Author's Notes :- Assignments, tutorials, projects, ...etc. you know how it is!
Incase you haven't figured it out, I am a student - The reason why I haven't been able to work on this fic as much I would like to. Never fear for this isn't going to be abandoned, just that updates will be slow(er)? Also, it's because this fic is the longest work I have ever written, never mind my first fanfic. So, I am invested in this as much as you are.
Although, this little break between the last chapter and this new chapter had me going back to my plotline, which I have typed up in Word (lol). It did give me a better sense on how to move forward, as one big event is planned to happen soon.
Wish me luck!
Once again, thank you for all the love you are showing and I am really grateful for the support and patience.
Do leave a review :)

Chapter 23 : Unravelling Threads

Arthur Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt stood guard for the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries. The room was dark and silent, the only sound was the occasional drip of water from a leaky pipe and their occasional deep breaths. Arthur paced back and forth, his wand held tightly in his hand. Kingsley sat in a corner, his eyes closed, but he was alert to any sound that might indicate danger. They had positioned themselves in front of the door to the Hall of Prophecies and their eyes were peeled for any sudden movement.

It was getting close to three in the morning, their shift had started at eight last night. Usually, only one Order was stationed for the guard, but now it had been decided that a companion was necessary - to wake the other if they had fallen asleep or in worst cases, to have their back in case of an ambush.

Arthur stopped pacing and looked at Kingsley. "Do you think that the enemy would be getting desperate?" he asked.

Kingsley pondered for a moment before answering, "I would bet on it. Voldemort want this prophecy at any costs, that much has Severus has confirmed. It's the other things that I am worried about. "

"What do you mean?"

"I assume you must have heard about how Fudge is milking this abuse Harry suffered at the hands of the Muggles." When Arthur nodded, Kingsley continued. "The only thing he sees this as a way of improving his poll ratings and now with Dumbledore out of the picture, he is sizing himself as some strong-willed leader. He had even thought of getting Harry on his side, can you imagine? Of course, with Death Eaters like Malfoy hiding behind him, the situation is going to get worse before it gets better."

Arthur agreed, pinching his nose in contempt. "Augusta Longbottom let it slip that the Wizengamot is considering profiling the Muggleborns, adults and children alike. Those who would be entering our world would have to decide between the two. There have been talks of separating the children once they reach the age of eleven from their families and promoting Pureblood marriages to increase witches and wizards and bring back blood ancestry in full swing."

"I hope Harry can provide us some inside knowledge. We have to make a move now."

Arthur felt his heart break at the thought of expecting more from Harry. He and Molly always had an inkling of happenings at the Dursleys and they were right when it was confirmed. It was clear abuse. How could one be so stone-hearted to treat an orphan, never mind one's own nephew in this manner? Not for the first time, Arthur was proud of the way Harry had turned out - his resiliency at surviving against all odds was simply fascinating.

"You got my tip about the guardianship?" Kingsley asked, changing the subject.

"Yes! Thank you for that. Dumbledore did inform us that something like this was going to happen, now that the Dursleys are ... indisposed. I had a meeting with Madam Bones today about the same. I submitted our request to be assigned Harry's guardians. It's lucky that she is going to be handling the case."

"Considering that the ward is one Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, the Ministry would have a field day with this one if word got out that he was without guardians," stated Kinglsey.

"Also, my daughter would be very upset if her husband was claimed by anyone else," chuckled Arthur. "Especially now."

They both laughed.

"I think that Harry's guardianship will be easily granted to you," said Kingsley with confidence.

Remembering how the meeting had went, Arthur said, "Do you know, who interrupted us halfway? Lucius Malfoy!"

Kingsley showcased his surprise by raising his eyebrows, "Surely, you don't mean that - "

"Oh yes," said Arthur, confirming what the other had been thinking.

Amelia Bones' office was surprisingly warm and inviting, a stark parallel to the posh coldness that echoed in every other room in the Ministry of Magic.

