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.
Please note that due to the constant tachnical troubles of the site, the story is now also being published at AO3. The story will update every second Saturday until the year is done.
Due to the technical difficulties of the page, you probably didn't notice me starting to post chapters again. Chapter 66 is the first chapter of Year 6.
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Chapter 67: Lights in a Dark Time
Looks like this morning paper is again on time. Much more punctual than the paperboy, that is for sure, Petunia thought.
Petunia Evans didn't even blink an eye anymore when an owl flew in through the open window to deliver a newspaper to the kitchen table. She just calmly paid the owl with three Knuts from a tin that was filled with said copper coins before returning to ensuring that the bacon wouldn't get too crisp. It was interesting what things one could get used to with enough exposure.
She was setting the table when Dudley walked down the stairs, still looking a bit sleepy even after his morning shower. "Morning Mum..." he greeted her while sitting down at the table.
Their new routine without Vernon had settled into place quite easily enough. Interestingly enough, the morning now also was for her to prepare for the day. Petunia had found that taking care of the house nowadays took considerably less time. While before it would have been a must, now she actually had looked for some kind of employment to fill the empty time. Granted it was a menial part-time job, but at least it gave her something to do and helped with the finances.
It also helped to remind her how she had never before thought about money due to Vernon's job and now knew better than that.
Dudley for his part took the newspaper - not the Daily Prophet but a rival newspaper with much higher quality - which he had subscribed to in order to stay up to date, and forgot to reach for his fork when reading the headlines. "Oh crap..."
Petunia knew such strong language at the breakfast table meant trouble. "Dudley, what has happened?" she asked.
Dudley turned the newspaper around and showed her the fat headlines. Despite it all being written in blackletter, Petunia managed to read it, even if a bit slowly.
Death Eaters attack Wandmaker
Tonight, Magical Britain was again shaken by a Death Eater attack, this time aimed at a core element of our society. In the middle of the night, a group od Death Eaters broke into the shop of our country's premium wandmaker, Garrick Ollivander.
It was only thanks to high security measures that Mr. Ollivander was alerted of that intrusion in time and barely managed to escape. However, the shop was ransacked by the time authorities arrived. The register of all sold wands was stolen, as well as almost half of the inventory. Left behind was a Dark Mark painted onto a wall.
While Mr. Ollivander is confident he can restore the register from memory, the loss of so many wands is a grave setback in the ongoing war. Mr. Ollivander has now went into hiding and will for the future only sell wands with a special appointment. New Hogwarts students will be outfitted with their wands at the opening ceremony by Mr. Ollivander.
Petunia stopped reading after that. "That man is very important, isn't he?"
"You better believe he is," Dudley said while lowering the newspaper. "I've heard there are others, but creating wands is a really specialized craft only few can do and Ollivander is the main supplier here in Britain."
Petunia remembered enough of her education on economics to understand the problem. "Take him out, and the supply of wands would go down significantly while prices would rise just as much."
"Yes. Thank God he managed to avoid being captured, but I have a feeling we won't like what all those wands will be used for," Dudley said with a grimace.
Petunia for her part knew that the ongoing war situation on the magical side was something that scared her. The idea alone that a war was going on on British soil that most didn't even know about was disturbing enough. However, her son had explained how said war was also aimed at making people like him essentially a servant class to an extremely hateful part of society that was following the madman.
Knowing that, said war now felt much closer and more personal.
o
Many other people read the news of course. One such household was the home of the Grangers, with the added bonus that right at the moment Ron Weasley was on his second day of a four-day visit to them.
The Granger parents found it quite refreshing that despite how much Ron had been exposed to the world outside of the magical circles, there always were things that were new for him, and despite him trying to deny it, his curiosity concerning such things showed he indeed was his father's son. It had been especially fun yesterday when showing him after hours what a dentist's office actually looked like.
They also would never forget his reaction when being shown what a dentist's drill was and him hoping he would never have need of one. Ian had actually found it funny when Ron under his breath called it a 'nasty torture device'.
Now however everyone was sitting at the breakfast table. Little Jonathan was sitting in his high chair with Jean telling him that his food was for eating and not for spitting out - a lesson his mother was still having to get across properly. Ian was filling everyone's plate, the pan being held in his other hand while doing so. Hermione's hair looked even more chaotic than it normally did - her seeing no need to be presentable since she would stay at home today - but she noticed Ron not blinking an eye at the sight.
Ron for his part had taken another look at the kitchen. "Even after all this time, I always again find it interesting how different such a kitchen is from the one at home."
"That's something I wonder. Is the stove at your home running with magical fire?" Ian wondered while putting the pan away.
"Yes, but I always took that for granted. I know that because in Potions we also use a magical fire under our cauldrons," Ron told him.
"Guess that wouldn't be too different from a gas stove, only that the source of the flame is magical." Ian found it fascinating how different solutions were found for the same task.
"That would most certainly cut down on the monthly costs... Jon, you seem to enjoy doing that, don't you?" Jean sighed when her son seemingly got it wrong intentionally for fun.
Hermione looked up from her cup of milk. "I honestly am a bit surprised how easy this is all going along. I heard of other girls telling horror stories of when they introduced their boyfriend to their parents." She made no secret she had been nervous about that.
"Well, for one thing we've already known Ron for years and thus also know we can trust him to not push you into something you are not ready for," Ian told her, which of course was very important for the parents of a girl.
"Ehm.. thanks. To be honest I think I'm a bit more nervous about that than Hermione is," Ron admitted, feeling a bit weird how open Hermione's parents were about that fact.
Jean looked amused when seeing both teenagers blush at the topic. "You are healthy teenagers, we would be more concerned if you hadn't gotten such ideas. We can hardly tell you what to do apart of course from the fact that we do not want you to have an accident due to not taking proper care."
"Mum..." Hermione groaned.
"We are actually relieved you two take it slow, since intelligence and emotional maturity are two very different things," Ian reminded his daughter.
Hermione hid behind her bushy hair. It was true that she actually was more eager for that than Ron was and that in a strange twist it was him being the more careful one. Stereotypically, it was the boy who was more eager to go ahead with sexual things, and she had little doubt about Ron imagining her in such a way, but in the end he still was the one who wanted to go at a more measured pace.
That moment an owl flew in and delivered a newspaper. No one blinked an eye at that - not even Jonathan - and Jean paid the owl with some Knuts from a glass jar. It of course was not the Daily Prophet - Hermione had agreed with Ron that even toilet paper was more informative and ended her subscription - but an opposition newspaper that was enjoying much popularity after the Prophet had imploded.
Hermione took a look at the headlines. "Shit." She then saw the looks her parents were giving her to not use such language with her brother being present. "Sorry, but look..." She held up the front page for everyone to see.
