DOM
Marlene got off the elevator and moved silently towards where the sounds of fighting were emanating. Slipping through the door she pulled off the cloak she had gotten from James, she pulled out her medical bag and got to work.
She silently made her way from auror to auror passing out different potions, casting spells that would stabilize any injuries. She also cast diagnostic spells and gave each of them their own reports. If any were too seriously injured to be able to wait for other healers to arrive she would give them portkeys to St. Mungo's. Like the portkeys to the cells, these had been made by the Unspeakables to get through their wards. She just had to be extremely careful since they couldn't risk any of the Death Eaters getting their hands on them.
She had alerted some of the other healers at St. Mungo's that she might be sending injured people just after she had gotten word of the attack. The portkeys would send them directly to the emergency unit.
Frank Longbottom breathed out a sigh as he sent another lower level Death Eater to the cells. So far he had managed to take down 4. His partner for the evening was currently trying to close a gash on his calf.
Moving over, Frank quickly bound his entire calf and wrapped his arm around him to help support him.
"Come on, let's get you somewhere protected to deal with this."
Frank was able to get him back into one of the offices they had started in, but couldn't stay. He had seen many others resting against the wall and he had decided to start moving those that were too badly injured out of the line of fire.
Using his wand Frank started to move others into the office while still keeping an eye on what was going on around him. The last thing they needed was for someone to sneak up on them while they were distracted.
He could see Marlene making the rounds treating everyone she could. Regulus, like him, was moving the injured out of the way. Multiple other aurors were still fighting the few remaining Death Eaters. But most of his attention was caught by Amelia dueling Voldemort in the centre of the room, she was being supported by a few others.
Once he had everyone in the office he could reach, Frank started to make his way towards Voldemort and Amelia. Just before he reached them though he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Nagini was moving swiftly towards where Marlene was treating an injured Dawlish.
"Marlene!" Frank shouted out in warning.
Marlene looked up when she heard her name shouted and saw the massive snake bearing down on her. Turning from her patient she slashed her wand through the air just as the snake started to lunge.
A large gash appeared down half of Nagini's body. Throwing her head back the snake let out a terrifying unnatural hissing shriek.
Voldemort hissed in fury as he heard his familiars scream of pain. He tried to move towards her but was held back by a volley of spells that were sent at him when he was distracted.
The only reason he was still standing was due to all the different rituals he had preformed on himself over the decades. Stunners, bindings, and any other restraint spells couldn't properly get a hold of him. His new body was also protected from those sorts of spells. But they were still starting to slow him down with the number he had been hit with.
"Get to her!" He hissed out to his followers that were near by.
He watched as one of them ran over and grabbed his dear Nagini. But it slowed his follower down greatly as she was such a large snake. It made him more of a target.
Voldemort knew that he needed to get to his familiar and get her out. She was carrying a piece of his soul. She was more important than the prophecy. That he could come back for. That piece of his soul could not be replaced if she was killed.
Taking a moment Voldemort drew on as much power as he could and cast an ancient Phoenician air spell that would extend in a circle out from his body. Any allied with him would not feel the wind, but those who opposed him would be thrown a minimum of twenty feet away.
Voldemort Smirked cruelly as he saw his enemies go flying. Then he noticed one had managed to cast a shield strong enough to protect her.
Amelia Bones had always been one of his more hated enemies. The woman was just too strong. He had once tried to get her to join his followers, she was after all the eldest child of a Noble pure blood family, but she had refused. Now he only saw her as a fool. She had sided against him, abdicated her position as her families heir in favour of her younger brother, and fought him every chance she got.
The woman needed to die. And he was going to make sure that it was today.
Amelia felt the wind slam into her shield, but managed to hold her ground. She couldn't let him get away.
The spell had thrown everyone back. It left the path out of the department open and she didn't want him to flee. She knew that he had realized it was a trap and would leave if given the chance.
She could hear movement behind her, but trusted her aurors to have her back if any Death Eaters tried to attack her from behind. Moving forward, she went back to dueling.
Regulus was trying to reach Nagini, but was having a bit of trouble. As soon as he had moved towards the Death Eater who was holding the snake Bellatrix had come out of nowhere and got between the two of them.
While Bella was as mad as they came, she was still incredibly powerful and skilled at dueling. All those raised in the Black family were. Their parents had had them start training in dueling when they were only 4. Bella had taken to her training like no other and their family had started teaching her more and more dangerous spells. Bella had been able to cast all the unforgivables by the age of 5.
But she had still been in Azkaban for over a decade while he hadn't. Since he knew her as well as he did he also had the benefit of knowing the different tactics she favoured.
He was finally making head way in separating the two Death Eaters when he heard the scream. Glancing over he saw as Amelia was thrown to the floor after being hit with a bone breaker in the shoulder. But this time, unlike many others, Amelia didn't get back up. Voldemort started to walk towards her with a cruel smirk, his wand tip glowing green.
That left him with a choice. He could keep fighting Bellatrix and kill Nagini, destroying the last of the Dark Lords horcruxes, or he could go and fight the man and protect Amelia. In the end it really wasn't a choice.
"Tom!" Regulus shouted out as he lowered his hood.
He needed to make sure Voldemort would forget about Amelia, and it was the best way he knew how. There was no way Voldemort wouldn't go after him now.
"You!" Voldemort snarled as he saw one of his former followers that he had thought was dead.
This was another betrayer. Another coward that had turned from him. But this one didn't even have the defence of believing him to be dead. No, this one had turned traitor months before that night.
"All traitors will die." He hissed as he advanced on the other man.
Frank saw Regulus draw Voldemort away from Amelia and knew he needed to step in. By turning to Voldemort he had had to turn his back on Bellatrix.
Moving forward he took Regulus's place in the duel with the mad woman.
He could tell Bellatrix wanted to go after her cousin so he started to taunt her.
"Well well well. If it isn't the big bad Bellatrix. The woman that can't even kill her enemies. Let's see if Azkaban has made you a better fighter, or maybe it made you an even more pathetic follower."
Bellatrix screamed as she turned on him. "I will kill you this time! Then I'm going to find that wife of yours and play with her."
"No you won't. You're too much of a failure. Maybe you're just not as loyal to your master as you pretend to be."
The taunting seemed to be working. As Bellatrix got angrier the sloppier her spells became, allowing Frank to dodge or block them. And every time he dodged or blocked the angrier she got.
As Bella let her rage take over Frank was becoming more focused. More and more of his spells were hitting, forcing her back enough that he started throwing a few more spells at the Death Eater that was trying to keep hold of the angry and injured Nagini.
Regulus was slowly turning himself and Voldemort. He wanted to get between the man and the door so he wouldn't have a clear way out. But he also needed to be careful to make sure Voldemort wouldn't notice what he was doing.
In spite of everything Voldemort was still a brilliant tactician in his own way. If they hadn't had pre-warning he probably would have been able to get in and out without too much trouble.
The man was insane, but he wasn't stupid.
Seeing that Regulus had Voldemort distracted, and Frank was dealing with Bellatrix, Kings slipped forward and made his way to where Amelia was laying. After a quick check he was glad to see she was still breathing and had just been knocked out when the spell had caused her to slam into the ground.
Slowly, he moved her over to where Marlene was treating yet another auror.
"Marlene." Kings whispered to get her attention.
"Is she alive?" Marlene asked in a fearful voice, glancing between her patients and where her husband was fighting one of the most dangerous men in existence.
"Yes, she's just unconscious."
"Go back up Reg. I will deal with her. Please, Kings, I can't lose Reg." Marlene pleaded.
"Don't worry. I've got his back." Kings gripped her hands that were stained with the blood of previous patients before he turned to go help her husband.
