Thank you to everyone who has asked about this story and encouraged me. Thanks for the Silver Trinkets - it is very much appreciated. Sorry for the long delay in posting this chapter.
Thanks to Mark for his advice and seekers_destiny and StephanieO for their beta work!
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Perilous Journey | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance Warnings: Death, Mild Sexual Situations, Negative Alcohol Use, Sexual Situations, Spouse/Adult/Child Abuse, Violence Rating: R Reviews: 314 Summary: During Christmas at Grimmauld Place, Harry and Ginny realize they can help each other overcome the memories of their past. Watching them, Sirius finds the courage to forgive himself for his past mistakes and start living again. Umbridge, however has other plans. She expels the couple, starting them on a very perilous journey. *Mentions of child abuse and alcohol/substance use* Hitcount: Story Total: 144889; Chapter Total: 5711 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: |
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November 25, 1997 — December 23, 1997 “Are you okay?” Ginny asked as soon as they arrived in their Cambridge home. After lighting the house with a wave of her wand, she scanned her husband with concern. “I’m fine, love,” Harry reassured her pulling her into his arms. “I wasn’t hit. Are you okay?” She nodded and relaxed in his arms. “I’m fine. “ Closing her eyes, she leaned against her husband as he held her close. Sirius should arrive any minute. She idly wondered if they would be headed back to Hogwarts that night. Harry dropped a kiss on the top of her head, but before she could reciprocate she heard the sound of Sirius Apparating into the kitchen. “What the hell?!” Sirius yelled. Harry and Ginny whirled around in confusion and saw Sirius pushing away the woman who’d been trying to protect the girls. “Lady, you could have seriously injured or killed both of us!” Sirius yelled. The slim blonde woman didn’t seem phazed by Sirius’ anger, but she did look very confused as she looked around the living room. "What the hell just happened? How did you stop those men from attacking us? How did we get away from there? What in the bloody hell is going on?” Sirius, Harry and Ginny all exchanged concerned looks. This woman was obviously a Muggle. What should they do now? When no one answered her question, the woman raised her gun with a slightly shaky hand. Realizing the danger she posed, Harry stepped forward with his empty hands raised making certain he was between the gun and Ginny. “Please, put the gun away. We won’t hurt you.” “What the hell happened? How did you do all of that and where in the hell are we? Who are you people?” “Put the gun down and we will answer your questions,” Harry countered. He watched the woman carefully hoping she wouldn’t try anything. Looking between the other three, the woman reluctantly engaged the safety and slid the gun into a holster that Harry hadn’t even noticed. Relieved that the gun was away, Harry glanced over at his dad. Sirius seemed unsure of what to do, but Ginny came through. “Why don’t we sit at the table?” Ginny said and she ushered the woman to the table. Harry and Sirius sat down as Ginny quickly prepared some tea and brought a tea tray to the table. “Who are you people?” Ginny fixed her tea and with seeming reluctance the woman added some sugar to her tea as well. “I’m Ginny Potter; this is my husband, Harry, and my father-in-law, Sirius Black.” The woman almost choked on her tea when Ginny introduced Harry. “Harry Potter?” Turning to look at Ginny, she asked uncertainly, “Ginny Weasley?” Ginny nodded. “That is my maiden name. How do you know our names?” “My name is Emma Charles, I’m an intelligence officer in the counter terrorism unit,” she explained. “In the spring of 1996 I was assigned to look into the death of Miss Umbridge and the murders on the Knight bus in Scotland. It was a very frustrating investigation because it was difficult to locate people and to find witnesses. I couldn’t get permission to go to the school and I couldn’t even find it on any maps. I couldn’t find any reference to it online.” Taking a sip of her tea, Emma gathered herself and looked over at Harry. “I spoke to your aunt and uncle in Surrey and I spoke to a friend of yours, Miss Granger. I hadn’t made much of headway into the case, but I was pulled off the case last autumn. I did see a notice that the pair of you are no longer wanted for questioning, but no additional information was provided. That was around the time these Death Eater attacks started in earnest.” Harry’s eyes lit up. “You’re the MI 5 agent who was looking for us? Hermione told me that you asked her some questions.” Emma nodded. “Miss Charles, may I ask how you came to be in Cokeworth tonight?” Sirius asked. Emma looked over at Sirius. She seemed a little uneasy with the man who had seemingly transported her to who knows where. “My group has been working on the Death Eater attacks, but we’ve made very little headway. We never seem to be able to get to the scene of an attack beforehand and afterwards we can’t find any witnesses. Often people we know must have seen it will swear they didn’t see anything and it’s not the normal ‘I don’t want to get involved’ it seems like they honestly don’t recall what happened. Victims never seem to show up in the local A&E, but some will occasionally show up in the morgue. It’s as though someone else is getting there before we are and sanitizing the scene. We haven’t even figured out how they display their symbol in the sky. I assumed it was lights and somehow transmitted from the ground, but we can’t find something that would send the symbol up. It strikes fear in those on the ground, but no one even knows for certain what it means. “Earlier tonight we received a tip that there was going to be an attack on the town of Cokeworth. I honestly didn’t believe it at first. Cokeworth is a rather run down factory town and there are no targets in Cokeworth. I can’t imagine what the significance of attacking the town would be, but we went anyway. Because they wear those odd costumes with the masks, we can’t even begin to identify the Death Eaters. We’ve only recovered one body and we really didn’t learn much except that he had that same symbol tattooed on his arm. His fingerprints weren’t in the system and we couldn’t identify him.” “It’s called a Dark Mark,” Harry said with obvious distaste. “It’s Voldemort’s symbol.” “Voldemort?” Emma looked momentarily confused. Ginny shuddered slightly and Harry reached over and took her hand. She gave him a smile before explaining, “He’s the leader of the Death Eaters. His real name is Tom Riddle, but he didn’t want to keep his father’s name so he came up with Lord Voldemort.” Harry was surprised to see Emma pull a notebook and pen from her jacket and start taking notes. She saw his surprise and shrugged. “I’m not leaving here without getting answers. This is the first time in almost two years that I feel like I’m learning something.” Nodding Harry looked over at his father. “I think I’ve been to Cokeworth before. When Uncle Vernon was hiding from my admission letters, we stayed the night there one night.” “Snape is from Cokeworth,” Sirius said. He looked over at Harry. “That’s where your mum grew up. Perhaps Petunia thought of returning there.” Returning his gaze to Emma, he said, “Snape is a Death Eater and he seems to be either training new recruits or supervising the attacks.” Harry was surprised. “Do you think Snape led the attack?” “I wouldn’t put it past him,” Sirius mused. “He definitely wanted to erase his past. I don’t know the details, but I know his father was rather abusive.” “He certainly is the type to hold a grudge,” Harry mused. “He’s a half-blood, right?” Sirius nodded. “What does that mean, a half-blood? We’ve heard whispers of Purebloods and half-bloods and something called a Muggle-born, but we can’t figure out what it means. At first we thought it was referencing Aryan blood or some type of Neo-Nazi thing, but I couldn’t find any other organization that uses those terms.” “A Pureblood is someone who comes from a completely magical family,” Sirius said after a moment. “I am a Pureblood and so is Ginny. Harry’s father was a Pureblood, but his mother is what we call Muggle-born. That means she was born of non-magical parents.” “What?!” Emma looked between the three of them. Anger flared through her. She’d been working this case for almost two years with very little progress and they were joking about magic? Even as she worked through that thought, she realized she didn’t have another explanation for what she’d seen tonight. The brightly coloured lights shooting from small sticks and people seemingly appearing or disappearing at will. The few people she had managed to interview all seemed nervous — even the few teenagers she’d managed to interview. At many points during this prolonged and frustrating investigation, she’d heard her father’s voice telling her stories about fairies or little people. She’d never had any patience with her father’s love of the supernatural and belief in magical creatures, but she’d been reminded of him many times during her investigation. Last year in Essex she could have sworn the woman she was chasing had literally disappeared into thin air. She didn’t have any explanation for it. Could magic really exist? “So you