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.
I do my normal rythm of publishing every second Saturday, until the year is complete. Then the story will go on hiatus again to give me time to write ahead so I can have a publishing schedule.
I'll try to answer all my reviews, since I do like the feedback for improvement. So please tell me your thoughts on the story in reviews. I would appreciate it. The more feedback I get, the more I can improve the story even further.
This story does have a TvTropes page. You can find the link in my bio. Feel free to visit and contribute to it.
Chapter 57: The Fall of Azkaban
It was not yet curfew, but the Prefects were now patrolling the corridors of the castle to send any students they could find back to their dorms. That had proven to be a mostly effective system over the years, meaning only the most dedicated and crafty students managed to evade detection.
Today however was not such a night and the corridors were empty and quiet while Harry and Ginny were doing their rounds as Prefects. Strictly spoken they were not supposed to do those together, but there was a silent agreement to just ignore such instances, since honestly no one liked to do such rounds on their lonesome.
"Actually still feels a bit weird. For years we were told not to be out after curfew and now we are being busy to enforce that rule," Ginny admitted to Harry.
"It's not like we made sneaking around a pastime. Gods, Hermione would've gotten an ulcer had we done so. Just a handful of times when we really needed to do so and that's it," Harry added, knowing their rule-abiding friend would not have tolerated such behavior becoming the norm.
"Good thing she never had to deal with Fred and George in that capacity." Ginny knew that the twins thought breaking rules was an integral part of the school experience. "And... ehm, Harry?"
"Ginny, is something...?" Harry stopped when seeing Ginny blush a little. "Ehm, it's... the thing we were talking about?"
Harry knew it had to be about what the two of them had talked about: testing out the waters in getting a bit more physical with each other. Harry honestly wanted to try that, especially after hearing Dudley mention how Millicent was turning out to be wicked good with those lips of hers. Up to this point they'd not yet gotten the chance ever since that kiss after escaping certain death.
Get yourself under control... Oh gods, I must look like one of those girls who read too many romance novels, Ginny scolded herself, feeling this was gravely violating her image of a tough girl.
"Yes... eh... I thought now would be a good moment to try so. You know... no one around to see us and I managed to gather my courage," Ginny explained slowly, the strange emotions bubbling up in her feeling wonderful and yet scary at the same time.
"If you are sure..." Harry was just as nervous.
"Ah, looks like the old tradition is about to be continued." Harry and Ginny froze, thanking fortune that they had not yet done anything, then turned to see Sir Nicholas hover in the corridor. Nick for his part gasped a little. "Oh dear, did I invade a private moment?"
"Eh, no, we had no yet gotten that far, Nick," Harry told the ghost, feeling a strange impatience rise within himself. "Haven't seen you in a while, Nick. How are you?"
"Oh, I can't complain. After over 500 years, things go in a certain routine. However, in recent years my deathday most certainly has become more enjoyable, though it is a bit sad young Myrtle doesn't want to attend it," Nick explained how he was faring.
Ginny could help but giggle. "Those snobbish headless ghosts can't have taken it well when you embraced your unique nature."
"They most certainly had not expected that. Judging by their reactions they do not like their true reason for snubbing me being exposed. There is no further contact; not that I care by this point." Seeing how satisfied Nick looked, that fact seemed to have improved his existence significantly.
Finally, Harry's impatience won out. "Nick, we really want a little privacy. Would you terribly mind giving us some space?"
"Oh dear, I was that disruptive? Have no worry, I will stand guard and warn you, should someone come." That said, Nick hovered away and around the corner to give them some privacy.
"Finally. He was..." Harry stopped and gulped when seeing how Ginny had stepped into his private space. "Ginny?"
"Harry, I'm right now pulling together all my courage." Ginny leaned very close to him - so close they could feel the other's breath on their face.
Harry knew this was it, leaning forward, they did start to experiment with snogging. While their first kiss had been driven by relief that they were still alive, this one was more careful; testing out the waters. After all, it wasn't like they had any experience with such things. They knew this experimental kiss couldn't have been that long, though to them it had felt much longer.
When their lips finally parted, they made no move to separate. Ginny for her part blinked. "Now that we do have the time... this felt like nothing I know."
"Would it sound weird if I admit that my first thought was, that it felt wet?" Harry asked.
It had the effect of making Ginny giggle. "Oh, Harry, only you... You... ehm... want to give it another try?"
"Nick is keeping his eyes open for us. We can allow ourselves a few minutes for this," Harry told Ginny, before they both returned to exploring this new activity and how it felt.
They had literally gotten a taste of it and like almost all teenagers they could not resist wanting more. It was during moments like this one that they could forget for a sort time how things at Hogwarts had taken a turn for the worse and just act like normal teenagers.
o
Despite the relatively late hour there still were students in the Gryffindor common room, most of them wanting to get some last-minute homework done. It proved that delaying unpleasant tasks until only little time was left was a common problem among the students. Ron Weasley also was such a student.
Crap, I shouldn't have waited for so long, he cursed himself while being busy with writing down the practical applications for the next charm on the list.
It wasn't that he was a lazy student - his time in primary school had cured him of that particular problem - but his personal time management occasionally just plain sucked. Hermione had warned him that with the increased workload his homework habits would reach their limits, and he was now being painfully reminded how right she had been about that.
"All right, I didn't think of that one..." Ron mumbled while writing down something that just came to his mind. "Wonder what practical application that has... Huh?"
Ron had noticed a shadow on his homework and looking up he saw that Hermione had walked down the stairs, looking at what he was doing. Seeing that it was their Charms homework, she sighed. "Ron, I did warn you not to wait until the last moment to get things done. How come that even with your mind for tactic and strategy you have no sense for time management?"
"Maybe because I don't need time management for those things?" Ron also found it increasingly difficult to concentrate while she was present - not that he would say so aloud. "You also don't have to remind me of my shortcomings."
Something in how Ron had worded it sparked something in Hermione. "Someone has to do so; otherwise you won't better yourself."
Now being annoyed, Ron stood up and faced her. "Are you implying I'm hopeless?"
"No need to become defensive all of a sudden!" Hermione said, taking a step closer to Ron.
"I'm not defensive!" Ron said, also making a step closer.
Both of them didn't want to back off, a long day having taken its toll on them. However, they were both snapped out of it when hearing Angelina sigh. "Both of you are hopeless, clueless and keeping it under the lid badly. Finally get over yourselves and snog to make up."
It was only now that they noticed how close they were to each other. Their noses were almost touching and they very definitely were standing in each other's private space. Ron and Hermione were silent for a moment before they both blushed. The closeness had sparked something in both of them and looking into each other's eyes confirmed the feeling was mutual.
This came all of a sudden and hit them unprepared.
Feeling the need to be somewhere else, Hermione gasped "I ... eh... forgot something upstairs!" Her lame excuse given, she quickly ran up the stairs of the girls' dorms and was out of sight in mere seconds.
Ron, feeling very strange, looked to Angelina. "What the...?"
"No, it had to be said. As cute as it is to watch both of you dance around the issue in your ignorance, I start to get concerned. You also should remember that Ginny was faster in being honest about such things," Angelina reminded Ron before returning to reading her book.
Ron gulped hard when realizing that what he and Hermione had agreed upon was starting to no longer work. It's that obvious? Crap, we both agreed to see how thing develop, but this felt like we are crashing into each other.
