Disclaimer:

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

Title: Heir for the Greater Ideal (Working Title)

Posted Date: June 30 2024

Tags: Timeline brought forward, WBWL, Good / Decisive Dumbledore, Stupid Potters, Good Minerva, Know-It-All Granger, Problematic Weasleys, Alive Flamels

Possible Pairings: Harry x Susan, Harry x Padma, Harry x Daphne, Harry x Katie, Harry x Small Multi

Possible Challenge(s): Bad Sirius / Lupin, Alive Grindelwald, Neutral Snape, Technomancy

Despite the urgency, Minerva had a number of matters to deal with, such as the enemy called paperwork so that Filius and Pomona did not have issues taking over for her brief absence, having to look through old contacts for help in light of what was probably coming, and to deal with the aftermath of the tournament.

As she was the headmistress hosting the tournament at the time, Minerva had been called forward to answer questions from the Board of Directors and the DMLE, and she was very upfront with her answers and even offered to take Veritaserum and give both an oath and Pensieve memories to ensure her authenticity. She did this all with a subtle glare at the board members who were in cahoots with Lucius to get her out of Hogwarts or to limit her control. They were never quiet about putting her in her place ever since she took up the position of headmistress and brought forth much needed changes in both the curriculum and the disciplinary procedures, the latter being more of the the holdup since they do not like hearing their "little angels" being in detention for their bullying and hexing.

Ultimately, Hogwarts was safe from any problems regarding the kidnapping and death of Cedric Diggory. Noah's entry into the tournament was ultimately found to be done by four older students, each from the different houses, adding his name hidden under an illusion charm for the parchment, and they all showed signs of timed compulsion that came after the Aurors had checked for spells that were meant to be stopped in the first place. The portkey for the final task was supplied by one of the Transportation Department, found to have been bribed to allow an addition to the item to bring the user outside of the school grounds on the day the wards had to be lowered to allow the portkey to work. Said person was now a resident in Azkaban's low security block for a year at least. And Minerva's track record showed she was efficient with dealing with the situations at her getting involved quickly over the years, notwithstanding the current issue of said kidnapping and death of a student. And it was well known in the newspapers for well over a year that she had fought against the Ministry to allow the tournament to take place from the beginning and was forced to allow it due to pressure from them.

And so Minerva was able to keep her job with the usual grips from those hoping to kick her out. She thanked her Occlumency to reduce her reaction to a light smirk as she left the board room, only in the safety of her office did she loosen her Occlumency and give out victory punches in the air to the amusement of the past headmasters.

At least Hogwarts on a whole was safe. The same cannot be said for the Potters.

It would appear that the minister, or more likely Umbridge, decided that while they could not report anything about the possible return or copycat of the dark wizard, they could still give their own interpretation of what had happened at the last task. With Rita Skeeter as their voice, the article had enough insinuations to give the impression of Noah Potter being responsible for Cedric's death, not helped with the grieving father all but shouting out accusations and demanding answers from Noah despite the young man having undergone interrogation with both Veritaserum and Pensieve Memories. The Potters were losing much of the support partially because of the attitudes they had displayed over the years that had their allies a little more than peeved at them, but there was the underlying fear that plenty wished not to acknowledge the return of Voldemort, and they would rather slander the Potters than admit the truth.

It was a sad truth that people would rather do that.

After her inquisition, Minerva took a while to gather some of the old crowd from The Order of the Phoenix, wanting to avoid any sudden alarms. It was a sobering sight seeing the few that gathered, knowing that many had fallen to the dark forces that they fought against from the last war, and some would have been better off dead than in the vegetative state like the Longbottoms. As it stood, the Order was severely lacking in both manpower and fighting strength, and they needed a rallying point, someone they could follow.

Minerva for all her strengths knew she was not a leader, and there were some who would not listen even if she was being factual.

Cough~ James Potter! Cough~

In light of all that was going on, she had sent out a letter to her old friend to ask for his guidance and aid to help with the possible fight along with information on the missing Potter. It took roughly four days until she got a reply that she could visit him personally, although there were conditions to letting her come over. Evidently his retirement had a few people wanting to pay him a "visit" with lots of curses and he had to deal with fans who wanted his experience in different matters, so he had a lot of security. She was to visit him alone and she had to do a little walking since Floo access was not granted at the place he was now living in. She could only imagine her old friend Alastor approving of the measures with his paranoia.

