Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
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Draco Malfoy was finding himself rather conflicted with the ongoings happening at his family manor at the moment. After having gotten off of the Hogwarts Express his mother had been waiting to pick him up before telling him that they had a very important guest whom he couldn't tell anybody of. Understandably, Draco found himself moderately perplexed as to who the identity of this guest was.
Then, he had met him.
The grotesque figure of his father's Lord was sickening to look at but Draco had known that he had to show the utmost respect. Even in his disheveled form, he was still the Dark Lord and warranted complete and utter devotion. Draco knew that with the smallest of words, the powerful wizard could have easily sent his snake straight at him.
As Draco had slept tried to sleep that night he tried to consider all of the possibilities as to what the return of the Dark Lord meant. If he was capable of returning to full power, something which was more than possible, than a new era would be ushered in. His father, for his efforts, would be rightfully rewarded as they plunged the wizarding world into chaos.
How would he fit into it all? He was a boy at the end of the day with only two years of magical schooling behind him. Would he be expected to follow in his father's footsteps and worship the powerful wizard? Even before that, would he be able to maintain this secret for the following years? What would the consequences be if he slipped up even once?
Then, when he had found himself dreading the following morning and the consequences that would follow for years on end, something drastic happened. Or more precisely, something dramatic had happened during the middle of the night.
Right under their roof, with all of their wards and defenses protecting them from outside intrusion it had not been enough. Somebody had known that the Dark Lord was in their home and that he was in a weakened state. Somebody had been able to get into his family home and strike the most powerful wizard while he was vulnerable and get away unscathed.
Both the Dark Lord and his snake had been slain during the night, his father having found their remains at sunrise when he had gone to greet his Master. When Draco had learnt of this news he had isolated himself outside while his parents shouted at one another in an attempt to gain any sort of insight as to what had happened.
This was where Draco now found himself, confused as to what had happened yet somehow relieved. The sheer pressure that had been put on his family by the Dark Lord being there had been immense and Draco was thankful that none of his other supporters had known that he was there. Had that been the case, then his father would most certainly be in all sorts of trouble with a lot of people who would have believed he had failed in such a simple task.
The one thing however that was likely never going to be answered was how his demise had come about. There were likely people who could solve such a conundrum but it wasn't as if his father would be able to hire people to find out who had killed the Dark Lord that had been hiding out at their manor. No, the death of the Dark Lord had been swift and precisely done by one of his many enemies, one of which was unafraid of getting their hands dirty.
Draco didn't know whether he should be thanking them or cursing them. Possibly either, given what company he was in at the time.
However, he knew that this wasn't the end of it. From the other side of the door he could the words, 'another way' and 'there's still a chance' being haphazardly thrown about. It was pretty obvious that even though the Dark Lord had been slain, he wasn't gone forever. Hopefully when he did return once more, Draco would be powerful enough to make the decision as to which side he wished to fight for.
...
Amelia Bones struggled to concentrate on the work in front of her that day, her thoughts clouded by what she had discovered the previous night after having picked up Susan and Harry. Susan being upset with what had happened in the Great Hall was understandable and she was prepared to play the paternal figure for the sake of her niece.
Then Harry had gone and unloaded something so dramatic on her that it was damn near impossible to think about anything else. The Dark Lord was still out there after having made several Horcrux. Several. The exact number of which still alluded her and was something which took top priority.
The main issue however was that this wasn't something which she could casually chat to any of her coworkers about. She couldn't ask somebody to drop the case they were working on and thrust something completely unrelated, not to mention impossible to believe, on them. As much as she hated to admit it, she was effectively alone in trying to answer some impossible questions.
Alone, however, wasn't the truest of statements. Along for the ride were two students, both whom lived under her care. One of them had been responsible for informing her of this issue in the first place. The other however was her niece.
Harry had unexpectedly fallen into their lives and Amelia couldn't be more thankful for it. The cheerfulness he brought to every conversation was contagious and the sheer fact that he knew exactly what he was after and wasn't afraid to get it made him an interesting figure in the future. That was however, if he ever got that far. Having Harry around, while jovial, wasn't necessarily safe.
It seemed that the young Mister Potter had a target on his back. Such was to be expected given those that still swore loyalty to the previously though dead Dark Lord. Therein lay the greatest issue however. He wasn't dead and, once he had returned to full power, would be after Harry again.
This terrified her.
Amelia knew exactly how much she had lost in the war, Susan wouldn't be in her care otherwise. There wasn't a witch or wizard in Britain who hadn't been affected in some shape or form and nearly all of them now lived a relatively cheerful life knowing that the darkest of days were behind them. If she and Harry were successful in their endeavors than they would continue to enjoy such happiness.
She didn't want to consider the alternative.