To his dismay he now found it difficult to concentrate, always thinking of Hermione and thus causing a well-known problem for teenage boys. Thing was, he needed to get his Charms homework done now and could not spare the time to take care of the problem first. It promised to be sheer torture to hasten getting done with his homework while his trousers felt way too tight.
Hermione for her part had meanwhile grabbed some tissues and was now storming to the nearest toilet stall, also realizing that seeing how things would develop was getting out of hand.
I don't care if someone can hear me! Stupid teenage hormones! Stupid estrogen! Stupid Hermione for being dumb and now being horny, Hermione scolded herself, completely ignoring Lavender and Parvati while storming into a stall and slamming the door shut.
"Maybe we should brush our teeth later?" Lavender suggested to her friend when realizing what was about to happen.
"Good idea. I have no wish to hear Hermione doing that," Parvati agreed and both girls quickly left the bathroom.
...Hogwarts great hall, October 1st...
At this Sunday morning more unwelcome news arrived for the students in Hogwarts. They had managed to get through several weeks of Umbridge's bullshit by this point. Her lessons were a joke, her inspections of the other teachers were downright insulting and her watching like a hawk over every meeting of the Dueling Club showed everyone she was looking for an excuse to interfere with it. Thankfully, Snape was smart and up until now he had managed to outmaneuver her.
They had also noticed that Umbrige looked a bit stressed, despite how much she was trying to hide it. Rumor had it that she had confronted Percy about something, but the Weasley man had stayed collected and professional while brushing her off. Percy had not said a word what that was about, but Umbridge from that point onward seemed to have developed some kind of grudge against the administration.
However, the news in the Daily Prophet made it clear where, according to the Ministry, the journey would go to.
RETURN TO FORM AT HOGWARTS
In its ongoing mission to reform Hogwarts and return the school to old brilliance, the Ministry of Magic has enacted Educational Decree 25. With this decree, the error of abolishing the house points system at Hogwarts - and thus the loss of incentive for students to go beyond just doing the bare minimum - has been undone. The Minister for Magic was cited that this is an important step in the right direction...
"Bill told me they abolished the points system during his time at school because of rampant misuse and the needless anger it created," Ron said after reading the headlines, not wanting to read the worthless garbage in the article body.
"Points system? I remember Luna saying something about that when she looked at the big hourglasses in the entrance hall," Harry said.
"I guess it's only logical you don't remember much about it. Sirius most certainly wouldn't want to tell you stories how he constantly lost points for Gryffindor, considering what we know of him," Ginny said, also remembering Bill's tales how the system had worked.
To be honest, Harry guessed that was a good reason why Sirius never spoke much about house points when talking about his school days. "But how exactly does it work?"
"Pretty simple from what I have read," Hermione explained. "Each house starts the year with 100 points. Students are given points for good educational performance and general positive actions, and points are deducted for very lacking performance and negative actions. Of course that's all decided by the teachers and the Prefects. The House with the most points at the end of the year gets a trophy."
"Of course such a system really invites misuse; no wonder the Headmaster abolished it," Neville thought aloud, not wanting to imagine what kind of damage a teacher, who disliked certain students, could cause.
"Very interesting that they force the school to reintroduce it. One can get the impression that they want the division and tensions caused by this outdated system," Luna observed calmly, though she way she frowned made it clear she found the move quite dubious.
"Perhaps, but I think it's mainly a show of power to rub it under the nose of the Headmaster and the teachers that the Ministry is here to do as it pleases," Hermione made her own conclusions. "Quite telling that we only learn of it from the newspaper and not from an official announcement."
Ginny snorted. "Guess they want to show that way to the faculty who is boss."
Neville looked over to the faculty table and could see that Umbridge was unable to hide that she was pleased with these news. "Why do I have the feeling that this comes from her? I mean... that whole thing is so pointless and petty."
"Mate, I think that is the point. I bet that was done because the toad is butthurt over something that happened during her school years. Maybe she constantly lost points?" Harry shook his head over the whole stupidity of this. "What do you think will happen with this?"
"Umbridge can't force the other teachers to give and take points. Also, I highly doubt any students are interested in the whole thing anyway, considering none of them had ever experienced the points system during their school time," Hermione thought aloud.
"You are right, after all there isn't much bragging rights connected to it." Ron, to be honest, found the idea rather stupid. "Oh, and Hermione, I really like how vicious you can get when you talk about the toad."
Hermione looked like this had come out of nowhere and she blushed a little. "Eh... thank you?"
"Girl, despite being a bit blunt, my brother meant that as a compliment," Ginny reassured Hermione.
"Hey, guys." That was Dudley walking over to them.
"Oh, hello, Big D. Eh... you've read what's happened now?" Harry asked him, pointing to the Daily Prophet on the table.
"Yep. Millie and Daphne told me they don't expect that to go the way the toad expects it to. They think it's just the toad's pettiness," Dudley said, shaking his head at this development. "Will be funny to see this move backfire on her. Eh... Harry, can I have a word with you?"
Harry had no idea what exactly that was about, but considering Dudley wanted this to be more private, he quickly excused himself and both boys walked in into the entrance hall. Considering all students at the moment were busy with eating, it was empty. Standing next to the Gryffindor hourglass, they felt secure enough in their privacy.
"Dudley, is something wrong?" Harry asked.
Dudley pulled a letter out of his pocket. "I got this letter from Mum. While it's good that she is a lot better now, she also told me she started the divorce proceedings and that they will be linked with the upcoming trial."
"You don't sound optimistic you'll still have a home after that," Harry observed, finding that to be an understandable worry.
"Mum says despite everything speaking against Dad, the property situation with the house can't be changed. Once the divorce is over, even from prison he can order us to get out." Judging by Dudley's expression, he fully expected that to happen. "She also wrote that you and me most likely will soon get an official order to appear as witnesses."
No wonder he looks so stressed. He could very well become homeless and he has to appear in court, Harry thought. Considering what else is going on, and you get some real stress.
"Guess we need to tell the Headmaster, right? That's something he needs to know for when it happens," Harry told Dudley.
"Yeah... To be honest, I'm not looking forward to the trial. Being witness during that farce against you made me weary of courtrooms," Dudley admitted, remembering how unwell he had felt.
Harry also had that place in bad memory. "I honestly don't believe it will be anything like that. That... had been a political thing. I have way more faith in the normal justice system."
"Still doesn't help my nerves," Dudley said.
Both boys then walked back into the great hall, their thoughts on the ramifications the upcoming trial would have on Dudley's life. Normality had broken down for him over the summer and he soon would have to face the final act of the drama with all its consequences. That was nothing to look forward to.
...evening of October 3rd, Umbridge's office at Hogwarts...
It's not going as I intended. Two days is enough to see that, Umbridge thought while she sat at her desk, brooding over recent events.
The recent educational decree had been enacted mainly due to her own bitterness over her own time as a Hogwarts student, though she of course had sold it to Fudge as another way to gain control over Hogwarts. She had never amounted to much in school and it had left a deep resentment inside her. Part of her now wanted to claim what had been denied to her in her youth.
That was the underlying reason: her wanting to get what she felt was rightfully hers. However, such childish reasons of course had quickly mixed with her ruthless lust for power and she had realized that the points system also would be a great tool for the shaming and punishment of students that were not walking in lockstep; not to speak of putting wedges into the student body to divide them.
That had been the plan, but after two days she already could see that she had miscalculated.
She had thought that the students would see the points and the House Cup as important as it was during her time as a Hogwarts student. However, she had forgotten that the whole system had not been in use for nearly a decade, thus no student currently at Hogwarts had ever experienced it. Unlike during her school days, the House Cup held little worth among the students.
