place where he'd had some 'fun' with two other children during his orphanage days. No way Dumbledore would remember such a completely random thing. Also, he had worked hard to erase all traces of the locket. The idiot Morfin had probably long died in Azkaban, Mr. Burke had died from old age as he found out, that old hag Smith, who had bought the locket from the shop, was dead by his hand and her house-elf got her memories altered to forget it. Not to speak of all the traps and the protective magic on it...
No, the locket was safe. The same went for the cup, which he'd gotten from the same old hag, thus the memory modification also went for that one. Besides him having put nasty protective magic onto the cup, his dear Bellatrix put it into a safe place. Granted, him helping Quirrell to break into Gringotts proved it was possible, but to do that, someone actually had to know what to look for in the first place and then where to look for it.
The diadem was pure genius and a big middle finger to Dumbledore. First off, no one apart from the Grey Lady even knew about it - and she was very unlikely to talk if not prompted directly, something his enemies had no idea they had to do. There also were nasty protective magics on it and even if trying to find it, that would be like the famous needle in the haystack. Still, the utter lack of information was the best security and all of that under Dumbledore's nose.
Nagini was right next to him at all times, so no problem there. However, Voldemort couldn't help but to think of the ring.
He'd worn it for years even after putting a piece of himself into it, before hiding it at the Gaunt shack. However... after Dumbledore starting to snoop around, he felt it wasn't safe anymore. Since Dumbledore surely knew of the shack, it was very likely he would sooner or later search it. Granted, he probably would catch the deadly curse put onto the ring, but Voldemort was uneasy after the loss of the diary.
How did someone put it? Trust is good, but control is better, he thought.
Thus in the safety of the night, Voldemort made his way to the old Gaunt shack, having made his decision.
Starting the next day, Voldemort was wearing a ring on his left hand, which Barty commented made him look like royalty, thus him getting the idea of having those who displeased him being forced to kiss the ring after their punishment.
In the shack, should Dumbledore search it, only a mocking message would be found.
...May 7th, somewhere in Essex...
The thing with the Black fortune was, that it was vast and consisted of more than just money. Included within the wealth had also been numerous pieces of real estate, consisting of either just land or buildings built onto said land. Most of these buildings had fallen into disrepair with the shrinking of the Black family. Once Sirius had taken over, most of the buildings had been restored and then rented out, so that they would generate money instead of burning it.
Sirius however had kept some pieces of real estate for himself, which now was paying off. Like this building in Essex. It was an unassuming small mansion in the countryside. While before hidden by magical means, it now was thought by the locals to have been newly built and thus had become actually more unassuming. After all, why concern themselves with an in their mind somewhat strange property owner who lived in the city?
It was this remoteness, and yet relative closeness to London, which had compelled Sirius to offer the mansion for the Order of the Phoenix, the organization dedicated to fight against Voldemort. It did help that thanks to the paranoia of past Blacks, this piece of real estate did not appear in any Ministry files. Apart from his law firm and the bank, no one in Magical Britain knew this mansion even existed. Sirius also sincerely doubted that any pure-blood would get the idea to look through non-magical files for his name.
There after all was no way he could offer Grimmauld Place due to it being too well known and honestly Sirius was not eager to use it for such things, despite the bad memories connected the place. He also had no wish for people to look at things like the family tapestry, that being the reason he had held that Christmas reception in a different room of the house and locked the drawing room.
Right at this moment the first big meeting was close to take place. The Order actually had grown considerably through recruitment over the past months, thus of course not everyone was present. The list of those who were present of course still was impressive and quite varied.
The meeting however was still some minutes away and numerous conversations were taking place.
"Andy, I think you have tormented them enough," Ted Tonks reminded his wife.
"Torment? I'm just a concerned mother who wants to see that our daughter is doing well. After all, it's not like I can have anymore children." Anromeda knew it was unfair to remind them that due to the unpleasant family tree of the Blacks, she for medical reasons had not been able to have a second child.
Dora and Remus meanwhile were blushing due to the line of Andromeda's questions. Even Dora's hair had gone very red. "Muuuum, please stop scaring my boyfriend! I like him for who he is, and that is most important."
Remus for his part sighed. "Look, Andromeda, I know you are eager for the family to grow, but both of us still need some time."