After finishing sealing the cuts on the auror she had already been treating, Marlene turned to Amelia. A quick scan showed that she was actually in relatively good shape all things considered.
She had multiple cuts and bruises, but they were all just minor. The most severe injuries were two fractured ribs, her shoulder was broken in four places and the ligament was damaged, and she had a severe concussion from hitting her head.
Pulling out her potions she started pouring them down the womans throat. Knowing Amelia as well as she did she chose to give her skele-grow rather than a pain potion. She knew Amelia would be able to handle the pain, but wouldn't be able to handle having to go to the hospital rather than remain and help.
Binding her shoulder and ribs, Marlene cast the spell that would wake her up.
"You need to stay calm Amelia." Marlene soothed the woman as soon as her eyes opened. "You're going to be fine. You have a few fractured ribs, a broken shoulder and a concussion. You're probably going to be dizzy or nauseous for a while."
"Where is he?" Her eyes were slightly glassy, but she was looking around.
"He's over dueling Reg. Kings has gone to back him up." Marlene helped her sit up slowly. "I gave you skele-grow to start the healing. Figured you would prefer that to the pain potion. You're going to need to move slowly, but you should be fine so long as your concussion doesn't cause any complications."
Amelia started to nod, but stopped as the room started to spin. Moving slowly, she got to her feet. Her entire body ached, but she needed to make sure her people were ok. While she knew she was in no shape to rejoin the fight, she could at least help her people as much as possible.
Regulus was starting to gain ground. It was with great joy that he started to push Voldemort further and further away from the door while systematically weakening him.
Thanks to his knowledge of ancient magics Regulus was able to do some real damage to the other man while also countering the spells coming at him. That was one of the things that had always made Voldemort so dangerous, he used ancient magics. Since they were so rare most didn't know how to counter or block the magic.
He knew that Dumbledore did the same and that was why the two had been so evenly matched during the duels they had had during the last war. They both used it to make them look more powerful.
Kings had seen what he was doing and the two ended up being able to work very well as a team. They both were able to naturally play off what the other was doing. They would attack seconds apart. While Voldemort was able to block the first spells, he often missed the second or third.
Just as they were closing in they heard something they really didn't want to hear.
Level 9, Outside DOM
Albus let out a sigh as the elevator doors finally opened. He had been ready to pull his hair out for the last five minutes. He had been trapped in an elevator with Minerva, Stergis Podmore, Andromeda and Ted Tonks, and Mundungus Fletcher.
Minerva and Andromeda had been complaining about how slow the elevator was. Stergis and Ted had been talking about why the elevator was moving so slow and trying to think of ways to make it speed up. And Dung just stood their smelling like his name.
Albus had a pounding headache as he stepped out and took a breath of clean air. Looking around he saw the other elevators were slowly making their way down. It took everything in him not to start tapping his foot like Minerva was doing as the waited for the others to arrive.
Albus had no intention of going into battle with out his loyal followers there. He needed to make sure there were witnesses to his heroics. Even more importantly, what else would he use as a shield if needs be.
Soon he was joined by James, the Prewett twins, and Remus. They had come from around the corner and explained the other elevators had been full so they had found another.
Minerva looked at the four critically. "Where is Severus, Arthur, and Sirius?"
Remus gave her a confused look. "At home with the kids. You didn't expect us to just leave our children home alone, did you? The only reason Marlene came was because Rigel was sleeping over with Nicole and Leo."
Minerva just huffed. They could have used more support, but she knew she couldn't say anything. Even she knew you weren't supposed to just leave children home alone.
Once everyone had arrived, more than a few grumbling about how long it had taken. Albus quickly gathered everyone together and started to lead them in the direction of the fighting.
Albus made sure to stop outside the DOM. He knew that there were wards around the place that would limit what could be said. They needed to be able to discuss everything publicly, and that meant they couldn't go under those wards.
"TOM RIDDLE!" Dumbledore shouted once he was in the open area in front of the department. "COME OUT AND FACE ME! UNLESS YOU ARE TOO COWARDLY!"
DOM
Voldemort was furious. He was losing. How could a pathetic traitor like this be defeating him. No, he refused to lose.
Glancing over he saw that that Longbottom fool was getting too close to his familiar he snarled at the follower holding her. "Get her out of here."
"I'm trying my Lord." The man all but whimpered, Voldemort recognizing the whiny voice of Barty Crouch Jr. "The wards won't let me leave."
Voldemort hissed in rage as his attention was dragged back to the traitor when he was hit with a Chinese binding curse that actually managed to partially restrict his movement. He needed to get out. Looking around, he saw that he was blocked from the exit. So that was what the fool had been doing, he had been blocking the exit.
Putting more power behind his curses he started trying to move towards the exit. But he wasn't having much success. Or, any success much to his eternal rage.
But, then he heard it. He heard the voice of Albus Dumbledore. And he was implying he was a coward.
Of all his enemies none infuriated him like Dumbledore. That man was going to die.
In his rage Voldemort summoned up fiendfyre. It left those standing between him and the exit with no choice but to dive out of the way. There was no shield that could stop the fire, it just wasn't used often since it took so much power and control to summon.
"With me." Voldemort snarled to the few Death Eaters that were still standing as he moved towards the exit.
Amelia was ready to scream. She was going to kill that man.
They had been winning. Well over half of the Death Eaters had been captured. Regulus and Kings had been successfully moving Voldemort to where they could corner him and trap him.
As much as she wished they could just destroy the man, she knew they couldn't. She had seen the way he had reacted to his snake being injured. It was a horcrux she knew. So long as that snake lived he couldn't be destroyed.
As bad as it was, it was better to keep him in a body and know he was alive then have him returned to a spirit and not know where he was or when he returned. At least with him like this they had a spy in his group that could report to them.
Right now their best hope was just to contain the man in a magic free cell.
Percy saw the look of murder on Amelia's face as Voldemort moved towards the exit. They needed to keep him trapped.
But if he wouldn't stay in the trap, then they would just have to bring the trap to him. Running as fast as he could Percy slipped into one of the offices and started to gather the ward stones he would need.
With the stones he left. Looking around he tried to find others he could use. He could see Frank was trying to keep Bellatrix distracted, but the woman was just too focused on following her master.
"Frank!" Percy called out.
"I need to stop her, we can't let them leave." Frank snapped at the younger boy as he kept trying to get the womans attention again, it wasn't working.
"I need your help with ward stones. We need to set them up outside to keep them contained." Percy showed him the stones in his arms.
Frank understood. If they could set up another ward they could keep containing Voldemort, and that was more important. He grabbed a few of the stones and they started to move out. On the way they gathered a few others, including Regulus, to help them create the ward. The more of them there were, the stronger the ward would be.
Level 9, Outside DOM
Albus Dumbledore had a little smile on his face as he watched a snake like creature that he knew was Voldemort step out of the DOM. The man looked like he had been trampled by a heard of very angry centaurs. It would make things that much easier for him.
He was just going to have to be careful to hold back. They needed Voldemort to be able to escape. It was for the best that the man was able to flee. The masses would be more fearful then.
After all, it needed to be Harry that faced him in the end. The two would duel, and Harry would have to die to defeat him. If he did survive then Albus would just have to deal with the boy himself. Of course, that would only be after he was married to Ginny and the girl was pregnant. He would need another Potter child to use, and this time he would ensure that he had complete control over it.
Albus and Voldemort just watched each other for a few moments. Each having their supporters circle up around them. Dumbledore was a little surprised to see that there were only a few on Voldemort's side. He had thought the man would have brought more, but it just worked out better for him.