"Oh, that's great..." Ron had a good idea how bad those news were. "At least Ollivander escaped."
"Considering how vital wands are for doing magic, that would be like them plundering a massive weapons stockpile," Ian thought aloud. "However, what could they want with the register of the wands the man has sold?"
"You remember what the Headmaster said about Harry's and Voldemort's wands?" Hermione said while rubbing her temples. "Reading the register, he'll find out very soon what happened and make sure it won't happen again."
"Information gathering... It's moments like these where I' reminded this is a war. Just like a three weeks ago when we were asked to check something out," Jean thought aloud.
Ron and Hermione both knew that had to be a job done for MI-X. "I hope it was something reasonable."
"Yes, it was. Something strange was detected about fifteen kilometers away from our house. MI-X remembered that we have our necklaces that circumvent those enchantments that make things invisible to people without magic or cause them to ignore things. Wizards turning up would have alerted someone, but a magicless married couple using a nearby bicycle path didn't arouse attention. They could not have known that we could see what they were hiding," Ian explained.
"Out of curiosity, what did you find?" Ron asked.
"Well, it looked like a shelter, so either they were storing something there, or it was a hiding hole. Regardless what it was, we reported it," Jean explained.
That was a reminder that even small things added up and that while the Grangers were no frontline fighters, they nonetheless could contribute to the war effort.
o
It looked bizarre that despite this warm summer morning, one area close to a suburb was foggy and not warm at all. That strange phenomenon made people avoid the area, having a bad feeling about it. They did good to do so, since that was saving them from a terrible fate.
"Encircle it!"
"Gods, I feel like... Oh, thanks, I needed that."
After Voldemort had allied with the dementors, he had asked them to lay low for a while and he would give them a signal when they could start feasting. That time had come after the example being made in Diagon Alley and according to the deal the dementors could run wild on the non-magical population as long as they also were available for special jobs.
The dementors most certainly liked those new arrangements, some of them even starting to gain enough souls to start breed new dementors. If that process would go on undisturbed, it would spell disaster, as there was a very good reason why magical nations aside from Britain were so hell-bent on exterminating dementors. Those monsters had no beneficial use in any ecosystem; they just existed to suffocate life.
"Cripes, that was close... Don't let that bastard escape!"
"It's already smoking!"
In this particular instance a dementor had been preying on the inhabitants of a suburb of a bigger city. However, unlike what the dementors and Death Eaters were imagining, there was someone pushing back against that. Not the Ministry, which was so thin-stretched thanks to years of mismanagement and corruption that they couldn't spare anyone to go after the dementors, but MI-X.
The Prime Minister had compared it to a virus infection. They had to make sure to keep it contained now, or it would spread and past a certain point they no longer would be able to stomp it out. Considering that the infection in question were soul-devouring monsters, his priorities were understandable. Whenever mysterious instances of fog were discovered, MI-X would send extermination teams. Like in this instance.
Finally, the dementor was collapsing under the continuous attack of multiple Patronus before erupting in white-hot flames that after several seconds only left behind ashes. The fog dissipated almost instantly at the death of the monster and the oppressive atmosphere was gone.
"That fucker must have been close to breeding, considering how strong it was," one woman said, leaning against a tree to catch her breath.
"Good thing we got it before it was too late. That's three destroyed in the past four weeks and seven in total. How many of these monsters were in Azkaban?" a man asked.
"Well over a hundred, and don't forget those things started breeding as well," the leader of the group cursed.
"Lovely..."
That comment brought it to the point. They now had to stem the tide against that massive past mistake made by the Ministry.
...Grimmauld Place, July 13th...
Sirius held the room with the long table in Grimmauld Place in bad memory. Childhood memories of family gatherings, where everyone reassured each other of their bigoted and extremist worldviews, had soured him on that particular room very early on. That had only been compounded by the overly excessive snake-motif in the room, which was even worse than in the rest of the house.
However, things had changed since those days, actually making the room now bearable for Sirius. For one thing, all of the snake motifs were gone and he had insisted on using Gryffindor colors for the renovation, admitting it was to spite his now dead relatives. The big chandelier also was overhauled and now much brighter.
He also was thankful for these renovations, since otherwise the room would've given off an impression Sirius didn't want to give to his guests.
"Now that we are all gathered, we can start," Sirius said from the head of the table. "I'm sure everyone present is already familiar with everyone at this table."
"You could say so," Frank commented while looking around.
Indeed, the families that had officially allied with the House of Black and were sitting at the table were an interesting mix. Of course there was Sirius himself as well as Diane. Arthur and Molly representing the Weasleys was expected, as were Frank and Alice for the Longbottoms. Some were surprised to see Xenophilius, but then, even though his publication was esoteric in its nature, it still had a good circulation.
Horatio and Andrea Bulstrode as well as Magnus and Cynthia Greengrass represented the two families that were his closest allies outside of the inner circle, both of them quite influential. Besides them, several other minor families, who had wanted to officially ally with them, were also present at the table.
Sirius then looked to the side, from where Kreacher had taken bottles and glasses off a cart and set them on the table. To the surprise of many, those were bottles of ordinary mineral water which could be bought in any supermarket. That kind of looked out of place in such an environment, but then again Sirius Black was not known to give much on tradition.
"Thank you very much for serving the drinks, Kreacher. However, what follows in this room will be confidential," Sirius told the elf.
Kreacher didn't blink, but still asked "Has Kreacher displeased Master Sirius in any way?"
"No, you are doing your job perfectly and I trust you to keep secrets. However you could be tortured to release information or it could be ripped out of your mind. Therefore you not knowing will be for your own security as well."
"Master Sirius is looking out for his servants..." Kreacher mused, thinking about how he honestly had misjudged him in the past, while pushing the cart out of the room before closing the door.
"Now then..." Sirius started, knowing Kreacher would stay away from the room. "We all have gathered here due to the fact that the Ministry is incapable of doing its job, as shown a mere three weeks ago."
"That's putting it mildly," the leader of a minor family said. "The Ministry completely humiliated itself. Not to speak of the fact that if not for some kind of fluke, your godson would have been murdered in the atrium of the Ministry."
Sirius hated that reminder, but Diane's hand on his own helped him get through it. "Yes, and it showed that something is imminent; a term my wife told me of."
"The term is called governmental failure," Diane added. "It's when the government of a country becomes incapable to any longer function, such as being incapable of providing security for its citizens. In the case of the Ministry, a complete failure now is only a matter of time."
There was some silence at the table, some of those present trying to process this, since they knew nothing else than the Ministry running the show. Another representative from a minor family then asked "And there is no way to stop it?"
