643Summary: Sequel to the Protector of Magic! The Wizarding world will likely be in trouble now that Voldemort is back. However, that does not mean that Harry is out of the game yet. Can he and his allies bring an end to Voldemort and his Death Eaters or will the Dark Lord finally get what he wants? Rated M! Language, Violence, ancient Magic, etc.
Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter, this is property of J.K Rowling's
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Sub-Genre: Action/Fantasy
Chapter 1: Setting the Stage
Also special thanks Jedblack1997. I made a promise and I have kept it. Thanks again for the idea regarding an improved version of the truth serum!
Roughly a month had passed after the Tri-Wizard tournament ended, with Harry Potter returning to the pitch broken, battered, and severely drained. Right now, things in Magical Britain were far from pleasant as the young champion was transported to an unknown location by Lord Black and Hayato. Something that obviously annoyed Dumbledore as he wanted to know what happened and where Harry was transported. Jack and Sirius refused to answer as they didn't know and left an irate Albus Dumbledore to deal with Fudge.
The bumbling Minister of Magic demanded to know what was going on, but when Dumbledore mentioned that there might have been the chance of Voldemort being back. Fudge instantly denied that possibility claiming that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was dead. For an hour, the two debated, with Albus trying to convince the idiotic Minister to see reason as it was clear that Harry had been involved in a life or death situation. Unfortunately, this was met with a red-faced portly man who told Albus that he was a delusional fool and stormed back to the Ministry.
Things only got worse as a panic broke out, with Fudge claiming that the most feared Dark Lord was not back, much to Dumbledore's insistence for him to see reason. The next few weeks weren't even better as while Fudge couldn't control the paper as it was owned by Lady Zabini. However, he managed to find a way courtesy of his good friends, Lucius, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, and others. Together they were able to spread the word that Dumbledore and Potter were lying and that they were a danger to Great Britain. Fudge even believed that Dumbledore was after his job.
However, Dumbledore was not the only one having a difficult time, as Lucius and the others felt the Dark Lord's displeasure. Voldemort had tortured them with the cruciatus curse for a good hour save for Lucius, who got the worst of it and was tortured to insanity. Luckily, the potion Potter created revived and returned his sanity. His comrades had received prosthetics to replace their missing limbs, but the situation with Bellatrix was a different story. After Potter had escaped from the graveyard, she was taken to Malfoy's manor to receive treatment. The healers who served the Dark Lord discovered that after her mental breakdown, she slipped into a coma for about eight days. Almost immediately after waking up, she demanded to see her sister Narcissa.
When Narcissa finally arrived, Bella elaborated about the mental duel she had with Potter and, much to Narcissa's shock, her older sister had lost. Something that surprised her greatly as only a few people could stand up to Bellatrix's mind intrusions. There were even fewer who could beat her. Bella retold the story about what Potter showed her and asked if they were true?
Much to her shock Narcissa confirmed everything Potter had said was the truth! She had been disowned and was no longer considered a Black.
Voldemort aka Tom Marvolo Riddle had been in a dilemma. On one hand he was pissed and wanted to end the House of Potter for good. But on the other hand he wanted the boy to join him. Even though he may have not had been at full power after regaining his body he thought his power would have been more than enough to defeat the boy. Unfortunately, that proven to be false. Despite all the injuries he had sustained, Potter fought and was even able to land some curses of his own. In many ways he saw a lot of himself in the boy: powerful, intelligent, ruthless, and resourceful.
(0^0)
At Davis manor Tracey was in the sitting room with the others. Earlier today they were practicing in the dueling room, trying to improve their skills in martial magic. After a couple hours they decided to call it a day.
"My body hurts," Neville groaned. After getting home from school, his parents explained the situation and stressed the importance of Neville learning how to defend himself. His father was quite insistent on the matter as he didn't want what happened to him and his wife to happen to his son.
"Suck it up, Longbottom," Blaise said. "If you thought training would be easy, then think again." He held Tracey's hand. The two had gotten together a week after school let out, and neither of them could not have been any happier.
Releasing a breath. "Look, we're all tired, but with Voldemort back and Fudge doing everything he can to disprove his return. Things are going to start getting heated around here."
"Blaise is right," Susan spoke. "Aunt Amy has been pushing for the budget committee to release some more money to her department, but Fudge refuses her at every turn." She said in an annoyed tone.
A snort brought their attention to Adrian. "You think that's bad? Fudge is doing everything in his power to try and discredit both Harry and Dumbledore. Dumbledore, I understand since he's been the most vocal about Voldemort returning, but Harry's been missing since the end of the tournament. Plus did you see the shape he was in? He was barely conscious." Suddenly he felt two different pair of eyes on him. One from Emily the other from Daphne.
Everyone knew what the two young girl's thought about Harry, or so they thought. Emily idolized her brother and missed him greatly. The last time she saw him was at the pitch in Daphne's arms before being taken away by Hayato and Lord Black. She couldn't even talk to him through their bond as he closed it off. Practically the only thing she knew was that Harry was at the Citadel, but that's it.
