The World of Erised

by Mando-Vet

Whilst looking for a place to hide from Filch and Snape, Harry discovers a mirror that shows him his parents. Desperate to be with them, Harry begs the mirror to take him to where they are, only to wake up in a world where his parents are alive AND he has a new older sister! But this world has just as many dangers as his last one and old enemies are here as well, waiting to strike.

11. Chapter 11

Werewolves Attack Hogsmeade!
By: Rita Skeeter

Terror struck the quiet village of Hogsmeade yesterday when a horde of rabid animals descended upon it, intent on murdering or transferring their vile virus to as many innocents as they could.

This reporter herself was one of the ones trapped in the Three Broomsticks pub when the attack began, hoping to secure an interview with our new Minster of Magic, and I am not ashamed to admit that I truly believed that I would soon be dead or worse, bitten and turned.

But through the fog of violence and horror, I witnessed something truly great; something that very few can rarely and truly testify to: the rise of a hero.
James Potter, our new Minister of Magic, was visiting Hogsmeade with his family, happily celebrating not only his victory in the polls, but also his newly-recovered son's first Quidditch game (for more information on Harry Potter, turn to page 3).

Immediately taking charge, James Potter first sent out a call for help to his friend and fellow Auror, Sirius Black; once that was done, Minister Potter asked for volunteers to go out and protect those currently under attack. Sadly (and this reporter is ashamed to be counted amongst the number) many decided to decline the Minister's request and instead stay safe in the pub.

With only a paltry force, Minister Potter readied himself to go out and face the monsters, when this reporter saw something that truly made her fight back tears; Minister Potter's newly recovered son, Harry Potter, broke free from his mother, Lily Potter's, embrace and begged his father not to leave. Showing strength that this reporter has very rarely seen in her life, James Potter quickly embraced his son before telling him that he had to go out there to protect the innocent victims who were in danger.

Minister Potter then shared a passionate kiss goodbye with his wife (and what many believed would be his final goodbye kiss) before storming out of the pub with his volunteers; but not before issuing one incredible order: the volunteers were free to use any spell, curse, or hex they wished! This order is one that has rarely been given by a Minister, with the last being during the Goblin uprising of 1710 (for more information on Minister Joffrey, and his order of 'take no prisoners,' turn to page 6).

For several long minutes, this reporter tried not to show how utterly terrified I was as I sat amongst the other scared individuals of the Three Broomsticks pub while the sounds and screams of battle echoed from the other side of the front door.
Suddenly, said door exploded and a monstrous werewolf invaded the pub; one unfortunate wizard attempting to strike the wolf with a chair received a slash to the face as a result; sadly, I later learned that the wizard (Arthur Tobias, age 47) died from a result of his wounds, as the werewolf's attack was so deep that it nearly struck bone.

The werewolf then turned its attention to Lily Potter and her children, resulting in a devastating battle in which Lily Potter very nearly lost; if not for the sudden appearance of Sirius Black and a squad of Aurors who quickly stunned and arrested the werewolf before making their way out of the pub to join the Minister in defense of Hogsmeade.

It was only after the battle was over that this reporter dared to leave the Three Broomsticks to see what had occurred; and the sight I saw will be with me until my dying day, that I can promise.

The streets were littered with the dead bodies of not only werewolves but also, heartbreakingly, the bodies of villagers and students; but the worst thing that I saw, by far, was that of Sirius Black holding the unmoving body of Minister Potter.

For one agonizing moment, I was sure that the Wizarding World's leader had died in battle defending its people at the cost of his own life; thankfully, those fears were dashed when healers descended on Hogsmeade a few moments later and began to do their work.

Miraculously, the healers proclaimed that our Minister Potter would be just fine; the only wound he received that they were unable to fully heal were three diagonal slashes across his left cheek, which this reporter thinks makes Minister Potter look rather dashing.
Several hours later, the Daily Prophet finally received the exact tally from what will no doubt be known forever after as "The Massacre of Hogsmeade," and the final number truly broke this reporter's heart.

