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 technical troubles of the site, the story is now also being published at AO3. The story will update every second Saturday until the story is done.
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Chapter 84: In a Changed World
"To be honest, I'm a bit at a loss why you are talking to me, a retired man in his 90s, while everything around you is falling apart," the man commented while feeling quite comfortable in the seat.
"Don't try it. Your age is most certainly not a problem. Your whole family after all is benefiting greatly from magical treatments. Considering your fitness, you could shave twenty years off your chronological age," the man behind the desk sighed. "And I honestly needed someone who is not part of this mess to talk with. Get some outside perspective on the whole mess."
"Kind of an honor that the president of MACUSA has selected me, a man without an ounce of magic, for that job. But I'm eager to listen, since I remember my father, may he rest in peace, saying that with some patience, the truth will reveal itself," the man mused.
The President sighed. "I really need a fresh perspective. The constant emergency meetings in the White House are really wearing me down. You being unrelated to all of it makes me hope you can give me some new insight."
"The White House is not known for its patience in times of crisis. I lived through World War II, so I know what I'm talking about," the man thought aloud. "But the news were impossible to miss, especially after my son brought it to our attention. My wife says she had not thought she would again live through such wild times."
"Though not nearly as wild as the films that were made about you," the President remarked.
The man looked more amused than anything. "When I met those two men purely by chance, they were impressed with my past, though in the end I agreed they can make the plots all over the top so that no connection to my real self is made. My real adventures were way more mundane. They also got a really good-looking fella to play me. Looks a lot like me, too."
The President couldn't help but enjoy the man's presence.
MACUSA had had an eye on him for decades due to him regularly coming into contact with magical items, but he only had come into direct contact with them shortly after the fall of the old regime of Rappaport's Law. On the day of the man's retirement, some insane witch named Helena Shaw had kidnapped him, attempted to alter his memory and then tried to make him get a time-manipulation artifact for her, so that she could undo what she saw as an unjust regime change.
Too bad for her that the man had quickly realized that the whole thing made absolutely no sense; especially since the memory alterations had been so shoddy. Seeing her pull out her wand, he had made a grab for his gun and shot her in the head, killing her instantly. After the whole clusterfuck was over, instead of erasing his memories like the old regime would have done, having him and his family work for them was seen as the better solution.
"That reminds me, my son is still waiting for the compensation you promised. Watching a clan of vampires with delusions of grandeur and no sense of taste whatsoever was really taxing on him," the man reminded the President.
"It's on the way. We are really thankful to him and alone reading it was painful. The vampire cabal disowned that family outright for not only being massive idiots but also for being a danger to others. What were their names...? Ah yes, Cullens. Was quite a mess as well." The President still remembered that affair in Forks, which had left behind a bad taste.
"Well, Mutt will like to hear that. Marion said seeing her over sixty-year old son look unnerved told her that he must have seen something really disgusting," the man said, remembering his wife's reaction all too well.
The President leaned back. "Before I ask what you think of the current mess, Dr. Jones, why are you insisting on wearing the fedora indoors?"
"I really like it. That, and it helps to hide my thinning hair," Dr. Jones admitted. "Now then however, why don't you tell me of your burdens?"
The President sighed. "Well, where do I start? After all all, there seem to be fires everywhere. Ah... Yes, that would be a good place..."
Yes, it was unorthodox and others had looked at him weirdly that he was listening to an old man without any magic. However, he had learned that good advice could come from the most unusual of places.
...meanwhile, back in the UK...
Since only a single day had passed since the closure of Hogwarts, it logically was impossible for anything of true importance to have happened to them or any deep work for the Order having been done. It also seemed that Voldemort's forces at the moment were a bit at a loss what to do next after the self-destruction of the Ministry. God alone would know what Voldemort would do, now that his best way of gaining power was gone.
The Six meanwhile were sitting at a desk in the Order house they were staying in, looking at many newspapers. Not any magical newspapers from Britain, since those were no longer operating after order had collapsed and Magical Britain as a political entity had ceased to exist. No, most of the newspapers were ordinary ones you could find at any news stand, though they had filtered out the most notorious and useless ones.
"Basically all of them have only one topic, and guess which one..." Ron said while looking through today's edition of the Daily Telegraph. "Part of me feels relieved we are not out there. This actually gives me some serious worry what our future will look like."
"Can you blame the people? Piece for piece the truth is coming out now." Hermione then pointed to a big article on the front page. "Here. It's become bad enough that the Prime Minister is going make an announcement on television to the entire nation on the 27th, which is in three days. I think he'll have no choice but to tell what is going on."
"I don't envy him for that job. Him being forced to reveal to the entire nation, not to speak of the entire world, what is going on is bound to create some nasty reactions." Harry looked at a rather inflammatory article. "Like this here asking how many lies have been told and how much the population of the United Kingdom had been treated like idiots while being at the mercy of the whims of people who didn't care about the law."
"Yikes! Though looking at it from the outside makes the whole thing look rather nasty," Ginny admitted.
Luna for her part took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "It will get worse before it can get better. When seeing it from their perspective, the reactions are understandable. While the reaction from our side..."
"There is not much of one. The sudden change has everyone being scared stiff. Many are in denial or have hidden themselves away from the outside world. After all, a world is collapsing for them," Neville explained what he had heard from his parents and grandmother.
"Yes, and the other magical countries and in complete meltdown since they know they it's now only a matter of time for them." They had not noticed Sirius enter the room.
"Oh, hello Uncle Sirius. What's the news?" Harry greeted him.
"Nothing so far from Voldemort, which is concerning. I thought he would lash out in anger over Minister Bones denying him his prize and the dementors abandoning him. Utter silence on the other hand..." Sirius knew that could only mean trouble. "As for the other side... You are as informed as I am. It's highly chaotic and we all can see the anger growing."
"Can you be honest with us? Do you think there will be a new normal?" Harry asked Sirius
Sirius thought about what to answer for a moment. "I know for all of you this looks like something that will never be solved. I won't say it will be easy, quite in the contrary, but people want order in their lives. There will be a new normal in the end. Though how and when..."
Hermione sighed at that answer. "Thanks for being honest, though that answer is not exactly reassuring us. For me, logical thinking is failing to grasp how much the world is changing..."
"The world is changing a lot. I'm a bit better informed and I know Magical Britain like it was will never be again. Like I heard many wizards and witches in Ireland refuse to ever again take orders from London and really want Dublin to take control."
"Wouldn't that be problematic due to Northern Ireland?" Harry asked.
"Oh yes... You can imagine the can of worms that would open." Sirius honestly felt that could have very nasty effects, the Ministry never relinquishing any control over Ireland now biting them into the ass.
"Well, there also is-" Hermione was interrupted when a glowing weasel, a Patronus, appeared through the wall. "Send help! Send help! The Burrow is under attack!" That was the voice of Arthur Weasley.