are what wizards or something?” “Harry and I are wizards, Ginny is a witch,” Sirius explained. “This is insane,” Emma said. She looked around the large eat-in kitchen to see if she could find anything to disprove what they’d said. It appeared to be a nicely furnished terraced house, but as she looked closer she realized that the lamps that lit the kitchen were lit with a flame. Standing she walked over to look at the light; it appeared to be a gas lamp like she’d seen in old movies. None of the three at the table moved, but simply watched as she explored. Moving further into the kitchen, she realized there was no microwave, dishwasher, or toaster. She thought perhaps the refrigerator was built to match the cabinets, but she wasn’t entirely certain. Surely they couldn’t life without refrigeration, could they? “Show me,” she demanded. “Show me some magic.” Sirius drew his wand and the tea kettle floated into the air. He set it back down and with another wave of his wand he animated the sugar tongs and they ran around the table, leaping over the tea cups like a hurdler. Emma gasped. Moving back to the table, she sank down in her chair and watched as Sirius changed the colours of the tea towel and curtains to a horrid orange, then a red and gold colour scheme before changing them back to the original blue and white pattern. She looked at the others in disbelief. “I don’t even know what to ask.” Harry laughed ruefully. “I know what you mean. Ginny and Sirius grew up in the wizarding world, but I grew up with my aunt and uncle. They are Muggles, which means they aren’t magical. I didn’t know I was a wizard until I was eleven. Actually when I learned I was a wizard, I told Hagrid he had the wrong person. I’m still discovering things that they take for granted that astonish me.” “How is this possible? Magic really exists? Why doesn’t everyone know about you?” “There are a lot of laws around interactions with Muggles,” Sirius explained. “Actually we are breaking the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy by explaining this to you right now, but I think it is the right thing for us to do. Witches and wizards have always lived among Muggles; we often work with and befriend Muggles sometimes marrying them. Many hundred years ago Muggles knew about wizards and magic, but sometime in the Middle Ages Muggles started targeting witches in particular. There were witch burning in England and all around the world. The wizarding society decided it was safer and easier to live separately from Muggles.” “So you’ve been hidden this whole time?” Emma asked in amazement. “No one’s ever found out?” “There have been breaches of the statute over the years,” Sirius admitted, “but usually the Ministry erases the memory of Muggles involved.” “They were arriving when you left,” Emma stated as she put together some of the events of the night. She looked at Sirius curiously. “What did you mean about not wanting to deal with the Ministry?” Sirius took a deep breath and began to explain. He explained the Ministry of Magic to Emma, before explaining about Voldemort, his Death Eaters and Harry’s past. Ginny had to refill all of their tea cups several times before he finished his explanations and answered all of Emma’s questions. She sat looking shocked and stunned. “So the wizarding world is a parallel world to ours and has a Ministry and elected officials and laws and no one knows about them.” “There are some people who know,” Sirius corrected. “Muggle relatives of witches and wizards usually know about the wizarding world. I believe the Muggle Prime Minister is usually visited by their Wizarding counterparts and some senior members of the royal family know as well. In times past, the reigning monarch used to have a wizard in their court, but I believe Queen Anne was the last monarch who did so. Each country has its own rules about who can know about the existence of magic and how breaches in secrecy are dealt with.” “Is there some way…a spell, I guess, that lets the Ministry know when this Statute has been broken?” “Not that I’m aware of,” Sirius said after thinking it over. “Often when Muggles discover our world, there has been some major incident and the Department of Magical Catastrophes and Accidents will come and modify the memories of the people involved. That is who was arriving in Cokeworth when we left. If a random Muggle stumbles upon magic, most people won’t believe them.” Emma nodded in acknowledgment; she knew what she’d think of someone who told her a story about magic. “So if Harry and Ginny have been cleared of all wrongdoing and you have been pardoned, why are you avoiding the Ministry?” “I still don’t trust them,” Sirius admitted. “We still aren’t certain who has been compromised and I don’t want them to get their hands on either of these two. I’m afraid they would be sent to Voldemort immediately and I’m not going to endanger their lives.” “I guess I can understand that,” Emma said. She looked around the room. “So what happens to me now?” “I honestly don’t know,” Sirius looked at her. “I want to help,” Emma said firmly. “I’m an intelligence officer and from what you’ve told me it doesn’t sound like you have the equivalent in the wizarding world. Now that I know what and who I’m looking for I might be able to find out more information. It seems that just as many Muggles have been affected as magical people and if they hate non-magical people, everyone is at risk.” “Very true,” Ginny said. She’d been rather quiet during the discussion. While she wasn’t exactly intimidated by the intelligence agent, she felt out of her depth. Emma was very smart, but not in an off-putting, trying to prove something way. She was clever and grasped things quickly. Ginny was rather impressed with the way the woman accepted the existence of magic. Perhaps Emma could help them in some way. Glancing over at her husband, Ginny could see he felt the same way. “Emma, in any of the past attacks, has anything been detected that wasn’t explained?” Harry asked. She looked at him puzzled for a moment before she said, “You want to know if we can detect a large output of magic.” Harry nodded. “I know that large amounts of magic will cause electronics to malfunction, but does it maybe show up on radar or satellite or something?” “I can look into it,” Emma said. “That’s a good idea.” Seeing the blank looks on Ginny’s and Sirius’ faces, she explained, “Satellite images are pictures taken from outer space. They can be surprisingly detailed. We have been using them to monitor weather and in the Gulf War we used them to follow enemy troop build-up and movements.” “There are cameras in outer space?” Ginny laughed as she looked uncertainly between Harry and Emma. “Remember when Curtis was talking about the machines put in outer space for communication and stuff?” Harry asked. When Ginny nodded, he said, “Satellites are put in orbit around the Earth and one of the things they do is send pictures back to Earth.” “Is this kind of like those…what were they called…rockets that Lily told us about?” Sirius asked in confusion. Harry nodded, grateful that his mother had explained some things to the Marauders. “They are put into orbit with rockets. I honestly don’t know a whole lot about them, but I know they are up there. They are used for communication and espionage, but I’m sure that have other uses as well.” Sirius grinned. “It would be great to defeat Voldemort using Muggle technology.” Looking at the time, he said, “I’m going to let Minerva know that we’re going to spend the night here.” Emma watched in amazement as Sirius drew his wand and sent his silvery dog Patronus soaring towards Hogwarts. She shook her head. “This is going to take some getting used to.” “I’m getting hungry, do you think…” Harry trailed off looking at his father. Sirius shrugged before turning to Emma. “Can you stand another shock tonight?” Her eyes wide, she nodded. “Dobby!” Emma gasped as Dobby popped in next to Sirius. “Yes, Master Sirius.” Looking around he spied Emma and he gasped. “Master, she is a Muggle.” “I know, Dobby. This is Emma, she is a friend,” Sirius explained. “Emma, this is my house elf, Dobby.” “House elf,” she repeated softly before seeming to shake herself. “Hello, Dobby, it is nice to meet you.” “Thank you, Miss,” Dobby replied a bit uncertainly. “It is nice to meet you as well.” “Dobby, we’re hungry.” Harry said. Dobby nodded and headed into the kitchen. “This is amazing,” Emma said. She looked down at the notebook in which she’d been jotting notes. “Who is Snape? You said earlier that he was from Cokeworth. Why do you think he was behind the attack?” “Severus Snape,” Sirius growled. “He went to school with Harry’s parents and me. Snape is what is called a half-blood. His mother was a Pureblood and his father was a Muggle. He was always a bit odd and a bit too interested in the Dark Arts. He met Harry’s mother, Lily, before they’d started at Hogwarts.” “So you can tell when someone else is magical?” Emma queried. “Most of us can tell is someone else is magical, sometimes it might be from their actions or what they say,” Sirius explained. “Some people can sense others’ auras. Harry can tell who someone is by the feel of their magic — that’s very rare.” “Okay, so somehow this Snape knew Lily was a witch.” “I believe he saw her performing accidental magic,” Sirius explained. “Lily was friends with Snape during their first few years at