It was easy to identify Bellatrix, much to Albus's joy. He sent two quick spells at her. It was a tactic he had learned long ago. The first spell needed to be something strong and bright, while the second was something more subtle. Most never noticed the second spell.
In this instance the first spell he sent was an over powered stunner. It was bright and made a thick red line as it went at the woman. But the second was a pale yellow compulsion spell. As he had known would happen the woman dodged the stunner, but was hit with the compulsion. He forced himself to repress a smile as he saw the flash in her eyes showing the compulsion taking root before she turned and attacked James full force.
As soon as the spells had flown at one of his followers Voldemort had attacked. Throwing a blasting curse he caused many of Dumbledores followers to be thrown away as the floor under them shuddered and cracked.
Voldemort allowed a cruel smirk to grace his face as Barty dissaperated with Nagini as soon as they were out of the DOM. At least his soul was safe. Now, no matter what happened, he would win.
Glancing around Albus saw Percy and others setting up ward stones around them. He couldn't have that. He needed Voldemort to be able to escape when things got too bad.
Looking over to Mundungus he sent out a legilimens probe. He implanted his need for the destruction of those ward stones. The other man gave a subtle nod and Albus turned back to Voldemort and started to duel the man.
Percy, Regulus, and Frank recruited James, Fabian, Gideon, and Remus to assist in setting the wards. The stones needed to encircle the area where Voldemort was as best they could.
James was just in the process of placing his stone over by one of the elevators when he felt someone coming up behind him. Turning quickly, his wand out, he came face to face with a dementedly smiling Bellatrix.
This wasn't good.
Bella giggled insanely before she started her attack. She didn't fully understand why she was attacking James Potter, she had been guarding her Lords familiar earlier, but now all she wanted to do was to kill this man.
James was quick to throw up a shield as the spells started to fly. Moving fast, James started to return fire.
Unfortunately for Bellatrix she had been fighting constantly for almost a half hour before this point. She was exhausted. Once, she had been able to fight non-stop for hours, but not anymore. The years and dementors had completely destroyed her stamina. Her muscles were screaming in pain as she waved her arm in exaggerated flourishes. She could also feel her spells growing weaker.
James knew he needed to get back to the ward stone, he hadn't managed to activate it before he had been attacked. He didn't have time to waste on the crazy witch and he knew it.
In what James could only consider to be anticlimactic, James threw a banishing charm at the woman. Her shield shattered under the spell and she was thrown back into a wall where he heard a sickening crack as she hit her head before falling in a heap on the floor.
Not taking the time to determine her injuries, James spelled her into the area that would be covered by the ward once it was up just in case she woke up, before turning back to the ward stone. It only took a few more moments for the stone to start to glow. Once the others had activated their stones the ward would be created.
Mundungus Fletcher knew what people thought when they looked at him. They saw nothing but a petty thief who was in desperate need of a bath.
And that was exactly what he wanted them to see. There were only a few people that had ever seen the true him.
The truth was that he was actually a master criminal. He had his fingers in everything from theft to smuggling. He could get anything anyone needed. And he was good at it.
Getting caught for little things had actually been part of his cover. It made people think him incompetent. He had always made sure what he was caught for would only result in a small fine, he had no intention of risking Azkaban. It meant that when something big happened no one even considered his involvement since they didn't think he had the skills to pull anything off successfully.
Albus was one of the few that knew the real him. He had been one of his most loyal customers for decades. Almost everything illicit that Albus had had came from him.
Like Mad-Eye, Dung knew a great deal of Albus's plans. While Mad-Eye had followed the plan because he had agreed with the ideology, Dung followed for the profit. The thing about black-markets was that the products needed to be illegal. If the dark and neutral kept lifting restrictions like they had in recent years he was going to lose even more business. He had already seen a steep decline in his profit margins as the material required for ritual magic that he specialized in smuggling into the country was made legal to sell in regular shops.
He had no intention of letting that continue. And if a few people had to die to secure his bottom line, then he could live with it.
Moving silently, Dung stuck to the shadows as he watched the idiots setting up the wards. Those needed to be destroyed. They needed the Death Eaters to be able to escape.
But he couldn't let anyone know that he was the one who broke the ward. He was a master of plausible deniability, and that was what he needed.
Standing back he watched as the fighting continued for a few minutes. It wasn't going well. Despite Albus being a powerful wizard, he was getting old, and he hadn't properly dueled in years. Dung could see he was struggling, even if the man was trying to play it off like he wasn't.
He watched as an Unspeakable moved forward. While he knew the red head was Percy Weasley, he didn't really know who the other was. He recognized him from somewhere, but he couldn't place him.
Dung didn't understand what the Unspeakable was doing as he moved forward to grab Voldemort's wand arm before moving way fast. But he didn't really care, he had seen his window.
Dung was good at seeing the consequences of different actions. His mum had always said it was because there was seer blood on her side of the family. He watched as one of the few still standing Death Eaters raised his wand to cast the killing curse at Stergis Podmore. Sending a nasty stinging hex, he watched as the Death Eater's arm jerked down just as he cast the spell. The killing curse went wide and slammed directly into one of the now active ward stones causing the wards to flare before they fell as the stone shattered.
And that was his job done. Dung smirked slightly as he slipped back into the shadows to wait for the fight to end so he could go home to bed.
Percy had let out a sigh of relief when he saw the wards flicker to life once the last of the stones had been set in place.
"It's done?" Amelia questioned from where she stood next to him.
"Yes, the wards are up." Percy said happily.
But only a few minutes later the wards had flared again, and then fell.
"What happened?" Amelia demanded in a panic.
Percy looked around to see what had gone wrong and then he saw the issue and pointed it out. "There. One of the stones has been destroyed."
Percy turned on his heels and ran back into the DOM. They needed another ward stone to replace the one they had lost. He ran as fast as he could back into the office, just hoping he wasn't too late.
Regulus grinned as he dodged away from Voldemort. When he had seen the man was distracted by Dumbledore he had seen a chance.
While he had seen the wards flare to life, he still didn't fully trust that they would last. There were still too many things that could go wrong now that they had civilians trying to play hero involved.
As soon as he had set his ward stone Regulus went back into the DOM. In one of the deeper departments he grabbed one of the older magic suppression bands. He wished there were two, but they had only had the one to experiment on.
The older bands had been fazed out because of the issues that had developed. The bands stopped all magic moving down the arm. The only way to remove them was to have the removal key, or for them to wear out, and it took a minimum of 3 months to run out of power, or to amputate the arm. Originally the bands had been used for those on probation to keep them from using any magic. The problem was that they on occasion permanently damaged the wearers core if they were on too long. But, Regulus didn't see a problem with that. In fact, Voldemort's core being damaged would actually be a good thing. But there was another issue, one that Regulus knew was going to drive Voldemort even crazier. The reason the band suppressed power for as long as it did was because it fed off the wearers power. The more spells the wearer tried to cast, the longer the band would remain on.
Leaving the DOM Regulus worked his way towards Voldemort. When there was a lull in the fighting he darted forward, wrapping the band around Voldemort's wrist before getting out of the line of fire. He was surprised at just how easy it was.
Regulus smiled as he saw Voldemort try to fire a spell, but the band glowed and nothing came from his wand. He couldn't stop the smirk that graced his face as Voldemort's red eyes sought him out, there was pure rage in that look.
Unfortunately he knew that Voldemort was ambidextrous but he preferred to use his right hand. While he could cast spells with his left his movements weren't as precise making the spells less powerful, it also weakened his aim.
But he didn't have much time to celebrate his success as the wards around them fell only a few moments later.
Bellatrix was woozy as she woke up. Her head was pounding.