"Dad... Mum!" Ginny paled when realizing what that could mean.
"Shit, no one else here to help and only two people who can apparate!" Sirius cursed, knowing this was an emergency. He ran off into another room, then returned moments later with what looked like a big wooden cooking spoon. "I fear Molly will kill me if she learns I made an emergency portkey to the Burrow."
Ron recognized it as a spoon their mother had found missing. He then pulled out his wand. "Don't even think about going without us..." Fearing for the safety of his parents, Ron had no time for being nice.
"Wasn't even thinking about it. I did send a message to Percy, but no idea if he makes in time. Now, everyone hold onto it and be ready!" Sirius very much ordered.
It showed how serious the situation was, that they went through the portkey travel without feeling the usual discomfort.
Arriving at the edge of the property of the Burrow, they were frozen for a moment when seeing what the situation was. The Burrow was on fire! Ron and Ginny were horrified to see their home being set ablaze, and then saw their parents. Arthur and Molly were both being really busy with defending themselves against no less than six enemies, and it had been more judging by the two dead corpses lying on the ground.
Judging by the masks and robes, only two of the enemies were actual Death Eaters, so the others had to be lowly scum doing their bidding. Arthur and Molly both already looked hurt, with Arthur's left arm being bend at an unnatural angle and Molly being red with her own blood. Both of them however were holding down their own pain and continued fighting back.
"Mum... Dad..." Ron looked in horror for a moment, before something ugly took over.
"Wha...? Arrgghllll-l-l..." -tack-
One of the attackers felt the consequences right away when being run through by a pitchfork which Ron had made fly at high speed towards him, getting nailed against the wall of burning Burrow. If they had thought only Ginny could be the nasty one, Ron had now proven them wrong. It didn't even register with Ron yet, that this was his first intentional kill in battle.
"They got reinforcements!" One of the two Death Eaters shouted, then spotted Harry. "It's him! The Master must be informed..."
However, Sirius had spotted the danger right away. "Oh no, you won't!" He right away engaged into a nasty duel with the man in order to stop him from calling Voldemort. "You six, take care of the scum!" He then called when seeing that this had given Arthur and Molly new strength to go against the other Death Eater. That one now also unable to call their Master due to being busy with defense.
They didn't question that order and instead concentrated on the remaining three goons, who seemed to have recovered from the sudden death of their comrade.
"You little shits think you are hot stuff, aren't you?!" the only woman of the group hissed while trying to blast them with spells.
They didn't bother with replying, having learned that due to them still being novices in battle - and that was not meant to put them down, just a fact of them not having years of experience - not engaging in and kind of verbal sparring with the enemy was to their advantage. Also, compared to the real Death Eaters, those goons were much weaker and perfectly manageable since they had the 2:1 advantage in numbers.
Wordlessly apart from spells, they engaged in battle with them. Spells flew left and right, but it became apparent that those goons didn't have much in the way of battle experience, perhaps due to them being used to do the dirty work quick and with overwhelming numbers, while leaving the more complicated stuff to the actual Death Eaters.
They found themselves on the losing side quickly.
"Uuuurrgghhhh-h!" That was one goon dropping his wand in horrible pain when it felt like a cricket bat had been slammed into his junk thanks to a spell from Ginny. The girl then followed up with another spell that violently blasted him back and smashed him against the wall of the house. Either he was unconscious from the impact or dead, and right now Ginny didn't care what it was.
What had happened only enraged the female goon further. "You bitch, I... Aaaahhhhrrgghhh!" Her rant was lost in a scream when it suddenly felt as if the skin was being torn off her legs (it wasn't, but the pain felt very real) before she was nailed in the chest by two stunners at the same time.
The stunners were rather overpowered and broke two ribs, but again, the Six didn't care at the moment.
The final goon realized that this was turning nasty, especially since he now was on his own, but before he could do something... "Expelliarmus!" That spell from Harry caused his wand to fly out of his hand and into Harry's. Frightened, he tried to flee, only to get a spell into the back from Luna, that felled him.
The goons out of the way, they turned to help the adults, only to see that it was just over. It was hard to tell if the Death Eaters were dead or not, but they honestly didn't care much right now. The mask of Arthur and Molly's opponent had shattered, revealing their enemy actually was a woman, though no one they recognized.
The whole thing had only lasted about two minutes, but it had felt a lot longer.
-crac- "I came as fast..." Percy had appeared but then stopped when seeing that the action was already over. He then saw his childhood home being on fire and the state his parents were in. "Father! Mother! Oh no!"
Seeing how all three of their children started to panic at their condition now that the danger was over, Arthur held up his good arm. "I know it looks bad..."
"Bad?!" Ginny felt sick with worry when seeing how Molly had to sit down. "Your arm is mangled and Mum is suffering from a nasty head wound!"
Hermione also could only shake her head. "Just because magical healing can fix a lot of stuff is no reason to be cavalier about serious injuries!" She then noticed Ron having gone pale. "Ron, what...?"
"That... That was me," Ron said, looking at the corpse that was nailed to the wall. "I just did it without thinking..."
Oh crap... Sirius thought when seeing that Ron only now realized he'd done his first kill. He also saw Ginny becoming paler when seeing that the man she'd smashed against the wall also was unnaturally still. And right in front of Arthur and Molly. They won't blame them at all, but there is no going back from that.
"How did this happen?" Percy was in disbelief. "Bill set up the protections by himself." Percy knew of the quality work his brother had done with protecting the property, especially since it was their childhood home.
"No idea. They... suddenly breached it..." It was a bit concerning that Molly's speech was a bit slow, hinting she also was suffering a concussion. She then noticed how distressed Ron and Ginny looked. "Oh... Oh no..."
Arthur gave his wife a very worried look. "Molly, please don't strain yourself."
-uuiiiiiiiiuuu uuiiiiiiiiiuu- They head the siren and then saw a fire engine drive up the path to the Burrow. They also only noticed now that there was smoke rising from the village as well.
"That as well..." Sirius knew that the smoke of course would alarm the fire brigade. He then reached into his pocket... and pulled out one of those new mobile phones. They had honestly not expected him carry one of those. "I call MI-X. We need some of their men here right now, or things could get ugly."
Considering there were several corpses near them, that was an understatement.
o
It took rather considerable time before the Six managed to return to the house they were staying in.
"Good thing they managed to solve that mess... At least enough that we were allowed to leave. The police looked really twitchy considering they had to deal with no less than four corpses, not to speak that was their first direct impression of magic matters," Neville said with a sigh.
"Not that we can fault the authorities for being highly nervous. After all, from their perspective it was a serious crime scene," Luna reminded her boyfriend.
It indeed had been a really serious situation. The police had arrived shortly after the fire brigade and it was only thanks to the timely arrival of MI-X agents, who could prove that they indeed were working for the government, that things had no escalated. After all, the last thing they needed was a conflict with the authorities.