"None," Arthur confirmed. "I do work in the Ministry and can tell you that things have gotten so bad, there is no going back. The Ministry already was somewhat dysfunctional and corrupt before Fudge took over, but under him it became so bad that the Ministry already is no longer functioning as it should be."
"Not to speak of the Death Eaters infiltrating the Ministry thanks to Fudge's stupidity and Malfoy pulling the strings for so long. Thank all goodness at least he is now behind bars. No, we have to accept that it's only matter of time until either the Ministry becomes our enemy, or it collapses entirely," Alice then added, having looked into it intensively.
"So us coming together is not only to coordinate our resistance to the Death Eaters, but also how to prepare for Day X?" Horatio Bulstrode then asked.
"Sadly, yes. As highly as I and many of us think of Amelia Bones, it's a battle against windmills. She can prolong the Ministry holding out, but she can't stop the inevitable.," Sirius admitted, feeling really bad for her.
For many at the table it was a bitter fact to accept, but when looking at the events of recent years up to this point, they could see how the Ministry had become worse and worse and now had reached a state where it was barely functional and most certainly not equipped to lead the war against the Death Eaters. Hell, compared to the last war, the Ministry looked utterly castrated. In that utterly pathetic state, the Ministry couldn't hope to survive the war.
Cynthia Greengrass sighed. "I think we all understand it would be wise to prepare for that; have structures in place to ensure things don't fall apart entirely. But what if the Ministry is taken over?"
Diane shook her head. "You honestly think people would automatically follow a Ministry led by Voldemort? A government's power comes from the fact that people accept or at least tolerate them having that power. Taking over the Ministry does not mean that he automatically is in power. The vast majority of people would never accept that and the Ministry would just become a trophy on his shelf, though one with powerful loot."
"Yes, he would then have to force people to accept his rule, which would be difficult if not impossible considering the circumstances," Xenophilius agreed, knowing that the vast majority of the population was not behind Voldemort.
"So we not only have to think of how to oppose the Death Eaters, but also how to organize Magical Britain once this is over. What a mess..." Mrs. Greengrass sighed.
You would be surprised at what else is going on, Sirius thought.
After all, the majority of the people at this table had no idea about MI-X and how they were already fighting against the Death Eaters, right at the moment mostly being busy with destroying anything of worth connected to them and attempting to prevent attacks against the public. He knew that once this war was over, it was a given that Magical Britain would be very different.
"There is much to do, thus as my wife said... let us start..." Sirius said.
...the next day, the Burrow...
It would be a bit surprising for outsiders to hear that the Six couldn't just sit back and relax over the summer, but in hindsight that was a consequence of not only the current war situation in Magical Britain but also Harry's personal situation as Voldemort's prime target. Combine that with the fact that basically their fates were entwined and their lack of complete freedom over the summer was understandable.
However, today was a day when no training or other duties would get in their way and also the chance of getting together just for fun was available. They gladly took the opportunity and were able to enjoy the summer weather at he Burrow - thus behind a ton of protective wards - and just be teenagers hanging out with their friends and significant others.
"And this car can truly fly?"Neville asked Ron while they both stood next to the Ford Anglia of the Weasley family in the old barn that served as a garage.
"It can. It also can turn invisible and the interior is bigger than the exterior. Dad created a loophole for such things in the law when he helped with its creation and implemented all those things himself. Though, Mum is not impressed with him and has forbidden him from using the flying and invisibility," Ron told his friend.
"Wild, since from the outside it doesn't look like much," Neville said, honestly wondering if there was any chance for a small flight, since unlike with brooms, there was no chance of falling.
It was like Ron could read his mind. "Forget about a flight. Not only would that mean leaving the protections, but Mum would tan our hides good with her big cooking spoon."
"Yikes! No chance!" Neville tried to get some distance to the car and Ron followed him, chuckling.
Some meters away meanwhile, Ginny and Hermione watched Crookshanks chasing one of the gnomes that had infected the vegetable patch. The small, ugly creatures according to Arthur held little intelligence and were considered a pest more than anything else, causing Hermione to compare them to mice, which could do serious damage to a garden.
"I saw him doing that before. You are sure he won't get sick from it?" Hermione asked.
"I've heard of other cats eating gnomes and it's harmless. As you compared, it's the same as with mice. However, it's more entertaining to watch," Ginny replied.
That moment Crookshanks managed to catch the gnome and bit hard into its neck to kill it. Hermione turned away. "Come, we honestly don't need to watch him eat that thing, do we?"
"No, we don't," Ginny agreed.
Everyone converged towards a table where Luna was being busy with trying to teach Harry a card game her father had described in an issue of the Quibbler. Harry for his part felt that either Luna's father had made it up, or he had taken the idea from somewhere else before printing it, since the rules honestly made little sense to him.
"Remind me, what is this game called again?" Harry asked.
"It is called Fizzbin, and the rules are very easy to learn," Luna explained, taking the question in stride.
Harry put the cards down. "Maybe for you, but considering all the different rules you told me of, I just decided I'm happy to stay with the card games my Uncle Sirius is teaching me. He says those get over really well in pubs."
"Oh, that's too bad." Though of course Luna didn't hold that against him.
Ginny couldn't help but look amused, having witnessed the conversation. "Luna, I think your father made the game up to entertain his readers."
"I don't know about you, but I think we really needed this," Ron said while letting himself fall into one of the garden chairs. "Just us relaxing and having fun. No training, no responsibilities and trying to shut out the outside world for the day."
"We wouldn't enjoy it if not for your mother calming down," Hermione reminded her boyfriend.
"Aren't we all thankful for that?" Ginny said aloud.
It was true that after Charlie's reveal of Margaret, her pregnancy and both of them wanting to marry after moving back into the country, Molly's stress levels has skyrocketed. Add to it her already existing reservations about Fleur and the ongoing war - causing everyone's arrows on the family clock being stuck on 'mortal peril' - and it was causing an unpleasant atmosphere in the Burrow.
In the past several days however Molly finally had reduced her stress. She seemed to have come to some sort of agreement with Fleur and everyone hoped it was the start of defusing their issues. Now Molly had fully thrown herself into the preparations for the wedding of Charlie and Margaret, her earlier disappointment now being replaced with the wish to make that wedding a good one.
"I don't want to be in Charlie's shoes however, considering how Mum pretty much has taken over all the planning for his wedding," Ron mused. "Not that his fiancee is much better off. Just yesterday I saw her ask Fleur if that's how it feels to have a bad start with your future mother-in-law."
"Fleur would know how that feels, though at least Mum is finally starting to warm up to her. Perhaps it's because she works so hard to prove the stereotype wrong," Ginny thought aloud while reaching for the juice pitcher.