Hell, even the points themselves the students were rather apathetic towards. House points held no practical consequence, they always had instead been used as a shaming tool to enforce good behavior. Thus with students neither seeing any use in them nor feeling any shame about losing them - and honestly no one giving a damn about the points - the whole thing went nowhere.
I forgot that never having experienced the system, these brats have no social stigma for losing points, Umbridge had to admit to herself.
It was not only the students however. After sitting in on various classes over the past two days under the pretense of observing the performance of the teachers she could see the teachers also were apathetic towards house points. Either they didn't bother with them at all, or, even more insulting in Umbridge's mind, actually gave everyone present five points at the end of class, regardless of behavior.
She of course knew that that defiance was aimed at her.
It was the same as with these damn paper-pushers in the administrative office. That was another headache she was dealing with. She had complained why her desk was getting buried under paperwork, only to be told that she had neglected to set the proper procedures before the start of the school year, thus the office could not take that burden off her.
Not only that, but when she had also complained that her requests for teaching materials and other things had not been processed, she had been told that she again had not followed procedure and they had even shown her that the other teachers always did. (She had little idea that the office also took that burden off the shoulders of the teachers.)
Still, she knew when she was being stonewalled. Sadly, there was nothing she could do, since they were strictly following procedure, until the Ministry would take over and streamline the inefficient processes in this school.
"I should have expected such resistance. In the end it won't matter once I stop being nice," Umbridge said slowly to herself, trying ignore the feeling of disappointment.
What was happening right now was only the prelude, and her old house would be helpful once the time had come to bring the school to heel for real. Granted, some of the parents she had met with were the kind of people you only touch with a ten-feet pole, but that was a small sacrifice for the greater good. Among them also was that snake Malfoy. She knew he was completely untrustworthy, but hopefully the help of his son wouldn't be needed for too long.
She needed to be patient and chip away more pieces before she would pull her really powerful cards.
Umbridge then scowled when thinking about her other objectives.
Dumbledore had worked really hard to keep himself as clean as possible, so finding something that would serve as a pretext to throw him out of the school was proving to be quite difficult. Dumbledore was the biggest threat, but since he seemed to have covered his bases, she would have to first neuter him in this school before she could think of removing him.
There also was the issue of Black. The man had recently announced his alliance with the Bulstrode and Greengrass families, which Fudge right away had seen as a threat, since Black was Dumbledore's man through and through. The announcement had made big waves and Black now was in a comfortable position and getting rid of him would prove to be difficult.
That brought her to Potter. The brat was the weak link that could damage the other two men. Potter on his own was, in her opinion, only a minor danger, regardless of his reputation. No, his worth was who he was connected to, and not what Fudge thought he was.
However, up until now Potter had shown surprising self-control and resisted all her attempts to bait him so she could get him into a situation where she could set the terms. That meant while she would continue her efforts, she would have to make life difficult for him in other ways until he would snap.
Thankfully, her position meant she could allow herself to become creative.
...Hogsmeade, October 7th...
Hogsmeade weekend had arrived, and for many students it was a relief to get out of the castle, since the continued presence of Umbridge started to feel oppressive. The changes she - no one doubted it was due to her - had enforced onto Hogwarts had been met with rejection and yet it gave everyone a bad feeling of what still could come.
It was unlike in previous years however, that many students were moving around the village in small groups, as if no one wanted to be alone. Hogsmeade itself had also changed, invisible trenches having appeared between the inhabitants. The deep divide in magical society had not stopped here, while ironically the students, having experienced both events, in the vast majority knew things would get ugly.
It also was an unusual Hogsmeade visit for the Six.
While normally they would have split into pairs and then meet up again later on, this time it was different and they had stayed together. They had also postponed their shopping until later and had directly moved to the Three Broomsticks in order to get a private table. Or at least as private as it could be, considering that several other students from their year had joined them in what they would be discussing.
"I thought this was supposed to be a private table?" Ginny said with a healthy dose of sarcasm while seeing not only several Gryffindors, but also a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.
"Oh, sorry, guys. I heard you mention you want to talk about what's going on at the school. I mentioned it to Seamus, he mentioned to Kellah..." Dean to tried to explain how that had happened.
"I think we get the picture, Dean," Hermione said with a sigh, seeing as this could hardly any longer be called a private meeting. "Just make sure no one is listening in on us, even though I hope me enchanting the curtain will be enough.."
Hermione was talking about the curtain that was separating the part where their table was located from the rest of the pub. She had enchanted it to prevent any sound from getting past it, like the enchantments on the curtains surrounding their beds, but one could never know. Ever since the start of the school year she had become more careful and knew it wasn't paranoia. She felt like this was the calm before the storm.
"Since all of you invited yourselves..." Harry said, sounding a bit annoyed. "We do want to talk about the whole Umbridge situation. First... any opinions from any of you?"
"She is terrible. Does she honestly believe we'll forget what we've learned the past two years in Defense? Also, trying to keep us weak in such times is really dumb," Seamus said, mincing no words. The Irish boy was known for a strong stance on what he believed.
"As much as Professor Snape tries to compensate with the Dueling Club, it can't replace regular lessons. I really want him back as our Defense professor," Alice Klein from Ravenclaw said. "Also, we have not forgotten what she tried to pull after Greyback's attack."
"Yes, and there is that point system..." Justin Finch-Fletchley snorted. "We all know she either wants to relive her school years, or just sees it as another instrument to punish us... not that any of us care." It was telling that the normally composed Justin had arrived at that point.
Next was Colin Creevey, the only one not from their year. "I'm talking a lot with those in my year and below in all houses. The mood is really bad there."
"Bad in which way?" Neville asked him.
"In the way that they feel the Ministry is acting more and more like a dictatorship and they see Umbridge as its enforcer. Honestly, especially those of us from non-magical families are seeing the writing on the wall - even the firsties," Colin explained.
Hermione held up her hands. "All right, it looks like we are all on the same page. We all know Umbridge is here for political reasons; to get the school under Ministry control. She is starting to make life difficult for us and our education in Defense is starting to suffer."
"I feel kind of shitty. You know my Ma is working in the Ministry and she's starting to actually believe their line, despite me having been in real danger on the train," Seamus added, feeling a bit conflicted.
"How do you think Ginny and myself feel?" Ron returned. "Our Dad says the Ministry has become a literal gauntlet. You constantly have to be careful what you say - or they decide you are not reliable and out you are."
Luna wiped her glasses before putting them back on. "As it stands, we have little way to get rid of Umbridge. Sadly, feeding her to the Nargles is out, which leaves negating the damage she is doing." Some wondered what the hell a Nargle was.
"And that means the damage she's doing to our education so we are less capable of defending ourselves," Neville added, not blinking an eye at Luna's mention of Nargles. He had long gotten used to her saying such things.
That caused Elizabeth Stone to raise an eyebrow. "You mean doing extra training? I don't think she would tolerate that for long."
"No one ever said about her knowing about it." Harry then sighed. "But for the moment we should wait with such plans."
"Harry, where is that coming from?" Ron asked, having been caught by surprise at Harry's decision.
"No, Ron, Harry has the right idea. While that is a good plan for the future, we don't yet need to go to such lengths." Hermione looked strangely nervous. "Right now there would be little gain compared to the danger of provoking her into something worse."
Ron crossed his arms, looking displeased with that turn of events. "So we say we should sit on our arse and do nothing?"