Pushing herself up slightly she groaned as her body resisted her movements causing her to slump back to the floor. Trying again, she managed to look around to see what was happening around her.
She saw her Lord facing off against Dumbledore. But something was wrong. He was using the wrong wand arm and she knew it, she had made it her business to know everything about her Lord that she could.
When one of Dumbledore's spells got to close to her Lord for her comfort she pulled her wand and started sending spells at him from where she lay on the floor.
Albus was startled when he saw an Unspeakable get between him and Voldemort. He didn't understand what he had done.
But, whatever it was, it had weakened Voldemort. The mans spells were now weaker and he had switched wand arms for some reason.
That made things harder for him. He wanted the man to escape, so having him weakened just made that harder. He needed to make the fight look real, no one could think he was holding back. But now he had too, especially if he didn't want to win this time.
Rather than weakening his spells, Albus started to aim a little to the left so most would miss. But he didn't have to pretend for long.
Suddenly he started being hit with all manner of spells. Thankfully his robes were acromantula silk and repelled most spells or he would have been in serious trouble. Even with the robes he felt the pain as cutters and bludgeoning charms hit him.
Trying to block the spells, he kept his attention on Voldemort.
When the wards fell he couldn't help but let out a little sigh of relief.
Voldemort was absolutely furious. Looking down for a second he saw the band that that traitor Regulus had placed around his wrist. He easily recognized the power suppression runes.
This was bad. He needed to get this band off. There was no way he could win this fight now. He needed to get out, but the wards kept him from apperating.
All he could do was switch his wand to the other hand and keep fighting. He was secretly pleased when another started firing spells at the old man, not that he would ever admit it. Looking around he saw a bruised and bloody Bellatrix laying on the floor firing spells at his enemy for him.
When the wards fell he saw his chance. Moving as fast as he could he went to where Bellatrix was laying and grabbed on before apperating away.
Amelia was ready to scream as she saw the few remaining Death Eaters apperate away after their master. She was going to gut whoever it was that told Dumbledore about the attack when she found them. They had been so close to trapping the man, but no, the old fool just had to interfere.
Rather than focusing on the old fool, Amelia turned away and focused on her people. There were many injuries that were going to need to be tended too. Sending out an emergency signal she called for healers.
All aurors had emergency beacons that would allow healers to apperate directly to them if they had been injured, they just knew better than to use them when they were still under attack.
In less then two minutes there were a dozen healers showing up, ready to get to work. Amelia was pleased to see just how fast they had responded. When she asked why so many had been ready to go she was told that Marlene had sent a warning earlier and had been sending people through since she had arrived. They had been getting ready since the moment they had received the warning.
It was only after her aurors were taken care of that Amelia turned her attention towards Dumbledore. She snarled low in her throat as she saw him off to the side talking with Barnabus Cuffe. Of course he had contacted the press.
"Albus Dumbledore." Amelia stormed over. "Just what do you think you were doing?"
"Hello Amelia." Albus twinkled at the woman, but inside he was furious with the tone of voice she was using on him. "What ever do you mean?"
"I mean… What do you think you are doing involving yourself in auror business?" Amelia huffed, momentarily ignoring the reporter.
"I was just offering my assistance. When I learned that the ministry was under attack I saw no other choice but to come and help. It is what any decent person would do. I have, after all, face Voldemort many times before and didn't want anyone to die because they went up against him unaided." Albus said, making himself out to sound like a selfless hero for Barnabus.
"You… Are a headmaster, not an auror." Amelia snapped. "We did not want nor need your interference.
If I ever find out who it was that leaked this too you I will have their job and charge them with corruption and leaking classified information."
"Now surely there is no reason for that Amelia. There was no corruption." Albus didn't like the sound of that.
"Oh, so you just so happened to be passing through the ministry in the middle of the night with you little group." Sarcasm dripped from Amelia's tone. "You will go back to the school. I will be there tomorrow at lunch and we will be going over your story. If you leave anything out I will make it my mission to find out every secret you have.
We will be discussing exactly who you called here tonight. And they, like you will be honest, and give me a complete explanation of everything they did this night.
Now, go.
Cuffe, while I might not be able to stop you from reporting this, I am warning you now, it will be honest. The identities of all involved with this are, for right now, classified until the family members are notified about what has happened. You will not, I repeat, NOT, be causing a panic with false information.
The ministry will be releasing a public statement in the morning. Now, you leave too."
Turning back to the mess, Amelia got ready to finish dealing with this before she too went to the hospital to get her injuries healed.
Great Hall - June 24, 2006
Albus winced slightly as he made his way down to the great hall for breakfast the day after the battle at the ministry. He had had to spend the night in the hospital wing, along with a few others, to heal from their injuries.
The healers had actually tried to stop him from leaving this morning, but he needed to be at breakfast so he had just ignored them. What happened was going to be in the paper this morning and he needed to make sure the students saw him there. Knowing what he had done and then seeing him at breakfast like nothing was different would make him look even better. He needed the students to see him as the hero.
Rather than using the staff entrance Albus chose to use the main entrance. This would allow the students to get a good look at him as he walked amongst them. It would make them connect with him more.
Glancing around and smiling at the students watching him, he spotted the Potter brat. He had been annoyed to learn that James had managed to survive the attack by Bellatrix unscathed. It would have made getting the boy in line much easier, but Albus was sure he would eventually get through to the boy. He was going to have to get the boy up to his office today to discuss things with him.
Reaching his seat he smiled merrily around at the students as he waited for the arrival of the paper to announce what had happened the night before.
Only a few minutes after sitting down and starting breakfast, Albus smiled as the owls brought the mail and newspapers. He took the two papers that were delivered to him, making sure to unroll the Prophet first as he preferred that paper.
Written across the front of the paper was the confirmation of Voldemort's return and the attack on the ministry. Quickly skimming the multiple articles Albus was pleased to see how his involvement was being portrayed. It showed him as willingly risking his life to assist the aurors in battling Voldemort. It gave a very dramatic rendition of his personal duel with the man.
There were other articles that detailed other aspects of what had happened. There was a statement from Minister Shacklebolt about how the ministry had been aware of the return and had been preparing in secret so as not to tip their hand. He told everyone that they had had pre-warning about the attack and had planned a trap, which was why the aurors had been there.
Another article went over how 21 aurors had been injured in the attack. Most were minor injuries, only 6 had critical injuries but that all were expected to make a full recovery. In total the aurors had captured 27 Death Eaters and that another 2 had been killed in self defence.
Then Albus opened the Seer. It covered much of the same information. Again, there were articles about the return, the ministers statement, the injured, and another about how it had been a trap. But Albus was less than pleased when he saw that they mentioned how civilians had interfered. Rather than praising them for their selflessness, they gave a recommendation that civilians shouldn't get involved in auror business as it risked not only their lives, but the lives of aurors.
In all, it was a good news day for him. While it wasn't perfect, since that stupid Seer still existed, it could have been worse.
Going back to his lemon curd and scone, Albus listened as the whispers grew as students read the paper.
Hadrian looked down at the paper and let out a little sigh of relief. He was glad that the only deaths had been Death Eaters.
He had been so worried lately that he had made Sirius promise that when the attack did happen he would stay home with the girls. History had repeated itself too many times for him to want to risk Sirius being anywhere near the vail again.
But that wasn't the only thing that was making him relieved. Looking through the paper he saw that one of the Death Eaters that had been killed was Antonin Dolohov. During the battle of Hogwarts it had been Dolohov that had killed Remus.
While things might be different, it just made him feel better each time they made sure something couldn't happen again. He smiled happily, this year was ending on a good note.
Hermione was on the other side of the hall having a much different reaction along with Ron and Ginny. She couldn't believe it, a man had come back from the dead.
