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SIYE Time:13:27 on 28th March 2024
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Black & Red
By CharmHazel

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Dumbledore, Harry/Ginny, Minerva McGonagall, Sirius Black
Genres: Drama, General, Romance
Warnings: None
Rating: PG
Reviews: 76
Summary: Raised by his godfather, following the events of Halloween 1981, Harry spends his childhood, hidden from the Wizarding World, preparing to face his destiny. However, his world is turned upside down when he reunites with the beautiful redhead he rescued down in the Chamber.
Hitcount: Story Total: 30477; Chapter Total: 920
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
My apologies for the extremely long delay in posting a new chapter. There was some unexpected news in September which had a big knock on my mental health and that of my family's, which made it very hard for me to even concentrate on writing anything. I cannot promise regular updates as things are little hectic in my house at the moment, but I will definitely try post more frequently than previously. Thank you to Arnel for your patience, understanding and your brilliance at figuring out all my horrendous mistakes.




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With a Minister for Magic who was finally taking the news of Voldemort’s return seriously, the wizarding world was thrown into chaos. Disappearances and attacks were no longer being ignored with reports appearing almost daily in the Daily Prophet. People were becoming more cautious when out in public, uncertain of whom to trust and fearful of something happening to them the longer they were away from their home. However, Voldemort had still yet to move out into the open and the Dark Mark had not been used during any attacks. It made for a confusing time in the wizarding world as people attempted to continue to live their lives as normally as possible while still taking the necessary precautions to remain safe.

Changes were slowly being implemented in the Ministry of Magic, something Sirius noted as he queued up in the Atrium to pass through security. It was obvious to the Animagus that the Ministry employees had become cautious of each other, even those that they had worked with for many years. Given his own experience of betrayal by Wormtail, Sirius didn’t blame them as he knew you could never be certain of just where someone’s loyalties would lie in times of darkness.

Security had moved beyond just merely weighing each individual’s wands. They were now checking what the previous five spells had been performed as well as inspecting each person for any spells that could influence their actions. Sirius had to admit that he was impressed, though he couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take before someone who sympathised with Voldemort and his Death Eaters would figure out how to bypass the security protocols. He could only hope, therefore, that these people would be caught, or another process would be put in place before that could happen.

As he stepped into the lift, Sirius took a deep breath to settle his nerves about the potential outcome of the meeting he was about to attend. He knew that it was highly unlikely he would be given the answers he desperately sought, but he was hoping for the best, while preparing himself for the worst. The one thing he was certain of, though, was that if anyone could find him an answer to his problem, it would be an Unspeakable, someone who studied the most complicated of magics.

The lift came to a stop on Level Nine with Sirius stepping out into the dark corridor the moment the gates opened. It felt as eerie and uncomfortable as it had the last time he had come when he had brought Harry to swap the Prophecy ball with a fake. However, knowing Arthur had very nearly died here heightened the feelings Sirius had of the corridor. Knowing he couldn’t dwell on the creepiness that seemed to hang over him at that moment, Sirius walked down the corridor to the only door that was situated on this level.

Before he reached it, the door appeared to open by itself to reveal a man in ministry robes standing just inside, beckoning Sirius to come through. The man remained where he stood until Sirius reached the door, before he turned and walked further into the Entrance Chamber, closing the door behind him.

“As you are with me, a member of this department, today,” the Unspeakable said as Sirius came to a stop next to him, “you will not feel the disorientating feeling that usually comes from stepping inside here. Something I have been led to believe you are aware of.”

“I am,” Sirius replied simply, assuming the man was aware of his previous visit to the department.

“Dark Magic Room,” the Unspeakable called out, causing the wall to shift round to the correct door.

The door opened by itself, and Sirius followed the man through into the room he had requested. Even though the Unspeakable continued walking, Sirius came to a stop just inside the door, staring in amazement at what was held in the room. Objects of all kinds, from books to jewellery, were stored behind noticeable protective charms, all ready to be studied and understood.

“If you could follow me, please,” the man called, “I would like us to have our meeting somewhere a little safer than in here.”
Sirius nodded in understanding as he began to move along the room to another door that he knew would lead them somewhere a little safer.