"Not nothing, but unless Umbridge blinks first and forbids the Dueling Club, there is little to gain by doing covert extra training," Hermione tried to reason with Ron. "Please understand that the risk is right now not worth it."
Ron didn't look pleased with that. "And that also includes any other way of being proactive, right?"
"Ron... everyone. That would be a bad idea at the moment. Trust me, our time will come, but for now we have to play it safe and only collect ideas and see who is standing on our side," Harry said.
Everyone present looked pained at the idea but was forced to admit that doing something risky right at the moment was not worth the danger they would expose themselves to. As perverse as it sounded, they honestly had to wait until Umbridge would make life too difficult for them. If they liked it or not, only then would be the right time to go ahead.
At a different table meanwhile, Dudley and Millicent were talking. They had been in Hogmeade on their own, since Daphne was fully booked up with making sure her sister Astoria and her friends would not cause some kind of mayhem in the village. Astoria now being a teenager, if anything, had made that task only more complicated. They were already planning to get Daphne some chocolate from Honeydukes for her suffering.
"So the letter came yesterday?" Millicent asked while drinking some of her butterbeer.
"Yes. Mum says in her letter that I have to appear to testify on the 20th of this month. Guess the same goes for Harry." Dudley looked less than enthusiastic about that fact. "On one hand I want it to be over with, but on the other hand..."
"Even though he did all those things, he still is your father," Millicent guessed.
"Yes. Granted, in retrospect he had never been a great father, but even after what happened part of me feels crappy it ended this way." Dudley then took a listless sip from his own butterbeer. "Worse, Mum said that Dad very much told her that once this is over he'll make sure we become homeless."
"This is just incredibly petty. He doesn't even have a use for the house... can't even show his face in the neighborhood once he is out, but he still uses it to hurt you," Millicent said, feeling how Vernon Dursley had hit a new low.
"And there's nothing I can do about it..." Dudley hated that there was nothing he could do to stop this. "You know, I would rather spend some time alone with you."
Millicent blushed a little but understood that Dudley honestly felt unwell around so many people at the moment and spending some time with her in the otherwise mostly empty castle would be better for his mood. Giving him a nod of approval, they quickly finished their butterbeers and then made the purchase for Daphne before being on their way back to the castle.
They were already walking up a slope on the path, when suddenly...
"Locomotor Mortis!"
All of a sudden Dudley's legs were bound together by invisible ropes, he lost his balance and... "Arrrgh!" Falling, he tumbled down over the edge of the path and down a slope directly into some bushes. The branches caused him several scrapes and some tears in his clothes before he finally came to a halt. As dazed as he was, he still had the presence of mind to take out his wand, which was undamaged, and start the counter-curse.
Millicent meanwhile, after screaming in shock at the sudden attack, had already drawn her wand and turned to confront the attacked, knowing the voice from memory. "Parkinson!"
Indeed, there stood Pansy Parkinson, wand still in her hand and giving Millicent a mean grin that showed she was enjoying what her spell had done to Dudley. Beside her stood Draco, who also had watched the whole thing with a smile on his face. It was sick how those two got enjoyment from the suffering of others.
"Ouch, that looks like it must have hurt," Draco said amused while watching the now free Dudley storm back up to them. "Too bad there was no thorn hedge down there."
"You bitch..." Millicent was close to hexing Pansy with something she would need a long time to recover from.
"Oh, better be careful what you do, Bulstrode, or one morning you could wake up next to a horse head," Pansy warned the girl, never losing her mean grin.
Dudley meanwhile had gotten back onto the path, seething with anger over this cowardly attack. "You honestly think you can get away with this?!"
"Of we know we can do so. Well, go to Slughorn and cry about it, we don't care. Soon enough things will change..." Draco said ominously.
"What do you mean with that?" Millicent didn't like where this was going. Those two knowing something they didn't never was a good thing.
"Patience... All in its due time and I'll enjoy it once the time has come," Pansy told them condescendingly. She then turned to Draco, her features softening. "Draco, you promised me some free chocolate, remember?"
"Oh, I do remember. Only the best for you, Pansy," Draco told her with a smile. It was bizarre how suddenly they had switched to talking like a normal couple.
Watching the terrible duo then leave for Hogsmeade, Dudley and Millicent had a sudden feeling of dread. If those two were no longer afraid of any consequences, then something was up. After what happened last year, they would never again underestimate those two. Draco and Pansy were capable of doing a lot of damage, and them being so smug hinted that they were sure of whatever was going to happen.
...the next day, October 8th...
"Everyone is present? Good, then we can start," Dumbledore said, looking at the people gathered at the table in the Essex mansion. It was a smaller circle of the Order and they had gathered to report how things were on their end. "Severus, you start. Any news from your side?"
Snape looked a bit tired and everyone knew it was due to him having to deal not only with spying on Voldemort but also having to deal with Umbridge and her plots. "The Dark Lord is very... careful with what he is saying to me. I most certainly do not have the level of trust I once enjoyed, but I'm working on it."
"I still think it's a risky gamble to give him bits and pieces of how we supposedly are guarding the Department of Mysteries, even if what we are doing is only a token effort to make it appear we are paranoid about keeping the prophecy safe," Dora remarked, herself having been on that duty a few times.
"It's one of the few things I can safely deliver to the Dark Lord," Snape waved off her concerns. "Even if not for the fact that the prophecy is already destroyed, his efforts would be in vain anyway. The advice Avery has given him is remarkably poor - as expected from that incompetent man."
"Nonetheless, we have to be careful. We barely managed to intercept the imperiused Podmore a little over a month ago and he has no memory of who put the curse onto him. Same goes for Bode just a few days ago. If anything, we are only running damage control," Remus reminded everyone, hoping no one would notice that he was rather tired or that he had to work hard no to put most of his attention into watching Dora.
"Nevertheless, as long as Voldemort is wasting his time on that task, we can improve our position. Only an Uspeakable could tell him what it takes to actually remove a prophecy and hold it in your hand to hear all of it," Dumbledore added, knowing a lot of those things.
That was the thing - when broken the prophecy inside a sphere will start to play, but then fade before it is done, since that was the wrong way of listening to it. The correct way to do so was to hold it and then will it to show you the prophecy. That however could only be done by those who could touch it - meaning the archive of prophecies essentially was pointless.
"He knows that as well. Do not forget that Rookwood used to be an Unspeakable and he can most certainly tell him the correct way to do it. Rookwood is in Azkaban and the Dark Lord is very eager to break his followers out of Azkaban," Snape warned.
"Sadly, with the Ministry being hostile to us, there is little we can do about that danger," Dumbledore sighed.
"I will be glad once we no longer have to keep up this charade, regardless how it's buying us time," Dora grumbled, making no secret that she looked tired of it. "It's binding time we could use for more constructive things."
Dumbledore then looked to Arthur. "Arthur, how are things in the Ministry?"
"Not good." Arthur, if anything, looked tired. "Fudge's paranoia has cost numerous people their jobs... next to all of them moderates. Everyone else is now really afraid they could be next. -snort- Fudge is doing the dirty work for Voldemort. If this goes on, the Ministry will be really infested with Death Eater sympathizers."
"That's putting it mildly. Fudge made himself an enemy in Scrimgour after firing three competent Aurors in his paranoia. The idiot is not even noticing how he in his crusade against imagined enemies only makes himself worse real enemies," Dora snorted, her opinion of Fudge being in the negative area.