"It is kind of interesting to observe how your mother has so much trouble with the future wives of her two eldest sons while putting her expectations onto Percy and Penelope, who as of now haven't yet announced anything in that regard," Luna added.
"Could it be that they don't react well to pressure?" Neville wondered.
"It's very likely they want to keep out of the excitement until Bill and Charlie are married off. Seeing Mrs. Weasley on the warpath might have made them want to delay it," Harry speculated before drinking some juice through a straw.
Hermione also sucked some juice through a straw, before she said "You know, I kind of envy my little brother. He's so young he doesn't understand what's going on in the world. I wish we could be that ignorant."
"The innocence of young children is a treasure... Just yesterday I watched my mother help Selene with learning how to walk. They are innocent, but also very vulnerable and it's up to us to protect them," Luna thought aloud, having the feeling that her sister of one of those people that the Death Eaters wanted to deny the right to live.
Hermione grimaced at the reminder that in the eyes of the Death Eaters, people like her and her brother were people second class. In a country ruled by Voldemort, people with magic who had a non-magical origin would be reduced to a servant-class. As much as Voldemort was now preaching magical supremacism, in the end it was like in the novel Animal Farm. All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.
"You know, I wonder how the next school year will be? Not because of the war, but because all the jerks causing us headaches are now out of the school," Ron wondered.
"I hadn't even thought about that," Harry admitted, trying to imagine school without jerks like Malfoy and Parkinson. "I honestly can't imagine it, since they always had been there, but I think it will be much more peaceful."
"School without that bitch Parkinson? Should be much more enjoyable." Hermione then noticed the looks the others gave her and rolled her eyes. "You should have heard me curse often enough by now."
"We know that, but it's always a bit unreal to hear you use such language," Ron reminded his girlfriend.
Hermione knew she got a reputation for following the rules and there was a joke floating around that she was U-rated, but that most certainly was not the truth considering the urges she was getting as of late. He younger self would have scolded her for giving in to such base instincts, but she couldn't help it, especially since it felt so good to give in.
Keep yourself under control, she told herself, knowing that over the summer there was little she could do about it.
Ron for his part saw that Hermione didn't want to talk about it anymore. "I've heard from my brothers that NEWT-classes are really difficult, though it will be a relief to ditch subjects we have no interest in."
"Yes, and good riddance to History," Harry said, then saw the look Hermione was giving him. "Honestly, we learn more from reading it in a book than constantly hearing repeats of essentially the same story. Magical Britain was completely stagnant for centuries."
"That simply happens with such a small community living so isolated. It resulted in history repeating itself a lot," Luna mused. "It will be a relief to concentrate on other topics like Astronomy."
"Which is a topic everyone but you will ditch. It plays into you having Divination, but for everyone else it's holding little of value," Neville admitted to his girlfriend, knowing Luna wouldn't mind.
"Even you, Hermione?" Ginny wondered.
Hermione knew her need to stand out academically had almost made her stumble, but her decision was made. "I've read so far ahead, I honestly feel confident just taking the exams for Astronomy and History. I can use the time it frees up for other things."
While the conversation continued, there was an unspoken agreement between them to keep the war out of it for the rest of the day, so that they could enjoy this quiet moment.
...near Little Hangleton, July 20th...
A group of four men were making their way towards the old shack of the Gaunt family close to Little Hangleton. Shielded by magic, it had become forgotten by people and by this point was in a sorry state. Albus Dumbledore looked at the three men accompanying him. Alastor Moody, Bill Weasley and Remus Lupin. He had selected the three of them for being best suited for the task ahead.
"You are really tight-lipped about what we are looking for, Albus," Moody said while they made their way towards the old shack.
"It is nothing against you, Alastor, but what we are trying to find is highly sensitive information. Young William doesn't know what it is, either. Remus however is in the know about the matter," Dumbledore told Moody.
Remus for his part looked guarded at the mention of the secret. "And I honestly now wish I wouldn't know. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss."
That again made Moody wonder what kind of item connected to Voldemort it could be they were trying to find, while Bill felt it best not to ask. During his years on the field he had seen some truly horrible things and witnessed the depths wizards could sink to in order to gain power and thus didn't want to know what Voldemort could have done that made Dumbledore see this as a priority.
Dumbledore for his part again thought about what he had learned.
He had completed his research into the life of Tom Riddle before he officially became Voldemort and made several conclusions, which he had shared with Minerva, Sirius and Remus. He however would only show them the memories themselves once school again was in session. He had already known the answer, but the memories he had collected over time were frightening proof not only of what Tom had done, but also of his character, motivations and sheer coldness.
It confirmed the how, but not how many and I only am sure on some of the items but no conclusive clues where to find them. That's a puzzle we will tackle once Harry and his friends get involved., Dumbledore thought. As to the 'how many'... That answer is something only Horace knows.
However, he was pretty sure about the place where one of Voldemort's keys to immortality was hidden, and the connection was very obvious. After all, the ring of Marvolo Gaunt was sure to be one of the items, and knowing Tom he couldn't have resisted hiding it in the very place from where he stole it so many years ago. After all, Voldemort was very big on symbolism about his life, which was one of his weaknesses.
There also was another reason why he wanted to check the ring, even if more out of simple curiosity over the folly of his youth.
Finally arriving at the shack, Bill took a look at the overgrown hovel, then held up his hand. "Stay back..." Raising his wand, Bill start to check carefully, then whistled. "That's several layers of defense - really nasty stuff. It even twisted the plants to act as a defense. Help me with this."
Even with four men at work, it took them almost half an hour to defuse all defenses.
"He's truly twisted. Just that curse alone that made you vomit out your innards..." Bill had of course know that Voldemort was a monster, but this was underscoring it.
"If that's the outside, what about the inside?" Remus wondered. He then looked to Moody. "You can see anything inside?"
Moody checked the hovel with his magical eye. "Nothing out of the ordinary... Hmm, but the dust inside looks like it got disturbed relatively recently. Also, following the trail, there is something under the floorboards, but that compartment is shielded from my eye. It must be important."
"Let's be careful..." Keeping their distance, Remus cast a spell on the door and it flew open. Nothing happened. "Strange, I would have thought there to be a trap when the door is opened."
Not wanting to risk anything, they checked everything before setting even a foot into the hovel. However, there was nothing: no traps or nasty curses of any kind. It was as if Voldemort hadn't even bothered with securing the inside of the hovel in any way. If anything, that only made them more careful, since Voldemort coud try to lure intruders into a sense of false safety.
"Nothing. Highly unusual for Tom," Dumbledore thought aloud. "Even the floorboard has no enchantment." Dumbledore then used a spell to open the floorboard, revealing a simple ring box underneath. However, as soon as he saw the box, his behavior suddenly shifted. "I need to have it!"