Fifteen Hogwarts students, as well as ten villagers, died as a result of this senseless slaughter; the names of those killed have of course been redacted out of respect for the families of the fallen, including those that may not yet know.
Furthermore, an additional eight people, both villagers and students combined, were sadly infected and taken into Ministry custody until it is decided what will be done with them, and whether or not they will be welcome back at Hogwarts considering what has occurred will no doubt exacerbate the already ill-feeling between Magicals and Werewolves.

While heartbreaking, the losses on the side of those attacked are nothing when compared with the losses sustained by the Werewolves that attacked Hogsmeade; the final tally is still being taken, but when I began this report, I was told that the current number of dead Werewolves was at sixty-two, and still climbing as it seemed the defenders reveled in Minister Potter's order to "Take no prisoners."

Rather than being vilified by the Magical community for giving such an order, Minister Potter's approval rating seemed to sky-rocket this morning as hundreds of Wizards and Witches offered their thanks to the Minister for not only allowing the Aurors to use whatever means they deemed necessary in defense of their children. But also, their awe and respect for James Potter leading the defense himself, rather than hiding and sending out others to fight as our previous Minister would have no doubt done. I even interviewed a few of these grateful witches and wizards to see what they truly thought about Minister Potter and was amazed by how many seemed to have a great appreciation for their new Minister, (To see a few of these interviews, turn to page 2.).

But it was only when the battle finally ended, and the surviving Werewolves were driven off that a truly horrific thing was discovered; not far from the body of a fallen Werewolf was the remains of a piece of Wolf-root.
To those who may be unaware, Wolf-root is an incredibly rare plant that when ingested allows a Werewolf complete control over their transformations as well as allows them to retain their mind after transformation.

This momentous discovery has given rise to a truly horrifying thought, "Were the Werewolves ordered to attack the village?" And if so, then for what purpose?
This train of thought was further compounded when it was discovered that the Werewolf responsible for attacking Lily Potter was none other than Fenrir Grayback, the Alpha of the largest Werewolf pack in England!

Fenrir Grayback was immediately taken into custody, where no doubt he is currently being interrogated to discover why he attacked Hogsmeade with over a hundred Werewolves, and it is this reporter's hope that the one responsible for this senseless massacre is sent straight to the veil, as that is the only acceptable punishment fit for someone who orders the slaughter of children.
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Fenrir leaned over the chair he was strapped to and spat out a glob of blood as Sirius Black took a step back and glared hatefully down at him; Fenrir had lost track of time since he was revived and brought down to this dark interrogation room, probably because the moment he was strapped to the chair, Sirius Black had begun using Fenrir's face as a punching bag, while James Potter and another Auror watched from nearby. By now, Fenrir's nose was a bleeding ruin, and his right eye was swollen shut, but still, he refused to say a word, knowing that Fudge's culpability could either be Fenrir's salvation or damnation.

"Now, I'm going to ask you again, beast," Sirius growled as he massaged his knuckles, "Who ordered you to attack Hogsmeade?!"
"No one ordered me," Fenrir spat back, "The pack needed new blood, and what better pickings than Hogsmeade?"
Fenrir chuckled at the last part, causing Sirius to turn crimson with rage and slam a hard punch into Fenrir's stomach, making the Werewolf double over and dry-heave as he gasped for breath.

"You made a mistake going after the Minister's family," Mad-Eye Moody growled as he limped into the room and stood beside Sirius, "If you had been smart, you would have sent someone else to attack Lily Potter and her children. The fact that you went yourself all but proves that you were sent to Hogsmeade to assassinate the Minister's family. So, why don't you stop this game you're playing and just tell us the bastard's name, like a good doggy?"
"I am a wolf!" Fenrir snarled, trying, and failing, to look intimidating as he lunged forward at the scarred Auror, only to be held back by the straps of the chair, "No one commands me!"

Sirius seemed to have finally lost his temper by this point and lunged forward, savagely beating Fenrir's face as James and the others watched with barely contained hatred.
"What?!" Sirius snarled, emphasizing each word with a devastating punch,
"Is?!"
Hit
"His?!"
Hit
"Name?!"