Ron and Ginny had spent years explaining to her just what You-Know-Who had done with his supporters. It disgusted her just how many of those supporters had managed to buy their way out of trouble.
And now he was back. And the war was going to restart.
Hermione didn't want to believe this. She didn't want to think that that monster was alive again. She was going to see if she could meet with the Headmaster. She was sure he would know what to do.
Both Ron and Ginny, while worried about the news, chose to focus on glaring at the Slytherins. They were sure that the Headmaster would protect them so they really weren't afraid. While Ginny glared at the Slytherins she kept glancing over to where her Harry was reading the paper while he ate. She knew that he would be the one to save them all again. After he had saved them they would get married.
Ron, was just busy glaring. Nothing was really crossing his mind other than his hatred for those snakes. He knew they were probably glad He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had escaped. He bet that by the time they came back from the summer they would all be marked.
Headmasters Office
Albus let out a sigh of relief as Amelia flooed away. The woman had just spent the better part of an hour yelling at him for going to the ministry the night before.
While it wasn't pleasant having to listen to the woman berate him, he knew he was safe. He hadn't technically done anything illegal so there was nothing she could do. Plus, since he was once again in control of the Prophet he knew that they wouldn't print anything bad about him.
He had already sent word to his contacts in the auror department to ensure that any evidence that may have existed about their contacting him was destroyed. The more aurors he had in his pocket the better, the last thing he needed was any of them being fired.
While he would like to relax and just take a break with his lemon drops, he still had so much to do before the students all went home the next day. Just after breakfast he had gotten a message from Hermione requesting a meeting. He didn't know what it was about, but he decided to humour the girl this time.
Hopefully the girl would be quick this time as he had a meeting scheduled with Molly in less than half an hour. He wanted to talk to her about Percy. Having an Unspeakable on their side would be of great benefit. But even if they couldn't get him, then there was always Regulus.
He was also going to need to arrange a meeting with the Potter boy. After thinking about it he knew that he would need to either have Sirius or Severus in the office too, since he knew the brat wouldn't come up without them much to his annoyance, and he had decided to have Sirius come too. Between the two men he believed that he would be able to sway Sirius to his view point more than Severus.
And, of course, he had to do the last minute paperwork. The school governors had submitted another report on the wards. They were having the goblins checking them every month now because of the whole blood quill issue. They had found the alterations he had been making and ordered the wards be changed back over the summer. He hated them taking another part of his control from him.
It was just after lunch when Hermione walked into the office, Ron and Ginny following behind. Albus invited the three to sit down and offered them lemon drops, both of the girls refused, but Ron grabbed a handful.
"What is it that I can do for you three?" Albus asked in his kind grandfatherly voice.
Hermione fidgeted slightly. "We wanted to… It's just…"
"You were wondering about what happened last night." Albus finished for the girl. He was more than happy to tell them, it would get more stories in the rumour mill.
"Yes, sir." Hermione nodded eagerly.
"Most of it was in the paper." Popping a lemon drop in his mouth Albus smiled. "I received some information that Voldemort was planning on attacking the Department of Mysteries in the ministry in an attempt to steal a weapon. I reached out to a few old friends and we went to assist the aurors in defending the ministry. My old friends and the aurors dealt with the Death Eaters while I dueled with Voldemort.
Unfortunately the wards set up by the Unspeakables fell and Voldemort was able to escape with a few of his more loyal followers."
Albus smiled as the children reacted perfectly. They all flinched every time he said Voldemort's name and gave him stunned looks as he told them about how he had dueled the man. He knew they would spread the word about how the escapes were the fault of others and that he had been the hero while everyone else had just been there. With how the gossip worked in the school he knew it would be twisted and stretched making him look even better.
The kids were all astounded at just how great the man in front of them was. While they had always known that he was great, it hadn't been like this.
"Is there anything we can do to help sir?" Hermione asked in an awed voice. "Mrs. Diggle wrote to Ron and Ginny telling them about the group you had during the last war restarting."
"Can we join it?" Ron asked eagerly. He wanted to help get rid of the snakes. Ever since Molly had stopped his potions and mind healer appointments he had fallen back into his old prejudices.
Albus gave a full twinkle eyed smile. "You are still too young to join. You need to be of age and finished with Hogwarts to join."
"But sir…" Ron whined.
"No but's Ronald. Besides, I don't think your mother would let you join early even if we changed the rules." Albus smiled as he saw the three react to the idea of Mollys reaction. "But, there is something you can do.
As you know, young Harry has previously defeated Voldemort. But there is more. While I can't explain everything to you for security reasons, I can tell you that Harry is the only one that will be able to defeat him again. That means we are going to need to get him into training. I have a meeting scheduled with him after dinner.
I am going to request your assistance. Harry is going to need friends like you three to guide him down the right path. He is going to need strong, light, friends."
"We've been trying headmaster." Hermione said in a whiny voice. "He just won't listen. He spends all his time with Fred and George," Ginny growled slightly at that, "or Draco and Neville. No matter what we do, he just won't fall in line.
I tried to get him to study with us and gave him a study schedule but he didn't show up. I honestly don't know how he thinks he is going to pass his OWLs since he refused to let me help him study."
The girls voice had grown quite pompous by the end making Albus want to sigh. It seemed the girl still hadn't realized she didn't know everything.
"I know that the boy can be difficult, he wasn't raised the way he was supposed to be, but you need to try harder." Albus told them in a serious voice. "While I know there might be plenty you disagree with him about, you need to keep it to yourselves for now. Make him think you agree with him. Like I told you after Christmas, you need him to trust you before you can start to show him the proper way to behave. It will benefit all four of you to be friends."
"How?" Ron asked in confusion.
"Well, for Harry it will make him a better wizard." Albus explained. "Ronald, you will gain the benefit of notoriety. It will make you a public figure and you will be able to use that to show others the proper way to behave as a good light wizard. It will make you famous.
Ginny, it will allow people to see you as a couple. Your mother and I have been working on ways to separate Harry from the twins, and you will need to be there to comfort him when he realizes just how much of a mistake he made dating them. The twins will be graduating this year, so you have the next two years without them being near him. We all know that you would be the perfect Lady Potter.
As for you Hermione, there is not only the fame of being friends with the Boy-Who-Lived but there is also the knowledge. Harry is the heir of some very old families, and many of them have their own private libraries. The Black family in particular is said to have one of the most extensive collection on ancient magics in the world. If you were friends with Harry you would be able to gain access to it."
Hermione huffed. She still hated that the pure blood families were hoarding knowledge and denying everyone else access based on their blood status. She had at first seen the benefit when she had learned that she was connected to two old families, but that hope had died quickly. The books that had belonged to the Dagworth-Granger family had been amongst what was lost due to her ancestors gambling addiction.
And the whole Umbridge connection had proven to be a complete disaster. Not only did they not have any private library or grimoire, but they also were not a family that would provide her with any benefit. Ever since Deloris Umbridge had been removed from the school the woman had been labeled a complete disgrace. She had been fired from her position at the ministry, was under investigation for possession of illegal artifacts, and hadn't been able to get a new job. Her family wasn't any better. Most just survived off the profit they got from a farm they owned, and it wasn't even a very successful farm. Hermione didn't want anyone to connect her with that family.
"Just try and spend time with him." Albus reiterated. "That means you have to keep your opinions to your self. The more time you spend around him the better.
Ron, Ginny, I am going to be talking with your mother about seeing if Harry can stay with the two of you during any meetings we have. I will see if you will be able to join them Hermione."
Before any of the children could reply the floo flared and Molly stepped out.