Sirius knew Dora had a point. "It's also complete horseshit how we are forced to fight a war on two fronts because Fudge has his head up his arse and the Ministry is falling apart instead of doing what it was created for."
"Sirius Black!" McGonagall looked horrified how Sirius didn't even bother with controlling his language. "We all know the situation is bad, but control yourself!"
"Minerva, considering the situation, manners are something I'm not overly invested in." Sirius then noticed Snape rolling his eyes. "Don't act so high and mighty, Snape. You are just hiding it behind sounding snarky."
"There are times I actually wish Black the bully back..." Snape said under his breath, finding it at times difficult to deal with this very adult Sirius.
Both men knew they would never like each other, but for the sake of the mission they were putting their differences on hold for the time being.
"I actually wonder why Fudge has not yet removed Arthur or Dora. He knows where they stand," McGonagall then wondered.
"Because Fudge is a coward," snorted Moody, who up until this point had been silent. "As much as he sees Black as a rival, he's too chicken to dare and fire a member of the Blacks. And as for Arthur... He also afraid to fire him not only due to the offical alliance between the Weasleys and the Blacks, but also because Arthur is so well-connected in the Ministry, that firing him would weaken Fudge significantly."
"Arthur, it looks like you used your years in the Ministry for more than just work," McGonagall remarked.
"Something I want to know: why isn't the board doing anything about what's going on at Hogwarts?" Molly asked, this clearly having been a concern of hers. "Removing Snape from his position of teaching the upper years in Defense shouldn't have gone through so easily, not to speak of these other decrees. It's ripped apart in the opposition press but the board is silent."
Dumbledore sighed. "The board did complain and wanted to push the independence of Hogwarts."
Snape snorted. "Oh yes, and I can imagine how that went, considering nothing was done about the meddling."
"Sadly, yes. Essentially, the Ministry told them that if they dare to make trouble, then a law can be made to abolish the board, regardless how illegal that would be." Dumbledore finally revealed. "After that threat they don't dare to move against the Ministry."
It was a depressing reminder how the Ministry could simply trample over existing law and not suffer any consequences. The system was utterly broken.
The meeting then continued and several other topics were discussed, like the current public opinion and polarization of society, efforts to gain new recruits and possible future actions of the enemy considering that Voldemort at the moment was very careful to lay low. It showed how even now the conflict was a complicated affair.
Once the meeting was officially over Sirius waited for Remus and saw him exchanging some words with Dora, before giving her a hug. Looks like there is real progress on that front, Sirius thought, hoping those two would get together.
Once Remus was finally done with saying his goodbyes to Dora, both men apparated to the next public floo and then took the path to Grimmauld Place. They however quickly left the house and walked on foot to their destination.
"Moony, how are things between you and Dora?" Sirius asked while they were walking through the streets of London, having watched the silent interaction between those two during the meeting.
Remus sighed. "Padfoot, the role of the protective relative does not suit you well and she is an adult woman, so respect her wishes." Remus then composed himself. "We... are making progress. I will leave it at that. After all, I also was also keeping my nose out of your business when you were courting Diane."
Sirius knew some of the wolf was bleeding over, Remus warning him that that was forbidden territory. "All right, I'll keep out of it. I just hope if it's serious, you follow my example and she ends up with a ring on her finger."
"Yes... that would be... really great." Remus had hesitated a little and his hopeful expression betrayed how much he wanted that.
Sirius then looked ahead. "Ah, our ride is already waiting for us." A car was already waiting for them at the side of the street and they entered quickly.
"If anyone was following us, good luck finding us in London traffic," Remus said while fastening his seatbelt. "I sincerely doubt they have any experience with that."
"I only wish all this wouldn't be necessary just for meeting with out contact person," Sirius added, though he knew the secrecy was very much needed. "You look tired, Moony. Didn't want to talk about that during the meeting or on the streets."
"Is that any wonder? Remember, today is full moon and even with my medicine, which makes this a lot more bearable, it's still exhausting," Remus reminded Sirius. Though his transformations nowadays were not nearly as bad as they used to be, it still was sapping his strength. "Remind me to send Horace a gift for being willing to still prepare my medicine for me even after me leaving the school."
"I guess he's beating himself up for ignoring you back then, considering how important you have become." Sirius knew Slughorn doing this without wanting anything in return was to get into Remus' good graces.
Some time later they entered an unseeming office building and soon enough were in an office together with Agent Morden.
The office itself looked... interesting. Heaps of files were everywhere, cabinets were filled with ring binders and the walls had all kind of spreadsheets pinned on them. Mr. Morden stood up from his seat behind the desk; the desk itself also being a war zone of countless papers as well as being dominated by a computer and monitor.
"Hello. Please excuse the chaos, I normally use this office only for research, but it being in such an unassuming building makes it good for secret meetings," Morden greeted them, indicating at the seats in a corner of the office.
"No problem. It's not the worst office I have seen," Sirius told him. Remus had to try hard not to react, knowing that was aimed at his inability to keep a tidy office.
After the three men had made themselves comfortable, Mr. Morden came to the point. "Thanks for coming. I do have some news to share. First off, the Ministry had honestly tried to replace two guards of Buckingham Palace for whatever reason; though they were quite poor at it. Thank all goodness that after we found the impersonators, we got out of them where the two real guards are and they only suffered from memory loss."
"Buckingham Palace?! What in all names did the Ministry try to pull? The Crown is off-limits to them," Remus said, wondering if that was a sign of the growing infiltration of the Ministry.
"They themselves didn't know why they were told to do so. Needless to say, her Majesty was not thrilled to hear what happened. That makes the whole Fagan incident of 1982 look like small potatoes," Morden said while shaking his head, feeling he didn't need to stress how that had resulted in increased security. "In other news, there had been a nasty... incident."
"What kind of incident?" Sirius already had a feeling it was a messy one.
"The lethal kind. In the course of an investigation we stumbled upon a witch smuggling lethal plants into the country. When confronted, she started to throw around lethal curses, so our strike team was forced to shoot to kill," Morden explained.
"What kind of plants are we talking about?" Remus asked, having a feeling it was connected to something sinister.
"The kind of plants that are highly illegal even in Magical Britain, I have a list somewhere... We did find out she was a known criminal and had been smuggling those plants for some old-money families. All of them fanatics. Their names are also on the list," Mr. Morden told them. "While we are well-informed, what news can you tell us?"
"Well, I don't know if you already heard of it, but..." Sirius began.
Granted, it would still be considerate distance before full cooperation, but the fist steps had been done. While of course not all information was being exchanged, it was enough to slowly build trust. After all, things had to start somewhere.
...Potions classroom, October 16th...
In today's Potions class the Gryffindors and Slytherins were being tasked with making a Strengthening Solution. The air already was thick with the vapors rising from the cauldrons while the students were being busy with finishing their potions. While that was happening, Slughorn was making the rounds, being careful not to knock anything over with his big belly while inspecting the work of the students.
Slughorn was very confident that most of his students in this class would be able to get an OWL at the end of this school year and thus qualify for Snape's NEWT classes. While he was a bit sad that it meant he soon no longer would be teaching these bright minds, he felt assured of their success and bright future - something that also would be to his advantage of course.
Of course, not everyone is a bright mind, he thought when seeing his two problem students.
Crabbe and Goyle had managed to prove in all those years in his class that they would not amount to much in life. They simply were that dense. He didn't think something like that lightly about students of his, but here it simply was a fact. Just looking at their completely messed-up potions was proof enough that those two had no chance in hell to get an OWL in Potions.