“My apologies for the lack of greeting,” the man said once they reached their intended destination. “We tend to avoid communicating with others outside of the department as a precaution.”

“I fully understand that,” Sirius replied as he took the seat he had been indicated to take. “The information I need to share with you is something I need to keep between as few as possible, due to the potential impact it could have if it were to get out that I was aware of it.”

“Anything we speak about today will not go beyond these four walls,” the man confirmed, “unless you give me permission to speak anyone you approve being made aware of what we know.”

Sirius was impressed by the man’s honesty and sincerity. He had been in two minds about setting up a meeting about the horcruxes and whether it was possible to remove a soul piece without destroying the vessel beyond repair. The man obviously took his job seriously, considering he was studying the Dark Arts and their impact; he even had the scars to show for it with a couple of noticeable ones on his face.

“My name is Daniel Grey,” the man continued, finally introducing himself. “I am a Half-blood wizard and I do not, in any way, support You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters. I lost a couple of family members during the war and want to be able to support you in whatever you need to help stop him. I know you probably did not expect me to admit my blood status, but I wanted to show you that I can be trusted with the information you need to share with me. I will be happy, if requested, to show that my arm does not bear the Dark Mark and will place my wand in a secure location during this meeting.”

“I don’t think any of that will be necessary,” Sirius said, slightly taken aback by how far Daniel was willing to go to prove he could be trusted. “I am sure that the Minister would have done a thorough check on your background before recommending you as the person who could potentially help me.”

“Madam Bones did so as we are aware that there was at least one Death Eater working in the department, not that he would have been chosen as we differ in our specialities. My job involves learning to understand Dark Magic, most specifically the rarest of Dark Magics. That is why I was selected for this meeting.”

“Shall we get straight to it, then?” Sirius asked, impressed by the Minister’s choice of Unspeakable and the knowledge of a Death Eater who had been working in the department.

With an affirmative nod from Daniel, Sirius decided to provide as much detail as he could, knowing that this man had no reason to reveal anything that he was about to learn. He began by explaining how Voldemort survived, grateful that he did not to explain what a Horcrux was, before moving on to what they had learned so far about them and what objects they believed had been used while noting the ones they had discovered and destroyed.

“I do not think I can provide you much more information than you already have,” Daniel responded once Sirius had finished speaking, “but I do not believe that is why you requested this meeting.”

Sirius had to admit that he was impressed by how quickly this Unspeakable had picked up on the fact he had come here for a whole different reason.

“You would be correct. This may sound far-fetched, but are you aware of any known instances in which a living thing was used as a Horcrux?”

The Unspeakable did not respond, choosing to just gaze at Sirius as he appeared to be thinking about what he had been asked and connecting the dots as to why he was being questioned about this.

“Far-fetched, perhaps, but you would not be asking me about it if you did not believe that it was a real possibility. Given that the events of that Halloween night are still relatively unknown, I can only conclude on what I can piece together is that you believe your godson may just be a Horcrux.”

Sirius was stunned into silence, unable to think of the words to respond to how Daniel had managed to quickly jump to the conclusion that seemed to have taken Dumbledore years to figure out.

“Given you have already destroyed two Horcruxes, I can easily assume that you know that they need to be destroyed beyond repair,” Daniel continued without waiting for any response. “Unfortunately, it would mean the same for your godson or any living thing that found itself with a soul piece attached to them.”

The answer was not unexpected as Sirius had made sure to prepare himself for the potential of no possible answer to his query. However, that did not mean he was not devastated that there was no other way to remove the piece of Voldemort’s soul that had lived within Harry since he was a little over a year old.

“I am sorry that I cannot provide the answer you were hoping for. I will not, however, leave our meeting at just that. Being that this is the sort of Dark Magic I research and learn to understand in hopes of finding ways to reverse effects or potential ways to protect ourselves from it, I don’t think there will be any harm in me attempting to see if there is any way to remove it without the need for your godson to sacrifice his life.”

“That would be much appreciated,” Sirius replied finally, recognising that the Unspeakable was not making any promises or guarantees that an answer would be found.