Hogwarts even though they were in different houses. Hogwarts’ students are divided into one of four houses based on their character. Lily, James, and I were in Gryffindor as are Harry and Ginny. It is a house that prizes bravery, chivalry, and noble behaviour. Our natural rivals are those in Slytherin house. They prize cunning, resourcefulness, and ambition — they also prefer those who are Purebloods. Snape was in Slytherin. He, James and I were enemies from the time we started at Hogwarts. “Snape was intrigued by the Dark Arts and some of the older Slytherins who later became Death Eaters took him under their wings. He joined the Death Eaters around the time he graduated from Hogwarts, I honestly don’t know if he joined whilst he was still in school or not. Sometime in 1980 he overheard the first part of a prophecy that predicted who was to destroy the Dark Lord. He eventually realized that the person referred to in the prophecy was Harry.” Emma looked over at the young man in surprise. Harry blushed and ducked his head under her gaze. Sirius nodded. “Yes, Harry is destined to defeat Voldemort. The prophecy says that the one who will defeat the Dark Lord will be born at the end of July to a couple who had defied Voldemort three times. This could have been one of two babies. Snape realized that his ‘Dark Lord’ was hunting down Lily and Snape had always had a crush on her. He asked Voldemort to spare her, but I guess he didn’t trust him. He went to one of our leaders, Professor Dumbledore, and basically turned spy. He’s allegedly been a spy since then, but I don’t know.” He stopped his story as Dobby brought food over to the table. Emma watched in astonishment as Dobby carried or levitated roasted chicken with potatoes, gravy, and vegetables over to the table. It didn’t seem as though he’d been in the kitchen long enough to prepare a full meal, but everything smelled wonderful. Harry grinned at her. “It takes some getting used to, doesn’t it?” She nodded. “Watching a bowl of mashed potatoes floating to the table is amazing.” Looking over at the little elf, she said, “Thank you, Dobby.” “You are welcome, Miss,” Dobby said with a slight bow. “Thank you, Dobby,” Sirius said. “Everything looks wonderful. Would you please make up my room, Harry and Ginny’s room, and the guest room? We will be staying here tonight.” “Of course, Master.” Dobby nodded. Over dinner, Sirius told Emma about the latest attack on Godric’s Hollow, Snape’s arrest and subsequent rescue by Voldemort and Dumbledore’s death. “So you think he was never really on your side and now he’s re-joined his leader?” “Yes,” Sirius and Harry replied firmly. Ginny simply nodded. Emma frowned. “So this organization you mentioned may be completely compromised.” Sirius nodded. “That is one concern. Dumbledore was a good leader in many ways, but he always wanted to give people another chance — I think that’s why he trusted Snape. Dumbledore also didn’t really believe in taking the fight to the Death Eaters. He was more reactive than active. I always got the impression that he simply wanted to contain the Death Eaters until Harry was ready to take care of Voldemort.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why he put so much stock in the prophecy, but he did. “In the past year and a half, since Harry and Ginny were expelled from Hogwarts, I’ve formed…an alliance of sorts with some of the other Order members. Ginny’s oldest brother, Bill and his fiancée, Fleur, have become two of my most trusted confidants. One of my oldest friends, Remus Lupin, who was also a good friend of Harry’s father and his girlfriend, Tonks, who happens to be my cousin and an Auror are also helping us. The new headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall, is a bit more action oriented than Albus was. She has offered the three of us help and some shelter from the Ministry.” Sirius led them into the sitting room where Dobby appeared with a tray of coffee and a plate of treacle tart. Harry and Ginny settled onto the couch, while Sirius and Emma sat in the armchairs that flanked the fireplace. Emma watched the young couple flirt and laugh as they ate their tart. Apparently it was Harry’s favourite as both Ginny and Sirius teased him about it. Sirius teased the young couple about their obvious devotion to each other, but it was a friendly teasing. It had taken a while for Emma to work out the relationship between Harry and Sirius. From her previous investigation, she knew that Sirius was Harry’s godfather, but the relationship was much closer than that — it was obvious their relationship was more like a father — son relationship. Glancing over at Ginny, a thought crossed her mind. “What about your parents?” Emma asked Ginny. “I remember discovering that they lived in Devon, but not much else about them.” “My parents,” Ginny sighed. “My father works at the Ministry in the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artefacts. He loves Muggles and would be thrilled to meet you. My mother is a housewife. She stays home and takes care of the house and raised all of us. She was a big supporter of Dumbledore’s and…” “Ginny’s mother, Molly, is renowned for her large family and love of cooking. She is an old fashioned, country woman who believes in marriage and family. She took in Harry and looked after him when he was younger and she’s a lovely woman in many ways, but she doesn’t want her children to grow up. She’s upset that her boys are all involved in the war against Voldemort and if she’s upset about her boys that’s nothing compared to how upset she is about her only daughter being involved in the fight,” Sirius explained for her. Ginny nodded and Emma smiled sympathetically. “When I told my mum I was going into Intelligence, she was not happy with me. She’s forever asking if I’ve met a nice young man and want to settle down and have children.” Looking between Harry and Ginny, she asked, “I’ve been wondering — aren’t you two like 15 or 16?” Ginny laughed. “I’m 16 and Harry is 17. Yes, it is unusual for witches and wizards to be married at our age.” Looking up at her husband, she smiled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Ginny snuggled into his side. “We’ve known each other since I was 10. Harry is my brother’s best friend and when I was younger I had the biggest crush on him and couldn’t even speak in his presence.” Harry smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “She was adorable.” “My first year at Hogwarts was difficult,” Ginny said and she paused for a minute. Harry whispered something to her, but she shook her head. Keeping his arm wrapped around her, he reached across with his other hand and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. She snuggled closer to him and explained her first year to Emma, but she didn’t mention Horcruxes instead she referred to the diary as enchanted. By the end of her story, Emma was staring at the two of them in shock. “That was my reaction the first time I heard the whole story,” Sirius said. Ginny smiled. “Our last year at Hogwarts, Harry and I started becoming better friends. We started dating shortly after we went on the run. We initially started talking about getting married as it is one of the few ways around the Trace. That’s a way the Ministry can tell if underage witches or wizards use magic. Harry was worried about me.” “I was afraid she’d be unable to defend herself without being discovered by the Ministry,” Harry clarified. “When we first left Hogwarts, the people who helped us cast a lot of spells to hide us and our magical signature, but I still worried about her.” Ginny smiled up at him. “We became engaged on his birthday and realized that in Egypt we could marry once I turned 16. So on my 16th birthday, we married. Two of my brothers were there and of course Sirius was there. It was lovely.” Sirius glanced at the clock over the mantle. “It’s getting late.” Looking over at Emma, he said, “I can take you back to Cokeworth or to London if you’d like, but you are welcome to stay here. If you are serious about wanting to help, I’d like to introduce you to some other members of our organization.” Looking between the other three, Emma asked, “Would I be in the way?” “No,” Ginny assured her. “We have a guest room and Dobby has already prepared it for you.” “I’d like to stay,” Emma replied after thinking it over. Ginny showed her up to the guest room and showed her the bathroom as well. “Dobby stocked the bathroom, so if you want to take a shower please feel free.” Ginny eyed her companion for a minute. “I have a nightshirt you can borrow. Dobby will clean your clothes and have them ready for the morning.” “Oh, I couldn’t put him out,” Emma protested. “I can just wear the same clothes tomorrow.” Laughing, Ginny reassured the other woman. “Dobby will be happy to clean your clothes. Don’t worry about it.” Emma hesitated. “Are you sure?” “Positive.” Ginny quickly fetched a nightshirt and dressing gown for Emma to wear and showed her where everything was located. As she watched Emma look around the bathroom, Ginny’s heart went out to her. It wasn’t often that everything you’d believed in all of your life was overturned in the course of an evening. “Will you be okay?” With a wan smile, Emma nodded. “It’s a bit overwhelming, but I finally feel as though I’m getting answers.” “If you need anything as all, please let me know.” Leaving Emma in the bathroom, a few