Her frown got more pronounced as she briefly thought of her friend. The ex Auror had been forced into retirement by the Ministry when he was jumping at shadows, not helped with the news that he was almost attacked by Bellatrix and Barty Crouch Junior before they switched targets to Crouch Senior. The Ministry had portrayed him as someone who should have been allowed to retire properly and not be made to teach students, conveniently trying to aim the finger at Minerva in the process. Thankfully for her, Alastor had given his recommendation to an Auror he knew and that one became the latest teacher to help with the DADA position for the upcoming school year.

Still, it was nice to see the old ex-Auror actively helping to run the Order, even if he was currently writing up a training plan that made even veteran Aurors cringe at the difficulty and possible muscle cramps in the near future. His protegee, Nymphadora Tonks, was last seen crying for mercy at the plans while he dragged her by the collar to the training room to test the validity.

Maybe she should ask him for a punishment routine for the unruly students?

Back to the matter at hand, Minerva had to jump through a few hoops to be able to leave the country because of the mess, and there was the problem in the form of James Potter who kept trying to follow her when he somehow heard about her inquiries for Harry Potter. She really did not want to doubt her old student, but some of the bad qualities that came out from the night of Voldemort's defeat had worsened after Noah's kidnapping, and there was something about his insistence to find Harry Potter that felt wrong.

Lily herself seemed a bit touchy about the matter, and Minerva had to wonder if the parents did not want Harry back in their lives since it was confirmation that they had made a mistake about their sons. Those in the know were also curious about the situation and have been asking about it, but this was going to be very volatile.

And that was why she was currently sitting at a bistro in France, waiting for the man who had mentored her since her time in Hogwarts and granted her the position of headmistress before he retired from the school and from the Wizengamot. She had dressed in what she hoped was the appropriate clothing for the occasion thanks to the tips from some of her students who had taken the updated muggle studies, and was now partaking on some of the tea and scones to calm her nerves.

"Hello, Minerva." She turned to find her old friend dressed quite well in a grey suit and holding a cane at hand, his hair and beard apparently trimmed to be more manageable, while his blue eyes were twinkling away in happiness. "Fancy seeing you here in France in the middle of July. I distinctly remember a time you claimed the weather was too harsh for your kneecaps." Minerva wanted to snort at the comment but held it to answer while preparing her wand beneath her sleeve.

"Well, I needed a break, and there is a store that sells the real type of cakes from Old Scotch before they left London." She answered him with the code words used from the previous agreement. The old wizard nodded at that.

"Well, I do hope they have the old Firewhiskey cupcakes that Odgen had previously." He pulled out a candy wrapped in colourful foil and offered it to her. "Lemon drop?"

"No thanks." Minerva smiled at her old friend as she stood up to give him a hug, their security checks done along with Minerva knowing how much Albus loved his muggle confectionaries. "It is great to see you again, Albus."

"It does my heart good to see you well, Minerva." Albus smiled as they broke and they both took their seats with the waitress coming shortly after with a menu for him to peruse. "Ah, just tea and some of those wonderful scones for me. Thank you." The waitress beamed at him and walked away with a hop in her steps, making Minerva roll her eyes in good nature at how her old mentor always got that grandfather routine down to an art form and able to make others happy with a few words. After waiting for the order to come, Albus waved a hand like he was swatting away a fly, but Minerva could feel a silencing spell put in place around them to keep their conversations quiet. Another wave tested their clothes, and she was not amused seeing a spot on her favourite scarf indicating a listening charm despite the fact she had checked this morning before leaving to meet Albus.

"Don't work yourself up, my dear. When one is determined to keep track of others, they will find a way." Albus wiggled a finger to remove the charm before reaching for his drink. "I think it would be best to keep the more serious business behind closed doors later."

"Understood, Albus." Minerva took a sip of the tea to calm her nerves. "So how is retirement suiting you?"