Like Emily, Daphne also missed him. She tried asking Severus and other Blacks about him, but they either didn't answer or were not around.
After clearing his throat he continued. "We all miss Harry. But for the time being, we have to focus on the here and now," he rationalized.
"Adrian's right," Aaron looked at him, "during the last war, the Death Eaters thrived on the chaos and were met with little resistance. Crouch may have authorized the use of lethal force, but it came too late as we were on the losing side. And that's not counting Dumbledore's group as they were a defensive and reactionary division who barely accomplished anything."
"I still can't believe Lord Black let the old geezer use his house for the Order meeting," Susan said. Finally, Sirius and Amelia told her the truth about how and why her parents were killed. That day she felt so many emotions, but the one she felt the most was a hunger for justice. "Has there been any word about where the Death Eaters are? Or where Voldemort is?"
"You can stop that train of thought right there," Nicole clicked her tongue. Dolohov was one of the Death Eaters who murdered the auburn girl's parents and uncle. "Going after people like Dolohov and the Lestranges is pure suicide, and you are nowhere near ready for them."
"It took an entire squad of skilled Aurors to subdue them the first time," Daphne said in a cool voice. "Even then, a handful of them didn't make it out alive."
Tracey saw that Susan was about to retort and spoke quickly. "Look, let's change the subject," she suggested, not wanting to talk anymore about Voldemort and his Death Eaters. "It's Friday, and we should take advantage of the time we have off."
"Good idea," Blaise kissed her forehead and looked at Neville, Aaron, and Adrian. "Remember, on the fourth, we're supposed to pick up our bikes from Damian's shop. They might have been expensive, but it was completely worth it."
"Y'all never did say what kind of motorcycle you ordered, "said Luna, who looked specifically at Neville.
All he did was chuckle as he wondered why the bikes were taking so long. "That's because they're a surprise. First, though, I will say that they will be faster and more powerful than the ones muggles use."
"Not even a hint?" She gave him a dreamy expression.
"Nope," returning with a cheeky grin, earning him a poke in the ribs.
"You're always full of surprises, aren't you?" Giving him a genuine smile.
Neville smiled back. "I will say that it is pretty sweet," he remembered the kind of motorcycle he wanted, plus the designs and special attachments.
"Speaking of surprises," the attention was brought back to Nicole, "our OWL and NEWT results will be coming in a week or so." That elicited a groan from her brother.
"Don't remind me. I've been stressing about them since we got back from the conference. The wait is killing me." He complained hoping that his grades were good. Katie was also stressing about her grades as she wanted to see if she qualified for the classes she needed.
Nicole merely giggled but in truth she was also concerned about her results. The only silver lining was that she got a mastery in potions. It may have taken a long time and after many failures the potion turned out to be a success. The Alítheia potion was an improved version of the truth serum Veritaserum. This potion will make it much more difficult for people to lie, especially those who are resistant to truth serums or are skilled in occlumency. Anyone who tried to lie would instantly be electrocuted with 500 volts. Almost immediately after its debut the ICW and several wizarding governments put in a request for the potion. Some have even sent her thank you letters.
"I'm just glad to have been appointed as a Potion's Mistress," she said with a sigh of relief. "All I need now are my NEWT results, and then I can apply for the ICW's Healer academy."
"Um, don't you need some letters of recommendation?" Adrian asked.
"Already got four of them," she replied. Professors Sprout, Snape, Flitwick, and McGonagall were more than happy enough to provide them for her.
"They'd be fools not to take you, sis," Aaron added. "I remember you doing an internship at St. Mungo's last summer." Since the start of summer he had begun interning at the Warding office in Knockturn alley. He wanted to be a professional warder when he left Hogwarts.
Daphne knew what he was talking about as she was also doing an internship with the Department of Mysteries. Which was a complete surprise as they only accepted those who achieved high OWL scores and have a minimum of three letters of recommendation. Even though she didn't get her grades yet, the Head of the Department: Algernon Croaker, managed to get a copy of them. However, he refused to hand them over as she had to get the original from the ICW. Ulrich had thankfully taken her under his wing and became his assistant. Another good thing was that she only had to work Monday through Thursday from eight a.m. to five-thirty.
Fortunately, she was not alone as Tracey got a part-time job working at Javier's jewelry store with Padma Patil. Blaise began shadowing his grandfather, who happened to own a well-known potions business. Neville started doing volunteer work for a company in Ireland that specializes in magical plants.
She was eventually pulled out of her thoughts when the front door opened "…those idiots. Their all idiots." Lord Davis came into the room with a sour expression. Behind him were Frank, Cyrus, Xavier, and Amelia. Who were equally if not more annoyed.
"I take it that the wizengamot session today went south," Susan guessed.
The look on Amelia's face said it all. "You have no idea," she said and turned to Cameron. "Do you have a bottle of Scotch?"
