Sirius had to admit, voting in favor of ousting Dumbledore from his role as Chief Warlock brought him satisfaction. The man had only managed to gain the position in the first place by being proxy to both House Black and House Potter while Sirius had been incarcerated. Even afterwards, Dumbledore had stubbornly held onto the position while Sirius battled for his rightful position as Potter proxy. However, ever since the botched Second Task four months ago, Sirius had managed to gain enough support for a vote. With Dumbledore and Fudge going at each other over the return of Voldemort, the headmaster had sealed his fate. A near unanimous vote ousted the headmaster as Chief Warlock, and Sirius had made sure to remind Dumbledore that, as of the end of the school year, he was also no longer proxy for House Potter.
Several of Dumbledore's allies had looked at Sirius with outrage while Dumbledore had merely shaken his head and looked disappointed. At one time, that look of disappointment would have been enough to get Sirius to apologize and go along with whatever scheme the headmaster had concocted. Now, Sirius didn't feel anything but contempt towards the man who had left him to rot in Azkaban, had left his godson to rot with the worst sort of Muggles, and who continued to think only of himself and his goals and never anyone else.
As if he would be happy with Dumbledore after the final audit of the Potter accounts.
Sirius closed the door to his office, glad that no one had followed him from the Wizengamot session. He was certain that if someone like Elphias Doge had come after him he would have lost it.
His PA poked his head in.
"I've got a letter from St. Mungo's," Paarth Singh said, sliding into the room and handing Sirius a sealed parchment. Probably confirmation for Harry's healer appointment. He still had yet to have a serious talk with Harry about that.
"Also," Singh continued, "Mr. Amos Diggory is outside and wants to speak with you." Sirius sighed, tossing the St. Mungo's parchment onto his desk.
"Send him in," he said. Singh disappeared out the door and Amos entered within seconds, closing the door loudly.
"Sirius," the man cried, clearly having rushed here. "I had to come and speak with you. It's about Minister Fudge." Sirius managed to not sigh heavily at the idea.
"What about him?" he asked.
"I just overheard him speaking to The Daily Prophet!" Amos flopped into a chair by Sirius' desk. "He was saying his standard drivel about Dumbledore . . ."
Sirius hoped this would not take long.
". . . but then he started speaking quite nastily about Cedric and Harry! My Cedric! He called them liars and fearmongers in cahoots with Dumbledore! I'm afraid that he'll involve my son in his smear campaign!"
All right, that was a legitimate concern.
"Amos," Sirius said, cutting off anything else the man might say. "If Minister Fudge does lose all sense and decide to bring a minor and a barely legal student into his smear campaign against Dumbledore, I've lawyers ready."
"Well that's all good for you," Amos blustered. "I may be well off, but not all of us have unlimited funds!"
"I meant, Amos, that I would make sure Cedric was taken care of," Sirius said.
"Oh." Amos sat, a little stunned, and speechless. Sirius wondered how often the man was speechless and how on earth his wife dealt with him at home. Ears of steel that woman.
Singh knocked again before admitting Madam Bones. Both wizards stood in greeting.
"Gentlemen," she greeted. "I'm glad you're both here. I'm in need of your help."
"What can we do for you?" Sirius asked.
"I will be launching an investigation into the events of the Third Task," Madam Bones told them. "Unofficially. Fudge and I can usually work well together; however, he's really putting his foot down and stymieing me from being able to properly investigate. Too many of my aurors remember the last war and a few of my more . . . senior aurors are willing to work under his nose to get the truth."
"Isn't that . . . won't we get fired?" Amos asked, worriedly. "If the minister finds out?"
"I'd like to see him try to fire me," Sirius muttered.
"Sometimes doing what's right means putting something on the line," Madam Bones stated. "Whether or not Voldemort is actually back is a truth that needs to be discovered. If he's not back, then what happened that night? Who almost killed Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter?"
Amos made a noise like a wounded animal.
"Think about that, Amos," Madam Bones said. "Imagine if Cedric hadn't had that protection amulet on him. He would be dead and Minister Fudge who be doing everything in his power to keep the aurors from investigating a murder. Or worse, he would be accusing Harry of killing Cedric."
Amos looked green at the thought.
"You've got my backing, Amelia," Sirius said. "When you're ready to talk to Harry let me know."