minutes later Ginny heard the shower start. To her delight, Harry was already in their bedroom. Walking over, she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. His arms came around her. “I love you,” he murmured as he pulled her close. Leaning down, he kissed her. “What a day.” She nodded. “Poor Emma, what a shock this must have been for her.” “She handled it a lot better than I did,” Harry laughed. “It would be great if she can help us. I think it would be poetic justice if we used a combination of magic and Muggle technology to defeat them.” “It would,” Ginny agreed. “Can you imagine how much it would annoy all those Purebloods?” She giggled. “Malfoy would be so confused if confronted by Muggle technology.” Drifting off to sleep safe in her husband’s arms, Ginny spared a brief thought for the intelligence agent. She hoped the woman would be able to help them bring Voldemort’s reign to an end. Sirius smiled as Remus entered the private room he’d reserved at the Three Broomsticks. Standing, he greeted his long-time friend. “Remus!” Astonished to see Sirius there, Remus was stunned, but quickly recovered and pulled Sirius in for a hug. “What are you doing here? Are Harry and Ginny here with you?” “I’m good,” Sirius reassured him. “Harry and Ginny are doing well, but they are up at school today preparing for their Ancient Runes NEWT.” “What’s going on?” Remus asked. “Did you call this meeting or Minerva?” “Minerva called it at my request,” Sirius explained. “I have some news I wish to share.” The door opened and several more people entered including Tonks. “Sirius!” she threw her arms around him. “How are you? Are the kids doing well?” “I’m fine and so are the kids,” Sirius reassured her. He looked down at his cousin. “How are you doing? Any more problems?” Tonks shook her head. “I’ve been good. Mum has been keeping an annoyingly close eye on me and Professor Flitwick has checked me out a few times as well to make sure the curse is totally gone. I haven’t faced her again, but I did face my snotty little cousin a few weeks ago. What a waste! He’s just a boy and his parents have completely corrupted him. It makes me realize how hard you had to fight to get out of the shadow of our illustrious family.” “I was lucky,” Sirius said firmly. “I met James on the train and that was that. He was more my brother than Regulus ever was. I wish I could have saved Reg as well, but he bought into the ‘Dark Arts offer more power’ line.” Sirius sighed. “Poor Reg was always so in awe of Bellatrix and Narcissa and he was my mum’s pet. He never really stood a chance.” “He was much more of a follower,” Remus agreed. He’d seen Sirius’ pain whilst they were still in school over his brother’s choices. Snape openly gloated over having more influence over Regulus than Sirius. “At least he tried to redeem himself in the end,” Sirius said. Bill and Fleur joined them. After exchanging greetings with everyone Bill said, “I think everyone’s here now.” Looking over the gathering, Sirius noted Kingsley, Minerva, Arthur, and a few members he didn’t recognize. He’d asked Minerva to call the meeting and let her decide who should be invited. She’d assured him they’d all been checked for the Dark Mark and in the wake of Snape’s betrayal all Order members were required to take an Unbreakable Vow that they would not reveal anything to Voldemort or any Death Eaters. While this increased the danger for individual Order members, it protected the group overall. Sirius’s appearance at the Order meeting caused quite a stir. Arthur broke the ice and came forward and shook Sirius’ hand. “Welcome back, Sirius.” “Thank you, Arthur.” Several other members including Kingsley surged forward to greet him. After this had gone on for a few minutes, Minerva called the meeting to order. “Thank you all for coming here tonight. As most of you know there was a Death Eater attack in Cokeworth several nights ago. Kingsley, what can you add?” The tall, black Auror stood. “We believe that Snape led the attack on Cokeworth. He was born and raised in Cokeworth and the abandoned textile mill and the housing nearby were burned to the ground. One of those houses used to belong to Tobias Snape. Mr Snape died of an alcohol related illness several years ago. I don’t know what became of Eileen Snape — she never maintained a relationship with her son. Given her age, she should still be alive, but as I said we don’t know where she might be. “There were six deaths related to the fires and several people showed signs of rape and torture. The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes was quite busy Obliviating and modifying memories. Two young girls were assaulted, but not raped. There seems to have been some resistance to the attack, but we can’t determine if it was magical or Muggle. We have captured some of the Death Eaters, but they don’t seem to know much. They did confirm that Snape led the attack.” Arthur sighed. “So he was on their side all along.” “It certainly seems that way,” Minerva said sadly. “I’ve been very conflicted over this. I worked with the man for years and although I never personally liked him, I did develop a working relationship with him. I assumed that Albus had a good reason for supporting the man. I never thought that Severus was capable of deceiving him. Personally, I always thought that Severus respected Albus.” “I must admit, I did as well,” Remus spoke up. “Obviously I never got along well with Severus whilst we were at school, but the year we worked together he faithfully made the Wolfsbane Potion every month. He could have hurt me badly by not making the potion correctly or even just refusing to make it.” “Snape always was a self-serving, arrogant bastard,” Sirius spoke up even over Remus’ attempts to silence him. “I realize that James and I gave him a hard time, but he wasn’t completely innocent. He and his friends would pick on Muggle-borns and give them a hard time. Snape loved rubbing the fact that he had more influence over my brother than I did. He tormented Harry from the moment he set foot in Hogwarts simply because he resembled his father — a father he didn’t remember. He took points from Harry for breathing too loudly for Merlin’s sake.” “That is true,” Minerva agreed. “I’ve had more complaints about Snape and his teaching than any other teacher. He was great at potions, but he was a petty man who enjoyed holding grudges. I can easily see him going to Cokeworth and ‘paying back’ all of those who may have insulted him over the years.” She looked over at Sirius. “I understand that you have something to say to us.” “Harry and Ginny were with me when I received the message about the attack,” Sirius explained. Looking at Arthur who was looking quite concerned, he hurried to add, “They are fine. By the time we got there, most of the Death Eaters had left, but we found three women being attacked by Death Eaters. Harry and Ginny defeated and disarmed the Death Eaters. One of the women was protecting the other two.” “Did she shoot one of the Death Eaters?” Kingsley asked. Sirius nodded. “I wondered about that,” Kingsley said. “We found two Death Eaters who were shot, but we didn’t find any Muggle who was armed.” “That’s because when I went to Apparate, she grabbed onto me.” There was an explosion of noise at Sirius’ pronouncement. After a moment Minerva calmed the group down. She looked at Sirius. “This is very concerning.” Sirius nodded. “Believe me that is mild compared to my initial thoughts. Her name is Emma Charles and she is an intelligence agent with MI 5. We ended up talking to her. I didn’t want to Obliviate her and in the end it didn’t make sense. She wants to help.” One of the men who Sirius didn’t recognize jumped up. “That is a serious breach of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. You can be arrested for that!” Minerva looked over at Sirius in concern. “That is true. I wouldn’t put it past the Ministry.” “I’m hoping the Ministry will realize the importance of what I did,” Sirius said. “Emma is a trained intelligence agent. She’d already put together a lot of information. This war affects both Muggles and the wizarding world. How many Muggles have been killed in the war thus far? Hundreds? Thousands? They are being killed and have no idea why. Yes, I probably should have Obliviated her when she arrived in Cambridge, but I’m glad I didn’t. She has a lot of ideas that might be able to help.” Sirius watched the faces of the others as he spoke. Bill, Fleur, and Arthur seemed to be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as did Kingsley and Tonks. Remus seemed a bit unsure. He could read outright anger and disbelief from some of the members. Minerva was one he couldn’t read. She was watching him, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “What have you told her?” Kingsley asked. “Everything,” Sirius admitted. “She has been investigating the Death Eaters for a while — she knew the name. She was originally assigned to investigate Harry and Ginny when they were accused of murdering Umbridge and the massacre of the Knight Bus. She interviewed Hermione and a few other Muggle-born students. We answered her questions and told her about Voldemort and the war going on right now.” “She’s a Muggle,” Remus spoke up. “I can understand you not Obliviating her under the circumstances, but how can she help us?” “She located several places they seem to be using as headquarters,” Sirius