"Quite well if I may say so." Albus hummed in delight at the scone he had just sampled. "I have never realised how much I was running myself into the ground until I came here one week after my retirement. I essentially slept for a full day without realising it!" Minerva could imagine, the first chance she got to sleep after taking up the headmistress role, she ended up sleeping all the way to the evening. Poppy and Pomona were most worried at the time, thinking she was under a spell or had worked herself into a coma.

"Have you kept up with the news?" She did not mean to ask, but she was a Gryffindor in her school days and she did not want to beat around the bush or wait too long. Albus looked at her indulgently like a grandfather looking at an impatient grandchild.

"Yes, the Paris news has been quite informative of the tournament that went on. Coincidentally, you are being hailed as one of the best headmistresses for Hogwarts with your stance on discipline and the subjects you have brought to Britain." The old wizard smiled at her, purposely holding off on the heavy talk. "Many are singing your praises, while there are those who apparently feel you need to ease up on the discipline."

"I can only do that if their children are not such brats going around disrupting the lessons and trying to bully other students for whatever perceived notions of grandeur or on their blood status." Minerva shook her head at the memory of a few students who complained about the punishments and got their parents involved who tried to get her to ease up on the punishments, either through the exchange of favours, threats or possible blackmail. Minerva especially hated the time when Draco Malfoy kicked up such a s fuss that Lucius attempted to get her dragged to the Wizengamot for "undue disciplinary action" which consisted of a week long detention to aid Hagrid with the Thestrals without magic for his attempts to get the half-giant in trouble over his possession of a Hippogriff that Hagrid had warned the students twice, with witnesses to prove it, never to insult. The case did not go through but she had to get Hagrid leave Buckbeak in the stables away from the children with a collar to track it.

And of course, who would forget Molly Weasley and her Howlers every time she has something to complain about her "Ronnikins"? Minerva did not want to be rude, but she honestly wanted to hurl at how the woman kept babying her children, even the eldests who had left Hogwarts for a while.

They continued talking idly for an hour before they proceeded to leave the premise, with Dumbledore acting as a tour guide to show off the sights of the area they were in while ensuring they were not followed. Which unfortunately, they were.

"I am going to curse James Potter when I see him." Her eye was twitching when she watched a couple of his associates following them about the area. To be fair, they were doing okay. But for one, they were dressed in clothing that were mismatched that had a few staring at them. And two, Minerva still had her old instincts from the war to warn her, along with her feline senses. And given it was relatively early in the morning, the smaller number of people on the streets made them more obvious with their following.

"Yes, but they are not the only ones you should worry about." Albus spoke with the air of one taking a walk. "The ones down by the bookstore next to the florist are more problematic. I believe they are after me." Minerva glanced at the window they were next to, using the reflection to find them quickly.

"Minerva, why don't I introduce to you the best croissants around here?" Albus talked a touch louder than normal while he steered her to the pastry shop where a tough looking man was working the cashier, with an ever bigger and tougher looking baker with a scar above the left eye coming out with a fresh set of bread. "Good morning, Bernard."

"Albus. Fancy seeing you this early in the day." The cashier greeted the man roughly with a smile. "Your usual order?"

"Yes please, and something for my dear friend who has taken time to visit this bag of bones." Albus introduced her while subtly looking over her shoulder to confirm their followers. "Also, may I borrow your payphone? It is a little sudden but I do need to call someone about the insects being a bother again." Bernard looked at him and some understanding appeared to pass between the two before he nodded.

"Sure thing, you know the placement. I will entertain your lady friend." Albus thanked him and went around the back while Bernard turned to Minerva. "Right, what can I get you Miss?" The woman had to mentally sigh as she looked over the selection. This was going back to the old days of spywork, and she did not miss it that much.

She might as well try the croissants that Albus proclaimed to be the best. It better be good given the mess they were getting themselves into.

~ooOOoo~

"Has he left the premises?" A man asked while he and his partner watched the baker talking to McGonagall.

"No, he is still in the bakery." The man checked with his wand. "He just went to the back for something."

"What can't we just get rid of them now?" The first guy asked.

"Because Anton, we were told to monitor Dumbledore to see if he has any knowledge about the missing Potter. And if we can tag McGonagall at the same time, all the better. Last thing we need is for the people to know that our Lord is back." The partner answered his partner while looking to where the British Aurors were taking point, said people getting odd looks from the populace. "Looks like the British may have the same idea. At least we are better at hiding."