"Ronnie, Ginny." Molly squealed as she rushed over to hug her children. "Hello Headmaster, Hermione dear."
Albus waved his wand and summoned up another chair for Molly.
"What brings you three up here. I hope you aren't causing any problems." Molly's voice grew stern as she looked to her children.
"Nothing of the sort Molly." Albus twinkled at her. "The children had just wished to offer their assistance to the Order, but I explained they were too young."
Molly smiled at the children. She was proud that they were so willing to assist, even if she was more than pleased with the fact that her babies were too young to join, she didn't want them involved in the war. Now, if only Harry would follow her babies examples.
"I have however requested their assistance with showing Harry how to behave properly." Albus carried on.
"Good, that boy really needs to learn how to behave." Molly huffed. "Honestly, I can't believe James has allowed his son to be so disrespectful. We need to help that poor boy."
Albus withheld his sigh as Molly started her usual rant about Harry and how they needed to get him away from his family. As much as Albus wished he could get Harry away, he had finally accepted that it wasn't going to happen. Eventually, he knew he needed to interrupt.
"I am aware Molly, but there is nothing we can do. James and Severus, aided by Sirius, just have too much power in the Wizengamot for us to be able to remove the boy.
Now, on to what I called you here for Molly. I was wondering how your relationship with Percy is?"
"Percy?" Molly was confused. She didn't understand why anyone would care about Percy.
"Yes. I learned something very interesting about Percy's job last night." Albus informed them all.
"What could be interesting about Percy's Job?" Ron rolled his eyes at the thought of his older brother. "He works in accounting. You couldn't find a more boring job if you tried. But then again, it is Percy, so it fits him."
"That's just it, Percy doesn't work in the accounting department. That is apparently just a cover." Albus cut in.
"What, that isn't possible." Molly said. "Percy said that he had gone to work in the accounting department. He wouldn't have dared lie to me."
"But he did." Albus twinkled. "It would seem that Percy works as an Unspeakable. He was there last night."
Molly just stared.
"What's an Unspeakable?" Hermione questioned.
"An Unspeakable is what they call those that work in the Department of Mysteries. It is a top secret department in the ministry where they study all different kinds of magic." Albus explained to the girl. "Almost everything they do in the department is classified and there are extensive secrecy spells, wards, and oaths involved with anything within the department. Even the names of those who work there are usually kept secret and they wear robes with long hoods to cover their faces so no one can see who they are."
"What do they research?" Hermione was interested, she wanted to know as much as she could, so maybe she would apply to work in that department.
"That's just it, no one knows." Albus pretended not to care, but in truth he hated that he had no idea what happened in that department.
"Are you sure it was Percy?" Molly interrupted.
"Very sure. I spoke with him." Albus turned to the older woman. "I was hoping that you could speak with him about aiding us. Voldemort targeted that department for a reason. He has access to incredible amounts of information and magic that would help us greatly in this upcoming war. I know it will be difficult for him to give us information due to all the secrecy spells, but I'm sure he is smart enough to get around them at least slightly."
"Oh, don't you worry about it headmaster, I will definitely be speaking with him about this." Molly was furious she had been lied to.
Sure, she knew that she really hadn't had anything to do with Percy or any of the older children for years, but she was still angry. She had been their mother for years and yet they had absolutely no respect for her.
First Bill had refused to take the job she wanted him to. Charlie had not only refused to take the job she wanted him to take but had also refused to marry Nymphadora who would have made the perfect wife for him. Fred and George had never been respectful, but now they had gone so far as to try and steal her baby girls future husband. And now Percy had been proven to be lying to her about his job.
She was going to have to get him to meet with her. While she knew he wasn't a child anymore so she couldn't ground him she was going to make sure he knew just how disappointed in him she was. Once he understood his mistake she would make him tell the Headmaster everything he was working on.
"That's wonderful." Albus grinned as he took another lemon drop. "That will be all."
Albus was pleased as Molly flooed away and the children left. So long as they did what he said he was sure things would work out.
ROR
Hadrian lay snuggled between the twins just before dinner. He knew they were working on something, but whenever he had asked they had just told him they would tell him soon and then distracted him with kisses. That was how they ended up cuddling in the ROR.
He had already been informed that he and his Uncle Sirius were wanted in a meeting with Dumbledore after dinner. He really wasn't looking forward to it. The only good thing was that at least he knew he was going to have some support.
While his family always did their best to interrupt any meeting between him and the headmaster, it still put him on edge when he was requested to go up there alone. It was obvious that Dumbledore was finally learning that he wouldn't willingly spend any time alone with him. Either that, or he was just getting tired of being yelled at every time he was caught attempting to get him alone.
More than likely Dumbledore thought he would be able to get Siri to see things his way. His papa had made no secret about how he felt about Dumbledore's actions in recent years. Plus, his papa was a Slytherin and Hadrian knew that Dumbledore was already turning against the snake house even more now that Voldemort was back.
Hadrian knew that soon enough Dumbledore was going to be blaming the snakes for everything even more than usual. No doubt as the war started to ramp up those like Weasley would start back on their anti-Slytherin rants, like Death Eaters only came from Slytherin.
Headmasters Office
Hadrian really didn't want to do it, but just after dinner he found himself walking side by side with Sirius on the way up to the headmasters office. They both knew that this had to do with what had happened the night before. Undoubtedly, Dumbledore was going to try the idea of Hadrian needing training again like he had done the year before.
After entering the office and taking their seats, like always refusing the offer of lemon drops, they looked to the old man and just waited. Neither of them was going to willingly start the conversation.
"Ah my boys." Albus smiled at the two, annoyed with the blank looks they gave him in return. "I requested you both up here because I feel there are a few things we need to discuss."
Both just stayed silent, making the headmasters eye twitch slightly. He was really getting sick of their uncooperative behaviour.
Earlier, Albus had pulled out his pensive and gone over his memory of the night before so that he would have a clear view of who was involved and who had done what and when. One of the things he wanted to know was just who the Unspeakable was that had gotten between him and Voldemort, and what the man had done. When he had seen that it had been none other than Regulus Black himself he had been aggravated once again. Marlene had barely spoken to him for months, and now he learns that her husband, a supposedly dead Death Eater, was working in the DOM. There was so much information that she could have been giving him, but she hadn't. He was planning on having a word with her about her withholding information. For years, Albus had been trying to get information out of the DOM only to learn that the members of his Order were connected to two Unspeakables but never bothered to tell him really made him question the loyalty of his followers. But he would fix it.
"I wanted to speak to the both of you about last night." Albus carried on when it was clear the others weren't going to speak first. "As you both know, Voldemort attacked the DOM. He was after information about how you managed to stop him last time Harry."
"And he failed." Sirius said blandly.
"Yes, he failed… This time." Albus made his voice go dramatic. "But that will not be the end of it. We all know that he will go after Harry again in the future, he will not give up. Harry is going to need to be protected and trained for what is to come."
"I thought we had made ourselves clear last year." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Hadrian, will not be involved in this war. He is still an underage student, and that is how you will treat him.
As for Voldemort, while we will all fight him if he attacks us, we have no intention of sending any of our children after him. We will leave that to the professionals."
"Sirius, surely you must see that Harry needs to be trained to defend himself. I just want to ensure that he will be able to protect himself, and others, should the worst happen." Albus tried. "His protection is of the utmost importance."
"Why would Voldemort come after me again?" Hadrian questioned innocently.
"I do not wish to overwhelm you my dear boy, but there was a prophecy." Albus was internally gleeful at the question. "I can not give you all the details, we wouldn't want to risk it getting out after all, but what I can say is that you are the one that is destined to defeat him. Voldemort is aware of the first part of the prophecy, so he will undoubtedly be coming after you again. I just want to ensure that you are properly prepared. To do that, you are going to need to be trained.