"I'm way ahead of you," he went to the kitchen for a couple minutes before returning with the wine bottle and a couple of glasses. Downing the contents, he poured another glass for himself. "Look, I said it before, and I'll say it again. Fudge and his cohorts need to go."
"Trust me, Cameron, I feel the same," Xavier took a swig of his beverage. "However, there's little we can do; no matter how hard we push, Malfoy and his group will do everything they can to protect him. Not to mention that some of the other Departments are under his control. We can't do anything unless they are caught doing something illegal."
"And believe me, it will give me great pleasure to slap the cuffs on them." Amelia never liked Fudge or his cabinet. In the space of a few weeks, he introduced a handful of new laws that were completely useless. He also had Bagman and the Aurors in the holding cells to be kissed by the Dementors before she could interrogate them.
That wasn't even the worst part, as she had to thoroughly sweep the entire Auror department, which took up a lot of time. Time that could have been used to track down Voldemort and the other criminals. Thankfully, she had connections within other magical governments and was able to pull some strings. Cornelius may be unwilling to admit that Voldemort was back, but that didn't mean she wouldn't put the word out in other countries. The only thing was that she needed to be careful as she had a duty to protect the people of Britain and Ireland.
"Alright, Susan, time to go home." Amelia took another swig of her glass and left through the floo with Susan following behind.
"Come on, Neville, Luna, time to go," Frank directed them to the floo. He promised Xenophilius that he would have his daughter home by dinner.
Pretty soon the manor was deserted as the only ones left were Cyrus, Daphne, Cameron, and Tracey. Isabella said she would be working late tonight and wouldn't be back until around eleven. When the four converged into the dining room for dinner they took their respective seats.
"Daddy, are you sure there's no way for you to get my results?"
Cyrus let out a tired sigh. "Daphne, I know you are anxious to see your results, but not even I can get your grades as that is not my department. Just be patient for a little while longer."
Daphne had to resist the urge to groan as she didn't think that it should take this long for them to send out the OWL results. She immediately shot Tracey a glare when the brunette started snickering.
"Relax, Daphne, I'm pretty sure you got Outstanding's across the board. Plus a few distinctions, so try not to worry so much." She teased.
"Young lady, the last thing you need to do is start teasing people considering that you are taking them at the end of the upcoming school year." Cameron narrowed his eyes at his daughter.
Tracey pouted a bit and grumbled. "I know, I know, dad." She then looked back at Daphne. "Whenever I'm not with Blaise or at work, I'm in the library studying my butt off. By now, I think I can earn about six Outstanding's…the others likely Exceed Expectations."
"Tracey, I'm not worried about getting the highest grades," pushing a few strands of hair away from her face. "Severus and Professor Vector came by yesterday offering me the chance to obtain several masteries. The only catch is that I have to do exceptionally well on my OWLs for them to even consider me for the positions."
Her best friend rubbed her shoulder, "relax, alright. The grades will arrive either on the 31st or the 1st of August. So, just calm down and enjoy yourself while you can."
She then looked at her father. "Daddy, I was wondering if I can get your permission to do something important?" Cameron raised an eyebrow motioning for her to continue. "I want to become an animagus."
Cameron had to briefly cough as he did not expect his daughter to ask that. Becoming an animagus was not easy but given how determined his daughter had become maybe their was a chance. "I…I will speak with your mother about it tomorrow. Why the sudden interest?"
"Because it might be useful if I need to get out of sticky situations," she replied. This was one of the reasons. She, Blaise, Lilith, and the others have been talking about it for a while and thought that if they became animagi, it would help them in the future.
"Your mother and I will discuss it later."
Figuring that it was the best she was going to get out of him, Tracey didn't push the matter. Besides, it is not like it was a no!
Hundreds of miles away at the Hogsmede village Albus Dumbledore strolled down the alley to the Hog's Head Inn. An establishment owned by his younger brother Aberforth. Arriving at his destination he opened the door to see his brother behind the bar washing a mug with a hand towel.
"Albus, you've aged," he said gruffly. Despite what many have thought, Aberforth was the polar opposite of his older brother. While they may have had the same eyes, facial expressions, and beards, Aberforth preferred more casual clothes to his brother's flashy style of robes. That and he still had brown hair.
"I dare say I'm not the only one," Albus jovially said. It had been months since either brother have spoken with each other.
"What's your pleasure?"
"Firewhiskey and leave the bottle, please."
Aberforth took out a clean mug and a bottle for his brother. Albus poured himself a glass and downed some of it. For a few minutes none of them said anything. Something that was perfectly fine with the younger as he didn't have much to say. However, the look on Albus's face said everything.
"Alright, Albus, what do you want?" Aberforth proceeded to clean another mug.
"Honestly, Abe, is it wrong to just come and have a drink?"
"Anyone normal person seventeen and older, no." He gave him an exasperated look "you, however, yes! Now spill."
Albus sighed and poured another glass. "Have you seen any suspicious characters coming around here?"