said silencing the room. “How is that possible?” Minerva asked. “Harry asked her about satellites. I’m still not entirely clear on what they are, but somehow the government takes pictures from space and they can see what is happening over the whole island. I saw some of these pictures myself — they are pretty amazing. Anyhow, Emma looked at pictures taken at the times of the last few major attacks and another Muggle thing raydar — I think that’s the word, I’m not entirely sure, but Emma has been working with Carys Astley and they have found that large bursts of magic show up on the Muggle technology. Of course the Muggles don’t know what it is they are seeing, but Carys did something with Arithmancy and discovered areas with pockets of Dark Magic.” “That would be brilliant if we can actually track them,” Kingsley said looking more excited than he had been at the beginning of the meeting. “I have to admit that Muggles are getting killed and tortured all the time. I think they need to know more about what they are facing. The Minister has warned the Muggle Prime Minister.” “But what can Muggles do to fight Dark Wizards?” asked a witch rather disparagingly. “Emma managed to kill one of the Death Eaters and hold off several more and she’s just one Muggle,” Sirius said. “But I understand that most Muggles don’t have…firearms? Is that the right word?” Tonks asked. “That is true,” Sirius agreed, “but if they are warned. Carys mentioned perhaps when a Muggle activates their emergency number it could also summon Aurors or Hit Wizards. If the Muggles know the danger the wand poses, I think even that would help.” “That’s very true,” Minerva spoke up. “Muggles often discount men dressed up in robes and masks. If they hid and called for help it could save lives.” “I think we could help them a bit more than that,” Arthur said. “We can cast protection spells on the houses closest to us.” “I would like stronger wards placed at schools,” Minerva said. “The Death Eaters tend to target children in an effort to shock. I know we couldn’t get all of the schools, but if Miss Charles and Mrs Astley can narrow down the area we could do a better job protecting the Muggles.” “Albus was quite clear that he didn’t want to take the fight to them,” one of the other men said. “That wasn’t a good policy than and it’s not a good policy now,” Sirius said firmly. “Voldemort is increasing his attacks and terrorizing the population both Muggle and Wizarding. How is sitting back and simply reacting to his attacks a good idea?” Sirius rolled his eyes at the squeaks and gasps that accompanied the use of Voldemort’s name. “For Merlin’s sake, it’s a made up name! He was born Tom Riddle and decided to rid himself of his Muggle father’s name.” “That’s easy for you to say,” said another unknown wizard. “I lost most of my family to that monster.” “Easy?!” Sirius glared at the man. “I watched as that monster seduced my entire family and simply discarded them when it suited him. I lost both my brother and the man who was closer to me than my brother. I cradled my best friend’s dead body after he gave his life to protect his son. I know how deadly he is and I’m not discounting him, but I’ll be damned if I will call him a Lord. He’s not, he’s a murderer.” “Well said,” Minerva said warmly. “While I admired Albus and think he did a wonderful job, but he was hesitant to take the fight to the Death Eaters. Albus was a big believer in giving people second chances and while that is an admirable sentiment, it isn’t always the best idea. It gave us a Death Eater teaching our children and students being recruited into the ranks of the Death Eaters.” “I’ve admired Albus Dumbledore for many years, but he not only allowed the boy who attacked my son to remain in the school, he wanted to name him Head Boy,” Arthur said. “In theory it is nice to allow second chances, but he allowed marked Death Eaters to attend school with my children — not only my children, but innocent eleven year olds. That shouldn’t be allowed.” The objector seemed cowed into silence. Emmeline spoke up, “Sirius, can you share any information with us? I understand that Harry and Ginny are back in the UK.” Glancing over at Arthur and finding little objection, Sirius replied, “Harry and Ginny are back in the UK and doing well. Scrimgeour pardoned both of the Potters, but I am not ready for them to openly show themselves. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that someone came up with some reason they have to present themselves at the Ministry.” “Is it true that the boy is the Chosen One?” asked one of the unknown wizards. “The Prophet says that he’s destined to defeat Voldemort.” “What’s your name?” Sirius asked. “Rodney Avery,” the man replied. “I work in Magical Law Enforcement.” Sirius looked at the other wizard and witch who he didn’t know. The wizard was Kevin Nelson who worked at Flourish & Blotts and the witch was Ariel van Bier who was a secretary in the Ministry. “There was a prophecy made before Harry was born that identified him as the one who will defeat the ‘Dark Lord’. Voldemort knows the prophecy and he will not stop until he’s defeated my son. I don’t plan on letting him.” “Sirius!” Remus appeared scandalized that Sirius had not guarded the contents of the prophecy more closely. “I’m sorry, Remus, but keeping secrets hasn’t done any of us any good,” Sirius said firmly. “Voldemort already knows what the prophecy says; there is no reason for others not to know as well. All due respect to Albus, but his habit of keeping secrets never did anyone any good — least of all Harry.” While some seemed to take offense at his argument, Minerva nodded sadly. “All too true. This does explain why that monster kept going after Harry. It never quite made sense to me that he would continue to hunt a schoolboy.” Sirius shrugged. “From what I’ve been able to learn, Voldemort knew part of the prophecy, but he didn’t learn the whole thing until South Africa. I think he originally went after Harry because of the prophecy, but I think once he faced Harry in the graveyard Voldemort’s ego wouldn’t allow him to be defeated by a teenage boy in front of his followers.” Looking over at Kingsley, he said, “To get back on track, I believe that we should work with Emma and Carys to see if we can identify the Death Eater strongholds. It’s time we took the fight to them rather than ineffectively reacting to attacks already in progress.” Ginny held Harry’s hand tightly as they walked across Little Hangleton’s town square. Off to one side was a Christmas tree lot, it seemed to have a steady stream of customers picking up their Christmas trees or holiday wreaths. It was a grey, cloudy day and rather cold, but the shops in Little Hangleton seemed to be quite busy. “It seems so odd to see such a normal activity here,” Ginny said quietly. Harry nodded. “It’s nice though. I’ve only associated Little Hangleton with Dark magic and evil, it’s nice to see some happiness here as well.” Ginny’s eyes were drawn to the abandoned house on the hillside and she shivered slightly. “I wonder how different things would have been if he’d been accepted by his father and grew up here. In the diary, he spoke of his father’s family with such anger. I didn’t understand what he meant at the time, but he hated that his father had abandoned his mother. Most of his scorn was for his mother; he saw her as weak both physically and emotionally.” Thinking over what they’d learned about Riddle from the memories Dumbledore had shown Sirius, Harry said, “I almost feel sorry for him. I’ve been an orphan for as long as I can remember, but I know my parents loved me and wanted me.” As they resumed their walk across the square, Harry continued, “When I was little, I would imagine how wonderful my parents were and all sorts of silly things. I imagine that young Tom did as well. I was lucky — I found out that my parents did love me and want me. I imagine that discovering that your father abandoned your pregnant mother because he’d discovered she was using a love potion on him would be devastating.” Ginny glanced up at her husband, amazed at his compassion. Stretching up she kissed him on the cheek. “You are amazing.” He flushed, but looked pleased at her comment. Glancing up at the once grand house, he shuddered slightly. “I’m rather glad that my dad and the others already checked that house. It looks rather creepy.” “It does,” Ginny agreed. She wasn’t entirely sure why their meeting had been set in Little Hangleton, but she hoped they wouldn’t be in town long. While the village was cheerful enough with its Christmas decorations and the townspeople were friendly enough, there was a lingering air of uneasiness in town. The infamous graveyard and the church were also on the hillside. A lit display outside of the church was visible from the village; Ginny thought perhaps it was a nativity scene. If it had been in another town, it would have been picturesque, but in Little Hangleton it was disquieting. Behind the church, a few stone statues and mausoleums were visible, but most of the graveyard blended into the dark hillside. She shuddered slightly at the thought that Harry could easily have been killed up there on the hillside. To her the differences between Harry and Tom Riddle couldn’t be more obvious and she felt a surge of anger at both Professor Dumbledore and her mother for not only comparing the two, but also for