It had helped that many in the fire brigade knew of the Weasleys and that they had lived in Ottery St. Catchpole for as long as they could remember. Though, the way their house looked was new and by now everyone in the village probably knew that there was more to that family. Though the Weasleys right now couldn't care less due to the injuries Arthur and Molly had suffered as well as the damage to the Burrow.
Right now Arthur and Molly were under the care of healers and were expected to recover, but neither Sirius nor Percy had returned yet, still being busy with the aftermath of the attack.
"I honestly can't imagine how Ron and Ginny are feeling right now, with their home attacked, their parents hurt and..." Neville took a look at where Hermione was sitting close to Ron, explaining to him how she had felt when knowing she had killed someone. Ginny meanwhile was held close by Harry while he reassured her that it was natural to be disturbed about killing in battle. "Well, I have difficulties to imagine how they are feeling right now about that."
"Everyone told them they were fully justified in doing so. However, they are more scared by the fact they actually are capable of doing so in the heat of it without thinking about it." Luna then looked unsure. "I don't know how I will react once it is my time to do so."
Neville honestly had no idea how to sugarcoat that.
It was that moment when Percy arrived, but not Sirius. He saw the looks he was getting and knew telling them to be patient would not be accepted. "I'm sorry, but Sirius is still busy."
"I can imagine." Harry was not surprised. "You look tired, Percy."
"I... Well, I told Penelope about MI-X after they allowed it. She was a bit disappointed I've known for such a long time while keeping her in the dark. It will take a bit before we are back to normal." The small grimace Percy gave them showed how he felt about that temporal complication in their relationship. "But enough about me. Sirius is also busy since there had been further incidents."
"Further incidents?" Harry had a bad feeling that was coined upon them.
"Sadly, yes." Percy knew it was better to tell the truth. "While we already knew that the Evans, Black and Dursley houses have been set ablaze months ago after leaving Little Whinging, there are now more reports that today more was done. The Granger and Lovegood homes were set ablaze. Only the Longbottom home was too well-secured for them."
Hermione let out a small gasp. She had grown up in that house and couldn't believe it now was gone. Luna for her part had expected something like that, but it actually happening still hurt. Somehow they had already feared that the attack on the Burrow was not the only thing Voldemort's forces were doing, but that was confirming it.
"Burnt down...?" Hermione asked, dreading the answer.
"Eh, not exactly. It can be salvaged, but the repairs will be quite expensive." Percy knew that was little consolation.
"That was all out of pure spite..." Ron had found his voice, and it was a cold anger which was distracting him from his current troubles for a moment. "Tommy-Boy is throwing a tantrum and he decided to hurt us so he could feel better after things went wrong for him."
While that didn't make things any better, it at least gave them context; especially to the question why the Burrow was only attacked by eight enemies, of which only two were actual Death Eaters. Voldemort saw this as acts to patch up his ego after the failure at the Ministry and the dementors abandoning him. No wonder he wouldn't assign too many resources to such a vanity project.
It also showed how such behavior could be dangerous if it came from a man who had the means to make it very nasty and bloody.
...November 26th...
They knew this perhaps was their only chance to get away before it would be too late attempting to do so.
From what they had overheard, Voldemort had become really angry over the failure to capture the Ministry intact, the Ministry essentially ripping the Statute of Secrecy apart in its death throes and the dementors going rogue on him. A ticked-off Dark Lord was a very dangerous one, and thus they knew if they wanted to leave, it had to be now.
There also was something they had heard Bellatrix rant to the Carrows without Bellatrix knowing they were listening in. Draco had barely managed to keep quiet - most certainly helped by Pansy's hand keeping it that way - when Bellatrix had during her rant gloated how Lucius had not been captured by the Ministry, but left there by Voldemort for them to pick up as punishment for his failures.
That really underscored the danger they were in, since Lucius had worked hard to make up for whatever error he had made, but Voldemort had been unmoved and instead had remotely tormented him for over a year, turning him into the wreck he was now.
They also knew this was not some kind of vacation, but an escape.
"Are you sure that it will work?" Pansy wondered while they were sneaking through the garden at night to reach a door in the perimeter wall that would allow them to leave the property and reach an area from where they could apparate.
"It's the only idea I got. I staked out the area and it has got what we need. Though... I'm still amazed how desperate we are that we're planning to maim ourselves." Draco honestly wished he'd had a better idea. Both of them dreaded when the moment of truth would come.
First however they had to get out of this place, and they were nervous that something could go wrong. It already was a wonder that they had managed to sneak out of the house unnoticed. Even if it was in the middle of the night, there always were guards active.
Sneaking through the trees at the far side of the big property, they were nearing the outer wall. The wall of course was improved with enchantments, but the door was an oversight that Draco had discovered. It only was only unimaginatively secured with a locking charm and anyone even remotely competent in magic could get that open in no time flat.
"There it is," Draco said, pointing at the door which was faintly visible in the light of the crescent waning moon.
"Better get it open and let's get out of here. I have a bad feeling that- Oooorrrgh!" Pansy was cut off when something hit her hard in the stomach, throwing her to the ground.
"Pansy!" That was all Draco could get out, before a fist slammed into his face. The sudden explosion of pain caused him to drop his wand.
"You two rats thought you could abandon us, do you?!" Draco barely recognized the voice as one of the guards, a bullish woman who looked more like a man, before he got a fist into the stomach. "Good thing I was vigilant!"
Draco suddenly felt hands around his throat, cutting off his air supply. "I won't allow you to waste the Dark Lord's time! The punishment for treachery is death. First you... then your little girlfriend. Watch carefully girly!"
Oh shit, shit, shit! Draco had not thought he would end like this - strangled to death by a Death Eater. He already say first dark spots when...
"Avada Kedavra!"
Green ligh filled the area for a small moment, engulfing the woman who was attempting to kill him. Moments later the light was gone and the hands let go of his throat before something fell to the ground . "-cough- Pansy?" Searching for his wand, Draco found it and risked making a small light to see what was going on.
He wished he hadn't, because he found the corpse of the guard close by. She was very, very dead and it only registered with him now that Pansy had actually used the Killing Curse. Frantically looking for her, he found her looking at the sparely illuminated corpse, all color having drained from her face. She then dropped her wand and vomited.
"Pansy!" Running over to her, he tried to hold her steady while picking up her wand before her vomit could reach it.
"D-Draco... I used... that spell." Pansy sobbed after there was nothing left to vomit out. "R-remember how they told us y-you truly have to want your target dead. What... what does that make me?"
He knew she was afraid that she had taken the one step they both had shied away from the entire time and now thought she would slide down the slope and end up like many of the Death Eaters who committed murder like it was the most casual thing in the world. No wonder she was afraid she could end up like that.