Abe grunted. "Over a hundred years old and still playing detective," letting out a groan. He knew who his brother was referring to "no. Death Eaters don't come around here. Mainly the only people who come here are your sixth to seventh-year students, that swine Mundungus Fletcher, or those assholes from the Ministry."
The people from the Ministry have been trying to get a statement out of him for the better part of a month. With the worst being that undersecretary Delores Umbridge. He hated that woman for a variety of reasons. She had been dragging his name through the mud and put a damper on the number of patrons he got. She had threatened a few times to shut him down, but as always, he got the last word and threw her out.
Ignoring the jab, Albus pressed on. "Are you sure? You haven't seen Mr. Potter coming in or anywhere near Knockturn Alley?"
'And there it is," mentally groaning. "No, Albus, I haven't seen him anywhere, and he certainly doesn't come to my establishment. For the love of Merlin, you have got to leave that boy alone. When will you stop meddling in matters that don't concern you?"
"Aberforth, I am doing what is best for everyone," he began. "I truly did not know the extent of what happened when he was at his aunt's house. That was a clear mistake on my part, but it had to be this way."
Slamming his hand on the bar. "Pull the other cheek, Albus. Who made you god? I can't decide what's worse as either your lying to yourself or to me. You put that child with her, knowing he would not be loved or well-cared for. You did it to keep an eye on him. From what I have heard, that boy's anger is mostly directed at you and Voldemort." Closing his eyes, he took a breath. "And you know what. I don't blame him. I blame the two of you for pushing him to this point."
"Harry has to be controlled," Albus argued. "For the good of the world, he must fight for the light. Tom's upbringing may have been less than ideal, but I never thought he would turn into the evil he is today."
"Do you even hear yourself?" He looked at him as if he's lost his mind. "Your talking about someone's life. About Potter's life, Al. Here's something pulled from those muggles you favor so much: Sometimes when you cage the beast, the beast gets angry."
"You have no idea. No idea what he is capable of," warning him.
"No, Albus, I have no idea what you are capable of."
"I had a terrible choice to make. I chose the lesser of two evils."
"Well, it seems neither Potter nor Tom had a choice at all," Aberforth heatedly replied. "You forget Albus that I know you," he coolly said. "You want to make up for your past mistakes, but the way you're going about it is only making things worse. Did you even tell the boy about the prophecy?"
"Harry is not ready to hear its contents, and I don't have to explain myself. Least of all, not to you, little brother," he said in a steel voice.
"That is not for you to decide. Potter is not a chess piece for you to move around as you see fit, and until you finally wake up and see the trouble you've been causing, you will end up no different than him."
"Tom and Harry share many similarities," Albus tried keeping his voice civil. "They were both very powerful as children, charismatic, resourceful, ruthless, and cunning. If Harry is not controlled, he could become just as bad if not worse than Tom."
Aberforth shook his head as it was clear that his brother would never change his mind. "You will never learn. The more you try and manipulate someone's life, the more they will resent and want you dead. You sacrificed so much to gain power and shape things in your image, and it cost us, Arianna." Out of everyone in their family, he loved his sister more than life itself.
"Don't go there, Aberforth," Albus finally broke his calm demeanor. "Need, I remind you that there were three of us that day."
He mockingly laughed, "oh yes, how could I forget about your boy toy, Grindelwald."
The two continued bickering for a good two hours and after a heated argument Albus paid for his drinks then left.
"You are a self-righteous, arrogant bastard and will never ever learn," Aberforth yelled.
(0^0)
Three days later, at Number 12 Grimmauld, a one Sirius Black was sitting in his family's library. The place had become one of his safe havens since he allowed Dumbledore to use it for the Order of the Phoenix. A notion that never sat well with him, let alone his grandfather, who looked ready to some of the members. However, Arcturus allowed it as he could gain some insight into what the Order was doing. Dumbledore thought there would be no strings attached and that if he asked him, then everything would be good. Little did he know was that it was not Sirius's right to authorize the use of Grimmauld; that right belonged to his grandfather. A couple of days later, Albus brought the Weasley family, claiming they needed somewhere safe to stay as the Burrow was too well-known. Along with them came their friend Hermione Granger. Apparently, Albus convinced the girl's parents that she would be safer with him and the others.
This is something that annoyed Sirius the most as he frequently had to put up Molly's constant tirades and attempt to question him at every turn. Were if not for the intel he got from the meeting, then he would have kicked her out. So, far tuning her out was only a temporary solution. He didn't have any problems with Arthur as he liked him more than his wife; that and the fact that him being at work most of the time. Fred and George, who got along with their pranks, spoke to his inner marauder. He remembered what happened in his youth and what it led to. Ronald, however, annoyed him as he ate a lot and had little to no manners. The boy had been trying to join the Order for a while, but each time was rejected. Finally, the Granger girl tried to either get into the library, attempt to free the house-elves or get him to listen to Albus and Molly.