"I don't understand, Arthur. I have just opened up the file of Mr. Potter's guardianship and here you are asking to apply for it," said Madam Bones, sitting behind a burgundy coloured Mahagony table.

Arthur thanked the short memo Kingsley had sent to his office after lunch in his head.

"Well, it's no surprise that Harry is without any appointed guardians," he answered simply to Madam Bones' curiosity.

She carefully surveyed him with steely grey eyes. "You want to submit an application for the role of Mr. Potter's guardians? Jointly?"

He nodded.

"Have you discussed this in detail with your wife?"

"Molly and I are on the same page."

"What about your children? You have quite the large brood."

Arthur smiled. "Seven, actually. But the eldest three are grown up and are living on their own. The twins are well on their way to finishing their NEWTs; so hoping they have figured out by now what they want to do. Which leaves only Ron and Ginny - "

A short knock on the door followed with Lucius Malfoy striding in.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Malfoy?" Madam Bones asked tersely. It was clear that she didn't like being interrupted.

Malfoy's eyes lingered on Arthur a bit before ignoring him completely. "Excuse me for trespassing. However I do have quite an important matter to discuss. It is my understanding that young Mr. Potter has no Ministry-approved legal guardian and is, in essence, a ward of the Ministry of Magic. Therefore, I wish to place a request to become - "

"His guardian?" said Madam Bones, finishing his sentence. She took a deep breath and reclined on her comfortable chair. "This is quite surprising - a challenger to your request, Arthur."

The two men locked eyes, it was clear that neither of them was going to be willing to back down.

"Good lord, Arthur Weasley. Of all the people, I would have bet on you getting tired of children," commented Malfoy snidely.

"The Weasleys are the definition of family and no one is in better position than us to provide Harry with what he truly needs," said Arthur proudly.

Malfoy turned his nose down on him and turned to Madam Bones. "Amelia," he began, "As much as Weasley's sentiments are admirable, it is no secret that money is a key factor in this matters. Something that is - severely lacking in my opponent's case."

"While we may not be given what many have been blessed with, that has never hampered my and my wife's way of upbringing our children. Everyone has been cared for to the utmost of our capabilities. Also," Arthur said, "due to Harry's inheritance-"

"Mr. Potter's fortune," Malfoy said, "cannot be given to his guardians. Surely, I hope this isn't a way to get your hands on some galleons!"

"If you could let me finish - Harry could survive on his own fortune until he turns seventeen, which is just shy of two more years. So, only for the summer holidays will he need a guardian, the other time he will be at Hogwarts."

Technically, Harry didn't need a guardian. However, there wasn't a way to prove that he was of age, without giving their time-travel secret away.

"Very well," Madam Bones said with a sigh, "Question of wealth is on equal footing."

Arthur then brought out his trump card, "Harry has been staying with us for the summers before starting Hogwarts since his second year. Not to forget that he is my youngest son, Ron's best mate. Has been ever since they were first years. He even is on friendliest terms with my other children. They regard him as a brother.

"Now, I don't like to badmouth, but there have been many previous altercations between Harry and Draco Malfoy at Hogwarts, negative confrontations all of them. What sort of domestic lifestyle are you hoping to achieve? Is this really something you have thought through Lucius?"

"I cannot speak for -"

"If this is the case, Lucius, I am sorry, but I cannot accept your request," said Madam Bones. When Malfoy began to protest, she continued firmly, "We also have to keep in mind that Mr. Potter is a teenager and not a child. He can very well voice his opinions and they will be taken into consideration before passing a judgement. Since, Arthur's side is favourable - "

"But - "

She held up a hand, "Also, I would quite like to work on this matter seriously and not have this become something as a waste of Ministry's resources and time, as it happened with Mr. Potter's hearing a few months back."

It seemed that Malfoy had given up. "Very well. I only wish to impress one thing - Mr. Potter's upbringing until now has been despicable. See to it that he doesn't become something of a house-elf at the Weasleys. After all, it's respected people like Dumbledore fooling the world with two faces."

With a swish of his cloak, he left.