The last word was nearly shouted as Sirius rocked Fenrir's head back with an uppercut that nearly knocked the chair over so that for a moment Fenrir's chair was balancing on its two back legs.
"Minister Potter!" An approaching Auror called, making James turn and look, "I have it, sir!"

"What kept you?" James snapped, as he took the bottle from the Auror and caused the young man to flinch slightly; the healers had been unable to fully heal the claw marks that now graced James' face, due to the fact that they were made by a cursed being, and in the darkened interrogation cell, it made James look quite intimidating.

"Fudge, sir," the Auror replied at once as James examined the bottle, "He didn't want me to have access to the Veritaserum, sir. Said that there wasn't enough of it left to waste on some savage animal. I had to inform him that it was ordered by the NEW Minister before he grudgingly agreed to let me have it."
James' eyes narrowed as he looked at the bottle that lay in his open palm, his thoughts racing like a speeding eagle; why was Fudge trying to stop James from using Veritaserum on Fenrir Grayback? Furthermore, wasn't it Fudge who tried to stop Sirius from bringing Aurors to Hogsmeade in the first place? A horrifying idea began to worm its way into James' brain, and he felt himself pale as he considered it for a moment; surely Fudge wouldn't do something so horrible, just because he lost some election?

"I will need witnesses for what comes next," James said after a moment, "Step into the cell, but stay out of the way, understand?"

"Yes sir!" The young man replied before stepping into the room taking his place against the far wall and falling silent; as he saw the state of Fenrir, the young man's eyes momentarily widened in shock before discipline took over and he took on a blank, uninterested look.

Turning back to where Sirius was still beating the Werewolf with savage fury, James slowly stalked inside and approached the wheezing prisoner; stopping beside Moody and Sirius, James stared down at Fenrir for a moment before raising the bottle in front of the Werewolf's face.
"Do you know what this is?" James asked in a tight voice; as Fenrir's eyes zeroed in on the bottle, his eyes widened a bit and made James nod, "That's good. Then you know what will happen when I pour it down your miserable throat."

"Screw you, Wizard!" Fenrir snarled, receiving another blow to the head a second later from Sirius; as Fenrir tried to make the room stop spinning, he tried one last attempt to appear intimidating by growling, "You won't get anything out of me!"
"Do you even understand how badly you've angered me?" James said in a cold voice, seemingly making the temperature of the room drop several degrees, "Allow me to educate you on some things, Mr. Grayback."

Clutching his hands behind his back, James began to slowly walk around Fenrir, causing the Werewolf to shuffle in his chair as he tried to keep James Potter in his line of sight.

"Ten years ago I thought I lost my son," James said in a tight voice, "It very nearly broke me and almost killed my wife. Then a miracle occurred when it turned out my son was alive the whole time and was finally returned to us. It filled a hole in my heart that I thought would never be filled, and brought new life to my wife and daughter, both of whom, had spent the last decade in mourning."

By now, James was standing directly behind Fenrir, and only Moody and Sirius could see how James was beginning to shake from rage, his hands still clutched behind his back to keep him from strangling Fenrir from behind.
"Now, imagine Mr. Grayback," James said softly in a dangerous tone, as he leaned in close to Fenrir's left ear, "How a father who has JUST recovered his son would feel at almost losing him again to some rabid animal!"

Before Fenrir could respond, James lunged forward and wrapped his right arm around the Werewolf's throat and pulled Fenrir's head back; as Fenrir thrashed and tried to break James' hold on him, James extended his left hand to Sirius and showed the bottle at his oldest friend; immediately understanding what James wanted him to do, Sirius took the bottle and quickly pulled the top off before pouring three drops down Fenrir's throat as the Werewolf growled defiantly.

Nodding in approval, James released his hold on Fenrir and quickly swept around the chair until he was standing in the middle between Sirius and Moody, gazing down at the groaning Werewolf that sat before them.
"Now, I'm going to ask you one question, and you WILL answer it," James growled as his fists clenched and unclenched unconsciously, "Did Cornelius Fudge hire you to attack Hogsmeade?"