Now Andromeda sighed. "I don't want to pressure you, but... We all know that soon enough things will get ugly. I remember how horrible the war had been and worry you take too long and then no longer be able to enjoy each other."
It was a sobering thought and made Remus and Dora think about the future.
"Attention please! Dumbledore is about to arrive, please everyone to their seats," came the announcement.
Everyone walked to their seats and moments later Dumbledore entered. The man looked a bit exhausted, which was little wonder considering the very high possibility of things going down the drain soon. A man who had went through two wars was allowed show how much the new crisis was troubling him.
Though no chance any conflict could ever again reach the scope and intensity of Grindelwald's war. That one was seen in the magical world as the big one for a very good reason after all. The sheer scale and intensity had almost caused a meltdown in the magical world and even though many had tried to act to the contrary, things had never been the same after it. In a way Grindelwald had changed the world.
"Albus, you look exhausted. Did something happen in the Ministry?" McGonagall asked, knowing Dumbledore had visited the Ministry and just returned from it.
"Minerva, sadly I have no good news from the Ministry..." Dumbledore than sat down at the head of the table, then addressed the entire table. "I have just returned from a lengthy meeting with Minister Fudge."
"Should we expect anything of substance?" Remus asked, feeling he already knew the answer.
"Sadly, that is not the case. Instead, my experiences in that meeting only strengthened my belief that Magical Britain is completely unprepared for what will come - regardless when exactly and in which form it will happen." Dumbledore looked very disappointed at the fact.
"Albus, what exactly happened?" McGonagall asked, having a bad feeling.
"It was disheartening. If anything, Magical Britain is currently at its weakest, unprepared for such a conflict, and Cornelius personifies that weakness like no one else. He no longer is capable of making any meaningful decisions. I observed Umbridge and Malfoy literally whispering things into his ears from both sides," Dumbledore summarized the experience.
Moody could only snort when hearing that. "Makes you honestly wonder which one of them is worse."
"Sadly, that is the rot at the very top, but it goes deeper than that. Arthur, please tell us what you are experiencing in the Ministry," Dumbledore asked Arthur Weasley.
"Gladly, Sir. Sadly, the Ministry is continuing to change for the worse and it has been for several years by now," Arthur told everyone. "Over the past four years, I observed Ministry workers being laid off under suspicious circumstances, only to be replaced with people whose world view leans heavily in one certain direction. Not to speak of that people with such opinions have become seriously favored for promotions."
"I noticed it as well. The fresh meat in the Aurors is leaning quite heavily in one political direction.," Dora added, feeling unwell with where that was going.
Moody snorted again. "That also was a reason why I only took you as my apprentice. The others... not only are they mediocre but also think having magic automatically makes you superior. We shouldn't expect any serious help from the Ministry, especially not as long as that fool is at the top."
That left all of them with the depressing reality that it would be alone up to them to organize the defense in the upcoming confrontation.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"Mars and Sagittarius"
Notes:
Here the notes.
While some unintended side-effects of the revenge against Draco and Pansy become visible, we also see that Karkaroff is no idiot. Of course he has made sure no one will snoop into his matters and our friends barely managed to avoid trouble. At least Krum manages to give them more information.
I just had to show Flitwick's reaction to Augusta thinking that Charms is a soft option.
More fallout from the Skeeter affair. I hope I managed to give a realistic picture of what is happening now and that some students still believed that drivel despite everything.
I always found it bizarre that Dumbledore in canon didn't didpose of the prophecy in a timely manner, since as the person that the prophecy was given to, he was able to interact with it. Of course I thus removed something important from Year 5, but I feel the situation was so absurd...
Oh yeah, Voldemort knows fully well that Pansy's parents are a pair of suck-ups, but as Barty said, he now has full control over them, without them noticing. I also wanted to drive home how despite their arrogance, all the holders of the Dark Mark are essentially Voldemort's slaves. It's symbolic how he brands them like cattle.
I felt some comedic relief was needed, so why not have Slughorn oranize an Easter egg hunt? Also, you thought I forgot about Fred and George?
The Secret Wars in the title is Voldemort and Dumbledore (and their factions) both doing things that hurt the other side, without the other side noticing. While Dumbledore's visit to Frank Bryce was important, it sadly resulted in Voldemort reclaiming the ring.