“May I ask, before we end this meeting, if Harry is aware of the true nature of his scar?”

“No,” Sirius simply replied.

“Keep it that way,” Daniel firmly replied in what seemed to be in a similar fashion to how Dumbledore had told him not to reveal what he had discovered. “It would be best that Harry is the last Horcrux to be destroyed and only once you have a plan in place to destroy the final part of Voldemort’s soul.”

It was only as Sirius stepped back into the lift to return to the Atrium that he wondered whether Daniel, and even Dumbledore, knew far more than they were letting on. Did they know a potential way that could allow Harry to survive? If they did, was there a reason that they were keeping it secret? It was hard enough as it was to keep the secret of Harry being a Horcrux from his son, but it only added to the guilt he felt knowing that there could be a way for him to survive.

Shaking his head to clear the thought away, Sirius decided that until it became absolutely necessary, he would not worry about the accidental Horcrux and would instead focus on the ones he knew they could search for and destroy. The sooner they were taken care of, the sooner he could solely focus on finding a way for his son to survive this war.

HP&GW

Ginny glanced around the Great Hall, taking in the happy faces of the other students, who were excited to be heading into Hogsmeade that morning. She was finding it hard to feel anything positive about getting out of the castle when she was unable to meet up with Harry as she had done so before. However, with the wizarding world having finally accepted that Voldemort had returned, the decision had been made that it would not be a sensible idea for Harry to be anywhere that could potentially risk the lives of other witches and wizards.

Turning back to her breakfast, Ginny thought back to the conversation she’d had with Harry the night before. While, like her, he was disappointed that they would not be able to meet up, he did encourage her to take advantage of the chance to get out of the castle and enjoy the village. Despite her protests, he had managed to get her to agree to go once he had reminded her that it may end up being the last chance she would have to visit, especially given the threat that was hanging over her head. She had needed the reassurance that there would be Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix on patrol before she had reluctantly agreed to go and enjoy herself. The problem was now that the time had come, she was feeling uncertain about whether it would help her feel a little happier.

“Miss Weasley.”

Ginny looked up to see her Head of House standing behind her with a look of understanding on her face. They had become closer since Ginny had discovered that Professor McGonagall was the Secret Keeper for Deer Run, meeting once a week in the evenings to help prep Ginny for the possibility of home-schooling. It had allowed Ginny to advance her education further while getting to know one of the few people in Sirius and Harry’s life that they trusted implicitly.

“I wanted to let you know that Professor Dumbledore has informed me of the defence club you have been running secretly, the one I have been led to believe is called Dumbledore’s Army, and that it has now been officially sanctioned as school club,” Professor McGonagall quietly told Ginny, who blushed at acknowledgement of the DA’s name. “There has been interest from many students across all four houses, so it is expected of you to open up the club to anyone who wishes to join, no matter their house, age or ability.”

“That is absolutely fine, Professor,” Ginny replied, suddenly feeling happier than she had been. “I have had a few people approach me since January making a request to join, so I am happy for anyone to join as long as they are serious about learning how to defend themselves.”

“I believe that is a very sensible outlook, Miss Weasley, which is why there will be at least two teachers in attendance each time the club meets. I would also advise that you place sign-up sheets in each house’s common room so we can gather an idea of how many people are interested before setting a location, day and time of the first official meeting.”

“I shall arrange that when I come back from Hogsmeade.”

“Very good,” Professor McGonagall responded, a proud look on her face that Ginny knew was an expression rarely seen. “Enjoy your time in the village.”

Ginny couldn’t help the smile that remained on her face after her conversation with her Head of House. It made heading into the village with her brother and friends a lot less daunting than it originally would have been. The only thing she wanted to do now was tell Harry about what had happened, but she knew she would have to wait until tonight to speak to him. For now, however, she would make the most of her time in Hogsmeade.

HP&GW

“What did Professor McGonagall speak to you about this morning?” Ginny was asked by Hermione as they, Ron and her best friend, Luna took a seat at a table in the Three Broomsticks.

“She was letting me know that Professor Dumbledore has officially sanctioned the DA as a school club, so it can be opened up to the whole school,” Ginny replied excitedly.