Sirius and Moody both looked at James in shock for a moment, while the young Auror actually gasped in horror, before their eyes turned back to Fenrir who was struggling to keep from answering; as James watched, he couldn't help but be impressed at the Werewolf's fortitude as Fenrir began to turn red from his struggle to keep from answering.

"Yesss," Fenrir hissed at last as blood began to run from his eyes; at the declaration, the room went eerily silent, and even James was shocked at what Fudge had done, was the man truly mad?

"Did he order you to kill me and my family?" James asked in a choked voice; he would find out exactly how far Fudge was willing to go for some stupid election, and James would use the information to bury Fudge beneath the foundations of Azkaban.
"No," Fenrir growled against his will, "Just your family. He wanted you to have nothing left but the office you stole from him."

"Stole?!" James roared, unable to stop himself from lunging forward and trying to beat Fenrir to death with his bare hands, "I won the election because he is an incompetent arsehole! And he tried to kill my family as a result! How many innocent people are now dead because of his ambition!"
James had just delivered his fourth punch to Fenrir's head when he felt Moody and Sirius pulling him back by his arms. Fenrir by this time was unconscious, and his head hung limply in front of him.

"Easy, lad," Moody called, "Easy! I know you want to kill him and believe me, I would like to let you! But we need him alive if we're to make that bastard Fudge pay for his part in this!"
"He's right, James!" Sirius said as he too tried to hold his friend back, "Fudge needs to pay for what he's done! The families of the children that died deserve justice!"

Finally recovering his wits from the fog of rage he had just been under, James nodded, and Sirius and Moody immediately released their hold on him; turning to the young Auror, James frowned as he saw the young man pale as snow and gaping like a fish.
"What's your name?" James asked, causing the Auror to snap to attention as discipline took over.

"Nathan Miller, sir,"

"How long have you been an Auror, Nathan?" James asked softly,
"Six months, sir," Nathan answered at once,
"He wasn't one of my best," Moddy added, "But he's a good lad, bloody amazing at tracking targets."

James nodded at Moody's assessment before turning back to the Auror,
"Nathan, I want you to go find Frank Longbottom and inform him to seal the Ministry. Nobody in or out. Then I want you to tell him what you heard here and tell him that I am ordering him to gather as many Aurors as he can and meet me at Fudge's office in ten minutes. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir," Nathan said before turning and rushing out of the cell and out of sight; as they were left alone, Sirius let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding.

"I never would have believed Fudge was capable of such a monstrous course of action," Sirius said in a small voice, "I mean, to let a pack of Werewolves attack children just to make his political opponent suffer! Who does that?!"
"I always knew Fudge was a snake," Moody growled as he shook his head, "But I never knew he would go this far."
"I want his head," James growled, "I don't care how much gold he has; I will make him pay for this!"

Sirius actually scoffed at that, making James turn to him with an angry look; before he could start in on Sirius though, the man had held up his hand for peace and explained the reason for said scoff.
"You honestly think gold will be able to save him, James? Fudge is directly responsible for the deaths of over a dozen children. The Wizengamot will burn him alive for this!"

"He's right, lad," Moody said at once, "There's no way out for him, not after this."
"Then, let's go get him," James snarled as he spun on his heel and stormed out of the cell; he had just exited when Sirius called out to him, making him turn back at the door.

"What about Fenrir?" Sirius asked, indicating the still unconscious Werewolf, and making James sneer in contempt.
"Leave him be," James spat, "Once we have Fudge, we can make sure the two of them share a cell."

"Just to be safe though," Moody said at once as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Fenrir, "Stupefy!"