"No. You... you are nothing like them! You are nothing like Aunt Bella, who kills for fun." If anything, they both had learned how monstrous Bellatrix truly was. And with that came the frightening realization that Voldemort actually was worse than her.
Pansy was still shivering, but Draco's words helped her realize that this was not the place to have a breakdown. She took her wand back and looked to the door."Let's get out of here."
Getting the door open up ridiculously easy and it was only a short distance before they left all of the protective spells and were able to apparate. They had never learned apparition officially, instead being taught by a Death Eater who had 'motivated' them by making clear that should they mess themselves up, he would not fix the mess. It was outright barbaric, but they had learned how to do it properly.
It was a small wonder that despite their state of mind, they arrived at their destination in one piece.
It was a construction site in a nearby town which Draco had found contained everything they needed to hopefully get rid of those horrible marks on their arms. He had even read up about such thing to find out what to use and how to use it. They knew one sure way to get rid of a Dark Mark was to get rid of the arm by cutting it off, but that was out of question, since not only would that cripple them, but it also would risk them accidentally killing themselves. Draco had found what felt was an alternative... though they both knew they would be in horrible agony.
"Are you... are you sure it will work?" Pansy said, paling again when seeing Draco get the things he'd hidden away for their usage.
"Sure? No. But it' the only thing I came up with to get rid of these," Draco said, looking at his Dark Mark before he was setting up everything. "I worked really hard to learn how these work."
Pansy gulped hard when seeing the two blowtorches, as well as contraptions where they would put their arms into. Those were to ensure that they were unable to pull their arms away... while the flames burnt away the skin in and around their marks. Since no magic could get rid of the mark, the hope was that removing the very thing it was put upon - without cutting off their arms - without using magic would cause the mark to break. It was a gamble, but the only thing they had come up with.
Sooner than they had wished, Draco was done. "Pansy, we need to fixate our arms and then..."
All of a sudden Pansy was glad she already had vomited everything out. "I feel like pissing myself, but if we don't try this and he catches us..."
Draco also knew what was to come next would be horrible on them. "If you wet yourself, you have every reason for doing so..."
A little later two screams of terrible agony erupted from inside the construction site when the blowtorches were doing their destructive work, but no one was there to hear them. Draco and Pansy felt every bit of the bright flame burning away the skin the skin of their forearms, the once healthy skin turning black when it died and burned.
The screams went on for a frighteningly long time, until suddenly two high-pitched and inhumanly shrill screams drowned them out.
o
The darkness of the night laid over the heavily damaged Burrow, police tape marking the house as the site of a crime scene. Seemingly no one was witnessing two people appearing at the edge of the property with a -crac-. Unlike other times however, they didn't mind the noise in the slightest.
"We... we made it..." Pansy gasped out.
If anything, Draco and Pansy looked like they were on their last leg, with pain twisting their features and their left forearms being wrapped in already bloody makeshift bandages. That they had managed to apparate here without cutting off parts of their bodies was a small wonder in itself, considering the horrible pain they both were in.
The blowtorches had done some really nasty work before all of a sudden black ink had erupted from the completely ruined and burnt skin with a shrill shriek. It was horrifying to imagine that that stuff had been inside their bodies and only added to the picture of them having been utterly stupid to ever get involved in any of that madness.
"Y-you are sure?" Pansy asked Draco.
"I heard of it... I hope some of them... are still here after the attack," Draco said while they slowly made their way to the damaged Burrow.
The problem for them was, what to do after they got rid of the marks. It was damn sure Voldemort would hunt them down as traitors, so the only chance to survive would be to surrender to Voldemort's enemies so that they could keep them safe. They were desperate enough to do so, but that created the question where to go. There was no way they could reach Hogwarts and they had no idea where else to look. Thus the idea to come to the recently attacked Burrow and hope that the Order had left guards that could capture them.
Indeed, they had only staggered a short distance, when suddenly several flashlights were turned on. "Stop where you are!"
Knowing that this was it, they dropped their wands to the ground. "W-we surrender!" Pansy managed to get out.
Soon enough people did approach them and then they heard a gasp. "Shit, you two are still kids!"
They didn't even bother to protest against that, though they knew they would be identified soon enough. Surprisingly enough, being prisoners sounded way better than staying with Voldemort's forces after all the horror they had experienced there.
...the next day...
Considering how the events in the United Kingdom and Ireland - yes, both countries, which had caused some serious reactions in the Republic of Ireland - were causing severe effects all over the world, it was no wonder that the announcement of the Prime Minister would be watched by many people all over the world.
The interesting thing about the houses that Sirius owned all over the country, and which now were used for the Order and as safe houses, was not that they were under some kind of magic at all. The houses were not hidden in any way and only had the most basic of protective charms. At first that looked to be counter-intuitive, since that meant no protection against Death Eaters.
However, Sirius had learned from his years of flying under the radar that you can hide in plain sight if you denied the other side all the needed information, even if some of it was using the ignorance of the other side. He owned those houses, but he had bought them entirely on the non-magical market, thus no one on the magical side knew about it. He had even used a legal construct, which meant the houses were bought by a juridical entity and you had to look deep to realize he was the sole owner.
That was before you factored in that all that stuff nowadays mostly was stored on computers - something the magical side was not capable of using properly. Thus no wonder Sirius was unconcerned, since unless he did something dumb - which he was avoiding - it was like a search for a needle in a mountain of needles. The country was huge after all, and with the limited numbers the Death Eaters could not do any kind of big search.
This also meant the houses held a number of modern comforts Sirius had grown fond of over the years - like being connected to the power grid and each having a TV set. Knowing that the announcement had to be important, it looked a bit comical how in those houses the room with the TV was crammed with people waiting to watch the announcement. Space was tight, but no one was complaining.
At the same time others also made arrangements. Due to living in magical houses, the Bulstrodes and Greengrasses needed to make arrangements to have a place available where they could watch. Amusingly, it was Petunia of all people, since after all they only needed a big enough place with a TV for an hour.
But it not only was inside of Britain itself of course. All over Europe and the world people would be watching. That included the governments of numerous nations which already were in the know and had closely worked with the Prime Minister on what would happen now. They knew such an announcement would not go smoothly, especially once it was revealed it was not only Britain, and they had used the time to make preparations to deal with less than optimal outcomes.
"It feels rather crowded in here..." Neville remarked when seeing how full the room was in the house they were staying in.
"Kind of reminds me how packed my dorm room in Hogwarts was," Dora mused, then shifted a bit for Teddy, who she was carrying close to her chest with a harness. "Strange... I thought Sirius would be here for this as well."
"Oh, he said he already knows what what will be revealed. He's using the time for an important matter," Remus told his wife, remembering the important task Sirius was doing right at the moment.
"This honestly is the very first time I am going to watch a Prime Minister's announcement. I never before did so. I wonder what to expect," Luna wondered.