“When you say everyone…” Ron began to say with a look of disgust on his face.

“Yes, everyone, Ron. That means Slytherins will be invited to join and can do so if they choose to.”

“Not everyone who is a Slytherin is a Death Eater,” Luna stated, making Ginny grateful for her friendship. “Just as we know that not everyone who has ever been in any of the other houses fought against You-Know-Who.”

Ginny felt a little smug as she watched her brother slump back into his chair, knowing that there was nothing he could say to dispute what Luna had said. They both knew full well that Harry’s parents had been betrayed by Peter Pettigrew, a former Gryffindor. Hogwarts houses meant nothing when it came to where you stood in regard to Voldemort. The problem was the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin was too strong to be broken, so if they had cooperation from just one Slytherin, then Ginny knew she could count that as a win.

With Ron put in his place, a discussion began about how to approach teaching and practising spells, knowing that there would be varying levels of abilities. Hermione made copious notes as suggestions were made of how to split the school into smaller groups and whether it should be split into two separate sessions, something they knew would need to be discussed with Professor McGonagall once they had an idea of numbers.

“I think it would be best that everyone joining should learn all the spells we covered when we were meeting in secret,” Hermione suggested as she finally looked up from her notes.

“We need to remember some of these spells will be well above the younger years’ abilities,” Ginny replied as an idea came to her. “I think it would be best if the first meeting is just for those joining for the first time. We can explain why we formed the group and what we covered and accomplished in the few short months we met. Then we can test them to see how good or bad their abilities are before deciding how to officially split the school up.”

“That’s sounds good,” Hermione agreed as she jotted it down. “Once we have an idea of numbers and how the groups will be split, we can then make a more formal plan on what we can cover.”

The conversation about the defence group wrapped up as the group decided it was time to head back up to the school.
They had barely come to edge of the village when a series of loud pops announced the arrival of several witches and wizards. It was immediately followed by a barrage of spells directed at anyone out in the open.

“Ginny,” Ron said urgently as he turned to his sister, “you need to get out of here. They may be after you.”

“No, Ron, we need to help,” Ginny argued back, despite knowing that her brother was more than likely right.

“Please don’t argue with me, Ginny. You know that Harry would want you to be safe, even though he knows you have the capabilities to fight,” Ron immediately responded, making the effort to say Harry’s name quietly so no one discovered their connection to the Boy Who Lived. “Go, we will cover you so you can get back to the school.”

Ginny knew she had no choice when her brother pushed her in the direction of Hogwarts before quickly engaging with a Death Eater who had quietly approached the group. With one last worried look at her brother and two closest friends, she turned and began to move quickly away from the fighting.

When she was certain that she was far enough away from the village, Ginny stopped and moved off the main path, hiding herself behind a large tree as a precaution. She pulled out her communication mirror, which she had on her at all times as she had promised Harry, before she did what she knew she needed to do.

“Harry Potter,” she quietly whispered.

Before Harry could answer, however, a voice spoke out that sent chills down her spine.

“Miss Weasley,” the voice of Lucius Malfoy called out, “we know you are there. I would advise you show yourself.”

Ginny tucked her mirror carefully into one of her pockets, kicking herself for not paying more attention to her surroundings when she had decided to stop.

“I would not try to attack, Miss Weasley,” Malfoy continued as Ginny prepared herself to face him. “You are surrounded by many of the Dark Lord’s loyal followers.”

With a deep breath, praying Harry had answered and could hear what was happening, Ginny stepped out from behind the tree and directly faced Lucius Malfoy.

“Make this easy for yourself, Miss Weasley,” Malfoy said as he walked towards her. “Surrender your wand and come willingly or else be prepared for the worst pain you have ever felt.”

As much as she wanted to fight them, Ginny knew she had no chance by herself, so she removed her wand from her cloak and held it out to the man who had helped to ruin her very first year at Hogwarts.

“Thank you for cooperating,” Malfoy said with a smirk as he took the wand. “Now, you shall come with us as the Dark Lord is waiting for you.”

Before Ginny even had the chance to process the words Malfoy had said, she felt his hand grabbed her arm tightly and then the feeling of being pulled into a dark, tight tube.
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