"Have you seen how Slughorn has shook his head when inspecting what Dumb and Dumber are doing?" Ron whispered to Hermione, who was working at the same table (which was no coincidence).
"He again got proof of their ineptitude. I know Professor Slughorn tries hard that all his students get an OWL in his subject, but there is a point where even he gives up," Hermione said while carefully stirring her potion.
"Good teacher he is..." Ron agreed, imagining that having Snape as a Potions teacher in first year probably would have turned him off the subject. "Eh... Mione... I'm curious... I heard Fred and George telling outright they would never stock love potions in their shop."
"And they do well to do so!" Hermione then looked up from her cauldron. "Love potions are like Veela influence in a bottle. Anything that takes away free will like that is dangerous. Also, that love is fake... True love has to come from the heart, not from a bottle."
Ron blushed a little, seeing how she had said that while giving him a deep look. "Thanks... this... this means a lot to me."
Hermione needed a moment, then she sported a small blush as well. "I heard the girls whisper we're taking too long for that. Maybe we can talk about that later?" Hermione returned her attention to her potion.
"Yes... later." Ron then tried to concentrate on his own potion.
At a different table, Dudley was working with Harry, while their girlfriends were at a different table. "Thank all goodness Umbridge is not present today. Honestly, her presence almost feels like she intentionally tried to be in your classes," Dudley whispered to Harry.
"Knowing her, that's probably true. Too bad for her there are other classes without me she also has to check." Harry then shook his head. "I'm not looking forward to next week."
"I know..." Dudley knew that they both had to appear before the court of justice next week as witnesses against Vernon Dursley. "One thing is sure... that won't be fun." Harry then looked up and saw Malfoy and Parkinson give him a strange look, as if they knew something he didn't. "Again... Those two know something, and they make no secret of it."
Dudley grimaced, remembering that day in Hogsmeade. "After last year we know they are dangerous. I have a bad feeling about whatever it is."
A bit later students had filled their bottles so Slughorn could test and grade the potions in peace. Students were leaving, but Slughorn hinted to the Six to stay for a moment. Once they were alone, he finally started to talk.
"This was a good class. You've enjoyed it and I can already see from sight your potions will get you a good grade. Though... Miss Granger, let me give you a little advice. While following the instructions to the letter is good and just in its own right, try to show common sense when making potions in the future to determine how make things easier on yourself instead of following the instruction to the letter. Such things are checked in NEWT Potions."
Hermione blushed a little when being called out that just memorizing the instructions soon wouldn't cut it anymore. "I'll try to do better, Professor. Does that mean the books won't contain the most optimal instructions and we have to use what we have learned to determine them?"
Slughorn couldn't help but to give one of his famous belly laughs. "Ho ho ho! Well-deduced, Miss Granger! Fifty points to Gryffindor!" Slughorn had said the last part jokingly, but they had the feeling it had changed points anyway. "Now, I only want to remind you of the future and the many opportunities."
"Speaking of that, it always made me wonder why the career advice is only given in fifth year. Having it before we select our electives would be... you know... more logical," Neville thought aloud, always having wondered about that.
"You are smarter than many others to notice that. Well, chalk it up to things that make no sense when it's said 'we've always done it that way'," Slughorn said. Then however he turned serious. "However, I also want to give you the good advice to be careful. Things are not a clam as they appear."
"You say that because of Umbridge, Professor?" Harry asked, making little secret of what he thought of her.
Slughorn sighed. "I never gave her any special attention during her time as a student when I came to the conclusion she would not amount to much in life. That had been premature of me, since I forgot how little scruples she has. Please promise me to not run afoul of her."
It was a bit sobering to hear Slughorn being so concerned for their well-being. It also spoke of how dangerous he felt Umbridge was. They shared some looks before Harry was quietly elected to give their answer.
"We will try our best not to seek trouble with her, Professor." It was left unsaid that they not promised to never get into trouble with her, since it was something they'd known they couldn't promise.
Slughorn didn't look much reassured, but accepted the answer. "I guess this is the best I could hope for. Now be on you way."
While they left, Ron was thinking about the conversation. The teachers all know things will get worse. Makes me feel bad I agreed to do nothing for the time being.
...October 31st...
This year's Halloween party was more subdued than those of previous years. That not only was due to the atmosphere in the castle due to the continued, explosive controversy going through Magical Britain, but also due to the school peace having been disrupted by Umbridge's actions. After all, with her being present in the castle, it was difficult for a relaxed atmosphere to develop.
Thankfully however, Umbridge was not present at the feast itself; something that caused questions once it was being noticed.
"I thought she wouldn't want to miss this opportunity to depress us with her presence?" Harry wondered after a while when noticing Umbridge's absence.
"Oh, there is a good reason for that and we have to thank Lee Jordan for it," Ginny said with a chuckle.
"What has Lee done?" Neville wondered, knowing the seventh-year was good friends with Fred and George.
"Oh, he slipped an anonymous note under the door into her office, telling her that there is an illegal Halloween party with lots of alcohol going on... in the dungeons," Ginny explained what Lee Jordan had done.
"I don't see what... Hey, wait a minute. Isn't today Nick's deathday? He always celebrates that in the dungeons," Ron realized.
"Bingo. From what I've heard, she stormed in just when the band was playing an especially nasty violin piece that would make your blood run cold, ran through several ghosts and slammed into the rotten food. No wonder she doesn't want to show herself right now," Ginny told them.
"Ah, so THAT is why Nick had been complaining to the Headmaster a few minutes ago," Harry realized, now also seeing the humor in it.
The scene honestly had been funny, even if they hadn't heard what was being said, considering how Nick had complained very animated about something, with the Headmaster trying to get him to calm down while Myrtle was constantly fighting to keep her giggles down. After all she didn't want to get on the bad side of a ghost that was her senior by several centuries.
"Had you not told me, I would have thought Myrtle had done it," Luna said, watching Myrtle now doing her best to entertain the first-years. "Myrtle after all doesn't like Umbridge either, as I told you."
That meant something. They knew Luna was in the habit of having conversations with Myrtle and thus what she said about Myrtle was quite reliable. Myrtle had not told Luna why exactly she disliked Umbridge and they guessed it was because she simply was unlikable, but maybe Umbridge also reminded Myrtle of something painful in her past.
While they started to enjoy the Halloween feast, Harry looked over to the Slytherin table and caught sight of Dudley. Man, being called as a witness seems to have really pulled down his mood. Not that it was much better for me.
"Harry, is something wrong?" Ginny asked when seeing him having stopped eating.
"Oh, it's just that I watched Dudley..." Harry admitted.
Ginny right away knew what that was about. "You are still think about when the two of you had to appear as witnesses, didn't you?"
"You guys needed to appear before a court as witnesses?" Dean wondered, giving them a look that caused more attention.
If anything, Harry hated that kind of attention. "There was a rather ugly situation over the summer and both of us were witnesses. Trust me, it wasn't something we would like to repeat." Especially considering how depressed Dudley looked, he added silently.
Dean accepted that answer. "I wonder how you made friends with him. At times it's like you have nothing in common," he said, before returning his attention to eating.
Harry knew outside of their circle of friends none of the students knew that Dudley was his cousin. Many people knew Dudley was friends with them, but nothing beyond that. Of course the teachers knew, but they would never reveal that to anyone. Harry had been reminded of that when Dudley had told him how Snape had commented how he had expected the son of 'that woman' to be way worse than he actually was.