Arthur really tried to suppress a snort at the parting words of Malfoy, but failed. Talk about the irony of having two faces!

"He's right," stated Madam Bones suddenly, surprising him.

When he shot her a questioning look, she answered, "Dumbledore has made a grave mistake by placing Mr. Potter at the hands of such Muggles."

"I am compelled to ask, was the arrest of Harry's relatives authorized? Or was it carried out on a whim?" Arthur questioned.

"I signed the arrest papers and communicated with the Muggle policemen myself. This is not something to be ignored, the evidence speaks for itself. Even if it were any other magical child, justice has to be delivered. But someone like Mr. Potter who is seen as a symbol of victory over evil, has a legend attached to his name ..." She shook her head.

"Was it fair that it was broadcasted in such a manner? His private life paraded as some sort of example?"he asked pointedly.

Madam Bones grimaced slightly, clasping her hands beneath her chin. "No. I would be first to admit that this isn't right.

"To be fair, Mr. Potter himself doesn't shy away from the spotlight either. His history does explain a lot. I have myself investigated a bit. You have to understand, how this matter appears to the public and the Wizengamot. A school headmaster taking such inordinate amount of interest in him."

Arthur did understand. If he was on the other left-in-the-dark side of the happenings, ...

"Susan," she said, gesturing to a photograph on her desk of a young girl with auburn hair. "My niece is currently at Hogwarts. Same age as Mr. Potter's. She speaks very highly of him, you know. She says Harry is very kind, friendly and he has never sought attention. His initiative with the Club is very popular and I should believe what he's been saying about ... about Voldemort."

Arthur blinked. "And? Do you?"

"I don't want to," she said carefully, "and I'm sure you of all people can understand why…This isn't easy."

"So you think he's lying?"

"My impression of him in the hearing is that he seems…honest. He does not strike me as someone who would lie for attention. Especially about this."

"I mean no disrespect, Madam Bones, but you have been in this Ministry for many years. You have garnered a reputation for yourself that is respected and have seen this Ministry build from the remains of the last war. The way that," Arthur hesitated. 'In for a Knut, in a for Galleon,' he thought. "Fudge and his Undersecretary Umbridge have been using their power for their benefit. Playing politics."

Upon hearing this, she sank back down into her armchair. When she spoke, her voice was restrained — diplomatic.

"Believe me, I have strong words with how the current regime is being run, particularly the way Umbridge 'unearthed' Mr. Potter's history. Susan has additionally informed me of Umbridge's behaviour at Hogwarts. Mr. Potter has sent me a letter reminding me about the rogue Dementors, which I assume to be some way of hinting me to the guilty. Off the record. Dementors don't just abandon their posts without express orders. So it has to be someone from the higher-up. If Umbridge did this," she shook her head. "I'm afraid all of this is circumstantial."

"What do you plan to do next?" Arthur inquired.

" Now, keeping the matter of Dumbledore claiming the Dark Lord being back, I am afraid, both will have to answer questions to sort this all out. Starting with Dumbledore himself..."

"So, it's true? Dumbledore is going to be thrown out?" asked Arthur hesitantly.

"Not at the moment. I daresay, that he still has a few friends in the Wizengamot and his long service as a reputed teacher isn't tainted by this mistake, if one may call it. A probation, if you will. Also, I fail to understand for what he has to be prosecuted. For putting a blind faith in Muggles than his fellow witches and wizards?

"Of course, the first thing on my agenda is Mr. Potter's guardianship and then, seeing as the Christmas holidays are around the corner, a discussion with Mr. Potter is long overdue, mostly about his relatives. After that... some other things that are happening behind the scenes."

With that they came back to their original discussion, with Arthur officially submitting a request. As he stood up to leave, he couldn't help but say, "I have disagreed with Dumbledore on many accounts, however that doesn't changes the fact that the position and respect he has achieved till now, is not only because of his talents and skills, but also because of the glaring lack of support and administration of this Ministry. Especially when the happenings inside the Ministry are not what it seems. He stood up when others kept quiet."