The scariest thing however was the fact that her niece had overheard a conversation and would, undoubtedly, find herself playing a part in the skirmishes to come. As much as Amelia wished that Susan would do no such thing, she knew the emotions of the youngest member of the Bones family and once she got her mind set on something there would be no stopping her. More prominently, she knew the feelings that Susan had for Harry and hence if it would help her get closer to him, then she would likely find herself sharing dangerous situations with him.
Running her fingers through her hair, Amelia tried to push the thoughts of the two children out of her mind as she considered just what it was that she could accomplish. The highest priority was working out just how many more of these vile abominations he had created. Knowing the pride that the Dark Lord had, the items had to be of immense importance, both in a magical sense and on a personal level.
That is where Amelia had the greatest lead. After all, she had a name to work with and a name could be traced back to many things.
It was time to discover just who Tom Marvelo Riddle was.
...
"Are you alright Harry? You've been yawning non stop today," stated Susan, looking up from the parchment she was writing in.
"Sorry, didn't get much sleep last night," said Harry offhandedly.
"That was never the case last time you were here, maybe it's because you're not sharing my room with me this time round," said Susan playfully.
"Give it a couple of years and you'll be cursing me for even thinking about entering your room," retorted Harry. "I guess I've just got a lot on my mind is all."
The playful conversation came to an abrupt halt with that one statement, Susan's quill coming to a halt as she found herself unable to write. "Have you told anyone else?" Susan finally found herself asking.
"Nope," he replied casually.
"So, if auntie hadn't forced you to talk yesterday, then you were willing to do everything by yourself."
"I guess I was," said Harry. A year ago that had very much been the case, however when things had started to fall outside of his knowledge of events that would be upcoming he had had to reevaluate the scope of the situation. Realizing that Peter Pettigrew hadn't been at Hogwarts for such an extended period of time had only been the beginning of a train of events that he had no control over. He knew that within the coming weeks he had to converse with Luna's mother and get her side of the story.
"I don't know whether that's Gryffindor pride or just plain stupid."
"Probably a little bit of both," said Harry, sending a cheeky grin towards Susan in an attempt to lighten the mood. Apparently it had a different sort of effect however as Susan averted his smile while a tinge of red formed in her cheeks. A stillness in the conversation created a sense of awkwardness between the two of them with Susan unwilling to respond.
So Harry, in a delightful bit of ingenuity, decided to change the topic completely. "Do you reckon I should contact Sirius and see whether or not he'll have us over for dinner sometime this week?"
"Aren't you normally meant to invite people over to your own house for dinner?" asked Susan.
"Normally, yes, but frankly I haven't seen where he lives yet and I can't help but imagine he'd want to show me around the place. Plus he'll see the funny side of it," said Harry.
"Well, if you're sure you can send him a letter and find out," said Susan, returning her attention to the parchment laid out in front of her.
"Fair enough," said Harry, truthfully looking forward to going and spending some time at Twelve Grimmauld Place for a number of reasons. One of which he needed to steal and destroy. Before that however, "So what are you working on Susan? Another article for Teen Witch Weekly in regards to Potter Club? Or perhaps even something more saucy such as the Potter Fan Club? I'm sure every teenage witch would love to hear what you'd have to say about my fan club."
"Harry!"
...
Dolores Umbridge was not the most liked person within the Ministry of Magic. Her way of garnering attention irked all those who heard it and her choice of attire left a lot to be desired from those who frequented the Ministry on a regular basis. Her position however gave her power or more importantly, it gave her the ears of those in a higher position than herself. A small suggestion here, a gentle push in the right direction here was sometimes all that she had to do in order to ensure that the Ministry operated properly in her eyes.
Now however, her eyes were set on a very specific target. After all, it was common knowledge that the witches and wizards of the future had the best chance of succeeding in the wizarding world if they excelled in their studies at Hogwarts. Many of the greatest magicians of their era were Hogwarts alumni and many of the current students had the possibility of the same thing happening if they focused on their studies.
However, if her sources were to be believed, many of the students at Hogwarts currently found themselves focused on things far outside of the regular curriculum. By all means, Quidditch was a competitive sport where the houses supported one another on an equal battleground and was an essential part of school life.
Gathering around after curfew to gossip about a boy however was not a worthwhile use of time.
Skulking around in the dark of night to perform dangerous acts of magic was not a worthwhile use of time.
Playing and listening to Muggle music was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a worthwhile use of time!
Hogwarts, it seemed, had lost control of its student body if such acts were occurring within it's hallowed halls. It was unacceptable and without a strong hand to guide them down the right path could have devastating effects on the future. Many future heads of houses, future members of the Wizengamot were currently attending Hogwarts and if their views became skewed due to their education being jeopardized then their was indeed trouble brewing.
It had to be stopped immediately before it became a plague on society. Hence, Dolores Umbridge marched towards Minister Fudge's office, armed with the notes she had taken when talking with Auror Lipler and prepared to do what was right for the magical community.
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Hope you enjoyed.