"Albus, what the hell...?" Remus started, only to stop before suddenly being shoved aside, Dumbledore single-mindedly wanting to take hold of the box.
"Damn it, you don't!" Moody cursed before tackling Dumbledore. Due to being much younger than him, he managed to wrestle him to the floor.
"I need it! I need it!" Dumbledore shouted, sounding like a man possessed.
"A compulsion curse," Bill cursed, before doing his best to destroy the enchantment. After some seconds he managed to do so and Dumbledore stopped.
Now back to being of a sound mind, Dumbledore felt ashamed of himself. "Great goodness, I fell for that compulsion like someone fresh out of school."
"No, I felt it as well, but the wolf reacted very badly to it, thus why it didn't stick on me as well. Albus, question would be, why weren't Bill and Moody affected?" Remus wondered.
"It could be because of the compulsion in question, which most likely works on you wanting the specific item in the box. We don't know what's supposed to be in that box, while you two do. Since we had no idea, the compulsion had little to work with," Bill explained. "Touching the box would have been very bad, since it's coated in some kind of poison that kills in seconds."
"Nasty, so that's why there are no defenses inside," Moody growled.
Conjuring a pair of rubber gloves, Bill carefully opened the ring box. However, instead of some sort of ring, there only was a folded note inside. After checking for surprises, Dumbledore took the note and he looked alarmed when reading it aloud.
Dumbledore, if you are still alive when reading this, I can tell you that I moved the ring to a much safer location and you are too late. I applaud that you put together where to find it, but in the end I have proven yet again to be your superior. I will enjoy seeing you on your knees before me.
-Lord Voldemort
"That son of a..." Moody started to curse.
"Albus, you know what that means," Remus whispered to Dumbledore.
"I do," Dumbledore confirmed just as quiet. "It not only makes things more complicated, but we also have to fear him doing so again. Our whole mission could become a lot more difficult if he does so."
"What do we do about the hovel?" Bill asked while they left the building.
"I would love to burn it down." Moody then controlled himself. "However, it's better we just lock it. No need to wave a big flag that we were here."
They did so and then left, disappointed and concerned that Voldemort had anticipated this move and moved the ring to a much safer location. Dumbledore especially now felt a sense of urgency and knew that he would have to share the memories as soon as it was feasible with the Six.
They not only had a right to see them, but also maybe their youth could give them insights that had been denied to him, who was used to his ways of thinking.
...July 24th, the Evans house...
"This will be the first time in my life I will be away from home for such a long time. How did you feel when that happened?" Mark asked Harry while they both looked out of the window, watching the rain pouring down.
"I missed all of you a lot. However, I had my friends around me, so that helped negate a lot of the impact. What about you, did you make friends at the preschool?" Harry said.
"A few, even one girl who comes from a magical family that had become really impoverished," Mark admitted. "While all of us are excited, we also... The whole war thing is like lead on the mood. Knowing there are fanatics whose goal is to reduce people like me to something only a little better than serfs makes many afraid of the future."
"Not how you imagined you entering Hogwarts would feel, right?" Harry guessed.
Mark looked out into the rain. "Not at all. I was so excited... But then all those things happened and now I'm rather nervous about the whole thing. That I can't buy my own wand until the sorting ceremony, that sucks as well."
"You can't blame Mr. Ollivander for that. After all, he almost got kidnapped in his own home, so it's understandable he'll only fit everyone with wands in a safe place," Harry reminded Mark.
"I know and I blame those jerks for it." Mark then gave Harry a strange look. "You look very eager to return to school, however."
"Being constantly guarded and unable to do many things I like to do over the summer is not exactly something that makes me enjoy the summer as much as I used to," Harry admitted.
Mark however had an idea what else was going on. "I know it, you are missing Ginny."
"Mark, I..." Harry had no idea what to say about that.
"Yes, you are pining for her and the only time you can spend time together without a minder is at school," Mark said, being amused at the look his older brother (he had grown up to think of him as such) was giving him. "Though I don't get what's so great about that."
"Trust me, you'll learn soon enough in a few years, just like I did," Harry assured him, knowing from experience it was a gradual process.
"If you say so..." Mark then took a step back. "Listen, Harry, there is something I have to do, so please excuse me."
Watching Mark leave, Harry couldn't fault him for having mixed feelings about his upcoming entry into Hogwarts. After all, the whole war issue and the stories of what Umbridge had done in Hogwarts were not exactly great at creating enthusiasm. Walking downstairs, he looked to the perch where Hedwig was sleeping.
Hedwig in general was not fazed by what was going on during the day and also liked sleeping at that time, unless her services were needed. As a testament to the fact that owls by nature were still nocturnal animals, despite all the alterations magical owls had, she liked to hunt during the night. Hedwig generally preferred to get her food herself and fresh when possible, thus Harry felt that had to be some kind of pride at work there.
I wonder if she wants a romantic partner in some years? Harry wondered, the thought having come due to him feeling a bit bummed out how much time he was spending apart from Ginny.
-clac- That moment the front door opened and Harry saw Thomas and Veronica enter, both of them looking a bit soaked.
"Thanks again for picking me up with the car, otherwise I would look like I swam through a pond," Veronica told her husband, knowing her hair nonetheless needed some serious help.
"I would be a pretty shitty husband if I didn't help my wife. But first we need to find Harry..." Thomas said while locking the door again.
"No need, I'm right here," Harry called, pulling attention to himself. "However, what's so important you have to see me right away?"
"At work I got a call from your Headmaster - no idea how he got that number - and he reminded me of something important we should better tell you in advance," Thomas explained while they all moved to the kitchen table to sit down.
Harry still had trouble to imagine Albus Dumbledore using a telephone, since that went so much against the image people had of the man. "So, what was so urgent?"
"Thomas told me on the way home. You remember the protection your mother gave you, and though it is weakened now, it still protects the neighborhood?" Veronica asked Harry.
"Yes, of course. After all, I know it's the only thing that prevents Death Eaters from coming here, since I bet they already know where I live, though it doesn't do anything against other things like dementors." Harry remembered that incident from a year ago all too well.
"What you don't know is, that the protection does have an expiration date. As soon as you turn seventeen, which is considered an adult in magical society, it goes poof," Thomas told Harry, hoping the teenager wouldn't spiral after hearing that.
Harry felt like a crate full of bricks had fallen onto him. "But... that means... This is the last normal summer I'll have until Voldemort is taken care of?"
"More than just that. Considering all our lives will be in danger once the protection is gone, it will be us, the Blacks and even Dudley and his mother who have to leave as well," Veronica explained to Harry. "And don't think that's your fault. Other families are also preparing. The Grangers know all too well that the war will take a turn for the worse after that event, so they are already planning ahead."