Kingsley whistled as he became an audience to Arthur's narration. "If there is one person we need on our side, it's Madam Bones."

Arthur nodded in agreement, "I feel that soon there's going to be a storm, I don't know what - "

He stopped talking as Kingsley tightly gripped his hand and mouthed him to keep quiet and carefully pointed out to somewhere in the distance.

There among the dimly-lit corridor was a snake gliding across the floor towards the door. Nagini. She hadn't realised that she was being watched and nor would she be, since they both quickly cast themselves under the Disillusionment Charm.

"No magic, just ...," whispered Arthur to his right, as both men took out the Basilisk Fangs they had acquired from Dumbledore.

They paced themselves behind her and followed her as she was in constant, writhing motion. Silently, Kingsley decided to circle her from the front, when he unknowingly stepped on her moving tail, thereby alerting her to her stalkers.

Nagini halted, and without giving any indication, she turned and attacked into the air and caught Kingsley's right hand and began to wrap herself around him and sank her fangs deeply. He screamed and in force of bite dropped his wand and the fang; the sound clattering onto the marble floor.

Suddenly, he experienced a powerful blow to the injured arm and he fell backwards on the wall. Nagini thrashed in the air at the same time as Kingsley and fell, hissing wildly.

Arthur stood with his wand raised, sweat forming on his forehead. Before him, coiled with lethal grace, was Nagini - a living Horcrux. His heart pounded in his chest, a mix of fear and resolve. He had always been the kind and nurturing patriarch, but now, faced with the opportunity to have a world without You-Know-Who, he felt a surge of determination.

The snake lunged as he took a running leap and he brought down the poisonous fang with all his might on any part of body he could miraculously reach without harming himself. The fang punctured the snake in the neck and Arthur slammed the slithering creature hard on the wall beside him. He took deep breathes and viewed the scene infront of him. The snake slowly slipped down the wall, painting it red with blood.

As the body fell to the floor, a dark, ghostly wisp emerged and dissipated into the air - the fragment of soul was destroyed.

Arthur's legs were shaking, he collapsed lightly on the floor. Taking out a handkerchief he wiped his face. His gaze fell on the fangs and Kingsley's wand. He picked them up, when -

"Arthur..."

Arthur spun around and saw his companion clutching his hand, blood oozing. He knelt down, and with little knowledge of healing, he knew that a trip to St. Mungo's was on the cards. He was certain that the Echoing Hex he had to use on Kinglsey to separate him from the snake had broken his right hand.

"Wait..the snake," said Kingsley, attempting to stay conscious.

"It's dead, no worry," replied Arthur. "We have to get you to the hospital and we bloody can't Apparate from here."

He then slung Kingsley's uninjured left hand on his shoulder and they quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Harry woke up slowly and found his back was aching. Even if he had transfigured Ginny's bed into a large size, it was still quite cramped. He turned, opening his eyes and was greeted to the sight of his wife perched on one elbow, and looking at him with a smile. He smiled in response, as she leaned toward him for a kiss.

Before Harry could deepen the kiss, Ginny backed up.

"Come on, it's Sunday," said Harry. "There's a Hogsmeade trip, so I won't be missed."

"Exactly it's Sunday. Which means you have plenty of time before you have to go back to Hogwarts," said Ginny.

"Well, I know how we can spend time -," he began, wriggling his eyebrows.

"By making your wife a treacle tart!" exclaimed Ginny.

"What! Now?"

"I am getting a big craving for treacle tart. And by me, I mean -, " she trailed off, both of them glancing at her baby bump.

Harry chuckled and stretched himself, shirking off the last remnants of his sleep. He got up and placed a kiss on her cheek before making his way to the bathroom.

The husband and wife both got dressed and in these moments, Harry still believed that they were back in their time. With the baby, of course. Domestic bliss was something Harry longed for now.

"I am not going back," he stated suddenly, surprising even himself. Ginny turned to look at him. "I mean, I have to go now. But after the Christmas holidays, I am staying here, with you."