A silver lining was that Remus had agreed to move in and keep him company. Checking his watch to see the time, he found that he had twenty minutes before Dumbledore came to begin the Order meeting. Taking a deep breath, he closed the book in his lap, put it back on the shelf from where he got it, and left. But not before sealing it with the Black's family magic. Then making his way downstairs to the kitchen, where he ran into the kids who were being ushered out by Molly.
Upon seeing him, the twins immediately bowed their heads and exclaimed. "We're not worthy!"
"Hello, gentlemen," Sirius greeted. "Got any new inventions?" He whispered.
The twins were giddy as they practically worshipped Sirius for being one of the original marauders. A small part of Sirius was delighted, though the larger part felt that the twins had a lot of potential. Unlike them, he and James actually got some decent scores on their OWLs and NEWTs. Fred and George only managed to achieve three OWLs each, which was pretty sad as his grandfather and late aunt would have skinned him alive. They treated it like it was a joke.
The twins responded in unison. "Currently working on our newest one. Just have to do a little more testing." By that, they meant their siblings and some of the other occupants.
"Then happy pranking," giving them a two-finger salute before walking into the kitchen to see Arthur, Molly, Bill, and Charlie sitting at the table with Remus, Kingsley, and Mundugus. "Evening, everyone," he refused to look at either Molly or Charlie.
"Hello, Arthur, how are things in your new department?"
Arthur gave him a sad smile, "things could be better." He admitted as things at the Ministry were tight at the moment. "The pay is a lot more decent than what I got from my days at the Muggle Artifacts office. I also get to spend more time with my family."
That was one of the few things he respected the most about Arthur. He was a family man through and through.
"And what about yourself?" Arthur continued. "How are things at the firm?"
"Things are running smoothly," Sirius replied. "I signed two more people to my division."
They continued talking until the other members of the Order arrived, and as soon as Dumbledore came, he asked Moody and Shacklebolt to put some enchantments on the door so the kids wouldn't hear or intrude.
"I hereby call this meeting to order," everyone looked at him with different expressions. "Kingsley, Alastor, Frank, Alice, anything to report from the Ministry?"
The latter spoke, "things haven't changed. Fudge hasn't been seen outside his office except to speak with those cunts from the Daily Prophet and other media coverages. Although, Malfoy and his group of weaklings meet with him more often than usual." Moody gave a sneer that would have made Severus smile. "Face it, Albus, any hope of recruiting new individuals is low with Fudge in charge."
"I will have to concur," Kingsley commented with a stoic expression. "Amelia believes that You-Know-Who is back, but there is not much she can do with the current administration."
Alice and Frank said the same thing; even though they were reinstated as Aurors, the events from the past few weeks concerned them.
"What about your former protégé, Alastor? I believe young Nymphadora would become an extraordinary asset." The girl's metamorphmagus abilities would be a fantastic addition to him.
Alastor thought fondly over his apprentice. The girl had the making of a great Auror. Even if she was a bit clumsy at times, she turned out to be a fantastic Auror. Albus had already sent him and Kingsley to try and recruit her, but she turned them down.
Albus had to think for a few minutes as this was indeed troubling. His eyes soon fell on Sirius. "Is any way for you to convince either Amelia or Nymphadora to join us?"
"Me and Amelia have already discussed the matter and have agreed that it would be better if she didn't join the Order." It was not a complete lie as he told her he would rejoin the Order, but only as a spy. "As for my dear Cousin Nymphadora, I doubt she will join, given your relationship with Harry…"
He internally smirked after seeing the angry expression on Charlie's face. The carrot top idiot wanted to get back with Dora; little did he know was that it would never happen again. It also showed that he held a grudge after the beating Harry gave him at the World Cup.
"…the two have grown quite close."
"Please speak to her the next time you see her?" Albus asked. "If we can get her to join, then it'll mean another pair of eyes and ears at our disposal."
"Don't hold your breath," Sirius warned. Dora was a mid-ranking Auror who became a skilled detective.
Albus went to address Severus, who stood against the wall. "Is there anything to report about Voldemort's," he ignored some of the gasps from the others, "movements?"
"The Dark Lord is angry, very angry. Whatever happened in the graveyard that night has left him in shock and heavily intrigued," Severus said in a silk voice.
"What do you mean, Snape?" Alastor looked at him.
"He has expressed an interest in Potter that concerns some of the other Death Eaters from his inner circle," stated coolly. The people who died or were severely injured by Harry got the Dark Lord's attention. What surprised him the most was that he managed to put Bellatrix in a coma. "From what I have learned, the boy managed to kill a fair number of them both before and during his fight with the Dark Lord."
"Can you get a memory of what happened that night, Severus?" Albus's blue eyes twinkled as he wanted to know.
"Probably, though it won't be easy. I take it you remember the replacement limbs of Crabbe, Parkinson, and Goyle?"
"I do!"
"It would appear that Potter left an impression on them." Though, he secretly wished Harry would have killed them.
Sirius then began laughing. "Oh, I would give my left hand to see them badly broken." He still remembered what Severus told him about Bellatrix being put into a coma. That day he celebrated for a good long hour with his wife. He never liked Bella as she was too much like old snake face. "The little shits deserved it and then some."