That was a reminder that Snape had a history with Harry's mother - and thus also Dudley's mother. As far as Sirius could tell him, Petunia and Snape had parted ways on really bad terms. It actually had nothing to do with magic, they both simply loathed each other for personal reasons and he left it at that, unwilling to go into detail.
Hell, not even Umbridge - and thus not the broader public - seemed to know the connection between Harry and Dudley, which was a small miracle considering Umbridge learning so much about Sirius. Perhaps it was due her not wanting to know too much about muggleborn people? Well, one way or another, Harry and Dudley being related was something they only spoke of without anyone nearby.
After all, if that became common knowledge, Dudley would have a massive target on his back, especially in these times. Dudley of course had told them what had happened in Hogsmeade.
The feast went on as normal and soon enough everyone was on their way back to the dorms.
"Nothing bad has happened yet. I know last year seemed like nothing happened, but then..." Harry said, then stopped himself.
It was true that nothing had happened right away at last Halloween, but that was due to them thinking Harry not being involved in the tournament was a good thing. Later on, however, they had learned that it was all part of Voldemort's plan, and that Halloween had taken on a decidedly darker meaning for them.
Luna gave Harry an unimpressed look. "Do I have to warn you each year to not tempt fate? After our past experiences you all should have learned by now that fate on this day is not to be joked with."
They decided to better drop the topic, after the previous years they felt it better to not risk anything.
"I feel a bit bad. We're here at school, doing nothing about what's happening outside," Ron said, looking a bit down. "I just thought about it. We are not even doing anything about what's happening at the school. Are we trying too hard to stay down after what happened?"
"Ron, where did that come from?" Hermione asked, being a bit startled at this sudden shift in his mood.
"It's been in my head ever since that day in Hogsmeade. You know, where we decided not to be proactive." Ron felt that in retrospect he should have been more vocal. "To me it feels like we're too comfortable; that we are sitting back and do nothing."
"You think the training we're getting from Snape is not enough?" Ginny asked her brother.
"That as well, but it's more like I want to do something to improve the situation; not just being obedient students. Hell, even Percy is doing something!" Ron was quite vocal about how he felt.
"You mean him making life difficult for Umbridge? Guys, I would love to do that as well, but the way she is constantly baiting me to forget myself is a big warning sign for me to not kick that hornets nest," Harry said, looking really disappointed at that.
"We should not even think about it right now!" Hermione warned them, looking terrified at the idea.
"I'm no coward, but I know going against her right now would be dumb. She's only waiting to bring the hammer down onto us," Neville added, his more cautious nature shining through.
"Yes... not very smart. At least for the time being," Luna agreed. "As frustrating as it may be, the time has not yet come for us to be proactive. We have to be patient and wait until Umbridge has taken everything one step too far."
Luna was the voice of reason. She was very good at that when she was not invested in something that her friends would see as esoteric, weird things. Though, doing the smart thing right at the moment was incredibly frustrating.
...meanwhile, on the island of Azkaban...
The weather above the wizarding prison of Azkaban was overcast and foggy - though that was less due to its location in the North Sea and more due to the presence over over a hundred dementors. Their mere presence tended to cloud the sky and cause depressing fog, but the handful of people working in the prison had long since got used to this. Those that did had quit the job soon enough.
Additionally, today the sea was unrestful, harsh waves slamming against the artificial rock island and the stone walls of the prison. That meant that reaching the island by boat was at the moment impossible. Since apparation wouldn't work and flying by broom was forbidden, it meant right now the island was cut off until the sea would calm down.
"Strange weather today... It's almost like the clouds are alive," One guard said while leaning on the crenellations found on the roof of the prison.
His colleague snorted. "It's been too long since you got rotated out. Guess the dementors are getting to you."
"Even after years I can't stand those monsters. If not for the high pay, I wouldn't have taken the job," the first guard grumbled. "Well, let's continue our round. We still have to... huh?"
Seeing his colleague go silent, the second guard looked up and saw what had caused his attention. One dark cloud was hanging abnormally low and it was much darker than the rest of the overcast sky. Having a bad feeling about it, the guard was about to go for his wand, when suddenly a lightning bolt shot out of the cloud, blasting part of the roof apart!
Blinded, they barely managed to avoid getting blasted apart while debris rained down all over the place. When they moments later were able to see again, they saw that they no longer were alone. Two dozen people had appeared on the roof, and regardless who they were, it clearly was some kind of attack on the prison itself.
"Sound the alarm! We are under attack!" one of the guards screamed down the stairs, before a spell hit him.
"To arms! To arms!" The guards all drew their wands while the alarm bell was fired up, alarming everyone of the emergency.
However, it was an unfair battle. There was only twenty human guards in Azkaban, since the main work was being done by the dementors. Yet, to their surprise, the dementors had all gathered in the inner yard of the fortress and seemed content with just doing nothing at all, leaving the guards to their fate. It almost was as if...
"Why are they not helping us?!" one guard shouted while trying her best to keep a corridor under control.
"They've turned traitor on us!" another guard realized.
Under such circumstances the guards had little chance and were being picked off one by one by the attackers, which they to their horror had identified as Death Eaters by their robes and masks. All of a sudden the line of the Ministry that there was only a minor problem looked like utter bullshit in light of what was happening.
In the office of the head guard, said man was working feverishly to unlock the fireplace. Due to security concerns, it was impossible to use the fireplace to travel, the best one could do was to send a message and even for that it needed to be unlocked first. Finally being done, he threw the powder into the fireplace and contacted the Ministry.
"Emergency! Emergency!" he called to his contact in the Ministry. "Azkaban is under attack, we... ARGH!"
At the other end they watched in horror how the man's face turned into a grimace of pain and then... death. The dead man stared with lifeless eyes at them for a few more seconds before the head was pulled away and the fire went out.
The battle had been over fast. Half of the guards were dead, the other half had fallen prisoner to their attackers.
While being hauled into the yard, they saw to their horror who the leader of the attackers was, going into denial how that was impossible. The dementors were still being passive, using their strange inner vision to observe what was happening. They had even pulled in their aura of despair - something they normally never did.
Voldemort meanwhile looked pleased that things had gone exactly as he had planned. "Excellent. No losses on our side and the dementors have reacted as predicted. McNair has done good work to get word to them... Barty!"
Barty stepped forward. "Yes, my Lord?"
"Search for the paperwork and get me the prisoner list. It's about time just rewards are being given out," Voldemort told him.
"I will get everything quickly, my Lord." Barty then quickly left for the office of the head guard to get said list.
Showing no fear, Voldemort then walked towards the dementors. The creatures sensed him and seemed to confer among each other for a moment before one of them moved forward as a representative. "You have gotten word of my offer to no longer be bound by the restrictions of the Ministry?" Voldemort asked and then felt something he took as confirmation.
"Good. Have some patience. Soon enough you can leave together with us once we have concluded our business here. But before that, I will have a... surprise for you." While there was no outward sign, Voldemort could feel that the dementors wondered what kind of surprise that could be.
That moment Barty returned with a book. "I have found the register, my Lord. I do assume that you first want to free those that have never renounced you?"
"Yes... It is time to reward their loyalty to me," Voldemort said, knowing this would be a big step in furthering his plans.
Both of them then walked down to the high-security cells. There was noise from lots of the cells on the way due to the dementor influence being lifted, but they ignored that. Finally, they had reached the wing holding the Death Eater prisoners. There was shouting that Voldemort right away knew came from Bellatrix, her proclaiming that the return of their Lord had to be near.