"Harry - "

"No, I don't care for the sake of appearances or whatever the Ministry thinks. This is where I belong," he said firmly, taking her hand in his. "And I don't want to miss the birth of our child."

Ginny simply smiled and kissed him.

A knock sounded on the door, and Harry groaned. Ginny giggled and moved away from him, as she opened the door to let Sirius in.

"Hey!" said Sirius, "Hope I am not interrupting anything?"

"You were -" began Harry, but his wife shushed him down. She then turned to Sirius, "Cleared your head?"

When Sirius nodded, she gave them both a look which said 'talk amongst yourselves' and left them, closing the door behind her.

"Harry, I - "

"If this is about the Dursleys and you not being able to be there for me because you were falsely imprisoned, then I don't want to hear it," Harry said, interrupting him.

"But - "

"Sirius, my childhood was fourteen years ago. Another timeline even. I am not going to dwell on this, and neither should you. This shouldn't distract us from our main goal."

Sirius sighed and gave him a look-over, and said, clapping his shoulder, "I am sorry that happened to you. I don't know how you can be so -"

When Harry began to give him a look, Sirius raised his hands in surrender.

Satisfied with their talk, they headed downstairs, where Molly was already in the kitchen, prepping the food for the day in advance. Ginny sat in one of the smaller kitchen chairs, helping her mother in slicing the vegetables.

"Hope you didn't spend the night wallowing in that dark house, Sirius," said Ginny, broaching the subject.

Before Sirius could answer, Molly harrumphed from the corner.

"Come now, Molly. You can't be still upset with this!" said Sirius.

"What happened?" asked Harry, coming to stand beside his wife.

"It seems Sirius didn't spend the night at Grimmauld Place," said Molly.

"Don't tell me...," began Ginny, but stopped when she saw Sirius' warning look. She had an inkling where he might have gone, but wasn't prepared to say it infront of Harry.

Sirius cleared his throat and waved his wand, and two big boxes came zooming round. "I went to Muggle London, don't worry, Remus was with me. I just... seeing that I couldn't fulfill my godfather duties to Harry, I thought about getting a jump start to being -," he hesitated. "Merlin, James is going to be a Grandpa at my age. No, not grandpa, but Uncle Sirius or even better just Sirius or Padfoot to the new Potter."

"And what are these?"

Sirius flipped open both the boxes, as Harry and Ginny stared at the contents. The boxes were filled to brim with toys, clothes and baby accessories.

"Seeing that we don't know whether it's a boy or a girl, I found it better to just have everything ready."

"You bought all this!" said Ginny in amazement, her eyes slightly tearing at the big gesture. Harry shook his head in exasperation. Leave it to Sirius to do nothing or to go all the way.

"Bought all what?" asked Arthur, entering through the kitchen door.

The occupants gazed at the heavily exhausted figure of the eldest Weasley. Molly quickly ushered him in onto a seat and placed a glass of water in his hand. He drank it, as the others shot furtive glances at each other.

"You okay, Arthur?" asked Sirius. "Did something happened on the watch?"

"The snake is dead."

The words had an instant effect, as questions started coming. Arthur slowly recounted the last night's or rather early morning's event.

"Is Kingsley alright?" asked Molly.

"Yes. Luckily, it seems that the snake didn't use her venom. He's been advised to rest at St. Mungo's for the week."

Harry took a deep breath, as he realised that only one Horcrux was left. With that, the moment of his final showdown against Voldemort was inching closer and closer.

Voldemort glanced down at the corpse of Nagini that lay at his feet on the floor.

He was standing in a dimly lit room, and beyond the corpse, in a pool of light cast upon the floor by the candles, knelt a man in black robes.

"And there was no one around?" His voice was high and cold, but fury and fear burned inside him. The one thing that he had dreaded - but it could not be true, he could not see how . . .

"No, my Lord...I work in the Department of Beasts, so they called me this morning to look," croaked Walden Macnair.

Voldemort relinquished his grip on the wand. "Nagini," he hissed.