"Well, this one is special after all," Harry told her. "You haven't missed much with the normal ones, which are just a lot of political speak and the usual platitudes."
"Interesting," Luna remarked at Harry's dismissive attitude. "Now I really have to find a way to watch them. It will be interesting to find the pattern." Harry knew this was Luna being Luna.
"It's starting," Hermione called and everyone put their attention to the screen.
Indeed, on the screen the coat of arms of the United Kingdom was being shown and a voice said they were about to cut to Downing Street. The picture then changed and the first surprising thing was, that the Prime Minister was not talking in front of the building as it was normal, though perhaps understandable due to security. Also, he was not alone. While the Prime Minister stood at the podium, several other people stood close by. One of them was his predecessor, John Major, while the other two they had no idea about.
Remus however did recognize one of them. "That's a wizard employed by MI-X. I actually trained him to use a Patronus. Could become interesting..."
It was that moment that Blair started to speak. "I am addressing my words not only to the inhabitants of the United Kingdom, but also to the people of Ireland, who have been experiencing the same seemingly inexplicable events for the past ten days, as well as to everyone on the world, since today's revelations will touch everyone on the world."
Blair waited for a moment, before he continued. "The people of the United Kingdom and or Ireland however as of now are the most impacted and deserve and explanation. After consultations with Her Majesty, as well as with the Irish Prime Minister Ahern, it falls to me as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to give an explanation."
"Already things have been witnessed and broadcast into the entire world, that defy logic. Places that would never fit into the space that they actually occupy, things that are there where nothing had been before, creatures that seem to come straight out of storybook or high fantasy."
"The answer is, that magic is real and that there is an entire society all over the world which is hiding said fact and themselves from the rest of the world..."
That explosive statement caused numerous magical governments all over the globe to have a meltdown, but it was nothing compared to the reaction at the ICW from the representatives who actually had managed - mostly through people who actually mostly lived in the non-magical world - to find a TV in order to listen to what the Prime Minister had to say.
"...and to prove to anyone who despite all what happened still thinks this is a massive scam, we are about to give you proof. This is a direct broadcast and special effects like you see in films needs weeks to be created..."
"How dare he?! He's destroying what's left of the statute of secrecy!" one woman seethed, not listening while Blair was going into detail about it.
"We have to stop that from going any further!" a man agreed, being horrified by what they were witnessing. On TV no less than three wizards were openly showing magical feats to prove that this is all very much true.
One wizard, who seemed strangely calm, waved that off. "We can't." Everyone else fell silent when hearing that.
"...thus it is real, but also as far as we were able to determine, there is a scientific explanation, thus it is not something that can break the rules of reality as it pleases..."
"What do you mean?!" the witch wanted to know.
The wizard shook his head. "It's way too late and how do you even plan to do something about that? The damage is long done and what we are witnessing is just the official death blow to the Statue of Secrecy."
That fact left them utterly frightened and also at a loss on what they should do next.
Blair meanwhile had explained more about the magical side of the world. "...thus I know the mere idea of a secret society on the very soil of this country is creating a great feeling of unease for many. Such also was the case for Her Majesty's government, which is why for decades the magical side was observed and the means created so that we are not helpless should it come to conflict."
"Wow, he's actually revealing that. Didn't think he would go that far..." Dudley said with a whistle while Blair went into more detail - though not too much detail of course, the government after all had to keep many things confidential.
Everyone else in the room apart from Petunia gave him an interesting look. "Wait, you actually knew about your government, not just the Prime Minister, knowing about magic and them creating effective countermeasures?" Millicent asked her boyfriend.
"I've only know for a relatively short time, just like my mother," Dudley explained quickly. "Also, it's nothing against any of you, but when the government says to keep it to yourself, it's a good idea to actually do so."
"...and it is something we did not alone. Together with other governments, who also were concerned about the possible..."
As much as Millicent wanted to give her boyfriend a reminder not to keep such things from her, she knew he did have a point there. She quickly quelled her emotions, knowing her boyfriend had a good reason to not reveal this to her. Everyone in the room knew that Dudley and Petunia had good reasons to not say anything about it.
"Is there is something else you are keeping from me?" Millicent knew it was a stupid question, but she had to ask.
"Nothing of that sort, only some small and private things I keep to myself." Dudley hoped she wouldn't ask about those.
"...more will be conveyed to the public outside of this very announcement very soon..."
"Is that part of having a boyfriend?" Astoria whispered to her sister.
"Oh yes. It's all about communication," Daphne confirmed while concentrating on the screen.
Blair meanwhile came to the recent events. "Over the past years, the magical community on the British Isles suffered from a terrorist campaign. Bolstered by circles that feared to lose their power due to a shifting demographic structure of the magical community, those very terrorists managed to destroy the political entity that allowed the magical side self-government."
The Prime Minister knew he had to reveal that as well. "When the magical side all over the world hid themselves away several centuries ago, a contract was created in which the Crown granted the magical side in this country the right to self-govern. That contract was broken with the destruction of the political structures, and it resulted in all the things witnessed throughout the isles."
Many people watching the announcement were finally putting things together with some other puzzling news from over the years. It would be later when the government would confirm that Fenrir Greyback and his insane murder cult indeed were magical and in which manner. That of course resulted in angry questions how the public could not be properly informed about something that important.
"Those terrorist attacks also were directed against the entire population. In their insane beliefs, these terrorists see those with magic, and especially those they see as 'pure', as a master race that has the right to do as they please, while to them those that lack magic are sub-human at best."
Blair knew he was drawing parallels to Nazi ideology, but they had concluded it essentially was that anyway, so he was only calling it out in a way everyone would understand. "In light of this, it was decided that the nation has a public enemy number one."
On the screen two pictures appeared. One was a photograph of Tom Riddle at the end of his time at school, with the date written underneath it. The other was a frighteningly good sketch of what Voldemort looked today, with that fact being written under it as well.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle, going by the alias of 'Lord Voldemort', who is the leader of the terrorist movement known as 'Death Eaters'. He has personally committed an as of now undetermined high number of murders and..."
-BOOOOOOOMMMMM- The TV exploded into pieces thanks to the spell Voldemort had used when his personal information was being dragged out into the public by that... that Muggle.
While there were many things he was dismissive of, once word had reached him that the Prime Minister would make a nation-wide announcement about recent events, he knew that was something he had to know about. Surprisingly, Alecto knew what a TV set was and how to operate one - something she did learn during the years on the search for him - and thus they had used the home of some old Muggles to see what this would be about. Of course the home owners had not survived said takeover.
Voldemort was severely ticked off by what he then had witnessed.
He had already known that the Statute of Secrecy had not survived the fall of the Ministry and the effects it had all over the country. But then for the Prime Minister to spell things out...?! It also came as a nasty surprise to him that the Muggles for decades already had been gathering information and prepared their forces. As much as he was a racist bastard, a new enemy emerging was something he could not ignore.