Now, it would have been better if you had agreed to start your training last year, since it would have allowed us to cover more, but I'm sure with enough hard work you will be ready. We will have to make up a schedule for you to learn different defensive spells and also occlumancy. In case you don't know occlumancy is a way to protect your mind. I have mastered the skill so I will teach it to you. There is a connection that exists between you and Voldemort, and we wouldn't want him to use it to access your mind.
I will have the schedule delivered to you before you leave on the train tomorrow. I would also recommend that you move into the Order Headquarters as it is more secure. I know it might be hard to leave your family, but it really is for the greater good my boy."
Hadrian and Sirius just looked at the old man like he had lost his mind for a few moments.
"First off, Hadrian is not moving out. He is 15, he is not old enough to live on his own." Sirius said, trying to stay calm. "Hadrian is perfectly safe at home."
"He needs to be protected Sirius." Albus tried sending out a compulsion. "It would be better if he stayed in a protected safe house."
"Our manor is perfectly safe. It is un-plotable and is covered in hundreds of years of family wards. The only way to enter is with a personal invitation, and anyone meaning harm to anyone in the manor will be rejected by the wards." Sirius explained. "There is no way we are going to allow Hadrian to move out of a perfectly safe place just to go to another place that has multiple people going in and out at all times."
"And there really isn't any way I can get any extra training." Hadrian made sure that Dumbledore couldn't continue the argument. "It's the summer. We aren't allowed to use magic without permission from the ministry, or with ministry approved tutors. I currently have neither.
As for the occlumency lessons, those aren't needed. Papa is a master occlumens and has been teaching me since I was little. I am also a member of the occlumency club here at school. While I will admit I am no master, yet, I can confidently say that my mind is well defended. Even papa has a hard time getting past my shields."
Albus was annoyed. Once again he was being denied. Also, occlumency club, he hadn't even heard of an occlumency club being held at his school. He didn't want the students to learn that skill, he liked being able to wander in and out of peoples mind as he pleased. Even if the students in that club weren't strong enough to keep him out completely, it would allow them to notice when someone was trying to get into their minds and he didn't want anyone finding out he used that particular skill on the students.
"Well, I think that covers everything." Sirius smiled. "As I already stated, Hadrian is well protected. His fathers and I have always done whatever it takes to keep him safe, of course."
Albus was annoyed but forced himself to smile. This wasn't what he wanted. He hated this constant denial of what he wanted. And he couldn't even really argue it to much since he couldn't deny that a Peverell property would be highly protected.
"I'm just trying to ensure that Harry is ready for whatever may come." Albus assured them.
"Not to worry Headmaster, we have always gone out of our way to ensure Hadrian is ready for the future. But, like I said, we have no intention of sending him out to fight in a war when he is still in school." Sirius made sure to emphasize that Hadrian would not be fighting while he was still a student.
"I understand that you might not want Harry to be involved in the war, but that might not matter. Voldemort will come for him, it would be best if he was trained and knew how to handle things so that he can defeat him for good this time." Albus said.
"Headmaster, I don't think you understand what I am saying." Sirius took a deep breath. "Hadrian will not be 'defeating' anyone. He is a student, not a soldier. And, his fathers and I will not be acting like he is, it isn't his responsibility to stop Voldemort, he already did that once, now it's someone else's turn.
Come on Hadrian, you still have to pack for going home tomorrow."
Sirius made sure that Hadrian was out of the office before he turned back to the headmaster. "I really don't know how many times and ways we can say it to you Albus, Hadrian is not going to be involved in this war in any way until after he is of age, at the very least. He will not be training with you this summer, he will not be living at the Order's headquarters. He is perfectly safe and happy at home, so that is where he will stay."
"Sirius."
"No headmaster." Sirius knew that all of this was about manipulation. "Don't think I don't know why you asked for me rather than his father. None of us will be swayed on this matter."
"There are just so many lives at risk my boy." Albus made his tone sad. "Harry could save so many people."
Fire passed through Sirius's eyes for a moment. "That is not his responsibility. It is not Hadrian's job to save everyone. He owes no one anything. It is time for the people of this world to stand on their own two feet and take responsibility for themselves.
They now have warning, so they can get ready. I know the aurors and the Ministry are already working on recommendations to improve everyones security. It is their jobs to ensure the security of the people, not a 15 year old boys."
"And what of Regulus?" Albus really wanted information on Sirius's mysterious brother, enough so that he was willing to let the conversation about Harry and his obligations drop for the moment.
Sirius turned fully and moved back into the office. "Regulus? What does he have to do with anything?"
"I, of course, recognized him last night." Albus turned up the twinkle now they were onto a different topic. "I was wondering why you never mentioned that he was an Unspeakable?"
Sirius instantly knew where Dumbledore was going at that point. "I never mentioned it because it wasn't relevant or any of your business.
Regulus has worked for the DOM for many years now. It's never really been an issue. My brothers job has nothing to do with anything."
"It's just that he has access to so much information that we do not. Between the Black Family Library, and what he learns from the Department of Mysteries. He could help us with our Voldemort issue. Who knows the kinds of information that he could assist us in getting?" Albus smiled in his usual grandfatherly way. "I'm sure if you and your brother sat down and talked about it during the next meeting everyone would be overjoyed with the amount of information you would be able to provide. With that we would be able to make all kinds of plans on how to combat Voldemort, it would also allow us to protect Harry better."
Sirius wanted to laugh. He knew what Dumbledore was trying to do. He was trying to make him think that it was his idea to try and get Reg to give them information while still taking some of the credit. It was how he had gotten so much done during the last war. Dumbledore would get people so spun around so that they would think his ideas had been their own, but he had always found a way to also take the credit. It was what allowed him to have an image of a wise, kind old man that seemed to be able to accomplish anything.
"You know that won't help as well as I do. The Unspeakables are bound by extensive oaths and vows. Regulus won't be able to give anyone any information that isn't already public knowledge without the permission of the head of his department." Sirius reminded him.
"Don't you think he would be willing to at least try to help your godson?" Albus sounded concerned.
"Reg has always done everything in his power to protect Hadrian, but protecting him and providing information are two very different things." Sirius said. "He can't just start giving information out to anyone, there are procedures in place for the release of any information. You know that already.
I will also mention that Percy Weasley is under the same rules. Don't try and pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about." Sirius had seen the attempted innocent look on the old fools face. "I know you saw him last night. He can't tell you anything, so don't even bother. You know how much respect Percy has for rules, there is no way he would break them just because you ask."
"I have no intention of asking young Mr. Weasley for anything." Albus said in a kind voice.
It took Sirius a few minutes to piece together what the old man was planning. "And sending Molly will just make things worse for you. Molly will only anger the boy."
"She is his mother, it is for the best they work on reestablishing their bond." Albus smiled.
"Molly was never a mother to that boy, and we all know it. In case you didn't notice, Molly never even tried to get custody of any of Arthurs older boys. None of the boys see her as a mother, and I know that any meeting Molly has with Percy now, after spending so long completely ignoring him, is not going to go the way you would hope. If anything, it will just push him further away from you." Sirius knew that sending Molly after Percy would not work the way they planned.
"I'm sure it's just a slight misunderstanding." Albus twinkled, but he knew it wasn't going to be easy. Maybe he would need to get Molly to give the boy some potions to make him feel more of an obligation to help them.
"It isn't a slight misunderstanding. You know what she did to Arthur and those boys, it was nothing short of criminal. If it weren't for the fact that Arthur wanted to protect Ron and Ginny that woman would be rotting away in Azkaban, where she belongs for what she did.