A red beam of light slammed into Fenrir's chest, knocking his head back and causing it to hand over the back of the chair.
"Now we can go," Moody replied simply, causing James to nod in agreement before turning away again; behind him, Sirius and Moody followed at a respectable distance, each mentally preparing for what was about to happen.
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Fudge tried not to panic as he hastily opened his hidden safe and began to shovel the pile of gold and gems into his bag; this horde had taken him years of blackmail and bribes to build and he had often been tempted to pilfer from it. Now, however, Fudge was glad he hadn't as it was most likely going to be the only thing he had left once the day was done. Truth be told, Fudge would have preferred to already be abroad, far from the clutches of the Wizengamot, who would surely be baying for his blood once Fudge's part in the Massacre of Hogsmeade became known.

"I should have known better than to trust a political assassination to a pack of animals!" Fudge thought angrily as he shoveled more gold into his expanded bag, and surprising him; there was far more gold than he had anticipated, and Fudge was beginning to wonder if he should just take what he had and leave already. Only his all-consuming greed kept him from doing so, and he growled as he shoveled more gold into his bag.

Fudge had no illusions that sooner or later Fenrir Grayback would eventually break and tell James Potter and his ilk everything, there were far too many ways of making the Werewolf talk for Fudge to have any hope of his part being kept a secret. When that happened, Fudge needed to be as far away from England as possible, because James Potter would bring the wrath of God down on Fudge's head for daring to try and harm his family, and the truth, loathe though he were to admit it, was that Fudge did truly fear James Potter's anger.

As he was shoveling another armful of gold into his bag, Fudge's office door suddenly exploded inward in a shower of glass and wood, causing the former Minister to dive behind his desk with a cry of fear.

"Cornelius Fudge!" Sirius Black's voice cried out, making Fudge pale in sudden fear, "You are under arrest for the attempted assassination of the family of the Minister of Magic! Come out now with your hands up or you will be treated as hostile!"

"No!" Fudge thought in equal parts anger and fear, "Not now! Not when I'm so close to freedom!"

As he lay on his hands and knees and stared at the fallen gold that lay around him, Fudge felt his regular cowardice being replaced with an over-whelming urge to kill someone, anyone, for how far he had fallen; and who better than the best friend of the man who had stolen everything from Fudge.
With a cry of fury, Fudge jumped up from his hiding spot and snapped his arm out toward where he knew his attackers to be, his wand held tight in his grip.
"Avada Kedavra!" Fudge snarled, sending a jet of green light out of the tip; the Aurors immediately dove out of the way, unfortunately, one new recruit was not quick enough and was struck in the shoulder and fell dead to the carpet floor a second later.

"Bastard!" Sirius snarled, sending a red beam at Fudge who immediately dove under his desk again as a dozen other beams of light followed Sirius'.

Grabbing his expanded bag, Fudge realized he would have to make do with what he already had; pointing his wand at the nearby wall, Fudge roared out,

"Bombarda Maxima!"

Immediately, the wall exploded, eliciting cries of pain from those who had been nearby, and creating a suffocating blanket of dust that allowed Fudge to quickly jump to his feet and dive through the hole.

As he ran down the hallway, passing surprised Ministry workers, Fudge could hear angry cries and shouts for him to stop, from behind him; suddenly wishing he had spent more time exercising, Fudge gasped for air as he swung left down a different hallway, then took a right as he desperately searched for a way out.

He had just taken his third right when an alarm began to sound out, making Fudge curse in anger; they had locked down the Ministry! That meant there was no way for him to Floo out as all the fireplaces would now be locked down; it also meant that he couldn't apparate away as the anti-apparation wards would now be in effect. Biting his lip to keep from panicking, Fudge's mind raced as he desperately tried to think of some way out; suddenly, an idea came to him, and he smiled in delight. If he could make it to the Portkey office, he could use one to escape, and by the time James Potter found out where Fudge had Portkeyed to, Fudge would have Apparated far away from James' wrath.

Smiling smugly at his own intelligence, Fudge immediately spun on his heel and began to race to the Portkey office, hoping that he could reach it before James Potter.
XXXX

James Potter stared down at the cold body of Nathan Miller, and was surprised at how calm he felt, unnaturally calm, in fact; he thought he should feel rage or all-consuming anger, but instead, he felt nothing but calm. Another thing that surprised James was how it suddenly felt as if someone had dialed his senses up to eleven; everything felt like it was moving slowly, and yet James was aware of everything going on around him.