"This is not funny, Sirius," Molly scolded. "Whatever problems you had with your family, Harry not only put Bellatrix in a coma but also maimed and killed people. A boy his age should not be taught how to kill. You need to reign him in."
"Molly, I will remind you again that I am Harry's godfather and that he was raised by people who care about him." He referred to his aunt, grandfather, Jack, Sarah, and Severus. Even though he accepted the fact that Severus was now his father. To him, James will always be Harry's birth father. "Regardless of what I say, he will participate in the war. And he was the one who saw Voldemort come back" again, there was a collective shudder around the table at the name, "he has more right than most to —"
"He's only fourteen and —" Molly tried to say.
"— and he's dealt with as much as most in the Order," said Sirius, "and more than others his—"
"No one's denying what he's done!" said Mrs. Weasley, her voice rising, her fists trembling on the arms of her chair. "But he's still —"
"He's not a child!" Sirius desperately trying to maintain his composure.
"He's not an adult either!" said Mrs. Weasley, the color rising in her cheeks. "He's not James, Sirius!"
"I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly," said Sirius coldly.
"I'm not sure you are!" said Mrs. Weasley. "Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!"
That comment was a low blow as Sirius's grey eyes burned with anger. "And Fred and George are not your dead brothers," he said, shocking everyone in the room, not that he cared. If Molly was going to compare James to Harry, then he would do the same with the twins and her brothers. "Let me make this perfectly clear to you, Molly Weasley…," saying her name as if he tasted something sour, "…if you bring my brother into this, then I'll bring yours. James was like a brother to me, and I will not have you disrespecting his memory by comparing him to his son. Were if Lily was here, then she would curse you into the next century."
"As for your sons," narrowing his eyes, "Fred and George's names are similar to Fabian and Gideon. You look at the twins like you have your brothers back, but they're now six feet underground."
"How dare you," Molly's face was the same color as her hair. She got to her feet, "you listen to me, Sirius Black. I am a mother of seven children. You are an immature and reckless man who thinks this is merely a game," yelling at him. "I don't know what James and Lily were thinking when they named you his godfather, but they have clearly made a mistake. Besides, you don't even know how to raise a child like him."
It was Sirius's turn to rise to his feet. "You dare speak to me that way in my own house…a house that you and your family currently reside in! The only reason why your lot is even here is that your home is too well-known to the public, and if you'd stayed there, you would be dead by now. And to set the record straight, Harry is a member of my family, not yours, and there's nothing you can do to change that." He screamed. "He has been cared for since he escaped that hellhole Albus put him in. By the very people, he should have been with since the day his parents were murdered. Do you know what they all have in common? It didn't involve you!"
"Yes," said Mrs. Weasley, her lip curling. "The thing is, it's been rather difficult for someone like you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it? If you had done your job, then you would never have been sent to Azkaban in the first place. Do you even know where he is?"
Sirius had nearly hit his breaking point and was about to retort, but Remus and Alice intervened.
"Sit down, Sirius," Remus said, trying to keep things from worsening. "This will not help things!"
"You are out of line, Molly," Alice sharply retorted. "Whatever, you might think Sirius and I are Harry's godparents. Not you! He is not your son, and you have no claim to him. Furthermore, contrary to what you may believe, Harry is nothing like James. He may have looked like him to an extent, but he has none of his arrogance nor his immaturity. For that matter, he is not even Lily. He is his own person, and you must respect that."
Molly was about to speak, but Albus cut her off. "Molly, you are in the wrong for bringing James up. I can personally attest to the fact that Harry is nothing like his father or his mother." It irked him to admit this, but he had to control the situation before it spun out of hand. "Sirius, I understand your feelings about the matter, and as much as I don't want to agree with you…Harry will be needed for the upcoming fight against Voldemort."
Once again, the occupants gasped. Sirius took a couple breaths and sat back down while Molly looked at Dumbledore. "Albus, you cannot consider inducting Harry into the Order," she spluttered. "He is only fourteen."
"The boy has already taken his NEWTs, Molly, and is now considered an adult," Severus entered the conversation. "You may not have noticed, but Potter is not your average dunderhead. Based on the rumors I have heard at school, the boy is a prodigy and more mature than anyone else," he said in a cool, silk voice. "It is more beneficial to have him with us than against us."
That shocked everyone as they never expected to hear that from Snape. Several of them knew that he and James hated each other in their youth and expected him to badmouth either James or Harry.
Alastor was the first to recover. "I never thought I would hear you praise or defend the boy, Severus. Personally, I thought you would have said something about him being spoiled or pampered like a prince."
Severus sneered at the grizzled man. "Believe what you want, but if he finally gets rid of the Dark Lord, then so be it. Better to have him as an ally than an enemy. The sooner the Dark Lord is gone, the sooner I can get back to my life."
"There's the Severus Snape, I know," Alastor grunted. "For a second, I thought you were going soft." That earned a dark scowl from the potions master. The look seemed powerful enough to kill a dragon.