not seeing the vast differences. Their destination was the cosy and seemingly busy pub, the Hanged Man. Glancing up at Harry, Ginny asked, “Do you know why we are meeting here?” Harry shrugged. “Dad didn’t say.” They entered the pub and the first person they saw was Carys. “Carys!” Ginny hurried across the main room of the pub to hug the older witch. “I’m so glad you could make it!” Smiling, Carys returned Ginny’s hug before kissing her on the cheek. “I couldn’t say no to the prospect of seeing the two of you again.” Harry joined them at that point and also received a hug and kiss from Carys. “So how are things going at Hogwarts?” “Really well,” Ginny said with a smile. “We’re going to be taking our NEWTs over the Christmas hols.” “Excellent,” Carys said proudly. “I know the two of you will have no problems with them. Sirius is understandably very proud of how well you’ve worked.” Looking around she lowered her voice a bit. “I understand that you’re working on the Animagus Transformation.” Harry nodded enthusiastically as the three of them headed back to the table Sirius had procured for them. “Ever since I learned about… my father and my dad both being Animagi, I’ve wanted to become one myself. We took the quiz and my dad and Professor McGonagall are both helping us work through the process.” As she sat down next to her husband, Ginny couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. “Sirius thinks we might be ready to transform by the summer.” “That would be wonderful,” Carys said. “Both of you are quite talented at Charms and Transfiguration. Do you know what your animals might be?” Harry shook his head. “Not yet. I’m some kind of canine or feline — either a wolf or a mountain lion. As we work through the process, the exact type of animal will become clearer.” “My animal is smaller than Harry’s,” Ginny said. “I’m possibly some kind of dog — not as big as Sirius.” “I can’t wait to see the pair of you complete the transformation,” Carys said. “Hello.” Harry turned as Emma joined them at the table. “Good afternoon, Emma.” “Good afternoon, everyone,” Emma said as she shed her coat and scarf. A moment later, Sirius came over to the table followed by Bill and Fleur. Harry watched curiously as Carys, Emma, and Fleur began poring over a document. Carys pulled out a pen and pad of paper and began writing some type of mathematical equation. “Is that Arithmancy?” Harry asked curiously. “It’s very advanced Arithmancy,” Fleur explained as Carys continued with her calculations. “Is this all part of the reason we’re meeting here today?” Harry asked his dad. Sirius nodded. “Are you okay?” “It’s still a creepy place,” Harry said, “but meeting in the middle of the day is certainly better than the middle of the night.” Sirius nodded. “We came here last year around this time. It was awful. I looked around the graveyard and I am just so grateful that you got out of there that night.” “It seems so long ago,” Harry said thoughtfully. “In many ways my childhood ended that night. So much has changed since then, I can’t imagine what my life would be like if that hadn’t happened.” Sirius nodded, but before he could respond, Carys spoke up excitedly. “This is what we needed.” Everyone stopped talking and looked over at the witches who were looking over the calculations and documents. Looking over at Emma, Carys said, “Why don’t you begin?” “I’ve spoken to Inspector Keegan,” Emma began. “He’s one of the local police officers who works in both Little and Greater Hangleton. There have been an increase in disturbances — noise disturbances near the Riddle house and the graveyard, but when the police go to investigate they can’t find anything. “Over the past three years there have been disappearances and the appearance of several unidentified DOAs. Significantly, some of the DOAs have had the Dark Mark on their forearms and for most of them there is no identified cause of death, but most of the bodies have shown significant signs of torture.” “He’s killing his followers?” Bill commented. Sirius frowned. “I’m not surprised at him killing his followers, but I am surprised he would allow the bodies to be found. Why didn’t he burn the bodies or bury them?” “It’s a lot harder to burn a human body than most people think,” Emma countered. “Not with magic,” Bill and Sirius replied at the same time. “I guess burying a body wouldn’t be that difficult either,” Emma said a bit ruefully. Sirius shook his head. “Magic does make some things easier.” “Perhaps the bodies are being left as a warning,” Carys suggested. “That sounds more like him,” Harry spoke up. “The other thing Inspector Keegan mentioned was that there have been several reports of snake bites as well as reported sighting of snakes which is very unusual for this area. Two people have died of snake bites and another four have recovered from their bites. The odd thing is that only one of the snake bites were from an adder, which you probably know is the only venomous snake native to Great Britain. It caused quite a commotion at the local A&E — the snakes the victims described were rattlesnakes, cobras, and other unidentified ‘pit vipers’. The reptile rescue in Greater Hangleton has been called out many times in the past few months to remove snakes from gardens and sheds. While not all have been venomous, it is very unusual.” Emma looked around the table. “That means something to you.” “Voldemort is what is called a Parselmouth,” Harry explained. “It means he can talk to snakes.” “Talk to snakes?” Emma looked perplexed. “How do you talk to snakes?” Closing his eyes for a minute, Harry thought back to the boomslang they’d seen in Africa. Visualizing that snake, he hissed, “This is how he is able to talk to snakes.” Emma gasped at the hissing noise Harry was making. “Oh my God.” Opening his eyes, Harry met Emma’s shocked gaze. “When Voldemort tried to kill me when I was a baby he somehow transferred some of his abilities to me.” “It is a very rare ability,” Sirius spoke up. “We believe that Harry and Riddle are the only two wizards in Britain with the ability. One of Harry’s friends researched it and the two of them have been the only two Parselmouths in the past century. One of the Hogwarts’ founders, Salazar Slytherin, was a Parselmouth. Several of his descendants were noted Parselmouths and Riddle is a direct descendent of Slytherin.” “Riddle has claimed that snakes just come to him,” Bill said, “but I can easily imagine him wanting snakes around.” Ginny nodded. “I imagine that he enjoyed the feeling of power it gave him — the uniqueness. He would have also liked the connection to Salazar Slytherin. He always wanted to feel superior to others and having such a rare ability would definitely make him feel more important.” Emma frowned for a moment. “You know this from the diary you told me about?” “Yes.” Ginny looked up with troubled eyes. “I didn’t realize who he was at the time. At the beginning, Tom was a great friend. He listened to my silly complaints and sympathized with me. He told me bits and pieces of his life — he was an orphan, he lived in an orphanage and he hated it there. He was so proud of being a wizard, but he hated that he was part Muggle as well.” Harry squeezed her hand and he added, “From what I’ve seen, he fears death — more than most people.” “Dumbledore discussed some of Riddle’s childhood with us and even showed us some memories of Riddle,” Sirius explained. “At first Riddle assumed it was his father who was magical, but he discovered it was his mother who was a witch and she died shortly after giving birth to him. He thought she was weak and found it difficult to believe that magic had limitations. He seems to have dedicated his life to eradicating any trace of his Muggle origins and overcoming death.” Emma frowned. “The more I hear about this guy, the more worried I am. I showed the pictures of known Death Eaters to Inspector Keegan. He identified Snape, Malfoy, and Malfoy’s son as having been seen around town, but he hasn’t seen any of them in the past three weeks. If this was being used as a headquarters, perhaps it’s been abandoned.” “The Riddle home seems to have significant meaning to Voldemort,” Fleur noted. “Perhaps it is used for ceremonies or special occasions. He chose it for his re-birth and for what he thought would be Harry’s death.” “I believe that symbolically it would have a lot of meaning to him,” Sirius said. “He killed his Muggle father and grandparents there and ridded himself of his Muggle heritage.” “That is one of the reasons we chose Little Hangleton as a meeting place,” Carys said. “It is a significant place in Riddle’s past.” Carys went on to explain. “As I’m sure you’ve heard, Emma and I have been tracking outbursts or high concentrations of magic. We believe that we can differentiate between Light and Dark magic. I’m sure it will come as no surprise to anyone that Little Hangleton is flooded with Dark Magic.” Emma set a folder on the table and took out a picture. It was a satellite photo that showed Great Britain. It had been taken on a relatively cloudless day. While south-western England was covered in clouds, northern England was cloudless. Someone had marked up the photo; Little Hangleton was circled, but it would have been obvious even without the marking. There was a curiously green coloured cloud that sat low over the town. There were several other areas around the country with the same green