"And they say we will stand out." Anton shook his head. "Should we distract them?" No sooner did Anton ask that, they saw the British Aurors stunned and removed without warning with the populace none the wiser. "What the?"

"Good morning." The two turned to find Albus Dumbledore standing right behind them with eyes twinkling at them along with a very big and scary looking man with tattoo-ruddled arms crossed around his chest and a scowl directed at them. "Shall we have a nice conversation without violence, or do I have to let Paul introduce you to the French baker's greeting to those who seek to harm others?" said Paul's cracking of the knuckles and the glint in his eyes clearly showed what he was hoping for them to do, and they had only one thought in mind.

'Oh shit.'

~ooOOoo~

"Well, this is a predicament." Minerva had to snort at the understatement made by Albus.

"You know how to sell it, Albus." Minerva as they watched their possible assailants being dragged away by the French DMLE. While the British Aurors would be given a warning and likely some punishment from Amelia since they were using their work visas, the other group was a problem since they were mercenaries illegally entering the country to find and follow Dumbledore and Minerva. The French Ministry was going to be checking over their paperwork to see who else was involved and to send a clear message over this.

"Thank you for your assistance, Bernard and Paul." Albus turned to the bakers who were with him.

"No problem. Always a great fun taking out the trash." Bernard answered with a laugh before frowning. "Still though, this one sounds more serious than the other attempts. I mean, actual mercenaries from Romania? And there are those weird rumours coming from Britain." He looked her old mentor in the eye. "Do we need to prepare for the old storm?"

"I believe the locking of hatches will do for now." Albus answered his query. Bernard let out a sigh at that before turning to his partner.

"We will need to prepare for home orders more often before we shut the bakery down for renovations." Bernard told the baker who nodded and moved on to the store. He then turned back to Albus while holding up a bag of pastries. "Here, your order."

"Thank you, Bernard." Albus took the bag. "Stay safe."

"You too." The baker left, leaving Albus and Minerva alone for the moment.

"Right, with that drama out of the way, now I can bring you to my residence." Albus took Minerva's hand and apparated to the middle of a countryside that she could see no real markers, but she could feel the wards that were testing her intent and possibly removing any spells on her. Albus nodded and took out a slip of paper for her to look at.

"The residence of Albus Dumbledore can be found at the Old Vineyard Cottage." As the words went into her head, the scenery in front of her changed, and what was an empty hill now showed a nice looking cottage with a nice flower patch in front. Minerva marvelled at the place while Albus burned the paper.

"Come on in. I will get the refreshments ready, but do not leave the premises too early." Albus spoke as he guided her into the house. "I merely grant you a one time access for this visit, so you will lose your memory of this location." Minerva frowned at that tidbit.

"How many have been trying to find you?" Albus chuckled at that.

"Far too many." Albus guided her through the reception and into a corridor that had open doors to different rooms. All except one that caught her eye.

"What is in that room?" Albus looked at the stated room, and briefly she noted his expression of slight nervousness, something that would have been easily missed if not for her many years under his tutelage.

"Oh, that is the room where I am performing some experiments and wanted to make sure to secure them." Albus gave a wave before beckoning her to move on. Minerva took a few steps before turning on her heel and moving to the door like the Gryffindor she once was. "Minerva, wait!"

Minerva touched the door knob and twisted it to open the door, revealing a room that was big enough to have several open shelved cupboards to hold books, and enough space in the middle of the room to have a young man seated on the floor in a lotus position with eyes closed and several rune symbols hovering around him. The young man was dressed in a sleeveless black shirt and beige pants that had seen some wear and tear but were still functional, thus showing his lightly toned physique that showed his physical training. The young man had dark hair neatly trimmed and fair features that she had only seen on two people in her life, and when he opened his eyes at the sounds generated, the pair of emerald green eyes confirmed Minerva's suspicions.

"Hello, I was not aware that Grandfather was bringing a guest over." The young man greeted her with a smile. "May I ask who you are?" Minerva merely turned to face Albus who winced at the Scottish Glare number 3 aimed at him.

"Albus, may I ask why is Harry Potter here?" The old wizard let out a chuckle at her query.

"I believe the appropriate muggle saying is, 'I'm in danger.'"