Harry knew what his Aunt meant. "You mean them closing their practice and moving somewhere else?" Harry hated the idea that this damn war was uprooting the lives of his friends' families.
"I know, but I think all our lives are more important than acting like nothing has changed," Thomas reminded Harry. "I don't look forward to explaining that to Mark."
"Good luck trying to explain that to him. At least he'll be at Hogwarts for most of the year by that point," Harry said while still trying to accept that new reality. "I never asked for any of this. I grew up with you having a peaceful life, and I honestly want that back. Part of me wants things to return to normal."
"Things will not return to normal... at least not the normal you've known." As much as Veronica hated telling that to Harry, he deserved the truth. "However, nothing is stopping us from creating something new once all of this is over."
"When it's over..." Harry knew that meant they first had to get rid of Voldemort, who was obsessed with him. Considering that that monster seemed unable to die, that was a tall order.
o
"Yaarrghhhlllll-l-l..." That was the only sound Pansy could make while her stomach evacuated its contents the wrong way.
"You get sick from so little?!" Bellatrix looked quite disappointed, then pointed at the puddle of vomit. "You made the mess, you clean it up, spoiled little girl. I'll be back in a few minutes and then make sure both of you will do better."
Watching Bellatrix leave, Draco quickly used his wand to vanish the vomit, then helped Pansy to sit down. "She's worse than normal, which means something."
"She acts like ... she's got razor wire in her underwear. It's frightening," Pansy agreed, finding this Bellatrix even more scary than her normal self. It made her wonder what kind of hormone cocktail Bellatrix had drunk to be like that.
Both of them by now had almost spent a month being put through the wringer by Bellatrix and it had taken quite the toll on them. Their resolve was one thing, by the almost sadistic training regime that Draco's aunt was forcing onto them was constantly threatening to break them. It wasn't just physical training but also Bellatrix was doing her best to harden them mentally.
Her attempts at hardening them involved them having to watch while she tortured prisoners - and unlike Voldemort Bellatrix liked to get physical when doing so. While she of course did use the Cruciatus Curse generously, more often than not she liked to add her personal touch by getting physically violent. The worst always was when she used her dagger to carve words into those she tortured.
Thing was, as much much as both of them had been massive jerks at school and how they had liked being able to beat up students as part of the Inquisitorial Squad, the things Bellatrix was forcing them to witness were on a completely different level and had gotten them several nightmares.
"She's scaring me. You know the kind of things she is capable of," Draco admitted, knowing he would not even admit that to his mother.
"I remember..." Pansy was a bit pale, remembering the one time Bellatrix had cut off a witch's finger with her dagger. That had made both of them violently sick.
Both of them of course had known it would be hard work, but the way Bellatrix was working them raw and was attempting to harden them emotionally was making them cry in relief each time when having one of those days when Bellatrix was busy with other duties and thus they didn't have any training. They by now felt stupid for thinking that it would be easy sailing once having entered the Dark Lord's service.
At least they had each other to hold onto. Draco and Pansy both knew that on their own, they probably wouldn't have gotten as far as they were now. However, they were both reassuring each other that this was worth it and only so terrible because Bellatrix was hating them on a personal level and once they were in the field, things would get easier.
Of course that was what they were telling themselves.
"Is it strange that I now actually can't wait to return to Hogwarts? That I want to be in a place where I know everyone hates me rather than endure several more months of Aunt Bellatrix' attention?" Draco asked his girlfriend.
"Not at all; I think so as well. The difference is, that the teachers forbid the students to do anything actually nasty to us. Bellatrix has no such limitation," Pansy said, grimacing at the reminder of some of the things Bellatrix had seen as acceptable training methods.
It was that moment when Bellatrix returned. "Ah yes, looks like both of you are ready to continue. Granted, there is progress, since I remember some weeks ago seeing both of you sitting in puddles of your own piss after the lesson was only halfway over."
She is calling that progress? Pansy thought, already dreading the rest of the day.
Yes, they were not having a good time; unlike Bellatrix, who was enjoying every moment of it.
...the Burrow, July 31st...
While they had done this before, in these times it was pretty much needed to put the birthday parties for Neville, Harry and Ginny onto one date, even if Ginny's actual birthday was several days later. The whole thing was big enough that everyone was present - and considering that the number of partners and children had grown over the years even the garden of the Burrow by now felt quite crowded. Ron had remarked that it reminded him of some past family gatherings.
By silent agreement no one would mention the war in any way. That was solely in order to have a day they could enjoy and without the depressing reality bringing down the mood. After all, they knew they could use any relief from the worsening situation. So just today the deteriorating state of Magical Britain was a taboo topic.
The main celebrations by now however were over and everyone was relaxing, easy conversation having sprung up around the long table.
"So, Aunt Muriel reacted completely different to the news than she did with Charlie?" Ginny asked her two oldest brothers again.
"You better believe it. While she complained that I'm marrying a French woman..." Bill stopped for a moment and saw Fleur roll her eyes, now knowing where Molly's reservations came from. "...she nonetheless thinks I am marrying into the, I quote, 'fitting circles'. I always knew she is a snob."
"Better than what she said when learning about Margaret," Charlie said with a grimace. "She called us utterly irresponsible to do such things out of wedlock and that I can't expect much from her inheritance."
"Even though I don't know her marital status, she's acting like a pestersome and bitter spinster," Margaret said, seeing no reason to be diplomatic after some of the more hurtful words she had heard from Muriel. "I'm kind of relieved she doesn't want to be present at our wedding."
The wedding was in a little over three weeks and even though many would never say so in Molly's presence, they all were relieved that Muriel would not attend. After all, she would not only have constantly thrown shade on the groom and bride, but also would for sure have complained how the whole thing had to be planned in just two months, that it was not worthy of the family and so on.
"I wish we would be as lucky," Fleur complained when seeing that Molly was being distracted and thus wouldn't hear her. "That woman is truly horrible but she's insisting on being present at our wedding. Zut alors."
"Tough luck..." Ginny said with a grimace.
"I bet my parents will make up for that. They've actually announced to attend," Margaret said with a sigh.
"Where is the problem with that?" Penelope asked, wondering what that could be about.
"Let's say you'll wish they had stayed away," Maragaret said, not wanting to go into detail right at the moment.
At a different part of the table, Luna looked proud when watching Neville interact with little Selene. Once Pandora guided the little girl away, Luna couldn't hold back anymore. "You are really good with children."
"Surprises me as well. I'm an only child, yet it comes naturally to me," Neville admitted, speculating that it perhaps was his normally gentle nature that made him so good with children.
"You know, being good with children is a very good character trait to have," Luna then said.
"Ehm..." Neville noticed the looks Luna was giving him. "I think it's a bit too early for that."