coloured cloud including the green cloud mixed in with the cloud cover over the Wiltshire area. In addition to the green clouds, there were areas of gold clouds with a high concentration over Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and London. The clouds were darker in some areas than other. Everyone leaned forward to see the picture. “This is an enhanced view of a satellite photo. The coloured clouds normally appear on the satellite photo as wispy white clouds. Carys and Fleur have worked together to develop a way to detect the high concentrations of magic and make them appear on the map.” Carys pointed to the cloud over Hogwarts. “We’ve theorized that the darker the cloud, the higher the concentration of magic. Hogwarts and Hogsmeade have the darkest clouds which makes sense as they are inhabited completely by magical people.” “This is great,” Bill said as he looked over the map. “So what were you doing when we first came in?” “One of the things we haven’t been able to tell is if the map indicates current activity or a history of activity.” Emma explained. “How would it indicate a history of activity?” Ginny asked curiously. Fleur explained, “Magical activity emits a unique signature. After a particularly powerful spell, that signature remains and fades slowly over time. The Killing Curse is a powerful spell and Dark magic such as that required to create a Horcrux or the ceremony that was used to revive Voldemort are powerful enough that their signature lingers.” Smiling at her future brother-in-law, she added, “The magic performed by Lily Potter and the magic that you unwittingly performed that night in Godric’s Hollow have both permeated the house with a feeling of love and welcome.” Harry frowned. “The magic I performed? I didn’t do anything. Professor Dumbledore said that the reason I survived was because my mother gave her life for me.” Fleur gently corrected him. “Your mother’s sacrifice certainly set the stage for your survival. She provided an amazing gift to you, but if your magical core hadn’t reacted to it, you wouldn’t have survived.” “I didn’t realize that,” Harry said softly. Sirius reached over and gently clasped Harry’s shoulder. “Ancient magic like the type your mother invoked is very powerful,” Fleur said gently. “People often mistakenly believe that Dark magic is more powerful than Light magic, but that is not the case. Dark magic is often dramatic and fear inspiring whilst the most powerful Light magic can be easily overlooked or dismissed. People remember what Voldemort did that night — it was dramatic and horrific, but your mother’s love and sacrifice easily defeated him at his most powerful.” “Carys, Fleur, and Bill took readings around the town today,” Emma explained. “From what we can tell, there is no active magic here at the moment. We’ve compared it to the readings in Hogsmeade where we know there is active magic. It helps us clarify what the readings mean. This is the first time Muggle technology and Arithmancy have been used together. It’s actually quite exciting. I’ve coordinated with the local law enforcement personnel in other areas and they are aware of the terrorist organization known as Death Eaters. We’ve told them not to approach, but to notify us immediately. We’ve included information in the warnings that although the terrorists dress in robes and wear masks — don’t discount them. They are extremely dangerous even if a gun is not visible. They have a number to call to notify us of any ‘terrorist’ activity.” “How is this possible?” Harry asked as he looked around the table. Emma laughed. “It’s actually much easier than I thought. I said something like, ‘Oh, Merlin’ in our main offices and discovered that one of my superiors is a Squib. We’ve made a small network of people who know about both worlds - Muggle family members, Squibs, and a few witches and wizards who work and live easily in the Muggle world.” She shook her head. “It’s amazing. I never would have imagined that there was a totally separate world living among us.” “By terrorizing both worlds, Voldemort is actually bringing them closer together.” Bill remarked. “He really is,” Emma agreed. “I’ve worked with Sirius and Professor McGonagall in identifying known and suspected Death Eaters. I’ve been able to check for property in their names and we’ve identified several potential strongholds including Malfoy Manor. From the levels of activity, we are fairly certain that Malfoy Manor is currently being used as his headquarters.” She pulled out another folder and showed them aerial photos of Malfoy Manor. “The levels of Dark Magic are extremely high and active.” She pointed to a small area in the back garden. “There are reports of a large snake — it has been seen in the area and several cats, rabbits, and other small animals have been reported missing.” “Nagini,” Harry said. “It has to be,” Sirius said. “Voldemort is keeping her really close. I don’t think we will get to Nagini until we get to him.” Emma continued, “They appear to have guards at the gate. Two people are consistently seen near the gate, but Bill says they also have magical protections as well. I’ve spoken to local law enforcement and all of the members of the Malfoy and Lestrange families, Severus Snape, and the Carrows have all been seen in the area. Young Malfoy is well known to local law enforcement as a bully and troublemaker. Of course, no charges have ever been filed. “In the past month there has been an increase in petty crimes, defacing property, and fighting. The local constable told me that a few young girls have apparently been attacked, but none of them can recall any details of their attacks. Young Malfoy and his friends have been questioned, but of course they always have many people willing to provide an alibi.” “Kingsley has been working with some of the other Order members to plan a tactical assault against Malfoy Manor,” Sirius said. “We’ve been able to obtain schematics for the Manor and Dobby has been helping in describing the Manor and its hidden areas. We aren’t ready yet, but we’re hoping that after the New Year we will be able to go on the offensive.” “It looks great, Dad,” Harry said as he looked over the newly reconstructed study in Sirius’ converted coach house in Keswick. “I don’t really remember much from my last visit, but this is amazing.” Sirius grinned. “Dobby worked miracles with this place. Luckily Bill had placed enough wards so the Death Eaters weren’t able to do too much damage. Of course when I originally planned on this, I wasn’t planning on you being married.” Leading the way upstairs, Sirius showed Harry what Dobby had done with the first floor. The large master bedroom was off to the left and had a balcony that overlooked the lake. Dobby had enlarged the room originally set aside for Harry — it now had an ensuite and dressing room like Sirius’ room as well as a balcony that looked onto the mountains. “Your lovely wife worked with Dobby in decorating your rooms,” Sirius said as he put an arm around Harry’s shoulders. “This is amazing,” Harry said as he took in the changes. “I’m glad you approve,” Sirius said with a smile. “There’s one more room I want to show you.” Harry smiled as they entered the sitting room. There were large picture windows overlooking Lake Bassenthwaite, but today the view was obscured by a large Christmas tree. Sirius had brought home the Christmas tree with boxes of ornaments and fairy lights. Sirius, Harry, and Ginny as well as Bill and Fleur spent an enjoyable evening decorating the tree. Under the tree were multiple colourfully wrapped gifts. Harry couldn’t help but smile every time he saw the gifts. He wasn't even sure he could explain why it made him so happy, but it did. When he was little, the Dursleys’ tree was always beautifully decorated and there were mounds of presents under the tree for Dudley. Harry couldn’t even remember if his aunt and uncle exchanged gifts — it was mostly an excuse to spoil Dudley. The presents under this Christmas tree were for all of them — a group for Sirius, a group for Harry and group for Ginny. There were also presents for Dobby, Bill, and Fleur scattered among the others. To him it looked like a family Christmas tree — his family’s tree. Harry’s eyes were drawn to a beautiful white china heart shaped ornament decorated with red ribbon. The ornament was compromised of two joined hearts. Harry’s and Ginny’s names were inscribed on the hearts and under their names it read ‘The Potters’ with the date ‘August 11, 1997’. Ginny had found the ornament and had it personalized for the two of them in honour of their first Christmas together as husband and wife. Sirius had added Christmas stockings hanging from the mantle for each of them — Sirius, Harry, Ginny, and Dobby. Harry was thrilled. While last Christmas had been wonderful with Ginny and Carys, having both Sirius and Ginny with him was amazing. “It looks great, Dad,” Harry said happily. “Good,” Sirius said in a satisfied voice. “I haven’t had a family Christmas since your first Christmas. Two years ago was the closest I’d come to a good Christmas and that was marred by Arthur’s injury and the nightmares you and Ginny were having.” At that moment, Dobby walked into the sitting room carrying a large tea tray. He’d found the Potter china in the Potter family vault and insisted upon using it. The place settings all had a red Griffin centre of the setting with a band of gold around the edge of the plate. Sirius told him the china had been in use for the past 300 years. Harry had to admit that he liked having that unexpected connection to his family. Trailing behind Dobby were trays of sandwiches, tarts, and cakes. Ginny had asked Dobby to teach her how to make several different types of cakes, so she’d made most of the food for tea. “This looks wonderful,” Sirius said to Dobby. The little elf’s ears wiggled in excitement. “Thank you, Master. Young Mistress went to get ready for tea.” “Excellent,” Sirius replied. “Our guests should be arriving soon.” Harry whistled softly as Ginny came down the stairs. “You look amazing!” Laughing, Ginny twirled in front of him showing off the fitted silver dress and heels she was wearing. Enchanted, Harry watched as she drew near. It was times like this that he really couldn’t believe she was his. She was so beautiful and vibrant. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him down for a deep kiss which he returned enthusiastically. The sound the front door opening had them separating. Harry could feel his cheeks heating up as he stared down at her. “I think I’m way underdressed for this tea. If I’d known you were going to dress up I’d have dressed nicer.” “I think you look great,” Ginny said with a satisfied smile as she looked him over. He was dressed in jeans and a jumper that stretched across his broad shoulders. On his feet he was wearing a new pair of Basilisk skin boots. She shrugged. “I just wanted to get dressed up for some reason.” “You look fantastic,” he replied. “Did you have fun baking with Dobby today?” She nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve gotten better over the last two years, but Dobby taught me some new recipes. He’s also really good about how to present the food. He was so thrilled to have the Potter China to use.” “It is really cool,” Harry agreed. “It’s pretty too. I’m glad that Dad found it.” “Ginny.” The couple turned to see Ginny’s parents in the doorway. Although Ginny’s facial expression didn’t change, Harry felt her hand tighten on his arm. A penitent Molly Weasley looked over her daughter. The pair had exchanged rather stilted letters over the autumn months, but this was the first time they’d seen each other since their visit to Egypt. “I want to say again how sorry I am,” Mrs Weasley said softly. She looked over at Harry. “I really am sorry.” She glanced over at her daughter before continuing. “When we sent Ginny off to Hogwarts, I didn’t really worry about her. After all, what could possibly happen with four older brothers to watch out for her and the world’s most powerful wizard as Headmaster? It seemed ridiculous to worry about her. When Professor McGonagall called me with news that she’d been expelled — it was like her first year all over again. I certainly have no excuse for distrusting you. I was worried about both of you and I’m afraid I did what I normally — I yelled before thinking everything through.” Harry glanced down at his wife. She was watching her mother carefully, but he could feel how tightly she was gripping his shirt. He ran a steady hand down her back to provide what comfort he could. “Harry, I am very, very sorry. Professor Dumbledore made it seem very plausible — you have some sort of connection to You-Know-Who and you had issues with Professor Umbridge. I was worried about Ginny and the papers…” “I understand, Mrs Weasley,” Harry broke in. “I understand how the papers tend to blow things out of proportion.” “Mum, I understand how things started,” Ginny said. She glanced up at her husband, they had discussed her relationship with her parents many times and she knew he would support whatever she decided. “In a way I can understand you trusting Dumbledore, but when are you going to start trusting me and Harry?” “I do trust you and Harry,” Mrs Weasley protested weakly. It was all Ginny could do not to roll her eyes. “Mum, you obviously didn’t trust us or Sirius to keep us safe.” “Sirius was in prison for over a decade,” Mrs Weasley protested. “I was concerned that he was not the appropriate person to be watching over you.” Harry managed to stifle his reaction. It was an appropriate concern, if totally unwarranted in his opinion. Ginny squeezed his arm in support. “What about now?” Mrs Weasley flushed as she met her daughter’s eyes. “I know I reacted poorly to the news of your marriage as well. I am truly happy for the two of you. I can see how much you love each other. I will admit to wishing you were older, but I’ve come to realize that it is your decision. I am happy to hear the two of you are back in school. I was afraid that being married so young you wouldn’t continue your education.” “We always planned to finish school,” Ginny replied a touch impatiently. “We told you that in Egypt. We won’t always do what you think we should, but we are committed to each other and to finishing Voldemort.” “We do realize that, love,” Mr Weasley said, speaking up for the first time. “I think Sirius has shown that our concerns were unfounded. He has been a wonderful guardian for both of you.” He approached the young couple and hugged his daughter, kissing her on the cheek before hugging Harry. “I’m so glad to see the pair of you looking so well.” He touched Ginny’s hair lovingly. “I’m very glad to see you are able to wear your hair its natural colour.” “Thank you, Dad,” Ginny said with an extra hug for her father. “I’m glad the two of you were able to come. We’ve been afraid to come to the Burrow.” “I do understand,” Mrs Weasley said as she approached her daughter and hugged the young couple. “I’m happy that you are safe. Dobby has been a dear keeping us informed and carrying letters back and forth.” “He loves socks,” Harry volunteered. “I’m sure he would love a small pair of socks for Christmas.” “I will do that,” she promised. After a while, Harry left Ginny talking to her parents and went to visit with some of the other guests. Carys and Emma seemed to have become fast friends and Harry was happy to catch up with them. After helping himself to another slice of Victoria sponge cake, Harry headed back to the sitting room. He was surprised to hear, “Wotcher, Harry.” Turning Harry saw Tonks standing quietly in the shadows just outside the sitting room. Ginny looked up at the sound of Tonks’ voice and to Harry’s relief she started making her way over to them. He responded, “Hi Tonks.” “Harry, I really am so sorry about what happened,” Tonks burst out. “I don’t even really remember everything, but I’ve seen the memories of what happened. I’m truly sorry.” Harry wanted to say that it was okay or no problem, but even as he thought to speak he remembered her turning her wand on him. Before he could think of a response, Ginny stepped in between the pair. “Tonks, what are you doing here?” Ginny glared at the older witch with displeasure. Tonks shrank back. “I just wanted to apologize to Harry.” “We trusted you,” Ginny said angrily. “We trusted you and not only did you torture him, you let your psychotic aunt torture him, and brought Voldemort to him. Now you want to say you’re sorry?” “Gin,” Harry said uncomfortably. Ginny shot him a look. “Did I say anything that wasn’t true?” Harry shook his head, but he could see how hurt Tonks was by Ginny’s attitude. He studied the Auror for a minute. “Do you want to hurt me?” Tonks shook her head. “I promise, I wouldn’t be here if I had any doubts. Sirius broke the spell months ago. I haven’t had any feeling of wanting to hurt you.” Looking between the two, Ginny sighed. “I don’t want you alone with him — at all.” “I understand,” Tonks replied promptly. “I just approached him because I wanted to apologize. I don’t even have my wand — Sirius took it when I came in. I promise if I have any odd thoughts or feelings I will let Sirius know immediately.” Ginny looked up and she could see Sirius was watching in the background. She had to smile. She should have known that Sirius wouldn’t take any risks with Harry’s safety. “I’ve been very angry at you for a long time. That was one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen in my life. I trusted you to look after him and you left him vulnerable to his two worst enemies,” Ginny said candidly. “I know that Sirius wouldn’t allow you here if he had any doubts, but…” “I don’t blame you,” Tonks broke in. “I feel horribly about everything. I can resist the Imperius Curse, but the family version that Bellatrix used…I didn’t even feel anything. I don’t remember anything past Harry saying he wanted to go to the beach.” As much as Ginny wanted to stay angry with the young Auror, she knew it wasn’t Tonks’ fault. She’d read up on the spell Bellatrix had used on her niece and it was supposed to be almost impossible to resist. She could tell by looking at Tonks that she was very sorry about what had happened. Reaching out, Ginny hugged the Auror. “I’m very protective of Harry and part of me wants to stay mad at you forever, but I know that’s not fair. I don’t want you to feel badly anymore. I know after my first year I felt so…evil and I didn’t feel worthy to be around anyone else. I don’t want you to feel that way.” Tears shone in Ginny’s eyes. “Seeing you attack Harry was just so scary and so unexpected. Promise if anything feels off you will tell someone.” “I promise,” Tonks replied emotionally. |
| Reviews 314 |
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