But then his personal information was being broadcast when being declared public enemy number one. Not only did that enrage him to no end, but it also told him that Dumbledore was working together with the Muggle government. To him that was Dumbledore being a traitor to all what magical culture stood for. It also explained the bullet from months ago.
"Let's go! We now know all we need to know!" he finally said.
He would never say it, but he was now unsure how to proceed, since that was a battle he had never anticipated. His plan had been to transform Magical Britain into his personal kingdom, but that no longer was possible. He would need time to come up with plans for this entirely new situation.
With everything going on, he had not yet gotten the news that Draco and Pansy had deserted his cause. The witch who got the task of informing him of those news as soon as he was back had the questionable honor to act as the Dark Lord's stress relief. Too bad for her that in Voldemort's case he saw the Cruciatus Curse of all things as a good tool to vent his stress and anger.
...at the same time...
While the United Kingdom - yes, the entire world - was getting shocked by Tony Blair revealing all those hidden truths to them, a trio of people was walking down a corridor in what at first look was a hospital. Only on second glace someone would see the bars in front of the windows to understand it was the medical section of a prison.
Mr. Morden was leading McGonagall and Sirius towards the room in which Draco and Pansy were resting. Upon notification of their capture - after their identity had been confirmed - it was clear that due to those two being rather high-profile, the Order would have to treat this with the needed importance. Thus McGonagall and Sirius themselves had come.
"Their marks were truly burnt away?" McGonagall asked, remembering what had been relayed to them.
"Yes," Mr. Morden confirmed. "As reported to you we of course questioned them after treatment and they very much spilled everything, including how they used blowtorches to destroy the Dark Mark on their arms to avoid getting tracked or tortured remotely."
That caused McGonagall and Sirius to look at each other. They did remember the most recent prophecy Trelawney had made, having gotten the exact wording. All of a sudden that prophecy made a disturbing amount of sense. Draco and Pansy were the two snakes in the prophecy who had lies etched into them in the form of the Dark Mark. But they had realized what being a Death Eater really meant, and that truth set them free by making them run away. And the truth turned into fire and burnt away the lies by them using blowtorches to burn the marks off their arms.
Sirius decided that since Morden knew the truth anyway, to reveal the facts. "To be honest, a prophecy that was made just two months ago now makes a lot of sense. It essentially foretold all of what happened to those two. It however also revealed those those two are holding a very important information."
"Prophecies are tricky, but by now MI-X knows there is a certain science to it instead of just guesswork," Morden admitted, he himself never having been fond of Divination. "What is the important information?"
McGonagall took a deep breath. "The location of the one the items that are ensuring Lord Voldemort's immortality. The Cup of Hufflepuff, the one item whose whereabouts we have no idea about. The cup was mentioned in the prophecy, and that those two know where to find it."
"Strange they didn't mention it," Morden wondered.
"My guess is, that they only heard of a cup and where to find it, but have no idea of its true significance. They probably don't think of it as important and we have to ask them about it," Sirius reasoned.
"We'll see what they have to say about the matter, since this is their room," Morden said as they reached a door with a guard next to it.
The guard opened the door and the sight that greeted McGonagall and Sirius was pitiful. Draco and Pansy sat on their beds, wearing little more than hospital gowns and their underwear - normal security measure - and looked utterly worn down, with their skin pale, their eyes speaking of many sleepless nights and they both had their left forearm wrapped tightly with bandages.
They did look up when hearing someone enter, and it was downright telling when instead of the expected arrogance or even fear, they instead showed relief to see them. Any hard words Sirius might have planned did die when seeing how pitiful and lost they looked. No one their age should have such a haunted look in their eyes.
"Oh damn, just look at yourselves..." Sirius said with no anger in his words. "Do you now understand why we are fighting against Voldemort and what he stands for?"
"We do... now." The way Draco was talking did underscore that there was nothing left of the once arrogant little snot who parroted the bigoted beliefs of those in his circles. "And to believe we thought it's a great cause..."
Sirius then looked to Pansy. "As for you, I heard what you were forced to do. You now do understand how horrible it is to kill someone, even if it is completely justified?"
Pansy gulped hard when remembering the moment she had killed the guard. "He-he was killing Draco... I wanted him dead so much in order to save Draco... I feel dirty now."
"You can't undo what happened. I speak from experience that the guilt never goes away fully, but you can learn how to accept what happened and move on from it." Sirius was speaking from experience due to not only his own experiences but also the Six still feeling the aftermath of what had happened at the Burrow.
"Nothing can excuse your horrific past behavior, and you know you are here due to it, but perhaps there still is hope for you." McGonagall then knew she better came to the matter at hand. "However, for the moment we are here because we have a question for both of you."
"Didn't we already say everything?" Draco wondered.
Sirius knew it had to be worded the right way. "It's something you know about but probably deemed inconsequential and thus didn't talk about. We are asking about a cup that is holding high value to Voldemort."
At first there were blank looks, then Pansy gasped. "Draco... Remember that night!"
Draco grimaced when the horrible memories came back. "Aunt Bella... so much blood and she found it funny. But... yes, she... she talked about keeping safe a cup for the Dark Lord."
"She bragged like it was the highest honor... I don't think she even remembers doing so," Pansy added.
They knew they now were on the right path. "Did she say where she is keeping it?" McGonagall asked, hopeful this would finally answer that question.
"Yes... she did. She said it's inside her vault at Gringotts." Now that he was thinking about it, the whole thing made Draco wonder. "It must be really important if she goes to those lengths."
Sirius and McGonagall looked at each other, realizing that it created an entirely new problem now that they knew where to find the cup, since breaking into a Gringotts vault was not exactly something you could do easily. While they now knew where to find the cup, the how to get it was now the main problem - a problem with no easy answer.
"That is exactly what we needed to know. You probably won't believe me, but you just gave us great help," Sirius told them.
"Eh... What will happen with us now?" Pansy wondered.
"It is impossible to overlook your actions of the past years, so you better expect some kind of punishment. But we are not like your now defunct system, which would have thrown you into a dementor-infested hole and let you go insane there," Mr. Morden explained to them.
Draco and Pansy looked down, having already expected that they would reap the consequences of their actions.
Once the adults were out in the corridors, McGonagall asked Sirius "It can't be her vault from the Black family, right?"
"No, I confiscated that one as soon as I could years ago and went through its contents; no cup there. That means it has to be in the Lestrange vault, which is a high-security vault for sure," Sirius said, cursing while doing so. "We need Bill and Fleur to get an idea where that vault is located."
"Goblins are a very mistrustful bunch, but if anyone can get even a rogh idea where to find it, it is them," McGonagall agreed, though she had a feeling this would lead to further complications.
...Little Hangleton, November 29th...