Singh knocked again.
"Arthur Weasley would like to speak with you," he said.
"You're popular, Lord Black," Madam Bones teased as she and Amos made their exit. Arthur Weasley slipped in after them.
"Arthur!" Sirius cried. "Glad to see you." Truth be told, he had not spent much time with Arthur since he had gained his freedom. He remembered in Order meetings listening to the man talk about his Muggle projects, how he would ask Lily all sorts of interesting questions and this or that. He recalled how Arthur had always talked so proudly about his children, how his heart had ached listening to Arthur talk about the various shenanigans his children got into, because he doubted his parents had ever spoken about him or Regulus in such a way.
"What can I do for you?" Sirius asked after watching Arthur pace in front of his desk for several minutes.
"I'm worried about Percy," Arthur blurted, coming to a stop. Alarm bells went off in Sirius' head. If something was wrong with Percy, it must be bad. Dozens of scenarios went through Sirius' mind. Was Percy being hurt? Were people here at the ministry harassing him? There had been a short-lived rumor mill after Crouch's arrest that Percy had been in cahoots with him, but that had been stamped out quite viciously by Lord Weasley and the DMLE. Sirius wasn't even sure Percy knew about those rumors.
"Dumbledore thinks Minister Fudge gave Percy his new job in order to spy on us, and therefore, Dumbledore," Arthur said. Sirius nearly slumped in his chair. Was that all it was? Dumbledore was worried that Percy might hear or see something and inform the minister?
"Do you really think that low of your own son that he would purposefully sell you out?" Sirius asked.
"Of course not!" Arthur cried. "But Percy's . . . he's the trusting sort. He had dreams and ambitions and I'm afraid that he might say something that might be misconstrued. I mean, he is working with Umbridge."
"I think Teddy Lawrence gave him some pointers on working with a woman like that," Sirius said. "And Percy deserved that promotion. He has taken on more responsibility in one year than more here at the ministry do in their careers!"
"I know," Arthur admitted. "I'm glad he's getting ahead. I know . . . well . . . I'm not completely unaware of how people view me and the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. I'd worried that he would be overlooked because of me. You know how people here can be. Sometimes it's less about a person's ability to do a job and more about who they know in high places."
Sirius nodded.
"But Dumbledore's worried that Percy may have been promoted too fast and that the minister will use that to convince him to "keep an eye" on us."
"I think Dumbledore's paranoid," Sirius stated. "Percy's a good kid with a good head on his shoulders. He's a testament to you and Molly, Arthur. He's not going to sell out his family for a promotion."
Arthur let out a relieved sigh, nodding his head.
"Right," he muttered. "Right. Thank you, Sirius, I needed to hear that." He left the office and Sirius leaned back in his chair, hoping no one else wanted to talk to him that day.
Aria carefully placed each slide into the slide projector so that Snape could do one last overview of her presentation before the YEP Symposium. Her professor had arrived at Grimmauld two hours ago but had spent the first hour sitting in the rain with Barty who had stared at the sky with a satisfied smile on his face, rain pouring down his cheeks and through his hair. Snape had sat by him looking like a disgruntled drowned rat, but Aria thought it was a sweet gesture (not that she would tell Snape that) that showed how much the man cared for his friend (she was also not going to tell Snape that).
Kenneth had eventually gone and bullied them both back into the house for a warm shower before they caught colds. Snape had grumbled that as wizards they would get over such illnesses quickly, but Kenneth had refused to hear any reasoning. Now she was listening to him instruct Winky on ensuring Master Barty had warm tea and soup for when he got out of the shower.
Rain pitter-pattered against the windows. The bright glow of the lamps created a warm atmosphere. Aria thought she could get use to this sort of quiet, domestic life.
Shouting echoed through the house, disrupting the peace and quiet. Aria paused, wondering if Harry was having a nightmare. He was not sleeping well at night, and so always ended up taking a nap during the day. Sometimes, whether at night or during the day, he'd have nightmares. He still had not told Aria what had fully happened, only that Abraxas Malfoy had used some of his blood to resurrect Voldemort.
Harry came thundering down the stairs, Sirius, and Remus not far behind.
"Where's Professor Snape?" Harry demanded. Aria slid the last slide into the projector.
"Taking a shower," she answered. Harry stopped short, face twisting in confusion.