He was crazed, frenzied, it could not be true, it was impossible, nobody had known. Was Dumbledore at the root of this? Or someone in his Order? He knew that the prophecy was being guarded by them, but whoever had killed his pet snake, had used something damaging. Something that had destroyed his Horcrux residing in her. He could see a small hole in the snake's neck.

They passed before him in vision: his treasures, his safeguards, his anchors to immortality - the diary was destroyed, it had been a grave mistake to trust Malfoy. Now, the snake. Two down.

He had not felt her, when she died. How could Lord Voldemort not have known, if he, himself, most important and precious, had been attacked, mutilated? The idea of the locket, the ring, the cup and the diadem being stolen was absurd...

Yet...

But to be sure, to be utterly sure, he must return to each of his hiding places, he must redouble protection around each of his Horcruxes. . . .

"Master, may I offer my condolences."

"Crucio!"

The room filled with screams.

After he finally lifted the curse, he ordered the trembling Death Eater. "Round up the others!"

Without waiting for a reply, he strode from the room, through the hall, and out into the dark garden where the fountain played and he Disapparated with a crack.

He was standing inside the shack, and the rotting floorboards were ripped apart at his feet. A disinterred golden box lay open and empty beside the hole, and his scream of fury vibrated inside the shack, shaking the dilapidated structure. He held the note in his hand.

R.A.B.

He was moving along the tunnel into the first cave...

Sailing fast over the dark lake in the ghostly green boat... He had nearly reached the island where the stone basin stood...

He looked down upon a basin whose potion had turned clear, and saw that the golden locket lay safe beneath the surface - but no sooner he picked it up, than he realised that it was a fake - he prised it open - another note.

R.A.B.

He was possessed of that cold, cruel sense of purpose that preceded murder. He cast a ball of fire, and aimed it at the Inferis he had created, who had crawled their way up on the island. They shouted unintelligent words, but he didn't seem to care.

Four down. The diadem and the cup remained. The cup was in the tightest of security - the Lestranges were in Azkaban; and the diadem - he felt unsure, as he alone had penetrated the deepest secrets of the castle, but the hiding place could be found out by Dumbledore. Anyhow, the old fool was otherwise preoccupied.

No, he shouldn't underestimate him.

Who knew of his secret? He was certain that Slughorn was the only one with whom he had ever talked about Horcruxes. Had Dumbledore specifically recruited him back for this? Severus had assured that there was not one hidden motive behind the appointment.

Who knew of his past?

Dumbledore had known his middle name... Dumbledore might have made the connection with the Gaunts... Dumbledore had given him his Hogwarts letter at the orphanage...

He was the only one. If not him, then -

R.A.B.

R.A.B.

He knew those initials. In a flash, it all came back to him...

Regulus. Arcturus. Black.

He was the one who had provided him with an elf.

Once again, trusted people were disappointing him.

Wasn't the young Black killed by the Order? He had never confirmed it. Another failure on his part.

If Black was still alive, he knew of his secret and had worked to destroy them. Was he working alone? Or had he taken refuge with the old man and the two were plotting against him?

He needed to ask Snape about Regulus... No... he would no longer trust these people. He needed to take matter in his own hands. His return to the Wizarding World, albeit a secret, hadn't been fruitful in its entirety. The only things happening in his favour were the complete distrust of Dumbledore and the ignorance of the Ministry. The prophecy still sat in the Ministry, taunting him.

The one with the power to vanquish him.

Where did Harry Potter fit into all this, now that four of his Horcruxes were gone?

Regulus. Arcturus. Black.

The name angered him.

Black.

Such a shame that the Noble and Pureblood House of Black had turned on their sacred upbringing and ancestry...Walburga's heirs were traitors to their kind. Sirius and Regulus.

Another piece fell into place.

Sirius Black was the godfather to Harry Potter. Wormtail had informed him of their relationship. He was closer to the boy than the pathetic Mudblood relatives. He was also the brother to this Regulus Black. And he hasn't been seen since his escape from Azkaban.

No more hiding in the shadows.

He wanted answers.

Answers that Sirius Black was going to give him.