Despite the events that were turning the United Kingdom and the entire world upside-down, it seemed that small places like Little Hangleton were hell-bent on trying to go on with the normal order of events regardless of what was happening. Some would joke that the world could blow up and you wouldn't notice when being in such a place. The only things it had changes was the nast gossip.
However, the seeming peace of the village was heavily disturbed when several official-looking cars appeared.
The curiosity of people was piqued quickly with this highly unusual event, especially when the cars parked at the big square in the middle of the village and several official-looking men walked out, while one car continued up the road to where the Riddle House used to be. In such a small community, all of this caused quite a stir and soon enough basically all the inhabitants of the village had gathered to see what was going on.
The single car did stop close to the house of Frank Bryce and none other than Dumbledore exited it, looking quite sharp in his dark suit. He then walked to the door and knocked, being let in by the house owner moment later. It took a few minutes, but when Dumbledore left again, he was accompanied by Frank Bryce, who showed his age even more than last time.
"If it weren't for you, Mr. Dumbledore, and you telling me that it is very important, I would not have come," Bryce said while they walked to the car. "I don't like going into the village and even got into the habit of having my everyday purchases delivered."
"That is understandable, Mr. Bryce, considering the mistreatment you have suffered for decades. However, this will be very important for you," Dumbledore told the old man.
"Well, you are really good at rising the anticipation. I really wonder now what you could have in store," Bryce said with a short laugh before they both entered the car.
They didn't know they had been watched the entire time.
Watching everything from a window, Voldemort had viciously held down the impulse to have Dumbledore attacked, since that would have been bound to end badly in some way. His mood had worsened ever since the Muggle Prime Minister had spoken to the masses and basically spilled the beans. Yes, while being horribly ignorant, they had heard of it, and did manage to find a place to watch it from - only too bad for the now very dead owners of the house in question.
He was still wondering how the man knew so many details about the magical world and was downright incensed after hearing his real identity being spilled to the masses. It was a that point that he knew that Dumbledore had a hand in that and thus why it was so hard not to kill him right here and now.
Having observed everything, he knew he needed to know more. "Pettigrew!"
"Yes, Master?" Pettigrew asked seconds later. He knew he had to be careful, since Voldemort was not in the best of moods. The dementors deserting him so shortly after what happened in the Ministry had not sat well with him at all. The Muggle Prime Minister's speech only had made his mood even worse.
"Go into the village and observe what is going on. I want to know why the old goat is here - especially actually riding in a car," Voldemort said while not even looking to Pettigrew.
Pettigrew knew it perhaps was better that Voldemort was not looking to him in his current mood. "Right away, Master!"
A bit later, the crowd in the village square was really wondering what this was about, since a small makeshift stage with a microphone and two loudspeakers had been erected by the time the other car returned. That only increased when they saw that one of the two men getting out of the car was Frank Bryce. Hating on him had become a perverse inherited pastime, but no one dared to do or say anything with so many officials nearby. For all their big words, they were a cowardly lot.
It was at that moment that one of the officials stepped up onto the small makeshift stage. "People of Little Hangleton, this an announcement from representatives of Her Majesty's government."
That made everyone go silent, wondering what kind of an announcement this would be. "It was deemed the best course of action to make this a public announcement due to the matter in question being known to all inhabitants. Recently new information has come to light, which reactivated a very old cold case: the murder of the Riddle family."
The crowd looked at each other, wondering what that could be, since in their mind everything was known. The murder had become part of the fabric of Little Hangleton, and with it that the murderer got away with it, resulting in a hatred of Frank Bryce which the younger generations took over without questioning it.
Bryce gave Dumbledore a look but then saw the man give him a reassuring look. He knew whatever would be said would not be to his disadvantage and he listened more closely.
"It was only after the announcement the Prime Minister made two days ago, that this new information finally was to be made public. The murderer of the Riddle family is not Frank Bryce. Identified by newly unearthed proof, the actual murderer is the illegitimate son of Tom Riddle Sr. and Merope Gaunt: Tom Marvolo Riddle. You should already know that name."
They did know. After all, they had heard it in the Prime Minister's speech. It was the legal name of that terrorist leader who had been declared public enemy number one. That magical terrorist leader who also used the bizarre alias of Lord Voldemort. The drawn picture of that man's face - since no photos existed - had been frightening, especially since it had been contrasted with a photo form his school days.
Nevertheless, the news hit them like a ton of bricks, because it meant an undeniable certainty in their lives suddenly was being proven utterly false. The elderly in Bryce's age group, who actually had lived at the time of the murder and thus were responsible for starting the neverending slander against him, suddenly had a feeling they would have to answer a lot of questions.
Several more minutes went by, with the announcement going through more details, before it was over.
While the car brought him back to his house, Bryce couldn't help but to feel a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders. "Mr. Dumbledore, did you...?"
"Indeed, I did. The only lie I ever told you was, that I read about the matter in an old newspaper. I was conducting an extensive investigation into Tom Riddle." Seeing the old man arch an eyebrow, Dumbledore added "I was indeed in the war, but in the magical theater. Yes, before you ask, I am a wizard."
"And... You did all of this to clear my name for real before I bite the dust?" Bryce honestly was moved by such a motive.
"Oh yes. Tom Riddle caused a lot of pain to many people. It's my greatest shame that I was one of his teachers and impotent to stop him. After listening to your story, I knew once the time has come, I would help clear your name," Dumbledore told him.
Dumbledore saw that the old man's mood had risen significantly when he walked back into his house.
"That most certainly was needed," a man sitting in the front passenger seat said while the car left the village. "Justice always starts small. But it also made us aware of something really strange. There is no paper trail of the mansion being torn down."
Dumbledore looked startled at the news. "Nothing at all?"
"Nothing. No company that did the job, no permit to tear the house down... nothing. Yet people in the village swear it got torn down and even we several times suddenly thought that had to be the case, before remembering what we are doing," the man explained.
Dumbledore right now felt something trying to convince him that the house indeed had been torn down, before he quickly improved the guard around his mind. "I felt it. There is magic at work here."
"Oh yes. We also checked the owner... Turns out that man is a fabrication. A clever one, but once we started to look in-depth... Doesn't help us however, considering how the house is disguised, as if shifted out of reality, though it of course is still there."
"That... is a unique problem." Dumbledore had a good idea what was going on. The altered charm was clever, but also exposed the fact that the house had existed, and thus ways to uncover it were still there, though that didn't help at all to gain access to it.
At the same moment Pettigrew entered the Riddle House, having listened to what was happening in the village.
The Dark Lord won't like that at all, he thought, knowing that Voldemort would take it as a personal insult from Dumbledore to have his past being put into the open like that.
o
While that was happening, a guard was leading through the building where Draco and Pansy were imprisoned. Both teenagers had asked for this and also explained their reasons. After it had went through the proper channels, no reason was found to deny them this, though a guard would be present in case things would get too heated.