"Why's Snape taking a shower at my house?" Sirius demanded with no real bite.
"Because I didn't want him or Barty catching a cold from sitting in the rain," Kenneth answered, appearing in the room. "Now, what's all the shouting about?"
The confusion dropped from Harry's face, returning to its previous anger.
"Sirius and Remus want me to go to a healer," Harry cried. "And they want me to see a Mind Healer. I'm not crazy!"
"Of course, you're not crazy," Kenneth said. "But you've been through a traumatizing event. A Mind Healer . . . that's a therapist, right?" Remus nodded. "A Mind Healer might be a good idea. And everyone gets a yearly check-up, Harry."
"I've seen a Mind Healer plenty of times," Aria interrupted. Did Harry think she was crazy for seeing a Mind Healer?
"That's different," Harry cried, clearly riled up. "You're normal. When normal people go through bad stuff, they go see a therapist. Therapists are for normal people not freaks."
It was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. The last slide slid from Aria's fingers, clattering to the table. Harry's face went pale, green eyes widening comically behind his glasses. Something cold and heavy settled in Aria's stomach and it was like something was knocking at the back of her mind, wanting to be let in. She had no idea what her face looked like, but if it was anything like Sirius', or Remus', or her dad's, then it was probably switching between shock, horror, and anger.
"Who told you you were a freak?" Remus asked when it became apparent Sirius was not going to say anything, even though his mouth opened and closed multiple times. There was a dangerous glow in Remus' eyes, like the amber was becoming more prominent the longer he was angry, like the wolf in him felt threatened and wanted out even though the full moon was not for another week and a half.
"Nobody," Harry said. Aria narrowed her eyes. He had answered way too fast for it to be nobody.
"It was the Dursleys wasn't it?" she demanded.
"Shut up, Aria," Harry snapped.
"Don't talk to Aria like that," Remus scolded. Harry folded his arms, looking very much like a sulking toddler. The knocking at the back of Aria's mind became a little more pronounced and she worked to ignore it, certain that it would bring her nothing but a headache.
"I don't want to go see a healer," Harry muttered, scuffing his foot against the carpet. "It won't change anything."
"It won't change the past," Sirius agreed, coming up and setting a hand on Harry's shoulder, "but it can help change the future. Harry . . . if the Dursleys . . . I want to make sure they didn't hurt you."
"It doesn't matter," Harry said.
"Of course, it matters!" Sirius cried.
"It doesn't matter!" Harry shouted. Sirius looked startled for a moment before he schooled his expression. "It never mattered to anyone before and when it did, they . . . they . . ." his breathing hitched, and his shoulders shook. Sirius cupped Harry's face in his hands.
"They what, Harry?" Sirius asked, voice soft and deeply caring. Aria watched as Harry seemed to freeze, eyes glistening with tears. His hands came up like they were going to yank Sirius' hands off his face, before dropping to his side. Then, Harry's face crumbled. He fell against Sirius' chest, wrapping his arms tightly around the man's waist, his sobs literally shaking his body.
Professor Snape and Barty reappeared at that moment.
"What's the matter?" Snape demanded. "Why is Mr. Potter crying? Who made him cry? Black, if it was you—,"
"Oh, shut it," Sirius snapped, tightening his arms around Harry. Harry cried harder.
"I'm sorry," Sirius apologized, "I know how much you like your Head of House." Harry shook his head while Aria sarcastically quipped,
"There are people who don't like Professor Snape?"
Kenneth pinched Aria's shoulder.
"I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me!" Harry sobbed.
"No one's ever been hurt because of you," Sirius tried to soothe, even as Harry stubbornly shook his head. "If you think Cedric nearly being killed—,"
"It's not Cedric," Harry insisted. "I mean . . . not in about this." He took a deep breath. "I . . . second year . . ." he made a painful whine like it was physically painful for him to speak. "I went to Professor Snape for help and . . . and . . . his was Obliviated. Aria too."
Kenneth clutched Aria to his side.
"What's Obliviate mean?" Kenneth asked.
"It's when a memory or memories are erased," Remus explained, helping Barty help Snape to a chair. Their Head of House appeared stricken and discombobulated, as if the knowledge that someone Obliviated him was so shocking and so extraordinary, he needed time to process it.
"When was this?" Snape asked, voice rougher than usual.