"Yes, but I was actually thinking about the future. No pressure." Luna then got a dreamy look when imagining herself being a mother. Thanks to having a wonderful mother as a role model, she found the idea heartwarming.
Neville blushed at how direct Luna was on the matter. No pressure? That has done the opposite.
Harry meanwhile felt this birthday was quite the distraction from the current woes, but had missed someone. "Too bad that Dora couldn't make it, Uncle Remus."
Remus for his part nodded. "Sadly, Dora felt under the weather and her hair constantly changing color without much control underscored that. She did feel really bad for it, but she did feel tired enough that she knew better than try to force it."
That was the thing, in the past two or three days Dora had felt rather tired and she couldn't explain why. Also, her hair changing color at random without any control was starting to go on her nerves, since she had been able to control that since she was a little girl. Considering her change in job for the year, that couldn't have come at a more unopportune moment.
"Let's hope she feels better soon. She's like the big sister I've never had," Harry said, hoping it was nothing serious.
The easy atmosphere stopped when they noticed someone approach the Burrow - though Percy spotted first who it was. "Everyone, calm down. It's Professor McGonagall."
"I better let her in," Arthur said, knowing that with the security measures it was better to make sure.
A minute later McGonagall approached the table. "I hope I'm not interrupting the festivities."
"Oh, don't worry, were are already done with those, now it's just relaxing talk," Diane said. "You being present means there is a school matter at hand, right?"
"Yes, indeed..." Reaching into her bag, she pulled out several letters. "For the sake of security, it was decided that I deliver all the letters personally, that includes yours, young man." The last thing was directed at Mark.
"Good thing I've known for years what to expect, otherwise the wait would have been really hard," Mark commented while accepting his letter, though he still opened it excitedly, since you only got your first Hogwarts letter once.
"Remember, young man, we all do our shopping together in one big group," Veronica reminded her son.
"I know, Mum," Mark said while reading his letter. "After watching Crookshanks, I won't get a cat."
"Which is a good thing, since we know you wouldn't be able to take care of one," Thomas told his son, knowing that Mark wouldn't be able to care for a pet.
Mark knew that was true. "Clearly not a toad. I can take even less care of that and I would be laughing-stock. Hm, I don't think I need an owl, either. After all, if I want to send a letter, I just ask Harry if I can use Hedwig."
"Feel free to do so. She's after all complaining that she's getting too little to do." Harry knew his owl had an attitude and disliked long periods of nothing to do, since that seemed to hurt her professional pride.
"As for the six of you, here are your letters for this year and your OWL-results." The Six then realized that all of their parents were being present and thus the pressure would be quite intense in regard to their OWL-results while taking their letters.
Hermione especially looked uneasy, which was weird since everyone knew she should have breezed through the exams, even with the subjects where she was just taking the exams. Ron noticed his girlfriend's discomfort. "Maybe we should open ours first?" he offered.
Hermione finally realized the attention was on her. "Oh, it's stupid..." Gathering her courage, she opened her letter and looked at the results. "I... I passed everything. Though... several subjects I only got an E in."
"You know you don't have to be prefect," Jean reminded her daughter.
"I know, but sometimes I backslide," Hermione admitted, knowing that her results were truly outstanding. The only other two people she knew who had passed all twelve subjects - which only was possible by also taking the exams for subjects you didn't attend to at school - were Remus and Percy, and both openly admitted that they also had subjects where they only got an E.
"You are the pride of my House," McGonagall said, not making a secret of how pleased she was. "However, better be selective which subjects you want to pursue for your NEWT years. Remus and Percy Weasley did so as well, since they knew they had to manage their time."
"I understand, Professor." Hermione knew that McGonagall was right; she needed to set her priorities with her subjects.
Ron was next and he whistled. "Not bad at all. OK, I outright failed History with a P and Astronomy with an A, but I honestly don't need those. Mostly Es, but I got an O in Muggle Studies and Potions of all things."
"Good luck keeping up with Snape's expectations," Ginny told her brother.
"Seven OWLs! That is wonderful!" Molly beamed at Ron's results.
Fred and George rolled their eyes. While their mother had long since forgiven them for their weak OWL results and they were now making a lot of money with their newly opened joke shop, they did feel the sting. However, they then quickly scolded themselves, since the whole thing had been their own fault and Ron had worked hard to get such good results.
Knowing that she should do so next, Ginny opened her envelope. "Well, I failed History like Ron with a P, little wonder there. I actually managed an E in Astronomy, but only an A in Herbology, not that I have much of a green thumb. The rest are Es with two O, though for me those are in Defense and Transfiguration."
"Another seven OWLs!" Molly beamed while Fred and George felt that in retrospect their plan to only have OWLs needed for their future plans might have been a little short-sighted.
Neville grimaced a bit when reading his letter. "Failed History as well with a P. However, I also only got an A in Transfiguration and Potions. The other subjects all have an E apart from Herbology, there I got a straight O."
"Don't be disheartened," Frank told his son. "Both of us had our weak subjects as well."
"Mr. Longbottom, while that means you can't continue with my subject, I'm sure you'll find Charms to be very interesting. Professor Flitwick has said a lot of good about you," McGonagall added, feeling a bit sorry that despite his enthusiasm, Neville simply had no innate talent for Transfiguration.
"I will try my best," Neville said, knowing that Flitwick was a good teacher.
Luna meanwhile had opened her envelope and scanned her results, her expression unreadable. "Failed History - even I could not concentrate on that - and Potions - most likely because of that massive sneezing fit causing my glasses to fall into the cauldron and me having to get my spare pair. Passed the rest, with an O in Divination, Herbology and Creatures."
Neville remembered the incident from the Potions exam. Luna's glasses had fallen into the potion and the changed mixture caused her glasses to melt while ruining the potion. Her getting her spare glasses and then starting again had taken so much time that Luna had said straight away that she would not get a passing grade, regardless of the fact that it was caused by an accident.
"You don't look surprised, pumpkin," Xenophilius said, a bit surprised how calmly his daughter was taking the results.
"These are the results I expected, so they were no surprise to me. I had a long time to accept my successes and failures,," Luna remarked, showing she did have a good insight in her own work on the exams right from the start.
That left Harry.
Talk about pressure... he thought while reading his letter. "Bombed History like each of us except for Hermione. Also only got an A in Astronomy - not that it has practical use for me. All else is E, except for an O in Defense and Potions of all things."
"I have to congratulate all of you that you soon will be NEWT students." McGonagall made no secret of how proud she was of those results. "However, with the intensity of the subjects from now on, you should plan your time well."
"And as you said, we should think carefully, which subjects we want to continue, though for some the choice will be easier," Luna added, knowing they had talked that each of them should drop three subjects, and with the failed subjects that became easier.