Sucking in a breath, Albus spoke. "I agree with Severus," he firmly stated, much to everyone's surprise. "Has there been any other activities from Voldemort's camp?"
"As you're already aware, he's expressed an interest the in Hall of Prophecy and in Potter. The Dark Lord wants this Shadow and Hakugarai to join him. After he heard about what happened to Aleksandr and Fyodor, it became increasingly clear that he wants them on his side."
"That will be a disaster," Kingsley said. "I read the reports regarding those two, and if they join You-Know-Who, then it will become too much for us."
"Aye," Moody agreed. "I read Aleksandr's and Fyodor's files, and anyone capable of defeating them are people that we should approach with caution." He knew those two very well from his days as an active Auror before the first war. Because of that lousy son of a bitch, Aleksandr, he lost his left leg. "If that worthless shitbag Aleksandr was still alive, I make him wish he was never born," he bitterly said.
"You are not the only one who wants some revenge," Frank gave his old mentor a small smile. "If I got my hands on either Dolohov or the Lestranges, then you can be sure that head will roll." He was also itching for some payback.
Albus cleared his throat, "all right, I think it's clear what we need to do. Continue guarding the Hall of Prophecy, find and try to recruit Shadow and Hakugarai before the Death Eaters do, and locate young Harry. For now, those three things are our highest priorities. Secondary, we need to recruit more people. Sirius, I believe you are acquainted with Lord and Lady Kawada."
Sirius responded, knowing what Dumbledore was getting at, "that might be tricky as they don't trust you. That and Lord Ichika will never agree with your methods."
"At this point, we need all the allies we can get, Sirius. Therefore, I must insist that you allow me to speak with him."
Sirius shrugged his shoulders "don't say you weren't warned."
Dumbledore went to address everyone else. "Is there anything else that we need to discuss?
A woman at the far end of the table raised her hand. Her name was Emmeline Vance, a gaunt and slightly pale-looking witch. She was one of Dumbledore's biggest supporters and followed him without question. "I see two problems with your plan Professor. One: if you describe the Potter boy as rebellious as he is, there is little doubt that he will join us. Given the people he hangs around, how can we even trust him? He might as well be a Dark Lord by now, given what he did during the Tri-Wizard Tournament."
Sirius was about to offer a sharp retort, but Remus grabbed his arm and gave him a look that said keep it together. Also, he wasn't the only one who was angry as Severus glared murderously at the women. How dare she speak that way about his son.
"Also, we know nothing about the Kawadas. How do we know that they wouldn't sell us out?"
"My dear, Emmeline, we do not have all the facts of what happened that night of the fourth task, and Harry is the key to everything. But, above all, we must find and bring him here," Albus diplomatically said. "I believe that if he spent some time with Miss. Granger and the Weasley children, then we can open his eyes to see things our way."
It took all of Severus's self-control to not tell Dumbledore to drop dead. He wanted to control Harry and then send him to his death. Well, not if he had anything to say about it.
Sirius went to speak, "Emmeline, you also forget that we can't expend all our resources to find Harry as he does not wish to be found. The only person who might know where he is…is my grandfather, and getting the information out of him will be next to impossible. Are you willing to risk a fight with him to bring Harry here?"
Emmeline suddenly went even paler as she feared Lord Black and knew better than to cross him.
Albus was about to speak when Severus tensed up and rubbed his left arm. "He's calling you, isn't he?"
"I must go, Headmaster." With that, he walked out of the kitchen, billowing his robes, and apparated away when he got outside.
The meeting continued for another twenty minutes, with Albus reminding and assigning everyone their task "…I believe our business is concluded for the night. Until our next meeting. Sirius, are you sure your alright with being the secret keeper? I would be more than happy to be—"
"I made a mistake the first time and will not repeat it again," he said with a determined voice.
Seeing that he was not going to budge on the matter, Albus flooed back to his office at Hogwarts. This was soon followed by a couple more people who either used the floo network or apparated away.
"Sirius, a word, please," Moody said in a gruff voice. The younger man directed his former mentor and friend to the drawing-room. Once they were inside, Sirius locked and silenced the door. With an exasperated sigh, Moody began, "look, I've never been a fan of Dumbledore's machinations. Merlin knows that it has caused a lot of problems in the past—"
"But…" Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"But, I do know that he is planning something, and it has to do with the Hall of Prophecy and your godson," he explained. "Complete rubbish if you ask me, as there is no point for us to guard a prophecy when only Potter, Dumbledore, and Voldemort can remove it. You're a smart man Sirius. A man-child. But a smart one. And I'm pretty sure you know that things are about to escalate sooner than later. The last war nearly finished us, and we will not survive a second one."
"What do you recommend, Moody?" Sirius knew that when old Alastor sensed something bad was about to happen, it usually did, and it wasn't pretty.
Moody smirked as he knew that Sirius had become more cautious and pragmatic after being freed of those charges. "Constant vigilance," grunting. "Continue to be cautious and keep both eyes and ears open."