"Early in the summer before second year," Harry sniffed, still leaning into Sirius' embrace. "I don't think it was at the same time though. I showed up, Aria took me to Professor Snape's house, and he was going to take care of me. Then he was Obliviated, and I was taken back to the Dursleys and then Aria came and visited—"
"You went on a three-hour train ride when you were eleven on your own?" Kenneth demanded. "I think I'd remember giving you permission for that sort of thing."
"She was with Robert, Samuel, and Tommy," Harry continued. "But by the time we got on the train for Hogwarts, she didn't remember."
How strange! Aria shoved aside the knocking feeling in her head. Why would anyone want to Obliviate her? When would this have happened? Nothing exceptional had happened the summer before second year, except that she and Robert, Samuel, and Tommy had gotten mugged . . .
"Oh!" she breathed, grabbing her dad's hand. "Remember when I and the boys got mugged and we were all frozen?" Kenneth nodded his head. "And I had a migraine that felt like someone was trying to rip out my eyeballs?"
"Which is how you describe any attempt of Legilimancy on your person," Snape murmured. "Mr. Potter, who Obliviated us?"
"I don't know 'bout Aria," Harry said with a sniff. "And . . . well . . . there's nothing you can do 'bout it anyway now is there? There's no proof right? It happened so long ago and no one else would believe me because Minister Fudge is dead set on making me out to be a liar."
"Harry," Remus touched the back of Harry's head. "Just tell us. Please."
Harry's lower lip wobbled. Aria held her breath.
"D-Dumbledore," Harry finally cried, breaking down into new sobs. "He made me go back to the Dursleys! He saw what they did and still made me go back! I don't want you forgetting about me too!"
Sirius cast a Feather Light Charm on Harry, scooping him up into his arms and disappearing out of the room, Remus hard on his heels. Snape sat frozen for several more seconds before he too hurried after the men. Their feet were heard on the stairs and then a door slammed shut, cutting off Harry's cries.
"Beauxbatons sounds like a nice school," Kenneth muttered. Aria glared at him even as her heart thudded against her chest. Did she really have memories taken from her? It . . . made sense in a way. A vague memory from that summer, of Percy Weasley writing to her about a spell called Obliviate came to mind, and how at the time she thought it was so weird because she hadn't written to Percy. But had she and that memory been wiped away? A shiver ran up her spine at the idea of someone scrambling about her head.
"I need a drink," Barty muttered. A steaming mug of tea popped up in front of him.
"I think I need something stronger," he said, a bit louder. Winky popped into view beside him.
"Master Barty shouldn't be drinking anything but tea," she insisted. "It's good for you and won't make you mean like Old Master Crouch." She popped away again. Barty sighed and dutifully drank his tea.
That night, after they had been put to bed like little children, Aria and Harry snuck down to the back staircase that led to the kitchen. Her dad, Remus, Sirius, and Barty had congregated there, and so had Snape who had just Flooed back over. Aria wondered if the adults thought they were being sneaky by meeting in the kitchen instead of one of the main rooms.
"What do you mean you're not going to do anything?" Kenneth demanded.
"I'm not going to do anything right now," Sirius stressed. "Nearly three years have passed since the Obliviation, it'll take time for someone even as experienced as Snape to find the necessary evidence within the mind to prove anything."
"Black is correct, Kenneth," Snape murmured. "If Potter is to be believed, and I have no reason to doubt his word, then the only way we could possibly do anything to Dumbledore would be after Potter has had his physical which would give us in detail anything suffered while at the Dursleys. Obliviation will be harder to prove. Even if a Mind Healer skilled a Legilimancy were to look at my mind, a well done Obliviation will be hard to find. That's the whole point of Obliviating a memory. You're not meant to know you're missing it."
Kenneth groaned.
"This . . . this man!" he spat. "Seems to have so much power even when he's on the down and out!"
"Knowing Dumbledore, he will not stay down long," Snape said. "Even if Black were to try and bring him up on charges based on whatever happens at the healers, at best the courts may charge Dumbledore with negligence as a magical guardian. Since he didn't raise a hand to Potter, it would probably result in a fine."
The men fell silent. Aria glanced at Harry who was staring at his hands, fingers twining and untwining.