Everyone raised their glasses to congratulate the new NEWT students.
...at the same time in Little Whinging...
"Aren't we a little too old for a play park?" Daphne commented while looking around.
"Maybe, but during the summer it's one of the most peaceful places in the neighborhood, especially since recent events," Dudley told his friend while making himself comfortable on one of the benches.
"I remember this place. Is it really already a year ago since we scared off those jerks in this place?" Millicent wondered aloud.
"It is. Though, remember that they won't be a problem anymore," Dudley reassured his girlfriend.
Dudley knew what he was talking about, since according to his mother Piers and his gang were now enjoying a stay in juvie. As far as his mother could reconstruct, that little gang had made the decision to move to actual crime. When being home during the winter, they had broken into several shops after closing time. However, the police did catch them due to one shop having a silent alarm alerting the police directly.
Apart from obviously spending time behind bars, those four teenage boys were now utterly disgraced and, as far as he knew, Gordon's family had washed their hands off him entirely. Piers meanwhile of course had been thrown out of Smeltings, since after all despite their questionable reputation they held no wish to have a known criminal in their ranks.
It was a reminder to Dudley where he could have ended up and great motivation to stay lawful.
"Why are no children here? I mean, everything looks repaired compared to last year," Daphne asked while looking around, finding it weird.
Dudley knew the answer to that. "After the play park being the hangout spot of the gang for so long, not many children dare to come here. It'll take time before they can reclaim it from its current reputation."
"So it's tainted..." Daphne now understood why they were the only ones here.
"Well, you got your results?" Millicent asked, fishing her OWL letter out of her pocket. "My parents looked quite pleased with my results, though I think I could have done better."
"Right here," Daphne confirmed, pulling out her own letter. "They outright raised my allowance when seeing how well I did. Man, I was blushing so hard."
"I got mine as well. Man, Mum looked really proud of me after I explained how the marks work," Dudley said, holding his own letter in his hand.
They then quickly compared their results. Dudley and Millicent both had failed in three subjects, in everything else they were at least at E, which meant they could continue in those subjects. Daphne on the other hand had only failed in one subject and also had more subjects with an O. Not that it came as a surprise, since Daphne was the smartest of their little group.
"How come you managed to pass History with an E? Dudley and me both failed it, since its horribly repetitive, regardless how much Professor Rogers tries to make it more interesting," Millicent wondered, finding that a bit unreal.
"To be honest, I don't know myself. For some reason I do soak up the repetitive stuff and can keep it apart," Daphne admitted. "I utterly failed in Herbology, however."
"That's not your fault," Dudley reminded her. "After all, you have not chosen to get food poisoning in the middle of the exam. Unfair, that illness is not recognized as a reason to repeat the exam when it happens in the middle of it."
Daphne honestly didn't want to be reminded of that incident. She had already looked sickly that day, paler than normal, and it had become worse over the day. In the middle of the Herbology exam it finally had become so bad that it had sent her over the edge. Sadly that had also meant barfing onto the shoes of the examiner. She then had been rushed to the hospital wing but that exam had ended a straight D for her. (not a T because instead of failing she had been unable to finish the exam.)
"At least you knew that already back then," Millicent waved it off. "Question is, what to keep. For Dudley and me that's easy, since we both agreed in advance just drop the things we have failed. History for both of us, Divination and Herbology for Dudley, Arithmancy and Transfiguration for me."
"That certainly is an easy way..." Daphne said with a snort, then looked at her results again. "I need some time to decide what to give up."
Dudley knew that was a good idea. "Take your time. I learned the hard hard it's best not to decide such things on a whim."
"Thanks, that will be a difficult choice." Daphne then put her letter away before sitting down on one of the swings. "All this talk about the future makes me wonder how it will be with things falling apart left and right."
"Yes, there is something else..." Dudley knew he had to reveal that rather sooner than later. "Both of you know the story of how Harry survived all those years ago?"
"Yes. After all, he is insistent that it was his mother's sacrifice that did it. Why do you ask?" Millicent wondered.
"I was really surprised when I learned from Harry that the sacrifice is also protecting our neighborhood and that's the reason he's still living here despite the war. As he explained it to me, once he turns seventeen, that protection goes poof," Dudley explained.
"Oh... That means..." Daphne had a good idea of the consequences of that.
Clearly, Dudley had been told of the consequences as well. "The Evans and the Blacks are already making preparations to move to safe places next year. Mum was kind of freaked out when hearing all of that, since she has no idea where to go."
Millicent saw how much this was upsetting her boyfriend. "I'll talk to my parents."
"Millie?" Dudley asked.
As much as she loved her boyfriend, she knew there were moments where he could be quite dense. "No, once I tell my parents, they will be very eager to help out. Your mother gave them a good impression and they clearly feel you are a good match for me."
"All right, but Millie, that last part made you sound like it's a meat market," Dudley said, being a bit disturbed by her choice of words.
"Sorry, their words. They grew up in a different environment, but considering my ancestry, they don't give much on it. Even if they did, could you imagine anyone forcing me into an engagement?" Millicent asked Dudley.
"Nah. If some dick thinks he can claim you as a prize, you probably would turn him to paste in no time," Dudley realized.
"Exactly." To underscore everything, she then smooched Dudley.
If this continues she'll drag him into an unused room in no time, Daphne thought, having an idea that next school your could get quite steamy... Hopefully for herself as well.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"Hogwarts the Changed"
Notes:
Here the notes.
I couldn't resist to show that Petunia could get used to more unusual stuff, while at the same time advancing the plot. Also, I said Ron would be at the Granger house for some days, and I kept word, since it also gave me the chance for some humor and to show that every contribution helps.
I also show one of the things MI-X is doing in the meantime.
Also, I wanted to show that Sirius and the families allied to him are not idle, either. They know perfectly fine that the Ministry is in a slow collapse and have to prepare not only for Day X, but also for the time after.
We are taking a look at the flying car again. Believe it or not, but in Year 7, that thing actually will play its role. We also see the Six relax in all the troubles, some more Wesley soap opera drama and Hermione showing how far she has come. I had actually not planned this scene, it just came on its own.
Of course Voldemort taking the ring now is discovered. Tough luck. In case you wonder, since Voldemort took the ring, he instead put poinson onto the ring box.
We do learn more about Mark and will see his friends in future chapters. Of course, Harry learns in advance what will happen once he turns 17. I felt him learning that a year earlier would help to easen things.
Sucks to be Draco and Pansy, doesn't it? Also gave me the chance to show what kind of psycho Bellatrix is.
I know, besides character development, a long scene where they all talk about their results and what subjects to keep, but I wanted to get over with that and used the chance to also sprinkle in character moments.