That however was not their plan. After hearing what happened with those two, they had felt the need to ask them about several things - questions they wondered about ever since the end of the previous school year. They also felt they had to do this on their own and asked friends and partners to be patient, especially since this was happening in a controlled environment.
"After hearing from Uncle Sirius in what condition they are in, I at first had difficulties to believe it. After all, the side we saw of them over the years was that of highly arrogant bastards," Harry remarked while they walked down the corridors.
"I know, very different from what we know of them. Though, you have to admit, if even half of the stuff they confessed they went through is true, then there is a good reason for that change," Hermione reminded him.
Makes you wonder what horrors they are still planning, if that is how they treat some of their new recruits, Harry thought with a shudder.
They then reached the door and were being led in. Draco and Pansy had been told in advance who to expect, but both of them looked surprised that Harry and Hermione actually did really come. They however said nothing while observing them sit down on the other side of the table. That was way different from the past, where both of them would have shown their disgust without hesitation.
Seeing that they wouldn't say anything, Harry knew he would have to start. "Now, you perhaps wonder why we of all people want to have a chat with you?"
"Eh... yes." While no longer as tired as he used to be, Draco was still not back to were he used to be. "It is not like we are close or anything like that. We thought you would want to forget as as quick as possible."
"We are here because there are some things we wonder about, and we hope you can answer us," Hermione said. "And the big one is: was it worth it?"
"Pardon?" Pansy asked, not understanding the question.
Hermione knew she had to be more specific. "In the end, after all what happened, do you think it truly was worth it to throw in your lot with that insane ideology and burn all your bridges?"
At first they said nothing, though their expressions didn't hide how they went through many emotions. Finally, Draco answered the question. "If I am to be honest, no. No, it was not worth what we went through and how much we lost."
"Then, why did you do it?" Harry wondered.
"At first we didn't know any better. After all, as a kid you think that what you parents tell you has to be true. Also, it was expected of us. We... we also felt superior," Draco admitted.
"Well, that would cover your first years at Hogwarts. But then something changed, correct?" Hermione said, having a feeling she was on the correct path.
"We honestly started to believe it. We felt it was the right thing to do and we would be on the right side of history. Looking back on it, we also wanted to believe that because it made us feel powerful. We... were really naive about reality," Pansy admitted.
"And then reality slapped you so hard and often that you no longer could lie to yourselves?" Harry guessed.
Draco snorted, the first time he showed a reaction they associated with him. "Yes, but it's not that is any help to us now. Look where we are. We flushed our own lives down the toilet before we even reached twenty. Damn, we were dumb..."
"I wouldn't say that. There are lines you didn't cross; were unwilling to cross. Perhaps you don't believe me, but despite what you have done, you are not irredeemable. You are not like the Death Eaters who do murder for sport and do atrocities like an everyday activity you don't lose any sleep over," Hermione reminded them.
Draco and Pansy flinched when being reminded how Death Eaters seemed to just go with even the most horrible of atrocities and not feel much at all about it. "I remember my parents, while really snobbish and aping the manners of the upper crust, didn't use to be really horrible people. But then they attached themselves to the cause and went through a steady change. Now I don't recognize them anymore; they are willing to do any horrible thing to gain the Dark Lord's favor."
"When you finally saw it, it made you painfully aware you don't want to be like that?" Harry guessed.
"They became obsessed with pleasing the Dark Lord and were down and ready to do any horrible thing for him. In the end they even started to stop caring about me..." Pansy was indeed painfully aware how she had lost her parents to the cause.
"Not that being loyal is helping much, either. My father tried really hard to make up for his past errors, but as a reward for his efforts, he was backstabbed, abandoned, tortured for over a year and now is a wreck who is forced to eat from a garbage dump. Following someone who never forgives..." Draco once again felt how horrible Voldemort's true nature was.
"Everyone of them is deluding themselves if they think they have his favor," Harry said, shaking his head at that fact. "He's a complete egomaniac who only cares for himself. Even Bellatrix is just a useful tool to him."
Those were hard words, but by this point Draco and Pansy knew they were true.
"There is something I wonder, however," Hermione then said, looking to Pansy. "You always hated me more than my friends. I know at the beginning it was only due to my blood status, but I have a feeling that over time a different reason became more important."
"Pansy?" Draco wondered, since she had never gone into depth why she hated Granger so much - not that he had questioned it, mind you.
"Yes, at the start it was your blood status. But over time... I... I became jealous of you," she finally admitted with a blush of shame. "I saw how successful you became while my academics stayed unremarkable, how you had real friends while apart from Draco I only had lackeys surrounding me, how other students respected and even admired you, while I didn't get the same."
They felt they didn't have to add that her being found lacking compared to Hermione was very much of her own making, due to never having tried to better herself or her behavior.
Harry then knew they had the answers they wanted. "Forgiving you for all what you did during our school years, especially as the Inquisitorial Squad, is very difficult or even impossible." He then saw their expressions. "The wounds right now are still too fresh. But seeing how you truly understand now, perhaps with time the feelings of hurt will lessen, but..."
Draco let out a humorless laugh. "Why bother since we'll never be free again?"
"I don't think so. Had they truly wanted to make an example of you, they wouldn't have given you such a good treatment," Hermione reminded them. "Their justice is not like that of Magical Britain, where the only real prison was built on the very premise of constantly putting the inmates, regardless of their crime, through psychological torture."
"I think you'll be surprised what real justice is like," Harry said as parting words.
Draco and Pansy honestly were surprised that those two, who had every right to treat them like complete crap, had been downright polite with them. That honestly had given them a lot to think about while they were being escorted back to the room that was essentially their cell.
Also, the future seemed a bit brighter than the pitch darkness they had imagined it to be.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"Hyperinflation"
Notes:
Here the notes.
I honestly could not resist having the real Henry Jones Jr. appear, though as it's obvious, his life was a lot tamer than the movies - which he did give his OK for to Lucas and Spielberg. The scene also is a huge middle finger to the horrible Dial of Destiny.
Yeah, we do see pieces of the massive changes that are happening (showing all of it would be plain impossible) and there will be moch more to come on that front (most of it not inside the scope of this story). And the of course Tom throws a tantrum and we see the consequences of such.
Finally Draco and Pansy escape. Pansy sadly is forced to do something nasty but it shows she's no true Death Eater material. I honestly wondered how to get rid of the marks short of cutting their arms off, until I found that solution (that was before I wrote the chapter with the prophecy).
Man, you can't evny Blair for having to reveal those things. An we do see plenty of reactions as well...
I bet you did not expect to see Little Hangleton again. However, I did not forget Frank Bryce and I really wanted him to get the satisfaction of having his name cleared and watch the people of the village being made to look like the fools they are.
Even more Draco and Pansy. First to finally confirm where the Cup of HGufflepuff is located, giving our heroes the important clue. And then Harry and Hermione, resulting in an interesting conversation to say the least.