"Would we really be able to do anything?" Remus asked, breaking the silence. "Voldemort has returned. Dumbledore remains the one man the Dark Lord is afraid of. He's the only one who could take the monster out in a fight."
"What're you saying, Remi?" Kenneth asked. "That Dumbledore shouldn't be held accountable just because he's the only one capable of defeating this Bitch Lord?"
There were several sharp breaths followed quickly by sharp coughing, common with those who had swallowed food or drink wrong. Aria and Harry sat on the back stairs, hands pressed tightly over their mouths, trying not to laugh.
"Bitch Lord . . ." Sirius gasped.
". . . don't ever say that again," Snape hacked out.
"Why not?" Kenneth asked.
"I think he should say it again," Remus said, "but time it better. Kenneth, can you say it when Dumbledore's taking a sip of tea or a bite of something? Maybe he'll choke to death."
There were more gasps and more coughing.
"Didn't . . . didn't know . . . Remus, you're utterly cruel!" Sirius gasped and laughed at the same time. Remus snorted. The coughing died down after a few minutes and Aria and Harry finally managed to calm down enough to remove their hands from their mouths.
"In all seriousness, though," Remus said after a minute. Tea pouring accompanied his words. "I'm not saying Dumbledore shouldn't be held accountable for his actions. But a man like Dumbledore doesn't become as powerful as he is without contingency plans upon contingency plans. If he's to be taken out of power, once and for all, it's going to have to be done strategically. Anything we bring forward has to be the final nail in the coffin or he'll probably be able to use it against us."
Harry grabbed Aria's hand, squeezing it tight. She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"At the moment," Snape murmured, "it'll be best to keep close to Dumbledore . . . there will be an Order meeting soon."
"Keeping close to Dumbledore is smart," Barty murmured, "but . . . I don't . . . well . . . Reggie and I—" there was a sharp intake of breath from Sirius, "—Reggie especially, had always wished there were another side to the war. A third side. Neither Voldemort nor neither Dumbledore."
Silence fell over the kitchen.
"We could just move," Kenneth said. "Canada. Australia. Hell, there's plenty of countries in this world!"
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will follow," Sirius said. "For some . . . goddamn reason he targeted the Potters and forced them into hiding. He won't just stop looking for Harry because we go abroad. We'd just end up taking the war someplace else."
"Excuse me," Snape cried, "did Potter not tell you why—"
"What are you twos doings out of bed?"
Aria and Harry shrieked in surprise at Kreacher's sudden appearance behind them. They both leapt to their feet, attempting to turn on the cackling house elf, lost their footing, attempted to grab onto something stable, grabbed each other, and tumbled down the back stairs into the kitchen. Several wands pointed at them, and Aria was ever so thankful that no one was trigger happy in the household.
"Why am I not surprised?" Remus muttered as Kenneth hovered over them, worry on his face.
"Are you two all right?" Kenneth asked. "No broken bones or anything? Do we need to take you to the emergency room?"
"Ken, we're wizards," Sirius reminded him. "And we've got Snape. He'll have them patched up if they're really hurt."
"We're good Dad," Aria said, sprawled on her back, Harry across her belly. She gave him a cheery, but heavily bruised, thumbs up.
"Kreacher, get some Bruise Balm," Barty ordered. Kreacher, who had been peering around the corner of the stairs disappeared and reappeared within seconds, handing the balm to Barty before disappearing, probably to mutter his new little tale to Walburga.
"Can't have you all bruised for your trip to Berlin," Barty teased as Kenneth helped Harry and Aria up. "The other countries would think we're beating you or something."
"After the reports I was involved with this past year, it might not surprise them," Aria quipped grumpily. Merlin, were those stairs built extra hard?
"You mad?" Harry asked as Sirius slathered Bruise Balm across the back of his shoulders. Sirius pressed a kiss to his head.
"Not mad," he murmured. "Just don't eavesdrop please. I will do my best to not keep you in the dark, but I also don't want you to worry more than you need to. You're a child and I want you to have a childhood."
"Bit late, but thanks anyway," Harry muttered. Sirius used a rolled up Daily Prophet to smack Harry lightly across the butt as the adult herded the two teens back up to bed. Harry laughed, darting out of Sirius' reach.
"We leave early, so please be ready on time," Snape told Aria. "Portkeys wait for no one." Aria saluted him with a grin.