But Percy is well aware of it. If you think sending Molly after the boy will endear him to you then you may want to lay off the lemon drops. That woman hasn't paid him one bit of attention for years, and has treated him like trash since he was 11 and got sorted into a house she didn't like.
I would recommend that you keep her away from him, especially if you ever want him to help you in any way shape or form."
"I will take that under advisement, but I'm sure it will work out." Albus refused to accept that it wouldn't.
"Fine, but on your own head be it when Molly turns him away from you completely." Sirius got up and made his way out of the office at that point.
He knew it was no use trying to get the old fool to change his mind. Once Dumbledore had decided on a course of action he wouldn't stray from it, and would never admit that it had failed. The continued attempts to gain control of Hadrian and force him into becoming who Dumbledore wanted was proof of that.
Walking out of the office Sirius made plans for how he was going to warn Percy that Dumbledore had sent Molly after him for information. He thought it was going to be funny how Percy showed just how much he didn't like the woman.
Hogwarts Express - June 25, 2006
Neville was making his way towards the back of the train to visit a few of his other friends after finishing his prefect rounds when he was waylaid by the annoying trio.
"Neville." Hermione smiled at the boy like they were old friends.
"What do you want Granger?" Neville kept his tone polite, the last thing he needed was to deal with the three of them throwing fits.
"Where's Harry?" Ginny asked as she all but bounced on her toes. She was so happy that Fred and George were now officially done with school so they wouldn't be in her way anymore.
"Last time I saw him he was in the middle of the train on the left hand side." Neville withheld his smirk.
"Thanks." Ginny bounded off, followed by a slightly suspicious Granger and Weasley.
Neville felt a little bad for Harry. But, he couldn't stop himself from grinning as he continued on his way thinking about how the three would react when they found Harry Mellcamp, a second year Hufflepuff, where he had sent them.
It was half an hour later when the annoying trio found Neville once again. By that point Neville was sitting in a compartment with Susan, Blaise, Hannah, and Daphne. He had spent the time stopping in to visit his friends in the different compartments and was on the final group before he went back to his own compartment.
"You lied." Ginny whined as soon as her brother had thrown the door open.
"I beg your pardon?" Nevilles voice was imperious at the accusation.
"You lied to us." Hermione stamped her foot. "We searched the entire centre of the train, and Harry wasn't there."
"That was where I last saw him." Neville shrugged.
"You told them where to find Hadrian?" Daphne questioned in shock, she had never thought Neville would betray his friend like that.
"No, I told them where I last saw Harry." Neville smiled. "The only Harry I know who is on the train is Harry Mellcamp, and I last saw him sitting in a compartment in the middle of the train."
The girls all giggled and Blaise laughed openly as they realized what he had done.
"You know that isn't who we were looking for." Hermione huffed.
"Well, he is the only Harry I know, and you asked where Harry was." Neville said matter of factly. "If you were looking for someone else, then you would have had to ask me, using their name. You can't expect me to be able to tell you where someone is if you don't give me the right name."
Hermione growled. "His name is Harry."
"Yes, Harry Mellcamp's name is Harry." Blaise agreed.
"You know who I mean." Hermione's face started to go red in her anger.
"Yes, like the boys said, Harry Mellcamp is called Harry." Daphne said, her voice as cold as usual.
Ginny clenched her teeth. "You know that isn't who we mean."
"Well, actually, I'm confused." Susan pretended to actually be seriously interested in the subject. "You say you were looking for Harry, but when directed to him you say it was the wrong Harry, but there is only one Harry that we know of that currently attends Hogwarts. So, if that was the wrong harry, then there really isn't anything we can do to help you."
"You call him Hadrian." Ron huffed, seeing his sister and friend were about to start screaming.
"Oh, you mean we actually call him by his name." Hannah sighed, she normally tried to be nice to everyone, but these three just annoyed her.
"Look, I don't know what your issue is, but Hadrian's name is Hadrian. Calling him by any other name is rude. Unless you call him by his name, no one should be expected to know who you mean. Just because the three of you insist on acting like ignorant fools doesn't mean others will follow in your footsteps." Neville really hated how they treated his friend.
"And just what would you know?" Ginny demanded.
"I have been friends with Hadrian since we were children. I actually spend time with him, and he likes to spend time with me." Nevilles tone showed he clearly thought he was dealing with idiots. "The more you insist on calling him that name, the more you prove you know nothing about him.
You do understand that the person that decided to try and change his name to Harry is the woman who kidnapped, and then abandoned him when he was a baby. He hates that name as it is a constant reminder of that."
"But it's his name." Ron said stupidly.
"No, it isn't. He was named Hadrian when he was born, and that is the name he still has." Neville pointed out. "Calling him any other name shows that not only do you not know him, but that you have absolutely no respect for him and who he is.
I mean, you yourselves always throw fits when anyone refers to you by a different name. That is exactly what you are doing to him."
"His name should be Harry. Hadrian is a stupid old name." Hermione muttered, but the others heard her.
"Well, how's this, when you have a son, you don't name him Hadrian. But you can't force someone to change their name." Blaise rolled his eyes.
"Really, grow up." Susan huffed. "His name is his name, you do not get to name him."
"I honestly don't understand this problem you have." Hannah really was confused by their behaviour. "You claim you are his friend, but then do nothing but insult him.
Is that what you think friendship is? Because it isn't. To be friends with someone, you must first be friendly."
Ginny glared at the two girls trying to tell her about her future husband. She still preferred the name Harry.
Hermione forced herself not to scream. "Fine, where is Hadrian?"
"He's in his compartment." Neville shrugged before turning back to his friends with a slight smile.
"Which compartment?" Hermione was trying to stay calm.
"I can't tell you that, it's a secured compartment." Neville glanced over. "If that is all, kindly leave. We have nothing to discuss with you."
Before the girls could start yelling Ron pulled them back. He knew that they were supposed to be making friends with Harry, and yelling at Neville wouldn't help them. Neville would just go running to him and tell him they were being mean. When the others started to argue with him he told them they would just wait until Neville started to go back to Harry's compartment and they would follow him.
Neville grinned as he slipped into his compartment. It hadn't been hard to figure out the annoying trio's plan. He couldn't believe they thought they could hide. That red hair was like a flashing beacon, not to mention Ron was one of the tallest kids in their year.
When he had been ready to leave he had had the others create a distraction. Daphne of all people had had a blackout pellet from Fred and Georges joke shop in her pocket and had dropped it at their feet. It had allowed him to get away.
"What has you so happy?" Luna asked.
Neville snickered as he saw that Hadrian, Fred, and George had all transformed into their animigus forms and were wound around each other like a big, fluffy ball. Nem had taken up her position on Luna's lap, along with Tyche and Demeter, but at least she wasn't turned away from them so she wasn't overly angry.
"They invited Nem to join the cuddle pile, but she didn't want to get her fur all messed up." Luna smiled as she saw where Neville's eyes had gone. "The others decided to cuddle with her instead.
Neville smiled as he saw a little black face pop up from the fuzz ball and look at him with big green eyes. "I just had a run in with the annoying trio is all. Nothing important."
Hadrian snuffled.
"It's no big deal, they were just being annoying like usual. I think it might get even worse now that he's back you know."
Hadrian nodded.
"You just need to keep ignoring them. You know that. Those three are never going to change, Dumbledore has let them get away with too much. Those three really seem to think that they can force things to be the way they want them even though it hasn't worked for the past five years."
Hadrian nodded again before he ducked back into his cuddle pile to spend the rest of the train ride being cuddled by his boyfriends. Whatever it was those three were doing just didn't matter to him anymore.