She always was very vocal about her loyalty, Voldemort thought with amusement while they entered.
The noise died down as soon as the prisoners saw him through the bars. With a wave of his wand Voldemort unlocked the cells and the prisoners walked out, clearly wanting to kneel in front of him. As much as Voldemort knew this was proof of how they were loyal, he was a bit concerned they would be unable to get back up considering how unhealthy they looked.
"Don't. All of you have proven your loyalty beyond doubt by never renouncing me," Voldemort told them.
It was Bellatrix who walked forward. He had to admit, right now she looked pretty pathetic. Her hair looked like a tangled rats nest, her skin was unhealthily pale and she had lost next to all fat in her body, making her look downright skeletal. Due to her ripped shirt he could even see that what was beneath looked even worse. That of course all had to change first before she would be of use to him.
"Master... I knew you would return." Even looking as tired as she was, Bellatrix showed nothing but the utmost loyalty to him.
"Ah, Bellatrix. I knew your loyalty would not waver. Unlike those that renounced me to save their own skin and live in comfort, you and those with you never lost your way," Voldemort said, looking pleased. "You will be richly rewarded for staying firm."
"Master, what about those worms that renounced you? Did they get punished?" Bellatrix asked, anger flashing in her eyes.
"Oh yes, they did get punished." Voldemort allowed himself to show his displeasure. "They might think being back in my services is like before... But they will soon enough learn that their lives are now fully in the hands of Lord Voldemort."
"I can't wait once the truth hits them, my Lord," Bellatrix said, starting to have an idea what Voldemort meant with that. She then looked to Barty. "Who is this one?"
Barty decided that now was a good time for a little reveal and took off his mask. "Surprise."
For once Bellatrix looked genuinely surprised. "Barty? You died! It was the talk of the whole prison!"
"Oh, there is an interesting story behind that. I never strayed from the path and the Dark Lord rewarded me richly. However, that can wait until later. For now we have other things to do," Barty told her, enjoying that for once he knew something that Bellatrix didn't.
Voldemort meanwhile looked around who else of his people had survived. "Dolohov... Rookwood... Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange... Mulciber... Travers... Infernus and Malady Snyde... and Jugson. So the others have died in the meantime. Your loyalty will now pay off. Walk to the roof and wait there. There is some business I have to attend to first, before we leave this rock behind."
"Yes, my Lord!" the all acknowledged, before being on their way.
"Barty, who else in this hole is of interest to us?" Voldemort then asked.
Barty for his part had already looked through the list of inmates. "During your time of being... indisposed, Azkaban gained several inhabitants who have committed very serious crimes against Muggles and mudbloods. They should be easily swayed by you, my Lord. There also are some pure-bloods whose crimes align them with our cause. The rest are not of interest. Oh, and there is someone who can get us useful cannon fodder."
A few minutes later they stood in front of a cell and Voldemort tsked when seeing the sorry state the prisoner was in. The man in the cell already had lost a lot of his once abundant muscles and looked more like a flea-infested dog. However, even in this sorry state Fenrir Greyback looked dangerous and the big scar over one of his eyes only underscored this.
"Fenrir Greyback... we meet again. It does look like you are down on your luck," Voldemort finally told the werewolf that once had been useful to him and perhaps could be so again.
Greyback for his part narrowed his one remaining eye. "Voldemort, so we indeed meet again. You want to renew our little alliance of convenience? Or are you just here to tell me how far I have fallen?"
"Right to business? That's so unlike you, Greyback," Voldemort observed, noticing how the other cells in this wing had to hold the remains of Greyback's pack. "The choice is very simple. I do have a use for you. Should you decline, there will be not very pretty consequences."
Greyback chuckled humorlessly. "Just like in old times, eh? I knew right from the start that you give a damn on my kind, yet you opened doors for me that otherwise would have stayed locked."
Barty raised an eyebrow when hearing that. "Interesting. So you only care about the damage you can cause and not the fact that the Dark Lord sees you as little more than a weapon to be pointed in the right direction?"
"I give a crap about that as long as I get what I want." Greyback said. "Get me and my pack out of here, and as long as we can cause death and destruction we kill for you what needs to be killed."
"Good... looks like we have an agreement." That said, Voldemort used his wand to unlock the cells.
It went on like that for some time. Barty indeed had done a good selection, only very few of those he had presented to his Master had not been seen as useful by Voldemort - one being killed outright by the Dark Lord for sheer insolence. Once they were all filtered out and sent to the roof, Voldemort gave orders that all the remaining prisoners were to be herded to the interior yard. That was about two-hundred prisoners.
The inmates were highly nervous when seeing the defeated guards and all of the dementors already in the yard, but being driven to the yard at wandpoint by Death Eaters was equally horrible. In the crowd of prisoners, Ludo Bagman, already looking more like a drowned corpse, wondered what would happen to them, while Rita Skeeter felt like this was just the continuation of a neverending nightmare.
Voldemort watched all of that from a door, then noticed Barty being busy opening up one of the graves that was located in the yard, as it was used as a graveyard. "Barty, what are you doing there?"
"Pardon me, Master. However, as much as I hate my father, the hate does not extend to my mother. I most certainly do not want to leave her on this rock," Barty told him, actually looking a bit embarrassed at his motive.
Voldemort honestly didn't understand Barty's motive, that kind of emotion being alien to him, but decided that Barty had earned having some leeway. "Do as you please, Barty, as long as it is not an inconvenience to us."
"Thank you, my Lord!" Barty then went on and finally levitated the bones out of the open grave.
Once it was confirmed that all the cells were empty, Voldemort ordered his people to retreat behind the doors and lock them. Voldemort then addressed the dementors after getting their attention. "I promised you a surprise, and here it is! I offer this huge feast to you, and there is enough for everyone. Bon appetit!"
Voldemort then closed the door and the dementors, freed from all restraint, attacked the helpless prisoners and guards right away. From behind the door Voldemort heard the screams of panic and terror, which to him sounded like a wonderful symphony. Though in his mind it was a pragmatic move, not only to ensure the dementors stayed loyal to him, but also to silence any possible witnesses and make things much less clear-cut.
"Happy Halloween..." Voldemort chuckled to himself.
It was a good day and he would end it with a glass of a good vintage wine to celebrate it.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"Everything is Worse with Giants"
Notes:
Here the notes.
Harry and Ginny are exploring further. Unlike other stories, I want them to take their time (despitem being hormonal teenagers, it is more realistic) and we also see part of their Prefect duties. It also gave me the chance to have a scene with Nick. Ron and Hermione on the other hand are still stubborn.
Umbridge is meddling more. However, I felt that the points system by this point (no pun) has become irrelevant to students and thus the shaming mechanism is no longer working. After all, it has no practical consequences and the prize is a participation trophy.
Unrest is forming, but thanks to Snape teaching them stuff, it has not sparked yet. On the other hand, Draco and Pansy become bolder and Dudley has a feeling it's because they feel they won't suffer any consequences. I full intended the weird contrast at the end that even nasty people like them can have a different side to them.
I really wanted to showcase that the Order is busy with lots of stuff, and that the same goes for MI-X. Just because I'm not focusing on them doesn't mean they aren't busy. It also gave me the chance to further build the world.
Apart from lots of further character interaction, we finally come to the main event. It's WORSE than in canon. It also gave me the chance to again showcase how horrifying Voldemort is. While Voldemort is utterly irredeemable, in a surprising sight Barty, despite being a horrible person, still has some sparks of decency left.