(0^0)
Severus apparated to Malfoy manor and walked to the front door, where he gave it a gentle knock. A house-elf opened the door, and he made his way inside to the Dark Lord's throne room. Mentally taking a breath, he ensured his occlumency shields were in place before going inside.
"My Lord," kissing the hem of Voldemort's robes, "you summoned me." He made sure to keep his head down.
"Rise, Severus," Voldemort instructed to which he did. "You bring news I trust," It was not a question.
"Things within Dumbledore's Order are strenuous at best," Severus answered. "Most of his time is attempting to locate the Potter boy and have him near the Weasley's. He has also instructed the others to guard the Department of Mysteries and try to gain more allies. Though, his recruitment attempts are failing."
Voldemort looked at him for a minute before chuckling. "Good. Things are proceeding as planned." With Dumbledore stressed and his forces stretched too thin. He could do as he pleased. Severus went to stand next to the others as Nagini slithered inside the room. Gently he caressed her as if she was a long-lost relative.
"Antonin, Rudolphus, how goes the recruitment in Russia and Ukraine?" His scarlet eyes fell on the two Death Eaters by the wall. "As of now, we have 73 new recruits from Russia and 61 from Ukraine," Antonin spoke.
Then Rudolphus added. "We expect to receive an additional 30 or so within the next few weeks."
"I expect a total of 300 new followers by the end of August," he demanded. "Use whatever methods you have to."
Both men started to laugh sadistically as they began forming ideas.
Voldemort then turned to Rabastan. "Have you and the others been able to locate Karkaroff?"
"Not yet, milord," the younger of the Lestrange brothers bowed, "but we are making every attempt to find him." Igor will pay for his betrayal, and all will know not to cross the Dar Lord.
"See that you find him and make my displeasure known," he said in a cold voice. An idea then formed. "Here's a little incentive…to anyone who finds Igor first will have the honor of killing him and earn three million galleons."
That certainly motivated some of them as they were determined more than ever to find the disgraced Igor Karkaroff.
"Everyone except for Avery and Rockwood will leave at once." He ordered. All of the Death Eaters except the two people he called quickly left the room.
"I have a task for the both of you…" Voldemort's voice sent shivers down their spines.
(0^0)
When he finally got home, Severus lock downed the entire manor and, after getting confirmation that there were no listening charms. He activated the crystals where everyone except for Harry and Miwa appeared. "Our plan is working perfectly. Neither Dumbledore nor Voldemort suspects a thing. On the contrary, both have expressed interest in Harry and Miwa."
"That is most concerning but not at all unexpected," Alex said. "We all knew this would be inevitable…both factions are gearing up for a war, and we must accelerate our plans immediately."
"I agree," Yoshi had an expressionless face. "But we must move cautiously as we do not know who we can trust."
"That's a given, as Dumbledore has requested I speak with Dora in hopes of recruiting her for the Order."
"We have been over this, Sirius," said girl reminded him. "My loyalty is to my family and you guys." Dora's changed from black to pink to bubblegum. "If it means I can get some information about Dumbledore's activities, then count me in."
Arcturus smiled at the girl. She might have been a half-blood, but she was extremely loyal to her family. She certainly inherited her mother's drive and temper. There was no question that she was indeed a Black through and through.
"Speaking of family," Dora resumed, "when does Harry get back?"
"The 5th of August," Hayato replied, "though he will have certain limitations." He gave a familiar look to Arcturus, Severus, and Sirius.
A smile tugged at Severus's lips as Harry's magical core started going through its phases of maturity. After his battle with the Dark Lord, he was healed, and his core started changing. That happened about a month ago and was still continuing.
Hayato explained that the council was in the process of forming a raid on the location of a new Horcrux. "If we are right, that will make six, and we'll be one step closer to killing him."
"Do what you have to do," Jack nodded.
"I was also hoping that Severus would join as we don't know what we're walking into, and his experience would be invaluable," Hayato concluded.
Severus curled his lips. "I will require details on where we're venturing off to."
Hayato laid it all out as they suspected that another Horcrux was located in the village of Little Hangleton.
A/N: I'm back people and thank you for being patient and supporting me through "The Protector of Magic."
Welcome to Book 5. Both Dumbledore and Voldemort are making plans for the upcoming year and neither of them will be favorable for Harry and the others. However, they will not give them the satisfaction and will stick along the path they have chosen. The teens are growing not only in their powers but to be there best selves.
I want to set the record straight on something that should have never been allowed to happen. During both the book and film the Weasley's were taken to Grimmauld for their protection but Molly sought to control everything and everyone. I never agreed with the way she spoke to Sirius about his treatment of Harry as he is not her child! She constantly berated him for being too immature and reckless but little did she know was that she made things a lot worse. Sirius may have let her and her family stay but she was hardly grateful.
He offered his home and all she did was yell and berate him. That's not gratitude!
Next Chapter: The results and offers!