"Where is he?" James growled as two Aurors draped a long white cloth over the recruit's body,
"We don't know," Sirius spat, "The dirty coward ran away after blowing up the wall!"

"It's not like he can escape," Frank Longbottom said at once, "The Ministry is locked down! He's trapped!"

"He's desperate," Moody growled, "And desperate men are dangerous, take it from me, lads."

"He knows he can't escape, so where would he go?" James asked thoughtfully, placing his thumb under his chin; for a few moments, there was silence, when suddenly Sirius had an idea.

"What about the Portkey office? If Fudge gets there, he could order one made for him, since he still has a week left before he has to give up his position."
"That's brilliant, Padfoot!" James said, slapping his friend on the shoulder before turning to the waiting Aurors, "You heard the man! Now move! And I want Fudge alive, but not at the cost of your lives, understand?"
"Yes sir!" A dozen voices called out at once before they all turned and began to rush toward the Portkey office.
XXXX

When he finally reached the Portkey office, Fudge took a moment to compose himself; he was completely out of breath, sweaty and his clothes were wrinkled and covered in dust; after cleaning himself as best he could, Fudge plastered what he thought was a charming smile on his face and stepped inside.
"Good morning, Ms. Bealls," Fudge said jovially, causing the elderly witch to look up and smile,
"Good morning, Cornelius, what can I do for you?"

"Well, you see I'm in a bit of a pickle," Fudge replied with a smile, "The Aurors are doing a random drill and I'm rather late for a meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister to discuss the change in elected official. Could you be a dear and authorize me a Portkey to his office?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry," the elderly witch replied with a wince, "But during these drills, I'm not allowed to authorize any Portkeys. I'm afraid you'll have to wait."
"That's unfortunate," Fudge replied as he withdrew his wand and pointed it at the witch, "I just want you to know, I truly am sorry about this?"

"C-Cornelius?" The witch stuttered in fear,
"Avada Kedavra," Fudge said simply, firing a green light at the witch and causing her head to drop down onto the desk with a 'thump.'
"Such a pity," Fudge said as he holstered his wand and looked down sadly at what had once been his friend of thirty years, "I really didn't want to do that."
Quickly stepping behind the desk, Fudge grabbed the first Portkey he saw and began the incantation he had learned to make these, when he had first started out in the Portkey Office, well over twenty years ago, now.

He had almost finished when the door to the office exploded in a shower of dust and debris, causing Fudge to close his eyes and cough as the dust filled his lungs and eyes; a second later, someone grabbed the front of his robes and delivered a devastating punch to Fudge's jaw, sending him crashing to the floor.
Fudge's wand snapped into his hand a second later and he raised it to kill whoever had attacked him, only for someone to snarl,

"Expelliarmus!"

Instantly, Fudge's wand flew from his hand as someone began to punch Fudge repeatedly in the face, making him cry out in pain and fear.
XXXX

James' rage, which had been slowly growing ever since he learned what Fudge had done, finally exploded as he saw that Fudge had senselessly killed another innocent person; taking advantage of the dust that his entrance had caused, James immediately seized Fudge and began to pummel him.

Fudge tried to draw his wand and curse James, but Sirius had immediately disarmed him and that's when James' rage took complete control of him; not giving the man a chance to fight back, James began to punch Fudge repeatedly in the face, refusing to stop even when Fudge's cries of pain turned into gurgles.

James was aware that someone was calling his name, shouting at him, but all he cared about was beating the man who had nearly killed his family to death; a moment later, James felt someone grab his arms and attempt to haul him off the barely alive Fudge. Still consumed with rage, James swung back and savagely punched whoever it was that was trying to pull him off of Fudge; once the person had released their hold on James, he turned back and delivered another two punches to Fudge's face before someone sent a stunner into James' side and his world went black.
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Author's Note:
Yup, still alive. I just got back from a week in Scotland, and holy crap was it a blast! Next chapter is Fudge's trial and sentence. Dun, dun, duuuuuuuuuuun.